"I went out to handle some personal matters, was there anything important?" Qin Tianyi asked, sitting up straight.
Xiao Anjing said, "You forgot you had an interview scheduled with a reporter from Elite Magazine this morning?"
Qin Tianyi remembered, indeed there was. He said, "I forgot. Please convey my apologies to them and reschedule."
Xiao Anjing was speechless. His phone had been unreachable all morning, and the magazine people had arrived and were waiting for him. By noon, he still hadn't returned.
He had no choice but to tell the magazine staff that he had a last-minute important business negotiation and couldn't make it back to the group, and they would have to reschedule.
"You went to find Miss Gu yourself again?" Xiao Anjing guessed this was the reason.
"I had a lead, but it went cold."
Xiao Anjing didn't want to pry, but seeing his recent state – either lost or absent-minded – he advised, "Stop worrying about Miss Gu's affairs. It's fine if she's gone. Whether she ran away after a conflict with Yang Sijie or not, it has nothing to do with you. Think about Yang Sijie's background. He hasn't come looking for trouble with us, so we should count ourselves lucky. What good would it do if you found Miss Gu? Can we go head-to-head with him with our current strength?"
Qin Tianyi already had a headache, and hearing this made it worse. He changed the subject, "I heard Shu Yan was sent to her hometown by the Shu family. Find someone to keep an eye on her. I'm afraid they'll try some tricks after the child is born. If the child she's carrying is born, a DNA test will definitely not show it's mine. Shu Yan going to the countryside to give birth, she might play some dirty tricks again."
Upon hearing this news, Xiao Anjing was also a bit surprised. It seemed Madam Shu still didn't trust him. He genuinely wanted to help Shu Yan, to prevent her from becoming a single mother and a laughingstock.
"Alright, I understand. I won't let them play any more tricks that could affect our group's reputation." With that, he left Qin Tianyi's office.
The office became quiet. Qin Tianyi's phone rang.
He answered, and the person on the other end said, "Mr. Qin, the Miss Gu you're looking for had a bank account opened in Lancheng. Recently, there have been several withdrawal records. It seems she stayed in Lancheng previously, but the most recent withdrawal record was from an ATM in Dechuan City."
This person was a private investigator hired by Qin Tianyi. Just when he felt that finding Susu had become a distant prospect, a glimmer of hope ignited before his eyes.
"Where in Dechuan was that bank card used for cash withdrawal?"
The private investigator provided Qin Tianyi with the bank's name, card number, and the location of the ATM in Dechuan City.
Qin Tianyi immediately knew that the person using this card must be Susu herself. This was because he had helped her open this card before. Although the account name was hers, the card was still a supplementary card under his main account.
At that time, to help Susu collect design awards and fees from overseas, he had opened a supplementary card in her name and later had Xiao Anjing give it to her.
Therefore, even Yang Sijie wouldn't know about this bank card under Susu's name, unless Yang Sijie first investigated all accounts under his name, he might discover this card.
Without hesitation, he instructed his secretary on some matters, then left the group and drove himself to Dechuan City.
However, he had to shake off the people Yang Sijie had sent to tail him. He drove onto the highway but deliberately took the opposite direction of Dechuan City, heading to a hot spring town not far from Lancheng.
He booked a room at a hotel in the hot spring town and soaked in the hot springs. Back in his room, he called for a masseuse.
Then, he gave the masseuse money that he wouldn't earn in a month for hard work, asking the masseuse to stay in his room for a few days, with all expenses covered by his room bill.
He also found out about a small path leading out of the town, changed to a long-distance bus, and went to Dechuan City.
What should have taken only three to four hours from Lancheng to Dechuan, he took a whole day and night of detours before he quietly arrived here.
Without a moment's rest, he went to the ATM that the private investigator had found.
The ATM was in a self-service banking outlet by the street. The surroundings were unremarkable, with shops and large residential areas. He looked at the low residential buildings, wondering how to find Susu in this area.
He couldn't predict when Gu Susu would next come to withdraw money, nor could he stake out the self-service bank for twenty-four hours.
Besides, she might have just passed by and casually withdrawn some money. He still had no clue about her specific location in Dechuan.
In his helplessness, he decided to find a hotel to stay in and make plans later.
But to avoid being discovered by Yang Sijie, he could only stay here for two to three days at most, then he would have to return to the hot spring town and from there back to Lancheng.
...
From the people monitoring Qin Tianyi, Yang Sijie learned that Qin Tianyi had suddenly left Lancheng and gone to some hot spring town.
Qin Tianyi was alone, with no one else accompanying him. They also didn't see him meet anyone at the hot spring resort; it seemed like he was simply going for leisure and relaxation.
However, Yang Sijie still repeatedly instructed the watchers not to let their guard down, fearing that he would find Susu before he did.
At this moment, Mark approached him and whispered, "Mr. Yang, something has happened in New York. You need to go back."
"What is it that requires me to go back?"
"The underground money house there was discovered and sealed by the police," Mark's voice became even softer.
"That's impossible, what happened?" Yang Sijie said, unable to sit still. "Book the earliest flight immediately."
"Alright." Mark prepared to instruct someone to book the tickets.
"Wait, the search for Susu here cannot stop."
Mark nodded and said, "Don't worry, I know. I'll make arrangements."
Yang Sijie's face had lost all color. He dared not calculate the potential losses. He gripped the armrest of his chair with one hand, unable to understand how such a hidden underground money house could be discovered.
Everything had been smooth for years. It seemed there was an insider on the other side, and he was determined to find that person!
...
Su Kangxi, after a busy day, returned to his residence and fell asleep.
He was sleeping soundly when his phone by the bedside suddenly rang. He thought it was the police department calling with an urgent matter.
With his eyes closed, he reached out his long arm, grabbed the phone, and then opened his eyes. He saw an unknown number on the screen, but it displayed a foreign region. He wondered if it was some scam call.
That was fine too. He would deal with these harmful scammers who dared to call him. Tomorrow, he would go to the police station and have his colleagues thoroughly investigate where these scammers were hiding.
"Hello, who is it, what's the matter?"
"Kangxi, it's me. Are you at home?"
Upon hearing the voice, Su Kangxi woke up completely.
"Deng Rui, Master, is that you?"
"Yes."
"Where are you? I've rejoined the team. How are you feeling? Are you alright?" Su Kangxi felt guilty because he had caused Deng Rui to be injured and jump into the river during his undercover operation.