He blad her for keeping things from him, but had he... ever genuinely cared about her?
Realization struck Han Jingnian, stiffening his back, and he froze within his car.
He seed lost in thought, yet his mind felt blank. After what felt like an eternity, he pulled out his phone, scrolled through all his contacts, and finally settled on Han Zhijin, who knew Xia Wan’an well.
Without much hesitation, he dialed Han Zhijin’s number.
Han Zhijin was currently out on a business trip, séjourning who-knows-where, partying up a storm. Faint traces of a DJ’s voice could be heard when he answered the call.
"Uncle, what’s up?"
Hesitating for a mont, Han Zhijin continued, "Uncle, I’m at a bar because a client requested to et here, not because I wanted to."
Han Jingnian’s lips curled at the corners, generously deciding not to burst Han Zhijin’s bubble since he needed a favor, "Where does she usually like to hang out?"
Han Zhijin, accustod to his uncle’s reserved communication style, wasn’t initially sure who the ’she’ was. After one or two incidents, he rembered, "Uncle, are you asking about Aunt Xia?"
The silence from Han Jingnian on the other end confird his guess, and he carried on, "Aunt Xia likes shopping, places like SKP, Acvrit, those kinds of malls she enjoys... She loves cats, so she might visit cat-thed cafes... But she more likely to be at Youman’s place. They’re like conjoined twins, practically inseparable when they’re not working. So, over the years, I concluded two things: finding Youman ans finding Aunt Xia..."
As Han Zhijin spoke up until this point, not saying another word, Han Jingnian finally couldn’t help but ask, "And the other conclusion?"
"Oh, the other one is: finding Aunt Xia ans finding Youman."
Han Jingnian suddenly felt he had overestimated Han Zhijin’s intelligence: "..."
For the first ti in his life, Han Jingnian refrained from openly deriding his nephew’s intelligence, "Are you and Ms. Song acquainted?"
"Of course, Youman and I live in the sa complex, don’t we? We take the elevator together and whatnot. I even monitor her ho. Often, when I am idle at work, I watch what she and her cat Little Tissue do and share the amusing videos with her, thinking she’d post them on TikTok..."
Han Jingnian instantly spotted the oversight in the statent: "While at work?"
"Uncle... my bad..."
"If you truly realize your mistake, check on Ms. Song’s ho surveillance right now and see if she’s there."
"Oh, alright." Han Zhijin dully consented and then hung up.
While waiting for Han Zhijin’s call, Han Jingnian had set off towards the shopping malls his nephew had ntioned.
Just as he was approaching one of the malls, Han Zhijin called back. Han Jingnian answered.
"Uncle, Aunt Xia isn’t at Youman’s place."
"Are you sure?"
"I am certain, as I checked everywhere except the bathroom..." Han Zhijin said, his voice slightly vacant.
Han Jingnian picked up on the uncertainty in Han Zhijin’s tone and frowned. His voice, llow yet bearing so invisible pressure, prompted, "Are you hiding sothing?"
"Not at all! Uncle, Aunt Xia truly isn’t at Youman’s place. I’m not lying, I... I... I just saw sothing I wasn’t supposed to..." Han Zhijin, flustered and vexed like a cat on a hot tin roof, exploded on the other end, "I won’t spy for you again, ever! And mind you, ’only look where you ought to look’!!!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)