"Secretary Wang" was not much older than Xu Ruying and Sheng Yuxiao. They often played together as children, and it was his habit to casually test them.
Just after asking, he realized that Li Xiaoya wouldn't be able to answer.
But he had no intention of providing an explanation. He said to the waiter who had followed them: "Get her a glass of milk."
The waiter nodded and turned away.
At the same time, Li Xiaoya slowly opened her mouth: "Is it the barbarians?"
Secretary Wang was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Haha, it's a good thing he doesn't understand Hua Country language."
Li Xiaoya looked puzzled: "That's what it says in the book. But Comnenus seems to be the surname of a Roman emperor, aren't the Romans and Germans enemies?"
"You know that too?"
Xu Ruying interjected: "Isn't Li Xiaoya clever? She's read many strange books." Xu Ruying suddenly felt a sense of superiority, as if to say, "I've known this all along, and you're just finding out now!"
Secretary Wang ignored her comment and continued speaking to Li Xiaoya: "So obviously, he's using a fake name."
Li Xiaoya showed a look of understanding, then asked Secretary Wang: "Do you use a fake name when you're outside too?"
For a moment, Secretary Wang wondered if she had seen through his disguise.
But such a young child probably hadn't learned to use this kind of questioning to extract information, right?
Secretary Wang smiled and said, "Yes."
But he didn't say whether he was using a fake name in front of her or not.
Li Xiaoya didn't ask any further questions. She wasn't particularly interested in Secretary Wang.
She just asked him very seriously: "Why do people use fake names?"
"There are many reasons. For example, some people engage in not-so-legal activities, so they need multiple fake names and identities. Some people are worth billions, and their name is like a walking bank vault, so of course they need one or two fake names to prevent being targeted by criminals... And some simply want to keep a low profile."
Li Xiaoya nodded: "I want to have one too."
Secretary Wang's smile deepened: "What for? To keep a low profile?"
It was strange to say this. A seven-year-old child is usually at the stage of being self-centered, wanting classmates, teachers, and parents to pay attention to them.
Yet in her mind, the concept of keeping a low profile had already taken shape.
"Mm-hmm. Is there anything I should pay attention to when choosing a fake name?" Li Xiaoya asked him earnestly.
Secretary Wang casually touched the side of his cup and said, "It's the people with the least ability who try to come up with a flawless fake name, trying to blend in completely with their alias. Capable people don't care. They can straightforwardly tell others, 'Yes, I'm using a fake name. I hate people prying into my secrets.'"
Sheng Yuxiao's personality wasn't much like his mother's, nor his father's, but rather resembled Secretary Wang at this moment.
Except Secretary Wang's facade appeared more harmless.
"Have you thought of a name for yourself yet?" Secretary Wang asked her.
"Not yet."
At this point, the foreign man beside them couldn't hold back anymore: "I don't know where you suddenly got these two big kids from, and your relationship seems nice, which is enviable. But you should at least acknowledge me first."
Secretary Wang finally turned his attention to him and said: "I was introducing you to them."
"Oh." Mr. Ke Muning seemed quite agreeable, responding as he sat down, "How did you introduce me? I hope you didn't scare them."
"I said you're a good person," Secretary Wang lied without batting an eye.
Ke Muning was immediately delighted: "Haha, I'm a good person, great! What are these two children called?"
Secretary Wang said to Li Xiaoya: "Let me give you a name."
Then he pointed at Li Xiaoya and said: "Demon."
Xu Ruying's eyes widened immediately, and even Ke Muning showed a strange expression.
Only Li Xiaoya still looked completely confused.
Xu Ruying wanted to speak but hesitated. Isn't Uncle bullying someone who's only in third grade?
"Well, she must have something special about her," Ke Muning said, staring at Li Xiaoya.
"Can you have your little friends leave for a while? I'd like to talk to you privately," Ke Muning added immediately.
"It doesn't matter, they can't understand your language anyway."
"Oh, right." Ke Muning said seriously: "I just need you to call me when you see this person."
As he spoke, he took out a photograph and placed it in front of Secretary Wang.
The photo showed a young Hua Country man wearing a black sweater and a scarf. His features were cold and aloof, but his expression was quite gentle.
Although there were some differences, Li Xiaoya recognized him at a glance.
It was her little uncle, Wei Wenqing!
Why did he pull out a photo of Little Uncle?
Li Xiaoya couldn't understand their conversation, so she silently took out her phone.
Should she tell Little Uncle?
No.
"Hey." The tall, muscular foreign man suddenly grabbed Li Xiaoya's wrist. "What is your little friend doing?"
"She's not recording, is she?" The man fixed Li Xiaoya with an icy stare, but his words were directed at Secretary Wang.
Li Xiaoya blinked slowly.
Although she couldn't understand what he was saying, judging by his tone and expression... this foreigner was extremely wary!
She immediately flipped her hand over, revealing the lit-up phone screen to the man's eyes.
Ke Muning was taken aback: "Piano sheet music?"
Xu Ruying's expression changed. She didn't know what kind of relationship this person had with her little uncle, nor did she really understand who this person was. Still young and inexperienced, she was fearless like a newborn calf.
Xu Ruying rushed forward and pushed Ke Muning away, cursing him in English: "You're too rude, you bastard!"
Ke Muning withdrew his hand: "I'm sorry, I tend to be a bit paranoid. You know, I have quite a few enemies."
"Why are you telling me this? You should apologize to her." Secretary Wang put down his teacup.
Ke Muning carefully studied Secretary Wang's expression, and after confirming he wasn't angry, he said to Li Xiaoya in broken Hua Country language: "Thank you."
"Wrong," Secretary Wang reminded him.
"...Sorry?" Ke Muning obviously couldn't distinguish between these common words.
Li Xiaoya's eyes flickered, and she asked Secretary Wang softly: "Can I not forgive him?"
"Of course you can." Secretary Wang immediately turned to Ke Muning and said: "You've made her angry. She won't forgive you."
However, hearing this, Ke Muning was no longer suspicious.
He smiled and said: "It's alright. To be honest with you, my enemies have come here. Of course, dealing with them is actually quite easy. Just two bangs, headshot. ...But identifying them is a difficult task."
The big one, in a wheelchair, is easy to recognize.
The little one is too hard to recognize!
Ke Muning hadn't expected that as soon as the plane landed, he'd be surrounded by Hua Country faces everywhere, making it even more challenging for him and his men, who were already face-blind.
How could he have known that he had arrived during a company team-building event? Of course there would be many Hua Country faces!
Secretary Wang smiled slightly and asked him: "But I don't have a habit of being someone else's eyes. What are you offering in exchange?"
"The airline operating rights you couldn't secure before, I can cede them to you."
"Sounds good."
"So you agree?"
"Mm-hmm."
Ke Muning's mood immediately improved, and he started eating and drinking heartily: "Later, I'll call a couple of models to keep you company."
Secretary Wang pointed at the children in front of him.
"Oh, sorry, next time then. How about this, I can accompany you in looking after the children," Ke Muning offered.
Ke Muning couldn't recognize Wei Wenqing, nor could he recognize Li Xiaoya.
But Wei Wenqing, who had just returned from get
Wei Wenjuan shook his head: "It's too risky. It might spook him and force him to harm the hostage. Ke Muning is a madman."
Wei Wenqing felt distressed. He first dialed the old man's number. After the call connected, he hung up and sent a text message, ensuring the old man would see it immediately.
On the other end, Wei Xuanming indeed saw it.
His face suddenly turned extremely grim: "Those two haven't learned their lesson yet!"
Wei Lin happened to come in at that moment to pay his respects to the old man. Seeing the old man so furious, he wondered if Li Xiaoya had gotten into trouble under the care of those two as soon as she left.
"What happened?" Wei Lin asked hurriedly.
Wei Xuanming turned his head, his tone icy: "Xiaoya has been kidnapped by Ke Muning."
Wei Lin almost laughed out loud.
But in an instant, he couldn't laugh anymore.
He suddenly thought of a question—would the old man suspect that he had passed the information to Ke Muning?
Wei Lin immediately put on a shocked and pained expression: "I'll immediately dispatch personnel from the nearest company!"
"What's the use of sending people? To force our way in and let him know he's caught the right person?" Wei Xuanming coldly rebuked.
The Wei Wenjuan brothers couldn't stand the old man's tone, but Wei Lin was long accustomed to it.
Wei Lin's heart didn't even ripple, he just continued to ask worriedly: "What do you mean?"
Wei Xuanming looked at him: "Why do you think I've delayed changing Xiaoya's name and surname?"
Wei Lin paused.
Wasn't it the old man's test? Only when he was satisfied would she truly become part of the Gui Family. It could also be that he was extremely dissatisfied with the child's birth father. After all, her birth father was still a mystery, and no matter who it was, it could be the person who caused Wei Wenyu's death...
But now it seemed, besides these reasons.
There was an even greater possibility—the old man was trying to prevent those people abroad from targeting Li Xiaoya too early by considering her the Gui Family heir.
"We can't make too big a commotion," Wei Xuanming said gravely. "Ke Muning might not be able to confirm Xiaoya's identity."
"Then what should we do?"
Wei Xuanming didn't continue speaking to Wei Lin. He directly called Wei Wenjuan: "Don't tell your uncles about Xiaoya being kidnapped."
Wei Wenjuan asked coldly: "Why?"
"Because that will only accelerate her death."
"So we're just going to do nothing? ... You always have your excuses, your views. It was the same with Wenyu's situation before..."
"Shut up! They can't keep their mouths shut. Such a big commotion will quickly attract more attention! Use your brain! How old is Xiaoya? She's still young and can't handle anything yet!"
The father and son nearly started arguing.
Wei Lin couldn't help but glance up to observe the old man's expression... The veins on the old man's temples were throbbing, he was nearly losing his composure.
The difference between having Li Xiaoya and not having her was truly too great. Wei Lin couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.
Just being kidnapped, and the conflict between father and son had already intensified...
Wei Wenjuan took a low breath on the other end and said: "Fine, you don't handle this. I'll go find the Sheng family's eldest young master, or even the Qin family's will do. They don't have any obvious connection to our family. Is that okay?"
Wei Xuanming said coldly: "Useless. They're too young, they can't make these decisions. The domestic tycoons like them all do legitimate business, they would never want to get involved with someone like Ke Muning."
Wei Wenjuan was furious: "In the end! You shouldn't have taken this path from the beginning! Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation today..."
He hung up the phone after saying this.
Turning his head, he saw his brother looking even more worried.
At this moment, Wei Wenjuan seemed to have become somewhat of a pillar of strength.
He took a deep breath and said: "This way, I have a plan. I'll lure Ke Muning out, then shoot him dead. This way Xiaoya will be safe."
Although he was extremely dissatisfied with his father, he had still taken Wei Xuanming's words to heart.
The more it was like this, the more they couldn't let others know about Xiaoya's identity and importance.
Wei Wenqing gestured: "This won't work."
"There's nothing wrong with it," Wei Wenjuan said forcefully. "My marksmanship is very good. At worst, I'll perish together with him. Go prepare the things. You need to take up arms too. If my hand shakes, remember to fire a follow-up shot."
After saying this, Wei Wenjuan looked down at his own hand.
He was still wearing the gloves Xiaoya had given him.
The gloves covered the small scratches, and also covered the gun calluses.
The atmosphere here was tense.
On the old man's side, after making a few phone calls, the atmosphere was equally tense.
In the restaurant.
Li Xiaoya let out a small burp.
Secretary Wang wiped his hands and said: "Let's go."
Li Xiaoya looked up and asked him: "Can I go with you?"
Secretary Wang nodded.
Ke Muning followed along as well.
After leaving the restaurant.
Ke Muning said: "Let's go surfing."
Secretary Wang smiled: "You're not in a hurry?"
"What's the hurry? The person is on the island, it's just a matter of a day or two."
"Don't let your little one get angry. Has she tried parasailing before?" Ke Muning asked.
Secretary Wang thought for a moment: "She probably hasn't."
"Good." Ke Muning picked up Li Xiaoya and strode towards the beach.
In the distance, Wei Wenqing noticed Ke Muning and immediately tugged at his brother's sleeve.
Wei Wenjuan's face changed: "What is he doing? Is he going to drown Xiaoya? There's no time, quickly get the gun!"
Their bodyguards were nearby, so getting the gun was easy.
Wei Wenqing ran over frantically, got the gun, loaded it, and turned to aim.
Meanwhile, Ke Muning had fastened the safety harness and foot straps on Li Xiaoya.
Secretary Wang said to Li Xiaoya: "He's asking if you're afraid to play this."
Li Xiaoya shook her head in confusion.
She had never even seen this before.
Seeing her shake her head, Ke Muning took it as a sign that she wasn't afraid.
He said in Dutch: "I'll take you to play. Tell your uncle, or maybe that's your father, anyway, tell him you're not angry with me anymore."
The next second.
Wei Wenqing watched as Ke Muning took off into the sky with their little Xiaoya.
Wei Wenqing's hand holding the gun trembled slightly: ...Huh?
