Without a Trace

Tang Miao broke up with her boyfriend of ten years. Her boyfriend had fallen in love at first sight with the daughter of the corporation he worked for. After learning he had a girlfriend, the young...

Chapter 1 Chapter 1

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"Are you really going to quit?"

Tang Miao was standing at the door of the office. A colleague from a music store passed by and saw her standing there and asked this question.

After her colleague asked, Tang Miao turned to look at her and replied, "Yeah."

After getting a positive answer, my colleague laughed with a blessing in his eyes and guessed, "Why do you want to quit your job suddenly? Are you going to get married?"

After her colleague finished speaking, Tang Miao looked at her, with a slightly stunned expression in her eyes.

"No." said Tang Miao.

"Ah?" Tang Miao's colleague was surprised by her answer, "You are not with your boyfriend..."

"Teacher Xia, I have a class to discuss with you."

Just as Teacher Xia continued to ask, Teacher Li, who was passing by, grabbed her arm and called her to stop. When Teacher Li pulled Teacher Xia, the voice of the manager of the piano store came from the office of the piano store.

"Teacher Tang, you can come in now."

After the manager of the piano store finished speaking, Tang Miao withdrew his gaze from Teacher Xia, nodded slightly to the two teachers in the corridor, and said, "I'll go in first."

After Tang Miao finished speaking, he opened the office door and walked in.

-

"Break up?"

After parting with Tang Miao at the office door, Teacher Xia was dragged into her piano classroom by Teacher Li. When she heard Teacher Li say that Tang Miao had broken up with her boyfriend, Teacher Xia was so surprised that she was speechless for a long time.

"Hasn't she and her boyfriend been together for ten years? They have been together since they graduated from junior high school. Later, Teacher Tang was forced to drop out of school for some reason and go out to work. Her boyfriend's college and graduate school tuition were all paid by Teacher Tang. Even so, they broke up?" Teacher Xia still found it hard to accept the news.

"Yeah." Compared to Teacher Xia's excitement, Teacher Li was much calmer. She said, "Her boyfriend cheated on her with the daughter of the boss of the group where he works. The daughter is beautiful and rich, but she fell in love with Teacher Tang's boyfriend. If you were Teacher Tang's boyfriend, who would you choose?"

Teacher Li raised the practical question, and Teacher Xia was stumped.

Emotionally, she definitely supports Tang Miao, but rationally, any normal person would choose the daughter of a rich family. Ten years of love is sweet and solid, but who doesn't look forward?

Teacher Xia looked at Teacher Li, their eyes met, and finally Teacher Xia sighed.

"What a pity. I remember when I first came to the piano store, I saw Teacher Tang and her boyfriend and I envied them for a while. They have a really good relationship, and Teacher Tang really loves her boyfriend. Otherwise, which woman can work and earn money to support her boyfriend's studies?"

"Emotions are such unreliable things."

-

Tang Miao's resignation went relatively smoothly.

In fact, she had told the manager of the piano store the news of her resignation as early as last week, so as to leave time for the piano store to recruit a new piano teacher to take over her job. But the manager of the piano store did not agree at that time.

Tang Miao is an old employee of the piano store. She has excellent work ability and a gentle personality. She gets along very well with colleagues and students' parents. She is a very good piano teacher, so the manager of the piano store is a little sorry for her departure.

The manager of the music store gave Tang Miao a week to think about it, but Tang Miao was determined to leave. This time the manager talked to her again, but it didn't change her mind.

Tang Miao is a woman with a gentle personality. Usually in the piano store, no matter if it is a colleague or a parent who has any request, she is the one who is most willing to talk. And this kind of person is also stubborn. She doesn't care about other things, but as long as it is something she decides, there is basically no room for maneuver.

This time, the manager of the music store readily approved her resignation application. In the evening, Tang Miao finished her last class at the music store, packed up her things and left the store.

Tang Miao has been working in the music store for six years.

When she first came to the piano store, she worked at the front desk. Later, she became interested in piano and quickly got into it through self-study and with the help of the piano store teacher.

She had some talent for piano. After getting started, she passed the piano exam in a year, and then various professional qualification exams, as well as some well-known competitions. In two years, she transformed herself from a receptionist to a piano teacher, and her salary also increased as her ability as a piano teacher became more prominent.

The piano store gave her the most comfortable working environment. If it weren't for Ji Junlin's cheating, she thought she would work in the piano store for the rest of her life.

Tang Miao held the resignation box, which contained all the things she had acquired during her six years of working at the piano store. Some were needed for work, while others were given to her by colleagues or students.

There were not too many or too few things, and they were not too heavy. After Tang Miao left the piano store, she did not take a taxi. She carried her resignation box and prepared to walk home.

In June, summer had already arrived in Nancheng. Even at night, the weather was still hot and humid. This heat was like wearing an airtight raincoat. It was not until we walked onto the Nancheng Bridge that the cool river water rose up, accompanied by the evening breeze from the riverside, that the heat was somewhat dispelled.

The Yangtze River flows through Nancheng, and the Yangtze River Bridge in Nancheng is also very majestic. In summer, there are always many people coming to the square by the river or on the bridge to enjoy the cool air. People gather in groups of three or two. Because the bridge is so large, it doesn't seem crowded even with many people, but rather a bit sparse.

Tang Miao held the box, found a deserted place, and stood on the bridge.

The bridge was still quite high, but the stone railings were only as high as an adult's chest. Tang Miao stood beside the railing holding the box, and in order to save some effort, she placed the box on the stone railing.

After putting the box on the table, Tang Miao lowered his eyes and looked towards the river.

"elder sister."

The river was very dark at night, and looking down it seemed like a bottomless abyss. Tang Miao stared at it in a trance, and when her consciousness was drifting away, a little girl called her.

The memories in her mind were cut off, and Tang Miao's scattered gaze focused again. She came back to her senses and turned to look to the side.

A mother and daughter stood nearby. The mother was very young, looking no more than 30 years old. She was holding a little girl's hand, holding an ice cream in her hand, and looking at her with a pair of beautiful, clear eyes.

"What are you doing here?" The little girl asked Tang Miao when she looked over. After she finished speaking, she glanced at her mother next to her and said to Tang Miao, "My mother said that you seemed a little unhappy. Why are you unhappy?"

The mother obviously didn't expect her child to say this. She quickly looked at Tang Miao and smiled awkwardly, "Sorry, I'm just a little worried. Because I just watched you for a long time and I felt like you were..."

The mother didn't say anything.

In fact, she was a little worried that Tang Miao would be upset because she had just been watching Tang Miao from the side and felt that she was about to fall into the river at any time.

Tang Miao blinked as he listened to his mother's apologetic and worried words.

The little girl was still looking at her, as if she didn't know what the conversation between her mother and Tang Miao meant. But she could see that the little sister's eyes were more lively than before. While she was looking at her, she took down the box on the stone railing.

The little girl was not tall, so Tang Miao put the box on the ground. After putting it down, Tang Miao asked, "Is there anything you like?"

After Tang Miao asked, the little girl's eyes also turned to the box. When she saw the things in the box, her eyes lit up.

"piano!"

The little girl was talking about a piano model, which was a prize she won when she participated in a competition. After the girl finished speaking, Tang Miao took the piano out of the box and handed it to her.

"For you."

After Tang Miao finished speaking, the little girl looked at her in surprise and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah." Tang Miao smiled.

The little girl took the piano model.

"Can you play the piano?" the little girl asked Tang Miao.

"Yes." said Tang Miao.

"You are really good then." The little girl said. She held the piano model and said to Tang Miao with a smile, "You should play more beautiful songs in the future."

-

After the little girl accepted Tang Miao's piano model, she talked to Tang Miao about playing the piano. Her mother stayed with them until the time was almost up, then she took the little girl away.

After the two left, Tang Miao stood up again. She did not pick up the box again, but stood in front of the stone railing and looked forward.

The city center of South City is built along the river. Just across the river is the most prosperous commercial district in South City. Outside the shopping mall in the commercial district, some brand advertisements are playing on the big screen.

Tang Miao watched the brand advertisements change on the screen, but the expression in his eyes did not change.

After the advertisement was almost played, a promotional poster for a music festival appeared.

In big cities like Nancheng, there are many music festivals every summer. Many bands are invited to perform at the festivals, which are very popular.

The bands invited by the South City Music Festival are all relatively famous bands. The lead singers of the bands were spliced together and displayed on the entire big screen.

Tang Miao stood by the river, looking at the lead singer of the band on the screen. She was so absorbed in watching that she didn't look away until the music festival promotion interface was replaced by a new advertisement interface.

Withdrawing his gaze, Tang Miao leaned over, picked up the resignation box on the ground, and left the bridge.

-

"Ms. Tang, huh?"

Tang Miao got off the taxi, and the real estate agent in a shirt and trousers at the gate of the community came to greet him with a smile. When he came over, Tang Miao nodded slightly and greeted him.

"Hello."

"You can just call me Xiao Qin." The agent introduced himself with a smile. After the introduction, he said, "Then let's go in. The landlord has given me the key. We can go directly to see the house."

As they were talking, Xiao Qin was already leading the way. Tang Miao followed him and walked towards the last apartment building in the community.

This is a mid-range residential area, not small, with good greenery and infrastructure. It is morning now, and many children are playing in the community. Xiao Qin took Tang Miao into the apartment building and swiped his card to go to the 16th floor of the apartment building.

"This apartment building has 28 floors in total, and the 16th floor is the middle floor. The lighting and ventilation are very good, and it is very comfortable to live in." Xiao Qin did not stop introducing in the elevator, "The house you are interested in was just renovated by the landlord half a year ago, but because he wants to change his car, he wants to sell this house and buy a smaller one. The landlord has basically never lived here. Although it is the price of a second-hand house, it is equivalent to a new house. It is very good. I have several clients who are interested in this house."

While Xiao Qin was talking, the elevator reached the 16th floor. After getting off the elevator, he opened the door with his key and walked into the house with Tang Miao.

This is indeed a nice house.

The decoration of the house is modern and simple, but it is homely. The floor area is over 130 square meters, with three bedrooms, two living rooms and two bathrooms. It is indeed very comfortable for self-residence.

After Xiao Qin entered the house, he introduced the advantages of the house. Tang Miao spent the rest of the time looking at the house by himself.

The house is fully decorated, not only the hard furnishings but also the soft furnishings are very complete. It has all kinds of home appliances and furniture, and they are all brand new and have never been used, so you can move in directly with your luggage.

"A lot of people have looked at this house recently, but the landlord has not given up on the price he asked for, so the situation is at a stalemate." At this time, Xiao Qin also explained the reason why this house was liked by many people but no transaction was made.

This house is good, but considering the current sluggish housing market, the price the landlord asked for is indeed a bit high. Although the landlord wants to change cars, he is not in a hurry to sell it. It is often difficult to sell such houses in the second-hand market.

While Xiao Qin was saying these words, Tang Miao walked to the door of the house.

This apartment building has two elevators and four households. There is an elevator on each side of the building, one elevator corresponds to two households, and the corridor is connected in the middle.

Tang Miao stood at the door and glanced at the closed door next door.

"Is there anyone living next door?" Tang Miao asked.

When Tang Miao arrived at the door, Xiao Qin had already hurried over. After listening to Tang Miao's words, Xiao Qin glanced at the neighbors. When selling a house, some buyers are picky about not only the house, but also the neighbors.

But the house's neighbors are not picky.

"Yes." Xiao Qin said, "According to the landlord, he is the lead singer of a band, quite young and handsome. He is in a band, and his personality is rather cold. He didn't communicate much with the previous landlord."

At this point, Xiao Qin quickly added: "Although we don't interact with him very much, the landlord said he is a nice person. Although he is in a band, he never plays music at home, so he won't disturb anyone, you can rest assured about that."

Xiao Qin added.

"That's it."

After Xiao Qin finished his talk, Tang Miao said this. It seemed that they had not talked about Tang Miao's preference for a house so quickly. He was a little surprised and asked, "What about the price..."

"The price is acceptable." said Tang Miao.

"I want it."

"Full payment."