Zhan Jingting was taken aback, but he reacted in the next second and immediately got up and rushed into the master bedroom.

Qiao Wanwan had woken up and was sitting on the bed, staring in terror at a certain empty space, panting heavily.

"Wanwan, what's wrong?" Zhan Jingting sat on the edge of the bed, raised his hand to stroke her cheek, and felt cold sweat on it. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Qiao Wanwan's face was pale. "I dreamt of Zaozao, and she was begging me for help."

"I told you, she should be fine for now." Zhan Jingting hugged her. "Wanwan, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Trust me, okay?"

Qiao Wanwan leaned against his chest, her wildly beating heart gradually calming down. "Zaozao has always been in poor health. I used to have nightmares like this, dreaming that she was critically ill and was sent to the emergency room, but never came out again."

"Later, she recovered and was able to live like a normal person. I thought I would never have such a nightmare again, but I never expected it to come back..."

Qiao Wanwan looked up at the man's incomparably handsome face. "Jingting, Zaozao is very important to me, but you are more important. Promise me that if there is any danger, you must choose to protect yourself. We absolutely cannot let the enemy succeed!"

"I understand." Zhan Jingting kissed her forehead. "I know what to do. Trust me, okay?"

Qiao Wanwan nestled back into his arms. "Of course I believe you."

After Qiao Wanwan fell asleep again, Zhan Jingting got up to go to the balcony to pick up his phone, only to find that it was still on a call.

"Hello?"

"What's wrong with Wanwan?" Huo Shiqian asked hurriedly.

"I had a nightmare and I'm already asleep."

Huo Shiqian sighed silently, "She doesn't say it, but everyone can see that she's very worried about Zaozao."

"I know I will bring her back and I won't let Wanwan have any regrets."

"Please be extra careful, and everyone should come back safely."

"Um."

......

Two days later, the group quickly flew abroad and settled into a hotel after landing.

"Master Zhan." Jiang Dong knocked on the door, entered, and nodded to report, "The hotel has been booked, the monitoring room is under our control, and this floor is guarded by layers of bodyguards. No outsiders will be allowed to enter, so you can rest assured."

"We must keep a close eye on him," Zhan Jingting instructed. "If he gets kidnapped, we'll be at a disadvantage."

"Understood, Master Zhan, don't worry."

The chef was brought from Wutong Bay. After eating, Qiao Wanwan took a hot shower to wash away her fatigue.

She kept her phone with her 24/7, but she never received that call.

"That's strange." Qiao Wanwan couldn't help but wonder at breakfast the next day, "There are so many of us, and it's quite a big entourage, he couldn't possibly not know we've arrived, so why hasn't he called me yet?"

"No rush." ​​Zhan Jingting calmly served her porridge. "At this time, it's all about composure. Whoever gets anxious first will lose."

Qiao Wanwan nodded. "I'm a little worried about Zaozao. She's timid and has never experienced anything like this before. I'm afraid she might have a mental breakdown."

"This is a lesson she should learn herself," Zhan Jingting said coldly.

Qiao Wanwan said helplessly, "Actually, I don't want her to go out either, but it's for work, so there's no other way. Jingting, don't be angry. I'll talk to her when she comes back. Don't scold her; she's most afraid of you."

"I don't have the time to lecture her."

Qiao Wanwan smiled slightly. "That's good."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the phone rang beside him.

Upon seeing this, Qiao Wanwan immediately perked up, "Jingting, it must be him!"

Zhan Jingting turned on his computer and started working on it. "Answer."

Qiao Wanwan swiped to answer the call and put it on speakerphone, "Hello?"

"Madam Zhan, have you rested well?" The voice on the other end of the phone was still processed with a voice changer.

"You're quite considerate, letting me rest first." Qiao Wanwan smiled faintly. "I've brought the person. Tell me, when can we exchange them?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? Now that you're here, I'll certainly do my best to treat you well as a host."

Qiao Wanwan frowned. "I advise you not to try anything funny."

"You think I called you here specifically just to bring someone else back?" The other person laughed. "Madam Zhan, the show has only just begun."

Qiao Wanwan calmly said, "How is my sister? I need to talk to her, or I'm heading back to China immediately!"

"You're quite clever. Okay, I'll let you confirm."

"Sister!" Cheng Zaozao's voice came quickly from the other end of the phone, "Sister, don't worry about me! Come back to China! Don't worry about me!"

"Zaozao, don't be afraid!" Qiao Wanwan's heart clenched. "Sister will definitely save you. You must stay calm! Tell sister the date and time. I need to make sure you're really alright and not just recording!"

"Madam Zhan is indeed incredibly meticulous," the man's voice came again.

Immediately, Cheng Zaozao reported the date and time.

"Zaozao, are you alright?" Qiao Wanwan asked again.

"I...I'm fine..."

Hearing her voice, Qiao Wanwan sensed something was wrong and angrily said, "Listen to me! If you dare to hurt my sister, I will never let you get away with it!"

"You don't even know who I am, why won't you let me go?" The other party laughed loudly. "Speaking of which, you two really have a good relationship, daring to come together. Aren't you afraid I'll blow you up with a pack of dynamite?"

"Someone as arrogant as you, if you blew us up, wouldn't the game be over?" Qiao Wanwan said coldly. "So you definitely won't do that, but will play slowly."

"It seems that Madam Zhan is still my confidante. Then our game can officially begin." The other party said, "You personally lead the people to the seaside. I have prepared a boat for you there. Only the two of you can board the boat."

Qiao Wanwan said, "This is your territory. If I board the boat you prepared alone, it will be like a lamb entering a tiger's den. Even if I agree, my husband will not agree."

"Then you'll have no choice but to collect your beloved sister's body."

Qiao Wanwan smiled and said, "You don't need to threaten me. If it really comes to a fight to the death, I won't lose out. After all, your subordinates will also be buried with my sister."

The other person burst into laughter, "Interesting, very interesting. If I had known you were this funny, I should have invited you to play this game when I captured Zhan Jingting and your son. After all, they mean much more to you than your sister..."

Qiao Wanwan thought of the suffering Zhan Jingting and Xiao Jiu had endured, and hatred surged in her eyes, her emotions becoming more agitated. "Stop trying to sow discord between me and my sister. If you're a man, stop with these roundabout ways and just exchange them back. Then we can fight it out! What kind of skill is it for a man to kidnap a woman as a hostage? If you're so capable, let's do it openly!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, trying to use reverse psychology? Too bad, reverse psychology won't work on me at all. I am cunning and treacherous, I like to play games with you in the shadows, so what?" The voice, filtered through a voice changer, carried a sinister undertone. "Qiao Wanwan, I have to admit you're quite capable. You actually managed to exploit Wen Lijing's weakness of not wanting you to die, successfully obtaining the antidote to save Zhan Jingting. After all, I almost thought that you were destined to become Wen Lijing's woman that night..."