“​When are you leaving?”

Lu Nian was lying on top of him, “The day after tomorrow.”

“I’ve already discussed it with Yayuan.”

That night, Su Qingyou and Zhao Tingyuan were going to attend a high-end banquet in Ancheng.

It was hosted by the Su family, and as the host’s daughter, Su Qingyou would be there, and Zhao Tingyuan would also attend.

So naturally, they wouldn’t be at Zhao’s residence.

It was the best opportunity to bring out Zhao Yayuan.

So, after comparing for several days, all three of them agreed that this time was the most appropriate.

He didn’t ask much, seeming to have agreed by default.

She smiled, pursing her lips, “Wait for me to come back.”

“I have something to talk to you about.” Lu Nian leaned down and lightly brushed his lips.

…

Time passed quickly.

The 23rd night was the time they planned to take Zhao Yayuan out, but on the 22nd, there were still some things that needed to be done in advance.

After all, they had been childhood friends. That day, Qiao Li directly saw Zhao Yayuan and saw his terrible condition, so these days,

Qiao Li’s mood was particularly bad.

Walking back and forth in the room, his usually quiet temperament rarely showed a bit of restlessness.

Lu Nian said to Qiao Li, “Qiao Li, don’t panic.”

Now, it was about two years before the original plot where Zhao Yayuan was truly imprisoned.

Su Qingyou’s foundation was still unstable, and Zhao Quan hadn’t passed away yet.

If Zhao Yayuan’s physical condition wasn’t so weak now, everything hadn’t reached the worst point yet.

“Today, we have to do one thing well,” Lu Nian said.

“There’s a very important person.” Lu Nian whispered, “If we can contact him, everything will be much easier.”

Zhao Quan, the current head of the Zhao family, Zhao Yayuan’s grandfather.

He was not at the Zhao family now, but on vacation in a small seaside town near Ancheng.

Su Qingyou and Zhao Tingyuan were filial to him.

Not long ago, he also had a great-grandson, so Zhao Quan’s mood had been quite good recently.

He didn’t know Zhao Yayuan’s current physical condition and only thought it was a minor surgery.

“But we can’t contact him,” Qiao Li said.

The last time they exchanged phones, they left Lu Nian’s phone to Zhao Yayuan and brought him out.

Zhao Yayuan’s phone had Zhao Quan’s contact number.

But no matter how they tried, they couldn’t get through.

“Probably something’s been tampered with,”

“Our phones can’t get through either,” he sounded a bit disheartened.

“It must be a permission setting,” Lu Nian said, “Only people on the whitelist can get through, but something’s been tampered with on Yayuan’s phone.”

“I’ve found someone who can fix it.”

Lu Nian was waiting for someone.

Soon, someone knocked on the door. Coming in was a young man with a backpack on his back and a baby face. When he saw Qiao Li, he paused.

Lu Nian said, “He’s Yayuan’s friend.”

“Oh.” Fang Deng sat down at the table, “Hurry up and let me see the phone you mentioned earlier.”

Lu Nian handed him the phone.

Fang Deng was focused on his work, while Lu Nian and Qiao Li waited quietly.

“It’s a remote control software, written quite well,” Fang Deng said after a while, “But this can be fixed. Give me forty minutes and it’ll be okay.”

Lu Nian quickly agreed and took Qiao Li to the next room, leaving him a quiet working environment.

“Is it really going to work?” Qiao Li still had some doubts.

Lu Nian trusted Fang Deng a lot. “He said it can, so it definitely can.”

Qiao Li’s tense nerves finally relaxed a bit. “Nian Nian, where did you meet such a capable person?”

“It’s my senior in college,” she added, “Also a long-time friend of Qin Si.”

Absolutely trustworthy.

“Then won’t he find out?” Hearing that name, Qiao Li asked hesitantly.

He felt a bit worried inside, seeing Zhao Yayuan in such a weak condition now, Qiao Li feared he might do something to Zhao Yayuan.

“He won’t,” Lu Nian said.

“Because Ya Yuan doesn’t want it, we won’t ask for his help in this matter.” Lu Nian looked into his eyes, “But, he’s not the type to kick someone when they’re down.”

Qiao Li fell silent, “I’m sorry.”

Lu Nian gently touched his hair, “Qiao Li, don’t worry too much, everything will be fine.”

Qiao Li had always been calm and rational, but perhaps because of seeing Zhao Yayuan’s illness that day, he was overly worried, now losing some of his rationality.

“Okay, okay,” Fang Deng called from the living room, “It’s ready, who wants to come over and make the call?”

……

Zhao Quan was on vacation.

Suddenly receiving a call, he saw it was from Zhao Yayuan, feeling somewhat happy inside.

It had been a while since he saw his grandson, and Zhao Yayuan was also a wild child, usually not calling for no reason, this time actually calling him on his own initiative.

However, when he answered the call, it was a gentle and clear female voice, “Hello…”

Zhao Quan naturally remembered her, knowing she was the former fiancee of his grandson from the Lu family.

His tone wasn’t too good, “Where’s Ya Yuan? Why is his phone in your hands?”

Lu Nian knew her words might not necessarily be believed by Zhao Quan, so she didn’t say much and directly sent over the photos taken by Qiao Li that day.

Photos of Zhao Yayuan lying on the sickbed, looking particularly pale and weak.

“Mr. Zhao, Yayuan is in very poor health now. He wants to go to Nanqiao for recuperation again, but your family seems unwilling to let him go.” Lu Nian said, “But in this matter, it’s better to respect Yayuan’s wishes. If you don’t have work, you might as well come back and see Yayuan?”

…

After a conversation, Lu Nian hung up the phone, “He agreed.”

Qiao Li hurriedly asked, “When did he say he’ll come back?”

“He’s still somewhat skeptical,” Lu Nian said, “But he promised to come back. We’ll stick to the plan when the time comes. If someone tries to stop us, he’ll have to believe it even if he doesn’t.”

She didn’t like to deal with these matters, but now she had no choice.

She didn’t expect the process to proceed so quickly this time.

So, she made the decision to bring Zhao Yayuan out of the Zhao family.

On the night of the 23rd, the Su family’s banquet was in full swing, and the tickets and plane tickets to Nanqiao had already been booked.

Lu Nian and Qiao Li set out to pick up Zhao Yayuan.

They had installed a positioning software on Zhao Yayuan’s phone last time.

Now, taking a look, it was still in the Zhao family.

Lu Nian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed that the plot was correct.

They didn’t intend to imprison Zhao Yayuan in the mountains at this time.

They just wanted to control him while he was weak and gradually weaken his power.

Qiao Li said, “It won’t be so smooth.”

Sure enough, aside from Zhao Yayuan, there were still people in the mansion.

It was the butler who answered Lu Nian’s call last time. “I’m sorry, both the master and madam are not here tonight. Our family declines visitors.”

He said politely.

“Yayuan wants to come out himself,” Lu Nian said, “Are you going to forcibly stop him?”

She immediately called Zhao Yayuan’s phone and signaled to Qiao Li.

He understood.

“Let them in,” came his voice, very weak, but discernible.

The butler pretended not to have heard anything, “I’m sorry, Second Young Master isn’t feeling well. The master and madam instructed not to let him be too willful.”

“Master and madam?” Lu Nian asked, “Aren’t they abroad?”

The butler was losing patience, “You can go ask them yourself.”

He was prepared to hold out against Lu Nian and Qiu Li for a long time, and his attitude was getting worse.

After about half an hour of stalemate, Lu Nian and Qiu Li finally stopped trying to persuade him and prepared to leave.

The butler rubbed his forehead, feeling annoyed.

Finally, they left.

He thought to go inside and rest, but then saw a maid running over in a panic, “Look, what’s that?”

On the winding mountain road, a sudden headlights appeared.

The butler hurried outside.

At the head was a black extended Lincoln.

The old master got out of the car, pushing away the support of the two bodyguards beside him, his eyes glaring, “Where does my grandson want to go, he goes. The world hasn’t turned upside down yet, and this old bone of mine hasn’t died yet.”

Having accumulated power in the Zhao family for decades, he was naturally not comparable to the inexperienced Zhao Tingyuan and the newcomer Su Qingyou.

The butler froze on the spot.

Lu Nian and Qiu Li followed silently behind Zhao Quan.

The butler, crestfallen, was guarded by several bodyguards.

A young maid secretly dialed Su Qingyou’s phone, speaking quickly and tremblingly.

Afterwards, she hung up, and all the remaining people in the Zhao family were summoned to the dining room to meet Zhao Quan’s wrath.

Fortunately, Zhao Yayuan seemed to be better than before, though still pale and weak.

“What will you do, Yayuan?” Qiao Li asked, “Are you still leaving?”

Now that Zhao Quan was back, he should be able to temporarily protect him, and the medical resources in Ancheng were also good.

Lu Nian feared he might change his mind, “No, Yayuan, you have to go. Nanqiao is just a temporary stop. After that, you can go back to Haicheng.”

Zhao Quan could only shelter him for so long, and when Zhao Tingyuan and Su Qingyou came back, things might take a turn.

They could only leave this place of trouble first.

Zhao Yayuan was originally looking at Lu Nian, but then averted his gaze, his voice weak, “I’ll go to Nanqiao.”

Lu Nian finally breathed a sigh of relief, “We’ve arranged for a car.”

Everything proceeded according to plan.

She was sweating all over, “Next, Zhao Quan should handle things. No one will come to chase us for the time being.”

They needed him to see all this, along with the recording Qiao Li made earlier.

Zhao Quan was not stupid.

Afterward, Su Qingyou and Zhao Tingyuan would probably need to explain things carefully.

Zhao Yayuan fell asleep, and Qiao Li’s expression was tired.

However, he finally showed a faint smile, “Yes.”

Taking a gamble finally paid off.

The plane quietly flew through the night sky.

At the Su family banquet, Su Qingyou’s smile was perfect, and her responses were polite.

She glanced at her phone and apologized, “I need to take a call.”

Afterward, her expression slowly darkened, her previous smile gone.

After handling a few guests, Zhao Tingyuan returned to the inner room, hurriedly asking Su Qingyou, “What’s wrong?”

“Xiao Qin told me, your grandfather is back,” she said, “Zhao Yayuan has left.”

“What should we do? It’s okay if he left, but now that grandfather knows, what do we do next? Grandfather has always liked Ya Yuan.” Zhao Tingyuan panicked.

“Ask Lu Zhihong to go to Nanqiao as well,” Su Qingyou’s face was very serious, her mind was also working fast, “Tell him that his son and daughter have also gone there.”

“What use is Lu Zhihong going there?”

Finally, a hint of displeasure crossed Su Qingyou’s face, and she coldly smiled, “To give them a hard time.”

She always thought Lu Nian was useless, incapable of anything.

Unexpectedly, there seemed to be no movement from Qin Si this time.

She didn’t know how she managed to find Zhao Quan so fast.

“They didn’t go to the hospital; they left,” Su Qingyou said, “I thought with Zhao Yayuan’s condition, their first reaction would be to go to the hospital.”

“What do we do now?” Zhao Tingyuan was panicking.

Su Qingyou didn’t answer.

“Now your grandfather is suspicious of you,” Su Qingyou said, “What’s more important now is to go explain to him.”

“Now we still have Xiuyi,” she said.

“How’s Lu Zhihong’s situation?” Su Qingyou finally looked gloomy, “That waste Lu Zhihong can’t compete with Qin Si.”

The only person she didn’t want to provoke was Qin Si.

It seemed that trying to get Lu Zhihong to deal with him was pointless.

Now, what she hoped for was for Lu Zhihong to find Lu Nian and Qiao Li and spill everything that happened before.

Lu Nian’s personality was like this.

If she collapsed and made a fuss, maybe Qin Si would go mad.

By then, everything would be solved without a fight.

This was the only solution she could think of.

At the same time…

Minghong reported, “Boss, Lu Nian has boarded the plane. Everything went smoothly.”

Qin Si had heard from Minghong about the situation in the Zhao family, and understood it.

He knew that the Zhao brothers had been at odds lately, but he didn’t spend much energy paying attention to it.

He wasn’t very interested in other families’ internal affairs, only focusing on Zhao Tingyuan and Lu Zhihong’s collusion, wanting to intervene in Lu Family affairs.

Su Qingyou and Zhao Tingyuan seemed to have some fear of him.

They had never made a move against him here, only the clumsy performance of Lu Zhihong.

But now that Lu Nian was involved, he would naturally pay attention.

“Yeah,” he said, “We’ll leave too.”

This was a simultaneous chase.

Lu Zhihong pursued Lu Nian and Qiao Li, wanting Qiao Li to return to the family, while he wanted to protect Lu Nian and find Lu Zhihong.

At the same time, Lu Zhihong was rushing to Nanqiao with that appraisal letter.

Probability is greater than 99.99%.

Qiao Li was Lu Zhuo, the child he had long thought had died in the deep mountains of Nanqiao.

…

Zhao Yayuan had a weak constitution.

After the operation, his recovery was poor, coupled with inexplicable weakness.

Lu Nian said, “Qiao Li, with Yayuan in this condition, he can’t stay in Nanqiao for too long.

The medical conditions here are not good after all.

My idea is to take him to Nanbin or Haicheng first, find someone reliable, and have a comprehensive examination.

Afterwards, if he needs rest, he can return to Nanqiao.”

This place was only a temporary stop.

After all, Qiao Li and Zhao Yayuan had grown up here, and the people in the small town knew them. For now, it was the safest place.

Qiao Li nodded, “Yeah.”

Zhao Yayuan was still sleeping inside the house, sleeping soundlessly, but his spirit seemed to be better than before.

Probably because he was back in a familiar environment.

Lu Nian said, “Qiao Li, take Yayuan to the hospital in Nanbin tomorrow.”

“What about you?” Qiu Li asked.

“I’ll stay here to help you assess the situation. I’ll return to Ancheng in a few days, and then I’ll come to see you,” Lu Nian said. “And, I’m in contact with Fang Deng. Don’t worry, now it’s my business. If anything happens to me, my boyfriend will definitely come looking for me. Qin Si won’t definitely stand by.”

Qiao Li finally nodded.

Inside the house, Zhao Yayuan seemed to wake up, and the two went in to see him.

His voice was hoarse as he looked at Lu Nian, “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” Lu Nian felt a bit bitter in her heart.

They used to be such good friends, and Zhao Yayuan had helped her so much.

Now, it had come to a point where he felt the need to thank her.

Qiao Li was taking care of Zhao Yayuan.

Lu Nian booked their tickets for tomorrow’s departure.

She prepared to go out to the supermarket to buy some essential items.

Everything went smoothly, and Zhao Yayuan’s spirits seemed to have recovered somewhat.

Lu Nian felt like she was about to collapse all over.

After sending them away from Nanqiao, the sun was already setting.

These past two days, she had been on edge, and now that she relaxed a bit, she still felt like everything tasted bland.

She planned to return to Ancheng early to be with Qin Si.

She only planned to stay here for one more night.

In the evening, someone knocked on the door.

Lu Nian felt strange because Qiao Lan had already moved out, and the courtyard had been empty.

Could it be that Zhao Yayuan and the others forgot something and came back to get it?

Lu Nian opened the door a crack to look outside, but then froze in place.

She had never expected that the person standing in front of her would be Lu Zhihong.

“Where’s Qiao Li?” Lu Zhihong only saw her alone and looked around the courtyard.

“He’s not here,” Lu Nian said calmly. “He left.”

“He left?” Lu Zhihong’s chest heaved. “Do you know who he is? And you let him leave?”

Lu Nian didn’t say anything.

“Did you already know?” Lu Zhihong was extremely angry. “Are you playing me for a fool? You didn’t tell me, did you?”

Lu Nian kept her eyes down. “What do I know? I’ve lost my memory. Doesn’t Dad know about it?

These years, we’re not allowed to mention anything about A Zhuo at home. Isn’t that Dad’s instruction too?”

Lu Zhihong was speechless.

Ignoring Lu Nian’s words, he pushed past her, searching room by room, and in the end, he really found nothing.

Lu Nian stood in the courtyard, her expression calm.

In the distance, the verdant hills and clear waters were the familiar Nanqiao, the place like a nightmare.

Suddenly, Lu Zhihong went crazy.

He roared, “Do you know what happened back then? In Nanqiao, both of you were kidnapped. Why did you come back in the end?”

Lu Nian was stunned.

Her lips trembled. “Kidnapped? Why has no one ever told me?”