Chapter 1627 - 951: If He Dares to Make a Move, We Won’t Be Courteous
Chapter 1627: Chapter 951: If He Dares to Make a Move, We Won’t Be Courteous
In the club
Jiang Chengsi hadn’t finished work yet when he received a call from Jiang Jinsang, instructing him to drop everything and head to the club. He wondered to himself:
Is this kid having a quarrel with his wife? Planning to drink and have a heart-to-heart?
After everyone started their own families, opportunities to gather became scarce. The kids were all too young, and while on workdays, their wives and parents mostly took care of the children.
Normally, after work, everyone would go home, so it was rare to gather.
Jiang Chengsi thought it was just the two of them, but upon entering the private room, he realized everyone was there.
All of the Jiang brothers were present, and even Huo Qinqi and Qi Zeyan were there.
"What’s going on? A bunch of grown men, what’s this about?" Jiang Chengsi noticed that everyone looked serious, which puzzled him.
"What’s happening? Why so serious?"
Jiang Jinsang gestured with his eyes, and only then did Jiang Chengsi notice a set of photos on the table in front of him. Curiously, he picked them up and glanced at them.
They were candid photos of people he didn’t recognize, apparently taken on different days based on the angles and clothing.
However, the backgrounds seemed to be of a kindergarten, and even his daughter’s school.
He instantly sensed something was amiss, "Who are these people? What’s the meaning of this?"
"These are people who have recently appeared near the kindergarten," Jiang Jinsang said, looking at him.
"I had Jiang Jiu and Jiang Cuo stationed there to watch and take these photos. They’re not there to pick up kids, but every time during class starting and dismissal, they loiter around. It’s been over a week now."
"They always appear furtively, and I suspect they might have ulterior motives."
"Moreover, these people have strong counter-surveillance skills; it’s obvious they’ve had long-term dealings with the police. I tried having Jiang Jiu follow them several times, but they always lost them."
"Why did you have them keep an eye on this?" Jiang Chengsi asked, typically, the personnel around a kindergarten entrance can be really complex.
After all, there are many parents picking up their kids, possibly vendors selling snacks too. If not specifically attentive, who would notice people hiding in the corners?
"Wanwan mentioned that the police found out that the Kingfisher batch from the Exhibition Center came through smuggling channels. Recently..." Jiang Jinsang sipped tea to clear his throat, "I remember my brother mentioning that his factory’s goods were also suspected to be related to smuggling."
"He wasn’t pleased with your offer for support, and even if you and the third brother pooled money once, it likely wouldn’t cover his debts. Suddenly, he wanted to talk to you guys."
"I just feel it’s quite unusual how everything is piling up together."
"If it’s directed only at a few of us, it wouldn’t matter, but every family has kids. We can’t take this lightly."
Jiang Chengsi bit down resentfully, tightening his grip, as the photos got crushed in his hands.
"What’s the situation now?"
Jiang Jinsang shook his head, "I only noticed some people loitering near the kindergarten recently. Maybe I’m overthinking it, but if not, I can only say they might have plans involving the children."
"If it is a kidnapping, the motive isn’t hard to guess; it’s definitely for ransom, but it’s unclear whose child they might target."
"Probably you or the third brother, since these people are active near two kindergartens, and our kids often play together. That’s why I called you all to be more vigilant for a while."
"Hopefully..."
"It’s just me overthinking."
If unrelated to him, that’s certainly best, but if something does happen, they won’t hold back.
They exchanged glances. The chances of the two little ones from Jiang Yanting’s family being targeted or affected were very small, unlike others who looked more tense.
"If this issue truly involves him, stay in touch." Jiang Shiyi advised.
Given the current situation, targeting his daughter seemed more likely. The Si Family had excellent protection for children, both openly and covertly, but he and Lin Luyou only had the two of them.
**
When Jiang Jinsang got home, Tang Wan had already made dinner, and Jiang Xiaowai was sprawled on the floor, drawing. Seeing his return, he rushed over immediately.
"Dad, I saw that dog again today."
"What dog?"
"That beautiful big sister from the aquarium, Dad, can I get a dog?" The little one looked at him expectantly.
"Dad just got home from work, let him wash up and change first." Tang Wan moved their son aside.
After Jiang Jinsang entered the bedroom, Tang Wan quickly followed, "Today, after school, I took Mutang to the studio. When buying stuff, we ran into Miss Yuan who was walking her dog, so I let him walk it for a while."
"Had I not talked him around, your son might have gone home with Miss Yuan tonight."
"Their dog is quite well-behaved."
...
Tang Wan chattered on but noticed Jiang Jinsang didn’t seem to be listening, "Fifth Brother?"
"Hmm?"
"What’s wrong? You’ve seemed absent-minded since you came in."
"Just thinking about work."
They all agreed that if they could solve a problem privately, they wouldn’t share it with their spouses to avoid everyone worrying.
"You’re home, why think about work?" Tang Wan took his coat, "Oh right, Teacher’s Day is coming up. I was thinking of letting our son make a card for his teacher. What do you think?"
"Sounds good."
Assuming he was anxious about work, Tang Wan didn’t press on.
Before sleep, Jiang Jinsang’s phone buzzed with a group message.
Jiang Chengsi sent:
[He asked me and my elder brother to meet the day after tomorrow at 4 PM.]
Kindergarten lets out at 4:30 PM. Though it doesn’t overlap, if they meet Jiang Zhaolin, the timing overlaps, making it impossible for them to pick up the kids.
If he chose a time when the kids are in school, it would be fine, but this timing is a bit too convenient.
Qi Zeyan: [So what do you plan to do now?]
If Jiang Zhaolin is truly orchestrating things from behind, he likely wouldn’t target the Qi family, but everyone worries about innocent kids being affected.
Jiang Shiyi: [Hold steady and watch closely.]
Jiang Jinsang added: [Catch a turtle in a jar.]
...
All wore serious expressions. If it’s aimed just at them, fine, but if they target the kids, that’s intolerable.
Jiang Shiyi sat in his home lab, completely unaware when Lin Luyou entered, "What are you thinking about, so deeply?"
"Just thinking about an experiment." Jiang Shiyi smiled at him, "Is our daughter asleep?"
"I just made sure she bathed and now she’s reading. Jiang Sese is relatively worry-free and doesn’t need much supervision," said Lin Luyou, "Can you pick her up from school these days? There’s a project at the lab I need to work on that we discussed before. The director’s been urging."
"I have a meeting the day after tomorrow about the support issue."
"I’ll pick her up then. We always discuss and don’t assign pickup tasks rigidly," said Lin Luyou, "Lately, while picking her up, I often feel like someone is watching me."
Jiang Shiyi raised an eyebrow and looked at her, a glint of darkness in his eyes, "What did you say?"
"Maybe I’m overthinking. This project’s been driving me crazy, and I feel like I’m losing my mind a bit, probably overreacting. Once it’s done, let’s take our daughter on a trip for the National Day holiday since we didn’t go anywhere during summer break."
"Where do you want to go?" Jiang Shiyi smiled at her.
"The other day she seemed envious hearing Xiaoxiao’s little girl talk about the seaside, mentioning it several times. How about the seaside?"
"I’ll arrange it then."
Jiang Shiyi liked things done right; whenever they traveled, he planned everything—hotels, itineraries—leaving no worries for Lin Luyou.
Traveling with him meant just bringing yourself. He’d even pack clothes neatly for you.
"But instead of arranging that now, why not look at my project report and offer some suggestions?"
"Sure." Though not in the same project team anymore, they often worked separately, yet offered mutual assistance and suggestions.
Lin Luyou pulled out her project report and handed it to him, casually asking, "What were you up to with them today? I thought you’d be home late but you were back early."
"Just casual chatting, nothing important," Jiang Shiyi smiled, not wanting to reveal and frighten them.
If Lin Luyou’s feeling wasn’t wrong, then he could almost be certain that if they were to target one child, specifically his daughter...
She might be their first choice!