"Where are you now?" Yu Muqing pinched the bridge of her nose, her tone impatient: "If there's nothing else, go back to the company."

Qiao Chen glanced at his phone; it was almost time to board, but Xiao Xin was still nowhere to be seen.

He glanced at Xiao Lin, who was sitting quietly in the wheelchair, and replied to Yu Muqing, "I have something to attend to here."

Hearing this, Yu Muqing became even more anxious. "What do you want?"

Qiao Chen sensed the annoyance in his tone and smiled, "My affairs have nothing to do with President Yu, right?"

Yu Muqing was speechless. He wiped his face and sighed, "Go back to the company now, I'm begging you."

Qiao Chen's smile deepened. "Rare indeed."

Yu Muqing rarely asked him for favors, so it was obvious that she had something urgent to attend to.

Qiao Chen's voice trailed off with a laugh, which made Yu Muqing even angrier. "At the company's shareholders' meeting, a bunch of people are clamoring to see you. Are you coming or not?"

Qiao Chen guessed that something must have gone wrong on Fu Yan's side, so he immediately stopped smiling and simply replied, "Wait."

After saying that, he hung up the phone and immediately called Xiao Xin.

＊

The dilapidated building was overgrown with weeds, and Xiao Xin's cell phone, which he had tossed aside in the corner, kept ringing.

Several children were playing games not far away. One of the boys heard the commotion and walked over towards the sound of a cell phone ringing.

The little boy picked up the phone from the ground. Seeing that the phone kept lighting up, he curiously pressed the answer button and said "hello" into the phone.

Qiao Chen was still a little dazed when he heard the clear child's voice. He glanced at the number to make sure he hadn't dialed the wrong number before continuing, "Excuse me, who owns this phone..."

The little boy politely replied, "Excuse me, brother, I found this phone."

He had barely finished speaking when he saw three menacing-looking men walking towards him, muttering as they went, "Where did that brat lose his phone?"

The little boy instinctively wanted to get away from the group of people, so he backed up against the wall.

Qiao Chen noticed the phone suddenly went silent and asked in surprise, "Hello, are you still there?"

The little boy, holding his phone, shushed him and whispered, covering his mouth, "Be quiet, there's a bad guy."

Qiao Chen realized something was wrong; Xiao Xin's lost phone was no accident.

"Okay, we'll talk when you're safe." He deliberately lowered his voice, afraid of startling the other person.

The little boy hid in the shadows, his eyes fixed on the group of people. The group searched very superficially, and when they didn't see the little boy hiding, they turned and walked away after finding nothing.

After everyone had left, the little boy lowered his hand from his mouth and spoke again into the phone: "Those people are gone, you can speak again now."

“I’m a friend of the phone’s owner. Have you seen the owner of the phone?” Qiao Chen asked.

Little boy: "No, but I can keep your phone safe for you, brother."

“Okay, tell your brother the address,” Qiao Chen said.

He felt a vague unease, sensing that something had happened to Xiao Xin, and that the incident occurred right where the phone had been lost.

The little boy immediately gave an address and then briefly introduced himself: "My name is Fu Xinyu. Call me when we arrive, brother."

Qiao Chen agreed and hung up the phone, immediately calling the police.

He then handed Xiao Lin to his assistant, took the car keys, and prepared to drive back to the company himself.

Xiao Lin looked in the direction Qiao Chen had left, hesitant to speak, but before he could ask a question, Qiao Chen was already gone.

＊

On the way to Rose Street, Fu Yan felt as if his heart had sunk to the bottom of the sea, with turbulent waves surging beneath the silent surface.

He suppressed his inner unease, his mind somewhat dazed, and he almost ran through red lights several times.

Fu Yan did not call the police. The other party told him not to bring anyone with him, so he dismissed his bodyguards, turned off his phone, and drove to the designated location according to the navigation.

Passing by the alley where he used to live, memories of living there with Xiao Xin surged up instantly, screaming wildly in his mind as if to devour him.

Fu Yan shook his head, trying his best to stay sober.

He drove to a relatively deserted area with no surveillance cameras around, and a dilapidated building in the distance looked alarming.

Withered grass grew on both sides of the road, and the cold wind added a touch of desolation.

Fu Yan left in a hurry, without even bringing a coat, wearing only a simple white shirt.

He loosened his tie and wrapped it around his right hand, looking ready for battle at any moment.

He walked along the path into the building, and a group of children playing in the distance caught his attention.

Fu Yan glanced in that direction and met the gaze of a little boy with big eyes.

When Fu Xinyu saw Fu Yan, his expression of surprise instantly dimmed when he saw Fu Yan's indifferent face.

I thought it was the person who made the call, but it seems it wasn't.

Fu Yan ignored the little boy and quickened his pace as he walked along the path into the building.

Two people stood on either side of the gate.

The man was leisurely smoking when he looked up and saw Fu Yan. He raised his hand to greet him, but a strong force grabbed his wrist, and his nasal cavity was suddenly hit by a huge impact. A dull pain mixed with the smell of blood spread through his nasal cavity.

"Ugh." The man covered his blood-filled nose, bent over, unable to utter a sound from the pain.

The other person turned his head and saw his companion's face covered in blood, pointing at Fu Yan with resentment: "You..."

Fu Yan, expressionless, pinched his fingers and twisted them upwards forcefully.

"Ahhhhh! It hurts—"

A piercing pain spread from his fingertips to the depths of his heart, and the man howled in agony, "It hurts, let go..."

Fu Yan glanced down at him and asked in a cold voice, "Where is Xiao Xin?"

The man raised his other hand and pointed to the brown wooden door: "Inside, inside."

Fu Yan released his hand and kicked him away, saying, "Take me there."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!