Chapter 266: Missing

In truth, when Mr. Qin called, he hadn’t told Mrs. Qin what the matter was.

He just told her to come home.

He did it that way so Mrs. Qin wouldn’t worry too much.

And indeed, Mrs. Qin hadn’t worried much about things at home on her way back.

At worst, she figured the two children were being a handful.

And then there were the two elders—with both the old and the young to think about, she really couldn’t stay away for too long.

But she never expected to walk through the door and see her parents-in-law with red, swollen eyes.

"What on earth is going on? You didn’t explain anything on the phone."

Mr. Qin’s and Granny Qin’s eyes grew even redder.

Just then, Qin Yue came running down the stairs and threw himself into Mrs. Qin’s arms.

He cried out, "Grandma, my sister is missing! She’s gone—"

Mrs. Qin froze completely.

"What did you say? Your sister is missing?" She couldn’t help but look toward her parents-in-law.

Mr. Qin sighed.

"It’s true. Qiaoqiao is gone!"

"The other day, Lan Qingman took the siblings out to eat, and that’s when Qiaoqiao disappeared. We only found out when Qin Yue ran back home, but by then, half a day had already passed. We missed the golden window for finding a missing child—"

Mrs. Qin nearly collapsed. The news of her granddaughter’s disappearance was absolutely devastating.

After all, the girl was so young—she was only five years old!

She’d considered that Lan Qingman might be causing trouble, or that the elders at home had fallen ill.

But she had never, ever imagined it would be her granddaughter who was missing.

Her eyes quickly reddened as she seethed, "Lan Qingman... How could a mother just let her child disappear? Is she a corpse?"

’And why did they let Lan Qingman take the two children in the first place?’

But her son and husband weren’t there, and she couldn’t very well unleash her fury on her elderly parents-in-law.

"We never thought she would lose the child. She’s their mother, after all—" Granny Qin was filled with regret.

’I should have stopped her.’

But Lan Qingman is the children’s biological mother. Even though the couple is divorced, you can’t just forbid a mother from seeing her own children, can you?

Mr. Qin was also distraught. "Her biggest mistake was not coming back to tell us after the child went missing. Waiting half a day... Didn’t that just give the kidnappers more time?"

Mrs. Qin was fuming, furious, and frantic with worry. "—Was it intentional?"

Granny Qin shook her head. "I don’t think so. She’s their mother, after all. A person can’t be that malicious."

Mrs. Qin sneered. "I wouldn’t be so sure. That woman, Lan Qingman, was never very fond of Qiaoqiao. She might still be resentful about the divorce—and decided to take it out on Qiaoqiao."

Her words made Granny Qin waver. "—Th-that can’t be possible!"

’For a mother to be that vicious... would she even be human?’

Mrs. Qin didn’t want to think someone could be so evil, either.

But when it came to Lan Qingman, it was hard to say for sure.

Suppressing her fury, she asked her grandson softly, "Yu Yu, tell Grandma what happened..."

"Grandma, my sister and I went to a restaurant with Mom to eat. My sister said her stomach hurt, so I went with her to the bathroom. I waited outside, but after a long, long time, I still didn’t see her come out—"

Tears streamed down Qin Yue’s face. "Grandma, I’m the one who lost my sister—"

The sight of him blaming himself made Mrs. Qin’s heart ache.

"Yu Yu, this isn’t your fault. It’s the bad guys’ fault. By the way, when your sister’s stomach hurt, where was your mom?"

Qin Yue lowered his head. "She was eating—"

Mrs. Qin was speechless.

’That goddamn woman.’

’Just eating by herself, while letting two little kids go to the bathroom all on their own.’