There was no one inside, so she ran to the front of the car in disbelief. She wanted to check the car plate and see if she was mistaken.
This should not be Yan Huan’s car.
However, the car plate number was hers, so was the car model. There was no mistake, this was indeed Yan Huan’s car.
Yan Huan’s car was here, but she was nowhere to be seen. There was no reason that she would leave her car here and go shopping alone. Furthermore, it was impossible that she would shop until so late without returning home. This was unlike Yan Huan, and not something she would do. She was not a kid; she was a woman with principles.
She quickly retrieved her phone and called Lu Yi, but his line remained busy even after several tries. Perhaps he was on the phone with Yan Huan.
She knocked on the window again, thinking that Yan Huan might have fallen asleep or passed out in the car. She even leaned on the car window and peered in for a long time, but there was no sign of Yan Huan.
She took her phone out again and dialed Lu Yi’s number. This time, the call went through. When she heard a solemn hello from the other side of the call, she felt relieved.
“Lu Yi, is Yan Huan home now?”
“No.” Lu Yi’s expression was grave. It was almost ten at night, but Yan Huan was still nowhere to be seen. He had looked everywhere, places she frequented, and even places she rarely visited. However, so much time had passed and he had not located her yet. She would not stray or play hide and seek with him. She was also an adult, so she would not be out having fun like this. Furthermore, she was not a playful person by nature.
She knew that she had three children at home, and that her kids could not be without their mother. There was only one explanation left, something had truly happened to her.
“Lu Yi, I found Yan Huan’s car.” Luo Lin leaned her body onto the car behind her and continued, “It’s in Linlang’s underground car park, but I don’t see her around. Besides, Yan Huan did not come into Linlang.”
“I’ll come over right now.” Lu Yi kept his phone and rushed to Linlang immediately, while Luo Lin waited for him at the underground car park.
She had no idea why the garage felt so chilly, as if she was surrounded by ice and snow.
Soon, Lu Yi arrived. He strode towards Yan Huan’s car and stood in front of it, noticing that the car was locked and there was no one inside.
He produced a bunch of keys and pressed on one of them, unlocking the car. Everything looked normal and untouched inside, just the way its owner had left it.
He turned on the car’s dashboard camera and found that the last recording was at ten-thirty in the morning, which was around the time Yan Huan left the house. The journey would be around twenty minutes from her place to Linlang, so she would arrive at Linlang at ten-thirty. Hence, this meant that she did not stand Luo Lin up. She was always punctual, and would certainly show up if she promised so. She would only be late if something beyond her control occurred, such as traffic congestion or a broken car. Otherwise, she would never miss an appointment. It was unprecedented that she had made a promise, but did not show up and vanished for an entire day.
“I’ll check the CCTV footage.” Lu Yi closed the car door, turned, and strode away.
Luo Lin hugged herself tightly and huffed, as white mist escaped between her lips. In her eyes, the mist was an unspeakable sorrow. Yes, she was worried, anxious, and very distressed.
When they retrieved the CCTV records, Lu Yi’s expression was unprecedentedly somber. It dawned on Luo Lin that they were doomed.
Indeed, that was it. They were really doomed.
Unfortunately, Linlang carried out their routine circuit checks today. When their CCTVs finally came back online, it was already four in the afternoon. From the time the car was parked at ten-thirty in the morning, until four in the afternoon when the system became online, the recordings were completely blank. No one had any idea where Yan Huan had gone and what had happened during that period of time.
The first clip on the CCTV showed Yan Huan’s car at the exact parking spot, it was already there untouched.
Suddenly, Lu Yi slammed his palm on the table with a loud bang, startling everyone around. No one knew what had happened so far.
“Lu…”
Just as Luo Lin opened her mouth, Lu Yi turned to leave. The wind from the edge of his shirt as he turned felt dreary and icy, it made Luo Lin shiver unconsciously.
It was truly freezing.
She did not disclose the news of Yan Huan’s disappearance to anyone. If it got out, it would be highly problematic, as many rumors and gossip would emerge from it.
No one could be loved by everyone like a priceless gold ingot. Yan Huan’s reputation was quite decent, yet she had been abducted. She did not even have any enemies, but if someone used this as tabloid fodder, Yan Huan’s career would be utterly ruined. Even with the Lu family’s backing, Yan Huan’s reputation would surely not remain unscathed.
Furthermore, they were not certain that something had happened to Yan Huan yet. Perhaps, there were other explanations. Luo Lin sincerely hoped it was the latter.
Lu Yi went to Lei Qingyi’s house first, but he returned empty-handed. Yan Huan had gone missing for only twelve hours, and no one knew where to start searching. Lei Qingyi could not come up with other viable solutions either, so they could only wait for now. Maybe, Yan Huan would come home at dawn.
They were all hoping that maybe Yan Huan would come home eventually. It was a probability, but would it come true? Would this really be the case for Yan Huan?
No one knew.
When Lu Yi got home, Ye Shuyun was still carrying Xunxun around in the living room.
“How was it? Did you find her?” Ye Shuyun hurried over to Lu Yi, asking, “What happened? Where is she?”
Lu Yi extended his arms and took his daughter from Ye Shuyun. He did not speak and merely kept his silence, but his eyes were bloodshot. Xunxun’s eyes were swollen from crying, her long eyelashes were still damp with tears. Her wet lashes were so heavy it was pressing on her eyes and keeping them closed. The little girl was still sniffling occasionally.
Because she wanted her mother.
Because she could no longer find her mother.
Lu Yi pressed his face against his daughter’s petite face, having no idea what to do now. Even though he seemed composed and calm, he was actually out of his wits. Even the blue veins on the back of his hand would pop up involuntarily in distress.
