Spoiled Sparrow

As Chen Yan walked out the door, he ran right into Assistant Zhang's family members, and he quickly stepped forward.

"Mr. Zhang, please come in."

Zhang Yao nodded and walked into the ward.

He took out his notebook and looked at Fu Chen lying on the hospital bed.

Fu Chen looked up and met his scrutinizing gaze.

The air in the ward seemed to freeze instantly, and the atmosphere inexplicably became tense.

Chen Yan stood aside, breaking the unspoken contest between the two.

"President Fu, this is Assistant Zhang's cousin, Mr. Zhang Yao."

"This is President Fu."

Zhang Yao sat down directly, his back ramrod straight.

Fu Chen leaned against the headboard, a hint of coldness and defensiveness in his eyes.

"Officer Zhang, I've heard so much about you."

"Don't be so formal. It's your vacation time now, just call me Zhang Yao."

Chen Yan took two steps back: This doesn't seem like our first meeting.

He met Fu Chen's gaze and tactfully withdrew.

"Regarding Assistant Zhang's compensation, I believe Assistant Chen has already explained it very clearly to you. Officer Zhang must have something else to say, right?"

Zhang Yao opened the notebook and gripped the pen tightly between his fingers.

A sharp gaze fell on Fu Chen. "Mr. Fu is a smart man. Regarding your illegal detention of Ms. Ruan Qing, according to Article 238 of the Criminal Law, you are subject to imprisonment for up to three years."

Upon hearing this, Fu Chen chuckled softly, his eyes showing no fear of being interrogated. Instead, he countered with a question: "Officer Zhang, can't couples live together?"

Seeing his fearless demeanor, Zhang Yao frowned and tightened his grip on the notebook.

Fu Chen continued his fearless provocation: "What, you want to meddle in this too?"

Zhang Yao's face darkened, a surge of powerless anger rising within him.

He took out his identification, his eyes slightly changing: "Fu Chen, regarding the case of Shen Zhaolan being confined to a mental hospital, I hope you will answer truthfully."

Shen Zhaolan?

Ruan Qing's adoptive mother, that crazy woman.

Fu Chen dropped his teasing expression: "Really? I didn't know."

Ever since Ruan Qing went to the Public Security Bureau to have her blood drawn for storage, Zhang Yao has been keeping a close eye on her movements.

After learning that Ruan Qing had been kicked out of the Su family by her adoptive mother Shen Zhaolan, he had always suspected that Shen Zhaolan's disappearance was related to her.

Unexpectedly, halfway through the investigation, Ruan Qing disappeared, Shen Zhaolan appeared in a mental hospital, and everyone who reported the case changed their story overnight.

Everything happened by sheer coincidence.

Zhang Yao was adept at facial expressions. Seeing that Fu Chen showed no signs of lying, he put away his notebook.

His tone softened considerably: "Now, as Zhang Yu's cousin, I want to ask President Fu, where is Miss Ruan right now? This is very important."

Shen Zhaolan was already delirious, making it difficult to extract any useful information.

Furthermore, since the family has already withdrawn the case, he has no authority to investigate further.

Fu Chen remained silent, his gaze darkening as if deep in thought.

Zhang Yao added, "Fu Chen, if this matter has nothing to do with you or Miss Ruan, then the person behind it must be someone close to you."

"The family has already dropped the case, so I have nothing to hide anymore. To tell you the truth, the clues I've found keep leading to you. This person is clearly targeting you. Think about it."

Fu Chen frowned slightly, a face already appearing in his mind.

He couldn't think of anyone else besides He Xunnan.

Fu Chen's voice deepened slightly: "He Xunnan."

Upon hearing this name, Zhang Yao gasped instantly.

Just as he expected.

Zhang Yao: "It really is him."

Fu Chen looked up: "You know him?"

"This is the investor behind that mental hospital. From its establishment to its transfer, it only took one month."

"Unfortunately, he is neither a legal representative nor a shareholder, so there is no way to find him, and the trail ends here."

Fu Chen vaguely guessed what was going on. "Officer Zhang, I request to see Shen Zhaolan."

"This is no longer one of my cases." Zhang Yao hesitated for a moment before nodding. "See you at the sanatorium tomorrow afternoon."

After Zhang Yao left, Chen Yan pushed open the door and came in.

Fu Chen asked him, "The He family only has one son, right?"

"Yes."

"The information we investigated confirms it, and that person's original name was He Li."

Why did he lock Shen Zhaolan up in a mental hospital? Was he trying to hide something...?

*

After leaving the hospital, Lin Yun'en finally sent out the message.

"This net is terrible. I need to have a serious talk with Dong Chenye. If there's any emergency, this net will drive people crazy."

Holding her phone, she waited a long time for Ruan Qing's reply, then went home and simply made a call.

[Unable to connect temporarily. Please try again later.]

Why aren't you answering the phone?

Old Master Lin called her several times, but she didn't hear him.

"Lin Yun'en, where are your ears? Come here right now."

She had no choice but to put down her phone: "I'll call her again later."

Country Y.

"Nannan, I heard from your brother that you're going to a banquet tonight, right?"

As Pei Yu spoke, he kept putting food on her plate.

Ruan Qing nodded: "Yes, we don't need to cook dinner for the two of us tonight. By the way, Mom, Aunt Wang can do the cooking."

Ever since Ruan Qing came to this family, Pei Yu has been cooking her favorite dishes in various ways, without missing a single meal.

She saw it all and felt very happy, but she didn't want her mother to suffer so much.

Pei Yu gripped her chopsticks tightly. "It's okay. I'm overjoyed that you can eat my cooking."

Ruan Qing saw the faint tears in her eyes and didn't know what to say.

evening.

Ruan Qing finished her makeup and went to the banquet venue alone.

"Miss, the young master will be here soon. Please rest in the car for a while."

The He family's position in this place is comparable to that of the Fu family in the capital.

Just thinking about walking in with He Xunnan, I wonder how many people's eyes we'll attract.

You should go in by yourself.

She opened the car door, and the reception staff outside immediately swarmed around her.

"Miss, please come in."

Ruan Qing turned around, but there was no one else behind her.

She wore a smoky purple strapless dress and a sapphire necklace.

Her long, straight black hair was styled in an elegant updo behind her ears, exuding sophistication without being vulgar.

She followed the host into the banquet hall, stood quietly in a corner, did not approach anyone to socialize, and reached out to pick up a glass of champagne.

A group of receptionists watching her from a distance whispered among themselves.

"Who is this? I've never seen her before. Does she need us brothers to give her face? She didn't even give her a tip."

"Who cares who she is? Didn't you see she arrived in the He family's car? You don't know her, but you don't know the He family, do you?"

"We can't afford to offend you, so let's leave quickly."

Ruan Qing took a small sip of wine, without making a fuss, and simply stood there quietly, attracting the attention of most of the people in the room.

A group of people surrounded her, their eyes constantly falling on her, making her feel very uncomfortable.

"Who is this person?" The wavy-haired beauty in the red dress was the first to speak.

The woman to her left, wearing a satin white silk dress, spoke in a convoluted tone: "Never seen her before. Probably a woman who snuck in to try and climb the social ladder. Haven't you sisters seen enough women like that?"

She's pretty, but she looks poor and shabby.

"Yin Xuanya, when are you going to stop being so jealous of beautiful women?"

Yin Xuanya was publicly reprimanded, and her face immediately turned ashen: "You—"

She was about to curse when her eyes were drawn to the man walking towards Ruan Qing.