The hospital rooftop was quiet and desolate. The bodyguards smoked and chatted merrily, lost in their own thoughts, unaware of the passage of time. It wasn't until a cool breeze blew by that they realized Gu Qingyan had been silent for quite some time.

The lead bodyguard's heart tightened. He quickly stubbed out his cigarette, switched on his flashlight, and nervously went up to the rooftop. The other bodyguards followed, searching for Gu Qingyan and calling his name, but received no response. Their hearts pounded even harder, and a sense of panic began to creep in.

"Don't panic, everyone calm down." The lead bodyguard tried his best to remain calm. "He can't possibly jump. We've guarded the only exit; he has no chance."

“Yes, he couldn’t have jumped.” The other bodyguards chimed in, though their tone carried a hint of uncertainty. “But where did he go? The rooftop is so small.”

The flashlight beams shone blindingly on the pitch-black rooftop. The bodyguards meticulously searched every corner, their eyes wide, not missing a single detail. However, the rooftop stretched as far as the eye could see, and there was no sign of Gu Qingyan.

"How is this possible?" the lead bodyguard muttered to himself, his voice filled with shock and disbelief. He simply couldn't believe his eyes, because just a moment ago, they had seen Gu Qingyan standing here, but now, he had suddenly vanished, as if he had evaporated into thin air.

A sense of unease began to spread among the bodyguards. They started searching everywhere, trying to find some clues. They meticulously searched every corner, leaving no stone unturned. But they found nothing, only silence and darkness.

"Big brother, we're doomed, there's a platform here." A bodyguard stood where Gu Qingyan had been standing, leaned out and looked down, and immediately spotted the platform.

"It's over! Boss, he must have escaped from here!" Another bodyguard rushed over and immediately echoed, looking at the platform. His face was pale and his lips were trembling, as if he had already imagined how Gu Qingyan escaped.

The lead bodyguard rushed over and, seeing the platform, was shocked. He knew they had made a fatal mistake, allowing Gu Qingyan to escape. They had been far too careless, not anticipating his actions.

"Brothers, listen to me, we have to find him before dawn!" The lead bodyguard gritted his teeth, his eyes resolute and determined. He knew this was their only chance; if they couldn't find Gu Qingyan before dawn, they were all doomed.

"No matter the cost, we must find him, or we're all doomed." He turned to the other bodyguards and said, "You split into two teams. One team will conduct a thorough search of the hospital, and the other team will go out and chase after him! Gu Qingyan has no money or phone on him right now, and it's the middle of the night, so he can't have gone far."

Ten minutes later.

The lead bodyguard received another phone call that he deeply regretted.

"Brother, there's one more thing, this..."

"Speak your mind!" The lead bodyguard was getting impatient; he was still troubled by Gu Qingyan's escape.

"Gu Ningning, she..." The other person was still stammering.

"What's wrong with Gu Ningning?! Have you forgotten how to speak?!"

"She escaped too!" the person on the other end said tremulously. "Because everyone was chasing Gu Qingyan and neglected Gu Ningning..."

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" the leader roared angrily.

"Big brother, how are we going to explain this to Brother Wei? He just left and this happened so suddenly?" The bodyguard on the other end of the line asked cautiously, his voice trembling.

"How should I know what to do?! Let me tell you, if we can't find those two siblings, we're all in deep trouble!"

The bodyguards searched the entire hospital but couldn't find the Gu siblings. Besides, it was the middle of the night, and they couldn't enter every room to check on them; if Wei Qiao found out, they'd be in even worse shape.

At this moment, Gu Ningning was hiding in a large trash can on the first floor. She crouched down and buried herself in a pile of garbage. In order not to be discovered, she even put several large takeout trash bags on top of her head.

She curled up, trying not to make a sound. The trash can reeked, but she didn't care; she just wanted to stay out of sight.

She thought of her past, those painful and sorrowful memories flooding back, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was the heiress of the Gu Group, yet she had come to the capital for all sorts of trivial matters and suffered so much. Thinking about it, tears streamed down her face. She clenched her fingers tightly, silently vowing to return to Nancheng as soon as possible.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside the trash can. Her heart raced; she wondered if someone had discovered her. She dared not look up, and could only remain huddled inside the trash can, praying she wouldn't be found.

The footsteps grew closer, and her heart pounded faster. She didn't know what to do; she could only resign herself to fate. Suddenly, the trash can lid opened, and a hand reached in, casually rummaging through it.

"Ugh, it stinks! Put the lid back on!" a bodyguard shouted as he passed by. "This place smells so bad, even I, a grown man, can't stand it, let alone a rich heiress like Gu Ningning!"

"Alright! I was just trying not to miss any place, wasn't I?" The bodyguard slammed the lid shut, startling Gu Ningning. She quickly covered her mouth to keep quiet.

Only after hearing the bodyguards' footsteps gradually fade away did Gu Ningning remove the plastic bag from her head, creating a little space for her to breathe.

After a while, once she was sure there was no more noise around her, Gu Ningning carefully lifted the lid a crack and peered out through it.

She moved her slightly numb legs, trying to climb out of the trash can. Suddenly, another bodyguard appeared at the stairwell, cursing and searching around. "I can understand Gu Qingyan, a grown man, running away, but how did Gu Ningning escape? The guys searching outside haven't seen her either. I think she must be hiding somewhere in the hospital!"

Gu Ningning held her breath and shrank back into the trash can.