Chapter 76
The sky grew brighter and then darker.
In the evening of the next day, Qiu An still couldn't contact Ran Long.
Time flowed linearly, but her anxiety expanded exponentially until it filled her entire heart and left no room for anything else.
There was no other way, so Qiu An had to turn down the evening social engagements and return home early. He looked at Ranlong's room through the window, so that he could notice it as soon as the lights came on.
At the same time, she also called Sister Hou via WeChat.
Sister Hou quickly picked up the phone and saw that it was Qiu An, whom she hadn't contacted since adding her as a friend. She was puzzled and said, "Hello? Sister Qiu An, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Do you know where Xiaoran is?"
"Ranlong, she suddenly told me a few days ago that she wanted to take a vacation. Which scenic spot should she go to for sightseeing now?"
Although I have been extremely busy with various tasks since returning to Beiji, it is not unreasonable to ask for a vacation at this time.
The problem was, according to Qiu An's understanding of Ranlong, she was a homebody. She flew around for work, and even when she needed a vacation, she should have taken a few days off to rest at home, not go sightseeing in a scenic area.
"Vacation? Are you sure she went on a trip? Did she say where she went?"
"She didn't say exactly where she went, but when she asked for leave, she did tell me she wanted to go traveling. What's wrong, Sister Qiu An, can't you contact her?"
"Yes, I haven't been able to contact you since last night."
"Is that so... Sis, don't worry. She might be abroad and doesn't have a domestic phone number. Or maybe she's in a remote scenic area with no signal, or she might still be on the plane and can't get any messages. She should be back in the next two days. I'll contact her for you and let you know as soon as I have any news."
"good."
Hou Jie's consolation didn't have much effect. Even if Ranlong wasn't using her phone number for the time being, she shouldn't have stopped using WeChat.
If it was in a remote tourist spot with no signal... this speculation alone made Qiu An worried and uneasy.
Another very important point is that Ranlong went out traveling without telling her.
Are you angry?
She thought about the time she had spent with her at the party a few days ago and at Yuan Chengyin's house. It seemed like there had been no friction. No arguments, no confessions, no suspicions, no avoidances, nothing at all.
Ranlong had no reason to avoid her at this time.
By the way, is it necessary for Ranlong to report his itinerary to her?
It seems not.
When they were on the set, they rarely communicated through WeChat, and even after returning to Beiji and unable to see each other every day, the situation did not improve at all.
She had no habit of sharing her life. Her life was monotonous and there was nothing good to share, but Ranlong never started to do so.
Is it because of the awkward relationship between them?
But traveling, at least, at least...
With his thoughts in a mess, Qiu An washed his face with cold water to calm himself down.
Maybe he just wanted to relax? Maybe he was too tired from work? Maybe something happened...
Qiu An lit a cigarette. Although she was a smoker, she still disliked the smell of cigarettes. When she was at home, she never smoked anywhere except on the balcony.
But this time, she walked through the bathroom, the bedroom, the living room, and the entrance hall with a lit cigarette.
She was an actress living in the era of sound films, and her voice needed careful care just like a singer's. So even though she was addicted to smoking, she never smoked a second cigarette after finishing one.
But in just a short while, there were suddenly four cigarette butts in the trash can, and a newly lit cigarette in his hand.
I always feel like I'm missing something.
I missed some abnormalities that I had overlooked because I was too worried about my own affairs.
For example, that day, did she keep asking herself why she went to see Chang Yuqing so frequently?
Is it something related to Chang Yuqing?
And the drinking party that day, if she wanted to trick someone, it must be related to this, right?
But after that day, Ranlong never asked her not to see Chang Yuqing again.
Ranlong is not someone who gives up easily. Could her disappearance be related to Chang Yuqing?
Could it be that Ranlong couldn't get any information out of her and instead went to find Chang Yuqing?
The drinking party that day was organized by Yuan Chengyin, maybe she knows something?
Qiu An was taking out his cell phone while putting out the cigarette in his hand. He accidentally pressed the button crookedly and his index finger was burned by the cigarette butt.
She gasped in pain, and coincidentally, Yuan Chengyin's call came through at this moment, so she didn't care about her injured finger.
Qiu An told Yuan Chengyin about Ranlong's disappearance. Yuan Chengyin seemed clueless and repeated the same clichés as Sister Hou. Finally, he reassured her, "It'll be fine. Ranlong is an adult. She can take care of herself."
Qiu An raised his voice and asked, "Do you know where she went?!"
"Ah this, how would I know if you don't even know? She's obviously closer to you now, right?"
"Don't talk about these nonsense. Did she and you collude to arrange the drinking party that day? Did she go to see Chang Yuqing?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Yuan Chengyin hurriedly denied it, and Qiu An caught the unusual excitement in her words.
"Are you with her? Turn on the video and let me see."
Yuan Chengyin had no choice but to open the video. In the video, she was in her pajamas, preparing dinner at home. The house was empty except for her. Even the entrance was clean, as if there were no visitors.
Qiu An sighed and hung up the phone.
She rubbed her eyebrows, her thumb unconsciously pressing the burned area of her index finger. Her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat without her knowing when.
Autumn arrived, and in this season when her hands and feet should be cold, her clothes were soaked with sweat.
Qiu An's fingers trembled slightly as they hovered over the phone. The page stopped on WeChat, on the voice call button of the contact with the fish symbol.
I have clearly made up my mind not to deal with this dangerous abyss anymore, but in the end, I still can't escape it?
If Ranlong was really in her hands, she would go through hell and get her Ranlong back.
His finger dropped, and just as the phone rang once, he pressed the red hang-up button.
Is this a trap? Waiting for her here again?
Chang Yuqing didn't miss her hesitation and quickly called back. Qiu An pressed the answer button and waited for the person on the other end to speak first.
"Baby~ Did you miss me? And you still remember to call me?"
There was no flaw in her voice. After hesitating for a long time, Qiu An decided to look again, and look somewhere else.
"It's okay, I touched it accidentally." She tried her best to control herself and make her voice sound calm.
"Oh~ accidentally touched it? How about tonight..."
Qiu An sighed softly, frowned, and hung up the phone before Chang Yuqing finished speaking.
She lay tiredly on the sofa. The pressure from her thumb could no longer stimulate her nerves, so she used her fingernails to scratch the wound again and again.
Fortunately, the burn on the index finger was not serious and the skin did not ulcerate, but it was red and swollen.
In an era where communication networks are so developed and have such wide coverage, losing contact is an extremely serious matter.
The distance between people has been shortened because of the Internet, but online relationships are so weak.
She had already looked for Yuan Chengyin and Sister Hou, and there were no other friends around Ranlong to look for.
Was it her fault? After that incident, her personality became withdrawn and she became aloof.
She also had Aunt Hu's contact information, but Ranlong always reported good news but not bad news. If she really was going to a dangerous place, she would definitely not tell Aunt Hu. If Aunt Hu knew, it would only make her more worried...
The cell phone rang and Qiu An jumped up from the sofa in surprise.
Did Ranlong come back? Did Ranlong call her?
She had never felt so lost when the word "Xixi" appeared on the incoming call screen.
When the call was connected, Xixi's urgent voice came from the phone: "I heard Xiao Hou tell me about Ranlong. Sister Qiu An, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Do you have any news about Xiao Ran?"
“Not yet…”
"I'll send you Xiaoran's ID number. Go check her flight information."
Qiu An sounded restless, and Xixi was a little worried. But her colleague was used to being independent, so asking her if she needed company seemed unnecessary and ridiculous.
Xixi opened her mouth, then changed her words: "Then I'll arrange for someone to do it right away."
Just as she was about to hang up, she heard the person on the other end of the phone calling her.
"Sissi."
The voice was soft, but contained a thousand threads of forbearance.
Sissi was still waiting for her instructions, but there was no further news.
There will be no further developments, Xixi said with a helpless smile. Her colleague should be sitting in an empty room right now, thinking hard about what she needed to soothe her empty and anxious heart.
She probably couldn't imagine that she needed someone's company at this moment, even if that person was not Ranlong.
Sissi asked her, "Are you home?"
"exist."
"Then I'll be there in a moment."
"good."
Xixi was working in the studio. She arranged for someone to check Ranlong's flight information, and she drove to Qiu An's house.
When I arrived at Qiu An's house, I just received a message from the technician.
Xixi looked through the message and knocked on the door to enter the house. The sun had already set and the afterglow could not illuminate the huge house.
Qiu An didn't turn on the lights, and the light in the room was dim, so he couldn't see clearly in front of him for a moment.
Suddenly, a strong hand grasped Xixi's arm tightly, and Qiu An's hoarse voice came: "Have you found out? Where is she?"
Xixi was startled and fumbled around on the wall, turning on the main light, spotlight and entrance light randomly.
Qiu An's eyes were so irritated that she couldn't open them. She raised her hands to block the light, like a nocturnal creature that couldn't stand the light.
After a while, until she got used to the light in the room, she slowly lowered her arms and opened her eyes.
Sissi finally saw the person in front of her clearly.
It was the first time she had seen Qiu An look so haggard. His eyes were red and swollen, bloodshot, and his hair was a mess, hanging in disorder, sticking to his face and neck along the tracks of sweat. He looked completely out of shape.
"Have you found out? Speak up!"
Seeing Qiu An on the verge of collapse, Xixi quickly replied, "I checked, I checked. The morning before yesterday, there was a flight to Ducheng under her name."
"Ducheng? And then? Where did she go after that?"
"……there is none left."
"there is none left?"
Ducheng has the sea and suburbs, so it is not impossible to travel to Ducheng, but she has not heard that there are places in Ducheng that are not covered by the signal.
"Don't worry. Ducheng might be a transit point. You might have boarded an international flight later. The technicians are still investigating."
It's both possible and maybe.
Qiu An was fed up with the uncertainty and speculation.
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