When Ji Ning and Bai Xiaotang returned to the base, Chang Ru had already left.
Lin Yuanyang called Ji Ning over and recounted what Chang Ru had said to him, speculating, "Sister Ning, I suspect she might know something about the past of the Lin Family. I want to pretend to agree with her proposal."
"Alright." Ji Ning nodded slightly.
Lin Yuanyang furrowed his brow slightly and continued, "She’s been strange since she was young, always knowing things that others can’t predict. She claims her intuition is accurate, but I always feel it’s not that simple. I think she’s the mastermind behind this incident, yet she doesn’t fear being investigated at all, and seemed very relaxed when facing me. I’m a bit unsure whether she’s truly the mastermind."
"Why do you think she’s the mastermind?"
Lin Yuanyang glanced at Bai Xiaotang, who was idly playing on the hanging bar not far away, pushed up his glasses and said, "When Bai Xiaotang was six, she got lost once and was rescued by her. Since then, the Bai Family deeply trusts her; Aunt Bai even brought her to live in the Bai Family, treating her like a daughter. She enjoys everything Bai Xiaotang has. But when I was eight, I accidentally hacked into the Chang Family’s surveillance system and saw a man entering the Chang Family, that man was the one who was jailed for abducting Bai Xiaotang back then..."
"Hmm? When Bai Xiaotang was six, how old were you?"
Lin Yuanyang’s expression was a bit awkward, "At that time, the Bai Family matter was all over the news, and the kidnapper’s wanted notice was broadcasted. Aunt Bai kept a news photo from back then due to this matter. I saw it by accident."
Ji Ning nodded her head.
Lin Yuanyang’s spiritual power is S-Class; remembering a face isn’t difficult.
"Have you mentioned this to the Bai Family?"
Lin Yuanyang shook his head, feeling a bit awkward, "I was quite young at that time, and due to my mother’s issues, the Lin Family gradually distanced from the Bai Family, so..."
"No matter."
Lin Yuanyang was stunned for a moment, looked at Ji Ning and asked, "Don’t you think I’m being selfish?"
Ji Ning smiled, "Isn’t selfishness human nature? There’s nothing shameful about following one’s nature. Even if you had told the Bai Family, they wouldn’t have believed you. People are foolish in that way sometimes; they only believe what they’ve decided on. Not telling might have been good for Bai Xiaotang."
Lin Yuanyang’s nose tingled with a bit of sourness, this matter had been pressing in his heart for many years. Though he tried to suppress it with reason, every time he saw Bai Xiaotang act foolishly, he experienced a bit of unease, fearing she might truly be harmed some day, yet the Bai Family wouldn’t know the culprit is someone close.
"Should I tell her now?"
"Some things must be experienced personally to grow."
Lin Yuanyang instantly understood.
***
In the bright meeting room, Bai Xiaotang looked nervously at the few people in front of her and gulped.
Fu Yuanxuan spoke first, "Don’t be nervous, we just want to ask you a few questions."
"Okay..."
"Did you notice anything unusual before you fainted?"
Bai Xiaotang shook her head, "No, it was just the same as before, taking a cab back to the base with Xiao Yang. Right, Xiao Yang?"
Lin Yuanyang, sitting beside her, nodded slightly, "These days, Sister Ru was the one who arranged our cabs, the license plate matched."
Fu Yuanxuan continued to ask, "When did you lose consciousness? Before losing consciousness, did you notice any deviation in the route?"
Bai Xiaotang shook her head again, "I don’t know, I just accidentally fell asleep. When I awoke, I saw Sister Ning and encountered several kidnappers wanting to abduct me to extort money from my brother."
"So these kidnappers knew you’re from the Bai Family?"
"Yes." Bai Xiaotang thought of the situation she faced earlier, feeling a bit scared inside.
Luckily Sister Ning was with her, otherwise she definitely would have been taken away.
"How did they find out?"
Bai Xiaotang looked at Ji Ning, seeing her nod, and gathered courage, "They said they heard the warehouse manager and acted on impulse."
"Do you know what the warehouse manager intended by kidnapping you?"
Bai Xiaotang shook her head.
"Did you reveal your identity to anyone at the guesthouse?"
"No, I’ve never met him. When Xiao Yang and I came to the guesthouse, we stayed by Sister Ru’s side the entire day..." At this, Bai Xiaotang paused, her pretty round eyes looked at Lin Yuanyang beside her with a hint of doubt.
Lin Yuanyang interrupted her fanciful thoughts rudely, "You think I’d waste time chatting with strangers? I returned immediately to find you when Sister Xiaotong’s matter was finished."
"Oh right." Bai Xiaotang chuckled awkwardly, lifted her hand to ruffle Lin Yuanyang’s hair, receiving a big eye roll from him.
Just then, Ji Ning suddenly asked, "Besides yourself and Lin Yuanyang, who else knows your identity and most recently might intentionally or unintentionally leak that you are the Bai Family’s heiress at the guesthouse?"
Bai Xiaotang counted on her fingers, "Recently... those who know my identity include you Sister Ning, Xiao Yang, Sister Xiaotong, Brother Fu... of course you all wouldn’t leak my identity."
Bai Xiaotang smiled at them protectively, then continued to think.
Suddenly—
Her eyes widened, seemingly unable to believe as she looked at Ji Ning, "Impossibly..."
"Did you think of someone?"
Bai Xiaotang immediately shook her head, "No... maybe I just accidentally mentioned the Bai Family. Brother Fu, did you find out anything? Did the warehouse manager say who disclosed my identity?"
Bai Xiaotang looked at Fu Yuanxuan with a trace of tension, her voice trembling involuntarily.
Lin Yuanyang felt a bit exasperated, was about to say something but saw Ji Ning’s warning glance and swallowed his words.
Fu Yuanxuan glanced at Ji Ning and told Bai Xiaotang, "No."
Bai Xiaotang let out a long breath of relief, her expression relaxing slightly, but her fingers still involuntarily scraped the table edge.
"According to the suspect, he saw someone secretly taking photos of you and found one with the words ’Beijing Bai Family heiress’ written on the back. His son urgently needed a large sum of money for medical treatment, hence he risked the kidnap posing as a taxi driver."
"Secretly taking photos of me? Why?" Bai Xiaotang was quite surprised.
Lin Yuanyang bluntly said, "That depends on who is paying such close attention to your every move."
"Could it be my brother?"
Lin Yuanyang, feeling defeated, felt like punching her to wake up her brain, "Your brother would write the dangerous ’Bai Family heiress’ on a photo?"
"Then who is it? Just tell me, I truly can’t guess."
"You... just die being stupid!"
Bai Xiaotang felt a little wronged and looked to Ji Ning on the other side.
Ji Ning glanced at Lin Yuanyang, calmly replied, "At Mingfu Garden, someone secretly photographed you too, I sent them to the police station."
"When? I didn’t know."
"What do you know? Your brain is as messy as porridge." Lin Yuanyang replied unkindly, rolling his eyes, and continued, "Later, I investigated, and the one photographing you at Mingfu Garden went straight to the train to Beijing after leaving the police station. You think about it yourself!"
After saying that, Lin Yuanyang stood up, not intending to accompany her stupidity any longer.
Bai Xiaotang seemed to realize something, staring blankly, eyes wide open. It took a long time before she found her voice again.
"N-Ning Sister... could it be those assassins’ accomplice from the rooftop that night?"
Ji Ning smiled and patted her shoulder, "Possible. Go pack your things; we should leave."
Bai Xiaotang bit her lips and murmured "Alright".
Across, Fu Yuanxuan hurriedly looked at Ji Ning, "You’re leaving? What about the promise you made to me..."
Ji Ning pointed at Bai Xiaotang, smiling, "She has already given the answer."
"What answer..." Before finishing the sentence, Fu Yuanxuan paused, surprised as he looked at Ji Ning.