Chapter 58

The screen showed no phone number, just blank.

Xu Yanqiu has good eyesight; she glanced and saw no phone number, instinctively thought it was a scam call, and warned Xie Wantang: "Scam call, don't answer, baby."

"I'll go to the restroom, you have some snacks first." Xie Wantang gripped her phone and headed to the restroom.

As expected, the call was from Shen Ye.

Shen Ye briefly told Xie Wantang about the case he was handling, which he had named 【Male Model Missing Case】.

Now reports have come in from various places saying that the most handsome, most popular male model at the club has suddenly gone missing, and no one can get in touch.

The male models use fake names at the club, so the names mentioned in the clues are basically useless.

The club owner does have the male models' IDs, but peers have found that at least half of them are fake.

Some even got plastic surgery to work as male models at the club.

Even families of missing persons, upon seeing the photos, cannot recognize them.

Besides, this line of work isn't respectable, so they themselves dare not keep their real information.

The difficulty is great.

Shen Ye doesn't have much material.

Shen Ye spent several days before he could straighten out his thoughts.

However, they're all men here, going to the club to request a male model would be inappropriate, so he thought of Xie Wantang.

It's not that there are no other female officers available, but in Shen Ye's eyes, Xie Wantang's intellect surpasses all those female officers combined.

Most importantly, Shen Ye wants to resolve this quickly.

So, after much consideration, he placed this help call to Xie Wantang.

"Understood, Senior Martial Brother, I'll give it my all."

"Thank you, Junior Martial Sister, but won't this affect your relationship with your husband?"

"No, we're about to divorce."

"……"

Xie Wantang didn't explain further to Shen Ye, and Shen Ye had no time to gossip about these matters with her.

Afterward, Shen Ye sent some materials to Xie Wantang; he didn't need to warn her, she herself knew these materials must not be leaked.

Xie Wantang is also the type who, once she has a serious task, can quickly focus and immerse herself in it.

She simply sat on the toilet lid and began to go through the materials Shen Ye had sent her, one by one.

Tsk tsk tsk—

I have to say, the male models in this phone are each more handsome than the last.

Even if some of the handsomeness is artificial, one must admit the surgery was very successful.

Before, everyone thought women's personal safety wasn't guaranteed, so families with daughters always worried about their daughters' safety when they were out.

Now these criminals are targeting men?

They really know how to pick their targets, making these good‑looking men disappear.

Lu Yanshen is also quite good‑looking.

I don't know whether he will become a target of the bad guys.

Probably not, Lu Yanshen has skills.

He has the ability to protect himself.

Looking, looking, Xie Wantang forgot about Xu Yanqiu outside.

Xu Yanqiu waited a long time, still not seeing Xie Wantang come out of the restroom; at this moment, the restroom was as quiet as a chicken.

Thinking that Xie Wantang is pregnant, she wondered if she might have fainted from lack of oxygen in there.

Worried about Xie Wantang, Xu Yanqiu hurried to knock on the door.

Xie Wantang opened it right away, looking at Xu Yanqiu with a pair of innocent big eyes: "What's up? Qiuqiu."

"I…… you……."

For a moment, Xu Yanqiu didn't know how to explain.

The books say that oxygen‑deprivation fainting is a risk that tends to occur more easily in late pregnancy.

Her baby's belly is as flat as a plain, still in early pregnancy; she's really worrying for nothing.

Fortunately, the private butler came in just in time, and Xu Yanqiu made up an excuse: "Um, I called you to eat; it'll get cold soon."

"……"

Xie Wantang looked at the table of food still steaming, and did not expose Xu Yanqiu's excuse.

"All right, eat, after eating we'll both take a nap; tonight, you take me to the club to request a male model."

Shen Ye needs her to go to the club to gather information, but she needs Xu Yanqiu to help her pave the way, after all, she knows nothing about these entertainment venues.

If she just went there like that on her own, she might end up making a fool of herself.

So, to be safe, she needs the help of her close female friend.

"……What?" Xu Yanqiu's eyes suddenly lit up.

Then, before Xie Wantang could even speak to explain, Xu Yanqiu started filling in the blanks herself: "Baby, you want to fool around? That's only right—Lu Yanshen that dog of a man can accompany his First Love abroad, while we just request a male model domestically."

"The main point is, he does the first, you do the fifteenth—you've got a big patch of green grass planted on your head by him, so what entitles you to let him have a sky of blue and white clouds?"

"Come on, sisters will take you today to properly experience and enjoy it—while our bellies haven't popped out yet, we must seize happiness and be happy."

"We women should also enjoy life in a timely manner."

"……"

This misunderstanding has grown a bit big, but Xie Wantang didn't explain.

After all, Shen Ye's case needs to be kept secret.

Even though this case's confidentiality requirements might not be as high as those of the cases he previously handled, however, that this case could get Shen Ye to personally handle it shows the difficulty coefficient is relatively high.

Otherwise, Shen Ye wouldn't have asked her for help.

Being able to help her senior martial brother, Xie Wantang was naturally happy.

After the two friends finished lunch, Xie Wantang went to sleep obediently.

After looking at those materials, she deleted them and cleared any remnants from her phone.

She didn't delete the photos of those male models, after all, her memory for people's faces is far less sensitive than her memory for voices.

So, they might still be needed.

So she kept them for now.

As for the encrypted audio files, she transferred them all to her laptop, planning to compare them once she obtains new audio.

Ten o'clock at night.

At the standard time when nightlife officially begins, Xie Wantang, led by Xu Yanqiu, came to the street behind the most prosperous area near the center of Sijiucheng.

This street is empty during the day, but bustling with voices at night.

This forms a stark contrast with the preceding street, which is lively with voices during the day but desolate and empty at night.

This street consists entirely of entertainment clubs.

KTVs, bars—you name it, they have it.

Men and women coming and going all wear heavy, flashy makeup; some men even sport smoky makeup and dye their hair in all sorts of colors.

It's truly a scene of indulgence—red lights, green wine.

Xu Yanqiu got out of the taxi, hearing the strong‑beat music here, and instinctively began to sway.

"What are you doing?" Xie Wantang frowned.

Xu Yanqiu quickly composed herself, chuckling: "Nothing, I just find this music so energizing—I want to dance."

"We're here to enjoy the service, not to serve others."

"Yes, yes, I forgot, honey—sorry."

Having said that, Xu Yanqiu turned serious and led Xie Wantang to the upscale club called 【Heaven and Clouds Between】.

At first, Xie Wantang thought it read "Heaven and Mortal World," but under Xu Yanqiu's prompting she noticed the third character was the traditional form of "cloud."

The ornate, dragon‑and‑phoenix‑style script is truly hard to recognize.

After entering the private room, Xu Yanqiu told the manager to call in a few of the club's finest male models for them to choose from.

"All right, please wait a moment, bosses." The manager replied respectfully and properly.

"Wait a moment." Xie Wantang suddenly called out to the manager, "Do you have a male model here named An sen?"