Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
Ye Shuang and Cedrick were both silent but for different reasons.
After returning to the apartment, the first thing to settle was the accommodation problem for Su Zheng and Cedrick. Staying at a hotel was out of question; the sensitivity of these two’s identity was as high as Ye Shuang and Han Chu’s. That was especially so for Cedrick, who was a high-profile target within China. Even though the case that he was involved in had been resolved at light-speed earlier.
However, it was not going to work for them to stay close to Ye Shuang. One, it would be too easy for others to connect them together, and two, it was hard to find another two empty rooms in that building.
“Shall we push them to Edward?” Han Chu typed on the keyboard as he stared at the map of Feng Yuan City in deep thought. “Viewed from another perspective, Cedrick and Edward’s goals overlap. The former’s goal is to investigate his biological mother, the latter’s is to investigate the organization, and we happen to suspect Madam Grace is one of the higher-ups in the organization. Essentially, they are working toward the same goal.”
“Good idea.” Ye Shuang clapped before asking seriously, “So, now that we have to deal with this question first, have you found Edward?”
Han Chu was silent for several seconds before closing the computer and rubbing between his brows. “Do you still remember our previous discussion? Anthony’s investigation result is that it was a mysterious disappearance that didn’t show up on the cameras at all. Other than the possibility that the party that kidnapped Edward is very powerful, could there be another possibility?”
Ye Shuang thought about it. “Hmm, you mean, he walked to a corner that cannot be seen by the cameras and opened a door that led him to somewhere else?”
Then, as if understanding something, Ye Shuang asked with shock, “Does that mean that we’re close to the answer already?”
“We do not have enough clues to come up with the truth anyway, but I suppose with the information that we have now, it is good enough.” Han Chu nodded. He pulled out the pen and paper that he kept next to his laptop and drew a picture for Ye Shuang to understand. “First, this apartment is the film studio’s private property. In other words, it belongs to the boss that Luo Mingxin currently works for. For now, of all of the incidents that the company has created, the only link to us or Edward is the arrest of the prop manager.
“The prop manager is most likely the latest agent sent by the organization, and both us and Edward have relations to the organization. It is even more so for Edward because neither you nor I have been exposed yet.”
Han Chu drew a small arrow leading out of the organization and connected it to Edward’s name. “In other words, if this film company is in some way connected to the organization, then Edward moving into this apartment is no different from voluntarily stepping into a trap.”
“Jesus, this is such a close call.” Ye Shuang nodded. “We only came to this conclusion after the prop manager’s identity was exposed. This means that we’ve been living in an extremely dangerous situation without even realizing it, right?”
No wonder Madam Grace assigned so many people to follow behind Brother Shuang without trouble from the authorities. If the organization had already infiltrated the film company, then this was understandable.
Even though the organization’s plan to infiltrate Xiang Jiang was killed in its infancy and the link with Xia Cheng already failed, the reputation that they had cultivated in the entertainment industry was not fake. This meant that the resources and relationship had been continuous throughout this process… Even if they could not make a big move due to the maturity of the relationships, after effort of so many years, having some residual influence in the industry was nothing out of the ordinary.
Ye Shuang signaled for Cedrick and Su Zheng to find a place to sit before she sat down across from Han Chu. “In other words, the fight between Edward and the organization started the moment we moved into this place.”
“I don’t think his real identity has been exposed, but it is also impossible for him not to have any opposing voices in the organization,” Han Chu admitted. “Pulling each other down, fighting for resources… to get to a higher status inside this kind of twisted society, it is not enough to be powerful. Sometimes, striking from the dark or even assassination is necessary.”
Even though they believed that Edward was one of them, it did not mean that the other people in the organization would not have hostility toward him. If the resources could be represented as a fixed number ‘1’, the bigger the dominator other people had, the smaller the resource you would own.
When everyone had the same goal, or when everyone wanted the most benefits, then others who were in the same boat would become competition—it was not because you had done something wrong but because your existence had influenced my portion of the pie.
“If we assume that the competition between Edward is underhanded and can happen at any time, when they realize that Edward exposed himself so freely to be taken advantage of, the course of action that the other party will take is easily predictable.” Han Chu paused. “But similarly, since this happened too suddenly, even if they discovered Edward, wanting to come up with a detailed and perfect kidnapping plan on the spot is impossible… However, under the same condition, it wouldn’t have been so difficult for Edward to make a quick retreat and go into hiding.”
Before they came to Feng Yuan City, Edward had already been prepared to meet one of the members from the organization, and going into hiding on one’s own terms was more convenient than being kidnapped. Therefore, even though this change in situation was quite sudden, for Edward to come up with a swift solution was not that hard to imagine.
Ye Shuang understood Han Chu’s meaning. The arrest of the prop manager and his background was the last piece of the puzzle provided by Han Chu. If the premise was that there was some kind of unknown hostile party hiding inside this building, then Edward’s disappearance was most likely his own doing.
After the hypothesis of kidnapping was denied, then the remaining question was, how were they supposed to regain contact with Edward while he was in hiding?
The tension in the room died down, and Han Chu closed his eyes to end his consultation.
Even though they had deduced the truth, he had not found the perfect solution, which was why Han Chu did not share his findings with Ye Shuang earlier. After all, she already had a lot to deal with—deflecting the advance from the wolfish Madam Grace.
After some time, Ye Shuang seemed to have come to a decision, and she breathed out slowly. “Then, we have to give Edward a reason that he can’t resist… Even though I have no idea what that is for now, I believe that Cedrick will be the key that can shake Edward’s conviction.”
“Cedrick?” Han Chu was confused by Ye Shuang’s confusion. “Why?”
“That’s why I said I temporarily have no concrete idea yet.” Ye Shuang shrugged and smiled. “Human beings have something called instinct, something that will make one commit to the right decision at the most crucial moment. This is not some kind of supernatural phenomenon, merely an integration of the conscious and the subconscious.”
All the pieces of conscious would form and influence the formation of choice, but often, one would be lacking that perfect logic to link them all together. That was a perfect explanation to Ye Shuang’s situation. She knew that Cedrick would be someone who could get Edward’s attention, but she had no way to explain that confidence.
“Give me some time to think about it.” That was all Ye Shuang could come up with to tell Han Chu. “In any case, if we release Cedrick out into the world, I believe that Edward will soon reach out to us.”
Cedrick and Su Zheng were lost. Especially Cedrick, who was named—he had a vested interest in what they were conversing about.
“What are we discussing at the moment?” Cedrick asked in confusion. His low Chinese understanding meant that he barely understood what was being said. “It sounds like that fatty has gone missing.”
“Illiterate!” Finally possessing the advantage in language, Su Zheng looked down on Cedrick and then turned to curry favor with her two bosses. “Brother Han, Brother Ye, where am I going to stay tonight?”
“You go and stay at Edward’s for now.” Han Chu tossed a key to Su Zheng. Even though Edward was missing, the room had been rented under Han Chu’s name anyway, so he had not returned the room. Since the original tenant was missing, Su Zheng could move in without a problem.
Su Zheng grabbed the key and went to grab her luggage, leaving behind a Cedrick, which made Han Chu think for a while. “You do present a bit of a problem… Why don’t you go to a hotel for the night first? We can talk about the rest tomorrow.”
“Hmm?” Cedrick was surprised, but he was immediately reminded of the fact that his biological mother was currently pursuing Brother Shuang. So naturally, the team that Brother Shuang belonged to would be under close surveillance. After realizing that, Cedrick nodded even though he did not feel that great about it. “I think that is for the best. Which hotel should I stay at?”
Han Chu was too lazy to look through the catalogue, so he tossed him the information for the hotel where he placed the newbie working for Madam Grace. “Do you need me to help you book the room?”
“No need!” Cedrick’s face darkened once he saw the price. “But I wish to borrow some money. After all, you know I probably won’t be able to withdraw money from the bank in this strange city for quite some time, and as you know, I just failed not that long ago at San Lin City.”
“Tsk.” Even though Han Chu did not say anything, that tut revealed all the condescension he was feeling. He then tossed out another card. “You’ll be paying me back with interest. I believe that someone with your reputation won’t cheat me of my money, right?”
“Of course not!” Cedrick’s face darkened even more.
“Do you mean ‘Of course, you won’t steal the money’ or ‘of course, you won’t return the money’?” To lighten the mood, Ye Shuang teased the famous thief.
“Of course, I will return the money!” Cedrick wanted to scream. These two are such horrible people. I cannot stay here another second!