"What's going on? What happened to our daughter?" Nie Lan looked at Nie Shouping, who seed out of sorts, and couldn't help but snap, "At a ti like this, and you can't say a damn word!"
"It wasn't our daughter who answered the call, it was her colleague. She said the phone got a virus and told us not to believe the text ssage we just received." Nie Shouping frowned and said, "But..."
"Bang!"
Nie Lan slamd the table, saying, "I can't believe you! Whenever it's crucial, you pull this nonsense!
Stop being so hesitant and bashful like an old woman. Why can't you just say what's on your mind?"
"I feel sothing's off. You think, if it were really a virus, the ssage would definitely be a scam.
And if it's a scam, it should be asking us to wire money to so bank account or sothing. How could they ask us to call the police?" Nie Shouping said seriously.
Nie Lan slowly nodded, agreeing with this reasoning, and took a deep breath, saying, "You need to call Xiao Feng now and have him go find Jiaojiao.
They say mother and daughter are connected; I'm feeling like there's a heavy stone on my chest now. Sothing must be wrong."
"Don't scare yourself. Our daughter is doing good deeds, and we have never done anything wicked. Everything will be fine." Nie Shouping said, trying to comfort her.
"Just call, I'm not putting my mind at ease until I hear our daughter's voice." Nie Lan urged.
Nie Shouping sighed; he felt the sa anxiety inside.
Before making the call, he emphasized, "Once the call goes through, don't say anything. If you must speak, don't ntion the house purchase.
Promise , and I'll call Xiao Feng right now.
If you don't agree, you can make the call yourself."
"Fine, fine, I promise, hurry and call!" Nie Lan urged impatiently.
Nie Shouping found Xiao Feng's number and dialed it.
The call connected quickly, and Nie Shouping got straight to the point, "Xiao Feng, if you're not busy now, could you please run over and check on Longjiao for us?"
"What's happened?" Xiao Feng asked.
Nie Shouping had no choice but to recount the entire situation after receiving the text ssage.
Xiao Feng sighed inwardly. Upon hearing that Zhao Ce answered the call ant for Nie Longjiao, he ca to a conclusion.
Despite his prior warnings, Nie Longjiao ultimately fell into the trap.
Finding an excuse to leave the room, Xiao Feng hurriedly exited the hotel's front door and stopped a taxi, heading straight to Jiangcheng Welfare Institute.
"Hopefully, Zhao Ce hasn't acted yet." Xiao Feng prayed in his heart, not feeling optimistic about the outco of this journey.
This isn't filming Journey to the West; when demons capture Tang Seng, they either clean him up to eat after a couple of days or recklessly try to eliminate Sun Wukong first.
If any demon were smart enough to eat their prey imdiately, their fate wouldn't have been so dire.
So, when it cos to ti, heading there now is likely already too late nine tis out of ten.
Especially since Zhao Ce's intention isn't to kidnap Nie Longjiao for ransom but to solely possess her, making the situation dire.
"Faster!" Xiao Feng urged.
The driver frowned, "Any faster and I'll be speeding. A ticket costs several hundred, and I lose points, way more than the cab fare."
Xiao Feng took out his wallet, showing over three thousand cash, throwing it to the glove box, "Is this enough?"
The driver considered the traffic lights and speed caras on the route, gritting his teeth, "Alright, I'll take a chance!"
With that, he hit the accelerator, shifted gears, and nearly doubled the speed!
...
Zhao Ce helped Nie Longjiao to his dormitory, looking at the beauty on the bed, his face flushed with excitent, and his breathing a bit hurried.
He felt parched, like after a hangover, craving water.
But compared to the beauty lying on the bed, thirst could be put aside.
"Longjiao, do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?" Zhao Ce chuckled, taking his phone from his pocket and placing it on the bedside table, ready for photos and videos later.
Quickly shedding his jacket, he braced himself beside Nie Longjiao's arms, fixed his gaze on her pretty face for a while, then leaned down to steal a kiss.
Just before he could touch her, a knock sounded at the door.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Zhao Ce jumped, asking, "Who is it?"
A voice that sounded very old ca from outside, "It's , Aunt Qiao."
Aunt Qiao was the old lady who cooked and cleaned at the welfare institute.
Annoyance flashed in Zhao Ce's eyes, but he stifled his anger, responding, "Oh, Aunt Qiao, wait a mont, I'll open the door for you."
He hurriedly stood up, grabbed the neatly folded quilt at the bed's end, completely covering Nie Longjiao, and then headed to the door.
Composing his expression, Zhao Ce opened the door, "Aunt Qiao, you didn't go ho today?"
"It was too late when I finished today, so I didn't go ho. Have you seen Jiaojiao?"
"No, she should have rested early."
"I've looked in her room, but didn't find her, and her phone's off. Could sothing have happened?"
"What could've happened? Aunt Qiao, you should rest early too, there's another early start tomorrow."
Aunt Qiao opened her mouth to say sothing, but saw the door in front of her already closed with a "click" and a locking sound right after.
Her brow furrowed tightly, feeling strange, sensing Zhao Ce's response was indeed unusual.
Being one of the longest-serving staff at the Welfare Institute, she understood Zhao Ce's feelings toward Nie Longjiao.
Whenever Nie Longjiao felt unwell, Zhao Ce was more anxious than if he were sick himself, bringing water, urging her to take dicine, reminding her to take her temperature, always attentive.
How co upon hearing about Nie Longjiao's disappearance, he showed no sign of urgency?
Just as she was wondering, a very low voice ca from the right side, "Granny Qiao, Granny Qiao..."
"Hmm?" Aunt Qiao looked toward the voice to see two little heads by the staircase.
Startled, she rushed over to find the chubby kid from the institute, followed by five or six little children.
"Why aren't you sleeping and running up here so late at night?" Aunt Qiao reprimanded.
"Shh!" The little chubby kid pressed a finger to his lips, saying urgently, "Granny Qiao, just now Zhiwei got up to pee. He said he saw Sister Long faint in the yard, then Teacher Zhao took her upstairs."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Qiao looked at the tall, skinny kid behind the chubby one, pulled him to the front, and asked sternly, "Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
"Others might make mistakes, but how could I mistake Sister Long, Granny Qiao when you went to find Teacher Zhao just now, wasn't Sister Long there?"
Aunt Qiao kept silent. Her age ant she considered more than the kids.
If Nie Longjiao was indeed in Zhao Ce's room, it explained why Zhao Ce appeared so calm.
"Are you sure Sister Long was in a faint state when Teacher Zhao took her upstairs?" Aunt Qiao confird again.
"Sure!" The tall, skinny kid said firmly.
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