Chapter 74
Yan Tingxuan sat in the police station for a whole day, flipping through the thick stacks of police dispatch records, but he couldn't find any information about the You family, not even the names You Jiyuan and You Mian.
The iron railings cut the afternoon sunlight coming in through the window into strips, which fell on Yan Tingxuan's suit pants and felt warm to the touch.
Yan Tingxuan took off his glasses and pinched his nose bridge tiredly. Suddenly, the office door opened and a young policeman walked in holding a document in his hand. When he saw Yan Tingxuan, he exclaimed in surprise.
"Lawyer Yan, you haven't left yet?"
Yan Tingxuan placed the files neatly back on the desk, put on his glasses with a smile, and said, "I'm leaving now. There are a lot of files, so it took some time."
The policeman chuckled and said, "This is really hard work."
This didn't just take a little time, I actually sat here for the whole day.
As soon as Yan Tingxuan said hello and walked out of the police station, he received a call from the law firm's assistant.
The other side reminded him skillfully and straightforwardly as usual: "Lawyer Yan, Mr. Wang from Henghua Real Estate has a case, and the port has also received a case of breach of international transportation contract. I see that the cases on hand have been closed. Can I help you take these two?"
Although the assistant's tone was questioning, based on Yan Tingxuan's previous personality, the answer was affirmative.
But just as the assistant was about to stamp the call, Yan Tingxuan suddenly refused, "No, I'm busy these few days."
"ah?"
Yan Tingxuan heard the other end of the phone say, "Lawyer Yan, one of these two cases is worth over 10 million, and the other is an international transportation contract worth over 100 million. Are you really not going to take it?"
The impression Yan Tingxuan gave to everyone in the law firm was that everything had to give way to profit, and as long as the money was enough, his time could be divided into countless pieces.
But now this person actually took the initiative to push the money away and said he would not take it.
Yan Tingxuan clicked on the car navigation, pressed the words "Anxin Welfare Home", and refused again: "No, please help me to push it, or pass it to Lin Lu and others."
After hanging up the phone, Yan Tingxuan's mind was full of thoughts.
He had seen the marks of hemp rope on You Mian's body, as well as the purple bruises on the corners of his mouth.
In a kidnapping case, any phone call should leave a police report.
However, there was no trace of the You family in Huajiang City’s police records for the past fifteen years, so there was only one explanation - the You family never called the police on the kidnapping case. They chose to settle the matter privately and paid the ransom.
Yan Tingxuan frowned, stepped hard on the accelerator, and drove quickly towards the welfare home.
What else has he been kept in the dark about? How much has he hurt You Mian? What kind of accomplice has he become?
He needs to know it clearly.
Yan Tingxuan gripped the steering wheel tightly, and the veins on his neck bulged slightly.
——
The wind in the late autumn night is bleak and cool, and the bare tree trunks on the roadside are swaying gently in the moonlight.
You Mian stood in the high-rise sculpture room of the JL Building. In front of him was a wide sculpting platform, and there were bright lights all around his head.
Tomorrow is the deadline for the second round of the theme competition, and You Mian is concentrating on pouring the last step of plaster water.
The boy's headset was filled with gentle piano music, and Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier blocked out any sounds that might distract him.
You Mian's eyes were extremely serious. As the last layer of plaster water poured down, he pursed his lips lightly, and his long eyelashes trembled.
Just as he finished pouring, stood up and put the plastic bucket on the ground, and reached out to take off the headset and hang it around his neck, there was a knock on the door behind him.
Just three times, no more, no less, to provide a sufficient reminder and to be restrained and polite.
You Mian turned her head and saw Pei Huaiji, who was wearing a black suit, standing at the door of the sculpture room. The man lowered his eyes and glanced at his watch as he did every evening for more than a week, and reminded her, "It's time for dinner."
You Mian untied the gray apron in front of her and subconsciously paused the work in front of her.
This was very unusual for him before.
When You Mian first moved into the JL Sculpture Studio, she couldn't get used to Pei Huaiji calling people at designated locations.
Obviously, the other person looks more like a workaholic than him, and is also the kind of domineering president with stomach problems.
But the facts proved that these speculations were nothing more than You Mian's stereotypes about the position of president. Pei Huaiji not only did not have stomach problems, but also ate three meals a day on time. At six o'clock, someone would take the elevator to bring him dinner.
When You Mian used to stay alone in the sculpture studio of University A, he would often spend the entire day sculpting, and he would have simple bread and milk for lunch and dinner.
A week ago, You Mian thought that sooner or later he would not be able to stand Pei Huaiji's punch-in style of ordering meals, but he didn't expect that as time went by, he was the one who got used to following Pei Huaiji to eat at the appointed time.
Pei Huaiji made him feel hungry.
You Mian adjusted his gloves and just as he turned around to leave the sculpture room, he noticed the look Pei Huaiji was giving the sculpture table behind him.
He smiled and said, "It has just been poured with plaster water, so you can't see clearly what is carved."
Pei Huaiji quickly withdrew his gaze upon hearing this.
The two walked along the quiet corridor towards Pei Huaiji's office. The man said, "It doesn't look like a human sculpture."
You Mian's sculpture this time had many lines and a messy outline, which made it difficult for him to tell what it was.
You Mian narrowed his eyes mysteriously, "As long as it fits the theme."
Pei Huaiji opened the office door for him with gentle eyes. The lights in Vivian's office opposite were already off. This decisive woman had chosen to go downstairs to the cafeteria for dinner as early as the second night after You Mian moved in.
When You Mian first moved in, it caused quite a stir. The entire JL company internal group was discussing him, and the topic always revolved around You Mian's relationship with Pei Huaiji, as well as You Mian's exceptionally outstanding looks.
But everyone's enthusiastic gossip would always stop when Pei Huaiji glanced over.
More than a week passed, and their curiosity gradually subsided.
Because once You Mian sits in the sculpture room, he basically won't come out, let alone do anything that would cause other people to gossip.
Pei Huaiji's office is very large, with a huge floor-to-ceiling window facing him. Looking down from the window, you can see the bustling commercial center of Huajiang City.
You Mian sat on the sofa by the window in the office, with a three-layer food box of Shouxicheng already arranged in front of him.
You Mian's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Before, when Pei Huaiji asked him to come for dinner, they all served simple canteen meals. How come it was so luxurious tonight?
Pei Huaiji sat opposite him and said, "Tomorrow is the submission date for the Star Cup, so just relax tonight."
Pei Huaiji said this very seriously.
Because if You Mian's work location had not been placed in JL, he would never have imagined that You Mian was a person who could stay in the sculpture studio forever without moving.
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