Plunder-Chapter 170: Finding Dean Lu

Qiao En had never been to the An family, and she didn’t even know who Butler Han was.

But since An Jinrong had said so, then Butler Han must be aware of it.

Late at night, Qiao En returned to Chengnan Apartment.

At the entrance, Zhou Jin’an’s tall and slender figure was once again standing there.

"Qiao En, haven’t I told you?" Jin’an said. "Don’t go out alone at night."

An Jinrong had been caught, and he was very worried that the An family would recklessly retaliate against Qiao En.

But she shook her head, "I’m fine."

Qiao En opened the door, and Zhou Jin’an followed her inside.

"Mr. Zhou, were you very familiar with An Jinrong before?"

Qiao En suddenly asked.

Zhou Jin’an took a seat on the sofa, looking at Qiao En with surprise, "Did you see him tonight?"

He was very smart and immediately knew Qiao En’s whereabouts.

She hadn’t planned to hide anything and nodded, "Mhm."

"Keep your distance from him, he’s very dangerous, do you understand?" Jin’an said. "I don’t want you to get involved in the previous turmoil again. For the time being, don’t go to the company. I’ll give you some time off so you can rest well at home."

Now, to Qiao En, Zhou Jin’an seemed to be making a fuss over a trifle.

"I told you, I’m fine."

Qiao En reiterated.

Her voice raised a few decibels; realizing it was inappropriate, she quieted down.

Zhou Jin’an’s deep eyes darkened as he let out a slight breath of relief.

"What did he say to you?"

Qiao En dipped her finger in water and wrote a sequence of numbers on the table.

"1208"

After writing, Qiao En’s gaze fell on Zhou Jin’an’s face.

She wanted to see the subtle changes in his expression.

But she was disappointed.

Jin’an’s brows furrowed even more. "What is this?" he asked, puzzled.

"This is what An Jinrong told me to tell you," Qiao En said. "He mentioned that you would know what it means."

Zhou Jin’an stared at the sequence of numbers; as the water stains dried up, he still couldn’t figure out the meaning of the numbers.

Yet An Jinrong must have had a reason for telling Qiao En to relay these numbers to him.

"I don’t know," Jin’an admitted, sighing heavily.

He stood up and paced the room, hand propped against his cheek.

Four random digits—what was An Jinrong trying to convey?

"Aside from these numbers, did he say anything else?" Jin’an asked again.

Qiao En hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

She didn’t want Jin’an to know about her investigating the orphanage.

"That’s all," Qiao En replied.

Both fell silent, and after a long while, Qiao En took the initiative to speak.

"Director Zhou, why not visit the An residence to pay respects?" she suggested. "With what happened to Director An, if we do nothing, we might become a target of criticism."

Qiao En was thoughtful.

An Jinrong had just returned to Rong City and hadn’t had the chance to honor Old Master An before landing himself in trouble.

The Zhou and An families were also considered old friends, so it would be appropriate for Zhou Jin’an, being the younger generation, to visit Old Master An at this critical moment.

However, if this suggestion had been made in the past, Zhou Jin’an wouldn’t have thought twice about it.

In these matters of human interactions, Qiao En indeed thought things through more thoroughly than he did.

But now, he had an additional layer of suspicion in his mind.

Even so, he did not ask any further questions.

"You arrange it, and we’ll go as soon as possible," Jin’an said.

"Okay."

Just before finishing work the next day, Qiao En knocked on the door of Zhou Jin’an’s office.

"Director Zhou, the gifts for visiting Old Master An have been prepared. Please have a look," she said presenting the list to Jin’an.

He glanced at it—neither too luxurious nor too common.

He was very confident in Qiao En’s work.

"You’ve prepared well," he commended.

"Then, I’ll contact the An family, and after work, accompany you over there."

Qiao En was very proactive.

"Okay."

Zhou Jin’an still responded.

At 6 p.m., a group of people headed to the An family.

Once Cheng Lu got in the car, she muttered, "Director Zhou, is it really a good idea to visit the An family at this hour? Won’t we be scolded."

"Scolded for what?"

Zhou Jin’an leaned back in his seat and asked indifferently.

"With An Jinrong just arrested, visiting his home looks rather suspicious, doesn’t it?"

What Cheng Lu meant was that while everyone else was holding back, they should avoid suspicion even more.

"Assistant Cheng, Director Zhou is doing this precisely to prevent Youyou from claiming anything. The An family and the Zhou family have been friends for generations, and as the junior, President An ought to pay a visit."

Cheng Lu wanted to say more, but when Zhou Jin’an shot him a cold glance, he had no choice but to close his mouth.

Qiao En had contacted the An family in advance, and Butler Han was already waiting at the gate to greet them.

From a distance, Qiao En looked towards Butler Han.

He was quite old, with sparse silver hair swaying in the wind.

As Zhou Jin’an’s car approached, he immediately ordered the gate to be opened.

"Director Zhou, you’re here. The old master and his wife are inside waiting for you," Butler Han came to greet Zhou Jin’an.

Qiao En took another careful look at Butler Han, noticing that he had a limp and walked with a shuffle.

He led the way, with Zhou Jin’an following behind him, while Qiao En and Cheng Lu, carrying gifts, came in after them.

In the living room, Old Master An leaned in an imperial chair, not looking very well.

"Uncle An."

Zhou Jin’an entered and greeted him.

Sitting down, he chatted with Old Master An.

The butler left the living room, and when Qiao En noticed, she immediately stood up.

"I’m going out for some fresh air."

She whispered to Cheng Lu, then quickly stepped out of the hall.

The courtyard of the old An residence was not large, but it was extremely delicate.

The front yard was filled with many potted plants, each with a very unique shape. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Qiao En bent over to look closely, although she couldn’t really understand or appreciate those twisted and contorted forms.

"Does Miss Xu also like these?"

Butler Han passed by, looking at Qiao En with a smile.

"Did you grow all of these?"

Butler Han nodded.

Immediately, Qiao En gave him a thumbs up, "Uncle Han, you’re really amazing! I remember when I was very young at Fuyuan, Director Lu also particularly liked these potted plants."

She deliberately mentioned Director Lu in front of Butler Han.

The deep lines on Butler Han’s face crinkled as his murky eyes darted away when Qiao En mentioned that name.

"It’s not apparent that Miss Xu grew up in an orphanage."

As he spoke, he limped faster and went to water the flowers with a hose.

"Let me help you."

Qiao En eagerly stepped forward.

"Uncle Han, you know Director Lu, don’t you?"

Butler Han replied coldly, "No, I don’t."

After watering halfway, he dropped the hose and was ready to leave.

Qiao En followed him again.

"President An told me that you know where Director Lu is. Can you please tell me?"

Qiao En pleaded in a low voice.

Butler Han’s face changed, casting a frown across his weathered visage as he looked deeply at Qiao En.

"What do you want with Director Lu?"

"I want to find my biological parents. Could you please help me?"

Butler Han looked Qiao En over for quite a while, then asked, "What was your name in the orphanage?"

"Su Nian."

She gave Su Nian’s name.

Hearing the name, Butler Han’s gaze flickered again.

Qiao En felt that there was something more to this.

But she didn’t press him, merely watching Butler Han.

After a long while, he suddenly said to Qiao En in a muffled voice, "Come with me."

With that, he led Qiao En to a small utility room beside the old house.