63: Incident

Yan Zhuohua was in a hurry to get back to the company, and Officer Liu didn't delay him, seeing him straight out the door.

"After your talk today, I expect Zhao Mingting will compromise soon," Officer Liu said finally. "We'll be in touch then. I hope next time we meet, you'll have more time—it would be best if you could stay and chat with us for a while."

"It would be my honor."

It was already 4:13 PM by the time he left the police station. Yan Zhuohua felt relieved; he was over ten minutes ahead of schedule.

The car drove back toward Xingfeng Group.

"How did the matter go?" Yan Ru asked casually.

"It went well, as expected. I'll probably have to go back again in a few days." Yan Zhuohua leaned against the back of the seat, his expression relaxed.

"Does that mean I have to accompany you again?"

"That's right, and it will likely take even longer next time."

Yan Ru thought about it seriously for a moment. "Maybe I should just report you to my Aunt-in-law."

Fortunately, the evening rush hour hadn't reached its peak yet. By rushing along, Yan Zhuohua finally made it back to the company before 5:30 PM.

The moment he stepped into his office, he couldn't wait to contact Special Assistant Ji to ask if Yan Qinghe's meeting was over.

Upon hearing that the meeting had ended just a minute ago, Yan Zhuohua let out a deep sigh of relief.

Thanks to him compressing the time spent talking and returning nearly ten minutes early, he had narrowly avoided being caught.

With only half an hour left until the end of the workday, Yan Zhuohua didn't bother with the non-urgent documents. He leaned his head back against the chair, lost in thought.

What excuse should he use to go out next time? The main problem was that no matter the excuse, as long as he left, Yan Qinghe would surely check his location. He couldn't hide it at all.

Why hadn't he thought of this when the tracker was installed? He had been too busy being happy about receiving a gift. Now, leaving the office required days of planning.

He couldn't exactly wait for Yan Qinghe to fall asleep, could he? That was too unreliable. It would be better to arrange a long meeting for him. Or perhaps find a way to make him forget his phone; that wasn't out of the question either.

In just half an hour, Yan Zhuohua devised countless plans, even preparing backup plans for those with high success rates and low detection risks, just waiting for Zhao Mingting to crack under the pressure.

A day passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was Thursday morning.

The cooperation with the Zhao family that Yan Zhuohua was responsible for had reached its final stage, and he was busy checking the Zhao family's production results. Additionally, the preliminary project with the Fu Family had reached the point of a mid-term inspection. Both matters coincided, requiring full resolution today, leaving Yan Zhuohua with no free time at all.

Seeing Yan Zhuohua rushing back and forth, Yan Muxuan had a rare moment of kindness and offered to take over the Business Department's task of planning the guest list for the annual meeting for the day.

In truth, it wasn't very helpful, as Yan Zhuohua had already nearly finished the list; it only required checking each guest's intentions and the number of companions they would bring. Such trivial tasks wouldn't have fallen to Yan Zhuohua anyway. Yan Muxuan's offer essentially meant delivering the final document to Special Assistant Ji for review in the morning.

The task was very simple and required little skill, so Yan Muxuan leisurely headed up to the 24th floor.

When he arrived, Yan Qinghe happened to be in the common area, taking a break and watering the plants.

Seeing Yan Muxuan come up, he proactively went over to greet and chat with this Uncle who looked forward to formal retirement every day.

Yan Muxuan was still taking out his anger on Yan Qinghe over his well-behaved nephew becoming shameless, so his tone was somewhat sarcastic.

"Oh, Chairman Yan is resting?" Yan Muxuan spoke up. "I'm truly worried about the future of our Xingfeng Group after I retire. Look at the Chairman leading the way in slacking off!"

I think the group is only in danger because you're here, Yan Qinghe retorted inwardly, but his face maintained the respectful smile of a junior.

"It's not like I slack off every day. I'm just out for a breath of fresh air occasionally."

"Heh, who knows how long this 'breath of fresh air' lasts. Could it be like our Deputy Director Yan, who disappears for an entire afternoon and only returns right before the end of the day?"

At the mention of Yan Zhuohua, Yan Qinghe paid attention.

"How did he end up disappearing for an entire afternoon?"

Yan Muxuan looked at Yan Qinghe mockingly. "Stop pretending. He said he skipped work to prepare a surprise to coax you so you wouldn't be angry. How could you not know? When I asked him yesterday, he even said it was already settled!"

Yan Qinghe realized that Yan Zhuohua might be hiding something from him. He hadn't been angry with Yan Zhuohua at all, let alone received any surprise.

Yan Muxuan didn't notice anything wrong and continued rambling: "Look at you, turning a capable talent like Zhuohua into a love-struck fool, spending all his time thinking about dating you..."

Yan Qinghe masked his expression and continued listening to Yan Muxuan, occasionally chiming in with a few words, promising he would definitely trouble his wife less in the future.

Once Yan Muxuan finally finished his nagging, Yan Qinghe turned and went back to his office.

What exactly was Zhuohua hiding? And what was he planning? He had never given a direct response to his feelings—could it be related to this matter he was keeping secret?

Yan Qinghe sat in his chair, constantly pondering Yan Zhuohua's purpose and whether or not he should expose the matter.

Yan Qinghe's phone was right beside him. He knew Yan Zhuohua didn't actually know the tracking software had another function: travel logs. Perhaps it was because they had annoyed Second Brother on the day the software was installed, so Second Brother had kicked them out without explaining the software in detail. He had discovered this function by accident while checking Yan Zhuohua's location out of boredom. Yan Zhuohua had only been interested in the app for a short while and usually didn't open it, let alone discover this feature.

So, should he check Yan Zhuohua's travel logs?

Yan Qinghe sat there agonizing for a long while before finally making up his mind.

He would check Yan Zhuohua's travel logs. Because Zhuohua had used him as an excuse, because Yan Zhuohua had already agreed to let Yan Qinghe check his location at any time back when they installed it, and because he was worried that Yan Zhuohua's plan might be dangerous.

In any case, it wasn't because of a desire for control or possessiveness over his wife.

Having convinced himself, Yan Qinghe decisively picked up his phone to check Yan Zhuohua's travel logs for the past few days.

It happened the afternoon before last, so Yan Qinghe found it quickly.

Yan Zhuohua had gone to the police station. The police station where the members of the Zhao family were being held.

Yan Qinghe almost instantly determined that whatever Yan Zhuohua was hiding must be dangerous. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept a matter purely concerning the Zhao family from him.

Checking the time carefully, he had arrived around 2:30 PM and returned at 5:30 PM. It was exactly when he had been in a meeting and wasn't looking at his phone. A very good plan.

Yan Qinghe stared at the screen, motionless, for a long time.

Finally, he made his decision. He had a mouth to ask questions, and he would interrogate Yan Zhuohua thoroughly after going home tonight. If he wouldn't talk, then he would use "torture to extract a confession." In short, he had to handle this dangerous matter as soon as possible.