It was another day of running errands outside.
Jiang Nan Fang hired two guides to accompany her, starting from the scene of the incident, going door-to-door with Zhan Bei Jue's photo.
This was already the fifth day.
Still, there was no clue.
She was in a bad mood and didn't want to go home.
The guides clocked out and left, and she walked aimlessly on the wide, clean street alone.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder.
Recognizing the familiar feel, strength, and angle of the pat, Jiang Nan Fang instantly thought of Zhan Bei Jue.
She couldn't believe happiness had come so suddenly, and she stood frozen for several seconds before turning around.
To her surprise, she saw Ah Zhong's face.
It had been a long time since she saw Ah Zhong, and she didn't know where he had been.
Although meeting unexpectedly should have been a happy occasion, Jiang Nan Fang couldn't be happy.
Seeing the person who used to be by Zhan Bei Jue's side daily, and his absence, made her even sadder.
Her nose stung, and tears welled up uncontrollably.
"Ah Zhong."
Ah Zhong was pioneering abroad.
From finding office buildings and registering companies to recruiting staff… he handled all sorts of big and small matters alone.
He shuttled through streets and alleys every day, long gone was his former elite image.
His skin was tanned to a wheat color, his hair was medium-length, and he wore a simple shirt and jeans.
He looked like the dejected Takeshi Kaneshiro in movies.
Seeing Jiang Nan Fang cry, he extended his hands and walked forward, gently hugging her.
"I know. I came back because of this. I also understand how you feel right now. Cry if you want to."
Jiang Nan Fang had held back for so many days, and finally, someone encouraged her to cry.
She buried her face in Ah Zhong's shoulder and cried her heart out, inconsolably.
Ignoring the stares of passersby, they stood there, crying. Ah Zhong only took her back when Jiang Nan Fang's voice became hoarse and she was gasping for breath.
They sat in a hotel room, drinking.
Ah Zhong said, "Although I don't want to say this to you, after thinking it over, even if it upsets you, I still have to say it."
"It's been 20 days. You probably have to accept reality."
Yes. 20 days. What did that mean?
It was enough for a dead person to turn into a pile of bones.
But Jiang Nan Fang still didn't want to face it.
She couldn't forget how Zhan Bei Jue looked at her affectionately at the airport.
She couldn't forget how he held her and said he loved her with such reluctance.
He was such a good, good, good lover.
How could she accept being lost just like that?
"If you know I'll be unhappy, then don't say it. Anyway, I won't go back until I see him."
"Do you know how long it's been since you last called the children? He's disappeared, so he can't call. And you don't call either. Aren't the children pitiful?"
The children?
Jiang Nan Fang's eyes lit up.
"You know about the children too?"
"Of course," Ah Zhong said.
"Mr. Zhan doesn't have many friends. I handle everything for him."
Jiang Nan Fang wanted to call the children, but besides Zhan Bei Jue and Ah Zhong, and Ah Cheng who was far away in a foreign country, no one knew the children's current whereabouts or contact information.
She couldn't even call them.
"Zhong Jia Ming, you are a scoundrel. You've all deceived me so badly!"
Ah Zhong apologized.
"I know. You can hit me, scold me, do whatever you want. But first, tell me your answer."
"Do you want to stay here and cling to a result that might not happen, or do you want to come with me to see the children?"
Jiang Nan Fang hadn't seen the children for months. At this moment, how could she choose?
However, she still couldn't let go of Zhan Bei Jue.
"What if he's not dead at all, and is desperately waiting for us to save him?"
Ah Zhong was calmer than her and analyzed rationally.
"If that were the case, I believe Mr. Zhan wouldn't need us."
"As long as he has the will to live, he will definitely seize any opportunity to stand up on his own. If we can't help, we can't help."
"Instead of wasting time waiting here in vain, it's better to go be with the children. Miss Jiang, you are an intelligent person, you don't need me to tell you the importance of saving at least one thing, do you?"
And so, the next day, Jiang Nan Fang reluctantly left Switzerland with Ah Zhong for Norway.
"Why did you choose Norway?"
Ah Zhong explained to her.
"Because Jing Yu and Tian Tian said that you once told them you wanted to bring them here to settle down."
Zhan Bei Jue's presence was everywhere in her life, his thoughtfulness lingering.
Jiang Nan Fang thought: Even if he's truly gone, she would live in their memories for the rest of her life, revisiting them every day, never forgetting him.
It was past five in the morning when they arrived in Norway. The children were not yet awake.
Zhan Bei Jue had bought a very beautiful manor.
It was so beautiful that Jiang Nan Fang had only seen such places in classical British dramas.
In front was a huge garden and lawn, and behind the lawn stood a small white house.
The yard was filled with flowers, plants, and various child-friendly toys.
The house was childlike, clean, and bright, with a faint fragrance upon entering.
Ah Cheng opened the door to welcome Jiang Nan Fang and Ah Zhong in. Seeing all of this, Jiang Nan Fang couldn't help but feel her eyes well up again.
It was her favorite style.
It was the style she had described to the children in her imagination.
Even the flowers and plants were of her favorite varieties.
It seemed Zhan Bei Jue had decorated it according to her wishes.
"You must be tired after a seven-hour flight. Have some breakfast first, and I'll go wake them up."
Ah Cheng followed Jiang Nan Fang cautiously.
Jiang Nan Fang turned around, "No need. Let them sleep."
"There's no rush. I'll make them breakfast."
She didn't feel tired at all.
Intertwined with feelings of surprise and pain, she felt everything except tiredness and sleepiness.
She just didn't want to rest.
As she cooked, Ah Zhong and Ah Cheng stood at the kitchen door like bodyguards, watching her and chatting with her.
Ah Cheng said.
"The old man's health isn't good again recently. He's been hospitalized for the past two days. Should we inform him about the children?"
Ah Zhong: "His life hasn't been easy. He buried the old madam, then the young master, and now…"
"The Zhan family has never been prosperous. With what happened now, it's no wonder he can't cope."
Jiang Nan Fang turned back to look at them with some surprise.
"So Grandpa doesn't know about the four children?"
They both shook their heads.
"What Mr. Zhan doesn't want others to know, others won't know. The old man only met the children once, and later went abroad due to poor health."
"If you take the children to see him now, it will definitely help his condition."
"Besides, they are now the heirs of the Zhan Corporation. Someone has to inherit the family business that Mr. Zhan worked so hard to build for many years. Living abroad all the time…"
Jiang Nan Fang had a clear idea.
She had been thinking about it on the way.
Would she settle in Norway forever with the children, or return to Nancheng?