Martial arts have become extinct worldwide, yet I am forced to have a large family.

"Have you looked for it?"

Liu Qin's voice trailed off.

"We've already sent people out!" Teacher Zhong said hurriedly. "We're searching both inside and outside the school; we should have news soon."

Just as Liu Qin was about to speak, Teacher Zhong's cell phone suddenly rang.

He quickly answered the call.

"Feed? Found it? Where?"

After hearing what was said on the other end of the phone, Teacher Zhong's expression changed several times before she turned to look at Liu Qin.

"Chief, we've spotted Liu Ruyu outside the academy."

Where is Yang Xian?

"...There's no news yet. Only Liu Ruyu is involved."

"Take me there!" Liu Qin grabbed the car keys from the table and strode out.

"She definitely knows where Yang Xian is!"

------

The outer wall of the college.

When Liu Qin arrived, five or six teachers had already gathered around the scene.

They looked at each other, their expressions varied, but they had one thing in common—none of them dared to step forward.

"What's going on?" Liu Qin asked a female teacher next to her in a low voice.

"Student Liu... she's not cooperating. She won't say anything no matter what we ask, and she won't leave even when we try to persuade her to go back." The female teacher smiled bitterly.

Another male teacher added quietly, "We can't really force her, after all, she's your daughter..."

Liu Qin did not ask any further questions.

My gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the figure at the base of the wall.

Liu Ruyu curled up there, her arms wrapped around her knees, her face buried in her arms.

"I won't tell!"

"I will not reveal Yang Xian's information to any of you!"

"I'd rather die!"

Her voice came through the gap in her arms.

With a nasal tone and a sobbing voice, but incredibly stubborn.

As Liu Qin watched this scene, she felt as if something had gripped her chest tightly.

Because of this girl who curled up into a ball...

And the little girl who waited for her to come home ten years ago...

The figures miraculously overlapped.

"I'll go over there!"

Liu Qin waved her hand, signaling the surrounding teachers to step back, then quickly walked forward and squatted down in front of Liu Ruyu.

"Like jade..."

She softened her voice.

"Ruyu, are you alright?"

The girl's shoulders trembled slightly.

Then, she lowered her head even further.

She didn't even call him "Mom".

Liu Qin reached out to touch her daughter's hair, but her hand paused in mid-air.

She pulled it back and gently placed it on her knees instead.

"Ruyu, tell your mother honestly, where did Yang Xian go?"

silence.

"He's out there alone now, and we're all very worried about his safety."

Still, silence.

Liu Qin waited for a full ten seconds, her heart pounding with anxiety.

But the guilt she felt towards her daughter prevented her from getting angry no matter what.

Liu Qin gently placed her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Ruyu, shall we leave here first? We can talk about it when we get home."

The next second, Liu Ruyu abruptly shook off her hand: "I'm not leaving!"

She finally raised her head.

Her eyes were red, and there were obvious tear stains under her eyes.

"I'll wait for him to come back here!"

"He will definitely come back here to find me!"

Liu Qin paused for a moment.

The teachers nearby exchanged glances, gleaning at least one key piece of information from that statement—

Yang Xian should not be in danger.

He left voluntarily.

Moreover, he had promised Liu Ruyu that he would come back.

"Ruyu..." Liuqin spoke again, her tone more urgent than before.

"Yang Xian might be in danger right now. By not revealing his whereabouts, you're actually putting him at risk. Do you realize that?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyu's expression wavered.

She bit her lip, her eyes flickering.

But in the end, he shook his head.

"I have no idea."

Liu Qin's patience finally reached its limit: "Liu Ruyu, can't you stop making a scene?!"

"I already said I don't know! I don't know anything!" Liu Ruyu's voice suddenly rose, and tears welled up again:

"He didn't tell me where he was going!"

He just said he had an emergency! Then he disappeared!

"I really don't know anything!!!"

After shouting that last sentence, Liu Ruyu looked directly into her mother's eyes without any hesitation.

Those eyes, which usually exuded rebelliousness and unruliness, were now brimming with tears.

His shoulders trembled violently due to his emotional state.

Liu Qin opened her mouth, but the sound got stuck in her throat.

Looking into her daughter's red eyes, she finally understood.

Ruyu genuinely didn't know.

This isn't me being stubborn with myself.

It wasn't that they were deliberately protecting Yang Xian.

She really doesn't know.

Liu Qin exhaled heavily, forcing herself to calm down.

"Okay, Mom believes you."

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind.

"Chief! We've found it!"

Teacher Zhong ran over, holding a tablet in her hand:

"These are some surveillance videos that were just sent by higher-ups in the government."

"After leaving the academy, Yang Xian went directly to the city gate by car."

"What?!" Liu Qin exclaimed in shock.

Heading towards the city gate?

What was he doing outside the city?

Could it be that Yang Xian is planning to secretly run back to Nanhai City?

But he said he wouldn't abandon me...

It's no wonder Liu Qin had this idea.

After all, she couldn't think of any other reason why Yang Xian could leave the city.

Liu Qin looked dazed for a moment and almost lost her balance.

Did I really misjudge him?

"impossible!!"

Liu Ruyu suddenly stood up, her reaction far more intense than Liu Qin's.

"Yang Xian promised me!"

He said he'd come back to me after he finished his urgent business! How could he possibly run off alone!

The girl suddenly turned her head, staring intently at Liu Qin, her eyes filled with hostility: "You did this, didn't you!"

"Ruyu, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"I'm not lying!" Liu Ruyu took a step closer.

"You've never liked me interacting with other guys!"

"You saw me getting close to Yang Xian, so you want to break us up!"

"You deliberately hired so many people to put on this show for me! You just want me to give up! You want me to think he abandoned me!"

"Is that right!"

Liu Ruyu screamed hysterically.

She vented all the resentment, grievances, and fear of Yang Xian's departure that she had accumulated over the years.

The teachers around looked at each other in bewilderment.

The scene became very awkward.

"I'll go find him right now!"

"No matter where you hide Yang Xian, I will find him!"

Liu Ruyu suddenly stood up and rudely pushed aside the two female teachers blocking her way.

The tear stains at the corners of his eyes had not yet dried, but his gaze was very firm.

She only had one thought in her mind right now.

That means finding Yang Xian!

Even if you search the entire Star City!

And at that very moment...

"I'm sorry I'm late."

A familiar voice suddenly rang out from the periphery of the crowd.

Liu Ruyu looked up and suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Everyone turned to look at the same time.

Yang Xian was seen holding his knee with one hand, panting heavily.

His clothes were completely soaked with sweat, clinging to his firm and well-proportioned muscles.

Yes, he ultimately chose to come back.

No matter how fast the maglev train in Star City is, it still takes time to turn back from the city gate.

In order to get back, he squeezed out almost all the true energy in his body and ran all the way from the station.

"Yang Xian..."

Liu Ruyu stared blankly at that figure, and the tears that had just stopped welled up in her eyes and flowed down again.

She didn't care about the many teachers around her, nor did she care about Liu Qin.

The girl took long strides and ran over.

With a "bang".

Liu Ruyu threw herself into Yang Xian's arms, crossed her legs, and tightly wrapped them around Yang Xian's waist.

Two arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, hanging on his body.

"Waaaaah...!"

"I knew it..."

"I knew you'd come back to me!!"