20. Missing

Eight hours ago

Lan Xie kept waiting for RuQian to come back from the restroom. She was already in the cafeteria after ordering lunch for both of them. She sat there for about fifteen minutes and then went to check where her friend had been held up. 'Were there a lot of girls in the restroom? Maybe Qian Qian had to wait for her turn.' Lan Xie thought as she entered the restroom.

She saw that the restroom was empty and there was no one in there. She took out her phone and dialled her friend only to be met with the message that the mobile was turned off. RuQian always had her phone battery fully charged and she never switched off her phone so this felt strange to Lan Xie.

However strange it was Lan Xie decided not to jump to conclusions and started searching for RuQian in the school. She first went back to their classroom, then she checked the cafeteria hoping RuQian went there, then she scanned the faces in the playground, then she went back inside and scoured through all classrooms but there was still no sign of RuQian.

She thought of wanting to go and complain to the teacher or the headmaster but stopped herself from doing so. It was still too early to make a missing announcement, if she were to say something like this out in the open, the girls who called RuQian a slut would get this chance to say she ran off to sleep with some old man. Lan Xie decided to leave school early and see for herself if RuQian had gone back to Zhang mansion.

The whole ride back to the Zhang mansion, Lan Xie kept hoping RuQian was back home. Lan Xie had called her driver to bring the car to pick her up early, normally RuQian was the one who sent her home, she used her car only in the morning.

When Lan Xie reached the Zhang mansion, she was welcomed by old butler Wong.

"Miss Lan, welcome."

"Butler Wong, have you seen Qian Qian?" Lan Xie did not waste any time.

"Miss Lan, Young Miss is at school. Did you take a leave from school today?"

Lan Xie froze when she heard the butler's words, it was like she had been dowsed in ice cold water. 'Qian Qian is not at home either? So where is she? Did she really go missing?' Lan Xie did not give a reply to the confused butler but took out her phone and dialed grandpa Zhang. Ren Wei picked up the phone instead.

"Hello."

"I need to speak to grandpa Zhang."

"Miss Lan, the president is in a meeting. If there is a message I can...."

"I HAVE TO SPEAK TO GRANDPA ZHANG! NOW!" Lan Xie did not wait for Ren Wei to finish and yelled at the secretary. Understanding her urgency Ren Wei passed the phone to the old master.

"President, miss Lan is on the line."

"Uhh? Xiao Xie? What happened?"

"Grandpa Zhang? wwaaaaaahhhhh....." When she heard the old man's voice, the composure Lan Xie tried so hard to maintain broke and she started crying. "Please come home grandpa. Plllleeeaaasssseeeee..." When he heard Lan Xie crying grandpa Zhang got worried, he tried asking her what was wrong but the girl only kept wailing on the other end. Grandpa Zhang had no other choice but to cut his meeting short and return home.

On the other side butler Wong tried to pacify Lan Xie, and it worked but as soon as Lan Xie saw the painting she had drawn of RuQian she was reminded that her Qian Qian was missing and she whimpered even more loudly. Old butler Wong did not know what to do.

Grandpa Zhang came back and it took a lot of coaxing even from him to get Lan Xie to talk, it was already evening by the time Lan Xie recited her side of the story. When grandpa Zhang finally understood what happened, he used his connections to find RuQian. Dinner time had passed but still there was no word of his beloved granddaughter. He was getting really worried but he maintained a stoic expression.

Grandfather Zhang thought things through, "Xiao Xie, let me go make a call, okay?" He left for his study. He did not want to use this connection but he needed to find his granddaughter.

When it was almost midnight, a maid rushed into the study, "Old master, some one brought young miss back!"

These words felt like honey to the old man's ears as he rushed out of the study.

In the living room, Lan Xie was tending to an unconscious RuQian while glaring at a certain someone.