It seems that the villain is targeting me.

She had never been completely dependent on anyone.

Chen Xiaoya thought: I can’t be supported by others, and I can’t just give up making money. This way, even if the day comes when I am abandoned, at least I can start over.

She was bent over the desk, writing seriously, with no distractions and looking very focused.

The place where Chen Xiaoya was sitting was an old-fashioned dessert shop. The owner had set up several low tables at the door for customers to use, and she was occupying one of them.

The reason why I sit here is, firstly, to make it easier for those 'customers' to find me, and secondly, to wait for my friends to get off work.

This is the only way for Aqiong to go home after get off work at the factory, and Chen Xiaoya is waiting here for him to show up.

She hadn't seen Aqiong for several days. The two had agreed to meet regularly to check on each other's situation, but except for the one meeting a week ago, Aqiong had never appeared again.

Chen Xiaoya was a little worried about his friend's safety.

The dessert shop was close to the main road, so passers-by could basically see it at a glance. Chen Xiaoya was lying on a chair doing math problems, and he would take a look at the street when he looked up.

Fortunately, the boss didn't chase people away, because from time to time there would be junior high school kids coming to see Chen Xiaoya, and many of them had money and would buy something by the way, which made the boss earn a lot of money.

However, the boy didn't feel comfortable sitting at someone else's table for free, so he ordered the cheapest mung bean water at 30 cents a bowl.

She drank the mung bean water intermittently, thinking absentmindedly: The mung bean water made by the bird tastes better.

The time spent on writing papers always passes quickly, and before I knew it, half of the morning had passed.

Logically speaking, the factory should have closed by now.

Chen Xiaoya did see several people dressed as assembly line workers passing by, yawning with tiredness on their faces. It was obvious that they had just finished their night shift.

But among these people, there was no trace of Aqiong at all.

Chen Xiaoya waited patiently for a while.

Arjun had complained to her before that the factory's night overtime hours were getting longer and longer.

...Maybe it’s because I worked overtime for too long that’s why I’m late, Chen Xiaoya thought.

She waited until noon and finished two books of homework.

Chen Xiaoya looked towards the street, but Aqiong still didn't show up.

Because of the underdeveloped communication methods, the two people always made appointments to meet at this place in the past.

The place where she was sitting was very conspicuous, so there was no reason why Arjun would not notice her if he passed by.

Chen Xiaoya's feeling of uneasiness became stronger and stronger. She comforted herself: Maybe Aqiong just took a leave today, or maybe she took a shortcut to get home quickly.

There was no point in continuing to guess blindly like this, she thought, so she might as well go to Aqiong's house to find her.

Zheng Qiong and she were neighbors living in the same tube-shaped building. If Chen Xiaoya wanted to find her, she had to go back.

I don’t know if I will run into Chen Zhengkang if I go back rashly... But because I am worried about Aqiong’s safety, I decided to go.

She followed the familiar route back and returned to the old and dilapidated tube-shaped building where she had lived since she was a child.

Chen Xiaoya clutched the straps of his schoolbag silently and walked up with his head down.

Fortunately, perhaps because the summer afternoon was too hot and humid, she didn't meet any acquaintances along the way.

The sun was high in the sky, making the airless and stuffy stairwell of the tube building as stuffy as a steamer. After just a few short steps, Chen Xiaoya's forehead was already covered with sweat.

She prayed in her heart: Don’t run into Chen Zhengkang, don’t let him come back.

God, if you love me, please let him die outside.

Soon, she arrived at the floor where her original home was located. Chen Xiaoya glanced at her house from a distance - the door was closed, and it seemed no different from when she left.

She couldn't tell whether there was anyone at home, and she was too lazy to go up to check. Chen Xiaoya hurried to Aqiong's door and knocked on it.

There was no response for a long time, so she knocked again, and then the sound of slippers tapping on the door slowly came from the other side.

However, before the door opened, Chen Xiaoya's heart sank.

Because the person inside came over to open the door and asked in a loud voice: "Is that Ah Qiong? Is Ah Qiong back?"

This sentence was like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, completely extinguishing the hope and luck in her heart.

The door opened, and the person who opened it was a woman who looked at least seventy years old.

When the old woman saw that the person who appeared at the door was not Zheng Qiong, she could hardly hide the loss and sadness in her eyes.

Chen Xiaoya knew the old woman in front of him. She was Aqiong's grandmother.

Aqiong's parents are working away from home, and only her grandmother is at home. Apart from her, there is only her and a younger sister who is still in elementary school.

I heard that Arjun's family

She also had an older sister, but she seemed to have died in an accident later, and Chen Xiaoya rarely heard her mention it.

"Oh, it's little girl," Grandma looked at her and sighed, "Little girl, do you know where Aqiong went?"

Chen Xiaoya shook her head, pursed her lips, and felt like a stone sank in her stomach.

She spoke as calmly as possible: "Grandma, has Arjun not come back yet? How many days has it been?"

Aqiong's grandmother had difficulty moving and was a little hard of hearing. Chen Xiaoya had a long and difficult time communicating with her before he got news about Aqiong from her words that were heavily accented with dialect.

Grandma said: Arjun went out to work in the factory three days ago and has never come back.

The old man seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw. He held the boy's hand and spoke intermittently about his panic and worry.

As she spoke, grandma couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Aqiong is a good child. She won't not go home," the grandmother said, holding the child and repeating the same sentence over and over again. "Why wouldn't she go home?"

Chen Xiaoya tried his best to comfort the old woman: "Grandma, don't worry, Aqiong is already so old, he will be fine."

She thought for a moment: "Did she disappear after she went out to work?"

The old man nodded with tears in his eyes.

Chen Xiaoya said, "Give me the address of that factory."

Grandma went into the house and took out a damaged work badge with Zheng Qiong's name, number and the name of the factory on it.

Chen Xiaoya borrowed a pen and paper to write down the information and put the note in his pocket.

Aqiong would not stay out overnight for no reason. Even if he couldn't come back for something, he would definitely find a way to bring a message to his grandmother at home.

She didn't come back, so the problem can only be the factory.

Chen Xiaoya was unusually calm. She planned her next move in an orderly manner, as if she was analyzing a test question with complicated steps.

Aqiong's parents cannot be contacted in the short term. They work outside and sometimes don't even come back for the Chinese New Year. They just send remittance slips back home on time every month.

The communication conditions at that time were quite rudimentary. If you wanted to contact people who were working away from home, you could basically only rely on letters delivered by the post office.

By the time I contacted my uncle and aunt, it was too late. Chen Xiaoya thought, I can only go by myself.

Intentionally or unintentionally, the child never considered the option of 'asking Xiao Niao for help'.

Grandma wanted to keep her at home for dinner, but Chen Xiaoya was so worried that she couldn't eat anything.

She declined the old man's kindness and walked downstairs without stopping.

It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon when they left the tube building - this was almost the hottest time of the day. Chen Xiaoya felt dizzy and even his steps became light.

The location of the factory was not difficult to find out - it was a newly opened processing factory in the county. Chen Xiaoya had never been there, but as long as he asked a random street vendor, he could basically find it.

The factory was on lunch break at that time. Chen Xiaoya walked forward but was stopped by the security guard. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

Chen Xiaoya licked his cracked lips and said, "I'm here to find someone."

She gave a brief description of the situation to the security guard on duty at the door and wanted to find the person in charge of the factory to inquire about Arjun's whereabouts.

Unexpectedly, the security guard was somewhat impressed by Ah Qiong: "Oh, you mean Zheng Qiong, right? The short girl?"

Chen Xiaoya asked nervously, "Yes, uncle, it's her. Do you know where she went?"

The security guard said, "Didn't she resign? I'm responsible for handling all the cancelled door cards."

Chen Xiaoya never expected to get such a result.

She originally thought that Arjun might have suffered a work-related accident or something happened and he was detained in the factory.

How could he have resigned?

Even if Arjun really quit her job, there was no reason for her not to go home.

Chen Xiaoya insisted on finding the person in charge of the factory to ask clearly. After she coaxed and persuaded the security guard for a long time, he finally agreed and took her to the factory manager's office.

The manager gave the same explanation as the security guard, and even took out a handwritten resignation application and placed it on the table for Chen Xiaoya to see.

"He just quit the day before yesterday," the manager said, seeming dissatisfied. "He only worked for a month and he left. If you ask me, I shouldn't have let him work in the first place. He can't handle any hardship..."

Chen Xiaoya didn't hear clearly what the manager said. She looked at the square handwritten font in the lower right corner with confusion.

It is indeed Arjun's handwriting.

"Uncle, uncle," Chen Xiaoya forced himself to continue asking, "Do you know where Ah Qiong... Zheng Qiong went after she left her job?"

The manager gave her a wary look.

"How should I know that?" His tone became smoother. "I'm not obligated to know where workers go after they leave."

"It's clearly written in the regulations that she resigned on her own initiative – and our factory is not responsible for anything that happens after that."

Chen Xiaoya was anxious to know the news about Aqiong, and she tried her best to make her attitude appear softer.

"I understand, uncle. I just want to know, did Arjun really not say anything when he resigned?"

Chen Xiaoya looked at the manager eagerly: "She said

But where is she going?"

“No,” the manager replied.

"Nothing."

Chen Xiaoya went to the police station to report the incident.

The police asked her to go back and wait for news, saying that they would dispatch police forces to search for her as soon as possible.

She dragged her tired body back to Xiaoniao's house.

Cat number four had woken up by then. Seeing the little girl coming back, she immediately ran over to her and meowed around her feet.

Chen Xiaoya was in no mood to tease it. He forced himself to add some food and water to the bowl, then fell onto the sofa feeling tired.

She fell asleep in a daze, not knowing how much time had passed.

Chen Xiaoya was lost in a bizarre dream until she was awakened by a phone call.

She struggled to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as if they were stuck with glue and she couldn't keep them open at all.

It took two or three seconds for Chen Xiaoya to stand up awkwardly and walk to the landline.

She picked up the phone.

"It's me," the person on the other end of the line said.

"Little boy, it's me." Zheng Qiong said.

Chapter 35: Chen Xiaoya is a pauper

Chen Xiaoya almost dropped the landline phone in his hand.

In the 1990s, mobile communications were not yet popular in China, but landline phones were no longer a novelty.

In order to facilitate communication, Xiao Niao's home is equipped with a landline.

She had once told Arjun the phone number of her home landline.

"Aqiong?!" Chen Xiaoya hurriedly grabbed the microphone, and his voice almost broke when he shouted, "You, what's wrong with you? Where are you now?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was hoarse and trembling with obvious crying.

"I don't know where I am," Zheng Qiong said in a very low voice, "Little boy, I might have been kidnapped. I'm in a car, and there are several other kidnapped girls next to me..."

"Don't be afraid, Arjun, calm down!"

Chen Xiaoya tried hard to control her emotions. She was actually as scared as Aqiong, and sweat was oozing from her hands.

She never imagined that her unintentional action would become the last straw that broke the camel's back in finding her friend.

"Tell me everything about the situation around you - I will call the police for you and find someone to rescue you!" she said very quickly.

The poor girl was obviously extremely frightened, but she managed to suppress her fear and tried her best to explain the situation around her.