The masked man crossed his legs and said, "Haven't you thought about who the biggest beneficiary of Xu Lai's disappearance is? Of course, you'll suspect me first, so you'll naturally try to find me, and Zhan Jingting will naturally follow you to find me."
"...You mean, Xu Lai was kidnapped by Zhan Jingting."
The masked man remained noncommittal. "It seems your IQ has plummeted since you left me. Do you even know what kind of person Zhan Jingting is? When it comes to ruthlessness and cunning, he's no less than me. Xu Lai is nothing to him, isn't she?"
He Songling didn't believe it, "But Qiao Wanwan told me very clearly that they did not kidnap Xu Lai."
"You believe everything a woman says?" The masked man stood up, walked up to He Songling, and patted him on the shoulder. "Songling, you're really naive. I advise you to come back. Only by following me will your abilities have a place to be used."
"Could it be that Qiao Wanwan is lying to me?" He Songling still couldn't believe it. "How could that be? She doesn't seem like the type to be so good at pretending..."
"You actually believed that woman?" The masked man was speechless. "It's no wonder that an idiot like you would die at the hands of a woman."
He Songling composed himself, looked up at him, and said, "I will verify it, but if Xu Lai is in your hands, I won't let this matter go so easily!"
The masked man scoffed, "Fool, I'll wait and see how you prove me wrong..."
He Songling went ashore, returned to his rented room, and took out his phone to call Qiao Wanwan.
The call was connected for a while before Qiao Wanwan answered, "What is it?"
"Qiao Wanwan, you lied to me!" He Songling demanded. "Xu Lai is in your hands!"
Qiao Wanwan: "......"
"He Songling, do you have rabies? You're biting people indiscriminately?"
"You're still pretending!" He Songling roared. "Xu Lai trusted you so much, and I trusted you too, yet you've been deceiving me all along!"
Qiao Wanwan suddenly realized what was happening and asked, "You've met the mastermind, haven't you? He denied kidnapping Xu Lai, saying Xu Lai is in our hands? He Songling, you believe him?"
"You two are really alike, even your words are exactly the same." He Songling sneered. "But there's one thing he's right about: Xu Lai's disappearance benefits you the most. At first, you could mislead me to find him, but now that I know Xu Lai is in your hands, are you going to threaten me to reveal his identity, or even force me to kill him, huh?"
Qiao Wanwan's mind was a bit of a mess.
"Silence means consent?" He Songling gritted his teeth. "Qiao Wanwan, you truly are an actress; your acting skills are superb, and utterly despicable..."
Qiao Wanwan snapped out of her reverie and said coldly, "When it comes to being despicable, who can compare to your group? I have no obligation to explain to you. Like I said, if you're a smart person, you'll know what to do."
After Qiao Wanwan finished speaking, she hung up the phone and immediately went to Zhan Jingting's study. "Jingting, Xu Lai is in your hands, isn't she?"
Zhan Jingting stopped what he was doing, looked up at him, and asked, "He Songling called you?"
"Um."
"Yes," the man readily admitted. "I arranged for Xu Lai to be kidnapped and smuggled abroad. But don't worry, she's safe and sound; she's just temporarily out of her freedom."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Qiao Wanwan asked.
“To deceive He Songling, we naturally had to keep it from you first. Not only you, but even Jiang Dong didn’t know about this,” Zhan Jingting explained. “My original intention was to make He Songling suspect that the mastermind had kidnapped Xu Lai, so that He Songling would go to him. However, I overestimated He Songling. He spent so much time and still couldn’t find him.”
"He managed to escape my pursuit tonight and met with the mastermind at sea. He also learned that Xu Lai was not in the mastermind's hands, so he naturally called you immediately."
"So that's how it is..."
"Wanwan," Zhan Jingting stood up and walked to her, "Are you angry with me for hiding things from you?"
“How could I?” Qiao Wanwan said immediately. “Every decision you make is to catch the mastermind as soon as possible and to protect this family. How could I possibly blame you?”
"Thank you." Zhan Jingting smiled and patted her hair. "There are some things I really don't want you to know. For example, if it were you, you probably wouldn't have kidnapped Xu Lai."
"Your position inherently involves many things beyond your control, especially since you haven't harmed Xu Lai."
"Yes, she hasn't done anything to hurt us, so naturally I won't hurt her."
"Do you think He Songling would tell us the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes just so Xu Lai could find out?"
Zhan Jingting smiled faintly, "He understands you, he knows you won't kill innocent people indiscriminately, and he won't allow me to do so either, so he won't tell us."
Qiao Wanwan frowned. "So, it seems I've been manipulated by him."
“Your kindness is indeed easily taken advantage of, but it doesn’t matter. I have never placed my hopes on He Songling.”
"That's good."
“I will have Xu Lai sent back, but he will still be detained temporarily. At this time, I do not want He Songling to cause any more trouble.”
"Um."
......
A few days later, at the Wen family villa in the city.
Wen Lixuan was busy all day and didn't get home until after 10 p.m.
He poured himself a glass of water, drank it, and turned to look at the two bodyguards behind him. "It's getting late. You should both go back and rest. I'm going to the film set tomorrow morning. You can be here by seven o'clock."
"Yes, then we'll be going now."
After they left, Wen Lixuan turned off the lights and went upstairs.
He went to his room and was about to turn on the light when he suddenly felt a slight noise behind him!
Wen Lixuan frowned, immediately pulled a gun from his pocket, and turned around!
A dark figure appeared before him, grabbed Wen Lixuan's wrist, snatched the gun from his hand, and pressed it against his head!
"Young Master Wen's fighting skills are lacking..."
A chilling voice echoed in the dim light.
“I’ve never liked these things since I was a child, so it’s normal that I’m not good at fighting.” Wen Lixuan curled his lips and said calmly, “If you were the mastermind behind this, you could kill me now.”
"He's probably not in the mood to come looking for you right now, since you can't threaten Zhan Jingting with that."
"So you're not the mastermind?"
With a "click," the light was switched on.
Wen Lixuan saw the face in front of him clearly.
“You look familiar.” Wen Lixuan recalled for a moment, “I remember now, I saw your photo at Wanwan’s place, you are He Songling.”
"Exactly."
The two men stood facing each other, He Songling holding a gun pointed at his forehead. "Young Master Wen, excuse me, but I've come to ask for your help."
"Help?" Wen Lixuan smiled. "How can I help you?"
“You can’t threaten Zhan Jingting, but you can threaten Qiao Wanwan,” He Songling said. “My request is simple: call Qiao Wanwan now and ask her to come over, but don’t tell her I’m here.”
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