odessanovel Chapter 337
Chapter 337
An Nuo was temporarily detained by the military for twenty-four hours.The military retrieved her files and promptly sent them to the Special Operations Division.
Sheng Qingyan stared at the documents, his brow deeply furrowed.
An Nuo had gone abroad to study at the age of eight, heading to the Lighthouse Country. She didn’t return until after graduating with a master’s degree.
The An family was considered a major clan in the capital. Through their influence, An Nuo secured a position at the Central Media Station. Starting as an intern, she worked her way up and was now the station’s leading figure, frequently hosting major interviews.
Since childhood, she had been a model girl—excellent grades, no need for her family to worry. After entering the workforce, she was diligent and hardworking; all her colleagues spoke highly of her.
At an event last year, she met Sheng Yun.
At the time, Sheng Yun had just come out of a relationship and pursued An Nuo with fervent passion.
Her nearly thirty years of life showed nothing out of the ordinary. The trajectory was much like any other Chinese student who had studied abroad.
“Qingyan, this might really be a mistake,” said a comrade in military uniform, patting Sheng Qingyan on the shoulder. “We’ve checked. She really is pregnant. That baby in her belly is your own nephew. Let her go.”
“Twenty-four hours aren’t up yet. We wait,” Sheng Qingyan said in a low voice. “Have we investigated everyone close to An Nuo?”
The other man nodded. “We’ve gone through everyone. No issues. All interactions with An Nuo were normal. As for that Lu family illegitimate daughter, Lu Jiaojiao, she’s known An Nuo for less than half a year. Their relationship is decent, meeting from time to time. An Nuo recommended Lu Jiaojiao for a position at a pharma company invested in by a Sakura Country firm. The company is fully compliant. We can’t detain her just because of nationality, can we?”
Sheng Qingyan tapped his fingers on the table. “No. We must be missing something...”
He sent the file to Rong Yu.
He was a rough man, not quick-witted.
So he let the naturally intelligent handle it.
Rong Yu took every name and address mentioned in the file and wrote them all on a blackboard. She drew lines connecting them, organizing every logical thread with crystal clarity. Even so, nothing stood out.
It wasn’t that the military lacked intelligence; it was that An Nuo showed absolutely no signs of suspicion.
Could An Nuo really be innocent?
She didn’t believe it.
But...
If An Nuo were a spy, how would she be transmitting information?
Rong Yu’s eyes locked onto one name: Lu Jiaojiao.
It was six in the evening. The city lights flickered to life as traffic surged through the streets. Capital City was in the midst of rush hour, alive with noise and bustle.
Lu Jiaojiao paced back and forth in her apartment.
In her mind, she kept seeing Sheng Qingyan’s icy glare when he left. Fear kept churning inside her.
She knew An Nuo wasn’t ordinary.
But exactly what she was, Lu Jiaojiao didn’t know.
All she knew was that An Nuo could help her, so she only felt gratitude toward her.
But now, An Nuo had been taken away.
Would it be her turn next?
Lu Jiaojiao replayed every moment she had spent with An Nuo. She only handled data analysis for a pharma company invested in by the Sakura Country—surely that wasn’t illegal?
She hurriedly searched online. Over three to four hundred Chinese nationals were employed at that company. She let out a breath of relief.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Loud pounding on the door startled her so badly she nearly jumped. She took a deep breath, crept to the peephole, and saw her father outside.
Ever since her scandal broke, the Lu family had put her on the shelf, waiting for a good proposal. Furious, she had moved out of the Lu house into this apartment and never returned. With the protection of that pharma company, her father hadn’t dared to force her back. But what brought him here today?
She opened the door.
As it swung open, she saw someone standing next to her father: Rong Yu.
Why is this Rong Yu such a persistent ghost?
Lu Jiaojiao’s heart pounded wildly, racing out of control. She stepped back and tried to slam the door shut.
But her father blocked it with his foot. Then, a gust of wind swept past, and a loud slap landed hard across Lu Jiaojiao’s face.
“Dad, what did I do to deserve—”
Before she could finish, her father struck her again with the back of his hand. At the same time, he grabbed her by the hair, dragged her across the floor, and threw her onto the living room floor.
Rong Yu followed inside, turning to close the door behind her.
She picked up a data analysis textbook from the coffee table on the living room’s center table, sat down leisurely on the sofa, and began to read.
Lu Jiaojiao’s father glared at her, teeth clenched. “You’ve already disgraced the Lu family, and now you bring disaster? How did I end up with a bastard like you? If murder weren’t a crime, I would’ve killed you by now!”
“What—what disaster did I bring?” Lu Jiaojiao’s head spun. “Dad, whether you like it or not, I am your biological daughter. Half of your blood runs through me. How can you twist everything around based on just a few words from that bitch Rong Yu, and try to destroy me?”
Her father’s fury boiled over.
Just a few hours ago, from all sides—online and offline, domestically and overseas—major consortiums—the Ji family, the Hai family, the Si family, the Tang family, the Zhou family, the Sheng family—had simultaneously launched a brutal assault on the Lu family’s business. Major celebrities endorsing Lu family products had suddenly announced they were terminating their contracts. A social media influencer had even fabricated stories against the Lu family, setting off a storm of public outrage online. Without warning, the Lu family had become a target for everyone.
Even the most powerful family in the capital couldn’t withstand this level of collective punishment.
When he was at his wits’ end, this Miss Rong arrived on behalf of those consortiums.
Rong Yu tightened her lips.
She rarely resorted to underhanded methods.
But now, she had no time for niceties.
She needed to extract what she wanted from Lu Jiaojiao as fast as possible.
And after all, only family knows where a person’s weakness lies.
Lu Jiaojiao’s father spoke, each word deliberate: “Lu Jiaojiao, once, because you were outstanding, I added your name to the family genealogy and also had your mother’s grave moved into the Lu family ancestral cemetery. If you refuse to confess, then I’ll have someone dig up your mother’s coffin and scatter her ashes to the wind!”
Lu Jiaojiao’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. “Don’t you dare touch my mother’s grave!”
“Then you will cooperate fully with Miss Rong’s interrogation!” Her father gave her a vicious kick, then turned and walked back to stand beside Rong Yu, speaking deferentially. “Miss Rong, you may ask whatever you need now.”
Rong Yu wore a complicated expression.
She had never expected that someone like Lu Jiaojiao, who had clawed her way up by stepping on others, would have a weakness like this: her late mother.
For the sake of her mother’s ashes, she was willing to give in to anything.
Rong Yu began, “The chairman of that Sakura Country-invested pharma company—he and An Nuo aren’t close friends. So why, when An Nuo recommended you, did he immediately let you take a core role at the company?”
Lu Jiaojiao bit her lip so hard it nearly bled.
Rong Yu let out a faint smile, looking straight into her eyes. “What’s the matter? Not convenient to tell me?”