"Kidnap … kidnap?"
Su Hong and Chen Yin had the same reaction. They were both in disbelief.
Ye Huanyan took a deep breath and slowly said, "I'm not sure, but he's been missing for now."
Su Hong awkwardly twisted her neck as if trying to think of an idea.
"Um, um … I think … How about I help you put up a missing person notice at the newspaper?"
Ye Huanyan forced a smile. "No need. We can't alert the enemy now. They want us to maintain the status quo, so I think it's best not to act rashly."
"Right, right. We can't act rashly. What if they kill the hostage in a moment of desperation?"
Chen Yin chimed in.
To be honest, the two of them were indeed powerless when it came to Ye Huanyan's problem.
"So …" Ye Huanyan glanced at them.
"Don't worry about me. Just do what you need to do. Pretend I didn't say anything. I'll think of a way to solve this problem."
"Don't. Tell us what we can do, even if it's just running errands. I already know about this, so how can I pretend I don't know?"
Su Hong was anxious.
Ye Huanyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Third Sister, you're making things difficult for me."
She even forced others to find something for her to do. Seriously …
"Me too, me too …"
Chen Ying was just a lackey. She kept chiming in and agreeing with her.
Ye Huanyan was helpless. After pondering for a long time at the door, she really did come up with a solution.
The next day, Su Hong went to pick up Gu Min in Ye Huanyan's apartment and picked up the painting while she was at it.
Meanwhile, Chen Yin took Naonnao and followed Ye Huanyan to the suburbs of Shanghai to look for Qiao Mu.
Ye Huanyan was holding the history of the Pleasure Group, as well as the records that Qiao Mu made when she was still at Pleasure six years ago. These records were clearly incomplete in the end, so she still had some questions to ask him.
Ever since "Remaining Life" wrapped up filming, Sheng Enran announced his retirement from the film industry and moved out of Lanjiang City with Qiao Mu. They found a house on the outskirts of Shanghai and lived in seclusion.
Of course, he did not tell Ye Huanyan the address, but it was not difficult for her to find this place.
Chen Yin held Naonnao's hand and skipped behind them.
The scenery in the suburbs of Shanghai was quite good. There were mountains and rivers.
When Ye Huanyan found the place where Qiao Mu and Sheng Anran lived, it was already noon. Waves of smoke and the aroma of food drifted out from a two-story villa near the lake.
Sheng Anran sat on a chair at the door with the dog in his arms and basked in the sun. He wore a pair of sunglasses and held a sun umbrella over his head. He looked comfortable.
A deep voice came from the room. "An Ran, it's time for lunch."
"Coming …"
Sheng Anran put down the dog and saw Ye Huanyan and Chen Yin as soon as she stood up, as well as Naonnao, whom she had seen many times.
"You … Why are you here?"
Sheng Anran took off her sunglasses and looked at Ye Huanyan and company in surprise.
Naonnao made a face at Sheng Anran. "We came to find Uncle Qiao Mu for something. Bad Auntie, are you going to stop us?"
Ye Huanyan quickly glared at Naonnao. "Don't be rude, Naonnao."
Naonnao stuck out his tongue.
Sheng Anran did not seem to mind and even smiled. "Rare guest. My place has always been deserted. Other than the people I see in the city every week when I go out to buy things, I basically don't interact with anyone all year round. Come in and sit."
Sheng Enran, who was married, put away his fierce aura, and his dressing style was more and more inclined to a comfortable rural style. The color was light, and it was all cotton and linen.
"Old Qiao, add two more dishes. We have guests."
Sheng Anran shouted in the direction of the kitchen as soon as she entered the room.
Qiao Mu stuck her head out in confusion and also showed the same surprised expression when she saw Ye Huanyan.
Chen Ying was the most impolite person. She directly complained that she was hungry as soon as she entered the room. She pulled Nao Nao to the table and started sweeping away the leftover clouds in one breath. When Qiao Mu finally brought the final batch of sweet and sour pork ribs to the table, she was already rubbing her belly and lamenting repeatedly, "I can't eat anymore, I can't eat anymore. Why didn't you say you were going to make pork ribs earlier … I ate less of that steamed pork powder just now."
Ye Huanyan rolled her eyes at her. "Even food can't seal your mouth. Go play on the side."
She came to find Qiao Mu for business.
Just as Qiao Mu sat down, Sheng Anran put down her chopsticks and said with a faint smile, "You guys chat first. I'll go brew a pot of tea for you guys."
"It's fine, just sit down. You can also listen to what I want to ask." Ye Huanyan thought she wanted to avoid arousing suspicion.
"I know, but I don't have any interest in those things right now, so … you guys chat. If there's anything I can help with, just tell me."
Looking at Sheng Anran's back, Ye Huanyan could not help but sigh with emotion. "Qiao Mu, I actually think you're quite blessed even though you've waited for so many years."
"Yes, I'm very satisfied."
Qiao Mu smiled. "That's right, you came all the way here for something important, right?"
Hearing this, Ye Huanyan withdrew the smile on her face, and her expression dimmed. She briefly explained the Pleasure Group's current problems and Ling Han's disappearance.
Qiao Mu frowned. "Director Ling went missing? What happened? "
"It's a long story. I keep feeling that this matter is related to the recent personnel changes in Pleasure Group's board of directors. I heard that Umbo and his son's status on the board of directors suddenly rose recently, and several projects that Ling Han previously rejected were brought up and approved by the board of directors after he went missing."
"There's something wrong with that pair of father and son to begin with."
Qiao Mu's words confirmed Ye Huanyan's earlier conjecture.
"What happened?"
"You saw the stock investigation report I wrote before, right?"
"Mhm, I brought it."
"That report wasn't actually completed. It was a confidential file that Director Ling commissioned me to start investigating before he took over as director. I started investigating not long after I graduated and entered the company with Director Ling. I unexpectedly discovered that the people who secretly bought the scattered shares on the board of directors all had contact with Umbo and his son …"
Ye Huanyan asked in confusion, "But didn't those scattered shares end up in Qiao Mingsheng's hands in the end? What's up with that Qiao Mingsheng? "
"You should still remember that the board of directors voted to elect a successor to the director eight years ago, right?"
Qiao Mu reminded, "At that time, Qiao Mingsheng was still on the board of directors. His crucial vote was originally planned to be cast for Umbo, but the night before, someone broke his leg while he was drinking at a bar and sent him to the hospital. He didn't have time to participate in the board of directors' meeting, so his voting rights were exercised by his wife on his behalf."
"Crucial vote?"
Ye Huanyan was confused.
Qiao Mu explained.
"Before that, Qiao Mingsheng had already convinced more than half of the shareholders to vote for Umbo under his leadership. However, he just didn't come that day, and his wife voted for Director Ling. That portion of shareholders who were originally uncertain of their intentions naturally changed sides at the last minute. In that kind of situation where they didn't have an overwhelming victory, the Wen Family's father and son didn't dare to risk exposing themselves. If they lost, they would suffer a crushing defeat, so they all voted for Director Ling."
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