Only, even though Luo Fei did his best to comfort her,

on the other end of the line Tang Shiyu still stayed silent.

So Luo Fei spoke bluntly and pierced right through what she was thinking.

"Miss Tang, when it comes down to it, what you're worried about is that you and Tang Zhenguang won't be able to get past this in your hearts, right?"

Hearing him ask that,

Tang Shiyu's heart gave a jolt.

"Mr. Luo, how did you know that?"

"It's actually very normal. After all, some people just get hung up on certain details. Even if your mother might choose to forgive him and live with him."

"But for you and Tang Zhenguang, getting over this psychologically is really hard, isn't it?"

In that moment,

Luo Fei's reminder made Tang Shiyu completely understand.

Turned out what he wanted was for her to be a bit more understanding.

Only, once that thought crossed her mind,

Tang Shiyu still couldn't help sighing.

"Mr. Luo, I'm actually really conflicted right now. Tang Zhenguang and I both hope we can be more at ease about it. After all, he's someone our mother has accepted."

"But he still needs some time to accept reality. There's really nothing that can be done about that."

Hearing this, Luo Fei could only offer comfort.

"Some things, if you're going to accept them, always need a process. Take it slowly."

Luo Fei sounded so calm and composed,

it did make Tang Shiyu feel a bit better inside.

Only,

right then, Old Han tugged at Luo Fei's sleeve from the side.

His expression had gone a bit stiff.

"Mr. Luo…"

Seeing him point at the phone,

Luo Fei also made a suggestion.

"Miss Tang, we'll talk if something comes up. I've got something to deal with here, so I'll hang up first."

Luo Fei's suggestion made her nod again and again.

"Got it, Mr. Luo."

As the call disconnected,

Old Han spoke up, a bit embarrassed.

"Mr. Luo, just now the paper called. They said Liu Jingyao is missing. Around noon today, she went to the hospital just like she always does, and after that she vanished. You think… could she already have run into an accident?"

Hearing the hesitation in Old Han's tone,

Luo Fei's face also grew grave as he asked,

"What exactly happened?"

"I'll tell you on the way."

By the time he finished speaking, the two of them were already in the car.

And only after Old Han's explanation

did Luo Fei find out.

It turned out that just earlier yesterday,

Liu Jingyao had gone to the ward to visit Su Xiaoxiao.

Because recently she'd been kidnapped by the killer and had suffered some trauma,

for the sake of her mental and physical health,

Liu Jingyao had especially booked her an appointment with a psychologist.

But unexpectedly, after she left the hospital at noon yesterday, she vanished without a trace.

No one has seen her since.

"Mr. Luo, do you think it's possible that Liu Jingyao was kidnapped by that Boss Yang's people?"

But hearing the hesitation in Old Han's voice,

Luo Fei shook his head.

"Not necessarily."

Luo Fei spoke with unhurried calm,

and his reasoning was solid.

"After all, this case has been hanging unresolved for too long. If it were me, I might have lost confidence by now."

"So maybe Liu Jingyao just went into hiding for the time being. She wants to leave town, go somewhere else to ride it out, to avoid ending up in an accident like Su Xiaoxiao."

Luo Fei's reasoning let Old Han breathe a small sigh of relief.

But only a small one.

Because deep down he still felt uneasy.

What worried him even more

was that if Liu Jingyao really never came back, then they'd be looking at yet another homicide case.

So once he realized that,

Luo Fei decided they should go to the hospital first.

"Mr. Luo, what are we going to do, I never thought my sister would just disappear like this. If anything happens to her, then I might as well be dead too!"

After a while,

once the two of them arrived at the hospital,

they saw that Su Xiaoxiao was already there,

waiting anxiously.

She was wearing a hospital gown, and she'd always been thin; now she looked even more frail and delicate.

With her long black hair, her whole body looked top‑heavy, as if she could faint at any moment.

Just seeing her there,

Luo Fei couldn't help being a little curious.

"Miss Su, are you all right?"

"Mr. Luo, I'm fine. It's just that I haven't been able to eat these days, especially meat—whenever I eat meat I think of the scene of that girl being killed."

"So I'm just a little weak."

But hearing that,

Luo Fei's face hardened.

"Miss Su, are you really all right?"

"Why don't you go back and rest first? Otherwise, even if you're this anxious, it won't help anything."

Even though Luo Fei was trying his best to comfort her,

Su Xiaoxiao still hesitated.

"Mr. Luo, are you sure my sister is okay? If she's been targeted by those bad people and something happens to her, I honestly don't even dare to imagine it."

Seeing how hesitant Su Xiaoxiao was, clearly wanting to say more but holding back,

Luo Fei could only take a deep breath and comfort her.

"Miss Su, you really don't need to worry too much about this."

"Maybe Liu Jingyao had something urgent come up and had to leave for a bit, and just didn't have time to let you know?"

Seeing that he was doing his best to reassure her and that his tone was so calm,

Su Xiaoxiao finally started nodding repeatedly.

"Mr. Luo, to tell you the truth,"

"these past few days I've felt like my sister was a little off. It's just a feeling I can't put into words, and I couldn't very well just kiss—"

When Su Xiaoxiao said that,

her tone clearly showed she was holding back.

That also piqued Luo Fei's curiosity.

"Miss Su, you're saying your sister has been acting out of character? Like what, for example?"

Hearing him ask that,

Su Xiaoxiao hurried to explain.

"Mr. Luo, to tell you the truth, it's like this: my sister has always been a very meticulous person. And she's always done everything in a very orderly way."