After that, he hadn’t fallen in love with studying, but he had fallen for a silly girl. He stopped hanging out outside and instead stayed home to study conscientiously. He wanted to enter the same university as her.
Liang Bowen snapped out of his daze and saw Qiao Nian frowning as she scrolled through her contacts. He asked, “Sister Nian, don’t be too worried, I don’t think Chen Yuan is someone who’s caught up in complicated stuff. He probably just wasn’t on his cell phone when they made the call, so he missed it.”
Qiao Nian continued scrolling until she found Chen Yuan’s number, then gave it a call.
“Beep, beep…”
The first time, it got through and rang a few times, but no one answered the call.
She tried again.
This time, it went straight to voicemail. The cell phone was off.
The recorded female voice could be heard. “Sorry, the number you’ve reached is not available. We will be informing the user of this call via text message, please…”
Qiao Nian hung up, and her expression darkened.
Liang Bowen was right beside her and saw what had happened; the call got through the first time but not the second. He was stunned for a moment and asked in concern, “Oh no, could something really have happened?”
Qiao Nian was washed over with a bad feeling. She was tapping away at her screen, wondering whether to send Aunt Chen a message to ask about it.
Her cell phone suddenly started vibrating.
It was a call from Aunt Chen.
Qiao Nian raised a brow.
She didn’t feel so good.
She headed towards a corner to pick up the call. Her voice was hoarse as she answered, “Hello, Aunt.”
“Nian Nian, are you in Rao City?” Aunt Chen sounded anxious. It was obvious that she was at a loss. “Chen Yuan is missing.”
Qiao Nian knew it. But hearing her say it aloud, her heart still sank. She slowed down her speech as she said, “Don’t be too anxious, tell me slowly—how did Chen Yuan go missing?”
Aunt Chen told her everything she knew.
It wasn’t anything much, actually. The previous night, Chen Yuan had helped out at her stall after school. The gangsters who’d come before came looking for them again. In order to stop them from causing trouble there, Chen Yuan had gone with them. Before leaving, he’d told her that he was just going to chat with some friends and would be back soon. But Chen Yuan did not return even when she’d closed for the day.
She called Chen Yuan, but he kept telling her that he was fine and that she did not have to worry. He said he would be back soon.
It was only when she called him and was met with a recorded message did she start panicking.
They didn’t know anyone in Rao City. Besides He Yujuan, they only knew Qiao Nian. Qiao Nian had always been exceptionally calm and mature compared to peers her age, and had acted as a reliable pillar of emotional support for her. As such, her first reaction was always to inform Qiao Nian whenever something happened.
It wasn’t that she wanted Qiao Nian to solve problems for her. It was more so that she needed to talk to someone about it to calm herself down slightly.
Aunt Chen was extremely flustered now. Her husband had been bedridden for years now and her son had suddenly gone missing. Anyone in this situation would be lost and anxious, too. She asked Qiao Nian, “Nian Nian, do you think Chen Yuan is up to something with those people?”
Chen Yuan had a bad track record. He’d given up his studies to join the gangs in the past.
If it weren’t for Qiao Nian getting him back on track, he’d still be out and about.
Aunt Chen’s first thought was that he was going back to his old ways. She thought that he was going to give up studying again and continue messing around outside.
Qiao Nian replied without hesitation, “No. He said he’d make it to a good university.”
“Then, he…”
Aunt Chen was getting increasingly worried. Her mind was a fog now, and she simply couldn’t figure out where Chen Yuan could have gone.
