Chapter 78: Chapter 72: Accidentally Discovered by Zhan Qipei the Research Institute’s Documents_2
 

One against two.

The young man watched with his eyes wide and his mouth agape, filled with admiration.

So impressive!

Upon a closer look, huh? Wasn’t this the country girl the Zhan Family had taken in? She was actually this formidable?

There were still two criminals left. Seeing that things were going south, they prepared to drag their companion away and flee the scene.

“Thinking of leaving?” Qiao Jing narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Gan Qiqi, “Lend me your backpack for a sec.”

“Oh, oh okay.” Gan Qiqi looked at Qiao Jing with stars in her eyes, and as Qiao Jing took the backpack, she threw it toward the criminal who was opening the car door, hitting him squarely and knocking him out cold.

“Ow—” The criminal cried out in agony, and then passed out.

With only one criminal left, Qiao Jing didn’t pursue but instead took out her phone.

“Number Four, follow them.”

Xu Moqian was sitting in a private car not too far away, waiting for Qiao Jing’s command.

Watching the car drive away, he spoke into his phone, “OK.”

Then he quietly followed in his car.

Qiao Jing was playing the long game, fishing for a big catch. Based on her analysis, there had to be more people in the criminal gang.

Furthermore, just like she had previously deduced, they were an organized and disciplined group, with each operation seemingly commanded by someone with military-like precision from the shadows.

She had deliberately called Xu Moqian over to trace the source and find their lair to take them down in one fell swoop.

“Qiqi, were you scared?”

Hearing the young man’s voice, Qiao Jing turned to look.

“Brother, Qiqi isn’t afraid,” Gan Qiqi said, and when she noticed Qiao Jing looking over at her direction, her eyes lit up.

“Sister, you’re amazing!” Admiration filled her big eyes.

Qiao Jing smiled slightly at Gan Qiqi and gently patted her on the head, “Little one, you’re pretty brave.”

Gan Qiqi beamed with joy at Qiao Jing’s praise, her smile blooming like a flower.

The young man stood up and said to Qiao Jing, “Miss Qiao, thank you. If it weren’t for you today, Qiqi and I might have already met with disaster.”

Hmm?

Qiao Jing’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“You know me?”

“I am from the Gan family, my name is Gan Lanlan, I was at your wedding with the Zhan Family,” Gan Lanlan replied truthfully.

“Oh,” Qiao Jing understood.

Huh? Gan Lanlan…

Why did that name sound so familiar? Where had she heard it before?

After pondering for a few seconds, Qiao Jing still couldn’t recall where she had heard it, so she eventually let it go.

“Um…” Gan Lanlan stared at Qiao Jing with intense curiosity, “Are you with the police department?”

Such skill, facing armed criminals without panic and neutralizing them—this person was definitely not ordinary.

“No, I’m just helping Captain Zhao with a case,” Qiao Jing replied.

“That’s still very impressive!”

Gan Lanlan had only known Qiao Jing as someone from the countryside, but now he saw that being from the countryside meant little. Country folks had dreams too, they had spirit and courage.

Like Qiao Jing, who had carved out a niche for herself through sheer effort, she shined brightly and deserved admiration!

As Gan Lanlan’s eyes glimmered with fascination while staring at Qiao Jing, her gaze landed on Gan Qiqi.

“The criminal gang targeted your sister twice in a row; I suspect this is not a simple case of child abduction.”

In fact, Qiao Jing had had such a suspicion for a while, but she had never obtained any strong evidence to confirm it.

Now she was almost certain.

Qiao Jing’s words made Gan Lanlan break out in a cold sweat.

“It’s not a simple child abduction case, so is it someone deliberately targeting our Gan family?!”

Qiao Jing nodded slightly, “It’s possible.”

Gan Lanlan’s face turned pale, clutching Gan Qiqi’s hand tightly, her expression panic-stricken.

“How could this be? Weren’t there already several incidents before? My sister is just one of the cases.”

Qiao Jing raised her hand to her chin and continued, “When I first got involved with this case, I felt something was strange because the criminal gang didn’t seem like ordinary people; they were organized and disciplined. It wasn’t until today, after the criminal gang showed up twice in a row, that I confirmed the serial child abduction was actually a ruse. The real purpose behind it was to divert Captain Zhao’s attention and target your sister.”

Gan Lanlan furrowed her brows. “But how did you know they would come again? And how can you be sure my sister is their target and not someone else? Are you guessing wildly, and just happened to guess right?”

Qiao Jing lowered her hand and looked at Gan Lanlan. “Regarding this, I wasn’t making wild guesses. I had Captain Zhao investigate Gan Qiqi’s background and compare it with the data of all the victims. Your Gan family is different from the others; only your Gan family is wealthy, while the other children’s families are very ordinary. So I suspected that the kidnappers were not after the children per se, perhaps for money, or perhaps—”

“Revenge?!” Gan Lanlan exclaimed, eyes wide.

Qiao Jing didn’t speak, which was as good as an affirmation.

Gan Lanlan’s heart was in turmoil, and for a long time, she couldn’t speak.

A moment later, Qiao Jing received a location from Xu Moqian.

“Found it!”

Qiao Jing dialed Captain Zhao’s number. “We’ve located the criminal gang’s headquarters; I’ve sent you the coordinates, hurry and send your men to pursue.”

So soon?

Captain Zhao sprang to his feet.

He thought admirably, “As expected of Professor Qiao, the efficiency is incredible!”

Before long, a police car arrived at where Qiao Jing was, and took away the thug Qiao Jing had knocked down. As there were some details to explain, Qiao Jing also got in the police car.

“Eh? Nanqing, do you see that person getting into the police car? Isn’t that Qiao Jing?” Lou Xinrou pointed across the street.

Zhan Nanqing followed the direction Lou Xinrou was pointing and her eyes widened. “It really is her!”

“Wonder what crime she’s committed?”

“Who cares what she did, just take photos, and then get a few influencers to spread the news. If Grandpa finds out Qiao Jing has gotten into trouble and tarnished the Qiao family’s reputation, he’ll surely be extremely disappointed. Maybe he’ll even kick her out of the Zhan family right away.”

Zhan Nanqing said excitedly while taking photos with her phone.

“Alright, I’ll find some influencers now.”

Zhan Nanqing couldn’t wait to see Qiao Jing’s reputation in ruins, nor could she wait to see her grandfather personally cast Qiao Jing out of the Zhan family.

Lou Xinrou was even more delighted to see this unfold.

When Zhan Qipei returned to his apartment, Qiao Jing wasn’t home.

Where had she gone?

Hadn’t she stayed home to cook?

Zhan Qipei stood at the door, his gaze sweeping over the room—from the kitchen to the balcony, and then to Qiao Jing’s bedroom.

It felt emptier than usual…

He used to love such an environment—quiet, undisturbed—but now it felt as though it wasn’t the house that was empty, but his heart.

He thought it was too quiet.

His gaze finally rested on the balcony, recalling Qiao Jing busy with the flower pots that morning.

As he watched, he couldn’t help but sigh softly, and as he moved his gaze away, a stack of documents on the table caught his eye.

“What’s this?”