Chapter 78
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu knew that something had indeed happened. It must be that Attorney Li had said something to Chairman Xu, so she put away her gaze and her wild thoughts.
"Chairman Xu, to be honest, I know nothing about this except for the documents. Attorney Li even told me not to open them to see what's inside."
Xu Wanyi wasn't too surprised to hear this; she had expected this outcome. Li Ye was that kind of person; she didn't want those around her to be implicated, so she certainly wouldn't tell everyone the details.
"In all the years you've worked with Attorney Li, have you encountered similar situations? How did she resolve them?"
Jiang Yu thought for a long time. Tricky things were not uncommon in their work. However, the most difficult ones were handled by Attorney Li himself. The team members did not really participate much. Firstly, they could not really help much, and secondly, many of these things were not black and white. The fewer people who knew, the better.
"For example, those that require strong government relations?" Feng Jing handed Jiang Yu a cup of coffee.
"Well, there really was such an incident, it happened several years ago. At that time, we had a client who wanted to develop a real estate project in Linzhou, but who knew that one of the industry giants had already set its sights on that land, causing a huge uproar. Not to mention the behind-the-scenes dealings, they almost came to blows openly."
"Linzhou?" A glint flashed in Xu Wanyi's eyes. Linzhou was not far from Yuzhou. Officials who could govern Linzhou could very likely extend their influence to Yuzhou.
"How so?"
"I don't really know the specifics. I only had dinner with Attorney Li once. I remember a few people at the dinner, including a woman who looked... well, I think she said something like, 'I can handle this.'"
As Jiang Yu recalled, she originally wanted to say "a great beauty," but then she suddenly remembered what Feng Jing had told her a few days ago: "Chairman Xu moved into Lawyer Li's house..." and swallowed those words.
"What does it look like?" Chairman Xu is Chairman Xu; he can grasp the key points just by listening to one ear.
"Huh? What? Did I say something? Mr. Xu, you must have misheard me." Jiang Yu started to play dumb, knowing she couldn't add insult to injury for Attorney Li at this point.
"Do you remember who that person was and how to contact them?" Xu Wanyi didn't dwell on this question with Jiang Yu; they could discuss it later.
Jiang Yu racked her brains again, thinking, "I really don't remember, Chairman Xu. There was no self-introduction session at all that night. I went in and came out knowing how much I knew from the beginning to the end of the meal."
"Your lawyer, Li, is so kind to people."
Jiang Yu couldn't tell whether the words were a performance or a criticism, so she could only continue to play dumb, remaining silent and giving Feng Jing a pleading look.
Feng Jing immediately replied with a look: There's nothing I can do either, good luck to you.
"However, it seems that person wrote their contact information on one of Attorney Li's cards. Let me think." Jiang Yu was afraid that Xu Wanyi would get angry, so she racked her brains and actually remembered something.
"We were taking a plane after dinner that day, so we brought our luggage..."
“Nameplate. Right?” Xu Wanyi still had the same expression, but her tone seemed to have improved.
"Yes!" Jiang Yu slapped her thigh. "How did you know, Chairman Xu? Yes, yes, it's that nameplate hanging on the suitcase."
"How did I know?" Xu Wanyi thought to herself. Li Ye's habit had remained unchanged for decades. Not only did she like to buy all kinds of nameplates, but she also liked to write anything she wanted on them, such as her favorite ancient poems, an English sentence, a person's name, or a place name. She would just hand them over to someone else to write.
So, Xu Wanyi wasn't surprised at all that her nameplate had a phone number on it.
However, it's obvious that this happened several years ago, and the possibility of that number still existing is extremely small. Leaving aside the nameplate itself, even whether the suitcase is still there is a question. But whatever, finding this person is crucial to rescuing Li Ye, and Xu Wanyi won't let go of any hope, no matter how small.
"Okay, I understand. You guys go ahead and get busy. I'll handle the rest."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Okay, Mr. Xu."
After seeing Jiang Yu off, Feng Jing returned. The evening sunlight shone directly into the office, casting a beautiful, serene silhouette of Xu Wanyi, and bathing the entire space in a warm, golden light.
"Chairman?"
"What's wrong?" Hearing this, Xu Wanyi raised her head and woke up from her reverie.
"Are you really going to go find that woman?" Feng Jing understood Xu Wanyi's intentions, which is why he rarely took the initiative to bring up the chairman's intentions.
"Over the years, we've weathered many storms and navigated them with utmost caution..."
“Yes, I understand, Feng Jing. I know it’s irrational to do this, but I don’t want her to go to that kind of place alone, and I don’t want her to…” Xu Wanyi stopped halfway through her sentence, as if she had fallen into nostalgia for the past.
Feng Jing understood immediately from the chairman's expression, so he stopped talking, silently withdrew, and closed the door.
Feng Jing had witnessed how the chairman had risen to where she was today step by step over the years. Many times, the chairman showed no mercy and eliminated anyone or anything that might disrupt the plan or hinder the achievement of the goal with ruthless methods.
When it came to Attorney Li, the ironclad rule surprisingly became an exception, which, to be honest, shocked Feng Jing. She had originally thought that the chairman had taken a liking to Attorney Li on a whim, like keeping a gigolo. But now, it seemed that the chairman and Attorney Li had a longer history than she had imagined, and their relationship was deeper than she had thought.
Xu Wanyi stayed in the office for a little while longer. Having been away for over half a month, no matter how hard she tried to work online, a considerable amount of work still piled up that required in-person processing. She signed the necessary documents, then called Feng Jing in to review the key milestones of some important projects. After finishing all this, she turned off her computer screen, closed her laptop, grabbed her bag, and hurriedly headed out.
"Chairman, would you like me to give you a ride?"
"No need. Keep an eye on this side. I'll handle this myself. Remember to tell them what I just told you. Make sure the project doesn't go wrong, and discuss things with Lin Hong as much as possible."
"OK."
Xu Wanyi, wearing high heels, went straight to the garage and drove the car towards Li Ye's house without hesitation. "Since you wrote it on the nameplate, I'll go find the trinkets you've collected. I hope you still have this wicked hobby."
This time, she navigated the route with ease, as if returning to her own home. Xu Wanyi parked the car, took the elevator, opened the door, and walked into Li Ye's bedroom without stopping. She hadn't seen any place outside that resembled a nameplate or where a nameplate might be kept, so she reasonably suspected that even if the item existed, Li Ye must have hidden it somewhere.
The only place in Li Ye's house she hadn't been to during this time was Li Ye's bedroom. Upon opening the door, Xu Wanyi was taken aback; the style of this bedroom was completely opposite to the one next door! She remembered that Li Ye's things used to be very neat and tidy, arranged very properly. How come it's like this now?
The sheets and duvet cover were clean and even smelled like soap, but they were incredibly wrinkled, obviously because they hadn't been tidied up since they got up. Clothes were scattered all over the floor, mixed with several open books. There was a wooden chest of drawers against the wall, with a bunch of random things on top. This style... why does it look so familiar?
Xu Wan suddenly realized, wasn't this exactly her style from ten years ago...?
She didn't have time to think it through. First, she searched through all the drawers of the dresser, but couldn't find it. Then she searched the bedside table, but still nothing. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and she couldn't help but feel irritated.
Xu Wanyi sat on the ground and said with a wry smile, "The hope was already very small, so why get upset?"
She simply lay down on the ground, Li Ye's clothes beside her face, emanating a warm, sunny scent. "Li Ye, you have to tell me how to contact that person? Otherwise, how can I save you?"
Xu Wanyi lay there, watching the last rays of the setting sun disappear into the horizon. The streetlights outside had turned on at some point. A gentle breeze swept in, and the swaying shadows of the trees were cast onto the walls of the room. Following the swaying shadows, Xu Wanyi glanced sideways and saw a corner.
The walk-in closet! How could she forget the walk-in closet! She had a preconceived notion that the nameplate from a few years ago had long been put away, so she searched through the drawers. What if it was still in use?
Xu Wanyi quickly got up and walked into the dressing room next door. When she turned on the light, it was as bright as day. Li Ye's dressing room was very large, but the clothes were very simple and not many. The style here was completely different from the outside. Looking at it like this, Xu Wanyi almost began to suspect that Li Ye might have schizophrenia.
She opened one of the wardrobes, and at the bottom was a row of suitcases, arranged neatly from largest to smallest. Xu Wanyi took them out one by one and examined them carefully; each suitcase was bare, without any nameplates!
Xu Wanyi thought for a moment. Li Ye was very secretive now, so she probably put the things in the boxes. So she opened the boxes one by one. Most of the boxes were empty. A few boxes contained some small things in a mess, such as papers, pens, and small tags. There were no nameplates. Could it be that she has changed her mind?
Just as she was about to close the last box, Xu Wanyi suddenly noticed a small, familiar item in the hidden compartment. She took it out, and two lines of tears instantly streamed down her face. It was a small pendant she had given to Li Ye years ago, with a design of the Yasaka Shrine on it. She had bought it for Li Ye on a whim when she traveled to Kyoto.
Li Ye left in a hurry back then, and it could be said that he didn't take anything with him, but unexpectedly, he secretly left behind this little thing. Xu Wanyi held the small buckle tightly, which strengthened her determination to contact that woman.
Just when she was about to fall asleep, someone handed her a pillow. She turned the little thing over and saw a string of numbers written on the back. What else could it be but a phone number? Besides the phone number, there was also a blurry character for "day," as well as the year and address. This person must be writing "I was here"! How dare they give the gift I gave them to another woman to write "I was here"? Li Ye, you're something else. Just wait until you get out, you'll be sorry.
Xu Wanyi was feeling both happy and annoyed at this moment.
Immediately, she took out her phone and dialed the number. The phone rang a few times, and just when Xu Wanyi thought no one would answer, a full female voice rang out: "Hello, who is this?"
Xu Wanyi didn't say anything, hung up the phone, and then called Feng Jing, "Feng Jing, help me look up this phone number."
The reason Xu Wanyi hung up the phone was that she felt a strange sensation. First, she felt that Li Ye would not treat such an important person so lightly. Second, she suddenly realized that if she called him directly, he might refuse.
She sat on the carpet in the dressing room, looking around. Two simple ceiling lights on the ceiling shone brightly, and the wardrobes on both sides were matte black, which, when illuminated by the lights, presented a rare texture.
Xu Wanyi pondered for a moment, then turned her attention to the bottom row of cabinets, where there was one last thing that hadn't been opened—a safe.
She had considered opening it earlier, but she figured Li Ye wouldn't put a nameplate in a safe. Besides, the significance of a phone number lies in the person answering the call, not the number itself. But now things were different. Xu Wanyi squatted down next to the safe and started pressing the keypad without thinking. Just as she finished pressing the last digit, the door clicked open.
Xu Wanyi didn't know what to say. Did Li Ye have any sense of confidentiality or not? It was one thing to use her phone, but to use her birthday for the safe? But no matter what, Xu Wanyi felt an indescribable sweetness in her heart, only now this sweetness was mixed with a bit of bitterness because of Li Ye's situation.
She rummaged through the safe for a while, and sure enough, it was a lawyer. The safe contained important things: property deeds, spare car keys, keypads, and so on. Finally, she found a stack of documents containing background information on some people, some of which even had official seals. She wondered where Li Ye had gotten them.
Finding this woman's information was easy, because among this stack of papers, there was only one woman, and her name contained the character "Tian" (天). Her information was short, only two pages long, but there wasn't a single word of nonsense.
Xu Wanyi quickly finished reading and had a general impression in her mind: "Cen Ruotian, a native of Yuzhou, is an orphan. His only living relative is his younger sister, Cen Ruoshi, who became unable to walk due to a car accident ten years ago and currently lives in Beifeng Sanatorium..."
This sanatorium is located in a picturesque mountain forest not far from the city on the west side of Haixi. The cost is quite high and not something that ordinary people can afford.
This is the breakthrough!
Xu Wanyi immediately called Feng Jing again, "Go check if there is a person named Cen Ruoshi at Beifeng Sanatorium." It was late at night, and Xu Wanyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
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