Chapter 448 Tang Xiaoya! Come back!
Yan Jin's car was stopped as soon as it turned into the village entrance.
Several police cars were parked ahead, their red and blue lights flashing silently, hurting one's eyes.
The search and rescue team's orange uniforms stood out vividly in the twilight.
Before long, the roar of a helicopter's propellers filled the sky as it circled and flew toward the riverbank.
Yan Jin's heart skipped a beat, and her brows furrowed tightly into a deep frown.
He took out his phone and dialed Lu Qinglin's number.
"What happened?"
It was very noisy on the other end of the phone—the sounds of wind, people, and flowing water were all mixed together.
Lu Qinglin's voice was urgent and hoarse, "Tang Xiaoya fell into the river, follow the police up the mountain, hurry!"
The call ended.
Yan Jin's unease instantly reached its peak.
He pushed open the car door and strode quickly following the signs to the riverbank.
The closer he got, the more alarmed he became by the chaos at the scene.
When he saw the steep riverbank cordoned off, he froze.
When Lu Qinglin saw him, his eyes were red as he walked over, and with a single sentence, he plunged Yan Jin into an ice cellar.
"Tang Xiaoya, Yan Chen, and Xia Ran have all fallen in. The search and rescue team is trying to retrieve them, but the chances are slim."
Yan Jin's mind went blank for a moment.
He didn't even hear what Lu Qinglin said next; he only saw a bodyguard being carried out of a temporary tent. The man had just woken up, his face was pale, and he was trembling all over.
The police are taking his statement.
"That girl...her hands were tied, her clothes were gone...her face...and there was a cut on her face..."
The bodyguard's intermittent words were like a dull knife, cutting back and forth on Yan Jin's nerves.
Tang Xiaoya.
His hands were tied.
The clothes are gone.
His face was slashed.
Then he was pushed into the river.
She actually suffered such humiliation?
A surge of overwhelming rage instantly overwhelmed his reason.
Yan Jin was so angry that he was trembling all over. He rushed forward, grabbed the bodyguard by the collar, and punched him without asking any questions!
"Say that again, you fucking idiot!"
"ah!"
The bodyguard screamed and curled up in a ball.
"stop!"
The police officers nearby reacted and rushed over. It took several people working together to pull the enraged Yan Jin away.
"Mr. Yan, please calm down!"
calm?
How could he remain calm!
Lu Qinglin's eyes were bloodshot. He glanced at the out-of-control Yan Jin, turned around and walked towards the riverbank, jumping directly onto a search and rescue boat that was about to depart.
He turned around and roared at Yan Jin.
Are you going or not?
Yan Jin shook off the policeman who was restraining him, said nothing, and jumped up in one swift step.
The small boat started up, and the motor roared as it sped towards the rushing river.
The helicopter hovered at low altitude, rapidly searching along the river surface.
The frogman, wearing a heavy diving suit, jumped into the surging river with a splash.
Half an hour later, a message came through the walkie-talkie.
"Target found downstream on the riverbank! Male, with vital signs!"
The ship quickly approached.
Yan Chen was lifted up from the wet mudflats by several people. He was soaked to the bone and had completely passed out.
Yan Jin watched him being lifted onto the helicopter, her unfathomable eyes churning with complex emotions.
The person has not been found yet.
Three search and rescue teams and more than a dozen small boats spread out a large net on the river.
The frogmen who dived into the river came and went, one batch after another.
Still nothing.
Five kilometers downstream, an emergency interception net has been set up, in case the person is indeed gone and the body is washed into the vast sea. The distance from here to the sea is very short.
Time passed by, second by second.
Six hours have passed.
The sky was completely dark.
The river wind, carrying moisture, was cold and damp, and felt like a knife scraping against one's face.
Still no.
There was nothing there.
Everyone understood what this meant.
The odds are against us.
The head of the search and rescue team came over, his face grave.
"Mr. Lu, it's too dark and the current is too strong, we need to call it a day."
Lu Qinglin is making phone calls to coordinate, trying to get another batch of people to come and conduct a search and rescue operation overnight.
His phone had been ringing non-stop since the afternoon, all calls from Nanwan.
He's so scared now that he doesn't dare answer.
The voice on the other end of the phone was tearful and asking questions; just thinking about it broke his heart.
These two sisters haven't truly recognized each other yet.
It's all his fault! He didn't keep a close eye on Xiaoya!
How could he let her run away alone?
Yan Jin snatched the walkie-talkie from the person in charge and shouted in a hoarse voice.
"Keep searching!"
"No matter the cost, I want to see the person alive or dead!"
He spoke those last four words with his teeth chattering.
Under his insistence, the search and rescue team gritted their teeth and searched for another two hours.
The searchlights on the river crisscrossed, illuminating the waters in a stark white light.
Just when everyone's hopes were about to be exhausted, news came from the downstream interception network.
"A discovery!"
"A female corpse has been found. Notify the family to come and identify it!"
Female corpse.
These two words shattered Yan Jin's heart and soul.
No, it won't.
It definitely wasn't Xiaoya.
He dared not think any further, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.
The ship changed direction and headed downstream at full speed.
Yan Jin stood at the bow of the boat, the river wind making his clothes flutter, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
The ship has docked.
A body covered with a white sheet lay quietly on the shore.
His legs felt like lead, and each step he took was incredibly heavy.
When a team member saw him coming, he reached out and directly lifted the white cloth.
Yan Jin's pupils suddenly contracted.
Immediately, his body, which had been tense to the extreme, relaxed abruptly.
That pale, swollen face belonged to Xia Ran.
It's not Tang Xiaoya.
Yan Jin stared intently at that face, the face he had once deeply loved, the face he thought was as pure as a fairy.
Now, only endless hatred remains.
He wished he could go up there right now and tear her to pieces!
What a vicious woman!
He turned around abruptly, looked around at the scattered village lights on both sides of the river, and immediately took out his phone to make a call.
"Send men over here and search every single house in all the villages around here!"
"Find him even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!"
It was completely dark, and the search and rescue team members were exhausted and began to pack up one after another.
The person in charge walked over and sighed.
"Mr. Yan, it's been eight hours. The chances of the person who fell into the water surviving are really slim."
“We’ve set up a net downstream, so if there are any bodies, they’ll be intercepted before they reach this side.”
A corpse?
Yan Jin's anger was reignited.
He turned around abruptly and threw a punch!
"What did you say!"
"What corpse! She's not dead! She's still alive!"
The person in charge was punched so hard that blood appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he staggered back a few steps.
"Even if the girl's hands weren't tied when she fell in, with so many hidden reefs and whirlpools in this river, she would have had a hard time escaping! She could very well have been sucked into one of the whirlpools!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
Yan Jin rushed forward like a madwoman, her eyes bloodshot.
"She'll be alright! She'll definitely be alright!"
People on both sides rushed forward and held him tightly.
Seeing his state, the captain wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, didn't argue with him anymore, waved his hand, and led his men away.
Soon, only Yan Jin remained by the river.
The night wind howled, blowing his messy short hair.
There wasn't a single star in the sky; it was so dark it was suffocating.
All that could be heard was the tireless sound of the wind and the rushing water.
The voice seemed to be mocking his incompetence.
He faced the dark river and shouted wildly with all his might.
"Tang Xiaoya! Come back!"
"Tang Xiaoya!"
"I'll never bully you again! I'll give you your freedom! I'll give you anything!"
"Tang Xiaoya! Answer me!"
The only response he received was the mournful sound of the wind.
He could no longer hold on, his knees buckled, and he knelt heavily on the cold sand.
Why didn't he agree to go back to Suzhou with her this morning?
Why don't you try to comfort her?
Now, he's lost her...
"Tang Xiaoya, where are you?" Yan Jin ran her hands through her hair, bent over in pain, and her shoulders trembled violently.
At this moment, he was heartbroken and tears were streaming down his face.
...
the next day.
A new search and rescue team has arrived.
They were hired by Lu Qinglin privately, and they drove into the riverbank at the crack of dawn to resume a thorough search.
The nearby villages were also thoroughly searched by Yan Jin's people.
Nothing was gained.
Yan Jin refused to leave no matter what.
He stood there upright by the river for two days and two nights.
He has not eaten or drunk anything.
She looked so haggard that she was unrecognizable, and she fainted before her bodyguards took her to the hospital.
My dreams are filled with icy river water.
He saw Tang Xiaoya.
She struggled desperately in the water, sinking deeper and deeper.
She was shouting at him.
"Yan Jin, it's so cold, Yan Jin... save me..."
Then she sank and never came back up.
He frantically reached out to pull her, but couldn't even touch her fingertips.
"Xiaoya!"
Yan Jin roared her name, sprang up from the bed, her chest heaving violently.
Assistant Xu Yan sat down by the bed. "Mr. Yan, you're awake?"
"What time is it now? Have you found them yet?" He grabbed Xu Yan's arm, his voice hoarse.
Xu Yan lowered his eyes. "President Yan, you've been unconscious for a whole day and night."
"It has now been three days and three nights since Miss Tang's accident."
"Still...not found."
Xu Yan barely dared to utter the last few words.
“She asked me for help,” Yan Jin murmured, her eyes vacant.
"I'm going to find her; she's still waiting for me."
He abruptly pulled the needle out of the back of his hand, not even glancing at the blood gushing out, and rolled over to get out of bed.
"President Yan, the old man knows about this and has given you a strict order to return to Luocheng immediately." Xu Yan quickly stopped him.
Yan Jin ignored him completely, pushed him aside, and rushed out.
Just as I reached the ward door, a dark figure came flying with a punch.
Yan Chen.
His eyes were bloodshot and he stood blocking the doorway.
"Yan Jin! Why did you let her go back to Suzhou alone! Why didn't you keep an eye on her?"
"She's never coming back; she's disappeared!"
Every word Yan Chen uttered seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
Yan Jin's nerves snapped completely, and she flew into a rage, throwing a punch in return.
"Didn't you jump? Why didn't you grab her?"
"Yan Chen, if it weren't for your interference, she would have been my wife long ago! Why are you trying to take her from me?"
Another punch landed hard on Yan Chen's lip, drawing blood.
Do you even know what love is?
Yan Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with unyielding hatred.
"Yan Jin, you imprisoned her, tortured her, and even dragged Si Nuan into abusing her. Do you deserve her?"
"If you hadn't abandoned Xia Ran, would Xiao Ya have been kidnapped and abused by that madwoman Xia Ran? When she fell, she wasn't even wearing any clothes! And she had a cut on her face!"
"You are the original sin, you deserve to die!"
Yan Chen pounced and launched another counterattack.
Two men, both trapped in the abyss of despair, fight each other in the most primitive and savage way.
They can't think of any other way to vent their pain.
Tang Xiaoya can't be found.
They've all gone mad...
Yan Chen got up and strode away. As he turned around, a cold glint slid down his cheek.
He didn't know what it was; all he knew was that his heart ached so much he felt like he was suffocating.
He searched in the water for half an hour but couldn't find her.
He frantically called her name, plunging into the water again and again.
But in the end, he couldn't save her...
Finally, he climbed ashore exhausted, and fainted due to physical weakness.
From now on, I will never hear that soft, gentle voice call him Teacher Yan again.
That warm light has gone out...
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