Clouds and Water Manor--

Gu XiCheng sat on the black sofa, his long legs casually crossed. One hand rested on his knee, while the other, resting on the armrest of the sofa, held a lit cigarette. His deep and wise eyes seemed bottomless, with a slight curve to his thin lips, as if he were smiling but not quite. He watched Li Jingpeng, who had been brought here forcefully and looked bewildered and angry, with an unreadable expression.

Yes, when we went to look for Li Tingting, she had already hidden. We could only catch her brother, Li Jingpeng, instead.

The cigarette burned to the end, and he leaned down to extinguish it in the ashtray. Then he set it on the arm of the sofa and tapped it lightly, again and again...

Li Jingpeng wrenched himself free from the grip of the man in black who had been restraining him. He stood before Gu, his face grim, though he managed to contain his anger, only his tense voice betraying his fury and unease. "Mr. Gu, what do you mean by this?"

Still in the embrace of slumber, I didn't want to be disturbed by a sudden intrusion at this hour. They barged in without warning and dragged me here.

Asking nothing in return, even if he is the CEO of Gu Corporation, isn't this going too far?

“What do you mean?” Gu Xicheng lightly opened his thin lips, his voice calm and steady without a hint of emotion. “Tell me where your sister is, and I’ll let you go…” He tapped his fingertip with force, the crisp sound unusually clear and eerie in the silent hall, “If you don’t tell, or if you take your sister’s place and die.”

Li Jingpeng's eyes narrowed, and he swallowed nervously. Could he know something? Was there a connection between Xu Yixue and him?

"Where is she?" Gu Xi Cheng impatiently asked before Li Jingpeng could even open his mouth.

Li Jingpeng looked at him in confusion, vaguely guessing that what he said wasn't the same thing as what he thought it should be.

Having calmed his racing heart, Li Jingpeng smoothed the wrinkles from his sleeves. "Mr. Gu, your words leave me confused. What are you referring to? Is there something you need from my sister?"

Looking at his composed and calm demeanor, Gu Xicheng's smile deepened, a cold and mocking one. "Mr. Li, by the time I decide to move against the Li Corporation, it will be too late. What about Li Haichang...?"

Li Jingpeng was startled, but blurted out, "I really don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Gu." He tightened his brow and met his skeptical gaze, adding, "After my sister was expelled from Imperial University, I haven't seen her. She has gone abroad. If you don't believe me, you can check her overseas travel records."

Ji Chuan thinks that some people won't shed a tear even when they see a coffin.

"With a slap," a stack of photos was thrown directly onto the coffee table in front of him, and he sneered, "You say so, and I believe you?" He kicked Li Jingpeng's knee with his foot. The latter couldn't bear the weight and knelt heavily to the ground. "Mr. Li certainly knows these people, right?"

Li Jingpeng's face flashed with indignant anger, and he struggled desperately to get up, but was pressed down by the black-clad men who followed him.

“Gu Xicheng, the Li family is also a prominent figure in the imperial capital. You’re slandering them like this, aren't you afraid that all the businesses in the imperial capital will boycott the Gu family?” Li Jingpeng suppressed a low growl. The Gu family and the Li family were of equal status, only the Gu family was slightly higher. Now that the Li family was facing difficulties, they needed the help of the Gu family. They had even canceled their previous projects. He couldn’t swallow this anger.”

"Mr. Li, these people were the ones you sent to keep track of her. This afternoon, before she disappeared, your men were seen in the vicinity." Gu Xicheng didn't want to waste time talking to him. Every minute delayed put her in more danger. The most important thing now was to find out where she was. She could deal with the rest later. "Where is she now?"

(Editor in charge:the couple next door a novel)