Chapter 716: Chapter 94: Traces, Figured It Out - Today’s 20,000 Seek Monthly Pass_2
"These aren’t the main things. There are some bored people, so it got blown up a bit..." Li Yan forced a smile. It was because of this that Yurong noticed.
He found it a bit strange. Did Wen Qianyi notice it? By right, if she saw the news, she should have guessed that the male and female protagonists were them. So why did she seem to have no reaction at all, no sarcasm, no teasing to show she knew? But then he felt ashamed because after the fallout with Yurong that night, he had been in a foul mood, either burying himself in work or blending into the crowd. He didn’t seem to have sought out Wen Qianyi alone or contacted her.
"Made it to the news! You’re something else!" Li Jie clearly was mocking with praise.
"So..."
"That’s it?" Li Jie asked again.
"What?"
"That night, don’t tell me after the wire act, you both just went back to sleep in your own rooms."
Li Yan had no qualms admitting, "Later, because Xiaodi didn’t want to go home, she and I went to a hotel, waiting for her birthday to arrive."
"You...!"
But thinking it through calmly, they were originally boyfriend and girlfriend, what does it matter?
"Just because of this?"
"Because Xiaodi didn’t want her parents to disturb her, she stayed with me. We both turned off our phones. It wasn’t until the next day at noon, when going online to check the S University website, that we found out about the news. It seems Xiaodi’s mom also left her a message on QQ. So she went home in the afternoon, and since then, I’ve been unable to contact her."
Li Yan recalled the scene when he parted with Xiaodi. She seemed to have guessed something, with tears in her eyes, saying she would voluntarily apologize to Zhang Yurong and mentioning she had taken photos of the roses in the room, saying she would keep that love letter well. Finally, she didn’t let him see her off but left alone. Could it be that she said something on the QQ message?
He started feeling agitated, "Enough! Don’t ask anymore. What did you find out? Is Zhou Yunfei willing to talk?"
Li Jie seemed to empathize with his feelings, paused, and said softly, "I didn’t say it was for you. I just said I tried calling Yu Xiaodi, but the phone was off, so I wanted to ask if he knew whether Yu Xiaodi was home, and to tell her to call me. So Captain Zhou told me the truth..."
"How is Xiaodi?" Li Yan asked urgently.
"According to Zhou Yunfei, when she returned from school last Saturday afternoon, there were many guests at home, and she stayed home. Then the next day, Sunday, she left with her mom, or rather, her mom took her away."
"Her mom?" Li Yan frowned. Chen Mingying had always disapproved of them. Taking Xiaodi away was clearly to separate them, but where would they go? "Does he know where they went?"
"Come on, Zhou Yunfei is just a security captain. The employer wants to go somewhere and doesn’t say to take them along for protection, how would he know?"
Li Yan had nothing to say; it made sense. However, he still had some doubts, because Chen Mingying trusted Zhou Yunfei quite a bit. If they had gone to another city, for instance, staying temporarily at relatives’ or friends’ houses, at least they might have asked him to take them to the airport or something?
"Never mind, thank you." Li Yan smiled bitterly. Knowing any answer was better than hanging in the air. At least being with her mom meant no danger. Perhaps something happened at her grandma’s or grandmother’s house, and she urgently had to return to her hometown but would come back in a few days.
"Then you... try to look at it positively." Li Jie was not skilled at comforting people, she just said this. "By the way, I told Zhou Yunfei, if he sees Yu Xiaodi return, to have him call me. If I get the news, I’ll call you immediately!"
"Hm. Thanks." Li Yan wasn’t very upbeat.
Li Jie said softly, "Between us, is there a need for such formal ’thank yous’?"
"Haha, sorry, I just..."
"Alright, just focus on your work. Since Xiaodi is with family, there shouldn’t be any danger, as for you two, there’s plenty of time ahead!"
"Hm."
...
After hanging up, Li Yan finished his beer but didn’t continue to drink himself into a stupor; instead, he tidied up his mood and drove back to his place.
Although he seemed to take it in stride, he was still hurt inside. In such a short time, two girls who held important places in his heart had left him both actively and passively. If he said he wasn’t sad, it would be a lie.
However, while emotionally he was still like a boy experiencing his first love, his mental resilience was much stronger. He had felt low for several days and had learned to keep those feelings to himself. Moreover, the situations with Yurong and Xiaodi had long been anticipated; it was just a matter of time.
When he got back to his place, it was already past eleven. The four of them had already returned to their rooms. Through the space beneath the doors, he could see lights still on inside; they probably hadn’t slept.
He didn’t disturb anyone, went back to his room, and grabbed clothes for a shower. In this kind of winter, a cold shower could certainly make someone very calm and clear-headed; it also extinguished the desire stirred by Bai Jie and the gloom caused by Xiaodi, leaving him refreshed as if washed anew.
