"Have you seen this man?" Hu Lei discretely passed a printed photo of her father to a motel attendant along with an old note of the local currency.
This mid-class motel was the last location that Kim Han had been able to track her father. She could not help disapproving on sight. While in so countries this type of motel would be discrete, it was not the right option in a small town in Argentina. It was the best hotel around, so it would be the obvious choice for a tourist.
Knowing her father, he had probably had been thinking of sothing crazy like hiding in plain sight. That would work in movies, but it was unlikely to work in a place where one's appearance was like a beacon. A rundown motel had less security asures, and most of these establishnts were located in places which would provide dark routes for escape in case of an ergency.
"Oh, I rember him. We don't get a lot of people like him here." The middle-aged lady spoke tucking away the note.
"When was he here?" Hu Lei felt relieved at the confirmation, though she also wished that the man was not so easy to track down.
"I would say exactly two weeks ago." The lady's eyes lit up. "I rember his departure because so official looking people from the governnt ca to do so checks on the sa day."
Hu Lei thanked the woman and left. It seed that this was the place where her father had supposedly left whatever he had stolen. If that was two weeks ago and he had called her about eight days ago, then it ant that these people were not serious. It was not like she was hoping for her father to have been taken. But if they were after him, they were at his heels, and they let him go.
This case was looking stranger with every step.
Fortunately, as the person who had guided Hu Ming for years, Hu Lei knew his habits and general thoughts. With this advantage, it would not be too difficult to follow her father's steps and uncover this entire debacle.
In Supre City
Zhong Feng looked at the nurous outgoing calls that he had made to Hu Lei's phone. He had continued making these calls though he knew that her phone was out of service. When she had failed to respond to him during the week, his assumption had been that she had her own matters.
However, it was on Saturday, and they had made plans for more shopping and moving. The uneasiness that had plagued him through the week seed to overwhelm him. He could not shake the feeling that sothing was not right.
Without wasting ti, he left his apartnt with the intention of finding Hu Lei. As he drove his vehicle out of the parking lot, his phone rang. His heart leapt in anticipation and hope. Perhaps she had not forgotten their appointnt after all, he thought with a shadow of a smile.
Unfortunately, it was his mother calling.
"Feng'er, where are you? Mother has missed you." The woman spoke even before he could get in a word.
He frowned slightly before making so noncommittal sound. His entire mind was filled with crippling disappointnt, and his thoughts were focussed on Hu Lei, running through the possibilities.
"This child… Why don't you co to the house today?" She asked, though Zhong Feng knew it was more of a statent.
"I have a few errands to run." He responded.
"It is no problem. You can co late and spend the evening with your family for once." The woman did not leave much room for argunt.
He knew that she would keep pressing using various tactics, so it would save ti if he just agreed to the request. After all, it had been a while since he had shown his face at the old residence.
After disconnecting the call, he drove straight to the Hu manor. He could have gotten soone to check on Hu Lei, but he considered her a private matter. He did not want his employees and associates involved in this type of personal business.
When he arrived, he found an older man and a middle-aged auntie sitting on the porch drinking tea. He did not know them. Every ti he had dropped off Hu Lei, there had been no one else at ho. The man stood quickly as soon as he parked his car outside and stepped towards the gate.
"Good afternoon, sir. Are you looking for directions?" Old Bai asked this because that flashy car did not belong in this normal neighbourhood. Most people drove regular spacious family vehicles.
"I am looking for Ms Hu Lei." Zhong Feng responded.
"You are…" the old butler did not want to provide information to a random character.
"I am Zhong Feng, Hu Lei's boss."
"Oh, why didn't you say sooner? Please co in. People call old Bai, and that is my wife. We are the caretakers of the manor." He smiled ushering him in.
Zhong Feng accepted the invite. It was the first ti he had co so close to the house. Hu Lei had always shown great resistance to him coming in. Though he did not know why, he had respected the boundary. Now, he wondered if he should have pushed more.
"Where is Hu Lei? She has not shown up at work or called in." He spoke as soon as he sat down with the old couple.
"Oh, I am so sorry. She is not an irresponsible girl. I think she had picked so habits from her father. He always used wake up and run off before showing up a few weeks later." Old Bai had a nostalgic look on his face.
"What my husband is saying is that Hu Lei left about a week ago. We were not working last weekend because the young miss dislikes disturbance when she's working. When we ca on Monday, she had already left." Bai mama explained with a laugh.
"Are you not concerned that she is missing?" Zhong Feng asked coldly.
"If you are really Hu Lei's boss, you should know that she is not predictable. Also, her father had already warned us that she would soon get bored with Supre City and go back to work with him." Old Bai seed angry at the younger man's tone.
"I apologise. I am only concerned about Hu Lei's wellbeing." The frown of worry on his face seed tighter.
"Do not think too much about it. If she is anything like the master, she will co back soon enough. She probably had sothing to do outside the country and did not think to inform you." Old Bai comforted.
"We will let her know to call you imdiately when she cos back." Bai mama added with a smile. She could see that this boss cared more than normal. It seed Hu Lei had a great admirer.
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