Qiao Nian had been holding her phone with one hand the entire time. When she heard his words, she changed her posture but still looked very casual. “We’ll see.”
Aunt Chen had yet to reply to her message. She didn’t know if it was because she wasn’t looking at her phone or something else. She had to go to the hospital to take a look first.
“That’s all for now. I’ll talk to you when I get back.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Liang Bowen walking over with his luggage. Qiao Nian lowered her eyes and spoke to the person on the other end of the line.
“Okay, see you tomorrow.” Ye Wangchuan’s voice was clear, and he sounded like he was in a good mood.
Qiao Nian was inexplicably frustrated by his teasing. She changed her posture and held her phone, then pursed her lips and hung up.
The moment she hung up, the person dragging her luggage behind her had already jogged in front of her. Panting heavily, he said in embarrassment, “Sister Nian, you’ve waited long. I’ve got your luggage. Let’s go.”
When Qiao Nian was buying mineral water, she had also bought a bottle for him. She took out the bottle from her bag and threw it at him. Then, she raised her eyes and said rather aggressively, “Don’t be in such a hurry. Drink some water first.”
Liang Bowen caught the water bottle quickly and looked down. He remembered that every bottle from this brand cost 60 yuan. This brand was termed the Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the world of mineral water. No one had bought a bottle at the airport for almost a month, but Sister Nian had thrown one to him.
His family background wasn’t bad, and although it couldn’t compare to Ye Wangchuan’s, it was much better than an ordinary family. Liang Bowen hadn’t been short of pocket money since he was young and could afford this brand of mineral water himself. But since Qiao Nian had bought it for him, he didn’t stand on ceremony. He unscrewed the cap and gulped down half the bottle. Finally, the heat from running was suppressed. He took a deep breath and steadied his breathing before closing the cap. Then, he looked up at her and asked, “Sister Nian, there’s no news of Chen Yuan yet?”
He thought about it and said, “I just called him when I was waiting for the luggage. His phone is still switched off. I asked the class again, and everyone said that Chen Yuan hasn’t gone to school yet. Shen Qingqing and the others plan to go to the place where his mother set up her stall tonight to see if he’s there…”
Ever since Qiao Nian transferred to Class A, everyone had experienced many things together. They were united and had a sense of honor as a group.
When the class heard that Chen Yuan had disappeared, they spontaneously thought of ways to find him. However, they were still in class, so they could only worry. Shen Qingqing thought about it and wanted to go to the place where Chen Yuan’s mother set up her stall. He had the same idea to go to the places where Chen Yuan usually went. This way, the chances of finding him were much higher.
“Other than helping his mother set up her stall, he usually goes to the Xinhua Bookstore in the city. After I go back and put the luggage away, I’ll go to the store to look for him…” Liang Bowen arranged an area for himself and said energetically.
Qiao Nian didn’t comment on the way they thought of going to the usual places to look for him and agreed.
Liang Bowen thought about it and looked at her again, asking worriedly, “Sister Nian, what are your plans? Why don’t you come with me to the bookstore to take a look?”
“I… Wait a minute.” Qiao Nian was about to say that she was going to the hospital when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Yuan Yongqin’s international number. She raised her hand and told Liang Bowen before walking to the side to take the call.
“Hello, Aunt Yuan.”
“Nian Nian, I’ve found out about your classmate from the police station. He’s at the Wangjiang Road police station. I heard he committed a crime…”
Silence ensued for a moment.
The news that Chen Yuan was at the police station was beyond Qiao Nian’s expectations, and a rare look of surprise appeared on her face. She lowered her eyebrows and asked in a hoarse voice, “Police station?”
