July 28, 2023.

“Yes, we’re here…” Mo Mumu glanced at the entrance of the embassy, ​​and out of the corner of her eye, a string of white things came into view. The strong smell of syrup hit her nose. Mo Mumu waved her hand impatiently, glanced at Lin Nian who had his mouth full of syrup with disdain, and continued to say to the other end of the phone, “Okay, Uncle Li, don’t worry, we’re in the lobby… no, no, no need to go out of our way… okay.”

The person on the other end hung up the phone hastily, and Mo Mumu let out a sigh of relief: "Let's go."

"Mmm! Wait a minute! I haven't finished eating yet!" Lin Nian delicately pinched her pinky finger, tearing off pieces and slowly stuffing them into her mouth. "...Food can't be brought in, it's impolite."

The Lin family had a rigid family tradition and was a family of doctors, so they were very strict with his diet. He could only get some delicious food when he ate with Mo Mumu and Mu Yiran. They asked him about Mu Yiran the whole way, and he ate the whole way.

"If you knew you were going in, why did you buy it in the first place!" Mo Mumu's temper flared as she watched him dawdle like a chick pecking at rice. "Tsk, isn't it childish for a grown man to eat this!"

Lin Nian was about to take another lick when she heard this, so she pulled her teeth back, glanced at her expression, and muttered under her breath, "Why didn't you say it was childish when that guy went to buy it... just because he's handsome..."

Mo Mumu, with her ears perked up like a radar, exclaimed, "What did I say?!"

"Did I say you're ugly? If that's how you think, then there's nothing I can do."

Besides, she didn't even get a clear look at the man; who knows if he'd be a "back view killer" (someone who looks good from behind).

"Me! Didn't you say Xiao Ran likes this, that it's sweet, so I arranged it right away?" Lin Nian looked at her triangular eyes, which resembled those chubby orange cats downstairs at the hospital who waited for him to feed them every day and were unhappy because he was late, and quickly changed the subject with an embarrassed smile.

"Besides, that old lady has been selling in this area for a while now. I just wanted to ask her if she'd seen Mu Yiran..."

Mo Mumu watched as he bought such a huge bunch of candies just to get some information. Even though they were so sweet they were practically snoring, he couldn't bear to throw them away. He'd take a bite and then lick the sugar off his fingers. His wise expression and his quirky, rustic manner...

Who would believe he's a doctor?!

"Hurry up! Lee Byung-seung is almost here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a black Lincoln pulled up beside them. Li Bingcheng, dressed in a suit and with his hair perfectly styled, hurriedly got out of the car. His refined face and slender, upright figure showed no signs that he was over forty.

"Uncle Li!" Mo Mumu didn't expect him to arrive so quickly. He ripped off Lin Nian's last few bites and threw them into the trash can.

Lin Nian's mouth gaped open: "..."

"Okay!" Li Bingcheng nodded and greeted Lin Nian again, "I've arranged everything, but we need to go through some procedures first. Go inside and wait."

After his secretary and the embassy staff met, Lin Nian led them into the embassy. He first looked around the lobby. There were quite a few Chinese people at the embassy today, but among them, a young, dark-skinned boy stood out.

The boy looked around in the corner, perhaps shy. His big, white eyes darted around nervously. Lin Nian noticed that the boy's tattered clothes looked somewhat familiar.

It seems there are many homeless children like this around Joris.

Why didn't he think to ask the children if they had seen Mu Yiran? But since he could directly check the road surveillance footage, there was no need to ask...

With a sudden change of heart, Lin Nian looked at Li Bingcheng, who was talking to a minister. Although the man had a dignified appearance, Li Bingcheng looked more like a businessman in every way.

Lin Nian and Mo Mumu had nothing to hide from each other, so they whispered in each other's ears: "Hey, didn't you say Li Bingcheng is the vice mayor? So he's here on official business? But that doesn't make sense, he can't just go abroad like that."

“He retired from that industry a long time ago, and now he’s the chairman, I heard he’s developing new energy vehicles…” Before Mo Mumu could finish speaking, Li Bingcheng walked over and sat down opposite the two of them.

"The news has already been prepared. It will take some time for the surveillance footage to arrive, but we should have news soon..."

Mo Mumu and Lin Nian nodded quickly.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

Mo Mumu was upset and didn't want to speak, while Lin Nian looked around and didn't dare to speak.

Lee Byung-sung is aloof and never initiates conversation. He's not familiar with the two young people either. Actually, it wouldn't be a problem if they just stayed silent, but they are both Ranran's best friends...

Li Bingcheng coughed lightly, looking at Mo Mumu's worried face: "Don't worry, the country's greatest interest is always the people. They will definitely find Ranran within 24 hours. Our compatriots here are very efficient. I also quickly confirmed Ranran's safety through them before."

Mo Mumu caught the key word and frowned: "...Before?"

Speaking of this, Li Bingcheng wanted to thank Mo Mumu. He smiled faintly and said, "It was when you texted me saying that Ranran had been tricked out of school. I was in China at the time, and I didn't know anyone in London. If it weren't for the help from the embassy—"

"I sent you a message? I didn't." Mo Mumu asked in surprise, racking her brains:

"Didn't you give me your phone number at Ranran's school opening ceremony? Last month was the first time I contacted you, and you said she was abducted... I didn't even know you then, how could this be..."

Li Bingcheng was taken aback. He pondered Mo Mumu's words, and the more he thought about it, the colder his expression became...

Yes, he did give Mo Mumu his private phone number during Mu Yiran's freshman year opening ceremony, but the text message from five years ago was sent to his work phone number.

A work ID number isn't hard to get if you put your mind to it. Mo Mumu is a young lady of the Mo family, so this kind of thing is even easier for her. That's why he naturally assumed that it was a message for help from Mo Mumu.

He was too anxious at the time, and afterwards he was relieved that Mu Yiran was alright, so he didn't pay much attention to some details. But now that he thinks about it, neither the time that the text message was sent nor its content seemed like a distress message that a 15-year-old girl would send.

It's more like... informing him.

Seeing that Li Bingcheng was silent, Mo Mumu and Lin Nian exchanged nervous glances.

"Is something wrong? Could that person be the one who kidnapped Ranran? But why would they deliberately send out messages..."

Li Bingcheng pursed his lips. He didn't answer Mo Mumu immediately. He tapped his index finger lightly on the teacup twice, then looked up and called out to the door, "Zhan Jie."

Zhan Jie was his accompanying secretary. The man was standing guard at the door. Hearing the noise, he pushed the door open and asked, "Chairman Li, is there anything you need?"

“Call back and have someone take out my old cell phone from my study, give the SIM card to the people in the team, and have them check the number information of the text message sent from the UK in 2018.”

"The cardholder's information, the origin of the information, the more precise the better, get it to them as soon as possible, I need it now!"

"yes!"

Li Bingcheng's people are extremely efficient. In less than an hour, Zhan Jie had gathered the information and presented it to the three of them.

“Chairman Li, this number is a zombie number. The cardholder just passed away this month. I had someone check, and the person was in a vegetative state, lying in the hospital for seven years. It's unlikely that he sent the message. Also, the source of the text message is London…”

Lee Byung-seung asked in a deep voice, "London?"

"Uh...because it's been too long, the technical team can't be as precise anymore..."

While using Bluetooth, Zhanjie relayed what the technician said: "If this number is redialed, we can further confirm it by comparing electromagnetic waves."

Lee Byung-seung said with dissatisfaction, "Have you found out who is using this card now, and where they are using it?"

Zhan Jie broke out in a cold sweat. "This..." He didn't know how to answer when the technician on the other end of the headset suddenly called out.

"A call was made! This number! The message was sent from Bond Street, Zone 1, London...Guan Yi International Hospital?"

"Guan Yi?!"

Mo Mumu's eyelids twitched. She was all too familiar with this name. Wasn't this the family business of her mentor who said that "if a medical dispute occurs, you can only go back and inherit the family business"?