Meng Renshu didn't look back and kept running.

As Mr. Mu said, the sky was pretty dark tonight, and the wind blew strongly. However, the weather was the least of his concerns.

What if Li Caiyi was unconscious somewhere and drenched by the rain? What if she was injured and couldn't move? What if that Hu Jian bastard did something to her?

Veiling his anxiety with a firm front was something he used to do in front of people, but Meng Renhu could no longer stand it. Taking a deep breath, he shouted for Li Caiyi's name.

"Xiaoyi, where are you?!"

No one answered him. Meng Renshu didn't miss even a single bush, and no stones were left unturned on his watch. He searched up and down, but there was no sign of Li Caiyi anywhere.

While he was running around, rain began pouring down from the gloomy sky. The roaring thunder and the strong wind drowned his voice, but he kept calling for her name, clinging to a small hope that his voice would reach her somehow. He shouted until his throat felt hurt.

His whole body was drenched, and the rain made it harder for him to look around. Still, he didn't give up and kept searching.

"Young Master! Please stop this!"

"What are you doing?! Let me go this instant." Meng Renshu glared at his caretaker, who suddenly appeared behind him and held him by the shoulder.

Mr. Mu was holding an umbrella in one hand, while his other hand refused to let Meng Renshu go. His wrinkled eyes narrowed down sternly. "Please cease your stubbornness at once. Forcing yourself like this wouldn't help anyone. What do you think Miss Li would feel if you got sick while searching for her?"

Meng Renshu roughly swatted Mr. Mu's hand away and stared coldly at him, "Don't tell me what to do. I'm perfectly aware of my limit, and I don't need you to remind me. If you don't want to help, then at least don't get in my way."

"Young Master, please don't do this. What if your body condition became worse after this? Every day you consume medicine just so you can sleep and have the energy to get through the day. It really breaks this old man's heart." Mr. Mu pleaded, and his sincere words softened Meng Renshu a little.

"I don't care what happened to me because I deserved it."

'She drank more medicines than me before, but I didn't even notice her suffering.' Meng Renshu bitterly thought.

"Pardon?" Mr. Mu tilted his head in confusion. "I'm not sure if I'm following you, Young Master."

But Meng Renshu only shook his head before slicking his wet hair back. "I will feel sicker if I remain in a safe place while she is struggling somewhere."

Mr. Mu was speechless. His Young Master really had it bad for Li Caiyi. He didn't even listen to his advice anymore like usual.

The fact that Li Caiyi didn't know about this and happily dated some other guy made the older man's heart ache for the boy in front of him.

He watched Meng Renshu grow up and used to be confident that no one would be able to reject someone like him. That Meng Renshu would be chased over by thousand girls, and he only needed to choose one. But he begged to differ now.

"Alright, I give up on persuading you."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry for being stubborn, Mr. Mu. I promised you wouldn't be held responsible for my choice today."

"Young Master, please don't treat me like a stranger. I may be working for you, but my concern for you has always been genuine. I have watched you grow up marvelously, and it broke my heart to see you hurting your own body like this."

Meng Renshu felt his cold body getting warmer hearing that. "Yeah, I know. I definitely won't mistreat you in the future."

"Let's save that talk for later. Now, we have to find Miss Li as soon as possible."

Meng Renshu was astonished when Mr. Mu walked ahead of him and began to look around as well.

"What are you doing? You should return and take shelter properly from the rain. Don't make your old body cry in pain."

Mr. Mu laughed jovially. "You are doing better than I thought if you can still joke around like that."

Meng Renshu chuckled before rushing to his side. "I appreciate your thoughts. But please don't force yourself."

"Yes, Young Master."

***

Another thirty minutes passed, but there was still no sign of Li Caiyi.

At this point, Meng Renshu started to doubt whether Li Caiyi was really there. He took Dai Zhiqiang's words seriously since he saw no reason for him to lie, but what if Dai Zhiqiang was misinformed too?

"Mr. Mu, I don't think she is here. Let's try looking on another—"

His words trailed off when his gaze accidentally fell on something moving.

Mr. Mu, who stood beside him faithfully, looked up in confusion since Meng Renshu stopped talking midway. "What's wrong, Young Master?"

Instead of answering, Meng Renshu dashed to chase after that moving shadow he saw. His feet leaped as fast as his heartbeat.

The thought that he might find Li Caiyi soon brought him an inexplicable amount of joy and relief.

Meng Renshu took a sharp turn at the crossroads and looked around. He was sure he saw that shadow walking this way, but he couldn't see Li Caiyi anywhere.

"Strange, where did she go? Did I see her wrong?"

Meng Renshu was about to return and slowly looked around again when he heard a rustling sound.

He didn't immediately jump to check and observed the bush where the sound came from suspiciously.

"Who's there?"

There was no response, but the sound of leaf rustling could still be heard.

"Whoever you are, just come out." Meng Renshu said coldly, and this time the rustle actually stopped.

"Meow."

Meng Renshu looked down and saw a skinny gray cat sitting in front of the bush and sitting a few meters away from him.

His shoulders visibly drooped in disappointment seeing it. Was the moving shadow he witnessed earlier actually this cat, not Li Caiyi?

He covered his eyes and wiped the water from his face, which was useless since it got wet again in no time. A gloomy feeling enveloped him.

Just where did Li Caiyi go? It had been hours since she went missing, and Meng Renshu felt like he would go crazy from anxiety soon.

"Meow!"

The cat's meowing snapped him out of his reverie.

Meng Renshu raised his head and subconsciously glanced in the cat's direction. It kept meowing happily despite being under the rain.

His eyes traveled downward and bulged in shock when he witnessed a disturbing sight in front of him.

Under the bush, there was a pale white hand slipping out, lying motionlessly on the ground. The body couldn't be seen since it was covered by the bushes.

Anyone who saw this would immediately think that a dead body was hidden there.historical

The cat was happily rubbing its head on it, oblivious to Meng Renshu's horror expression.