NOVEL WEB Chapter 493: Destiny
Professor Meng first called the police, then mobilized everyone, and soon there were clues.
Little Shi was taken away by a woman wearing a headscarf, but because of this, they couldn't see what the person looked like.
However, judging from her clothing, she seemed to be an aging woman. The reason for this judgment is because the woman's clothes were quite dated; a young woman wouldn't be able to wear such styles, and it might be hard to even find such clothes to buy.
But after seeing the CCTV footage, Professor Meng's face turned pale.
He knew who had taken Little Shi; the person didn't even try to hide her identity.
But he didn't dare to tell the police the truth; if he did, he would be completely finished.
Moreover, he knew that since the person had taken Little Shi, she would definitely contact him, so he still held a sliver of hope.
But for three days straight, Professor Meng didn't receive any call from the kidnappers, and he was in complete panic.
Just when he was about to turn himself in and seek help from the police to find Bai Yulan, the call finally came.
"Professor Meng, you should know who I am, right?"
"Bai Yulan, I beg you, do not harm Little Shi. Whatever conditions you want, just name them, and I will agree to them."
Professor Meng pleaded anxiously. In just a few days, the sparse white hair he initially had had nearly all fallen out, his eyes were sunken, and he looked extremely haggard.
"Back then, I pleaded with you in the same way. Did you spare my daughter?"
"That was an accident, it really was just an accident. I didn't mean to harm her," Professor Meng pleaded.
As he said, it truly was just an accident; he didn't expect the rope to loosen.
But regardless, it was because of him that Lan Xinyi met her demise. How could Bai Yulan let Meng Shishi go just because of a few words from him?
"Prepare 800,000 yuan and wait for my instructions."
"Alright, alright..."
Professor Meng agreed immediately, wanting to say more, but the other party had already hung up the phone.
While Professor Meng was preparing the ransom, another person had already noticed him.
This person was Officer Ye, who was in charge of Lan Xinyi's kidnapping case back then.
While investigating Meng Shishi's kidnapping case, Officer Ye came to the residential area where Professor Meng lived. The familiar neighborhood name and scenery immediately resurfaced in his mind, and he instantly linked Meng Shishi's kidnapping case with another kidnapping case from over ten years ago.
Either the same person was behind both kidnappings, or this kidnapping was an act of revenge.
After Lan Xinyi disappeared, a thorough investigation had been carried out in the entire neighborhood and even among the nearby population, with Professor Meng being no exception.
Officer Ye even found the inquiry records related to Professor Meng in the files from back then. According to Professor Meng himself, on the day Lan Xinyi disappeared, he wasn't in the city but was attending a school-organized study session elsewhere.
They later confirmed with the school that Professor Meng had indeed left for the studies before Lan Xinyi disappeared.
But couldn't he have returned midway from the studies conducted elsewhere?
There was an obvious loophole in this, the reason why there was no further investigation back then was significantly influenced by Professor Meng's position – a university professor was hard to associate with a kidnapper.
Thus, Professor Meng naturally became the main subject of his surveillance.
In addition, he also tried to contact Bai Yulan, but for several days he couldn't reach her, confirming in his mind that this was a revenge kidnapping.
Shen Siyuan was unaware of all this, and in recent days, he had been at home teaching Ruan Hongzhuang the "Heavenly Maiden's Skill" to learn to control her own allure.
The effect was good over the past few days; at the very least, she didn't need to keep wearing a mask, and as long as she didn't smile or deliberately show an enticing expression, she generally seemed no different from ordinary people.
Since Ruan Hongzhuang didn't go to work, Taozi, her assistant, naturally didn't go to the company either. She merely took a trip to the office to fetch some files for Ruan Hongzhuang to work from home.
They had been staying in a friend's villa for a break, like a holiday.
The villa wasn't exactly luxurious, but the environment was indeed great, with the entire community resembling a vast tropical rainforest, and all the villas hidden within it.
The one they stayed in was in an exceptionally good location, with a rainforest in front and the sea at the back.
Because of the abundance of earth, wood, and water elements, Shen Siyuan's cultivation speed had increased a bit in recent days, which was also why Ruan Hongzhuang was tempted to consider buying a villa there.
"Tang Tang, what are you doing sitting there?"
Taozi emerged from the backyard and immediately spotted Tang Tang sitting on the ground at the entrance, arms crossed over her short legs, muttering while looking at the front yard.
Not far away, Mao Sanmei was cleaning, smiling at him.
Because Tang Tang could talk, Taozi always subconsciously thought she could hear people speaking. As the words left her mouth, she realized, intending to walk over, but just then the room door opened, and Shen Siyuan and Ruan Hongzhuang came out one after the other.
Seeing the flush that hadn't completely faded from Ruan Hongzhuang's face, Taozi rolled her eyes.
"It's the middle of the day, can't you wait until the evening?"
"What are you imagining, Si Yuan was teaching me cultivation," Ruan Hongzhuang said.
"Ah, right, right..."
Taozi looked disdainful. She had once put her ear to the door to overhear, only to be met with sound that made her blush. Where in the world would serious cultivation produce such sounds?
And seeing her flushed face, eyes seemingly able to drip water, what was she practicing, the Joyous Dharma? Taozi mentally ridiculed.
Meanwhile, Shen Siyuan also noticed Tang Tang, so he walked over to her.
Gently patting her little head, Tang Tang looked up to see it was Shen Siyuan.
Immediately, she pointed to a patch of woods at the entrance with an indignant look on her face.
"Naughty, running, Dou Dou naughty, Duoduo naughty, hmph~"
"They went to play in the forest?" Shen Siyuan asked, amused.
Tang Tang nodded at his words, then said, "I don't bring."
"It's not 'bring' me," Shen Siyuan corrected her.
Then he sat down beside her, and Tang Tang immediately nudged closer to him.
"Hit her," Tang Tang pointed to the forest outside, looking excited.
"You're a little naughty one too," Shen Siyuan tapped her small head.
"Heh~"
Tang Tang immediately gave a silly smile.
Seeing her silly grin, no one could muster any anger.
That day, upon Ruan Hongzhuang's reminder, Shen Siyuan had indeed called Zhong Xiaonan.
With the Special Affairs Bureau's capabilities, if any abnormal children appeared, they would probably be the first to know.
But Zhong Xiaonan's feedback was that there were none, at most some who were naturally able to see ghosts.
So, Tang Tang was special, unique.
Yet such a unique child happened to meet a unique person like him; was it too much of a coincidence? Everything seemed orchestrated by fate.
This wasn't the first time Shen Siyuan harbored such suspicions.
Even Duoduo's appearance seemed like a destined arrangement.
But even if he had such doubts, what could he do? Although he might seem formidable now, he still couldn't defy fate.
Since that was the case, he might as well happily accept it.
He was, after all, an ordinary person, with nothing much to lose, and had already gained a lot. What was there to complain about?