As it turned out, Gu Sisi originally intended to eat very little since she had already had something. But she had to hide it from her parents, fearing they would be disappointed as they must have spent a long time preparing the meal.
However, the situation was so special that Gu Sisi had no choice but to force herself to eat. By the end of the meal, most of the dishes on the table were almost gone.
Time ticked by. Lying on the sofa with her hands on her stomach, Gu Sisi suddenly heard her father saying he was going out to buy ingredients for dinner. She quickly rushed out, slammed the door shut, and shouted at the top of her voice, "I'll go!"
In a flash, she disappeared.
Looking back, she felt a bit scared. If her father bought a lot more and her mother cooked a lot more, she would surely go crazy from overeating today. This was simply a life - saving opportunity for her!
Turning around, Gu Sisi walked towards the market proudly. She planned to buy just a few seasonal vegetables.
Before the joy on her brow could fully show, her vision suddenly went black.
Caught in this unexpected situation, Gu Sisi quickly shouted for help, "Help! Help!"
She felt two people lifting her, but no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free.
Feeling her body go limp, she didn't know where she was thrown.
Gu Sisi continued to thrash around and cry for help, "Help!"
With a "whoosh", it was actually the sound of a car door closing. Gu Sisi panicked completely. Was she kidnapped?
She shouted at the top of her lungs until her voice was hoarse. She felt someone trying to gag her, but she forcefully shook them off and kept shouting.
"She's too noisy. Knock her out," a cold voice said.
Before Gu Sisi could react, she felt a sharp pain in her neck, and gradually her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
In a daze, she heard the sound of an engine starting, and slowly, she fell into endless darkness.
...
"Why hasn't she come back yet? Why didn't you go with her?" Gu's mother scolded. As the sky was getting darker and Sisi's phone couldn't be reached.
"Sisi insisted on going alone," Gu's father was also anxious.
Seeing that his wife was about to scold more, he quickly said, "Alright, alright. I'll go to the market to look for her."
Although Gu's mother was angry, she still accompanied her husband to look for Sisi. They searched everywhere and asked all the neighbors nearby, but no one had seen Sisi.
The two were extremely worried.
"Could Sisi have gone back to her workplace?" Gu's father asked tentatively.
Gu's mother snatched the phone from her husband's hand and dialed a number.
Huo Cheng looked at the incoming call. A hint of doubt flashed in his otherwise calm eyes.
"Huo Cheng? Is Sisi with you?" Gu's mother asked anxiously.
Huo Cheng squinted his eyes. Jiang Lihao sitting opposite him sensed something was wrong and slowed down his chewing.
Huo Cheng had been suddenly busy with something and only had time to invite him to dinner now.
"What's up?" Huo Cheng put down his knife and fork.
Gu's mother knew her words were a bit unclear, so she explained, "Sisi said she was going to buy groceries this afternoon, but she still hasn't come back. I thought maybe she had to go back for some work. But her phone is unreachable, and her father and I have been looking for her for a long time. We're so worried."
Gu's mother frowned, her heart hanging tightly. The person on the other end replied, "Yes, Sisi's work suddenly had an urgent task, and she was recalled. She dropped her phone. I'll take her to buy a new one later."
The big stone in Gu's mother's heart finally fell. She said in relief, "That's good. As long as she's okay."
"I didn't get a chance to visit you this time. Next time, Sisi and I will come to see you."
"Okay, okay." Gu's mother was overjoyed.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Lihao saw the faint smile on Huo Cheng's lips suddenly freeze. He felt a tightness in his heart, swallowed the food in his mouth with difficulty, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Let's go. Sisi is missing."
"What?" Jiang Lihao widened his eyes. Before he could react, he was already sitting in the passenger seat fastening his seat - belt.
The car sped on the road. Jiang Lihao was completely confused. As Huo Cheng contacted others, he also vaguely learned that Sisi had suddenly gone missing in her hometown and it might have been several hours.
"I'll help too," Jiang Lihao quickly contacted people to start an investigation.
Seeing the car speeding up, with the almost erupting anger in Huo Cheng's eyes, Jiang Lihao patted his shoulder. The usually playful man said seriously, "Be careful. Don't end up getting yourself into trouble before rescuing Sisi."
It was unclear how much Huo Cheng had listened. Jiang Lihao was relieved to see that the car speed finally stopped increasing.
That evening, people were busy checking surveillance cameras, quietly asking passers - by, and examining the monitors in front of cars. Wave after wave, news gradually came in.
However, all of it was bad. Huo Cheng's face grew darker and darker. He casually stopped the car on a road near Gu's house. With a cold face, he said to everyone, "In this small area, dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find her for me."
At his order, everyone responded, "Yes!"
The crowd dispersed in all directions.
Jiang Lihao stepped forward, shaking his head. "But Huo Cheng, the fixed surveillance cameras didn't capture any figures, and the nearby residents didn't see anything either. There are so many cars coming and going. The workload is too huge. Maybe today..."
There might be no news today. Jiang Lihao's face turned gloomy. If the kidnappers weren't after money, then Gu Sisi's life would be in great danger.
"I know, but we must find her today," Huo Cheng looked up, his eyes blood - red.
Helpless, Jiang Lihao had no choice but to dispatch all the forces he could mobilize to search for her.
Time passed minute by minute. Jiang Lihao waited anxiously.
Finally, after a long time, the silent stillness was broken.
Jiang Lihao saw Huo Cheng answer the phone. He was silent for a moment, then said "um" and hung up.
"Any news?" he asked anxiously.
"Near Wanggang Wharf," Huo Cheng made a sharp turn and reversed the car. The car sped towards that direction.
Ten - odd minutes later, they arrived.
Jiang Lihao got out of the car and saw an abandoned building, dim street lights on the road, and no other buildings around. It looked extremely eerie.
"Here?" He even suspected they had found the wrong place.
"Let's go in first," Huo Cheng glanced at the building and calmly stepped in.
Jiang Lihao also knew to turn on the flashlight on his phone and followed in.
Along the way, there was a lot of dust, indicating that this place had been uninhabited for a long time.
There were scattered wooden boards and some weeds. The first floor seemed empty. Huo Cheng directly walked up the stairs. Maybe due to years of disrepair, the escalator was rusty.
The sound of their footsteps echoed in the empty space.
Jiang Lihao's mouth stiffened. He even suspected this was a filming location for a horror movie.
"Did we find the wrong place?" Jiang Lihao finally asked.
"Do you think anyone lives here?" Huo Cheng asked calmly.
He felt something was wrong. He quickly shook his head. "Definitely not."
"But there's a black sedan downstairs."
Jiang Lihao fell silent. He remembered that Huo Cheng was driving a white car today, so this must belong to someone else. Goosebumps rose on his body.