As soon as she finished speaking, a beautiful policewoman in a spirited uniform came out of the house.

The visitor was Fang Zhiruo.

"Officer Fang! Aren't you part of the task force? Why are you dealing with a missing persons case now?" Seeing it was Fang Zhiruo, Luo Chao asked in surprise.

"Of course I have to handle it. Miss Miao may usually keep a low profile, but she's also from a wealthy family! All of Huahai City's wealthy children are recorded by our task force, no matter what happens to any of them, we must investigate and not overlook any clues." Fang Zhiruo explained moodily.

"You two know each other?" Zhou Delong pointed at Luo Chao and then at Fang Zhiruo, looking bewildered.

"More than just acquaintances, Officer Fang was by me..."

Luo Chao hadn't finished speaking when Fang Zhiruo interrupted him.

"Ahem, ahem, we collaborated once before. Let's talk about the latest clues we've just discovered." Fang Zhiruo put on a stern face, pretending not to understand Luo Chao's words, and spoke earnestly.

"Right, right, we don't have time for chatting now, you two better help me find someone quickly!" With that, Zhou Delong took a sealed envelope out of his pocket, "This was just left at the front door, we haven't opened it yet."

At the words, Luo Chao raised his eyebrows and took the envelope from Zhou Delong.

After examining the envelope, Luo Chao noticed it had no postage stamp, recipient address, or sender's address.

This was a typical anonymous letter, meaning it was not delivered by the post office or a courier company.

Luo Chao gave Zhou Delong and Miao Shiyun a look for confirmation, and seeing no opposition, he swiftly opened the envelope.

Inside was a small note and a large red invitation card.

Luo Chao instinctively picked up the small note first and read its contents aloud, "Zhou Delong, your granddaughter Miao Shiyun is with me. If you want to see her again, come to the location on the invitation tonight at 8 PM, signed... Chen Yaoyang."

"What? Chen Yaoyang! It's actually him!" Upon hearing the name, Zhou Delong immediately clutched his forehead and stumbled back several steps, seemingly about to collapse.

Luo Chao and Fang Zhiruo quickly supported Zhou Delong onto the sofa.

"I never expected it, never imagined it would be him. It's been seven years, and he's back again!" Zhou Delong looked up at the ceiling, his eyes vacant, seeming to be caught in a painful memory.

"Senior Zhou, do you know this Chen Yaoyang? Why did he kidnap Miss Miao?" Now knowing Miao Shiyun was kidnapped, Luo Chao felt less anxious than before; he feared more that Miao Shiyun might be harmed by Black Umbrella rather than kidnapped.

After all, Black Umbrella kills without reason, seeming to exist purely for slaughter, and you can never understand his motives, meaning there's no room for negotiation with him.

But since it's a kidnapping, it indicates the kidnapper has other intentions, and before achieving these, the kidnapper would not easily harm the hostage.

This gave Luo Chao time to devise a countermeasure. As long as he could discern the kidnapper's goal and strategize around it, there was hope to rescue the hostage.

Zhou Delong listened to Luo Chao's inquiry, shook his head, sighed, and said, "Do you know why Shi Yun is already 27 and still unmarried?"

At this, Luo Chao fell into deep thought while Fang Zhiruo tentatively said, "Is it because she's busy with her career? Under Miss Miao's management, Meilong Group is thriving; there are many career women like her today who don't marry even at thirty."

Luo Chao nodded in agreement with Fang Zhiruo's words.

What Fang Zhiruo said applied not only to Miao Shiyun but also to Lin Yun.

Back then, if Lin Guohai hadn't forced a marriage certificate between Luo Chao and Lin Yun, Lin Yun likely would have become one of those career women Fang Zhiruo mentioned.

"Ah!" Zhou Delong sighed, "Officer Fang, you only got it half right, but none of you would know about Shi Yun's past."

Then Zhou Delong looked at Luo Chao, "Young Luo Chao, you must remember I mentioned on the phone Shi Yun's emotional setback seven years ago."

"I remember." Luo Chao nodded.

"Ah, frankly speaking, Chen Yaoyang was Shi Yun's first love boyfriend seven years ago!" Zhou Delong's shocking statement surprised both Luo Chao and Fang Zhiruo.

It turned out Miao Shiyun was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend!

But what was Miao Shiyun's status? Seven years ago, she was twenty; she might not have been the chairman of Meilong Group yet, but she was undoubtedly a super rich second generation.

Being a super rich second generation's boyfriend implies not needing money, right?

Why resort to kidnapping now?

At this thought, Luo Chao couldn't help but curiously ask, "Senior Zhou, then why did Miss Miao's first love boyfriend kidnap her? It can't be for money!"

"I think... it must be for revenge!" Zhou Delong spoke again with surprising words.

"Revenge?!" Luo Chao and Fang Zhiruo exclaimed simultaneously.

"In this day and age, how can someone resort to revenge!" Fang Zhiruo rubbed her temples irritably.

Such cases related to revenge are mentally and physically exhausting and might not even yield good results, almost the type all officers wish to avoid.

"Senior Zhou, did Miss Miao offend Chen Yaoyang, or..." Luo Chao left the rest unsaid, as he had gleaned some clues from Zhou Delong's demeanor.

"It's a long story!" Zhou Delong trembled, lighting a cigarette with long-forgotten familiarity, beginning to narrate the events leading up to this.

"Seven years ago, Shi Yun was just 20, at the prime of youthful beauty and awakening love, also the age most susceptible to deceit by men."

"She had a boyfriend then, this Chen Yaoyang, the eldest son of Huahai's Chen Family; his family was equally wealthy. He and Shi Yun were well-matched, talented a couple. Therefore, as elders, we approved of their relationship and even considered arranging their marriage upon graduation."

"But somehow, Chen Yaoyang became addicted to gambling, with a massive addiction. After the Chen Family patriarch suddenly died, no one could control him, leading him to gamble increasingly recklessly and soon losing all family assets in one grand bet!"

"You're aware, an insane gambler during a binge can bet anything; if he married Shi Yun, her father's amassed wealth would probably be wasted too!"

"However, even though Chen Yaoyang was then impoverished, Shi Yun still loved him, defying our elders' pleas to stay with that gambler!"

At this point, Luo Chao roughly understood, and also silently lamented that Miao Shiyun was quite naïve and immature back then, even having such a dark past.

Nevertheless, she remained steadfastly in love with a once-impoverished ex, altering Luo Chao's perception of her somewhat.

Zhou Delong took a puff of his cigarette and continued, "We elders felt immensely disappointed, and Shi Yun's parents even threatened to sever ties and expel her, but she wouldn't listen until that incident..."

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