At that moment, Gu Yelin felt An Yiqing’s clothes were still a bit too scanty—right now, he wished he could shrink the girl down and hide her away in his arms, keeping her allure hidden from everyone else.
"Tutu, would you consider adding a shawl on top?" Gu Yelin asked the girl, his mind scheming away.
An Yiqing looked at the man full of complaints and couldn’t help but roll her eyes, feeling helpless as she said, "Ah Lin, I brought a shawl." With that, she shook the fox fur shawl in her hands and draped it over her shoulders.
"But this shawl is too thick, Tutu. Let me get you a thinner one, okay? The Qin Family’s heating isn’t good, it’s very cold inside the villa," Gu Yelin lied shamelessly, without so much as a flutter in his heart or a blush on his face.
Hearing his words, the girl felt a vein throbbing in her temple. She laughed derisively, gave Gu Yelin a look, wrapped the shawl tighter around herself, greeted Xiao Hei, and was the first to walk out.
Watching his plan fail, a resentful glint flashed in the man’s dark eyes. He strode after An Yiqing, possessively wrapping his arms around her waist to declare his sovereignty.
Not long after, a silver-black Aston Martin slowly drove out of Shuixie Lanting, vanishing onto the main road.
Thirty minutes later, a black, luxurious Rolls-Royce slowly entered Shuixie Lanting, stopping at the security room by the entrance.
"Master, I’m a friend of An Yiqing. I’ve been here before. Remember me?" An Zhihang leaned out from the car window with a scholarly and refined smile, speaking to the security guard outside.
The security guard took a good look at the person in the car and exclaimed, "I remember now! Mr. An, are you here to see Miss An?"
"Yes! Could you please open the gate for me?" An Zhihang nodded and said.
"Oh dear! What a coincidence!" The security guard slapped his thigh, a look of regret crossing his face, "Miss An and Mr. Gu left in their car! I guess it’s been about half an hour!"
"They left?!" An Zhihang urgently asked, "Master, do you know where they went?"
The security guard shook his head regretfully, saying, "I don’t know."
An Zhihang thanked the security guard and got back into the car. Looking at his family’s expectant faces, he said, "Xiao Qing and Lao San have gone out. Don’t worry for now, I’ll give Lao San a call to ask."
With that, he took out his phone and dialed Gu Yelin’s number. After a few beeps, a cold female voice came through the receiver, "Hello, the number you have dialed is switched off. Please try again later." An Zhihang, not giving up, dialed An Yiqing’s phone and was met with the same off-the-hook message. This left him somewhat frustrated—where on earth could those two have gone?
"Zhihang, is the call not going through?" Kong Shi looked at An Zhihang with hope, asking tentatively.
An Zhihang nodded and comforted Kong Shi, "Don’t worry, Mother, I’ll give Manager Zhang a call. He’s a capable aide to Xiao Qing; he might know where she went."
Saying this, An Zhihang dialed Zhang Yuksheng’s number, and after a little while, the call connected!
"Hello, this is Zhang Yuksheng." Zhang Yuksheng’s deep and steady voice came from the other end, sounding like heavenly music to An Zhihang at the moment.
"Manager Zhang, this is An Zhihang."
There was a moment of surprise on Zhang Yuksheng’s side before he asked with some confusion, "Mr. An? What’s the reason for your call...?"
"Manager Zhang, I’m looking for Xiao Qing. Do you know where she went? The security at Shuixie Lanting said she’s gone out," An Zhihang said without beating around the bush, his tone anxious.
"Miss?" Zhang Yuksheng paused, puzzled, "Miss An went to attend Old Master Qin’s birthday celebration. Mr. An, didn’t the An Family also receive an invitation?"