"What!"
Song Qiao was stunned, instinctively raising his voice in disbelief. "Canonina is dead? How? How could she be dead?"
His bewildered murmur sent a tremor through Teng Haibo's heart. He recalled how Song Qiao had taken Canonina and Alice away without even consulting him. Coupled with Song Qiao's reaction now, Teng Haibo harbored a bold suspicion. Could it be that Song Qiao was in love with Canonina? If so, the news of Canonina's death would indeed be a significant blow to him.
"Mr. Song... it's our fault for not protecting them well enough. If we had been more attentive, if we had arranged more guards..." Teng Haibo sighed, the deceased was gone, and no amount of words could bring her back.
Hearing him speak, Song Qiao fell silent for a long time. He looked at the two people practicing on the stage and said softly, "It's alright. It's too late to say anything now."
Teng Haibo let out a bitter laugh, gritting his teeth as if making a desperate plea. "Mr. Song, it's all my fault. If only I had been able to protect people properly, alas."
"That's not it. I'm just a little surprised," Song Qiao shook his head, his eyes filled with shock and gravity. He couldn't remain calm when faced with this. After all, Canonina and Alice were people he had taken in. If something happened to them under his care, he bore a part of the responsibility. Especially yesterday, when he helped Alice with her luggage, he had seen Canonina energetically waving to them. And now, in just one day. Just one day, such a person had vanished from this world forever.
"Tell me first, how did she die?" Teng Haibo, no matter how negligent he was, wouldn't allow an ordinary person to kill someone. This was clearly a planned and premeditated act. Song Qiao clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and suppressed the surging anger within him. "What exactly happened?"
After a long silence on the other end of the phone, Teng Haibo let out a bitter laugh, recalling the scene and a trace of fear emerged. "It was foreigners. Those foreigners appeared and shot Canonina."
Song Qiao's brows shot up. "They just shot her?"
"Just shot her," Teng Haibo replied without hesitation. "How can this be? To be so audacious within China, aren't they afraid of Chinese law?" Song Qiao frowned, utterly perplexed. Unable to figure it out, he tapped his forehead and asked, "Have you investigated?"
"Yes. Let me describe the situation at the time first, Mr. Song. I have a feeling this is not as simple as it seems." As he spoke, Teng Haibo's face darkened as if water was about to drip from it. The veins on the back of his hand gripping the phone bulged, and he said coldly, "At the time, although the number of people arranged wasn't a lot, it was by no means small. Even so..." Teng Haibo briefly described the situation in a few words. Song Qiao listened, his brows furrowing at times, nodding at others, and quickly fell into thought.
After a while, Teng Haibo finished speaking, feeling a dry mouth. He poured himself a glass of water and drank it down in one gulp, saying grimly, "Mr. Song, these foreigners are very likely the people from Snow Country brought by Father Xia Nari!"
Snow Country people? Hearing Teng Haibo's words, Song Qiao's heart skipped a beat, and his face suddenly turned grim. He thought of Alice. After all, the circumstances of Canonina's death matched, and he suspected Hanado was behind it. If it was indeed Hanado, then Alice, whom he had placed in the villa, was surely being targeted! At this moment, Song Qiao's expression shifted grimly, his thoughts momentarily going blank.
"This is bad!"
"What's wrong, Mr. Song? What's bad? Is something the matter?" This exclamation of "This is bad!" startled Teng Haibo, and his face showed a hint of panic.
But Song Qiao didn't answer him. He directly hung up the phone, put it in his pocket, and looked at the two people training. "You two train well this afternoon. I will check your progress tomorrow. Don't slack off!"
"Don't worry, we won't cut corners!"
"If you have something to do, just go. We'll handle things here!" The two nodded, their faces full of fighting spirit. Even Song Qiao's brief presence there had given them great motivation.
As Song Qiao rushed out of the martial arts hall, realizing something was wrong, trouble also struck the villa. The villa Song Qiao had given to Alice was very charming, with many flowers planted in the yard of various colors. Today, the sun was shining, and Alice was watering the flowers with a watering can. Her exceptionally beautiful and alluring face was filled with anticipation and longing for the future. From now on, she would embark on a new life here, free from past conflicts and disturbances, with everything moving in a better direction.
"If only life could always be like this..." Looking at her flower garden, Alice gently wiped the sweat from her face, revealing a stunning smile. "I truly love this kind of life. Every day will be a new beginning!"
With a joyful cry, Alice excitedly picked up the watering can and was about to walk away. But as she turned, she bumped into a solid chest. At this moment, Alice's smile became even brighter. She put down the watering can, stood up, and slowly turned around.
"Song, didn't you say you had your own business to attend to? Why are you back so soon? You..." Her joyous words trailed off. Alice's smile froze and slowly disappeared, leaving her speechless.
Her smile vanished, but the man in front of her wore a faint smile, appearing incredibly gentle. This signature fake smile sent a chill down Alice's heart. She clenched her fist and bit her lip lightly. She didn't run. She didn't want to run; there was no need. After a long silence, Alice sighed softly and looked up at him. "Mr. Hanado, please spare me... I just want a peaceful life."
Hanado smiled lightly, but his smile seemed cold, a stark contrast to his earlier gentleness. "Alice, you've made me search quite a bit!" "You should know that for people like us, betrayal has only one consequence: death." Hanado sneered, looking at her coldly. "Now, Canonina is waiting for you below. You shouldn't keep her waiting too long."