Lan Yu felt less panicked, saying, "Fortunately, Ning Yu went to kindergarten. Those people were with the aunt who returned from grocery shopping. The moment the aunt opened the door, they suddenly rushed into the house. We thought it was a robbery and were all terribly frightened."
An Jing hugged her tighter, wanting to settle the score with Alva.
At this moment, a police officer collecting evidence inside the house approached them and said, "Mr. Xiao, Mrs. Xiao, we saw from the surveillance that the people who broke into your house had their faces covered and wore gloves. We only collected footprints at the scene and found no fingerprints. It will take time to find them."
"Alright, thank you for your hard work." An Jing understood that if Alva dared to have people break into his home to find Xiaoxiao like this, he certainly wouldn't let the police find anything easily.
The officer said, "Mr. Xiao, this is what we should do. I suggest you install an alarm system at the entrance. If anyone dares to break in again, our police station will receive the alert immediately."
"I agree, we'll apply to install an alarm system," An Jing said.
After the officer noted it down, he said, "Someone will come to install it in a couple of days. Until we catch these people, please be careful for your own safety."
"Thank you." An Jing stood up to see off the investigating officers and then comforted Lan Yu for a while.
After sending her back to her room to rest, he went to the living room balcony and angrily dialed Alva's number.
"What do you want?" he shouted as soon as the call connected.
Alva, however, asked indifferently, "Xiaoxiao isn't at your house. Where did you hide her?"
An Jing couldn't help but say agitatedly, "I told you, I don't know where Xiaoxiao is, and I really want to know. I can send people to help you search, but don't harass my family anymore!"
"She's just a child, she didn't bring anything with her. She used to run out of the castle and wander around the city. If no one helps her, she might leave here and go somewhere else." Alva still didn't believe him. "Besides you, no one else would help her leave."
An Jing felt that Alva was just being unreasonable, insisting on blaming him for something that had nothing to do with him.
"Why are you so sure that no one else would help her besides you? Since she often plays in the city, how could she not have made any other friends?"
Alva said with certainty, "No. Every time I find out she's run out to play by herself, I immediately send people to find her. She hasn't had time to meet anyone else."
An Jing questioned again, "Can you always find her quickly?"
This time Alva showed a hint of hesitation, paused, and said, "Yes."
An Jing felt that he was clearly no longer as sure. He asked, "Are you in Lancheng? We can meet and talk."
"No," Alva said. "I don't need to go to your place; I can accomplish some things from here. You'd better hand over Xiaoxiao soon, or I will continue to send people to search around you and your family for her..."
"Enough! Let me reiterate, I don't know where Xiaoxiao is, and I don't want anything to happen to her. I really want to find her!" An Jing emphasized loudly again.
Alva's attitude was no longer as strong. He said, "I'll check my side of things again, but I'll also keep an eye on your place."
An Jing felt that Alva was worried about Xiaoxiao and his desire to find her was probably the same as his. He also didn't want Alva to take any more drastic actions. He said, "If Xiaoxiao really comes to Lancheng to find me, I will definitely keep her and persuade her to go back. I also hope you can be more rational and investigate this matter thoroughly again."
"Got it," Alva said coldly and hung up.
An Jing was still uneasy. Besides installing an alarm system at the entrance, he also planned to hire bodyguards to protect Lan Yu and Ning Yu at all times.
...
When Xiaoxiao returned to Han Xixi's dormitory, as she was rummaging for valuable items, the very small phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated.
She knew who it was without looking at the caller ID. "Wood, I'll get you the money."
"You remember that's good," a young man's voice came from the other end of the phone. "Who helped you get the fake documents? Who took care of you all the way, and the travel expenses..."
"Wait for me at the low wall to your right at the school entrance. I'll throw some valuable things out from there in a while, which should be enough for you to get a lot of money," Xiaoxiao interrupted him directly.
The young man called Wood said again on the phone, "Don't forget your fake documents are still with me. Without my help, you can't leave here and go anywhere else..."
Xiaoxiao didn't want to listen to his nagging. She knew he just wanted to use her to make money, and she happened to need his help. She interrupted him again, "When I need to find you, I'll contact you. After you get these things, don't contact me proactively."
After speaking, she hung up, not wanting to hear his voice anymore.
Xiaoxiao found a large bag and put some of Han Xixi's designer bags, clothes, and unopened skincare products into it. She felt it was enough for Wood to get a lot of money, so she carried the bag and left Han Xixi's dormitory as if nothing had happened.
She was also forced into it. Her identity documents were with Alva, and she couldn't get them.
So, every time she ran out of the castle, she actually had no documents or money on her. Besides running up tabs in the city as Alva's daughter, she couldn't take any transportation to leave.
If she hadn't accidentally met Wood, a hoodlum with some connections, she wouldn't have been able to come this far to find her Star Brother.
Originally, she intended to explain the situation to her Star Brother when she met him and ask him to help her repay Wood's travel expenses.
But she didn't expect that after arriving here, she hadn't had a chance to be alone with her Star Brother, so she couldn't speak up.
Wood was also worried that she would run away and default on the debt, so he urged her constantly. She had no choice but to take some of Han Xixi's things to deal with that little hoodlum Wood first.
Han Xixi's bags, clothes, and skincare products were all piled up. She picked some to take, and it didn't look like much was missing. She gambled that Han Xixi probably wouldn't notice.
During class time, there were not many people on campus. She still carefully avoided places with people and came to the low wall. She called out softly, "Wood, are you outside?"
"I am." Wood had been around the campus since they parted and hadn't gone too far.
The first time he saw her, he felt she was more mature than ordinary girls.
Wood didn't know her real age, only that she said her name was Jenny, but he guessed that even if she was underage, she was at least sixteen years old.
Xiaoxiao immediately said, "I'll throw the bag out. Be careful when you catch it. There are some designer skincare products inside, and they won't be worth much if they break."
"Okay, throw it."
Xiaoxiao stood on a stone and threw the bag in her hand with all her might.
She listened to the sound and heard no sound of the bag hitting the ground, confirming that Wood had definitely caught it.
"This is more than enough to repay the money you advanced for me. Don't contact me again if I don't contact you!" Xiaoxiao said, then turned and left, uninterested in whatever else Wood had to say.
Wood caught the bag, put it on the ground, and opened it. Just one bag inside was worth a lot of money. No wonder this Jenny traveled thousands of miles to find acquaintances at this prestigious school.
It was so easy to make money in such a prestigious school; this was a good source of wealth, so why would he leave easily?