140: Chapter 140 My sister has been taken away.

The streets of the old town were narrow, and the sunlight was sliced into fragments by the old buildings on both sides, landing on Lu Qingping's tense face. He watched the black sedan carry Lin Wanyi away and disappear at the end of the alley. His knuckles were clenched white, and he didn't even notice the red marks his nails had dug into his palms.

The memories of his past life, just awakened, were still churning in his mind. The image of Wanyi collapsing in the rainy night overlapped with the scene before him of her getting into a stranger's car, making his heart feel as if it were being fiercely gripped by a hand, aching tightly.

"Drive! Follow that car!" Lu Qingping yanked open the car door and sat in his own car, his voice trembling with urgency.

As soon as the driver started the car, he took out his phone and quickly dialed his second younger brother, Lu Qingan. The receiver carried the other's lazy, just-woken-up voice: "Brother, it's early in the morning. Why are you calling me instead of dealing with Yunqi Technology's affairs?"

"Stop sleeping! Something big happened!" Lu Qingping's voice smashed over, "Our own younger sister, Lin Wanyi, has been picked up by a man named Zhang Fan! That guy is the boss of Singularity Technology. I can tell by his eyes that something isn't right; he might be trying to deceive Wanyi!"

"Our own younger sister? Lin Wanyi?" Lu Qingan's voice instantly became clear, carrying a hint of confusion. "Brother, didn't you say you'd been looking for years and couldn't find her? How did she suddenly appear? And that Zhang Fan, I think I've heard of him; he's quite popular in the gaming circle lately. How did he get involved with our sister?"

"Now is not the time to talk about this!" Lu Qingping stared ahead; the car was following Zhang Fan's car towards the CBD. "Contact Lu Qingyan immediately and have him check Zhang Fan's background, the more detailed the better! Including his company, private life, and whether he has any bad records! I'm following them. As soon as there's any situation, we'll act immediately!"

After hanging up, Lu Qingping dialed his third younger brother, Lu Qingyan's number. Lu Qingyan was a famous "cold-faced boss" in the tech circle. When the call connected, the sound of keyboard typing came from the background: "Big brother, if you have something to say, say it. I'm debugging an algorithm."

"Qingyan, help me check someone: Zhang Fan, the founder of Singularity Technology." Lu Qingping's voice was very low. "He picked up Wanyi, our own younger sister. I'm worried he might have ill intentions toward Wanyi. Check his background as soon as possible, especially whether he has any ties to foreign capital—Yunqi Technology's recent cooperation with overseas companies has been off, and I'm afraid Wanyi might get dragged into it."

The typing on the other end of the line paused, and Lu Qingyan's voice grew more serious: "I understand. I'll give you the preliminary information within ten minutes. Also, don't act impulsively. Just follow them first and confirm their destination; I'll have the security team on standby."

After hanging up, Lu Qingping leaned back in his seat, looking at Zhang Fan's car ahead, his heart full of regret and anxiety.

In his past life, he neglected Lin Wanyi, letting her suffer all kinds of grievances. In this life, just after his memories awakened, he had to face the scene of his sister being taken away by a "strange man." He absolutely could not let history repeat itself.

Even if Zhang Fan was just interacting with Lin Wanyi normally, he still had to confirm the other party's background; he must never let anyone hurt her again.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside Zhang Fan's car was exceptionally calm.

Lin Wanyi sat in the passenger seat, her fingers gently rubbing the seatbelt. Her gaze drifted out the window from time to time. She could feel a car following them from the old town all the way to the CBD. The other car kept a distance that was neither too far nor too close, clearly targeting them.

"President Zhang, have you noticed the car behind us?" Lin Wanyi hesitated for a moment before speaking up to remind him.

She guessed it was someone sent by Lu Qingping. She felt a bit annoyed, but she didn't want Zhang Fan to see her embarrassment.

Zhang Fan glanced into the rearview mirror. It was a black Mercedes-Benz. He had some impression of the license plate; when he was investigating Yunqi Technology earlier, he had seen information about Lu Qingping's vehicle.

He curled the corners of his mouth and said in a relaxed tone, "It's fine, it's likely sent by your family. Don't worry, once we reach the company, you'll be safe."

Lin Wanyi was stunned for a moment and looked up at Zhang Fan: "President Zhang knows my family?"

"Not exactly, but I know President Lu of Yunqi Technology." Zhang Fan did not hide anything, nor did he say much more. He just gently turned the steering wheel, and the car drove into the office building's parking lot in the CBD. "Let's talk about the collaboration first. If your family is truly worried, they will come to find you sooner or later."

Lin Wanyi was silent. She hadn't expected Zhang Fan to actually know about Yunqi Technology, and even know Lu Qingping.

This made her even more certain that the strength of Singularity Technology was far greater than she had known in her past life. This collaboration might truly be able to help her completely break free from the shackles of the Lu family.

The two walked into the Singularity Technology office building. The young receptionist quickly stood up and nodded at Zhang Fan.

Seeing Lin Wanyi following behind, her eyes brightened: "President Zhang, Miss Lin, President Song and President Zhou have already made arrangements and are waiting for you in the conference room now!"

Lin Wanyi followed Zhang Fan into the elevator. Looking at herself in the mirror, she took a deep breath.

She must seize this opportunity to gain a foothold through her own abilities and never again be that Lin Wanyi who depended on the Lu family and let others bully her.

Meanwhile, in the parking lot, Lu Qingping watched Zhang Fan and Lin Wanyi walk into the office building, his expression becoming even gloomier.

He took out his phone and dialed Lu Qingyan's number: "Qingyan, did you find out? Who exactly is Zhang Fan?"

"Found it. Zhang Fan, founder of Singularity Technology, became an overnight success thanks to 'star path: reboot' and 'star dream workshop'. The company's valuation has risen from ten million to one billion within half a year, with capital injection from the Song family behind it." Lu Qingyan's voice came from the receiver, carrying a hint of gravity. "In addition, I discovered a strange point: the foreign capital that our Yunqi Technology has been in contact with recently also seems to be secretly investigating Singularity Technology, targeting their core AI technology, 'Star Core Engine'."

Lu Qingping's pupils constricted: "Foreign capital? Investigating Singularity? Could Zhang Fan be trying to use Wanyi to get close to our Yunqi Technology and obtain information about the foreign capital?"

"It's hard to say." Lu Qingyan's voice paused. "Zhang Fan is not a simple person. His speech at the industry summit was very principled; he doesn't seem like someone who would collude with foreign capital. But why he would suddenly seek out Wanyi for collaboration, and why he knows that Lin Wanyi is the one our Lu family lost, these all need further investigation."

"No matter what, I cannot let Wanyi get too close to him!" Lu Qingping gritted his teeth. "Where is Qingan? Where has he reached? We must quickly find a way to take Wanyi away from Singularity. We cannot let her associate with someone as unfathomable as Zhang Fan!"

"I've arrived!" Lu Qingan's voice suddenly came from the other end of the line, with footsteps in the background. "Brother, I just arrived downstairs at the office building and brought two bodyguards. Should we go straight up and find Wanyi?"

"Don't be impulsive!" Lu Qingyan immediately stopped him. "There is currently no evidence that Zhang Fan has ill intentions toward Wanyi. Going up there to cause a scene will only make Wanyi resent us. Let's wait downstairs first. Wait until they finish discussing the collaboration, see how the situation is, and then decide. Additionally, I have already sent my subordinates to investigate the relationship between Singularity and foreign capital. I will inform you immediately if there is any news."

Lu Qingping gripped his phone tightly, looking at the entrance of the office building, his heart feeling like an ant on a hot pan.

He was afraid that Wanyi would be "deceived" by Zhang Fan, but he was also afraid that if he appeared rashly, it would remind Wanyi of the grievances of her past life, causing her to completely draw a line with him.

This feeling of being in a dilemma was even more painful than dealing with the crises at Yunqi Technology.

Meanwhile, in the conference room, Zhang Fan and Zhou Yurou had already brought out the collaboration proposal. Zhou Yurou pointed to the terms in the proposal and said to Lin Wanyi with a smile: "Miss Lin, not only will we pay an endorsement fee, but we will also help you create a personal music project, including original album production, music video filming, and even collaborate with 'star dream workshop' to customize an exclusive music map for you, allowing players to hear your songs within the game."

Lin Wanyi looked at the proposal, her eyes gradually brightening. This was even better than she had expected. Not only could she get resources, but she could also expand her influence through the synergy between the game and music.

She looked up at Zhang Fan, her tone sincere: "President Zhang, President Zhou, thank you for your trust. I will do my best to complete the endorsement and the theme song; I will not let you down."

Zhang Fan looked at the light in Lin Wanyi's eyes and felt relieved. The preliminary collaboration had been reached. Next, not only could he leverage Lin Wanyi's original abilities to boost the game's influence, but he could also use her to further understand the relationship between the Lu family and foreign capital.