Chapter Fifty-two: Searching for Someone

  This night I lay on the empty big bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Yu Xi didn't come back all night, and I stared blankly with my eyes open all night. The latest free chapter of this book is available at [website]. The moonlight was quiet, the moonbeams spilled into the room, the white light was like frost, but I didn't have the mood of poet Li Bai. Watching the sky outside the window gradually brighten up, the unbearable night finally passed.

  Although mom said I should think about it myself last night, she didn't take back her words about locking me at home. To be on the safe side, I could only sneak out early while they were still asleep.

  I've been entangled all night, and whether Yu has any special relationship with Xiao Ran is no longer within my consideration. What worries me most now is Ruoxi. For the first time, she disappeared without a word, and I called her phone every half hour at night, but it was always turned off. The same goes for Jidong. These two people are in a bad mood and not in good shape, and I'm really worried that they'll get into trouble. Several times, I wanted to get out of bed directly, take the tools and go out to find them, but I was afraid that my disheartened appearance would probably not even be able to protect myself. I had a glimmer of hope: two people together should be fine, anyway, it's much better than me licking my wounds alone.

  Glancing at the clock on the wall, it's not yet five o'clock, plenty of time. I tiptoed to the door and slowly opened it, there was no noise outside, I quickly ran to the entrance, carefully turned the lock, and slowly opened it, a long "creak" sound came out, scaring me into a cold sweat, fortunately, there was no movement inside, I picked up my shoes and went out barefoot, then quietly closed the door and rushed downstairs like flying.

  Standing at Ji Dong's door, I pressed the doorbell until my hand cramped, but no one opened the door for a long time. I changed to kicking the anti-theft door, which was as hard as copper and iron, but it didn't budge. Just then, the door behind me creaked open, and an old man with white hair slowly said: "Girl, what are you doing making so much noise so early? Stop knocking, he's not here, he didn't come back last night."

  I rushed over, grabbed the open door and panted: "Old lady! Do you know where he went?" Not at home? He eloped with Ruoxi and ran away without a trace, won't they both jump into the river together?!

  She took a small step back, waved her hand and shook her head: "I don't know! Do you have something to do? Or come in and wait?" The old lady took two more steps back, wanting me to go in, with a peaceful face. "This young man is quite good, yesterday he was supposed to help me bring medicine, but I haven't seen him all day, it seems he's not here."

  "Thank you! I'll go look for him somewhere else! Sorry to bother you!" I nodded and smiled, gently closed the door, and slowly went downstairs.

  Ruoxi and Ji Dong are together, but they're not at Ji Dong's house. Where else could they be? Could it be in Ruoxi's old house?

  Locking onto the target, I immediately took off again, intercepting a taxi at the entrance of the residential area. After reporting my destination, the driver stepped on the gas and sped out of the neighborhood, seemingly infected by my anxious and flustered appearance. The road was wide and there were few cars early in the morning, so it didn't take long to arrive at a run-down old residential area known as the "slum".

  The old tile-roofed house, which can be called an "antique", has a lush greenery under its eaves. The orange brick wall is covered with large patches of ivy, and many three-story buildings that have been uninhabited for years are tightly wrapped in this ubiquitous green plant. The old wooden windows are wide open, the glass shattered into several pieces, as if they might fall off at any moment. A dark, damp moldy smell wafts through the alleyway, clothes still dripping with water hang from the iron wire above, and a dead stinky ditch by the side of the bluestone road emits a nauseating putrid odor.

  This is where Ruoxi lived for 19 years, "home". I don't remember how long it's been since I came here, and I don't know when this place became completely dilapidated, almost uninhabitable. The last time I came, the house was old, but at least not like this - a complete danger zone!

  I recalled the luxurious European-style villa of Ruyu's family, and thought that although my own family was not wealthy, it was not impoverished either. Looking at this row of dilapidated buildings devoid of vitality, I gained a deeper understanding of what "fairness" truly means.

  Some people can enjoy a luxurious life, drinking high-end red wine and pursuing spiritual pleasure after being full. While others are still struggling to survive below the poverty line... This world is not fair from the beginning, and life is constantly teaching us to learn to accept unfairness with a smile. I understand as clearly as a stream that no matter whether you are a student, a white-collar worker, or an entrepreneur, unless you are Jesus, God, or Buddha, who are at the level of gods, everyone will inevitably suffer from class treatment. Therefore, there is the so-called: the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer.

  With the few visiting memories, I finally found Ruoxi's home after a long and winding journey. This brick house was still inhabited by several families, and the roof was relatively good, not completely occupied by ivy.

  A thin layer of dust on the rugged wooden door was lifted by my forceful knock, and it floated in the golden light as if it had life.

  "Ruoxi! Ruoxi! Are you there?" I shouted at the top of my lungs, tiny particles entering my mouth, making my throat itch.

  The wooden door was always asleep, and there was a faint layer of dust on the keyhole and handle.

  It seems they're not here either, so where else would they go?

  The two phones continued to ring, and the voice on the other end was still a stiff, robotic female voice: The number you dialed is currently unavailable...

  I glared at the phone, wanting to smash it to pieces, but I restrained myself and put it back in my pocket. What if they called and I couldn't answer? I'd be dead from smashing into the phone.

  If it's not here, then change places. It will definitely be somewhere in this small town, and it can't just disappear out of thin air, right? Let me think about where they might have gone, maybe I missed some important clue.

  While thinking, I started taking action, worrying about their safety, my brain wasn't working very well either. Maybe when I walked to a certain place, I would naturally find them. Sometimes when you're looking for something, no matter how hard you think, it won't appear, but when you stop caring, it comes out on its own. Is finding people also the same principle?

  Along the river, schools, parks and streets, all possible places, even turning over the entire city, still no trace of them was found. Have they gone home? Impossible! If they went back, shouldn't they report peace to me? They must still be somewhere in the city, did I miss somewhere? Think again...

  "Gee! Last night's car accident was really frightening! I happened to be crossing the road, if I had taken one more step, it would have been me who got hit!"

  "Oh! Is that it? I heard that a couple was crushed to death by it! Are they really a couple? Is it true?"

  "Couples quarrel, I don't know what's going on, just for a moment... Tsk! Right under my nose, can it be fake? My heart is almost unbearable! I still have to go to the hospital for a check-up, don't leave me with any psychological trauma!"

  My gaze stopped at the two young women in black professional attire standing next to me, one of whom was tall and clutched her chest with a look of relief, while the other patted her shoulder and comforted her in a soft voice. My ears were filled with their conversation, my mind buzzing as if I had been punched unexpectedly.

  Car accident! Couple! How could it be... It can't be them!

  "Who was it that you just said had the car accident? Ah?" I rushed over and grabbed his hand, my eyes wide with fear, desperately denying it in my heart, but my voice still trembling uncontrollably.

  "What are you doing?" The tall woman's face was terrified, and she took a step back cautiously. I still gripped her sleeve tightly, but realizing it wasn't right, I quickly let go.

  "Sorry! Can you tell me? The people who were in the car accident, weren't they a young couple? The boy had a dragon tattoo on his muscular arm and the girl was about my height with short hair?" I adjusted my emotions and as soon as I said that, they looked like they understood something and their faces showed a look of surprise. My heart almost stopped along with her expression.

  "Tattoos and all that, yeah, I think there were some! That guy was indeed quite sturdy, looked good, what a pity. They were pulling and tugging at each other all the way, seemed like they were having some kind of dispute, didn't pay attention and..."

  With a "bang", it was as if someone had slapped me with two big cymbals, and I instantly felt my ears ringing, my whole body trembling, a numbness spreading to my heart and lungs, and my vision gradually becoming unclear.

  How could this happen? How did they get into an accident? Ruoxi has always been the most cautious and careful, this kind of thing would never happen to her...... Is it me? Because of me! They were killed because of me, if I hadn't said those things to Ji Dong, made him lose his mind, Ruoxi wouldn't have gotten hurt, wouldn't have chased after them, they wouldn't have encountered this...