On the other side, inside the abandoned construction site.

After struggling for three to four hours, One-Eyed Dragon and his partner finally managed to untie the ropes with the help of an exposed steel bar in the corner.

Freed from their bonds, they lay on the ground, gasping for air, their clothes soaked with sweat.

After a brief rest, One-Eyed Dragon sat up, "Let's go, quickly report back to Pat!"

Toothless knew the gravity of the situation as well, especially since the guys who handled them earlier clearly looked like tough characters.

So, he forced himself to stand up, and walked out of the abandoned construction site.

When they were taken into the car earlier, their phones had already been confiscated by Chen Wei, so they couldn't make calls now.

More than half an hour later, they finally returned to their base by a hired car.

At the moment, Pat was cuddling a sexy blonde woman while sleeping soundly.

Without caring for anything else, they bravely woke him up and quickly recounted the situation.

Upon hearing this, Pat quickly took out his phone to call the guards. Yet, after several attempts, no one answered.

He immediately felt uneasy; those hostages were crucial for making big money, so he hurriedly led his men to the place where the hostages were kept.

But when they arrived, the room was empty, save for two unconscious guards lying on the ground.

Pat was instantly infuriated and turned around to give One-Eyed Dragon and his partner a harsh slap.

He cursed angrily, "Didn't you say there were no leaks? Where are they!"

The slaps were strong enough to knock one of One-Eyed Dragon's teeth out.

One-Eyed Dragon, clutching his face, looked frightened and hurriedly defended himself, "I... I don't know, we... we really didn't tell them about this place, Boss, you have to believe me!"

"Believe you my ass!" The furious Pat immediately pulled out his gun and fired two shots.

One-Eyed Dragon and Toothless fell back in agony, blood gushing from their mouths, eyes stubbornly fixed on Pat.

After spending hours grinding steel bars to bring back the news, not only was the money gone, but their lives as well...

...

At 8 AM, a group of people appeared at Manila's airport.

The families of the two children had already wired a million each to Pat yesterday, and judging by the local police's attitude, some kind of conspiracy was sensed.

Therefore, they didn't hold much hope of getting the money back, leaving two people to handle the aftermath while taking the children back to the country.

Initially, thinking the flight was short, Qi Yun's group had booked business class. Even though he politely declined, two enthusiastic wealthy ladies still kindly upgraded their seats to first class.

With their family backgrounds, tens of thousands of dollars might really not matter, even if Qi Yun's net worth was over a billion, he still might not be as wealthy as them, given those positions were just too attractive.

Everyday, countless people lined up to send "tea leaves", so many that the threshold might be worn down.

"Xiao Qi, what job do you do in Bird City?" The one asking was You Wenlan, the young man's mother. This year she was 38, her husband was a deputy minister, and she herself was a section chief in the natural resources department.

Having gotten to know each other before, she no longer called Qi Yun "Mr. Qi", but "Xiao Qi", encouraging Qi Yun to address her as sister.

Qi Yun naturally didn't refuse; he welcomed these powerful and influential relatives.

"Haha, Sister You, I now run two companies, mainly doing gaming and trade," Qi Yun replied with a smile, "This time in the Philippines was to survey the market."

"Xiao Qi is really talented," You Wenlan praised repeatedly, then pointed to the woman sitting next to them, "If your company encounters any trouble in the future, you can directly look for Sister Sun."

Then she leaned in towards Qi Yun, lowering her voice, "Xiao Qing's uncle is in the commerce department."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun naturally showed a surprised expression on his face, then said to Xiao Qing's mother, "Then I'll thank Sister Sun in advance, if I ever need your help, don't pretend not to know me, hahaha."

Sister Sun waved her hand, feigning anger, "Don't be so formal with sister, you saved Xiao Qing's life, from now on we're family!"

Behind them, the two kids had also recovered from the shock. The girl named Xiao Qing stuck her head out, "Brother Qi, do you have a girlfriend? I can introduce someone for you."

Qi Yun waved his hands repeatedly, "No need, I appreciate the thought."

...

Bird City, kindergarten gate.

Zhao Qing was somewhat surprised as she looked at Dong Anyun, and the unfamiliar man behind her.

"Hey, Miss Dong, didn't you return to Shanghai? Why did you come here to find me?"

Dong Anyun explained with a smile, "Plans changed, our chairman came personally to discuss cooperation with President Qi again."

Then she extended her hand to introduce the unfamiliar man behind her, "This is our company's chairman, Mr. Zhao Weilin, same surname as Miss Zhao, related five hundred years ago."

From the moment Zhao Qing emerged, Zhao Weilin hadn't taken his eyes off her face, this unusual behavior made Zhao Qing somewhat suspicious.

"Miss...Ms. Zhao, hello," Zhao Weilin proactively reached out his hand.

Zhao Qing looked at the hand extended by the other party, wanting to refuse, but out of courtesy and considering the other party was Qi Yun's business partner, she reluctantly shook hands with Zhao Weilin.

"Hello."

It was just a simple handshake, yet Zhao Weilin seemed unwilling to let go, gripping tighter instead.

This startled Zhao Qing, and she hurriedly pulled her hand back with force, stepping back a few paces, looking at Zhao Weilin with some alarm.

Zhao Weilin's eyes slightly reddened, seeming to realize he was a bit out of line. He awkwardly retracted his hand, apologetically saying, "I'm sorry, Ms. Zhao, I..."

Zhao Qing didn't listen to him talk further, frowning and speaking directly, "Is there something you need from me? If not, I need to go teach the children now."

Beside her, Dong Anyun hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over, "Ms. Zhao, it's like this, our Chairman wants to meet with Mr. Qi to discuss cooperation matters, but his assistant mentioned he went on a business trip."

"Moreover, his assistant refused to give me Mr. Qi's contact information, so I hoped to obtain Mr. Qi's number from you, if that's convenient?"

This clumsy excuse, only the naive Zhao Qing would believe it.

But having met Dong Anyun before and knowing Qi Yun mentioned some business dealings with them, she hesitated for a moment but did not clearly refuse.

"Just a moment, I'll call Qi Yun and ask."

Zhao Qing said as she pulled out her phone from her jeans and dialed Qi Yun's number.

Yet at this moment, Qi Yun was flying in the sky, impossible to answer her call.

Zhao Qing could only shake her head helplessly, "I can't reach him right now either, I'm sorry. Since his assistant didn't give you the contact, it wouldn't be right for me to give it to you without his permission."

Dong Anyun nodded disappointedly, "No problem, I won't trouble you, Ms. Zhao."

"Okay." Zhao Qing responded, putting away her phone, "If there's nothing else, I'll get going."

"Sure, goodbye Ms. Zhao." Dong Anyun smiled politely.

Zhao Qing said no more, turning towards the kindergarten.

Just then, Zhao Weilin suddenly stepped forward, "Wait!"

This sudden action startled Zhao Qing; already a bit bothered by Chairman Zhao's previous behavior, she quickly stepped back two paces.

Just as Zhao Weilin was about to say something more, a figure suddenly stepped between him and Zhao Qing, separating them.

The person was Gao Min, the bodyguard arranged by Qi Yun, but her identity to Zhao Qing was a somewhat friendly neighborhood acquaintance who had helped her drive away a few people trying to chat her up at the mall.

"What are you trying to do?" Gao Min, full of presence, coldly watched Zhao Weilin.

Both Dong Anyun and Zhao Weilin were taken aback by the sudden appearance of Gao Min.

Dong Anyun was the first to speak in explanation, "Misunderstood, our Chairman Zhao, he..."

Gao Min didn't let her say too much, turning to Zhao Qing, "Qing, you go on back first. If they bother you again, I'll call the police."

"Okay." Zhao Qing nodded somewhat nervously, without thinking much about why Gao Min always appeared promptly whenever she was in trouble.

She simply agreed and jogged back to the kindergarten, saying a few words to the security guard at the duty room.

The guard immediately opened the window, sticking his head out to look this way.

Zhao Weilin watched Zhao Qing's departing silhouette, standing stunned in place.

Dong Anyun lightly cleared his throat, pulling him back from his daze, "Chairman Zhao, shall we leave now?"

"Okay." Zhao Weilin sighed heavily, desolately turning away.

Back in the business car, Dong Anyun's smile was somewhat bitter as he twisted open a bottle of water and handed it over, "Chairman Zhao, have a sip of water."

Zhao Weilin waved his hand, leaning on the leather seat, still looking absent-minded.

Dong Anyun placed the water aside, then carefully picked a strand of hair from his handbag, "I collected a strand of hair from Ms. Zhao's clothing earlier, I'll send it for identification later."

"It's her." Zhao Weilin's voice was soft, but firm, "Even though I haven't seen her for over twenty years, I recognized her the first moment I saw her. It's undeniably her!"

Dong Anyun nodded, taking a small sealed bag from his bag to keep the strand of hair secure, then looked up at Zhao Weilin, "Chairman Zhao, I understand your feelings right now, but regarding this matter, I think you should take it slowly."

"After all... she's been alone for so many years, even if you reveal your identity, she might not be able to accept it right away..."

This statement seemed to hit a painful spot for Zhao Weilin, his eyes reddened again, tears slipping from the corners.

At this moment, compared to him sitting in the office, he seemed like a different person entirely.

...

Six o'clock in the afternoon, Bird City Airport.

Qi Yun and his party got off the plane, though the temperature in Jiang Province was even higher than in Manila, this dry heat felt more comfortable than the humid muggy heat.

Just upon arriving at the terminal's exit, they saw several people ahead enthusiastically waving at them.

Those coming to pick them up were the families of Qi Yun's two cheap sisters.

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