After supper, Su Yu felt bored and sent a WeChat message to Huo Mian asking her plans for Han Yueyao.

Waiting for a long while, he didn’t receive a reply.

Thinking she was busy, he waited a while longer but there was still no reply.

Concerned, he dialed her number but couldn’t get through.

Su Yu called Pudding.

Pudding was playing with Little Bean in the living room in South Hill Manor.

“Hello, Handsome Su.”

“Pudding, is your mom on night duty? Is she at South Side?”

“No. My mom is on a business trip.”

“Business trip? When did she go?”

“Yesterday. Oh, no, the day before yesterday…”

“Where did she go?”

“S City.”

“When is she coming back?”

“I don’t know. She was supposed to return yesterday, but for some reason, she didn’t come back.”

“Did she go alone?” Su Yu was worried.

“Of course not. My dad went with her.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

“Handsome Su, you need to talk to my mom for something urgent?”

“It’s not urgent.”

“Well, if you can’t get through, maybe the battery on her cellphone is out of juice. You can call my dad.”

“Okay. Go back to your playing.”

Hanging up, Su Yu still felt uneasy, knowing Huo Mian was a careful person and wouldn’t allow her cellphone to run out of power.

He still called Qin Chu even though he knew it wasn’t a good idea.

Qin Chu answered in a tired voice.

“Qin Chu, I’m Su Yu.”

“I know.”

“I couldn’t get through to Huo Mian on the phone.”

Silence…

“I heard you’re on a business trip. Are you with her? I want to ask her about the future plans for her cousin Han Yueyao.”

Still silence.

“Hello, are you listening?” Su Yu thought he had lost signals.

“I’m listening.”

“Then…”

“Su Yu, Huo Mian is not with me. She got kidnapped by human traffickers.”

“What?”

Su Yu thought he had heard it wrong.

“Kidnapped? What the heck?” Su Yu stood up in agitation.

“We were walking around the square in the evening. When I went to buy her cotton candy, human traffickers made her unconscious and took her away. They stole the plate, so tracking them down is a bit tricky. After some investigation, we found the plate is used by a gang of human traffickers who have kidnapped lots of women lately.”

“Fuck… that’s a huge thing. Why didn’t you tell me?” Su Yu felt his heart almost pop out of his chest.

“Do you think telling you would help me find her? You’re not here anyway.”

“I’ll drive over there to help you.”

“It’s not necessary. I’ll find her.”

Qin Chu hung up the phone.

Su Yu couldn’t remain sitting anymore.

Standing up suddenly, he said, “An, let’s drive to S City.”

“Huh? In the middle of the night? Why?” An was playing on his cellphone in the living room.

He looked puzzled when he heard Su Yu wanted to go to the neighboring city.

“Mian is in trouble. I must go there and search for her.”

“Dr. Huo is in trouble again…” An was stunned.

Su Yu explained the whole thing to An briefly and turned to the door.

“President Su… Please wait a second.”

“What?”

“I feel… President Qin doesn’t want us to go… Don’t you think we are crossing the line if we go there? After all, Dr. Huo has her husband and family to help her. President Su, you’re her friend. Don’t you think it would look weird if you go?”

An thought Su Yu shouldn’t race to the neighboring city so eagerly; after all, it wasn’t his wife who went missing.