The Favored Heiress
Chapter 515: What Are You Going to the British Empire For?

Chapter 515: Chapter 515: What Are You Going to the British Empire For?

Shang Yu seemed pleased by her erratic train of thought, a hint of amusement crossing the depths of his shadowy eyes, "I’ll ask him tomorrow."

Li Qiao nodded, barely awake as she closed her eyes again, only to open them three seconds later, "What are you doing in the British Imperial?"

The man pinched her cheeks, his movements gentle and doting, and through the dim light streaming in from the window, one could clearly see her groggy appearance, "I thought you weren’t going to ask."

Li Qiao propped herself up on his shoulders and sat up from his embrace, stretching out her hands to massage her temples vigorously before scrutinizing him, "Going on a business trip?"

Shang Yu caught her gesture, his cold eyes darkening, "Headache again?"

Again?

Li Qiao recalled that she had had a headache once before after spending too long in Secret Hall.

She smoothed out her frown, and shook her head for good measure, "No." Continuing on with the earlier topic, she asked, "Are you going to the British Imperial for a business trip or to find Charles?"

The man’s palm caressed the top of her head, staying silent for a moment before saying, "Your elder brother went to the British Imperial and captured Ou Bai, and I just happen to have some business with Charles, so I’ll check on it along the way."

Li Qiao: "..."

That was an unexpectedly surprising answer.

Initially, Li San had been shot in the back of the head due to Ou Bai’s meddling, and it had been two months with no word from him at the border.

She had thought her brother was going to let him go.

But as it turned out, it wasn’t a matter of letting him go; instead, he chose a time when everyone’s guard was down to settle accounts.

Yes, that did align with her brother’s character.

Li Qiao’s thoughts grew clearer by degrees, and she slid off the man’s lap to sit on a chair, "When did he go?"

"Last night at nine, straight from the Imperial Capital."

Li Qiao understood, glanced out the window without saying much.

Ou Bai had initially been sent to the British Imperial under the guise of filming in order to bring closure between him and her elder brother.

Thinking this, Li Qiao felt something was off.

She withdrew her gaze, looking at Shang Yu slowly and thoughtfully. By going to the British Imperial, whose side was he planning to take?

The man almost immediately understood the meaning behind her gaze.

His thin lips curved slightly, and he leaned down to whisper, "I’m going to see Charles. As for Ou Bai, his fate is up to him."

"Mmm..." Li Qiao nodded with a smile, "Then I’ll give my brother a call, to ask him to show some mercy."

Shang Yu looked at her almost smiling profile, and the arc at the corner of his lips in a spot Li Qiao couldn’t see diminished slightly.

His trip to the British Imperial, of course, was not as simple as just meeting Charles.

...

The next morning, Shang Yu dropped Li Qiao off at the entrance of the research institute and after being affectionate with her in the car for a while, immediately ordered Liuyun to drive to the airport.

On the way, he received a call from Li San, "When are you coming over?"

"Tonight," the man replied in a low, deeply chilly tone, his voice sparing as if each word was precious, harsh without a hint of warmth.

Li San, far away in the British Imperial, smoked while looking at the tied-up movie star Ou Bai on the living room sofa, his lips curling up maliciously, "Then I’ll wait for you to arrive before I settle the total score with him."

Shang Yu sat in the car, gazing out at the receding scenery, and said in a deep voice, "No need, just leave him alive, the rest is up to you."

He blew away the smoke in front of him, and sneered with a mocking smile, "I can handle it any way I want?"

At that moment, Shang Yu elegantly crossed his legs, leaning back against the seat, "Yes, after this time, the grievances between you two should be wiped clean."

Tied to the sofa, Ou Bai: "???"

Did Shaoyan not know that Li San was on speakerphone right now?

What does he mean by leaving a live witness? He just threw himself into the bandit Li San’s pit of fire and left him to his fate?

Li San flicked his cigarette ash, his sharp features covered with a layer of mockery, "Fine then. Anyway, I’m a very good shot. At worst, I’ll give him a bullet to the back of his head too."

As the words fell, the sound of a lighter echoed from the other end of the phone. The man exhaled smoke, his warning clearly implied: "Li San, if you just want to punish Ou Bai, I won’t interfere. Do as you please.

But with other matters, no matter what you know or have heard, don’t act rashly. The Charlman Family is not as simple as you think."

When Shang Yu mentioned the Charlman Family, Li San quickly turned off the speakerphone.

He held the phone to his ear, his thin lips white with tension, "Shaoyan, what are you talking about? I don’t seem to have mentioned..."

Shang Yu, smoking, interrupted him, "The one who hurt Xiao Yeyan was me. Even if they seek revenge, it won’t reach the Li Family. There’s no need for you to worry about that."

Li San fell silent.

Because he suddenly felt at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.

The fact that Xiao Yeyan’s serious injury could provoke retaliation from the Charlman Family was something he and Bo Tingxiao had discussed face-to-face in the Bo Family’s backyard just last night.

Why would Shaoyan know about it?

"You..." For the first time, Li San felt that the man on the other end of the phone was inscrutable to an extent that he couldn’t fathom.

He even felt a sense of relief that they were not enemies.

"After you’re done with your task, return to the border as soon as possible." Shang Yu dropped this one last piece of advice before hanging up.

Li San’s arm dropped, looking at the phone which had hung up automatically, his mood immensely complex.

His gaze was dark as he looked at Ou Bai, as if he were seeing through him to someone else.

...

Meanwhile, Li Qiao, who was at the scientific research institute, received a call from Li Shaoquan around noon.

"Dad, I’m useless..."

As soon as the call connected, Li Shaoquan found himself a way out.

Without any surprise, Li Qiao answered indifferently, "That person, couldn’t be found?"

Li Shaoquan nodded dejectedly, then said in a subdued tone, "This past week, the facial recognition system automatically matched all facial data without a single accurate hit.

The person you asked me to look into, I suspect he is either unregistered or had all his information erased.

You know, some big families keep a lot of bodyguards who are essentially non-existent as far as records go."

Li Qiao didn’t speak, leaning against the corridor’s windowsill, looking out the window, "Hmm, the license plate was a dummy?"

"Yeah, you’re so smart..." Li Shaoquan praised weakly, but still couldn’t help feeling utterly frustrated as he ran his fingers through his messy hair.

This was the first time they couldn’t find the identity of an ordinary bodyguard.

Even with Shang Qiongying, the facial recognition system had very detailed personal information available.

Li Qiao said she understood and then hung up the call herself.

Exactly one week had passed since her elder brother’s wedding, and they still had not been able to find the person in question, it was almost certain that this person had no traceable presence on the domestic internet.

She took out the video records and photos of that man again, opened her email, and adjusted the system language. She wrote a passage in Burmese, manually entered the recipient’s address, and clicked send.