From her tone, it seemed she had somewhat regained her composure and could at least communicate normally now.

Just as he finished speaking, a strange sound was heard, not knowing whose stomach it came from, He Kao got up and said, "Hungry, right? I'll order some takeout first before freshening up."

As he was leaving, he added, "Don't worry, it's all fine now, really fine."

He glanced into the bedroom and found Xiaopang had left. He Kao opened his phone in the bathroom, it was already past one in the afternoon. He saw the missed call and message from Mrs. Chen, as well as a message from Xiaopang.

Xiaopang reminded him that if Mrs. Chen called, just say the company had an emergency, calling him back for overtime and a business trip. Meanwhile, Mrs. Chen's message was asking if Xiaopang was there with him.

He Kao could not figure out what situation Xiaopang was in, so he quickly made a call, and as soon as it connected, Xiaopang on the other side preempted by saying—

"Xiao Kao, you're finally awake. Last night, I sneaked to your place to sleep. My mom doesn't know yet. Seeing that you hadn't woken up by noon, I slipped away first to have fun in Taigu City for a couple of days. If my mom asks you, don't forget to cover for me."

He Kao: "Wait, tell me in detail, what exactly happened from yesterday until now?"

Huang Xiaopang: "You were just sleeping, weren't you? It was because my mom was forcing me to go on a blind date, and the other person was your middle school deskmate..."

He Kao blinked in confusion, feeling that Huang Xiaopang might have really lost his memory, yet somehow filled in the gaps of his memory. Not saying much over the phone, he hung up and quickly dialed Qian Guran's number.

There was no ringing sound, only a voice saying, "Sorry, the number you are calling is currently switched off..."

Nowadays, unless one doesn't have a power bank and can't find a place to charge, it's rare for someone's frequently used phone to be switched off, because a phone's primary function now extends way beyond making calls, encompassing all aspects of life.

Old Qian actually had his phone turned off, which was certainly unusual. He Kao felt quite concerned, yet had no means to deal with it for now, not to mention even Hidden Moth didn't find Qian Guran's whereabouts yesterday.

Searching for someone couldn't happen by randomly roaming the streets... As for reporting to the police, Old Qian announced he was on vacation in Pingjing. Simply because his phone couldn't be reached, what could he explain to the police?

Somewhat dazed after his shower, changed clothes and came out to find the takeout had been delivered. It was Gao Xue'e who answered the door and had set it on the table, also placing two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

He Kao felt his entire body was uncomfortable, various parts sore and unbearable, desperately wanting a relaxing massage—the proper kind—but first things first, he needed to fill his stomach.

Gao Xue'e: "Let's eat! I got the bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen. Your house is quite tidy, huh?"

Both sat down to eat, clearly ravenous. Despite heavy hearts making everything taste bland, they didn't eat slowly, taking a good while without speaking, possibly because they hadn't figured out what to say.

Gao Xue'e was the one to finally put down her chopsticks, softly asking, "Xiao Kao, are we really fine?"

She was wearing one of He Kao's long-sleeved shirts, the collar was a bit loose, and as she bowed her head, it revealed a tantalizing glimpse to anyone across from her.

He Kao quickly averted his gaze, "From last night until now, everyone who saw us can't talk about it anymore. President E, can I discuss something with you?"

His first words were quite startling; Gao Xue'e turned pale, but still steadied herself at the table, voice trembling slightly, "You're saying not to tell anyone? I won't!"

He Kao asked again, "Did you mention to anyone your plan to vacation in the Southwest?"

Gao Xue'e lowered her head, "I wasn't deliberately lying; I just thought saying that sounded better, more fitting... In truth, it's quite laughable, quite pretentious, unnecessary, really—I'll stop doing that from now on."

He Kao: "That's not what I meant. At least this time, it's good you said that. Remember, you went on a trip, nothing happened yesterday.

Either you return today or the day after, but you were not home yesterday."

Gao Xue'e: "I'll say it that way to everyone, but no need to pretend in front of you. Can you tell me what happened... if not, that's okay."

He Kao: "Remember, even in front of me, say it that way from now on. There are people in this world, who, even through walls, can hear from a distance."

Gao Xue'e: "Was it those people last night, are you also one of them?"

The process of Xiao Tao interrogating He Kao last night, Gao Xue'e overheard, and when they were left alone in the room, He Kao explained to her about Hidden Moth, the techniques, Magic Sect, and the Sorcerers.

The kidnappers' goal was to draw out Hidden Moth, thinking Hidden Moth had something to do with them, so to Gao Xue'e, while these matters were mysterious, they were no longer secrets.

He didn't want Gao Xue'e involved further but couldn't just harshly shut her out from speaking and questioning, especially since, at this point, the only person he could communicate with was Gao Xue'e.

Due to the sudden occurrence, he hadn't yet processed everything, and desperately needed to talk it over.

He Kao sighed, "I don't know if I count, but among those people, many do."

Gao Xue'e probed, "They're all...?"

He Kao nodded, "They've all disappeared, but it's unrelated to us. You traveled yesterday, I went home to sleep yesterday; we didn't encounter those people, nothing happened."

Gao Xue'e: "What about President Qian? You called him yesterday, saying you were with me and asked to meet at a place, then there was gunfire outside... Could he be...?"

He Kao: "I don't know, neither do you. We don't know who is who. As for President Qian, I only know he's a Tier Three Sorcerer from Qi Observation Sect, but he's currently uncontactable, unreachable by phone.

I also don't know who fired outside, never saw clearly. I just felt for a gun on a kidnapper's corpse, shot and killed three kidnappers, then escaped with you.

Rest assured, President Qian wasn't aligned with the kidnappers, else we wouldn't have survived. Now I suspect something happened to President Qian, maybe perpetrated by those people, but now those people... they can no longer speak."

Gao Xue'e: "Besides President Qian, who else knows what happened yesterday? I mean, who could possibly know, no other intention, just to give you a heads up."

He Kao: "Think again, is there anything else I should be reminded of?"

Gao Xue'e: "Yesterday, they asked you if there was anything in your father's belongings; were they searching for a clue about that person, or did they have another agenda?"

Despite his composed demeanor, He Kao was internally startled; fortunately, Gao Xue'e asked another question, reminding him that another potential person in the know was the Bada Group's boss, Gu Yunpeng.

Yesterday, Xiaopang informed him that all those involved in the kidnappings had been 'dealt with,' including the kidnappers at Joy Valley and their cohorts laying ambush at Sanxi Bridge, lurking outside E-Times District and President E's home.

Such matters, Zhao Hai Zhen and others surely wouldn't publicly engage in, including the gangs they hired locally, who presumably weren't clear about their true motives and identities. Xiaopang really cleaned it up thoroughly.

However, last night the kidnappers interrogated him about whether there was a document in his father's safe box? That was merely Gu Yunteng's unsavory dealings from twenty years ago, a threat only to Gu Yunteng alone.

It seemed Gu Yunteng was the local force colluding with Zhao Hai Zhen and others.

Gu Yunteng might not be aware of what transpired last night, nor why Zhao Hai Zhen and others vanished, but he likely knew Zhao Hai Zhen planned to act against him and even tasked Zhao Hai Zhen to investigate the material.

Aside from He Kao himself, only Qian Guran had seen that material; could Old Qian's disappearance also be linked to this matter?

**

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