Two days later, Qin Tianyi obtained the floor plan of Allen's residential complex and spread it out on his desk, meticulously studying it from memory. He discovered that the position of the full-length mirror indeed corresponded to a room door.
At the time, he had seen two rooms besides the living room in Allen's apartment, but one of them was significantly smaller than depicted on the blueprint, by almost half.
This hidden room, created by Allen, was likely Yang Sijie's hiding place.
Qin Tianyi could no longer sit still. He grabbed the floor plan and left his office, heading directly to the dessert shop to find Allen.
With the situation so clear, he no longer needed to conceal his intentions. He had to get answers from Allen.
He bypassed the queue and hurried into the dessert shop, asking the staff, "I'm here to see your boss. Is he in?"
A staff member looked at him and asked, "Which boss are you looking for? The previous one or the current one?"
"What do you mean, you changed owners? When did that happen? Isn't the boss still Allen?"
"Mr. Allen you mentioned was our previous owner. We just got a new owner these past two days," the staff member explained. "We only found out yesterday that Mr. Allen sold the dessert shop. But our benefits and treatment are still the same as before..."
Qin Tianyi left without waiting for the staff member to finish, sensing something was wrong. He immediately drove to Allen's residential complex.
He looked at the door number. He had been here just two days ago, so he shouldn't have the wrong door. However, neither the doorbell nor his knocking elicited a response.
Had Allen already moved out? He was incredibly fast!
Just as he was about to leave empty-handed, he turned and saw Su Kangxi emerging from the elevator.
They looked at each other, both visibly surprised.
"Why are you here? Did you already know Allen was hiding Yang Sijie?" Qin Tianyi spoke first, approaching him.
"I knew from the start that you were hiding things from me and Sister Susu. Why were you keeping this from us?" Su Kangxi said, sidestepping him and forcefully pressing the doorbell at Allen's apartment.
Qin Tianyi saw that Su Kangxi seemed to be here for the first time and said, "Stop ringing, he's not here. He's probably already fled with Yang Sijie. You should quickly check what kind of transportation he used to leave Lan Cheng, and also his immigration records. Did he escape abroad again?"
Su Kangxi stopped ringing the doorbell and looked at him. "What exactly is going on? Why did he suddenly flee? Did you alert him?"
Qin Tianyi felt he had handled the situation poorly and didn't answer. Instead, he retorted, "How did you find out about this place? Were you planning to help Allen protect Yang Sijie by coming alone?"
"So that's what you thought, which is why you kept it from me and Sister Susu," Su Kangxi said coldly. "You underestimate me too much. While I came alone to find Allen today, I have already informed the police abroad about this matter."
Qin Tianyi gave him a deep look and said, "This isn't a place to talk. Come, let's find somewhere to sit."
As he said this, he made a move to pat Su Kangxi's shoulder, but Su Kangxi dodged and went directly to press the elevator button.
They found a coffee shop near the complex and ordered two cups of coffee.
Qin Tianyi no longer concealed anything from him and told Su Kangxi everything about how he discovered Yang Sijie was still alive.
"So Sophie found out first. No wonder Sister Susu said her mental state was close to collapsing again," Su Kangxi said, looking at his coffee with a somber expression.
Qin Tianyi asked, "How did you find this place? You were quite quick."
"It's very simple. I didn't believe a word you and President Xiao said on the train. I contacted the director of the orphanage directly. Did you forget I also grew up in an orphanage? I know this director better than both of you. She told me everything. I never expected Allen to be so capable..."
Qin Tianyi interrupted him, "Then you should also know that even though Yang Sijie is alive, he's like a cripple. Aren't you going to let him off the hook, considering your shared past at the orphanage..."
"One thing is one thing. No matter what he's become, his crimes cannot be erased. Since he's still alive, he should face legal justice. Therefore, I must find him and hand him over to the foreign police."
Qin Tianyi admired his clear distinction between personal and public matters. "Then our goals are aligned. But will Sister Susu think the same way?"
"Sister Susu should also understand this principle. However, it's probably for the best not to let Sister Susu know about this for now. She's pregnant, and we shouldn't let her worry about too many things."
"Yes, that's what I was thinking too. She already has worries, and adding this might make her overthink things," Qin Tianyi agreed. Although Su Kangxi was also an orphan, he was completely different from Yang Sijie; he was a sensible person.
Su Kangxi took a few quick sips of his coffee and stood up. "Mr. Qin, since everything has been clarified, I need to hurry back to the police station to investigate Allen's whereabouts. The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it will be for us to find them."
"Alright, you go ahead." Qin Tianyi watched him leave. He realized that if he had known Su Kangxi would be so impartial, he should have told him about this earlier. With his help, perhaps Yang Sijie would have already been handed over to the foreign police.
...
At the Shu family mansion, Jia Nanfang knelt at the main entrance, tears streaming down her face as she cried, "I haven't done anything wrong. She's the one who harmed our daughter. Is it wrong for me to want revenge for my daughter!"
Shu Zhongze had already finished breakfast and was preparing to leave. He hadn't expected Jia Nanfang to still be there, kneeling at the entrance, which annoyed him.
An elderly servant approached him and said, "Sir, Madam has been kneeling all night. It even rained last night. Perhaps you should let her come inside first..."
"Tell her to get lost! I don't want to see her in this house ever again!" Shu Zhongze snapped at the old servant, wanting to make his stance clear to the household staff. This matter allowed no room for pleading or compromise.
"I understand. I'll ask Madam to leave now." The old servant didn't dare to say more and dragged the packed luggage, which had been prepared for Jia Nanfang, outside the hall.
Jia Nanfang stared at the luggage being thrown out, not expecting Shu Zhongze to be so resolute this time.
The old servant was about to try and persuade her when she finally saw Shu Zhongze, dressed in a suit, walking out. She staggered to her feet, but her legs were numb from kneeling, and she fell again.
Shu Zhongze didn't avoid her. He walked directly to her, looking down at her with disdain. "I've already given Hu Yong a sum of money and told him to disappear as far as possible and never return to Lan Cheng. This is the most I could do for you..."
"Even if he's caught, he won't betray me. He wouldn't dare!" Jia Nanfang got up from the ground and tried to grab his sleeve, saying, "You're kicking me out for such a small matter? Don't you want me anymore? Don't you have any regard for our decades of marital affection?"