Visitor
"It's a rare treat for President Yu to come and inspect in person, and I haven't had time to prepare anything." Ding Dayong said politely, while extending his hands and saying, "President Yu, if you don't mind, please come into my home."
In this small mountain village, he only owned a factory building and didn't even have a decent office to entertain VIPs. Few presidents of partner companies were willing to come over, so he could only invite people to his home for a visit.
“Of course.” Yu Xi said, raising her hand and slightly moving her slender white fingers. The accompanying personnel who came with her immediately went to unload the clothes and food from the vehicle.
"These are some things I brought for you. It's not much, but it's a small token of my appreciation."
Ding Dayong's face instantly lit up with a smile. "I'm already very happy that President Yu could come, and you've brought us all these things. I'm so sorry."
"President Yu, you must stay for lunch today. There may not be any delicacies in the village, but everything is grown by our own family, guaranteed to be green and fresh."
"Definitely." Yu Xi was still worried about the production of that batch of fabric and was determined to come and take a look herself.
Throughout their conversation, Chen Miao stood between Ding Dayong and Yu Xi, preventing Ding from getting any chance to approach Yu Xi.
"Sister, there's something wrong with this Ding Dayong." After sitting down in the main room of Ding Dayong's house, Chen Miao saw Ding Dayong turn around and go to the kitchen on the west side of the courtyard, and whispered in Yu Xi's ear.
Yu Xi arrived travel-worn, picked up the water glass on the table and took a swig, water droplets clinging to the corner of her lips. She looked up at him and asked, "What's wrong with him?"
[Ding Dayong may be involved in human trafficking!]
Chen Miao didn't say it directly, but instead opened their chat interface, typed something, and showed it to Yu Xi.
Yu Xi stared at the words on her phone screen, and the teacup in her hand slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground. With a 'bang,' shards of glass scattered at her feet, stirring up dust on the muddy ground.
The executive, Mr. Huang, quickly stood up and, with great tact, picked up a broom from the side. "Mr. Yu, are you alright? Please switch places with me, I'll clean up."
He was washing vegetables by the well in the yard when he heard the noise inside. He ran over without even drying his hands. "Is President Yu alright?"
Yu Xi shook her head and began to carefully examine the man in front of her. He had a kind face, thick lips, and dark skin. No one would associate such an honest-looking man with 'human trafficking'.
Ding Dayong snatched the broom from Huang, the executive, and bent down to sweep. "Executive Huang, you can sit here. I'll take care of this. We're guests, there's no reason for us to make guests do the work."
He straightened up and called out towards the west room, "Wife, someone's here. Help me cook."
The woman obediently lifted the curtain in front of the west room. When she saw Chen Miao and the others, she couldn't help but feel excited. But when her gaze fell on Ding Dayong, she immediately suppressed that emotion.
She wasn't as disheveled as when Chen Miao first saw her. Her hair was tied low behind her head, and despite it being the height of summer, she was wearing a clean cotton plaid shirt. When she timidly raised her head to look at Yu Xi sitting on the other side of the table, she almost instinctively rushed to her side, squatted down, and grabbed her arm.
She was still sobbing and trying to say something urgently. She stared at Yu Xi, shook her head frantically, and even used two fingers to gesture the action of taking steps to 'run'.
The moment she raised her arm, her sleeve slipped down, revealing a bruise on her wrist. Yu Xi's sharp eyes immediately noticed it, but she pretended not to see it, her face still showing a puzzled expression.
Seeing her gesturing incessantly around Yu Xi, Ding Dayong hurriedly cleaned up the broken glass on the floor, pulled her aside, and scolded, "Are you out of your mind again? You're acting crazy, trying to scare President Yu?"
Since everyone was there, he didn't lay a hand on her this time. He simply pulled the woman up, took her arm, and led her to the well. Pointing to the unwashed vegetables in the basin, he said, "Wash these vegetables. Behave yourself. I don't want to do anything to you in front of so many people."
He turned to the people sitting in the main room and smiled, "It's alright, the food will be ready soon."
Watching the woman obediently squatting on the ground washing vegetables, Yu Xi's silver-rimmed glasses gleamed coldly, and her dark eyes behind the lenses were unfathomable. She tapped her fingertips idly on the table.
Chen Miao picked up a stool and moved closer to her little by little until there was only a fist-sized gap between them, then he stopped moving the stool.
“This girl must have been tortured and verbally abused by Ding Dayong in private. The last time I saw her, she was even more disheveled than she is now, as if she had been locked up for a long time before she escaped.”
Chen Miao lowered his voice and spoke to her ear.
Just as he was about to say something more, Huang, the senior executive, pulled him up and said in a low but urgent voice, "Are you crazy? That's President Yu. How dare you talk to her like that?"
"And... and you even call her 'sister'? Do you know what you're doing?"
Yu Xi is usually quiet and efficient at work. When she gets busy, she is a workaholic. Even in the days after Meng Chou passed away, she still came to work without any sadness, as if she was not affected at all.
Everyone privately calls her a cold and aloof CEO, undoubtedly a powerful businesswoman.
Chen Miao smiled and said, "Of course I know what I'm doing. I'm just using a metaphor to describe her as a younger sister, so it's not an exaggeration to call her 'older sister'."
Executive Huang chuckled, then suddenly became serious. "I advise you to put away your little schemes. Over the years, countless people have tried every means to get close to President Yu."
"Young people who have just entered the workforce should be more down-to-earth and stop thinking about taking shortcuts and marrying rich women."
Chen Miao rolled her eyes at him, "Why do you always think about interpersonal relationships in that way, just like that annoying guy?"
Meng Yun's face involuntarily appeared before his eyes. He pushed him away and returned to Yu Xi's side.
In the current situation, Ding Dayong is a ticking time bomb, and he doesn't want Yu Xi out of his sight.
The mountain roads are difficult to traverse, and the signal is poor. If something were to happen, even if rescue arrived, Ding Dayong would have ample time to escape. Moreover, based on his guess, everyone in this village was probably on the same page as Ding Dayong.
After a quick lunch, the group agreed to go to the factory at four o'clock in the afternoon to check on the restarted production line.
With a few hours to spare, Yu Xi, led by the driver, arrived at the place where Chen Miao and the others were resting for a short break.
"Sister, let's go to that room, it's cool there." Chen Miao opened the door to her room for her, her thoughtfulness evident in her actions.
What he said wasn't wrong. In the rural areas, the self-built earthen houses were indeed cool in the inner room after being exposed to the sun. The only downside was that the windows were too small, so even during the day, the room was dimly lit.
"The sheets and everything are clean. Mr. Yu can take a nap if he wants."
Huang, the executive, didn't stop her. The temperature in Chen Miao's room was always lower than his. Given the limited conditions, he naturally thought of giving her the better room first.
"No need, I don't have the habit of taking a lunch break." Yu Xi found a chair in the room and sat down, waving for Chen Miao to come over. "Is everything you said true?"
"Is there any concrete evidence, or video footage of Ding Dayong assaulting someone?"
Chen Miao shook his head, then looked at Huang, the senior executive standing at the door, wanting to speak, but the words stuck in his throat.
The latter immediately understood, turned around and left, saying, "Then I won't bother you any longer, Mr. Yu. Call me anytime if you need anything."
Yu Xi nodded. Chen Miao only dared to speak after he closed the door: "There is no evidence, but I am certain that Ding Dayong has a history of trafficking women."
"The victim... the victim is no longer alive."
Yu Xi didn't know how he knew these things, but her heart told her that the person in front of her could be trusted, and her heartbeats grew heavier.
Whenever she faced Chen Miao, her dormant heart would unconsciously come alive again, always making her want to follow him.
"The victim's remains are under the jujube tree next to the well in Ding Dayong's house."
Yu Xi frowned, her face instantly darkening. She never imagined that these kinds of scenes, which she had only ever seen in TV dramas, would one day appear in her own life and be so close to her.
Her fingertips clenched tightly in her palms as she suppressed her anger and calmly analyzed the situation: "If we dig up that skeleton and take it to the police station, Ding Dayong's crime will definitely be established."
"The key now is to rescue the girl he has been abusing before he can carry it out."
Chen Miao got up and paced back and forth in the room. "Ding Dayong has always kept a close eye on her. I've never seen her go out alone before. What kind of excuse should we come up with to take her out?"
He stroked his chin, deep in thought, when he heard Yu Xi shout, "Ah—"
Chen Miao immediately turned his head and saw Yu Xi rush over and hug him tightly.
Almost instantly, Chen Miao looked down at the person in his arms in disbelief. The unique citrus scent emanating from her wafted over him. Even though he hadn't been drinking, it had thrown him into a daze, leaving his mind blank.
Her heart was so close to his that he could clearly hear Yu Xi's heartbeat.
Hearing the commotion, Executive Huang rushed over. The moment he opened the door, he saw this ambiguous scene. His mouth moved faster than his brain, and he asked worriedly, "President Yu, what happened?"
Yu Xi pointed to the gap beside the bed, "There's... there's a mouse, a really big one."
"Oh... oh, I'll help you get rid of it." He walked slowly toward the place Yu Xi pointed to, stiff as a mummy.
After realizing she was hugging Chen Miao, Yu Xi immediately let go of him, brushed a stray hair behind her ear, and said softly, "I'm sorry."
She fled the room as if escaping, leaving Chen Miao alone in that warm embrace, still unable to react.
Watching Yu Xi's hasty retreat, he couldn't help but chuckle. But when he turned and glanced at Huang, the senior executive, who was still frantically searching for the mouse, a sense of displeasure slowly rose in his heart.
Light bulb!
You're such a bother!
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