Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhuang Nainai had not gone anywhere on the afternoon that she had a fallout with Ding Mengya.
Feeling anxious, she returned to her tiny house listlessly.
When she was facing Ding Mengya, she had refuted her furiously and fearlessly. However, at home, as she recalled Ding Mengya’s ostentation when she appeared and those bodyguards, who were wearing black suits and sunglasses and obviously well trained, fear began to creep in.
Wanting to rant to Mother Zhuang about her conflicting feelings, she simply waited in the living room lifelessly and did not even eat lunch.
At that time, Zhuang Nainai was just an 18-year-old child. Despite her poverty, she had not yet experienced the dark side of humanity, other than in school.
On that hot summer day, she was alone in that stuffy and warm house and her cold sweat was forming profusely.
The time had slowly slipped from 2 pm to 6 pm.
She started to walk towards the window and peered out of it every now and then.
Mother Zhuang would end work at 5:30 pm and be home by 6 pm to prepare dinner for her every day, but today…
6:05 pm…
6:10 pm…
At 6:30 pm, she was still not back yet.
Zhuang Nainai’s hands and feet began to turn cold, and she was panicking unknowingly.
When she thought of what Ding Mengya had said, she became anxious and picked up her phone to call her mother repeatedly.
However, none of the calls were answered!
7 pm.
Zhuang Nainai could not sit still anymore, so she went out to look for Mother Zhuang.
The sky was still bright at 7 pm in the summer. The shouts and yells of the small business owners outside overlapped one another. However, in the midst of this chaos, Zhuang Nainai seemed like she could hear nothing.
Mother was working at a cleaning company near their home. It only took 30 minutes to walk there.
When she reached the company, all the workers had ended work and left, so only the security uncle was standing there.
The security uncle knew Zhuang Nainai well. Ever since she started attending kindergarten, after her school ended at 4:30 pm, she would come here to play while waiting for her mother to come back after cleaning the streets, and they’d leave work together.
Therefore, when the uncle saw her, he immediately waved at her smilingly. Then, he took out an orange and passed it to her. “Nainai~, why are you here at this time?”
Zhuang Nainai looked inside the company building and realized that it was empty, signifying that everyone had left.
Zhuang Nainai asked, “Uncle, where’s my mother? Has she left?”
The uncle answered, “She left a long time ago at 5:30 pm. I saw her chatting happily with someone when she left!”
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Nainai was shocked. “But she still has not return home!”
The uncle laughed. “Maybe she went to buy groceries? She’s an adult, so she won’t be lost. Don’t panic and go home first. She might have gone home already.”
Zhuang Nainai could only suppress her anxiety and sprint home.
However, when she returned home, there was still not a single soul in the house.
Just when she was about to call Mother Zhuang after taking out her phone, it rang. The call was from her mother. Feeling like a huge boulder had been lifted from her chest, she heaved a deep sigh of relief.
She answered the call. “Mother, where are you? Why are you still not back yet?”
However, a detached voice was heard from the other end. “Is this Ms. Zhuang Nainai?”
Zhuang Nainai’s heart sank, and her voice started to tremble inexplicably as she answered, “Yes.”
“Hello, I am a police officer from the Balizhuang Police Sub-Bureau. Your mother was in a car accident, and she is currently at Shougang Hospital. Can you come over now?”
Zhuang Nainai could not believe what she had just heard.
