Chapter 2226 - 2427: Someone Is Missing!!!

Back in his day, he would never have dared to play like this. Young people these days, they're really going all out — it's nothing like when he was their age.

As he watched, it seemed the two were getting unsatisfied with just what they were doing, becoming more aggressive and daring, not just with words but now with their hands and feet as well.

"Holy shit!" Even Hao Jian couldn't help but curse upon witnessing the scene unfolding before him.

Out of nowhere, Xiaohai reached over and covered Hao Jian's eyes, saying, "Aren't you embarrassed? It's gone this far and you're still watching. Don't you know when to stop?"

He was almost about to witness an incredible scene, but with Xiaohai's interruption, he saw nothing. He quickly pried Xiaohai's hand off and shouted, but the shout seemed a bit too loud and accidentally caught the attention of the boy and girl from their class who weren't far off.

The two had been caught in the heat of the moment, but Hao Jian's shout startled them. They turned to see Hao Jian and Xiaohai watching them from a distance. It wasn't just the girl who blushed; the boy did too, their faces turning a deep shade of red.

Realizing they had been discovered, they quickly withdrew their hands and ran away. After running some distance, they were both panting heavily. The girl punched the boy on the shoulder with a face red from embarrassment, saying, "It's all your fault! If you hadn't been so eager, nothing would have happened, and now the classmates saw us. What do you think we should do?"

The boy scratched his head, looking embarrassed. How could he have managed to hold back, and how was he to know they'd get caught by classmates, especially by Hao Jian, who controlled the social narrative of their class, and Xiaohai, the campus goddess?

Immediately, he became nervous. Anyone else, he could intimidate into not saying anything, but since it was Hao Jian and Xiaohai who caught them, what could he possibly say? Let alone threaten — he could only hope they wouldn't spread the word of this, because that would be a colossal embarrassment.

Yet, seeing how panicked the girl was, he couldn't panic himself, so he reassured her, saying, "Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll talk to Brother Hao later. I'm sure he won't say anything."

The girl hesitantly asked, "Really? Will Brother Hao listen to you?"

The boy puffed out his chest confidently in front of the girl, "Trust me. Once I step in, Brother Hao will definitely respect me a bit."

Even as he said this, he too felt uncertain. He didn't even have the courage to talk to Hao Jian face-to-face, let alone ask him not to mention this incident. But in front of his girlfriend, he had no choice but to say so, otherwise, he'd come across as incompetent.

Hearing this, the girl felt a bit more relieved. She said to him, "Alright, I trust you."

The boy patted the girl's head and said, "Alright then, let's keep exploring the Ancient Town. We still have over two hours before we need to meet up."

...

Seeing the couple flee after being startled, Hao Jian showed a helpless expression and said to Xiaohai, "Why did you cover my eyes? If you hadn't covered them, I wouldn't have shouted; they wouldn't have been scared away by me. If they weren't scared away, I could have continued watching. You, you're only good at ruining things, not helping."

Xiaohai defiantly looked at Hao Jian and retorted, "Do you know what shame is? Watching others do that — aren't you embarrassed at all?"

Hao Jian couldn't understand why watching that was considered shameless, so he rebutted Xiaohai, "Me, shameless? Then why did I see you watching more intently than I was just now!"

"No, I wasn't!" Xiaohai quickly retorted,

But as she said this, her face flushed an even deeper shade of red, spreading all the way to her neck. She immediately became awkward in her speech, stammering — it was clear that Hao Jian's words had hit the mark, making her feel a little embarrassed.

"Haha..." Hao Jian burst into laughter.

Xiaohai suddenly stood up and thumped Hao Jian on the back, loudly saying, "Come on, let's go. You've rested enough, and you, a big guy, are lazier than me!"

Hao Jian laughed heartily and stood up. He didn't want to argue with Xiaohai; otherwise, he had plenty to say to embarrass her. But seeing her current state, he decided not to tease her any further, unsure of how she might react.

And so the matter ended. Within the next two hours before 5 PM, Hao Jian was dragged around by Xiaohai taking a series of photos. While Xiaohai didn't seem to tire, Hao Jian felt exhausted, practically collapsing from fatigue.

But luckily, even though the two hours went by neither quickly nor slowly, Hao Jian endured. When Xiaohai finally announced that the last set of photos was done, as they neared 5 PM, Hao Jian cheered for it being over, receiving a sidelong glance from Xiaohai, who asked him if he found spending time with her so hard. Startled, Hao Jian quickly waved his hand and said, "No, not at all."

During this time, Hao Jian witnessed what it means to be a girl and what a girl's nature is. For instance, a girl might struggle to open a bottle cap but could effortlessly slice an apple with one hand. She might tire out quickly after a couple of laps on the field but could shop all afternoon without a break — that is the essence of being a girl.

He finally realized why most girls who typically don't wear much makeup had arrived looking freshly made up for school gatherings today. First, for the boys in the class, and second, for taking photos.

With that thought, Hao Jian sighed, women truly are a difficult species to understand.

While taking photos with Xiaohai, they also ran into a few classmates. Though the Ancient Town was a bit large, it wasn't excessively so, and with so many classmates wandering around, it was only natural to bump into one or two. Hao Jian ran into quite a few — people who appeared perfectly normal with others, but seeing them here, it was evident they were secret couples. Upon seeing them, Hao Jian and Xiaohai both chuckled, while the other couple blushed.

Finally, at 5 PM, Hao Jian had successfully navigated through the afternoon. Overall, it hadn't been a bad day, aside from the exhausting photo session with Xiaohai at the Ancient Town. The scenery was pleasant, providing a nice change from the fast-paced urban lifestyle, offering a rare experience of slow-paced living to enjoy the Ancient Town's beauty, which was quite nice.

The plan was for everyone to meet at the inn by 5 PM and then head for the barbecue. Hao Jian got up around 4:30 PM, accompanied by Xiaohai, and made their way back to the inn, arriving just as it was about to hit 5 PM. Zhang Danlin and He Qiqi were already there. After waiting for a while, nearly everyone from the class had arrived, except for a few who weren't back yet. Li Weiwei suggested waiting a bit longer and asked Zhang Danlin to contact them.

After waiting for another ten minutes, there was still no sign of those few people, and even when Zhang Danlin tried calling, no one picked up, and none of the classmates could get in touch with them.

At this point, someone said, "Around 4 PM, I saw Zhang Wei, Ma Susu, and Cheng Wen... they mentioned they were coming back, but they haven't shown up yet. Could something have happened?"

As soon as this was mentioned, the classmates all frowned; if something had happened, it wouldn't be good. As their class advisor, it was time for Li Weiwei to voice her opinion.

It had been 5 or 6 hours since lunch, and they had spent the afternoon exploring the Ancient Town, and by now, everyone was surely very hungry. If they sent everyone to find those few, it might cause a stir; originally meant for fun, it wouldn't be good to make it a big deal. Moreover, if there was nothing wrong and they still gathered everyone to search, wouldn't it be a bit excessive?

Furthermore, if everyone went searching and they found them only to misplace one or two more in the process, then what? Though it was only 5 PM, night would fall soon while searching. Those missing might have just lost track of time. Plus, preparation was needed for the barbecue; wasting more time would delay the group's dinner.

With these considerations in mind, Li Weiwei quickly looked at Hao Jian and said to the group, "Okay, Danlin, lead everyone to the barbecue site to prepare; I'll take Hao Jian to find the missing ones and join you afterward."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Danlin nodded in agreement, saying, "Alright."

And so, Zhang Danlin led the others to the prearranged barbecue spot to prepare, while Li Weiwei and Hao Jian set off to search the Ancient Town for the three who still hadn't arrived, and whose phones they couldn't reach.

"Where do you think they went?" Li Weiwei asked Hao Jian with concern.

As the class teacher, the fact that students were missing under her watch meant a significant responsibility, and she was starting to get anxious.

Hao Jian appeared much calmer. Since they hadn't returned now, either they forgot the time and lost track due to fun, or they've encountered some trouble.

Hao Jian hoped the latter wasn't the case, because running into trouble would be a real problem.

But often that's just how things are — the more you hope something won't happen, the more likely it is to occur.