Everyone had noticed that sothing was wrong. Ji Nanfeng was the first to approach, looking at the two of them:
"What’s going on? Where’s Qiqi?"
Fu Shinian looked at Ji Nanfeng, his gaze as cold as could be. "Qiqi isn’t at school."
Earlier, they had gone together to Qiqi’s classroom to pick her up. Teacher Wang, who had just returned after recovering, was surprised to see them: "Mr. Fu, Mrs. Fu, why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to be at the resort?"
Su Mu froze at those words. Her heart clenched with inexplicable anxiety, and her palms instantly started to sweat. Fu Shinian, more composed than her, imdiately questioned Teacher Wang:
"Qiqi isn’t at school?"
"No, she didn’t co today. Didn’t you request leave for her this morning?" Teacher Wang, realizing sothing, grew tense. "Qiqi isn’t at ho?"
She wasn’t. Qiqi had left ho early in the morning, escorted to school by Su Shiyue. Shiyue also said she handed Qiqi directly to the teacher before returning ho. Yet Teacher Wang claid she hadn’t seen Qiqi all day. And Qiqi wasn’t at ho either.
Fu Shinian didn’t have ti to think too much and imdiately moved to confirm things with Su Shiyue. But when he turned around, he saw Su Mu nearly collapsed against the wall, unable to move. He looked at her, unsure what to say, but Su Mu was a step ahead, turning on her heels and walking briskly outside.
She knew very well that her panic at this mont would solve nothing.
When Su Shiyue heard that Qiqi wasn’t at school, her reaction was one of disbelief, as if soone had told her an absurd joke:
"Impossible! I personally handed Qiqi to the teacher, to that teacher nad Yu Xin. We even exchanged a few words. How can anyone say Qiqi didn’t co to school?"
As she spoke, she ran into the school to confront the teacher. Fu Shinian looked at Ji Nanfeng. Before he could speak, Ji Nanfeng nodded and said, "I understand. No matter what the school concludes, Qiqi is missing—that’s the fact. We can’t just focus on clues within the school. You stay here and see what they say. I’ll contact the police and organize a search for Qiqi. Don’t worry—we’ll find her. Stay in touch."
With that, Ji Nanfeng took out his phone, dialing as he quickly walked toward his car.
Su Shiyue didn’t get far into the school building before she ran into Teacher Wang, who was about to head out to find Fu Shinian. When Teacher Wang learned Qiqi was missing, she beca anxious too. She genuinely liked that child and wondered if there was anything she could do to help, seeing Fu Shinian and Su Mu in such a rush to leave.
But Su Shiyue didn’t care much for what Teacher Wang might say. She cut straight to the point:
"Where’s Yu Xin? Isn’t there a teacher nad Yu Xin in your class? I handed Qiqi to her this morning. Wasn’t she on duty at the entrance? Call her here right now—I need to question her face-to-face."
"Teacher Yu?" Teacher Wang looked at Su Shiyue. "Teacher Yu took a leave of absence this morning before class started. You gave Qiqi to her?"
Hearing their conversation from a distance, Fu Shinian stepped forward. "Where’s the school’s surveillance footage?"
Teacher Wang wasted no ti and led them straight to the school’s surveillance room. As they reviewed the footage, Jiang Bei stayed by Su Mu’s side, supporting her. Providing so sense of stability, though he knew that words would do no good now. Unless Qiqi was physically brought back before Su Mu, she would reach a breaking point—if not physically, then emotionally.
The surveillance footage corroborated Su Shiyue’s story. At the school gate, she indeed handed Qiqi over to Yu Xin. The two exchanged words, and Qiqi happily waved goodbye to Su Shiyue. But after Su Shiyue left, Yu Xin took Qiqi out of the school premises and didn’t return afterward.
The surveillance near the parking area outside the school was nonfunctional—it had been broken and not yet repaired. As a result, there was no way to verify where Yu Xin and Qiqi had gone.
Fu Shinian cursed under his breath but didn’t linger in the surveillance room for long. As he turned to leave, he saw Su Mu’s ghostly pale face. She too was looking at him and said:
"You go. Don’t worry about ."
Fu Shinian nodded and looked at Jiang Bei and Su Shiyue:
"Take care of her."
"I will."
Without any more delay, Fu Shinian strode out, with Qiao Yu following close behind.
It wasn’t that Su Mu didn’t want to go. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to search for Qiqi herself or be the first to know any news about her. But she was painfully aware of her current state—her legs were weak, barely able to hold her up; her hands trembled uncontrollably. If not for Jiang Bei’s support, she might have already collapsed to the ground.
The pain in her chest was suffocating, and suddenly, she thought of the dream she had last night. The pain intensified, and tears silently rolled down her face.
"Sister-in-law..." Su Shiyue hesitated to et Su Mu’s gaze, but fearing that Jiang Bei’s condition wouldn’t hold under Su Mu’s weight, ca over to support her from the other side.
Su Mu turned, intending to leave this place. She couldn’t keep pace with Fu Shinian, but she should at least follow closely behind. However, before she could take a single step, her vision went black, and she fainted.
Perhaps sowhere deep down, Su Mu understood there were still too many unanswered questions, too many matters that needed her to resolve. That knowledge kept her fainting spell from lasting long. Even so, when she ca to, she found herself at Bishui Yuntian.
Jiang Bei was by her side. Seeing her awake, he tightly clasped her hand:
"How are you feeling?"
Almost reflexively, Su Mu sat up straight, looking at Jiang Bei with a mix of nervousness and hope. She clutched his hand in her own, her grip so strong it hurt him. But seeing the desperation in her eyes made Jiang Bei feel that even greater pain would be worth it, as long as Qiqi returned.
Su Mu wasn’t blind to the aning in Jiang Bei’s gaze. But she refused to give up hope:
"Where’s Qiqi? Has Qiqi been found?"
"Fu Shinian and Ji Nanfeng are still out looking for her. We should have news soon. Don’t worry."
Don’t worry? How could she not? To Su Mu, it felt like she hadn’t lost a child but her very life. Without Qiqi, how could she continue? Su Mu felt like a walking corpse. Hearing Jiang Bei’s words, the light in her eyes dimd bit by bit. After a few seconds, she pulled off the covers and climbed out of bed. Jiang Bei tried to stop her but failed:
"Where are you going?"
"To find Qiqi. She’s all alone out there—she must be so scared. Don’t be fooled by her usual bravado. She’s the kind of kid who cries at thunder. It’s a cloudy day today. It might rain tonight. She can’t sleep without holding onto . I have to find her."
With that, Su Mu broke free from Jiang Bei and strode toward the door. In her worry, she forgot entirely that Jiang Bei was pregnant. Pushing her in the process, Jiang Bei luckily fell back onto the bed uninjured.
As Su Mu opened the door to leave, Fu Shinian appeared at the entrance, seemingly about to co in.
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