After ending my conversation with Xiao Bao, I didn't have time to think about anything else and immediately went from Longkan Wharf to Cao Xiaobei's "Sheep Cafe" in the ancient city. Usually at this time, Cao Xiaobei would be playing games in the store, but when I arrived, the store's roller shutter was down.
This was a bit unusual, so I asked a waitress at the shop next door. She told me that Cao Xiaobei had already closed and left before eight o'clock.
I immediately dialed Cao Xiaobei's number, but all I got was a voice message saying that the phone was switched off.
This situation added to my suspicions; Xiao Bao couldn't contact Yang Sisi over there, and Cao Xiaobei was also out of contact... Before this, Yang Sisi had contacted Cao Xiaobei, so did they reach some kind of agreement?
I sat down in front of Cao Xiaobei's shop, feeling utterly helpless. With my phone useless, finding someone in the vast sea of people was just too, too difficult!
I called Cao Xue again and asked him if he could find Cao Xiaobei. He bluntly told me that Cao Xiaobei's whereabouts were unpredictable. Not only him, but even his father, Cao Jinbo, often lost contact with him. He said that Cao Xiaobei was mentally ill and could sometimes go a whole month without making a phone call once he became withdrawn.
I really had no other choice but to send a message to Cao Xiaobei via WeChat, telling him that if he knew Yang Sisi's whereabouts, he should contact me immediately, as Xiaobao overseas was going crazy with worry.
...
Late at night, I returned to "Jiulongju" still worried about Yang Sisi, so I couldn't sleep. I really hoped that Xiaobao would call me again and tell me that he had found Yang Sisi, so that I wouldn't have to overthink and connect Yang Sisi and Cao Xiaobei's simultaneous disappearance.
Xiao Bao didn't call again, and in the middle of the night, I finally couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep...
I had a dream where Yang Sisi and Cao Xiaobei were together. They went to a place with snow-capped mountains and grasslands, and then they built a house there and gradually settled down... In the dream, I couldn't figure out how to characterize their behavior. After waking up, I remembered the word "elopement".
This sounds outrageous, but Cao Xiaobei and Yang Sisi are capable of doing it; so, they might really have planned it this way... Otherwise, how could they have lost contact at the same time?
...
I got out of bed, splashed my face with cold water, and then stood under the wall with an old-fashioned calendar hanging on it. I tore off yesterday's page and found that today was Monday, a day that I particularly wanted to escape from.
This feeling is strongest when I'm at work. Every time I finish the weekend and stand downstairs at the company on Monday morning, I feel like I don't care where I go, as long as I don't have to go to work.
This gave me an even stronger psychological suggestion... Yang Sisi ran away. She gave up her studies, gave up Xiao Bao, and gave up all the people who cared about her.
...
In a daze, the phone on the table started vibrating at an unusually fast frequency. I strode over, picked up the phone, and just as I had imagined, it was Xiao Bao calling.
I asked, "So, have you heard anything from Sisi?"
With despair, Xiao Bao said to me, "She went back to China. We found her plane ticket record... Beijing time, she left at 9 pm."
Are you sure?
"I'm sure... she bought a plane ticket to Kunming. Once she gets to Kunming, she will definitely come to see you."
After a moment of silence, I replied, "Little Leopard, there's something I have to tell you honestly... Cao Xiaobei, who was in contact with Sisi yesterday, is also unreachable now; logically speaking, the person she should be looking for is Cao Xiaobei, not me... All the information I have about her comes from you, so I don't know any more than you do."
"If she wasn't looking for you, then what was she doing back in China?"
"Don't ask me about that, I don't know... I'm quite worried about her too!"
Xiao Bao fell silent on the other end of the phone. After a long while, he finally spoke to me, saying, "If she contacts you, you must tell me."
"That's for sure. If you have any news, remember to let me know."
...
After ending my call with Xiaobao, I started my day's work. I now have four shops that I signed with Brother Ping, and I want to make the most of these four shops first.
I consulted Chen Jin, and the two of us discussed it for a long time. In the end, I decided to announce in the ancient city's commercial district that I would put the largest of the four shops up for public auction, with the starting price being one yuan per year's rent.
Before presenting this plan, I was already prepared to rent out the shop for free... The starting bid of one yuan was just a gimmick. I needed to let people in this business district know that someone is now operating shops in "Jiulongju" and that there is an opportunity to revitalize the commercial atmosphere in the future. Whoever has the vision to bring the project in first can get a share of the market. In the early stages, they hardly need to invest in rent, which will greatly reduce their investment pressure.
At this point, the bar singers who agreed with me came into play. After we expressed this plan in writing and sent it to the singers' group, a large number of these bar singers voluntarily forwarded it for us.
In just half a day, the message was forwarded more than 300 times; this number of forwards was enough to attract the attention of the entire business district, and this was the first step to our success.
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