Susu tried calling Sophie's cell phone again, but it was still unreachable. She couldn't just wait around like this. She told the nanny and the two bodyguards accompanying her, "Let's split up and search. Sophie hasn't been missing for twelve hours yet, so she shouldn't have gone far..."
One of the bodyguards interrupted, "Madam, Miss Sophie, whom you are looking for, is an adult. She might have just gone for a walk somewhere and will return on her own. We cannot leave you. Mr. Qin instructed us to protect you at all times."
"But finding her is more important right now," Susu said decisively. "One of you stay with me, and the other can go and help me look for her."
She sent Sophie's photos to both bodyguards' phones and then they split up in three directions to search for Sophie.
Susu went from shop to shop along the way, asking if anyone had seen the woman in the photo. She walked to the end of the road, which led to the riverbank, but no one had seen Sophie.
Her legs felt numb, as if they weren't her own. Standing on the muddy, gravelly riverbank, she suddenly wondered if Sophie had walked into the river like this last night and been drowned by the current.
The thought of that terrible scene made her deeply regret not making time to visit Sophie in the past few days. Perhaps if she had spent time talking with Sophie, Sophie wouldn't have acted so strangely.
Susu walked step by step towards the surging river water. The bodyguard following her immediately stopped her and said loudly, "Madam! Please don't do anything rash!"
"Do you think I'm going to do something foolish?" Susu stopped and looked at the bodyguard. "I just want to get closer to see if there's anything on the river... Ptooey, no, no! This path only goes this far. Let's ask them if they've had any luck in those two directions."
The bodyguard with her immediately called the other bodyguard. Sophie's trace was not found in that direction either.
Just as Susu was about to call the nanny, Su Kangxi's call came through.
"Sister Susu, did you call for me? Sorry, I was interrogating a suspect in the inquiry room just now and didn't have my phone."
"It's alright. I just wanted to see if you could access the road surveillance footage from early this morning," Susu said.
Su Kangxi asked worriedly, "Did something happen to you?"
"I'm fine. It's Sophie. She left her residence suddenly early this morning and still hasn't shown up. I'm worried something might have happened to her."
Su Kangxi said, "From early morning until now isn't considered missing yet. I'm afraid we can't access the road surveillance footage. The procedures for accessing surveillance are becoming stricter here."
"Okay, then it's fine. You go ahead with your work. I'll keep looking around." Susu didn't want to make things difficult for him.
Su Kangxi quickly said, "Tell me where she went missing, and I'll help you look. Don't worry too much. She's a grown woman; maybe she's just in a bad mood and wants to clear her head, and she'll come back on her own."
Susu couldn't help but worry and said, "You don't know, her mental state hasn't been very good lately. I'm really afraid she... afraid she might do something foolish..."
"Tell me where you are, and I'll come help you look right now." Su Kangxi could understand Susu's feelings.
Susu didn't want to trouble him and said, "You're busy. It's fine. Someone is helping me look here. If I still can't find her after twenty-four hours, I'll ask for your help then."
"Alright, then take care of yourself."
Susu hung up, wanting to move her legs, but they felt as heavy as lead and wouldn't lift.
The bodyguard with her suggested, "Madam, why don't you rest here for a bit? I'll have Ade drive over to pick you up."
Just as Susu was about to say no, her phone rang again. This time it was Chen Ma.
"Young Madam, someone has brought Miss Sophie back. Please come back quickly," Chen Ma said. "Miss Sophie has been saying she wants to see you."
Susu could hardly believe it and asked, "You mean someone brought Sophie to the seaside villa? How is that possible? Who was that person?"
Chen Ma said uncertainly, "It should be a kind person, over fifty years old, looked quite gentlemanly. He said he met Miss Sophie in the town square. He saw Miss Sophie lingering by the artificial lake, so he went up to ask. Miss Sophie was talking incoherently, only saying she wanted to see you, and gave this person the address of the seaside villa. The family then sent her over."
"Okay, Chen Ma, you must stay with Sophie. I'll be back right away."
"Young Madam, don't rush. I'll make sure Miss Sophie is safe. She's really met a good person this time."
Susu told the bodyguard beside her, "Tell Ade to stop searching and come pick us up quickly."
"Okay."
On the way, Susu informed the nanny that the person had been found and asked her to wait at the residence.
As soon as she arrived at the seaside villa, Susu rushed out of the car, calling out loudly, "Sophie, Sophie!"
Hearing her voice, Sophie ran out barefoot and hugged her tightly, saying, "Susu, I finally see you... I thought I'd never see you again..."
Seeing that Sophie was still wearing the same loungewear from the surveillance video, Susu asked, "Where were you going in the middle of the night? Fortunately, you didn't run into any bad people."
"You sent me a message last night, saying you wanted to see me," Sophie said, holding onto her tightly.
Susu froze instantly and said, "I didn't send you any message."
Sophie let go of her and raised the phone she was holding tightly, wanting to show her the message. However, she found that the phone was already turned off and wouldn't turn on no matter how she tried.
"Why won't my phone turn on? No wonder I couldn't find you anywhere."
"It must be out of battery and needs charging." Susu took her phone, pulled her into the living room, and found a charger to charge her phone.
Sophie followed her closely. She sneezed behind Susu.
Susu looked at Chen Ma and asked, "Why isn't she wearing shoes? Her clothes are too thin, she needs to change."
Chen Ma tried to approach Sophie, but Sophie immediately dodged her.
Chen Ma said helplessly, "Young Madam, Miss Sophie won't let me get close to her, so how can she listen to me? She doesn't want to wear shoes or change clothes, and I can't do anything about it."
Sophie nervously held Susu's arm, looking around vigilantly, and said, "Susu, I only trust you. They all want to harm me."
Susu looked at her with concern, feeling that her condition had worsened. Could she have developed paranoia?
"Chen Ma, I'll take her to her room to take a bath and change clothes." As Susu took her upstairs, she remembered something and said to Chen Ma, "Also, please get me a new pair of slippers."
Chen Ma responded and went to prepare. Regarding Sophie's situation, she occasionally heard Susu and the young master talking about it and knew a little. She felt it was a sin and felt great pity for Sophie.
After Sophie took a hot bath and changed her clothes, she lay down on the bed, exhausted, and fell asleep. Even in her sleep, she tightly held Susu's hand, afraid she would disappear.
When Sophie was fast asleep, Susu finally pulled her hand back, covered her with the blanket, and suddenly realized someone had quietly appeared behind her.
She turned her head abruptly and saw that it was Qin Tianyi. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and say softly, "You scared me to death. You walk without making a sound."