Nie Yixiao pondered for a few seconds, "I suspect it’s Huo Zhenyang, the young master from the south."

Huo Zhenyang? Chu Xinyu was stunned for two seconds before her eyes widened in realization of who Nie Yixiao was referring to, "How could it be Huo Zhenyang..."

Nie Yixiao said, "Demon-slaying Chronicle is financed by the Huo Family, and coincidentally, Jiayi was involved in this film. I can’t think of a second person in G City with the power and influence to hide a girl by his side for a year without a trace, leaving the Chu Family unable to find her."

Chu Xinyu exclaimed in shock, "How could that wretched girl get involved with Huo Zhenyang? If she doesn’t want to return, and the protector is indeed Huo Zhenyang, with just our strength, we might not be able to bring her back to S Country! This is China’s territory, and we cannot overpower him by forcefully taking her away!"

In China, Huo Zhenyang is a businessman, but overseas, his identity is not limited to the business world; he has a say in the global political arena.

This is because he comes from a powerful political family.

The mother of Huo Zhenyang hailed from a branch of the French Napoleon imperial family in Europe.

This branch, after the end of Napoleon’s empire, moved overseas and established A Country on an island in Western Europe, continuing the glory of Napoleon’s dynasty.

A Country represents an extinct but once powerful empire on the international stage—mysterious, low-profile, yet with absolute deterrence and international prestige. Even the world’s strongest nations have to be courteous to A Country.

The mother of Huo Zhenyang is a daughter of this family, that is, a princess of the A Country Royal Family.

Therefore, Huo Zhenyang’s status in A Country need not be mentioned.

Although he is a businessman in China, in A Country, where the monarchical system still exists, he is the only son of Her Highness the Princess.

S Country was originally a French colony, and for hundreds of years in history, it was under the rule of Napoleon’s empire.

Although S Country is now independent, the Royal Family has maintained good diplomatic relations with A Country.

The people of S Country, once subjects to A Country, still hold a sense of reverence and fear.

Every time an A Country diplomatic envoy visits S Country, the Ya Family Royal Family welcomes them warmly, let alone encounters with the Royal Family of A Country. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Chu Xinyu had not expected that the girl she had always looked down upon, considering her lowly, would actually cling to such a man.

Chu Xinyu felt the pressure suddenly increase a hundredfold.

Nie Yixiao pondered for a moment, his face suddenly shadowed with seriousness, "Then we won’t let Huo Zhenyang find out."

——*—

Jiayi had been restless ever since she encountered that strange man this morning.

At the celebration party, Jiang Meiyi had a problem with her chest and went abroad for repair surgery, so the other actors were all present, and the atmosphere was very lively.

She finally made it to the end of the party.

Jiayi bid Ye Yongning farewell and left the rooftop revolving banquet hall.

Fearing that the media would discover the identity of the Taoist nun character, the two bodyguards did not enter but stayed outside the banquet hall.

Just as Jiayi stepped out of the banquet hall, a man’s voice from behind called out to her.

Turning towards the voice, Jiayi looked and saw that it was the man she had encountered entering the hotel that morning, calling out to her from a corner.

The man’s well-proportioned body was mostly hidden behind the wall, leaning against it at a slant, hands tucked into his trouser pockets, his features as delicate as a character from a comic book.

However, he seemed to intentionally stand in a blind spot, not wanting to be seen talking to her.

That feeling, both familiar and somewhat uncomfortable, surged back.

Jiayi asked curiously, "You’re calling me? Is there something you need?"

"Chu Jiayi, do you recognize me?" Nie Yixiao spoke gently but stared intently at her.

Jiayi’s face changed!

Jiayi... Chu Jiayi...

Does this man know her?

A flash of white light streaked through her mind again.

—Chu?

Was her surname Chu?

Her mind exploded with pain! She instinctively covered her head.

"Miss Jiayi, what’s wrong?"

Not far away, a bodyguard in the crowd saw her distress and called out.

Nie Yixiao took a step back, hiding behind a wall, and spoke indifferently, "If you want to know who you are, please don’t let the bodyguard come over."

She was almost certain that this handsome young man definitely knew her.

That feeling, you couldn’t fake it.

The surname Chu, her impression of it also seemed particularly profound.

To know her own identity was like a huge, sweet temptation, how could she possibly refuse?

She steadied herself, and feigning nonchalance, she called out to the bodyguard at the door, "I’m fine. You guys wait at the door for me, I left something in the banquet hall, I’ll go back and get it before coming down."

Huo Zhenyang had instructed that, except on particularly secure occasions, Miss Jiayi must not be out of sight; but since Miss Jiayi had ordered, the two bodyguards could only comply and went downstairs first.

Seeing the bodyguard leave, Nie Yixiao breathed a sigh of relief.

During this celebration, Chu Xinyu had already sent the bodyguards from S Country to follow the trail in secret.

Indeed, protecting Jiayi outside the hotel were Huo Family’s top-notch bodyguards.

That is to say, the man now backing Jiayi was indeed Huo Zhenyang, the young master of Huo.

Jiayi fixed her gaze on him, her voice trembling, "You know me? Are you my family? You can tell me now."

Nie Yixiao narrowed his eyes, counter-asking, "Do you really not remember me?"

Jiayi pursed her lips and nodded.

The girl’s gaze was unmistakable—although she seemed to have undergone a transformation, stronger and less easy to bully than before, she still had a pair of pure and clear eyes.

Nie Yixiao finally confirmed that she truly had lost her memory.

But, that was even better.

If she remembered the hardships she had suffered in S Country and that she was to marry in place of Chu Xinyu, she might not have returned with them so easily.

Nie Yixiao’s lips curled up slightly, "I’m not your family, but your family has come to China, asking you to go upstairs. She’s up there, wanting to see you."

Although Jiayi was excited, she still held some suspicion; it didn’t feel like a scene for a family reunion.

Finding one’s family shouldn’t be secretive... even to the point of avoiding others, right?

She didn’t immediately follow Nie Yixiao, "How did you find me?"

Nie Yixiao chuckled lightly, the corners of his lips moving thinly, "Naturally, we discovered you through Ye Yongning’s movie. Isn’t that what you wanted? To act in movies, so your family could find you. As you wished, we’ve finally found you."

Jiayi remained vigilant, "Why didn’t you find me openly and aboveboard?"

Nie Yixiao looked at the girl before him.

Unseen for a year, she had shed her previous naivety and innocence, and wasn’t so easily trusting anymore.

Although it was clear she had been well protected and was living a pampered life, her eyes now bore a hint of a little princess’s demeanor, calm and composed.

The old her was timid, afraid, prone to tears, soft-hearted, and easily fell into panic, trusting others too readily, like a marionette on strings.

The current her, however, looked like a flower in full bloom, with an added touch of composure.