Chapter 385 - A Conspiracy

Andrea was burning up in anger seeing the text exchanges between Lanying and her father. She immediately went to check on details, searching for any info regarding Lanying's father. 

Apparently the reason for their return was due to a failed investment in Europe, particularly in France. Although they lived in the US, Chi Zhong had invested in a small hotel in Paris, but unfortunately, it was poorly managed and the hotel was never built. She read somewhere that most of the investors lost most of their money. 

Andrea then pondered how coming in to work for Lu-Wei Enterprises played a role to their scheme, but as to what they were planning, it has yet to be revealed. The only contents in the text messages were progress conversations between Lanying and her father.  

Text Exchange 1:

Chi Zhong: "Be obedient, be diligent and be effective. That is the only way they will trust you. Focused on mastering the assistant's work."

Lanying: "Okay, dad."

Chi Zhong: "Do you think you can convince Lu Fang's wife to go to France?"

Lanying: "I don't think so, dad. I heard she is pregnant."

Chi Zhong: "No! That ruins everything."

Text Exchange 2:

Chi Zhong: "Study carefully, Lu Fang's wife. The way she walks, the way she dresses, the way she talks and even the way she looks. Take note of it well."

Lanying: "Dad, are you sure about this?"

Chi Zhong: "Why not? We are going to hit two birds with one stone. Do this for me Lanying.. and now, you need to find a way to make it to France."

Text Exchange 3:

Chi Zhong: "Come down from the office, I have the juice ready for you to give your colleagues."

Chi Zhong: "Did it work? Did they drink the juice?"

Lanying: "No, dad. Apparently Bolin does not necessarily drink chili juice, but his wife might drink it. If she gets sick, maybe he won't leave."

Today's text:

Lanying: "Dad, I am already on the plane. I will let you know when I arrive."

Chi Zhong: "Good. Stick to the plan."

It was fortunate that Lanying did not have time to know Andrea well. the couple had given specific instructions to Bolin and Arti as to what information to share about their background. It was meant to protect them from any harm in case of infiltration. Being underestimated has always been an advantage. 

Also, because they were recently occupied about Landon Song and  Gao Rou, they never came to any invitation from Lanying's father. Even Lu Wei did not have the time since he was often covering for Lu Fang. Lanying had always said that his father wanted to have dinner with them or with Lu Wei. 

Andrea checked Lanying's office computer using the network. She did not find anything helpful. 

She immediately texted Lu Fang and Hanxi about her initial findings. At least, the moment they land they would already know that Lanying had a strange plan. 

She was about to find out if Chi Zhong's network at home was easily breached when Gao Rou arrived. He knocked on the door and came inside after Andrea said it was fine to enter. 

"Andy," called Gao Rou. He looked back to check if his father was behind him. When he saw that he was enjoying playing puppets with the twins, he turned back to her and said, "my father wanted to see the kids. He said it reminded him of a boy."

She smiled before saying, "Must be you though."

"Possibly - "

"Anyway, Gao Rou, do you know Chi Lanying and her father?" Andrea asked. 

"Yeah, I remember him. Also, meeting Lanying again made me recognize - "

"They are planning something, I'm not sure of what. Let me show you," said Andrea before showing Gao Rou her laptop. 

Gao Rou read the text conversation carefully and said, "It obviously has something to do with going to France, Andy. What do you want to do? Don't even think about going to France."

"No, no. I will just give them an advance warning, but I'd really like to see this Chi Zhong - "

"No," Gao Rou insisted, "Let me go and visit him instead." He pointed his finger at her and added, "You - You stay here and be a mother."

They agreed to give Gao Chaoxiang another thirty minutes with the children before Gao Rou decided to leave for the Chi residence. 

After seeing Gao Rou drive away, she called Alfred. She informed her of a possible scheme against her husband. "Dad, you have to make sure that Lu Fang is safe."

"Andy, don't worry, I have ten men assigned in France and they are all meeting us when we land. We had already agreed to land at the same time, or at least wait for each other. No harm will come to Lu Fang. As for that child, do you suggest we observe her first and find out what scheme she and her father had planned?" Alfred asked. 

"It depends, dad. Gao Rou is on his way to her father now. If we get him to admit, I will call you before you leave for France. Thanks for taking my call," said Andrea. 

Dinner came and Andrea waited for Gao Rou's call. Roughly an hour after he left, her phone rang. "Gao Rou?"

"Andy, this is not the right address," said Gao Rou. 

"What do you mean?" 

"This house that is listed in Lanying's company information, like her address, is a home for rent. It is a fully furnished home to be rented on a daily basis… Only the caretaker lives here," explained Gao Rou. 

"Bummer. That's the address on Lanying's identity card, though," said Andrea.  "I think our HR team should do home visits next time."

"Could not agree more," said Gao Rou. 

"I guess I'll dig deeper," said Andrea. 

Before she dwelled on it, she made sure to update Alfred. Fortunately, the UK was not that far from France, and he did not have to leave as early as Lu Fang. 

"Andy, " answered Alfred.

"Dad, I have not found Lanying's father yet, so let's observe her first. I think I would prefer to catch her in the act… I was thinking, whatever are their intentions, why do they need to go to France? I can't help but wonder there is someone else involved here… someone who is already in the country," said Andrea. 

After talking to her father, she called Li Wen to see if there were any strange activities in France that were related to Lu Fang.

Her sister was quick to answer the call, but after Andrea gave her concerns, Li Wen immediately said, "Ah... I don't believe so. Andy, I can't hear you very well... There is a problem with the signal. I will call you back, okay?"

Half an hour passed, but Li Wen still did not call back. She called her again, but her call was routed to voicemail. 

"What the?" She said. "Why do I feel there is a strange conspiracy going on?"