The situation was too sudden, completely different from what Fan Jie had imagined.
He had always thought that Zhang Yan would invite Wu Qiangwei out alone, or have soone else invite Wu Qiangwei.
Then they would drug the food and drinks, knock her out, and let him make his move.
But unexpectedly, she had directly invited her out, and Song Guanchao might even show up.
But then he thought it through and was relieved.
After all, he had once tricked Wu Qiangwei into coming out under the excuse of a class reunion.
She was already wary of such gatherings at heart.
It was almost impossible to lure her out.
In contrast, today's lunch gathering could lower her guard.
Firstly, it's a lunch gathering, which naturally lowers vigilance.
Secondly, Zhang Yan invited her out to make peace.
So, indeed, today's lunch is the perfect opportunity.
Fan Jie suddenly felt pressured.
For him, the most difficult issue right now is Song Guanchao.
He must get rid of Song Guanchao; with him there, Fan Jie can't act according to plan.
Fan Jie pondered for a long ti and gradually ca up with an idea.
...
At eleven-thirty in the morning,
Song Guanchao was the first to arrive at the parking lot.
Shortly afterward, Wu Qiangwei ca downstairs.
Just as they were about to get into the car, a little old man in his fifties ran over, loudly shouting, "Director Song, I want to report a cri!"
Both were stunned, and a few scattered people nearby also looked over.
Song Guanchao asked, "What do you want to report?"
The little old man said, "I want to report Vice Mayor Zhang Yan!"
Song Guanchao's eyes lit up, but now was not the ti to handle a report; he still needed to take Wu Qiangwei to the restaurant.
"Take my number and co back in the afternoon."
"No, no way." The little old man looked around nervously, "I have to report now."
Wu Qiangwei said, "You handle this first; I'll let Wu Ming drive."
Song Guanchao wasn't supposed to attend the lunch, just drop her off and wait nearby.
"Alright." Song Guanchao led the little old man towards the city governnt office.
After entering the office, he called Jiang Yiren to ask her to bring two boxed lunches from the cafeteria.
Song Guanchao hadn't spoken much since arriving from Xu City two days ago.
She knew he was busy and didn't want to disturb him.
Suddenly receiving a call, even for such a trivial task, she was still quite happy.
At least he thought of her.
Soon, Jiang Yiren delivered the als.
"Let's eat first and talk afterward."
"Thank you, thank you."
The little old man ate quickly and eagerly, apparently eager to report Zhang Yan.
Song Guanchao casually sent Wu Yun a text, asking her to co imdiately.
Before long, Wu Yun arrived.
The little old man had just finished eating, wiped the grease from his mouth, and said, "I want to report Zhang Yan for shielding a rapist!"
Song Guanchao didn't interrupt and quietly listened to his account.
Wu Yun beside him opened her recorder, docunting the conversation.
The little old man lived in the old city, had a son and daughter, and his younger daughter was a junior in college. Last year, she was lured by soone outside the school, given drinks laced with drugs, and only found out she had been raped the next day.
And the rapist was Zhang Yan's nephew.
At first, the little old man didn't know the identity of the perpetrator; the police inford them he was well-connected and not soone common folk should provoke.
Besides, they claim it was consensual, with no signs of rape.
In short, they had no evidence to prove it, plus the perpetrator's background ant they had no chance of winning a legal battle.
Song Guanchao didn't make an imdiate judgnt. He needed to hear testimonies from multiple sides; one-sided narratives tend to favor the speaker, making them unreliable.
...
When Wu Qiangwei entered the restaurant, no one was there yet.
The waiter made her a cup of tea, and she leaned back on the sofa, sipping quietly as she waited.
After a while, she suddenly felt sleepy, incredibly fatigued, with heavy eyelids.
This drowsiness ca naturally, without her realizing anything amiss, and she leaned back on the sofa, closed her eyes, and gradually fell asleep.
Restaurant parking lot.
Wu Ming was squatting by the greenery, smoking and mindlessly scrolling through his phone.
At this mont, a car drove up, stopping in the empty space in front of him, the exhaust spraying onto him.
With a face of disgust, he stood up, waved his hand in front of him, and moved aside.
A tall, handso man stepped out of the car, straightened his attire, and strode towards the restaurant.
Wu Ming found the man familiar at first glance, only recalling after he entered the restaurant.
"Fan Jie."
Straightaway, his expression turned serious.
Why is this guy here?
Wasn't his sister eting Zhang Yan today?
Wu Ming was filled with doubt and sent his sister a ssage: "I saw Fan Jie."
The ssage disappeared into the void with no reply.
Wu Ming instinctively felt sothing was off. Though his sister wasn't always kind to him, they were still siblings.
Furthermore, it wasn't an insignificant ssage; no matter how busy she was, she would usually respond.
Sohow, he suddenly thought of the person reporting when Song Guanchao and his sister set out.
Adding Fan Jie, who shouldn't be appearing here...
One coincidence could be just that, but two in a row were surely not!
"Damn!"
Wu Ming seed to have guessed sothing, imdiately dialing Wu Qiangwei's phone.
The call connected, but no one answered.
There's a problem, definitely!
He sprinted towards the restaurant while calling Uncle Hong.
"Uncle Hong, my sister might be in danger."
"Got it."
Uncle Hong's calm tone suppressed the tension within Wu Ming.
He knew Uncle Hong was nearby.
Barging into the restaurant, Wu Ming stopped.
He didn't know which private room his sister was in.
He walked to the front desk, suppressing his impatience, and asked, "Could you check which private room Miss Zhang reserved? Zhang with the character 'Zhang' for 'to rise'."
The front desk checked and shook her head, "Sorry sir, there's no reservation under Miss Zhang."
Can't find it?
Then she didn't make the reservation.
"Check Mr. Fan."
Seconds later, the front desk continued shaking her head, "Sorry sir, there's no reservation under Mr. Fan either."
Damn! This guy is really cautious.
"On which floors are your private rooms?"
"The second and third floors... Sir, what are you planning to do?"
Wu Ming couldn't be bothered to answer; he dashed to the second floor, planning to use the most straightforward thod: searching room by room.
While searching, he called Song Guanchao.
Song Guanchao was still listening to the old man's repetitive rants, glanced at the incoming call, and grabbed his phone: "Speak."
"I saw Fan Jie!"
"I just checked with the front desk; there's no reservation under Zhang Yan or Fan Jie at the restaurant, and my sister's phone isn't picking up. I suspect they've drugged her!"
"And the person who reported to you might have been arranged by them, aiming to lure you away from my sister."
Wu Ming spoke rapidly, highlighting key points, making it easy for Song Guanchao to understand his intended ssage.
"Where are you?"
"I'm at the restaurant, searching room by room."
"What about Uncle Hong?"
"He's nearby, coming over imdiately."
"Let know when you find her. I'll co over right away."
Ending the call, Song Guanchao imdiately stood up: "Xiao Wu, contact Zhou Xingjian, have him co to handle this matter; I have to leave for a while."
Then Wu Yun watched him sprint out the door at high speed, she and the old man both stunned, taking several seconds to react and quickly calling Zhou Xingjian.
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