love on the turquoise land

Chapter 73

On the day Yan Tuo returned to the villa, he had a conversation with Lin Ling. He didn't dare to reveal critical details since they all still needed to stay around Lin Xirou for a while—Lin Ling wasn't good at hiding her emotions, and it wouldn't be good if she gave something away through her expressions or actions.

He only told Lin Ling that preparations were underway and that, to be safe, they needed more time. During this period, they must behave obediently in front of Lin Xirou, verbally agreeing to whatever was asked of them.

***

The next day, Lin Xirou and Xiong Hei came back.

Their faces looked grim. Yan Tuo figured it had to do with Chen Fu and Han Guan's situation, which was good. The more chaotic things were on their end, the more harmonious his side needed to be. Yan Tuo pretended not to notice anything, continuing to go to work and sign off on a stack of pending documents.

As he was about to leave work that day, Lin Ling sent him a message.

Aunt Lin just scolded Xiong Hei.

Yan Tuo responded instantly:

Heard anything?

Lin Ling sent a voice message.

"I was just downstairs picking up a package, passing by the small living room when I heard it. It was out of context, just a few sentences. Aunt Lin said, 'If you can't find the people, then find the car. Doesn't the car have GPS? And with all those road cameras, weren't there any recordings?'"

She must have been talking about Chen Fu and Han Guan.

Chen Fu's car did have GPS, but Yan Tuo had disabled it. There were many road cameras, but he had moved the vehicle at night, choosing routes not covered by navigation.

Another voice message came in, and Yan Tuo played it.

"Xiong Hei seemed very helpless and said, 'Sister Lin, if the GPS is turned off or not connected to the network, it can't send the latest location. Traffic cameras are set up on major roads. If the car took rural or farm roads, which camera would catch it? In any case, after leaving Shihe County, it was like it vanished.'"

A third voice message followed.

"Aunt Lin lost her temper, saying Xiong Hei was brainless and that such a big deal should have been taken seriously from the start. She also said not to just focus on after the disappearance, but before it as well—who they saw and where they went. Shouldn't that all be investigated?"

Yan Tuo sent a voice message: Just happened?

Lin Ling replied: "Yes, about ten minutes ago. Later, I felt Xiong Hei was about to come out, so I quickly left. As I walked away, I heard them mention Lu Xian, but I couldn't hear clearly."

When she said Lu Xian, her voice clearly carried a tone of resistance.

Yan Tuo originally wanted to remind her to play the part convincingly since she had agreed to interact with Lu Xian, and shouldn't act so uncomfortable, but his mind was preoccupied. His thoughts drifted to other matters.

Lin Xirou instructed Xiong Hei not to focus only on after the disappearance but also on before—who they saw and where they went.

Before the disappearance, Nie Jiuluo couldn't escape suspicion. She had notably appeared in two places.

First, the hotel front desk, where she encountered Han Guan. This was manageable since she was checking out and didn't know Han Guan, plus she left before him.