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"But this was my first time discussing a partnership with their company, so there's no way they could know that much about me. Even though I'm suspicious, I don't have any convincing evidence." Gu Pengzhan shook his head again, as if denying his own speculation.

"Uncle Chu, when I went to the restroom earlier, I heard a man in there talking on the phone." Wei Zhao recounted the phone conversation he had overheard in the restroom.

As Gu Pengzhan listened, his brow knitted tight. He had suspected something was wrong with the company he had gone to negotiate with. They had been close to an agreement, only the signing left, but once he arrived, they had put off the signing with all sorts of excuses, and had seemed to be waiting for something the whole time, constantly checking the clock. In the end, when whatever it was did not come, they found an excuse, saying the partnership was not yet ripe and would need to be discussed at a meeting first.

Gu Pengzhan had been furious at the company's about-face, but since nothing had been signed, they were within their rights to back out. He had done no more than say a few words about cooperating another time, and then left in a hurry.

Their behavior, however, had sown suspicion in his mind. At first he had thought nothing of it, but after Gu Mengyao was taken hostage by the bank robbers, Gu Pengzhan began to wonder whether there was some connection between the two.

On the surface, of course, there was no necessary link between the two events. Strange as the other side's attitude had been, Gu Pengzhan could not find the connection, and so had done no more than suspect.

But now, hearing Wei Zhao's words, Gu Pengzhan understood everything at once. From the very beginning, the other side had never intended to negotiate in good faith. They had meant to kidnap his daughter and use her to coerce him into achieving their ends.

Indeed, if his daughter had not been rescued by Wei Zhao and had instead fallen into their hands, then all their company would have had to do was let a hint of it slip during the negotiations, and for his daughter's safety he would have had no choice but to give in and grant them certain favors.

And afterward, the other side could deny the whole thing outright. The affair had begun with a bank robbery, after all, and his daughter had merely been taken hostage. With that as cover, their crime of kidnapping could be neatly concealed.

No wonder they had kept checking the clock as if waiting for something. That was what they had been waiting for. And judging by Wei Zhao's account, this man on the phone in the restroom, since he could be on the top floor of the Group, must be a high-ranking figure within it as well.

With someone on the inside working in concert, the other side's plan had been flawless. The one thing they had failed to account for was the uncertain factor that was Wei Zhao. It seemed that bringing him here to be at his daughter's side had been a wise move after all.

At first, Gu Pengzhan had placed Wei Zhao beside Gu Mengyao purely on the old man's advice, without any other thought in mind. But who would have guessed that, through an unexpected turn of events, Wei Zhao would come to play such a crucial role.

"I will look into this matter." A flicker of cold severity passed through Gu Pengzhan's eyes. There were conflicts between himself and certain executives within the company, true, but that anyone would dare to use his daughter as a pawn — that was something Gu Pengzhan would never permit.

Wei Zhao nodded. He had no wish to be drawn into such matters. As chairman of the Group, Gu Pengzhan naturally had his own methods; Wei Zhao had merely reported what he had heard, and how it was handled was Gu Pengzhan's affair.

"Xiao Yi, you didn't alert them, did you?" A crucial question had suddenly occurred to Gu Pengzhan: when Wei Zhao had eavesdropped in the restroom, had he aroused the other man's suspicion? If so, catching the fox by the tail would become considerably harder.

"Don't worry, Uncle Chu," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "When Uncle Qing's call came through, I nearly jumped out of my skin. But I pretended to be someone who had come to the Group on business and taken the wrong floor..."

Wei Zhao then recounted to Gu Pengzhan the little speech he had muttered to himself.

"Ha, not bad at all. You're a quick thinker." Gu Pengzhan praised him. The more he saw of Wei Zhao now, the more satisfied he became. At first it had been merely his old father's wish, and Gu Pengzhan had simply complied. But now he genuinely felt that Wei Zhao was a rare talent.

Gu Pengzhan's father, Chu Sanwa, was a man whose word was law in the household. Starting out as a humble bricklayer, he had built the Gu Group from nothing over the course of several decades. Though he had now handed the Group over to Gu Pengzhan, Chu Sanwa's word still carried absolute authority at home.

When Gu Pengzhan was small, the family had still been very poor. It was not until he was seven or eight that Chu Sanwa founded Pengzhan Construction Company, which had then grown step by step into what it was today. That upbringing had kept him free of the bad habits of the second-generation rich, and he conducted himself with a certain magnanimity, holding his father in deep respect.

Many of the company's shareholders today were old friends who had fought alongside his father in those early days. Though the shares had since passed down to their sons and grandsons and relatives, and some among them had begun to grow restless, Gu Pengzhan, out of consideration for his father's face, had done nothing about them.

But today's affair had touched Gu Pengzhan's bottom line. Gu Mengyao was his only daughter, and that these people would dare to use her as a pawn — for the first time, Gu Pengzhan was truly enraged.

"By the way, Uncle Chu, could you tell me just what task you've brought me here to do?" Wei Zhao hesitated a moment, then decided to seize the opportunity and ask properly.

He had been in Songshan City for several days now, and had yet to see any important task requiring his attention. Every day was the same: accompanying Gu Mengyao to school and back, making her a bit of breakfast, and now and then dealing with a few petty clowns... Easy as this life was, Wei Zhao felt uneasy. He had come to carry out a major mission, and rumor had it that the reward for this mission would keep him fed and clothed for the rest of his life. Yet Wei Zhao could never bring himself to believe that simply accompanying the young lady to her studies could earn him a lifetime free of want.

"Huh? Oh—the mission..." Gu Pengzhan gave Wei Zhao a strange look at his words, then said, "There is indeed a very important mission, but the pressing matter at hand is for you to properly get used to being around Yaoyao, so that the mission can be carried out smoothly."

"Wha—?" Wei Zhao was startled. Get used to being around Gu Mengyao? Only then could he carry out the mission? What on earth kind of mission was this? Could it have something to do with Gu Mengyao? Was there some hidden figure who meant to do Gu Mengyao harm, and Gu Pengzhan wanted to use her as bait and have him flush that figure out?

That was the only possibility Wei Zhao could come up with. Gu Pengzhan's words were so vague that he was still entirely in the dark, but from his past experience on missions, many employers kept their missions confidential and would not reveal the details until the very moment of execution.

Although Wei Zhao knew he himself would never leak a secret, still, from an employer's point of view, it paid to be cautious—a little care never hurts. He understood that well enough.