Jiang Nan Fang received a call from Rui Rui just before boarding her flight.
Only then did she learn that Jing Yu and Tian Tian had gotten into trouble.
Terrified, she immediately ran out from the security checkpoint, calling A Cheng as she ran.
Jing Yu had said he felt unwell and was going to his room to rest, so A Cheng hadn't thought much of it.
As usual, he dutifully guarded the villa entrance.
Upon receiving Jiang Nan Fang's call, he rushed into the room and found that Jing Yu was indeed gone, leaving him stunned.
Following the address Jiang Nan Fang sent, he brought his brothers and quickly pursued them.
Fortunately, the ride-hailing driver had acted on a whim and hadn't yet figured out how to dispose of Jing Yu and Tian Tian, so they were found without much difficulty.
The police were called, the driver was taken away, and the group returned home.
Jiang Nan Fang took a taxi to meet them. They met halfway, and A Cheng was so ashamed he didn't dare look her in the eye.
"Madam, I apologize. It was my professional negligence, and it has nothing to do with the other brothers."
"If you must fire someone, fire only me. I beg you to be magnanimous and put in a good word for us with President Zhan, giving my brothers a chance to reform."
They all understood Zhan Bei Jue's style of operation, which did not tolerate mistakes in work.
Moreover, this was the second time they had lost the children, and this time there was no way they could escape being fired.
After A Cheng finished speaking, before Jiang Nan Fang could say anything, Tian Tian burst into tears.
She pitifully hugged Jiang Nan Fang's leg and pleaded.
"Mommy, don't blame Uncle A Cheng. It has nothing to do with him. It was me and brother who wanted to come find you. We deliberately hid from him."
"We didn't want to cause you trouble, and we'll never do it again. It's not Uncle A Cheng's fault. Please, don't tell Daddy, and don't fire him."
Jing Yu also felt guilty, pulling on Jiang Nan Fang's sleeve.
"Mommy, sister is right. It's all my fault. It was my idea, and it has nothing to do with them."
"Uncle A Cheng is always very good to us. Please don't blame him."
The burly bodyguards were touched by the children's pleas.
Jiang Nan Fang felt just as heartbroken.
People are emotional creatures. Although she didn't interact much with A Cheng, he had been taking care of the children with great dedication.
She didn't have Zhan Bei Jue's strong sense of discipline and had no intention of blaming A Cheng.
"Don't cry. This is not entirely your fault; I also made mistakes."
"Mommy shouldn't have left secretly without telling you. Let's learn from this experience, be careful in the future, and not implicate others."
"Let's keep this our secret. No one tell Daddy, okay?"
A Cheng was surprised by Jiang Nan Fang's words, his eyes moved, and he choked up.
"Madam…"
"The main responsibility lies with me. I failed to raise my children properly. Consider this a lesson. Let's all be more mindful in the future, and let's not mention this again."
Upon returning home, Jiang Nan Fang asked A Cheng to pick up the other two children.
She figured they must be worried at school about what happened at home, so it was best to put their minds at ease.
After all four children were reunited, gathered around Jiang Nan Fang, she told them the truth.
"When I went to Bei Cheng last time, my husband and I had some problems. I intended to go find him in person today to clarify things…"
"I've decided not to hide anything from you anymore. We will face everything together."
"Let's call Daddy right now and ask him what's going on. We'll resolve all problems together from now on, okay?"
Everyone was happy that Mommy had finally come around.
Jiang Nan Fang dialed Zhan Bei Jue's number and put it on speaker. He answered immediately.
"Daddy!"
Ge Er eagerly stretched her head out and shouted into the phone.
"I'm Ge Er. Are you busy right now?"
Zhan Bei Jue's tone was low and serious.
"Daddy has something very important to do right now and cannot be disturbed on the phone. If you have nothing urgent, please don't call me today. I'll call you back when I'm free, okay?"
Everyone was taken aback by his reaction.
Just as Ge Er was about to ask what had happened, there was a rustling sound on the other end, and the call was hung up.
Zhan Bei Jue was indeed in the midst of a serious situation; Melody had gone missing.
According to her usual routine, she should have returned to the hotel to rest around six in the evening.
Yesterday, Zhan Bei Jue had been busy with work at the hotel and hadn't noticed the time.
Around eight in the evening, feeling a bit hungry, he got up and looked around, only to discover that Melody hadn't returned yet.
He thought something might have happened at the hospital, so he called her, but her phone was turned off.
Zhan Bei Jue went to the hospital, where a nurse informed him that Melody had left two hours prior.
He didn't know if she was in a bad mood and wanted to be alone somewhere, or if something had happened.
Zhan Bei Jue could only wait patiently at the hotel.
He waited until past ten in the evening, but there was still no news.
He asked the hospital staff to check the surveillance footage and discovered that Melody hadn't taken a taxi but a black car from the hospital entrance.
Suspecting that something might have happened to her, Zhan Bei Jue reported it to the police.
The information about the black car hadn't been found yet when, around three in the morning, he received a mysterious call.
The caller told him that Melody was in their hands and that if he wanted her back, he had to trade her for his mother's life.
Zhan Bei Jue never expected anyone to be so audacious as to investigate his whereabouts secretly.
Moreover, they knew his personal life intimately.
Someone knew things that even Jiang Nan Fang didn't know, yet this person…
Asking him to trade his mother's life for Melody's, could it be his mother's enemies from the past?
Zhan Bei Jue made an excuse that his mother was in a vegetative state, and it would be inconvenient to take her out; he would need to go through hospital procedures. The caller gave him three hours to prepare.
If his mother's people were not seen at the designated location before six in the morning, they could prepare to collect Melody's body.
The police were monitoring Zhan Bei Jue's call.
However, the other party was clearly well-prepared and couldn't be traced at all.
All they could do now was to first investigate Zhan Bei Jue's mother's social circle and identify suspects.
Zhan Bei Jue didn't know his mother well, and they were in the open while he was in the shadows.
Anyone who had ever had a conflict with her was a potential suspect. Furthermore, his mother couldn't speak, making it difficult for now.
Zhan Bei Jue thought of a good idea and decided to call the other party to negotiate.
However, the other party was too cunning; they changed their card and IP address after each call, and subsequent attempts were met with disconnected numbers.
At six o'clock, the other party called again, asking about his preparations.
Zhan Bei Jue said, "Trading the life of a vegetative patient probably doesn't mean much to you. Even if you don't kill her, she won't live much longer. I suggest you ask for something more practical."
"I'll give you money. I'll pay any amount as long as you release her."
The caller, using a voice changer, had a strange and terrifying voice. Upon hearing this, they laughed twice.
"Indeed, the lives of the Zhan family are valuable. It seems we picked the right person to abduct. Since you're so generous, I won't be polite."
"I'll send you a card number later. Within two hours, transfer 1 billion yuan to this card. Be a second late, and I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."