Shu Qingqing remembered the day she came back to get the shawl for the old lady.
She clearly remembered turning off the lights before leaving, but when she returned, the light in the walk-in closet was on.
Perhaps someone had entered her room at that time.
Nanny Li brought up the previous matter again: "Ma'am, do you remember the day you couldn't find your earrings? I told you that Ms. Tan and the Young Master played hide-and-seek upstairs."
Shu Qingqing's face darkened. Nanny Li had indeed said that at the time, but she hadn't taken it to heart. However, looking at it now...
"Nanny Li, let's go check the surveillance footage."
The day she went to the old residence, although the second floor didn't have cameras installed yet, the first-floor living room did.
If Tan Meng really took advantage of their absence to enter her room, the first-floor cameras might have caught it.
The surveillance footage could be viewed on the computer in the second-floor guest room. As soon as Shu Qingqing and Nanny Li opened the door, they happened to see Lu Bochuan standing in the hallway making a phone call.
It seemed he was calling Xiao Liu over to do something.
"Lu Bochuan, what are you calling Xiao Liu for?" Shu Qingqing asked.
Lu Bochuan took her hand and walked to the side: "We can no longer use this tutor for Lu Yu."
Shu Qingqing was surprised: "Ah? Did you discover something too?"
Lu Bochuan's eyes were cold: "She deliberately wore something very revealing just now and bumped into me."
Shu Qingqing's face instantly turned black.
It seemed this Tan Meng really had impure motives.
"So you called Xiao Liu to...?"
"To throw her out. I don't want to see her again," Lu Bochuan said coldly.
Shu Qingqing tugged at him: "Don't rush. I haven't found my earrings yet, she can't leave just yet."
Lu Bochuan was puzzled: "What earrings?"
"I'll tell you later. Come watch the surveillance footage with me first."
The three of them pulled up the footage from that day but did not see Tan Meng.
Shu Qingqing thought for a moment and clicked on the second-floor cameras. If Tan Meng really coveted her jewelry, she might come up again.
The second-floor footage showed nothing unusual.
Shu Qingqing was about to close it when she suddenly noticed that Tan Meng appeared in the early morning footage.
However, Tan Meng didn't come to her room. Instead, she lingered at the door of the study and even tried to open it.
Nanny Li was confused: "What is Ms. Tan doing pulling on the study door in the middle of the night? Ma'am, why don't I call the police now? This Ms. Tan running to the study instead of sleeping at dawn definitely has no good intentions."
But Shu Qingqing felt something was off.
In the footage just now, after Tan Meng came up to the second floor, she deliberately glanced at the camera's position. So, she must have known there were cameras on the second floor, yet she still came.
Furthermore, if Tan Meng wanted to find valuables, she should have gone to her walk-in closet, which was full of precious jewelry. Lu Bochuan's study only had documents and...
Shu Qingqing suddenly paused and exchanged a glance with Lu Bochuan.
Right, the documents in Lu Bochuan's study were also very important, and there was a safe.
Shu Qingqing suddenly felt that Tan Meng's goal wasn't just money.
"No need to call the police yet." Lu Bochuan pulled her to sit down on the sofa, pondered for a moment, and said, "Over the past two years, there have been people making moves within the company. This Tan Meng is very likely acting under someone's orders to take something from the study. I think we should interrogate her."
Shu Qingqing: "But if we ask her directly now, Tan Meng might not confess. After all, we don't have any evidence. I do have an idea, though."
Lu Bochuan: "What is it?"
"Catch the thief with the loot. I lost a pair of earrings earlier, and I just happened to see Tan Meng's hair in the bathroom, so it's highly likely she took them. She might have been sent by someone to steal your documents, but she definitely covets my jewelry too." Shu Qingqing thought for another second before continuing, "Perfectly enough, we told Tan Meng before that we are going back to the old residence tomorrow. Since she couldn't get into the study that day, she will definitely try again while we are away."
"When the time comes, I'll pretend to tell her there's a power outage at home and leave the study door unlocked. Once she gets what she wants, we'll appear immediately. Her emotions will be highly tense then, making it easy to trick her into talking."
Lu Bochuan thought about it and found it feasible.
The next morning, the snow outside had indeed stopped.
After waking up, Tan Meng hesitated, not daring to leave her room.
Although Lu Bochuan hadn't said anything last night, the final look he gave her was more terrifying than the King of Hell.
She couldn't figure out what Lu Bochuan was thinking, but she felt somewhat uneasy.
Shu Qingqing was leaving in the afternoon, yet she hadn't accomplished anything. If her dad really got released, he would probably beat her to death.
As she was fretting, there was a knock on the door. It was Shu Qingqing.
"Ms. Tan, the snow outside has stopped. I'll have the driver take you back in a while."
"Mrs. Lu, aren't you leaving in the afternoon? I was thinking of giving Lu Yu another lesson." Tan Meng grew increasingly anxious. If she left now, it would probably be hard to come back.
Shu Qingqing said, "The main issue is that a circuit line in the house is broken, and the electricity upstairs can't be used. It's hard to find a repairman in this weather, so we might as well just head to Lu Yu's grandmother's house. No one will be living here, so the electricity issue can wait until after the New Year."
Tan Meng's eyes suddenly lit up. No electricity on the second floor? Didn't that mean the cameras couldn't be used either?
Now she was destined to fail at planting the listening device, and that person would definitely release her dad. Rather than waiting here to be beaten to death by her dad, it would be better to take some more of Shu Qingqing's jewelry. With money, she could take her mom to live somewhere else. Anyway, she was doing an internship now and didn't need to go to school.
That way, her dad definitely wouldn't be able to find her.
The more Tan Meng thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Tan Meng: "Alright then, let the driver take me back."
Tan Meng got into the car but didn't return to school. Instead, using the excuse of buying things, she got out at a mall not far from the villa.
When the driver returned, he reported this news to Shu Qingqing.
Shu Qingqing looked at Lu Bochuan: "I think she will definitely come back."
Lu Bochuan felt the same way, except...
"We've all left, how will she get in?"
Shu Qingqing thought for a moment and deliberately left one of the first-floor windows open.
Everything was ready. Shu Qingqing turned off the main power switch in the house, then had the driver take Lu Yu and Lu Xun back to the old residence first.
She, Lu Bochuan, and a few bodyguards sat in a car parked outside the villa.
The scenery of the villa area after the snow was exceptionally beautiful. Shu Qingqing was looking out the window in boredom when she suddenly saw a familiar figure.
Tan Meng had finally arrived.
She instantly perked up.
Tan Meng cautiously walked over to the window and took a look.
Just as Shu Qingqing thought she would climb in through the open window, she saw her circle back to the front door.
Then, Tan Meng stood still at the door, and a few seconds later, the door opened.
Shu Qingqing gripped Lu Bochuan's sleeve tightly: "She actually knows the house passcode!"
Lu Bochuan's eyes were dark: "She must have premeditated this."
