Jiang Shuxuan was in the study, sitting in the solid, rattan chair. He held a book in his hands, an impassive expression on his handsome face. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes betrayed the calm exterior he had, a hint of frost in them. After hearing the reason Yin Shaoyuan was coming over, he reached up to touch the jade pendant that hung on his neck, closing his eyes to conceal the turmoil in them.

"Have you asked her friends?"

Seeing Jiang Shuxuan’s expression, Yin Shaoyuan’s excitement diminished quickly. As soon as his mind could process it, he understood that Jiang Shuxuan had probably already known about it all along.

"I’ve asked Mu Zong and Wu Hongwen, they both don’t have a clue. But if you think about it now, Qiao Qiao must have said something to them before she left, or they wouldn’t be so calm about it. Only, why didn’t she say anything to us? Where in the world did she go?" Yin Shaoyuan said, sneaking a glance at Jiang Shuxuan.

There was one thing that was left unsaid. That was, although Gu Xiqiao was not chased off by Murong Miaoxue, she had left after hearing Murong Miaoxue’s words. However, he believed that Jiang Shuxuan had reached the same conclusion as well. Murong Miaoxue had disappeared without a trace for the past two days, and it was highly probable that it was Jiang Shuxuan’s doing.

"Didn’t say anything to us?" Jiang Shuxuan repeated, putting the book down. He gazed out of the window calmly, his eyes as deep as night. "Your parents are calm about it, the only people she didn’t inform was me and you."

"Why?!" Yin Shaoyuan exclaimed, realizing that Jiang Shuxuan was right after he pondered over his words.

Logically speaking, his mother adored the child so much. If she were missing, they would have mobilized the whole city to search every inch and corner to find her. But as it was, he was the only one who was running around.

"I want to know too," Jiang Shuxuan said, getting up to push the curtains to one side, and opened the window. A snow-white paper crane flew in from the outside, flying in a circle twice in front of him before landing on his shoulder dejectedly. "Even I can’t find where she is, or is she not in this dimension at all?"

He reached out to pull a piece of paper out from the shelf beside him. The words on it were clear and beautiful, written neatly—

Brother Jiang, I have something that I need to figure out. When I understand, I’ll return for sure. Be safe, don’t worry about me.

historical

He massaged his temples as he looked out the window again, his pitch-black eyes calm and unwavering now. Even if it was out of his capabilities, even if he had to search the entire heavens and earth, he would definitely find that girl!

Although she had not said anything about it, he understood inside, the reason for her departure.

Yin Shaoyuan was speechless for a while. This was the first time he had seen Jiang Shuxuan in such a downcast state. He suddenly understood that because Gu Xiqiao didn’t want Jiang Shuxuan to find her, she had chosen not to say anything to him. Did she not believe in him?

His elegant brow twisted in frustration. Not only Jiang Shuxuan, he felt unhappy too. This girl, she needed to be taught a lesson once they found her.

***

With his mind full of doubts, Yin Shaoyuan personally went to talk to Mu Zong in person at Nine Heavens, but he was met with a face of surprise. "Sigh, Young Master Yin, you know as well as I that I haven’t seen Qiao Qiao in a week. The last I heard she was at Yin Manor two days ago, how could she be missing today? Is everything alright?"

It was quite an exaggerated reaction, it was clearly an act. If she were really missing, how could he remain so calm? Yin Shaoyuan swallowed the fire that he wanted to spit out. This person was one of Gu Xiqiao’s, he didn’t dare make a move against him. So he turned away to find Wu Hongwen instead.

Wu Hongwen was in the middle of his family training when he found him, and he only gave him an indifferent glance before turning back to bury himself in his studies.

Yin Shaoyuan hooked an arm around his neck, his eyes narrowing as his body radiated a dangerous aura. "Tell me honestly, where did that girl go? Otherwise, don’t think you’ll be able to stay silent today!"

"Hm." Wu Hongwen made a noise of agreement, and proceeded to point to a page in his book calmly. "What’s wrong with this annex report?"

"It’s simple, Party B’s investment failed. Shareholders dumped their stocks and they were acquired by Party A. As a result, Party A became the majority shareholder. As for the other things, like Party B’s failure, it didn’t matter whether or not Party A was involved in making it happen, what matters most is the result," Yin Shaoyuan replied with an answer after just a quick glance at the book. As heir to the Yin family, he had received top-notch education in all aspects, although he didn’t look the part normally.

He had explained the matter in a more straightforward and clear way than most professionals would, and Wu Hongwen’s eyes lit up, picking up several other cases to ask him.

Yin Shaoyuan proceeded to answer every one until his mouth ran dry, and then he suddenly realized what he was doing. "God f*cking dammit, I didn’t come here to tutor you!"

"Don’t be so calculative, I’ll treat you to dinner," Wu Hongwen said, avoiding the topic as he threw the book in his hand aside. He fluttered his eyes, happily inviting the young master Yin to dinner.

His eyelashes were long. When his eyes fluttered, it was like a butterfly flapping its wings. Yin Shaoyuan reached out, not able to stop the laughter that burst out from his lips as he gestured. "The length of your lashes can be compared to Qiao Qiao’s, but hers are a bit denser than yours."

"Impossible, it’s not as long as hers," Wu Hongwen said, patting his hands. "Will you stay to eat?"

"Yes," Yin Shaoyuan replied, taking his hands back, and then he remembered his original intentions again. "No wait, you haven’t told me where she is?"

"Are you staying to eat or not..."

"..."

In the end, Yin Shaoyuan was still swayed away from the topic by Wu Hongwen with just a few words.

After the two had left once dinner was over, the more influential members of the Wu family looked at each other, and began congratulating Wu Feiyang for raising such a good son. Wu Feiyang was feeling delighted on the inside, but he maintained a passive look on the outside while receiving the praises.

The younger cousin of Wu Hongwen stood in a corner with a gloomy expression, watching the two figures who were leaving, his eyes glowering.

Once they left the house, Yin Shaoyuan headed to his own luxury car. "I say, there’s something not right with that cousin of yours."

"He’s just another jumping clown, not much great skills. I’m not bothered to touch him at all, there are some things that need people like that to do, after all," Wu Hongwen said, glancing at Yin Shaoyuan’s car in slight apprehension. "You’re driving?"

"Why, can’t bear to look at it?" Yin Shaoyuan said, raising an eyebrow.

Wu Hongwen took a deep breath. "The color..."

"Damn, this car..." Yin Shaoyuan whipped out his phone after the words triggered something in his mind, making a call. The other side picked up after one ring. "Manager Xu, is the car I left at your place that last time still there?"

"It’s been taken the day before yesterday?"

Hanging up the call, Yin Shaoyuan frowned. She had driven the car, and it was a big target, but he still couldn’t find any clues on her whereabouts. Disregarding the car, her phone was also customized and there was GPS tracking installed on it, but even the satellite couldn’t find her location. Was what Jiang Shuxuan said spot on, that she wasn’t even in this dimension?

He turned his eyes on Wu Hongwen, who immediately gave him an innocent look.

’... Very good, it is very Wu Hongwen-ish.’

***

In the south station of N City, Gu Xiqiao was carrying a backpack. In her pale lithe fingers, she held a light blue train ticket.

[Beauty Qiao, Yin Shaoyuan and Jiang Shuxuan are scouring the entire place to find you, but I’ve blocked everything.] The system was sitting down, its arms around its legs, its tone cocky. Even though it was unreliable in a lot of matters, its concealment features were one of the better ones. Jiang Shuxuan wouldn’t be able to find them for a while.

’Alright, thanks for your hard work,’ Gu Xiqiao replied, turning around to look at N City one more time before heading towards the ticket gates.

[Nothing hard about it. By the way, Beauty Qiao, I want to remodel your car.]

’How will you do it?’

[I’ll change it into a smart car, the kind that will have the auto-drive function. As to how I will be doing it, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you!]

Gu Xiqiao, who wouldn’t understand even though the system told her: ’...do as you please.’

[Hehehe.]

There were two young men standing at the exit, and they obviously stood out from the crowd around them with such extraordinary temperaments. With one glance, you could tell that they were extremely wealthy. The young man who looked to be the more dominant of the two placed the box in his hands on the ground suddenly, taking off in a run towards the ticket gates.

"Gu Xiqiao!"

Hearing her name being called, Gu Xiqiao stopped in her steps. She turned around to see who had called out to her, and found her gaze meeting Xia Zijun.

He was wearing an ordinary T-shirt, his short black hair was slightly messed up from his run. There was a healthy spark in his eyes, his elegant features on his face highlighting how handsome he was. Adding on a pair of lean, long legs, his entire person easily attracted the attention of people around him. He glanced at the ticket in her hands. "Where are you going?"

Gu Xiqiao’s heart had calmed a lot since the last time she had laid eyes on him, and she gave him a small smile. "Home."

"I..." Xia Zijun bit his lip. "I heard some things. You... are you alright?"

"I’m very well, thank you." Gu Xiqiao raised her ticket and waved it slightly. "The train is going to leave, goodbye."

Seeing her retreating figure once again, Xia Zijun was a little startled. It has been two months since they had met, and she appeared to have grown a bit taller. She was dressed in a baggy blouse, and was still as thin as ever. Her porcelain white skin resembled white jade, her eyes were as clear as water and captivating, you couldn’t look away from her beauty.

"If you fancy her then you should go for it. With your looks and everything, she will definitely hold onto you and not let go," The young man with a crew cut said as he shoved both hands into his pockets, making his way over lazily. Glancing at the retreating figure, he let out a low whistle. "That is one fine girl."

Xia Zijin let out a chuckle. "She’s just a friend. No, perhaps I’m not even considered a friend in her eyes. Sigh, forget it, the car is here."

"Such indecisiveness," The man replied, laughing. "I’ve already said you won’t find a wife like this..."

As they walked away, Xia Zijun couldn’t resist turning around one more time, but she had already entered the gates. Fancy her? Perhaps that was true, but it wasn’t like he had a snowball’s chance in hell. He bore the responsibilities of two families, and that caused him to not have the rights to fancy anyone.

Pulling himself together, the calm returned to his black eyes. When they had first met, he had already felt the throbbing of his heart, deep inside. He had thought that he would naturally forget about it in time, but this unexpected meeting had just managed to completely shatter his defenses once again.

***

Gu Xiqiao had bought a train ticket, from N City south station to Ping’an District, then she would take a bus and she would reach a village.

The distance between Ping’an District and N City was not far, and the train journey would only take two hours, so she had bought a reserved seat. A middle-aged woman with a child sat opposite her, and the child was particularly noisy throughout the trip, chattering away and eating constantly. He had a lot to say, and a lot to do too.

As soon as she had got on the train, Gu Xiqiao had dozed off, up till she was awakened by frantic cries, "Datou, Datou!"

Her eyes snapped open, but all she saw was the middle-aged woman in front of her, holding the child in her arms as she patted his head in a panicked motion. The child was blue in the face and appeared to be unconscious. Only his two hands were clutching his mother’s sleeves tightly.

The people on the train were gathering around them. Someone had already called for the attendant, but most of them were just making a commotion.

[Ding! Daily Good Deed Mission activated! Save the little boy.]

[Mission completion rewards: 50 points!]