Attention Sir, I Have Your Heart Handcuffed!-Chapter 542 - 390. Your Sweetness ( Part 2)

As the whistleblower of the Yanwu Square case, Shi Nian was also allowed to be present in the meeting room.

However, under such circumstances of joint work between two teams, she refrained from speaking much. She could only look at Tang Yanqing from afar, silently offering him encouragement.

This seemed to make up for a regret of hers.

Back when Dad was hit by that series of cases, she was studying abroad and couldn’t be by his side. After that tragedy occurred back then, she couldn’t forgive herself for a long time, blaming herself for not being able to be with Dad through those toughest times.

Fortunately, now that Tang Yanqing was facing a similar predicament, she could be right by his side, experiencing and going through everything with him.

"So now let’s analyze who might have seen through our intentions and knows George’s whereabouts."

Tang Yanqing got up and walked to the whiteboard, first writing George’s name, then drawing several lines below it.

Tang Yanyi answered first: "Naturally, those most suspicious are George’s associates, including friends and enemies." She said as she got up and walked to the whiteboard, taking the marker from Tang Yanqing’s hand, and wrote under those lines in order: James, Lin Qi, Huangfu Huazhang.

Shi Nian understood that the order of these three names written by Tang Yanyi reflected the level of suspicion she held for each of them in her heart.

"Is there no one else?" Tang Yanqing asked.

Tang Yanyi turned to face everyone: "George is a man who thinks highly of himself and socializes little. His past failures and near-exile life have made him sensitive and suspicious, coupled with his innate arrogance. So despite being surrounded by people, very few have genuinely caught his eye. Thus, those who have the opportunity and ability to influence him are only these three."

Based on Tang Yanyi’s own experience, even Li Le Wen, who was George’s personal assistant in Shanghai, never had a real opportunity to capture George’s attention, so others had even less of a chance.

Old Qiao’s subordinate raised his hand, and Tang Yanyi nodded: "Go ahead."

The officer pointed at the whiteboard: "James and Lin Qi may have caused George’s disappearance due to their motive of fighting for control of the Fude Group, fearing George’s unwillingness to concede and his attempts to reclaim the group. But Huangfu Huazhang seems lacking in motive."

"Huangfu Huazhang’s conflict with George is also mainly over the control of the Fude Group, but now it seems both are losers, and their conflict has shifted. Moreover, since Huangfu Huazhang is still on bail, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to add another crime to himself."

The officers nodded in agreement.

Tang Yanqing’s gaze briefly swept over Shi Nian’s face and simply nodded: "That’s right, it indeed seems James and Lin Qi are more suspicious now."

Old Qiao stared at the whiteboard for a while, then went up and numbered it: "Actually, the one most suspicious now is George himself. So we should first consider the possibility that George has seen through your intentions and escaped on his own."

"Then we should consider these three."

"We have limited energy, and listing too many suspects would distract us. I suggest continuing to investigate George himself. If this doesn’t lead anywhere, then we can come back to these three."

Tang Yanyi couldn’t help but sneer: "According to Mr. Qiao’s traditional method, investigating one person takes about two months on average. For four people, it’ll take eight months. Eight months! By then, it’ll be too late!"

Old Qiao retorted bluntly: "I have believed in your methods before, but as a result, the suspect in hand escaped right under our noses! So I can’t trust your methods anymore. I have to use my own ways. Even if it takes eight months, as long as we can solidly catch the suspect and solve the case, I won’t play your games!"

After speaking, Old Qiao led his team out of the conference room in single file.

Everyone was still a bit agitated. Tang Yanqing raised his chin to see Old Qiao and his team leave, then turned back to say to everyone: "What’s there to be upset about? We’re originally two teams; they investigate their way, we investigate ours. They start with George; we start with those three, and together we might achieve more with less."

Guan Liang quietly asked, "Mr. Tang, do you mean you don’t think George ran away on his own?"

Tang Yanqing looked up at Tang Yanyi: "That’s right, I trust Xiao Yi. She has completely gained George’s trust, making George think he can easily dominate her. Everyone must understand how confident and arrogant George’s desire to become Xiao Yi’s ’spiritual mentor’ is. So I don’t believe George would have seen through our intentions himself and fled. There’s someone else’s influence in this."

Tang Yanyi was a bit emotional, clasping her sleeves tightly to calm herself.

She had thought all along that because she had constantly been caught between him and Shi Nian, saying and doing many things that weren’t favorable to Shi Nian, that her brother always believed in her and supported her.

She faced everyone: "I let George go, and I promise everyone I will personally bring him back—if he’s still alive!"

Tang Yanqing nodded and began assigning tasks to the team members:

Guan Liang continued to search all of George, James, Lin Qi, and Huangfu Huazhang’s real and virtual communication tools, looking for any clues related to George’s whereabouts.

Gao Cheng was to continue keeping close watch on George’s residence and frequently visited locations, as well as the dwellings, workplaces, and frequent hangouts of the other three suspects, monitoring those closely associated with them.

Tang Yanyi volunteered: "Let me be in charge of watching James."

Jia Tianzi nodded: "Then I’ll take on Lin Qi."

Everyone went their separate ways, starting their respective tasks.

The meeting room quieted down, and Tang Yanqing tilted his head towards Shi Nian, who had been sitting quietly in the corner: "Why so quiet, what’s on your mind?"

Shi Nian forced a smile: "Recollecting the first time I met Mr. Q."

Tang Yanqing walked over, sat down, and hooked an arm around her shoulder: "What are your thoughts on today’s meeting?"

Shi Nian looked at him but didn’t speak.

He smiled wryly: "Do you disagree with me?"

Shi Nian bit her lip: "I also feel like perhaps we should pay more attention to George’s own leads. Once focus is spread over four people, it’s really not as concentrated and effective as focusing on just one person."

Tang Yanqing smiled: "So you also think George saw through our intentions and escaped on his own? Do you think I’ve become so foolish, with the plan exposed and letting him walk out grandly?"

Shi Nian knew that the most terrifying thing at this time was for Detective to self-doubt and self-deny, just like Dad once did.

So she could only suppress her doubts, raising her hands in surrender: "Alright, I’m wrong. I support Mr. Tang’s decision."

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Huangfu Huazhang’s case of allegedly murdering Old Buddha finally went to trial.

Recently, due to this case, along with the company’s takeover and George’s disappearance, the Ford family was thrust into the spotlight. And since the case involved the childhood abuses suffered by Rosa and James and also touched on Old Buddha’s own peculiar preferences, which included private matters, the Ford family, as the victim’s relatives, vigorously requested the trial to be held behind closed doors.

Yet despite this, the confrontation between the prosecution and the defense remained intense.

An Cheng had achieved several wins recently, but today she dared not let her guard down, as she faced her uncle’s generation, Liu Qingtian, as the defense lawyer today.

In fact, from the evidence submitted by both sides, the prosecution clearly held the advantage, as the evidence included a verbal confession by the defendant, Huangfu Huazhang, who had signed a guilty plea himself. The defense’s evidence mainly consisted of Old Buddha’s medical records from back then and the health descriptions from friends and acquaintances, which were relatively standard pieces of evidence.

However, from the moment she entered the courthouse, An Cheng saw the faint smile on Liu Qingtian’s face. Having watched many recordings of Liu Qingtian’s trials during her student days, she knew that slight smile represented Liu Qingtian’s absolute confidence in winning the case.

An Cheng used a bit of wit; when she went up to shake hands, she smiled and said: "I remember when I first got my lawyer’s license, my first case had people calling me a black-hearted lawyer, defending the accused just for money. I cried then, but it was Uncle Liu who consoled me. From then on, I believed Uncle Liu was a good lawyer who wouldn’t defend someone just for money."

Liu Qingtian raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Little girl, you’ve truly grown up. I also taught you that a lawyer’s battleground begins outside the courtroom, and you’re already practicing it now."

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