Chapter 14, Part 14
Almost an hour passed, and Ren Yi still hadn't returned to the hotel.
Ruan Mianmian tried dialing her number again, but no one answered.
She panicked for a moment and turned to dial Old Wang's number.
Old Wang comforted Ruan Mianmian, telling her not to worry, and that he would arrange for people to search the surrounding area.
Maybe Renyi is just lost.
Ruan Mianmian comforted herself.
Unable to wait peacefully at the hotel, she put on a mask and hat and went out to meet up with Lao Wang.
The midday sun was too harsh, so Ruan Mianmian squinted as she searched for Lao Wang.
A piano melody began to play—
It's an incoming call from any number.
"Hey, Yi, where did you go?" she asked anxiously.
There was a cracking sound coming from the other end of the line, and then the call ended.
"Did Miss Ren call you?" Old Wang saw her standing motionless in the middle of the road and pulled her under the shade of a tree.
calm.
You must calm down.
Ruan Mianmian explained everything that had just happened to Lao Wang in as calm a tone as possible.
"Old Wang! The noodle stall owner said he's seen Miss Ren." A voice came from the walkie-talkie.
"Hey, isn't this Brother Tian's daughter? She's grown so much!"
Before the two could even speak, the owner recognized Ruan Mianmian as soon as they reached the stall.
"I just saw your dad this morning. How long has he been back?"
"My dad?"
"Yes, he came to my place for noodles and left around the same time as that lady, probably one after the other."
Despite the temperature already approaching forty degrees Celsius and her shirt soaked with sweat, Ruan Mianmian suddenly felt her hands and feet turn ice cold.
He's out?
What is he doing back here?
Is it a coincidence that he and Renhe ate noodles at the same time?
"Miss Ruan?"
"Miss Ruan?"
Are you feeling unwell?
Old Wang asked her with concern, noting that she looked unwell.
Thinking that she might not have eaten all morning, Lao Wang bought a bowl of wontons from the shop owner.
"No need, I'm not hungry." Ruan Mianmian sat on the plastic stool, then thought of getting up to continue searching for Ren Yi's whereabouts.
"Let's fill our stomachs first." Old Wang pulled her to sit down. "I'll tell them to go back to the station to check the surveillance footage."
Ruan Mianmian scooped up a piping hot wonton and was about to put it in her mouth.
"Blow it!" Old Wang was extremely worried.
The colleagues at the institute quickly called back. The surveillance footage showed that Renyi and the suspicious man disappeared after walking into a blind spot in the surveillance. It could be confirmed that this matter was definitely related to that man.
"Continue to review the surveillance footage and track his movements."
"I'm going to Tianjia Village in a bit, do you want to come with me?"
"I'll be with you."
The village became deserted; the young people had all gone to the city, leaving mostly only children and the elderly behind.
They arrived at the Tian family's house, and Old Wang shouted at the top of his lungs, but no one came to open the door.
A large piece of glass in the first-floor window was broken, and looking through it, you could see cobwebs inside the house.
“They shouldn’t have come back.” After checking the surroundings, the accompanying colleague found that the mark left on the door last time had not been touched.
"Leave two of them here to guard the place," Old Wang instructed them.
Ruan Mianmian carefully observed her surroundings, vaguely remembering the scene when she came here as a child.
It was during the Spring Festival. She came back with her father, and before she could even sit down and rest for a while, she was called to pay respects to her ancestors.
Ancestor worship?
Ruan Mianmian looked in the direction of her memory, where a wisp of white smoke was rising.
"It must have been wiped out not long ago."
A few sparks were still rising from the pile of paper money, and Old Wang crushed the ashes that were floating on her.
"Report to the station and request additional personnel to conduct a thorough search of the surrounding area!"
Another ringtone sounded, and Ruan Mianmian quickly answered to check if it was a random call.
Unfortunately, no.
"Hey, Sister Mianmian, why isn't my sister answering the phone?" Ren Yanyu called three times, but the call didn't go through any of the three times.
Upon hearing a voice somewhat similar to Renyi's, Ruan Mianmian's legs went weak and she lost her balance, squatting down beside the grave mound.
“Ayi was taken away by my dad, and we haven’t been able to contact her yet.”
"I'm sorry, Xiaoyu... I failed to protect her."
Ruan Mianmian lowered her head, and surprisingly, no tears fell.
You can't cry now.
“This has nothing to do with you, Mianmian,” Ren Yanyu, who was lying on the bed, sat up. “Where are you now? Or just send me your location.”
"Meow?" The little black cat in her arms was startled awake by her movement and nudged Ren Yanyu's hand with its paw pad.
"Kitten, do you have a teleportation spell?" Ren Yanyu picked up its two front paws. "It's urgent."
Hearing the noise, Ren Yunyou walked to the door and knocked gently.
"Auntie, what happened?"
"It's alright, Yunyun, you can continue playing with your blocks."
A few minutes later.
Ruan Mianmian sent her location and attached a screenshot of the message.
"Your person is in my hands. If you want to stay safe, prepare 500,000 in cash."
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