Qiao Ying withdrew her gaze from Qin Hanyue's gloomy face. Several people carried boxes in through the door, and Qiao Ying's gaze followed them.
She had just glanced over when the man's scent suddenly drew near. Qiao Ying instinctively looked back at him, and Qin Hanyue's face rapidly enlarged before her eyes.
Until his lips touched hers, he still audaciously put his hand over the back of her head, forcibly deepening the kiss.
Qiao Ying saw the smile in his eyes.
With broad shoulders and long legs, wearing an overcoat, Qin Hanyue standing with his back to the door completely blocked Qiao Ying from view. The people coming in the door were focused on the boxes in their hands and didn't notice anything unusual.
By the time Cheng Jinyan came in afterward, the two had already separated. Qin Hanyue lightly pursed his thin lips, still feeling unsatisfied as he looked at her.
Qiao Ying: "Quite bold."
Qin Hanyue inclined his head slightly: "Thank you for the affirmation."
Ye Si, who had exacerbated his own injuries and stubbornly refused to use crutches because he felt it would damage his image, was confined to bed to recuperate.
Cheng Jinyan was unreliable, so Ye Si ordered his men to blockade Qin Hanyue on the first floor and not allow him to go upstairs half a step.
In fact, there was no need for him to defend like a thief; Qiao Ying had given Qin Hanyue the cold shoulder after locking herself away to make explosives.
The explosives Qiao Ying wanted clearly didn't meet her requirements yet for Qin Hanyue's munitions factory, so she simply took matters into her own hands.
Having something to do also made Qiao Ying more patient.
Not seeing Qiao Ying and wanting to avoid clashing with Ye Si, Qin Hanyue also waited quietly in his room—
Taking the opportunity to handle the company's backlogged business while also making himself wait not so anxiously.
After not seeing Qiao Ying for four or five days since she had been eating meals in her room, Qin Hanyue couldn't stand it and sent her a video call invite.
He waited for quite a while. Qin Hanyue thought she wouldn't answer, afraid of disturbing her, and was about to hang up when the video connected.
Qiao Ying's small, haggard face after pulling an all-nighter appeared on the screen. She fixed the phone to one side, glanced at Qin Hanyue on the phone screen, then continued with what she was doing, not speaking to Qin Hanyue.
Qin Hanyue also didn't make a sound. He enlarged the small window where Qiao Ying was in the upper right corner, watched her for a while holding his phone, then also fixed his phone to one side and continued busying himself with work.
The two accompanied each other being busy with their own matters across the screen.
Qiao Ying was preparing to take the initiative to attack once her injuries had completely healed, but how could Dark Shadow possibly wait for her to hide her capabilities and bide her time?
Dark Shadow made the first move.
This was something Qiao Ying had anticipated, and their methods were also what she had anticipated but was unable to prevent—
Early in the morning, Qin Hanyue, holding his phone, forcibly broke through the checkpoint after receiving a message from Shangguan Qingmu. He faced the muzzles of Ye Si's men at the stairwell, and Qin Hanyue took out a pistol and directly put the muzzle against one person's head. The bullet was loaded; his momentum was intimidating.
The two guards hesitated for a moment. By then, Qin Hanyue had already swiftly gone upstairs.
"Qiao Yi has disappeared." were the first words out of Qin Hanyue's mouth when he opened Qiao Ying's door and saw her.
In the living room, Qiao Ying was sitting on the floor before the coffee table, the floor and tabletop piled high with things, the room full of the smell of sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal.
Qiao Ying, who had been busy all night, was just about to rest. She looked toward Qin Hanyue, who had pushed the door open and entered.
Qin Hanyue: "Capital University surveillance is normal. Xiao Yi walked out of school on his own and deliberately avoided Shangguan Qingmu's people. He can't be contacted now."
During this time, Shangguan Qingmu had sent soldiers to secretly protect Qiao Yi near Capital University, afraid Dark Shadow's people would sneak into the school disguised as students and harm Qiao Yi. Shangguan Qingmu had also ordered people under him to disguise themselves as Capital University security guards—this allowed them to protect up close without causing unnecessary panic.
Instructor Hou had also enthusiastically volunteered, lowering his own status to serve as the security captain.
This was to repay a debt they owed Qiao Ying.
Even Qiao Yi's three roommates had been replaced with three young soldiers posing as exchange students to accompany Qiao Yi to and from school.
There was even a Sack hidden in the four-person dorm.
Dark Shadow had been looking for an opportunity to make a move against Qiao Yi, using this to restrain Qiao Ying. But Qiao Yi was surrounded by Shangguan Qingmu's people, and they didn't want to oppose the military. Capital University was also not a place they could take action, so they hadn't found a suitable opportunity all along. Yet this time, Qiao Yi had taken the initiative to leave school.
And avoided everyone.
Qiao Ying didn't show the slightest panic. She reminded Qin Hanyue to watch out for the dangerous goods at his feet, then pointed at the computer not far away among the messy floor: "The computer."
Qin Hanyue stepped over in a few strides to help bring it to her.
Knowing Dark Shadow inside and out, Qiao Ying directly hacked into Qiao Yi's phone.
Qiao Yi's phone had clearly been taken over. Dark Shadow had spent time breaking through the firewall she had set up and hacked Qiao Yi's phone.
After some operations, Qiao Ying successfully discovered the reason why Qiao Yi had taken the initiative to leave Capital University—Qiao Yi's phone had received a video.
A video of Li Lilian and Qiao Lingling being kidnapped, along with a message for Qiao Yi to obediently listen and do as they instructed. If he dared play tricks or let anyone else know, Li Lilian and her daughter would be immediately killed.
The threat to Li Lilian and Qiao Lingling's lives couldn't coerce Qiao Ying, but it could coerce Qiao Yi.
Qiao Ying had always been clear that if Dark Shadow wanted to make a move against those close to her, she had no way of keeping them by her side at all times to prevent it—whether it was the helpless Qiao Yi or the capable Sack Baixiao.
Kidnapping Li Lilian and Qiao Lingling to control Qiao Yi, then using Qiao Yi to threaten her was the simplest tactic.
They hadn't gone after Qiao’s father because Qin Hanyue had sent more people to protect Qiao’s father's safety. Li Lilian's side was relatively less protected, making it very suitable to take action.
And Qin Hanyue still hadn't received any news from his subordinates, which meant the agents he had sent to protect Li Lilian and her daughter had already been killed by Dark Shadow.
In the end, Qiao Ying was still held back because of the Qiao family.
Qiao Ying pinpointed the location of Qiao Yi's phone and discovered it had been discarded on a lawn inside Capital University campus.
Completely uncontactable.
Qin Hanyue: "I'll send people to blockade the whole city immediately."
In the capital city, the south school gate was closest to the computer department and guarded by Instructor Hou.
Yet at this moment, Qiao Yi took panicked steps, following the kidnappers' demands by choosing to leave school from the opposite north school gate instead.
Qiao Yi crossed the road. Anxious and uneasy, he continued walking forward.
In the distance, a silver-white van was parked there, the people inside watching the approaching Qiao Yi closely.
Qiao Yi also saw the van.
His footsteps slowed. He started to hesitate, wavering over whether to run back to school and contact Qiao Ying and Qin Hanyue or not.
This thought was strangled by Qiao Yi in a flash.
He didn't dare gamble with his mother and Qiao Lingling's lives.
On the other side, Instructor Hou, dressed in a security uniform, was frantically sprinting toward the north school gate while responding to Qiao Ying on the phone: “I’m heading to the north school gate.”
“Hey, classmate. What are you doing out of school at this time?” A male voice suddenly rang out, calling for Qiao Yi to stop.
Qiao Yi, nerves already stretched taut, was so frightened by the two suddenly materialized classmates that the muscles in his face even convulsed.
His already pale face grew even more ashen.
“Classmate, are you alright? Why does your complexion look so bad? Are you not feeling well? Should we take you to the hospital?”
Qiao Yi: “...No need, I’m fine.”
