The school gate, which had been crowded just a moment ago, was now completely empty.

Staring at the empty school gate, Mrs. He’s heart pounded violently as her eyes darted everywhere.

She shouted, "Shiyi! Shiyi! Where are you? Come out! Don’t scare Grandma!"

Xiao Yu also called out, "Brother Shiyi."

"Shiyi."

"Shiyi!"

The grandmother and grandchild ran all around the school, but there was still no sign of Shiyi.

Mrs. He’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, trembling all over. She beat the ground and cried out, "Shiyi, where are you?"

No one around her answered. There was only the sound of her own hoarse cries. She realized the gravity of the situation.

She had lost Shiyi!

Mrs. He took Xiao Yu and searched along the way until it was completely dark. The two of them returned home, filthy from head to toe.

The moment Mr. He saw her enter, he came up and berated her angrily. "What is wrong with you? Why didn’t you pick up Ruanruan? She couldn’t wait for you and ran home by herself."

Hearing this, Mrs. He’s eyes lit up. She gripped Mr. He’s hand tightly. "Did Shiyi come back too?"

Mr. He froze for a moment, then asked, "What are you talking about? Weren’t you supposed to pick up Shiyi and Xiao Yu?" Then, seeing Mrs. He’s pale face, he asked in confusion, "I was just about to ask you, why are you only getting back now? Where’s Shiyi?"

Mrs. He’s breath caught in her throat, and she fainted.

Mr. He caught her just in time. His brow was furrowed tightly. "What in the world is going on?"

Xiao Yu mumbled, "Brother Shiyi is lost. We looked for a long, long time, but we just couldn’t find him."

Mr. He was so shocked he almost dropped Mrs. He on the floor.

He yelled into the house, "He Lang! He Lang!!!"

"What? Shiyi’s lost? What happened?"

He Lang’s pupils constricted. The back of his neck went numb, and his whole body stiffened.

Mrs. He had come to by now. She swallowed hard, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, not daring to look at He Lang. "That woman, Gu Yuwei, showed up. She followed me to the school gate and wanted to take Xiao Yu away. I went up to argue with her for a bit, and when I turned around, Shiyi was gone. I looked for a long time, but I couldn’t find him."

Mr. He paced back and forth, breathing heavily through his nose. He pointed an angry finger at Mrs. He. "Why did you get into it with her? You were supposed to bring the kids straight home after school! How could you just lose a child?"

Mrs. He cried, "I didn’t know this would happen."

When Ruanruan heard her little brother was lost, her eyes turned red with worry.

"Daddy, Shiyi—"

He Lang spun around abruptly and headed out. "I’ll go find him." He grabbed a flashlight on his way out.

Mr. He followed right behind him. "I’ll go too."

Mrs. He sat there, clutching her chest. Her heart ached with unbearable pain and regret.

"How could I have just forgotten about the child? How am I going to face He Lang and his wife? Shiyi, where are you? Don’t scare your grandma! Please come back!" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The house was filled with Mrs. He’s cries. Ruanruan stood frozen in place for a long time. Finally, with a flick of her eyes, she rushed outside.

He Lang and Mr. He hurried to the gate of Shiyi’s school.

The two of them searched while calling his name. By this time, the sky was completely dark.

They searched the area around the school again but still couldn’t find him.

"Dad, let’s split up. You take that road."

Mr. He nodded. "Alright."

He Lang walked and shouted, going from one end of the road to the other. The surrounding area was all residential.

Meanwhile, at Xue Xingzhou’s home, the family was eating at the dinner table when they suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Xue Xingjun stood up. "I’ll get it."

A moment later, Xue Xingjun came running back in with Ruanruan.

"Big Brother, something’s happened! Shiyi is lost!"

Zhang Qian and Xue Xingzhou both shot to their feet. Xue Xingzhou strode over to Ruanruan and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What happened? Tell me everything, slowly."

"Uncle—"

Ruanruan, her voice choked with sobs, repeated what her grandmother had said to Xue Xingzhou.

"My dad and grandpa have already gone to Shiyi’s school to look for him."

Xue Xingzhou’s eyelid twitched as he listened. He was well aware that child traffickers were common in this era, and with no electronic surveillance systems, a lost child was incredibly difficult to find.

It was just that public security in Beijing City had been considered quite good this year. He hadn’t expected someone to be so audacious.

He quickly calculated in his head. ’The kidnapper is either a local, hiding the child in their home, or they’re trying to move him overnight. Shiyi is seven this year. He’s not that big, but he’s not that small either. Keeping him in a local house would be difficult to manage.’

’The most likely scenario is an overnight transfer.’

Xue Xingzhou was just making a judgment based on his past experience. This was the most likely possibility, but there could always be exceptions.

Xue Xingjun was already frantic, stomping his feet impatiently. "Big Brother, say something! What do we do? Shiyi’s so young, he must have been taken by traffickers! We have to go look for him now! If we don’t, he’ll be sold off somewhere!"

Xue Xingjun was speaking the truth. People in their village had lost children before, and they were never found.

The moment Ruanruan heard this, she burst into tears. "Uncle, please, you have to save Shiyi!"

Xue Xingzhou shot a look at Xue Xingjun, then said to Ruanruan, "You stay here with your aunt. Your uncle is going out to look for him."

Ruanruan grabbed Xue Xingzhou’s hand. "Uncle, you have to bring Shiyi back! If my mom comes home and finds out Shiyi is missing, she’ll be heartbroken!"

That was right. Xue Yue was out of town on business. If she knew Shiyi was missing, she would go insane.

Zhang Qian handed a flashlight to Xue Xingzhou. "Search in the direction of the bus station and the train station."

Xue Xingzhou nodded.

Xue Xingjun followed him. "Big Brother, I’m going too."

Zhang Qian kicked a dazed Zhang Yunlei.

Zhang Yunlei shot to his feet. "I’ll go too."

They headed straight for the train station. Even though it was after eight o’clock at night, the station was still a sea of people, with travelers carrying luggage coming and going.

The three of them walked and scanned the crowds, mainly looking out for anyone holding a child. There, Xue Xingzhou ran into He Lang.

Xue Xingzhou took one look at He Lang and knew he hadn’t found any clues either.

Xue Xingzhou went to the information desk to ask a staff member.

"Half an hour ago, a train to Yu Province stopped for twenty minutes. A lot of people left on it."

Xue Xingzhou’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Beijing City was already huge, but once outside the city, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

When He Lang heard that a train had left half an hour ago, he froze, the emotion in his eyes almost impossible to conceal.

They didn’t give up and continued to search inside and outside the train station.

Back at the house, Mrs. He and Zhang Qian stayed up all night. The men who went out still hadn’t returned.

Around three or four in the morning, Mr. He came back.

He had been searching at the bus station for hours. Luckily, the buses didn’t run at night, so he had searched the entire surrounding area.

"Has He Lang come back yet?"

Mrs. He shook her head. Mr. He sighed at her reply.