After hanging up the phone, Ling Chen turned around and entered a street, driving a hundred ters before parking by the roadside, and got out to walk into a coffee shop on the street.
Arriving at the prearranged private room, Ling Chen lightly knocked on the door, then pushed it open and walked in.
In the modest-sized room, a delicate round table was placed by the window, with the curtains drawn. Zhu Yansong was sitting on one side, holding a cup of coffee, his face colored with anxiety.
"Mr. Zhu."
Ling Chen greeted and took a seat opposite him.
Zhu Yansong squeezed out a wry smile and said apologetically, "Mr. Ling, I’m terribly sorry to bother you during your busy schedule to et with ."
"No problem, I was just idling at ho anyway. Mr. Zhu, do you need sothing from ?"
When Ling Chen received the call from Zhu Yansong, he was very curious, not knowing what the other party wanted from him.
Zhu Yansong hesitated for a mont, a troubled expression on his face, "Mr. Ling, my visit today is mainly concerning Miss Tang."
Upon hearing this, Ling Chen’s mind stirred, and he asked without revealing his thoughts, "Is it Miss Yao who asked you to find ?"
"No, not at all!" Zhu Yansong hastily replied, "You’ve misunderstood, I’m here because Miss Tang needs help."
Help? Without continuing the conversation, Ling Chen waited silently for Zhu Yansong to finish speaking.
"Mr. Ling, to be frank, Miss Tang has run into trouble."
"What?" Ling Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and he exclaid, "What kind of trouble? Where is she? Is she okay?" His thoughts imdiately turned to Tang Shiyun’s previous assault incident. Could it be... With that thought, his heart started to race with worry.
"Mr. Ling, she’s currently at ho."
Ling Chen paused for a mont, then relaxed. That scared him—he had thought Tang Shiyun was in danger. "Mr. Zhu, can you please speak clearly? You’re going to give soone a heart attack like this."
"Miss Tang has been scared out of her wits lately, staying at ho all day, afraid to go out."
"Wait! Make yourself clear, what do you an scared out of her wits?"
"Ever since the assault incident, Miss Tang has been receiving anonymous letters filled with grueso photos, of severed hands and feet, or heads chopped off. At first, it wasn’t too bad, but these past two days, it’s not just photos anymore. The sender even mailed boxes containing dissected dead cats and dogs, their bodies brutally mutilated." Even Zhu Yansong, a grown man, showed a look of dread. Obviously, he had seen those animal corpses.
"Death threats!" Ling Chen imdiately identified the nature of the incident.
"Yes, that’s it," Zhu Yansong nodded.
At that mont, as if sothing occurred to Ling Chen, he said, "I saw on the news, Shiyun is going to have a fan et in East Sea City. Knowing that soone is out to harm her, why not cancel it?"
"The fan et was scheduled a month ago, and after this incident, the company’s upper managent was concerned for Miss Tang’s safety and wanted to cancel it. However, after consulting with the police, they advised us to proceed as normal. They said as long as Miss Tang appears in public, they will definitely be able to lure out those with malicious intent. At that ti, they plan to implent full surveillance, hoping to catch the suspect."
"That won’t do, this is gambling with Shiyun’s life," Ling Chen frowned, clearly aggravated, "What kind of terrible advice is this?"
Zhu Yansong looked helpless as he replied, "I can’t do anything about this situation; it’s a decision made by the company’s executives and the police. I’m just a man paid to get things done, I don’t have the authority to criticize. Mr. Ling, I know you care about Miss Tang and I’m aware of your capabilities, so I’d like to ask for your help to ensure nothing happens to Miss Tang."
Without hesitating, Ling Chen responded, "When it cos to Shiyun’s safety, I have an undeniable responsibility." He paused and glanced at Zhu Yansong, unable to help himself from asking, "Mr. Zhu, is it Shiyun who asked you to find , or..."
"I took the initiative."
"Oh." Ling Chen’s expression turned sowhat disappointed.
"Mr. Ling, please don’t mind, actually Miss Tang really needs you by her side, it’s just... you know, she isn’t in a position to do much right now. Just before I left, I saw Miss Tang sitting alone on the windowsill, holding her phone, staring at your number, and hesitant to call, fearing that Miss Yao would discover."
Ling Chen nodded to show he understood. The main problem wasn’t Tang Shiyun, but Yao Li. With Yao Li by Tang Shiyun’s side, even if she missed him, she wouldn’t dare to express it, lest it would only worsen the mother-daughter relationship.
"Mr. Zhu, how are Shiyun’s current security asures?"
"Besides the bodyguards hired by our company, there are the police protecting her around the clock. As long as she doesn’t leave the villa, there’s no problem. What I’m most concerned about is the fan et the day after tomorrow, that’s the critical mont."
"Don’t worry, I will be there to assist you in secret," Ling Chen emphasized the word ’secret,’ to slightly ease Zhu Yansong’s anxiety. His biggest fear was having Ling Chen face off with Yao Li; her previous threats were still fresh in his mory, not to be forgotten.
Taking a glance at the ti, Ling Chen stood up and said, "Mr. Zhu, we’ll be in touch about the day after tomorrow. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now."
"Sure, take care."
Leaving the coffee shop, Ling Chen got into his car, mulling over Zhu Yansong’s words. Whoever was sending the death threats must be the sa person who attacked the Lincoln Sedan outside of East Sea University. However, what he couldn’t understand was who bore such a deep grudge against Tang Shiyun to the point of wanting her dead.
Tang Shiyun was new to her career, Zhu Yansong said she got along well with everyone, never offended anyone, and wouldn’t have enemies.
Could the suspect be psychologically disturbed?
If that were the case, it seed far-fetched.
After much thought, Ling Chen decided to arrange a eting with Xia Mutong. The operation was led by the police; it was necessary to give her a heads-up. Additionally, he wanted to ascertain which idiot ca up with such a lousy idea of risking Tang Shiyun’s life.
The phone connected.
"Hello." Xia Mutong’s crisp voice ca through.
"It’s . Are you free right now?"
"I’m very busy," Xia Mutong had just finished her sentence when Ling Chen heard a familiar voice from the other end: "Xia, dinner’s ready, are you coming to eat with us?"
Tang Shiyun?
Ling Chen tensed slightly, wondering why Xia Mutong was with Tang Shiyun. Right, he realized, as a police officer, Xia Mutong must be involved in this operation. Moreover, being a woman, she could provide close protection for Tang Shiyun’s safety.
However, considering Xia Mutong’s sexual orientation, he couldn’t help but worry if that woman might attempt anything inappropriate with Tang Shiyun.
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