Chapter 1096 — Ask Your Boyfriend

"Mind yourself on the road. You're a straight sort, and I'm not worried about your skills — I'm only afraid someone will take you in!" Old Wei exhorted. "Away from home, don't take strangers at their word!"

"Heh heh..." Ergoudan scratched his scalp and gave a simple, good-natured grin.

"Here is Xiao Yi's address and telephone number. Keep them safe, and once you arrive, get in touch with him." Old Wei handed Ergoudan another slip of paper.

Ergoudan quickly tucked the slip inside his clothes, close against his body, together with the banknotes he already carried, and nodded. "Grandpa Lin, then when do I set off?"

"Tomorrow. I'll get in touch and book your ticket in a little while," Old Wei said.

Qiu Lingshan's strength had been enormously enhanced, but the elation that came with it did not last — for new cases had begun to surface in seemingly peaceful Songshan City. So far there were six cases of petty thugs starting trouble and skipping town, five of out-of-town workers brawling and fleeing, three of illegal taxi drivers causing accidents and making off, two of fitness instructors harassing female trainees and absconding... and more than a dozen of workers from every manner of trade doing a runner...

Added together, close to thirty people had vanished into thin air, for no reason anyone could fathom!

And those were only the disappearances already on the books. There were surely more, but for the moment there was no way to count them!

The missing persons had nothing in common — every trade you could name, seemingly no connection among them — and yet so many suspected "fled to escape punishment" cases in so short a span drew the attention of the higher-ups. Even Yang Huaijun, far away in the provincial capital, had gotten word of it and phoned Qiu Lingshan to ask for the details of the disappearances.

By instinct, Qiu Lingshan felt the matter could not possibly be that simple. The vanished shared no ties with one another — not kin, not friends, some had never even laid eyes on each other — and yet they had one trait in common: without exception they were all strong, strapping men. Not a single woman among them!

Of course, it could all be called coincidence. But Qiu Lingshan could not shake the feeling that it was not.

For the moment, the cases were nothing more than disappearances; they had not yet risen to the level of vicious criminal offenses. After all, people were missing — not bodies.

Yet Qiu Lingshan felt that these cases were not as plain and simple as mere disappearances. There had to be hidden circumstances, unknown facts and secrets at work — though she did not have a single thread to follow.

"Tap, tap, tap..." came a knock at the office door.

"Come in!" Qiu Lingshan smoothed over her emotions and regained her usual brisk, capable manner.

"Captain Song, the ** team has forwarded us another case — a bus driver caused an accident and fled. Verification shows that both the ID card and the driver's license he registered with the depot were forged..." Liu Wangli pushed the door open and walked in, laying a case file on Qiu Lingshan's desk.

"Oh? Liu Wangli, tell me what you make of it — would you say this case is the same in nature as the disappearances before it?" Qiu Lingshan glanced at the file he had handed her, frowned, and asked.

"By instinct, yes — but we have no evidence to link them." Liu Wangli deliberated for a moment. "Captain Song, I keep feeling that some monstrous conspiracy is brewing in all this. We must not let our guard down."

"You're right — I think so too. Only, for the present, apart from being missing, everything about these people is dead calm." Qiu Lingshan sighed. "If they really did abscond, then why is there neither hide nor hair of them, alive or dead?"

"That is precisely the crux of it. If these people had been murdered or were being held by someone, there ought to be clues. Yet that does not seem to be the case either. From what we have so far, every one of them ran off of his own accord — no one forced or threatened them," Liu Wangli said.

"Keep a close watch on it, then." Qiu Lingshan nodded. What Liu Wangli had said was exactly the point she herself could not puzzle out.

"Yes, Captain Song... There is something — I'm not sure whether I should say it..." Having answered, Liu Wangli had meant to leave, but his footsteps halted once more.

"Whatever it is, speak plainly." Qiu Lingshan nodded, inviting him to go on.

"Captain Song, why don't you ask your boyfriend whether he's heard anything..." Liu Wangli hesitated, then made the suggestion anyway.

"I see..." Qiu Lingshan frowned. She had never expected Liu Wangli to suggest consulting Wei Zhao, which left her faintly vexed and faintly thrilled at the same time — for Liu Wangli had just called Wei Zhao her boyfriend!

Of course, Liu Wangli had by now become one of Qiu Lingshan's trusted confidants, so she did not rebuke him; she knew his suggestion had been made for her own good.

Liu Wangli said nothing more and withdrew from Qiu Lingshan's office, while she, after a moment's hesitation, dialed Wei Zhao's number.

At that very moment Wei Zhao was going over the main arrangements for the product launch with Fatty Lai, Guan Xuemin, and Kang **, when Qiu Lingshan's call came through.

Wei Zhao made a gesture to Fatty Lai and the others, rose, walked over to the window, and answered.

"Hello? What is it this time?" Seeing Qiu Lingshan's number, his tone was none too friendly.

"Wei Zhao, there's something I'd like you to keep an eye on for me..." Qiu Lingshan hesitated, then said.

"No time — I'm busy!" Wei Zhao thought to himself. As he had suspected, nothing good ever came of Qiu Lingshan's calls; she was certainly after something.

"Wei Zhao, do me a favor, please? Your silly little girl will be ever so grateful..." Hearing him refuse, Qiu Lingshan began to wheedle. "At worst, next time you come, I'll cook you something delicious..."

Wei Zhao was nearly speechless. It seemed Qiu Lingshan had rather fastened herself onto him.

"I'm starting to regret it. Last time at your place, I should just have pushed you down. Why do you have to be so much trouble?" Wei Zhao demanded, half exasperated, half amused.

"Oh... it wouldn't be too late next time, either..." Qiu Lingshan reddened slightly, though inwardly she was pleased. So the reason Wei Zhao hadn't pushed her down wasn't that he disliked her — he was simply afraid she was too much trouble! It seemed she really did have her appeal. Heh heh, Little Miss Song, keep it up! One day you'll succeed! Qiu Lingshan egged herself on.

"You've got one minute — spit it out!" Wei Zhao, however, did not rise to the bait, asking only, his voice cool.

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