Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was not very crowded in the hospital since it was evening.
The nurse went all the way down and searched for Huo Yao in the hospital lobby but to no avail. She hurried to the hospital entrance, yet there was still no sign of Huo Yao. After standing at the entrance for a while, she walked back upstairs with her shoulders slumped.
**
Huo Yao had already gotten onto a taxi and was heading towards her grandmother’s apartment.
She was gazing out of the car’s window. Her usually calm and expressionless face had disappeared and was replaced by a mature look beyond her tender age.
Huo Yao took out her phone and called her grandmother’s phone again, but all she got was the same cold automated reply that her phone was off.
She should have noticed that something was amiss with her grandmother yesterday.
Huo Yao’s expression turned even darker as she rubbed her fingers against her forehead.
Twenty minutes later, the cab pulled over at the estate’s entrance. Huo Yao walked briskly into the estate after she paid the cab fare. When she arrived upstairs, she pressed the doorbell.
Before long, an unacquainted middle-aged woman opened the door.
“Who are you looking for?” asked the middle-aged woman as she looked at Huo Yao quizzically.
She was the nanny whom He Xiaoman hired to take care of Yang Qiuhua and had never laid eyes on Huo Yao before.
Huo Yao frowned and asked her. “Is Old Madam Yang home?”
The nanny instantly asked her in return. “Are you looking for Old Madam Yang?”
“Yes. Is she at home?” asked Huo Yao patiently.
The nanny scrutinized Huo Yao. Although she did not know who Huo Yao was, she replied courteously. “Old Madam Yang was hospitalized recently. But… who are you? Why are you looking for her?”
Huo Yao did not bother to answer her question. Instead, she quizzed the nanny again. “Is she really not at home?”
“Eh… why would I lie? I already told you that Old Madam Yang is hospitalized. Why don’t you call her and check with her?” said the nanny with a puzzled look on her face.
Huo Yao’s heart sank since the nanny did not seem to be lying. Without uttering another word, she turned to leave.
The nanny was stunned. After Huo Yao disappeared into the lift, she gathered her thoughts and shut the door as she muttered. “Who on earth was that?”
Moments later, the nanny remained bewildered. The more she thought about it, the more she found it odd. Then she hurried into the living room to pick up the landline and made a call.
At the Lu family villa.
Shortly after He Xiaoman answered the nanny’s call, she repeated what the nanny said, “Did a young woman come looking for Mom?”
“Yes, Madam. She wouldn’t tell me who she was, but she seemed rather anxious, and I wonder if something has happened,” said the nanny after she described the situation in detail.
He Xiaoman frowned and continued. “Was she very tall, pretty, and appeared like a student?”
“Yes, Madam.”
He Xiaoman’s eyes slightly narrowed and she said, “Sure. Okay.”
After hanging up the phone, He Xiaoman crossed her arms across her chest and thought about it.
He Xiaoman was certain that the person, whom the nanny was talking about, was Huo Yao. The problem was, why did she suddenly go to the apartment looking for Old Madam Yang?
Did she not already know Old Madam Yang was hospitalized?
Lu Xia came downstairs after changing into homewear. When she saw the strange expression on her mother’s face, she went over to sit beside her and asked her gently. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
He Xiaoman told Lu Xia right away without any preamble. “The nanny who takes care of your grandmother called to say that Huo Yao went to her apartment.”
