“Don’t worry.” He Songling held her cold hand. “I’m prepared. I’ll find a way to make them let us go.”

"What method?" Xu Lai asked.

"Don't get involved." He Songling clearly had no intention of telling her. "Besides, not now. Right now, they're fighting like the snipe and the clam, and we can't get involved, or we'll definitely become cannon fodder."

"Lai Lai," He Songling gazed into her eyes, "trust me, okay?"

Xu Lai nodded slightly.

......

Qiao Wanwan didn't ask Zhan Jingting about He Songling's affairs. Zhan Jingting seemed to be quite busy these past two days, leaving early in the morning and working late into the night. The two of them didn't have much time together to begin with, so there was no need to waste time talking about these things.

Qiao Wanwan was busy taking care of her child and only managed to find time to visit Xu Lai two days later.

"You look much better," Qiao Wanwan said with a smile. "I asked the kitchen to prepare some bird's nest; please try it."

Xu Lai was flattered and grateful. "Thank you, Madam Zhan."

"You're welcome, please eat."

The two sat down at the small table, and Xu Lai tasted a bite of bird's nest. "It tastes very good."

"If you like, I'll have the kitchen send you a bowl every day."

"No need, no need," Xu Lai hurriedly said. "This is very expensive, don't spend the money."

"Xiao Qian, the kitchen prepares this for me every day anyway, so it won't make a difference if you have one more bowl."

"Thank you."

“My husband kidnapped you and sent you abroad. You must have been terrified,” Qiao Wanwan said. “If you need any compensation, just let me know.”

“Madam Zhan, please don’t say that,” Xu Lai said. “Everything happened because of He Yu… He Songling was in the wrong first, which I can understand. Besides, Master Zhan didn’t hurt me. Actually, I was just locked in a hotel room. The environment was quite nice, and the food and drinks were very good.”

"That's good, but no matter what, I'm sorry to have startled you." Qiao Wanwan thought for a moment and said, "After all these things have settled down, I will give you some money as compensation for your lost work time."

"Madam Zhan, there's no need."

"This is what I should give you, so please don't be shy."

"Thank you." Xu Lai hesitated for a moment before saying, "I already spoke to He Songling a couple of days ago, telling him to turn back before it's too late."

"Whether he comes back or not is not important to me," Qiao Wanwan said calmly. "Even if He Songling doesn't say anything, my husband can still find out who's behind this."

“I know Zhan Ye’s capabilities, which is why I’m even more eager for him to seize the opportunity to expose that person. Maybe you can spare his life.” Xu Lai looked at her. “However, he said he has another plan that can make you let him go.”

"Yeah?"

Xu Lai's face suddenly turned pale. "Madam Zhan, he wouldn't do something so heinous again, would he?"

"If he dares to do anything to us, he's asking for trouble and there's no saving him."

Xu Lai looked worried. "Since he said that, you'd better be careful."

"Don't worry, we will."

"Knock knock knock".

There was a sudden knock on the door. The bodyguard went to open it and returned to report, "Madam, Miss Zaozao wants to see you and is waiting for you in the living room."

"Okay," Qiao Wanwan said to Xu Lai. "You get some rest, I'm leaving now."

"Please take care, Madam Zhan."

Qiao Wanwan entered the living room and saw Cheng Zaozao sitting on the sofa playing iPad with Shiyi.

"Good morning."

"Sister, where did you go? I can't find you anywhere."

The rest of the family was unaware of He Songling and Xu Lai's affair in Wutong Bay, so Qiao Wanwan didn't mention it.

"Let's wander around a bit." Qiao Wanwan sat down on the sofa. "Did you need something?"

"Hmm." Cheng Zaozao handed the iPad to Eleven. "Sis, I've got a live stream invitation from a big streamer tomorrow, and I want to go."

"Is it absolutely necessary to go?" Qiao Wanwan frowned slightly. "You know the current situation in Wutong Bay. Everyone is staying home unless absolutely necessary."

"Sis, my exposure is too low right now, I have to seize this opportunity to make my face known." Cheng Zaozao explained, "I'm different from you. Even if you retire, people will still remember your face. I'm just average-looking. There are so many beautiful women in the entertainment industry, I'll soon be swept away by the new wave like the old one."

"Sis, I'll definitely be careful. Look, I went to the press conference last time, and everything was fine. I came back safe and sound."

Since it concerned Cheng Zaozao's career, Qiao Wanwan had no choice but to consider it and could only say, "Alright then, I'll talk to Jiang Dong and ask him to arrange someone to protect you, but remember, you absolutely cannot leave your side. I will ask Jiang Dong to arrange a female bodyguard for you, even if you go to the restroom, someone must accompany you, understand?"

"I understand, thank you, sis. I will be extra careful."

......

The following evening, Cheng left early, accompanied by her bodyguards.

Qiao Wanwan didn't go with them, but she watched Cheng Zaozao's live stream at home.

After the live broadcast ended, Cheng Zaozao did not linger outside and immediately returned to Wutong Bay, which finally put Qiao Wanwan at ease.

She specially prepared a late-night snack, waiting for Cheng to come back early so they could eat together.

"What's wrong?" Qiao Wanwan noticed that Cheng Zaozao didn't look well. "Are you tired from the long live stream?"

"I haven't worked in a long time, so I'm a little tired," Cheng Zaozao said with a smile. "Sis, if this keeps up, I'll become lazy."

"How could that be? You're the most diligent." Qiao Wanwan took a sip of porridge and said, "Zaozao, you don't need to be too anxious. In the entertainment industry, beauty is certainly important, but you are an actress, and it's more important to hone your acting skills. Beauty will eventually fade, and only superb acting skills that bring characters to people's hearts are true success. As long as you are willing to work hard, you will not become a thing of the past."

"Sister, I understand. Don't worry, I'm in a good mood and won't overthink things." Cheng Zaozao smiled and put some food on her plate. "Eat more."

"You should eat more too."

"Hmm." Cheng Zaozao asked while eating, "Sister, I heard that He Songling and his girlfriend are both in Wutong Bay, is that true?"

Qiao Wanwan smiled slightly. "Who told you that?"

"That's what the bodyguard said."

"Jingting doesn't allow me to get involved in these things, so I don't know much about it."

"You don't even know?" Cheng Zaozao asked in surprise. "You're the mistress of Wutong Bay. You should be informed of whoever comes to your house immediately."

“Jingting has his own plans for doing things. There are some things he doesn’t want to tell me, and I won’t pry into it.”

"I see." Cheng Zaozao nodded. "Sister, I really don't understand the way husband and wife get along."

"If you want to understand, it's simple," Qiao Wanwan said with a smile. "Find someone to date and marry, and you'll understand quickly."

Cheng Zaozao gave a forced smile. "I'm not as lucky as my sister."

"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's eat and go to bed early."

"good."

Qiao Wanwan had little appetite and returned to the master bedroom after drinking a couple of sips of porridge.

Zhan Jingting had already washed up and was sitting on the bed, working on his phone.

Seeing Qiao Wanwan enter, he looked up at her and asked, "What's wrong? Why do you look so tired?"