Old Gu? Is it Old Master Gu?
An Yiqing blinked curiously and looked toward Old Lady An.
Old Lady An beckoned to her with a smile and then whispered, "It’s a meeting between the family heads."
Upon hearing this, An Yiqing understood immediately. Her face blushed, she bit her red lip, but said nothing.
It wasn’t until Old Master An and Old Master Gu had chatted a while longer that they finally hung up the phone.
"Old man, is it set?" Old Lady An hurriedly asked.
"Yes. It’s scheduled for next Saturday at Lao San’s Prosperous Haoting," Old Master An nodded, then looked at his beloved granddaughter with a smile, "Niuniu, did Old Gu tell you that you and Lao San first met at Prosperous Haoting?"
An Yiqing’s face turned even redder at this. She quickly stood up and ran upstairs, leaving Old Master An and Old Lady An laughing on the sofa.
In her bedroom, An Yiqing closed the door behind her and let out a soft breath.
Xiao Hei and Old Jin, the two animals, were lying on the balcony, lazily sunbathing. Xiao Hei wagged its tail in greeting when it saw An Yiqing return and then lay down again.
At this moment, An Yiqing was too lost in thought to pay them any attention. She sat on the bed, staring blankly, her mind replaying the scene when she first met Gu Yelin.
As she recalled the process from their first encounter to acquaintance and then to love, a rosy blush couldn’t help but spread across An Yiqing’s face.
"Tutu, what are you thinking about?"
A deep and pleasant voice suddenly sounded, startling An Yiqing and snapping her back to reality.
She saw Gu Yelin standing at the edge of the bed, looking at her tenderly, and she wasn’t sure how long he’d been there.
"Ah Lin, when did you get back?" The girl’s face flushed, and she quickly reached out to grab Gu Yelin’s clothes.
"I just got home. I saw you daydreaming as soon as I walked in." The man sat down on the bed and affectionately stroked her nose, "Tutu, I have to leave in a while."
An Yiqing was startled, grasped Gu Yelin’s hand tightly, and urgently asked, "Where are you going? What happened?"
The man hugged her reassuringly and kissed her forehead gently, "Don’t worry. I’m just taking the people from ’Red Thorn’ on a mission. There won’t be any danger. I’ll be back in a week."
With a sigh of relief, An Yiqing exhaled deeply.
"Mmm, be careful. Don’t get hurt. Ah Lin, I’ll wait for you to come back." She wrapped her arms gently around his waist, her heart suddenly filled with a strong sense of longing.
Feeling the emotional shift in the girl, Gu Yelin held her tightly, keen to savor the brief sweetness before parting.
Half an hour later, ’Red Thorn’s’ helicopter landed directly on the roof of the An Family Villa. Under An Yiqing’s tender gaze, Gu Yelin embarked on his journey to the Beiyan Continent.
Without Gu Yelin, An Yiqing always felt empty inside. Although she kept busy every day, anyone could see a hint of loss on her face.
But just two days later, An Yiqing felt as if it had been two long years.
Before Gu Yelin left, Gu Tingting, who had been entrusted with the important task of cheering An Yiqing up, made her way to the An Family and, along with Ruan Xuesheng, dragged An Yiqing out to the streets.
At that moment, Zhang Yuksheng and Xing Bin, about to enter Penglai Residence for a meal, were violently scraped by a recklessly speeding van. A group of men dressed in black quickly lifted the two dazed men into the van and sped away.
What they didn’t notice was that in a corner of the Penglai Residence parking lot, an inconspicuous Buick sedan slowly followed at their heels.
The van sped through the city center, onto the highway, and rapidly headed towards a remote suburb. The Buick following behind maintained a few cars’ distance to avoid detection, nonchalantly tailing the van. As a result, those in the van were unaware of its presence.
About twenty minutes later, the van turned off the highway, drove for another half hour, and entered an abandoned factory.
The Buick parked discreetly in an abandoned courtyard about a kilometer from the factory gate.
The car door opened, and a man dressed in a black suit like a business elite quietly got out.
He cautiously peeked toward the factory, making sure no one was coming out, before taking out his phone to make a call.
Meanwhile, already out street shopping with Ruan Xue and Gu Tingting, An Yiqing’s phone in her bag rang at precisely that moment.
"Hello? Jinglin?" She glanced at the caller ID, barely answered the phone when Liao Jinglin’s anxious voice came through the other end.
"Miss, Brother Zhang and Binzi have been kidnapped in a van!"
An Yiqing tensed, then asked coldly, "Calm down, where are you now?"
"I’ve been following them. I’m at the entrance of a factory. I didn’t dare get too close. Miss, what should we do?"
"Send me the address. Keep watching and don’t expose yourself. Be careful!" After speaking, An Yiqing stuffed her bags into Ruan Xue and Gu Tingting’s arms, "Xiao Xue, lend me your car!"
Ruan Xue, without a word, handed over her car keys to An Yiqing.
"Qingqing, what happened? Do you need our help?" Gu Tingting asked with concern.
"No, you guys continue shopping. I have to go," An Yiqing said and then hurriedly left.
In the parking lot, An Yiqing hopped into Ruan Xue’s red sports car, stepped on the gas, and zoomed off.
As she drove towards the factory, her phone suddenly rang with an unfamiliar number.