Disorder in marriage

"Xiao Zhi!"

"Mrs!"

Everyone rushed to support her, but Yan Zhi grabbed Xia Linglong's arm, shouting, "I need to find Niannian! I need to find Niannian!"

Rumble!

The sky was struck by a muffled thunderbolt, turning it a deep gray.

A sudden downpour began outside.

Xia Linglong supported her, "We'll go find it, you take care of yourself first."

"No!"

Yan Zhi broke free from her, put on a pair of indoor slippers, and decisively rushed outside to start calling Niannian's name.

Jiang Jin and the others didn't dare to delay, each searching in a different direction, calling out as they went.

Zhou Zheng went to the backyard and found that several potted plants had been overturned, and it didn't look like they had been simply blown over by the wind.

Following the messy traces in the backyard, he found a child's shoe by a low wall.

But the rain got heavier and heavier, and soon washed away all the clues.

After searching for nearly an hour, Zhou Zheng decided to call the police, and Jiang Jin immediately notified Gu Yunmo.

Xia Linglong went back inside to grab an umbrella, and without even taking a break, rushed back into the rain to find Yan Zhi.

"Xiao Zhi! Xiao Zhi!"

Yan Zhi lost one of her slippers while running, and barefoot, she asked everyone she met about Niannian's whereabouts.

"Have you seen a little girl this tall?"

"I didn't see it."

Passersby looked at Yan Zhi with puzzled and strange eyes.

At that moment, she resembled a foolish mother who had lost her daughter.

"Xiao Zhi!"

Xia Linglong jogged over and held the umbrella over her head. "Zheng-ge has already called the police, and Gu Yunmo knows about it too. In this society governed by law, no one will dare break into a house and snatch a child!"

Yan Zhi wouldn't listen to a word she said. She kept running, rain pouring down on her head, her hair clinging to her pale face.

Xia Linglong tried to drown out the sound of the rain, "Maybe Niannian ran away by herself! Maybe she'll be found and brought back in a little while! Xiaozhi, listen to me! Let's go back and wait for news!"

Yan Zhi remained deaf to his words and continued running along that road, showing no intention of turning back even though she was exhausted.

Xia Linglong could only try her best to keep up with her and make sure she got less rain.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a black car stopped in front of them.

Xia Linglong was about to pull Yan Zhi away when someone got out of the back seat of the car.

The other person was also not carrying an umbrella, and was wearing a blue and white striped hospital gown.

"President Gu!"

The driver hurriedly held up an umbrella and ran towards Gu Yunmo, but Gu Yunmo caught Yan Zhi, who was so tired she could barely stand.

"Nian Nian..."

Yan Zhi was still murmuring those two words when she met his gaze. Suddenly, she felt that all her grievances had found an outlet.

"Leave it to me."

Yan Zhi closed her eyes and nodded.

Gu Yunmo's abdominal injury hadn't healed yet, so Xia Linglong quickly helped Yan Zhi into the car.

After getting on the bus, Gu Yunmo didn't forget her. "Linglong, you can sit in the front."

"oh."

As soon as Xia Linglong finished speaking, she noticed a small pool of red blood seeping through Gu Yunmo's clothes.

"that--"

Gu Yunmo gave her a look, signaling her not to make a fuss.

Xia Linglong immediately understood that he didn't want Yan Zhi to worry.

Yan Zhi leaned against him, and although she was weak, she was much better than when she had been running in the rain.

Xia Linglong didn't say much, turned around, and acted as if nothing had happened.

......

Ling Xiao was driving, glancing at the rearview mirror every now and then.

Lying in the back seat, Niannian's breathing became heavier and heavier.

Her small bag was placed next to her; Ling Xiao had packed it for her. He had told Niannian that if she wanted to go back to Shenzhen, she should leave quietly through the back door.

Fortunately, Niannian was very obedient, and things went even more smoothly than he had expected.

The only problem was that Niannian had a high fever, it was raining heavily outside, the temperature was dropping, and her face was getting redder and redder.

"Uncle...haven't we arrived...in Shenzhen yet?"

Ling Xiao looked ahead, expressionless, and said, "It'll be soon."

"I...I feel so bad...my head hurts so much."

Ling Xiao said calmly, "Just hang in there a little longer."

Niannian obediently responded, "Mmm..."

Gradually, the back row became quiet. Ling Xiao began to panic, feeling extremely uneasy, and frequently looked back to check.

This was the first time he had done something like this. He didn't want to do it, but Niannian overheard something she shouldn't have, and he had to protect himself.

Soon, the car had been driving for a full ten hours without reaching Shenzhen; it had simply been driving around Beijing the whole time.

The rain stopped around dusk, and Ling Xiao finally brought Nian Nian to a private hospital.

He held Niannian, whose breathing was very labored, and said, "I found a child on the roadside. He seems to have a fever."

The emergency room nurse took my temperature with a thermometer and exclaimed, "41 degrees Celsius! My God, he'll be brain-damaged if this keeps up!"

Ling Xiao feigned a worried expression, "Then could you please find a way to bring her fever down quickly?"

The nurse asked, "What is your relationship to her?"

"I just saw her walking and crying on the side of the road, and her body was still very hot when I touched her, so I brought her here."

"You are so kind-hearted!"

While applying a fever-reducing patch to Niannian, the nurse casually asked, "By the way, what's your name? When we contact this girl's parents, we must tell them to thank you properly."

"No need, there's no need for that."

"You can't say that. After all, you did a good deed. What if something happens to the child—"

The nurse lifted Niannian's clothes to feel her body temperature further, but when she looked up, Ling Xiao had already disappeared without a trace.

......

Somehow the news of Niannian's disappearance reached the Gu family's old residence.

Upon hearing the news, Old Mrs. Gu was extremely anxious and immediately drove to Gu Yunmo and Yan Zhi's home.

The living room was filled with police officers, who asked Yan Zhi the same question no less than three times.

Where were you when the child went missing?

Yan Zhi sat blankly on the sofa, her lips moving slightly. "I'm in my room."

"Besides you, has anyone else had contact with the child?"

The successive blows had left Yan Zhi's eyes unfocused and her thoughts in disarray.

"There's no one else but my friends."

The police nodded. "Based on the initial investigation, there's a high probability that the child ran away on his own."

Yan Zhi looked up blankly. "But why did she run away?"

The police didn't know the reason either. He wanted to ask for more details, but the old lady from the Gu family suddenly barged in.

"How could the child just disappear! Yan Zhi, how have you been taking care of the child?!"

Upon hearing these words, Yan Zhi's defenses completely crumbled, and she felt as if her heart was bleeding with self-reproach.

What a ridiculous and absurd thing it is that a child would get lost in their own home.

It was lost right under her nose!

She lowered her head, covered her face with her hands, and her back hunched over, looking as if she had aged ten years in an instant.