Chapter 1 "Who?"

"That... it's that girl," Pi Ruan said, grinning obsequiously as if seeking credit. "It's a coincidence, really. I happened to have some business friends in the capital, so I asked them to help look around. I didn't expect them to actually find her."

After a long silence from Jiang Cheng, Pi Ruan immediately complimented him, feeling a bit guilty. "But in the end, it's all thanks to Doctor Jiang's brilliant planning. That girl is indeed a university student, a science major, often asks for leave and leaves early, and doesn't live in the public dorms arranged by the school. The surrounding classmates don't know much about her."

"Oh, and her name is Xia Meng," Pi Ruan added in one breath.

"Where is your friend now?" Jiang Cheng's voice was even and cold, seemingly without a trace of joy.

"I asked him to rush back to Rong City immediately. Calculating the time, he should be getting off the plane soon," Pi Ruan thought for a moment, then continued, "He'll go to my place first, and then I'll take him to your office. You can ask him for the details..."

"Does he know the location of your company?" Jiang Cheng suddenly interrupted.

"Yes, he knows," Pi Ruan answered subconsciously.

But soon after, he realized what was wrong. What was up with Doctor Jiang today? Although he wasn't very normal usually, he seemed unusually strange today.

After a long while, Jiang Cheng's voice slowly sounded, "Figure out when his plane lands, call him and tell him to come directly to me."

Pi Ruan blinked. "Doctor Jiang, then I..."

"Leave the company as soon as possible. Use your spare ID card to book a room in a more remote hotel. Don't bring your phone, pay in cash, don't drive, take a taxi there yourself," he paused, then continued, "At 6 PM, call me from the hotel phone, let it ring four times, then hang up. I'll call you back later."

"If you don't receive my call within 5 minutes, leave the hotel immediately, go straight to the police station, use your connections, and apply for protection."

Pi Ruan was able to live the life he had today thanks in no small part to Jiang Cheng, so he almost instinctively followed what Doctor Jiang said, because his brain wasn't as good as the other's, so he rarely asked why.

But based on his understanding of Jiang Cheng as a person, as well as his description and tone, this matter must be extraordinary, and might even threaten his personal safety.

"Understood, Doctor Jiang."

Just before he hung up the phone, Pi Ruan heard Doctor Jiang's final voice from the receiver, "Tell your friend, my name is Hao Shuai."

After Jiang Cheng hung up the phone, Fatty widened his eyes and leaned over. "Doctor," he swallowed, and asked softly, "Is something wrong?"

Similar to Pi Ruan's feeling, he rarely saw the doctor like this.

Especially... the doctor mentioned the name Hao Shuai.

In Fatty's memory, the doctor only used this name in nightmares.

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng's sudden voice interrupted his thoughts, "I have a friend coming to see me later, go out for a walk, take a look at the market, don't come back until I call you."

"Okay, Doctor."

Just as Fatty was about to change his clothes according to the doctor's instructions and go out for a walk, Jiang Cheng's voice sounded behind him, "Fatty," he suddenly said.

Fatty turned his head in confusion.

"Be sharp."

After Fatty left with a grocery basket, Jiang Cheng sat quietly at his desk, leaned back in his chair, first stared at the wall clock for a while, then picked up his phone and tapped lightly on it.

The light entering the room from the window gradually became stronger. The faint morning light had disappeared. Jiang Cheng squinted his eyes, as if he was resting.

A sound of footsteps, that was hard to describe as either brisk or heavy, sounded outside the door, followed by a light knock.

The person seemed to be very gentle, the rhythm was brisk, and the strength of the knock was just right.

"Come in."

The door was not locked. The moment it was pushed open, a patch of sunlight spread in, but the next second, the sunlight was crushed by a graceful figure who walked in.

A breeze brushed through the door, and the Bohemian-style skirt fluttered in the wind, revealing a sense of agility in its playfulness. The girl wore a beach straw hat woven with black bows.

After her delicate chin was raised, what was revealed was a very pure face.

"Mr. Hao," Chen Xiaomeng said with a smile, "How have you been!"

Following Chen Xiaomeng was also an older middle-aged man with graying temples, his eyes sharp. Just standing there, he exuded an imposing aura.

Under his instruction, two young men who came in later began to thoroughly search the place, until they came down from upstairs, carrying a torn piece of clothing.

It was an oversized jumpsuit.

Fatty's.

Chen Xiaomeng only glanced at it and nodded to the middle-aged man, then one of the young men stayed behind, and the other left through the door with the clothes.

It seemed that there were more than just these people. There were others outside. Now they were probably looking for Fatty.

From beginning to end, Jiang Cheng didn't move. The phone was placed at the corner of the table.

He was stared at by the middle-aged man, and the vague gaze made him understand that the middle-aged man was probably not an easy character to deal with.

Chen Xiaomeng leaned against Jiang Cheng's desk as if she were at home, squinted her eyes, and showed two small canine teeth at the corners of her mouth, deliberately making an exaggerated expression and asked, "You're not afraid that I found you?"

"Afraid," Jiang Cheng immediately began to tremble.

Chen Xiaomeng laughed even more happily, the corners of her eyes raised slightly, like a fox who had succeeded in its scheme, "Daring to use such unprofessional people to find me, this doesn't seem like the cunning style of Mr. Hao."

She slowly took out a piece of paper and spread it flat on the table. It was the portrait that Jiang Cheng had given to Pi Ruan. The girl in the painting was ethereal and agile, almost exactly the same as Chen Xiaomeng in real life.

"Knowing that Mr. Hao likes this outfit, I wore it." She said with a smile.

Then she shrugged with feigned regret and said in a very helpless tone, "But now that you've fallen into my hands, the ending... probably won't be very good. You should prepare yourself mentally."

Jiang Cheng seemed to be a deflated ball, looking at Chen Xiaomeng pitifully with an expression that said, *I've accepted my fate, you can do whatever you want.*

Seeing Jiang Cheng's expression, the latter felt extremely satisfied. This guy had threatened her more than once in her nightmares.

Not only did he steal things, but he also hit her on the head with a stick.

She put her hands on the table, raised her head proudly, then leaned her face over, staring at Jiang Cheng's eyes from above.

"Then tell me, how should I punish you," she said with a malicious smile on her lips, "Mr. Hao who did something wrong?"

Jiang Cheng thought very seriously, and suddenly, as if he had made some kind of determination, he also leaned over, using a voice that only the two of them could hear, and tentatively said, "There's no bed upstairs, but there's a mattress. If you can make do with it..."