He took his mobile phone and placed it in front of him. His eyes were still sore from just waking up.
“Lingling, what’s wrong?” Yi Ling had been with Yan Huan for a very long time now. He squinted his eyes in tiredness. He was not fully awake, but he shook himself up quickly. As if he got a shot of adrenaline, he was up and going in a blink of an eye.
“Don’t panic, hold your tears. I’ll be right over.”
He put down his phone immediately and grabbed a shirt to wear. He had to look for his shoes in the mess and ran right out of the door, only to find that it was raining outside. He wanted to go back for an umbrella but worrying that he would not make it in time, he ran right into the rain instead.
It was around three o’clock after midnight and the rain was pouring heavily.
He drove speedily and from time to time his car wheels would splash water from puddles. The car’s spotlights were a little dim, and it felt cold and lonely under the storm. Whether the weather was warm or cold, the spotlights shone regardless. They seemed to be playing around with one another, attracting moths toward them again and again.
He retracted his overflowing emotions and focused on driving. After half an hour, he arrived in front of the hospital and hurried inside.
Pushing through the doors, he saw that the once quiet patient room was almost brimming with people.
Once Yi Ling saw him, she ran over and hugged him immediately. She was already breathless from crying.
“Qingyi, what should I do? Huanhuan is missing, I’ve lost her. How could I be so stupid, how could I be sleeping? How could I have lost Huanhuan? How can I face her mother, how can I face Lu Yi, how can I ever face myself now?”
“Don’t cry.” Lei Qingyi patted Yi Ling’s back in a comforting manner while his gaze fell on the empty sickbed before looking up at the solemn expressions of the people standing around.
Everyone looked grave and worried.
It was just hard to comprehend how she could have left. She could not have disappeared into thin air or been carried away. The only possibility was that she walked out herself. But how would that be possible? She had been unconscious for more than a month. Even if she had woken up suddenly, she would not have just vanished like that.
He led Yi Ling to sit as he asked the nurse, “Does the hospital have security cameras?”
The nurse nodded, “Yes we do.”
“Bring me to the security room so I can investigate it.”
Lei Qingyi opened the door to leave, but the nurse hesitated, “How can it be investigated?”
Lei Qingyi retrieved his identification from his pocket, “I am the head of Sea City’s National Security Department. I have the authority to investigate this.”
“Let me check with the dean.” The nurse ran out quickly to look for the hospital’s dean. After a while, the dean came over and accompanied Lei Qingyi into the security room.
After they retrieved all the security tapes, they went through the tapes bit by bit. It was like reliving the past and remembering memories.
“Pause right here.”
Lei Qingyi gave the order and pointed at the top corner of the computer screen. In the scene on the computer, a long-haired woman was walking out of the hospital. It was unmistakably Yan Huan.
Yan Huan was conscious, but she had left on her own accord. Where could she have gone?
Lei Qingyi did not dare imagine where a patient like her could go. The security camera footage stopped at the hospital gate. They only knew that she had walked right ahead along the road.
Lei Qingyi took out his mobile phone and ordered investigations on all the security cameras nearby. He had to find out where she went.
Ye Shuyun, Lu Jin and the Ye family arrived not long after.
“Qingyi, where in the world is our Huanhuan?”
Ye Shuyun had cried all the way there. She should not have gone back today, she should have stayed with her. It had just been seven days since her son’s passing. Was Huanhuan going to leave her parents alone too?
“Aunt, don’t be so anxious first.” Lei Qingyi felt like he was tied up with so many things at that moment.
“Yan Huan left by herself, no one abducted her.”
“By herself?” Ye Shuyun’s eyes widened, “You mean Huanhuan woke up and left alone.”
“Yes.” Lei Qingyi nodded and replied confidently, “From the security cameras, that seems to be the case.”
“But how was she able to leave? Where is she now? It’s raining so heavily outside…”
Lei Qingyi had no answers to all these questions. How would he have known where Yan Huan went, how would he have known where she was right now? No one had expected that she would wake up all of a sudden and left mysteriously after she gained consciousness. No one would know her exact location now.
What worried Lei Qingyi the most was that Yan Huan could seek death herself.
So, he had secretly ordered men to check by the Sea River.
The raindrops splattered randomly on the glass windows as the rain pitter-pattered occasionally. It showed how heavy the rain was outside. With a loud crash, a gust of wind blew the window open. Cold air and rain fell on them.
Involuntarily, Lei Qingyi shuddered.
So cold.
It is indeed cold.
Where on earth would Yan Huan have gone, dressed in her thin patient’s gown?
No one could sit still now. Lei Qingyi wanted everyone to remain and wait for news, but no one could wait even for a second. A few people started driving around to look for her. Meanwhile, Lei Qingyi had sent quite a number of men around to review the security cameras of various places but even after some time, they returned without much findings. They only knew that Yan Huan had left the hospital and crossed a few crossroads. But no one knew which direction she had picked as there was no further news or sightings of her after that.
The security feed from the Sea River had been retrieved too. Up until now, there was no sign of Yan Huan. So, it was confirmed that she did not go to the Sea River. This made Lei Qingyi sigh in relief.
But it was only one sigh of relief, because the Sea River was where Yan Huan was most likely to appear. The river was not any other place, it was the turning point of her life. Her life and death started from the river.
Usually when people encountered incidents like that, the Sea River would naturally be the first place they would think of.
Of course, it was possible that she might have other plans. But it was also possible that she would return to the Sea River eventually.
Lei Qingyi revisited all the places he could think of. He even went along the road she had walked by. He searched for her meticulously, not missing any blind spots. This was the Sea City, even after midnight there were still all sorts of cars around, and there were a number of moving vehicles around the major roads. Even on a rainy night like this, the traffic did not stop.
