Suddenly, a pot was thrown at me.
Meng Jiuyi subconsciously replied, "...What do you mean?"
She tried to pull her hand back, but he held it firmly in his palm, preventing her from retreating an inch. Their eyes met at close range. The man's eyes were like black ink, as if to say, "Whether you have it or not, you don't know," his voice carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible, seductive quality.
"Since you're a regular customer, how about I give you a discount?"
"..." She's a regular customer, you idiot! She doesn't hire male prostitutes!
She took a deep breath, and couldn't help but take another deep breath.
"Cousin, are you really misunderstanding something? The fact that this group of people hasn't been found only means that there are still some who have slipped through the net."
Last time, Jiang Zhou's old eyesight failed him and he managed to stuff my photo into the box. Cousin, should we ask him if he's really found all the ship's crew members?
"If he delays your reunion with the other party, he won't be able to repay the debt even if he spends his whole life trying to find a matchmaker."
She turned around abruptly, her face no longer showing any trace of the helplessness or panic from before; she looked as innocent as a white plum blossom blooming openly in the wind.
Tan Yuchen squinted at her, his sharp eyes undiminished, but this time he released her hand.
Knowing she was still struggling, they called the manager in.
The manager was also a shrewd person. He immediately said that the kitchen staff and the female waitresses who were scheduled to take a break that night were indeed not included in the count. So he made a phone call, and in less than ten minutes someone brought him the files of all the internal employees and handed them to Meng Jiuyi to look through one by one.
The tablet this time contains the actual data of all the female employees in the customer service department.
Meng Jiuyi searched for a moment, then looked up at him in surprise.
"It seems quite a few things have been missed. What's going on with Jiang Zhou?"
A few wisps of smoke rose into the room. Tan Yuchen chuckled meaningfully, raised the hand holding the cigarette, and gestured for her to continue.
She looked down intently, her fingers occasionally tracing facial details, unaware that the man was watching her through the smoke, his eyes also veiled in a light mist, dark and unfathomable.
The fact that the lambs could run away and dig holes did nothing to deter the hunter's ambition; on the contrary, it fueled his irresistible urge, like chili oil splashed into a fire, making it burn even more fiercely.
She was willing to play along, so Tan Yuchen was naturally willing to risk his life to accompany her.
After searching for about twenty minutes, Meng Jiuyi turned the tablet over to show him.
It's her.
On the tablet was a small, fair-skinned face, but one that blended into the crowd.
Tan Yuchen, a cigarette dangling from his lips, smiled enigmatically. "Are you sure?"
Meng Jiuyi nodded.
He tapped his long, thin fingers lightly. "If things go wrong again, what excuse will A-Jiu have this time?"
"The person I bumped into is a fake. Does my cousin not plan to pay my salary?"
She was very good at turning the tables, and Tan Yuchen nodded slowly.
Knowing that she would remain stubbornly defiant until her head was chopped off, he ordered the manager to summon her immediately.
The result was obtained in just five minutes.
"This waiter is named Zheng Ya, 26 years old. He was someone we borrowed from ASEAN International Services Company because we were short-staffed for this banquet. We just called him and learned that he has already resigned and seems to be currently relaxing in Southeast Asia."
"We have been trying to reach him by calling his domestic number for a long time without getting a response, and we have no way to contact him yet."
Meng Jiuyi's eyelashes fluttered slowly twice as she looked at the man opposite her.
Meeting her gaze, Tan Yuchen's lips twitched slightly, revealing an ambiguous smile.
"So you were waiting for me here?"
"What?" she asked innocently.
First, play along with him and pretend to catch him in a trap, thinking he's about to be led astray, then turn the tables on him.
Tan Yuchen said, "Someone doesn't think she's safe just because she ran to Southeast Asia, does she? Even if she hides in the wilderness, I wouldn't mind blasting the mountain flat and turning it over to see if her mouth is as hard as Ajiu's."
His tone was slow and deliberate, yet each word seemed to strike her heart with force.
Meng Jiuyi's smile remained unchanged. "What do you mean, cousin? Do you think I've been in cahoots with her all along?"
Tan Yuchen chuckled, and this time he didn't engage in a verbal battle with her, but instead called Jiang Zhou over.
"It's one thing to get her back to China, but at the same time, we need to investigate everyone around her—her parents, siblings, friends, and colleagues. Since something so serious has happened, there should be a reason why no one noticed anything unusual."
The man spoke to someone else, but his dark eyes were fixed on Meng Jiuyi, watching her eyelashes flutter, and he couldn't help but look away.
"Also, ask her which shampoo she uses."
*
It was almost 11 o'clock when I disembarked. I thought that once I finished my business, I could go back to the city.
However, it wasn't by car that Meng Jiuyi left the dock; he walked up the slope for a while before realizing something was amiss.
"This doesn't seem to be the way back to Kyushu by car?"
The man turned to look at her, the sea breeze ruffling his tousled hair.
"You just use me and leave? What kind of person do you take me for?"
Meng Jiuyi: "......" Wasn't this how you always were?
She didn't know where she was going until she saw the unfathomable shoreline in the distance, where ultra-luxury yachts stood like white skyscrapers.
It wasn't as grand as she'd seen it online, but the orange-yellow light that made the several decks look like a palace still took her breath away.
This port was originally the private property of the Shen family. Because of this incident, Tan Yuchen took the opportunity to buy it. This yacht is not the largest among the yachts he sent a private team to manage, but it has the advantage of being extremely confidential.
After they got on the deck, Tan Yuchen handed her his hand.
"The wind is nice tonight, how about we go out to sea for a stroll?"
Meng Jiuyi didn't move, and said warily, "I want to take a car back."
"Once we leave this sea area, we'll reach Xinrui Port, which is closer to Kyushu. Besides, it's the middle of the night and it's pitch black, so driving while fatigued is harmful to your health."
Tan Yuchen's voice was low and casual, "You don't feel sorry for Jiang Zhou, but I do."
--
There will be another chapter later.
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