Chapter 1114: Perplexed and Smitten (174)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
She teared up uncontrollably while fiddling with her fingers.
After sitting on the couch for a while, she zoomed upstairs before zooming back down soon after.
Knowing that there were people at home to watch her, she dared not go out of the house. Hence, she got inside a servant’s van stealthily and squatted in the back seat. Two hours later, the servant finally drove the van out of the gate.
The van soon traveled farther and farther away from the Shi family mansion. Shi Bao’er looked out of the window, only to discover that she no longer recognized her surroundings or knew where she was.
After driving on the roads for more than twenty minutes, the servant pulled up outside a door and alighted. Shi Bao’er took the chance to get out of the car and began walking on the unfamiliar streets with her small purse.
Shi Bao’er was already seven years old, and all she wanted to do now was to go to a place where her father could not find her.
But where could she go now?
After some thought, she decided to go to the amusement park.
However, she had no idea where the amusement park was and how to get there. After racking her brains, she decided to ask a female passerby for directions. “Auntie, do you know where the amusement park is?”
“The amusement park… you may continue walking straight on this road, but it’s a little far from here. Little girl, why are you alone? It’s very dangerous for you to be out here on your own. What are your parents’ mobile numbers? I’ll give them a call.”
“It’s okay, no need for that… my Mommy is right there. She wanted me to ask for directions,” Shi Bao’re refused, pointing at a random woman at the bus stop.
“Oh, I see. In that case, tell your mommy that the amusement park is near Ben Yang District. There’s a huge amusement park there.”
She nodded and began walking toward the bus stop. After the female passerby left, Shi Bao’er asked a man who was waiting for the bus, “Uncle, which bus should I take if I want to get to Ben Yang District?”
“There are no buses here that go to Ben Yang District.”
Shi Bao’er found it a great hassle to get to the amusement park. She trod along the sidewalk and stopped to take a break at the bench when she felt like her legs were about to give way.
At last, she decided not to continue walking, perhaps because she felt like there was no way to get to the amusement park on her own. Thus, she sat on the bench alone and spaced out while staring at the passing cars and pedestrians.
Shi Bao’er remained seated for the entire afternoon, all the way until five o’clock when she decided that she needed to get up. At this moment, an elderly lady who appeared to be in her fifties sat down beside Shi Bao’er together with her granddaughter.
The granddaughter was about the same age as Shi Bao’er and was wearing a pretty dress. She offered Shi Bao’er two of the lollipops that she was holding and said, “Sister, have some too.”
Shi Bao’er accepted it since she had nothing else to do anyway.
The elderly lady said with a smile, “Miss, why are you here all by yourself? Hurry and go home, your parents will be worried sick about you.”
Shi Bao’er glanced at her and found her to be rather personable and friendly. She then answered, “Exactly, I want them to be worried.”
“Do you want me to send you home?”
“It’s alright, Granny, I don’t plan to go home right now.”
“Would you like to come to my house to play, then?”
Thinking that she had nowhere else to go anyway, Shi Bao’er agreed with a nod, “Sure.”
The elderly held onto her granddaughter and Shi Bao’er’s hands and walked away from the bench.
….
One of the servants was the first person who discovered that Shi Bao’er had gone missing. When the servant tried to call Shi Bao’er to come out for dinner, she discovered that there was no response from the latter and thus decided to look for her. However, she was nowhere to be found.
Finally, the butler, Uncle Lin, decided to check the surveillance camera footages and discovered that Shi Bao’er had sneaked into one of the vans, which transported her out of the mansion.
After some investigation, they deduced that Shi Bao’er had sneaked out on her own to an unknown place.
The butler called Shi Shaochuan to inform him about the incident. Shi Shaochuan was at a bar at the time, and he immediately called Jin Qingyue the moment he heard the news.
“Is Bao’er at your place?”
“Bao’er? Of course not, she’s been living with you all along. You didn’t take her to me anyway. Don’t tell me she had gone missing?”
“Bao’er had sneaked out of my house to go out to play. She’s missing.”
“What? Shi Shaochuan, you call yourself her father?!” Jin Qingyue snapped angrily.
“Jin Qingyue, how dare you have the cheek to criticize me when you’re just as irresponsible? You may have left her in my car and given me the rights to her full custody, but does that mean you can just enjoy your own life after paying a small sum of alimony? You’re partly to blame now that she’s gone missing!”
“Where are you now?” Jin Qingyue asked.
“South Coast Road.”
“Hurry and go to the nearest police station. I’ll rush there too.”
Jin Qingyue ended the call and immediately changed out of her home maternity wear before rushing out of the house.
Since Ling Ciye was not home, she had no choice but to drive to the police station on her own.
She arrived at almost the same time that Shi Shaochuan did.
“Hey… why didn’t you gain any weight? When you were pregnant with Bao’er, you were as fat as a pig.”
Jin Qingyue scoffed and said, “Shi Shaochuan, how are you still in the mood to make such comments now that Bao’er has gone missing?”
She walked past him and strode toward the lobby. Shi Shaochuan hurriedly followed after her and sneered, “Why isn’t your husband here with you? Indeed, she’s not his biological daughter. He obviously wouldn’t bother coming.”
Jin Qingyue gave him the side-eye and said, “He’s abroad now and I didn’t tell him about this. Don’t misunderstand others and view them in a negative light just because you harbor ill intentions yourself. Do you really think everyone is just like you?”
“Look how smug you are now that someone is willing to accept the secondhand good that you are. Ling Ciye really has poor taste in women.”
“Who are you to comment about my taste in women? Who do you think you are?” a voice said coldly all of a sudden, coming from behind them. Jin Qingyue turned around in surprise and made eye contact with a familiar pair of eyes. She was surprised that he had arrived without warning, for it was not his usual habit to do so. He would usually inform her of his return beforehand whenever he goes abroad.
However, she was not surprised that he had managed to find her because she was wearing a GPS tracking device as well.
“Didn’t you say that you didn’t tell him about it? How did he know that you’re here, then? You can’t even tell a lie properly,” Shi Shaochuan butted in.
Ling Ciye scowled at him and sneered, “No wonder you’ve managed to ruin your family’s business. Don’t you know that GPS trackers exist in this world?”
He then held onto Jin Qingyue’s hand and asked, “Why are you at the police station?”
“Bao’er sneaked out of the house on her own and has gone missing.”
Ling Ciye pulled Jin Qingyue into the police station without another word.
After exiting the police station, Ling Ciye called his subordinates and instructed them to drive Jin Qingyue’s car back while he drove Jin Qingyue away from the police station in his own car.
Shi Shaochuan had no idea where they were headed to. He wanted to search for Shi Bao’er immediately but had no clue how to begin.
At last, he had no choice but to return to the Shi family mansion and vent all his anger on the servants.
….
Shi Bao’er was found at eleven o’clock at night.
Jin Qingyue broke down into tears the moment she saw Shi Bao’er, whose face was swollen and whose hair was unkempt. However, she still kept her chin up and stared at Jin Qingyue.