123 Missing
◎Looking for someone all over the mountains◎
The autumn wind brought a hint of coolness and blew in through the unclosed window. Song Shixi, who was sleeping in bed, pulled the quilt to wrap herself up completely. After a while, the warmth came over her and she fell asleep again unknowingly. When she woke up again, it was almost noon.
She sat up from the bed in a daze, and when she looked up she could see the scenery outside the floor-to-ceiling window. The maple leaves that were gradually turning yellow were hanging on the branches, and they seemed to be about to fall. She stared at them for a while before getting up, washing up, and walking downstairs.
After returning from Shenzhen, she asked someone to help her move and moved into this small Western-style house that had been simply renovated and furnished. She also hired two all-round nannies, one responsible for meals and the other for hygiene. The clear division of labor saved her a lot of trouble, and at least she didn't find any mistakes during this period.
I had classes all day yesterday, and then went to a photoshoot after class in the afternoon. I was so tired. This morning I had some free time, so I let myself sleep in. Now, after drinking a cup of hot soup, I feel like I’ve come back to life.
After she finished her meal, she called Qin Yue back. They talked on the phone for a while before packing up and going to school.
As soon as he entered the classroom, he went straight to Wu Qiuhong and saw that the usually energetic person was now listlessly half-lying on the desk, his thoughts wandering to nowhere, and he didn't even realize she was near.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Song Shixi curiously stretched out his hand and waved in front of her, finally calling Wu Qiuhong back to her senses.
"nothing."
Wu Qiuhong shook her head subconsciously and slowly straightened up, but soon looked at Song Shixi with a frown, and it was obvious that she wanted to say something.
Song Shixi placed his bag on the desk first, then sat down and asked, "Tell me, what happened with your Comrade Ye?"
"How do you know..." Wu Qiuhong opened her mouth in silence, obviously not expecting Song Shixi to guess so accurately.
"Besides being indecisive about relationships between men and women, what else do you need to ask me now?"
Song Shixi shrugged. The two had known each other for so long, and she had noticed Wu Qiuhong's progress, especially after her internship at Qin's during the summer. She had made a qualitative improvement as a person. Whether in terms of personality or interpersonal skills, she was no longer the introverted and even petty Wu Qiuhong.
Hearing her words, Wu Qiuhong was stunned at first, then she touched the back of her head, smiled lightly, and expressed all her troubles.
"On the Mid-Autumn Festival, he asked me out for dinner and gave me a watch. He also said he would help me rent a house near the school so that I could move out and live on my own. He didn't want those people to influence me. I had originally refused, but he brought it up again yesterday and even tricked me into going to see a house."
Upon hearing this, Song Shixi was a little surprised, but he understood in a flash that Qiuhong's weird roommate must have left a very bad impression on Ye Yunzhou on the day of moving to the dormitory at the beginning of the school term, so he came up with the idea of helping Qiuhong rent a house.
This was a good thing, and Song Shixi was happy for a moment, but when she saw Wu Qiuhong's drooping eyelashes, she realized that her thoughts must be different from hers, and she immediately restrained her smile a little.
She is a very realistic and materialistic person. One of her criteria for choosing a partner is that the man must be rich. She believes that when they are in a relationship, the man must be willing to spend money on the woman. Where there is money, there is love. Of course, correspondingly, she will also give some gifts within her financial means. Although the number may not be as large or the value may not be as high as what the other party gives, it is enough as long as the thought is there.
She never thought there was anything wrong with it, nor did she feel it was unfair.
But everyone's ideas and environments are different, so we can't generalize. Song Shixi never imposes his own ideas on others.
Seeing Wu Qiuhong's depressed look now, she could understand how much pressure she was under. Her family was not well off. When Ye Yunzhou confessed his love to her, she rejected him once for this reason.
Although the two are now in a relationship, the facts cannot be changed in a short period of time.
Ye Yunzhou gave her an expensive gift. Given her personality, she would definitely feel a lot of pressure. Moreover, she was the type of person who would return one point, or even two points, to anyone who gave her something. For her, not being able to repay someone made her more anxious than accepting the gift.
Song Shixi considered his words, raised his hand and patted Wu Qiuhong's shoulder, signaling her to calm down first, and then said softly: "You and Comrade Ye knew each other's basic conditions from the beginning, so when he did all this for you, he definitely didn't think about asking you to pay it back. He just wanted you to live a better life."
Wu Qiuhong pursed her lips. She understood this principle. However, she felt that both the watch and the rent were unaffordable for her. Moreover, the two items combined were not a small sum for Ye Yunzhou. She did not want him to spend so much money on her, and she did not want to reduce his quality of life because of it.
Usually, Ye Yunzhou paid for their dates. Sometimes she secretly paid in advance, and he would get angry with her, and then secretly give her more. She was already embarrassed, so how could she accept any other gifts from him?
Thinking of this, she told Song Shixi this.
"You silly girl, dating isn't like dealing with colleagues, why do you need to be so calculating? According to your logic, if he kisses you, doesn't that mean you have to kiss him back?"
Hearing this, Wu Qiuhong's pretty face suddenly flushed. When she reacted, she was about to cover Song Shixi's mouth, but the latter would not let her succeed. After nimbly dodging, he put his arm around her shoulders, holding her in his arms, and asked excitedly in a low voice, "Did you really kiss?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw that not only Wu Qiuhong's face turned red, but the tips of her ears were also quickly covered with crimson, which quickly spread to her neck.
Seeing her like this, Song Shixi immediately broke into a wide grin. However, after meeting Wu Qiuhong's pleading eyes, he slowly lowered his smile, coughed lightly, and continued, "Actually, no matter how you talk about it, it's impossible to be fair and just in a relationship. Do you think that every time you eat a meal, you have to calculate how much each person eats, and then every penny is counted?"
"If you ask me, Comrade Ye is the one who's taking advantage of your relationship. You're only twenty, and he's almost twenty-five. He's about the same age as Qin Yue, both of them are just old cows eating young grass."
She spoke roughly and just brought up the topic of kissing, which made Wu Qiuhong unconsciously imagine the scene. She almost got goosebumps all over her body and didn't know how to continue for a moment.
Fortunately, Song Shixi didn't need her to answer and continued on her own: "My opinion is that he has worked for a few years and has some savings. He is willing to treat you well and spend money on you, so you should keep it. If you feel bad about it, you can pay it back when you make money in the future. I don't think you two are just talking for fun, right?"
Considering how inseparable they are now, it's unlikely that they'll go their separate ways after just a few months, right?
"I haven't thought about it that much yet."
Wu Qiuhong's long eyelashes trembled. It was not that she had not thought about it, but she did not dare to think about it. Although she had not regretted agreeing to it in a hurry, she was still confused about their future. She always felt that they were not a good match. Once her parents knew about it, they would be separated.
Seeing this, Song Shixi pursed her lips and couldn't help but think of herself and Qin Yue. Although Zheng Huilan's attitude towards her had improved a lot during this period, she couldn't guarantee that she and Qin Yue would be forced to separate the moment their relationship was exposed, so she was reluctant to speak up in this regard.
After pondering for a moment, Song Shixi sighed, "Actually, I think Comrade Ye simply wants you to live a better life. If you accept it, he'll be happy, but if you don't, he'll feel uncomfortable."
Ye Yunzhou's current thoughts are similar to those when she first became friends with Wu Qiuhong, so Song Shixi can understand him quite well.
"I don't think he's the type to make a list of money you owe him after breaking up."
After saying this, Song Shixi realized that there was something wrong with his words and immediately added, "I'm not saying that you will break up. I'm just saying that Comrade Ye seems like a good person. The fact that he's willing to spend so much money proves that he likes you very much. Don't you agree?"
She believed that she had a good eye for people. If she really made a mistake, it was because Ye Yunzhou was too good at disguising himself!
Wu Qiuhong still needed to think carefully about other things, but when she heard Song Shixi praising Ye Yunzhou, she nodded without thinking.
"That's it."
Song Shixi looked into Wu Qiuhong's eyes and patted his chest. "If, I mean if, if Ye Yunzhou is really a scumbag, then when he asks you to pay back the money, I will help you pay it back. I asked you not to move back in the first place, but since you insisted, I can't say anything."
"I've wanted you to move out of your dorm for a long time. Now that Comrade Ye is fanning the flames, I naturally side with him. Your roommates are truly infuriating, and I'm afraid they'll lead you astray."
Wu Qiuhong shook her head quickly, almost shaking like a rattle.
Seeing her refusal, Song Shixi didn't say anything further, and then continued: "Of course, everything depends on your own ideas. What I just said is just a suggestion, and it is inevitable that it is mixed with a lot of my personal opinions."
"If you don't want to accept it, then don't accept it, but you must make your thoughts clear to Comrade Ye to avoid misunderstandings. It would be really not worth it if you quarreled over this."
Wu Qiuhong nodded, held Song Shixi's hand, and said sincerely: "Thank you, Shixi. No one has ever been willing to talk to me so much before. It's great to meet you."
Seeing her eyes reddening as she spoke, Song Shixi quickly interrupted her, raised her eyebrows and chuckled, "Me too."
The two smiled at each other and chatted for a few more sentences. Then it was time for class, so they stopped talking.
A few days later, Song Shixi heard the follow-up from Wu Qiuhong. After much deliberation, she accepted Ye Yunzhou's watch, but did not move out of the dormitory.
To be honest, it was Ling Juan who stirred up trouble and inadvertently gave it a "push".
There were several small groups in one dormitory, but they were all jealous and couldn't bear to see Wu Qiuhong getting better and better. They didn't want to play with her and even said bad things about her in secret. They wanted to bring people from other dormitories to isolate Wu Qiuhong, but everyone was not stupid and could tell good from bad, so they ignored them.
That day, Wu Qiuhong caught Ling Juan gossiping behind her back in the bathroom. The two started arguing. Ling Juan felt embarrassed and pushed Wu Qiuhong. As a result, she lost her balance and fell on her butt.
The incident was reported to the infirmary and alarmed the dormitory manager and counselor. The school learned the whole story and found out that Ling Juan often bullied Wu Qiuhong behind her back and liked to stir up trouble and bully her classmates. So they punished Ling Juan and moved Wu Qiuhong to another dormitory.
Song Shixi even went to take a look and helped her move her things. Although Wu Qiuhong's current dormitory was a mixed dormitory with people from different majors, her roommates all seemed to be sensible, studious, and not too troublesome.
The matter was resolved, and Wu Qiuhong and Ye Yunzhou took the opportunity to speak their minds and deepen their relationship. Song Shixi was also happy to see this, and felt that the recent busy work had become much more pleasing to the eye.
I don’t know when it started, but the weather is getting colder and colder, and I have to wear a thick coat when going out.
This weekend, Song Shixi took Zheng Qiaoyan and Qin Zhiyi, who came with her, to the mountains outside the city to shoot a shoe commercial. Perhaps because there were so many people, Zheng Qiaoyan, who had always been lively and active, became much more restrained and stayed beside her obediently without running around.
This wasn't the first time Song Shixi had taken her to a filming location, but it was the first time he'd seen her so reserved. He couldn't help but ask with a smile, "What's wrong with you today? You usually run away by this time of day."
Zheng Qiaoyan sat next to her, watching several makeup artists huddled around Song Shixi, fiddling with makeup. Her eyes sparkled, and she felt like she couldn't get enough of watching. She was almost mesmerized when she heard Song Shixi suddenly ask a question. She subconsciously glanced at a tall, thin figure not far away, curled her lips and said, "I saw a plague god. I don't want to play anymore."
Hearing this, Song Shixi followed her gaze and saw a young boy who looked about the same age as Zheng Qiaoyan. Recalling the tense atmosphere between the two when they first arrived at the scene, he said with a smile, "Aren't you classmates? Why are you acting like enemies?"
Zheng Qiaoyan pursed her lips and said nothing, but Qin Zhiyi beside her spoke up, "The two families have a good relationship. They were close when they were young. Later, he always ranked first in the exams, surpassing her, and she didn't want to play with him anymore."
Hearing her past exposed, Zheng Qiaoyan threw herself at Qin Zhiyi with a red face, "Sister Zhiyi, I won't play with you anymore!"
The two of them were making a mess, and Song Shixi couldn't help but laugh, but he still told Zheng Qiaoyan not to take others to heart and affect her mood for fun.
Zheng Qiaoyan thought about it and went out to play by herself, and said that she would pick various kinds of flowers to make bracelets for her.
Where do so many flowers come from in this weather?
But seeing Zheng Qiaoyan's enthusiastic look, he didn't pour cold water on her at this time. He just told her not to run too far and let her go. She turned her head and asked Zhao Hecai to tell her about the procedure later.
Qin Zhiyi, who was sitting two steps away from her, looked at Song Shixi working diligently, and thought of her gentleness towards Zheng Qiaoyan. Some indescribable emotions were spreading in her heart.
Since when did Song Shixi become as radiant as she is now?
Qin Zhiyi's eyelashes trembled twice. She had made an appointment with her classmates to go to the library together today, but she knew from a phone call with Zheng Qiaoyan last night that they were going to the suburbs today. At that time, she didn't know what went wrong in her mind and she actually asked to go together.
Just when her thoughts were in a mess, a cup of steaming water was handed to her. She was stunned and looked forward, and met a pair of smiling eyes.
"It's windy, drink something hot."
"Thanks."
Qin Zhiyi reached out and took it carefully. When she looked up again, Song Shixi had already lowered his head to look at the document in his hand. She withdrew her gaze, blew the water to cool it down, took a sip, and felt her whole body warm up.
As soon as the filming officially began, Song Shixi was plunged into a frenzy. Dozens of people surrounded her, and she had to adjust the details in a timely manner. For a moment, she couldn't spare the energy to pay attention to anything else. Halfway through, Zhao Hecai suddenly ran over with a nervous expression and anxiously said, "Ms. Qiao Yan is missing!"
One word caused a thousand waves. Song Shixi immediately stopped the filming without caring about anything else, and then carefully asked for details.
Zhao Hecai was almost crying in anxiety. She knew Zheng Qiaoyan's identity. If she was missing, it would be a big disaster!
"When I was putting on my makeup for the first time just now, I saw her over there. Later, Miss Qin said she brought a small cake and asked me to ask Miss Qiao Yan to eat with her. Then I couldn't find her. I asked the makeup artist to help look for her nearby, but she still couldn't find her."
This mountain is somewhat famous because of its large areas of ginkgo trees. It is breathtakingly beautiful in autumn and winter, and many people come here to visit. However, there is no professional management, so it is a wild mountain with many slopes and mountain streams. Not to mention that the road is covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves at this time of year, and it is easy to step on air if you are not careful.
Zheng Qiaoyan is young, and she just said she wanted to pick flowers to make a bracelet. It is very likely that she will run away if you are not careful.
Getting lost is still a good thing, the worst thing she could do is fall off the mountain.
Thinking of this, Song Shixi lost some of his composure, and asked anxiously, "Where's Zhiyi?"
"I've already gone to look for someone with the makeup artist." Zhao Hecai pointed in a direction.
Song Shixi nodded and said, "Let everyone in our studio go look for him. Don't act alone. At least form a group of two. I'll give everyone a big red envelope afterwards."
After instructing Zhao Hecai, Song Shixi didn't dare to waste time and went directly to find the person in charge of the filming. This family had a good relationship with the Zheng family, and Zheng Qiaoyan and the teenager were classmates, so it was not difficult to ask them to help find someone. Soon everyone stopped the work in their hands, leaving only a few people to guard the equipment on the spot, and the others formed their own teams to look for people separately. They agreed to return to their original place before 4:30 regardless of whether they found the person or not.
Because it gets dark quickly in winter, after 4:30 it is like pressing the fast-forward button and it will quickly become dark. It will be dangerous to stay in the mountains at that time.
Song Shixi thought about it and told one of the people who stayed behind to go down the mountain and call the police and notify Zheng Qiaoyan's parents if the person was not found before three o'clock. After giving detailed instructions, she, Zhao Hecai, and a male comrade from the studio went to search in the direction where she had just seen Zheng Qiaoyan.
More than 20 people acted separately, searching for people in different directions, shouting Zheng Qiaoyan's name while searching, which startled many flocks of birds.
At first Song Shixi thought he would be able to find the person quickly, but soon he discovered that the forest was dense, with ginkgo trees that looked similar everywhere. The traces of people's footsteps were soon covered by leaves and disappeared without a trace.
Seeing this, my heart sank.
"Zheng Qiaoyan!"
Shouts rang out one after another, and the three of them walked forward together. The male comrade led the way, holding a stick in his hand to explore the way, for fear of stepping on empty air or stepping on snakes, insects, rats or ants.
To avoid getting lost in the mountains, Song Shixi would tie a knot on a tree trunk with an unknown vine every time he walked a distance, and Zhao Hecai would also help.
Time passed by minute by minute, and it was almost three o'clock. Song Shixi and Zhao Hecai looked at each other and saw anxiety in each other's eyes, but the more times like this, the more they couldn't be impatient.
"If you can't find anyone by 3:30, go back first."
The three of them had already walked a long way, and they didn't know if they could catch up with the agreed 4:30 if they returned at 3:30.
Looking at the forest of different tree species appearing in front of him, Song Shixi held his waist and gasped, constantly comforting himself in his heart that perhaps others had already found Zheng Qiaoyan.
Little did they know that the entire Zheng family was in an uproar. When Zheng Huilan received the news, she didn't even have time to ask for leave and rushed out of the city. At this time, many police cars were parked at the foot of the mountain, and Zheng Guofei was negotiating with one of the police officers.
"Have you found the person?" Zheng Huilan felt cold all over and breathing was extremely difficult.
Zheng Guofei shook his head, his expression unprecedentedly stern and flustered. "The public security comrades have already gone up the mountain, but the outcome is still unknown."
After saying that, he also took the time to comfort her, "With so many people helping, it should be fine."
"Qiao Yan has never suffered such a great suffering. What should I do when it gets dark and the temperature drops?" Zheng Huilan became more and more anxious the more she thought about it. She watched Zheng Qiaoyan grow up and loved her like a half-daughter. Now that she is missing, she is very anxious.
The missing person was his biological daughter, the one he had cherished for over a decade. Zheng Guofei was more worried than anyone else, but he was afraid his sister would get too hung up on her. After a moment of silence, he said, "Huilan, don't worry. I already understand the whole story. This incident can't be blamed on anyone else. Qiao Yan pestered Shi Xi to come with me today..."
"I know, I don't blame others, I just want to find the person quickly." Zheng Huilan was not confused enough to put the blame on others. After she said that, she wanted to go up the mountain. Seeing that he couldn't stop her, Zheng Guofei followed her up the mountain.
When we arrived at the shooting location, there were already a lot of people gathered there. They were all people who had searched for several hours without success and came back to reunite and rest.
"Mom, uncle." Qin Zhiyi saw the two of them first and went to greet them without wiping the tears from her face.
Zheng Huilan hadn't seen her daughter cry like this for a long time. She didn't bother to ask her why she was here, covered in mud and looking extremely embarrassed. She immediately rushed forward and hugged her in her arms, her eyes gradually turning red.
"It's all my fault. I didn't have a good impression of Qiao Yan." Qin Zhiyi cried inconsolably, feeling ashamed to face her uncle. After she finished speaking, her head drooped lower and lower.
"This is something no one wants to see. Uncle doesn't blame you." Zheng Guofei walked up to her and patted her head. He looked around but didn't see his wife. He was afraid that she had followed the police up the mountain, so he hurriedly asked her, but the more he feared, the more likely it would happen.
"My aunt went to look for someone right after she arrived." Qin Zhi realized something and quickly stopped crying, sobbing, "And Shi Xi! She and the staff went to look for Qiao Yan and she hasn't come back yet."
【Author’s words】
[Thank you for the 22,000 bottles of nutrient solution you provided. More chapters will be coming soon [kiss]]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
