Su Cheng’s heart leaped. He instinctively rushed back to Gu Qianying’s room. Pushing open the door, he found no sign of her.
“Qianying, Qianying!”
Su Cheng searched the room but still couldn’t find Gu Qianying. The sleeping quarters were empty.
Just then, the cry for help echoed again.
Su Cheng hurried out, following the sound. He passed through the back garden and saw a fleeting shadow. He quickly ran towards it.
At that moment, someone suddenly patted his shoulder from behind.
Su Cheng immediately turned around, his eyes meeting a stunningly beautiful face.
“Qianying, you…”
Gu Qianying stood right behind Su Cheng.
“Qianying, where did you go?”
Seeing Gu Qianying, Su Cheng was greatly surprised, and a large part of his worry dissipated. He felt much more at ease knowing Gu Qianying was safe.
“I was looking for you, but you weren’t there. Then I heard someone cry for help again, so I came out. I thought it was you calling for help?”
“Looking for me?”
Su Cheng found it strange.
“Qianying, I thought something had happened to you. I was so afraid something would happen to you that I came to find you.”
“What? Something happened to me?”
“How is that possible?”
Su Cheng thought Gu Qianying was in trouble, and Gu Qianying thought Su Cheng was in trouble. Both found it peculiar.
“Help.”
As they spoke, the cries for help continued.
“It’s from Old Mr. and Mrs. Su. Come, let’s go see.”
Gu Qianying grabbed Su Cheng’s arm and headed towards the Su couple’s residence.
“Okay.”
Su Cheng looked at the hand holding his, his heart filled with joy.
A moment later, Gu Qianying and Su Cheng arrived at the room where the Su couple lived. However, as they pushed the door open and entered, they found that the Su couple was also not in the room.
“There’s no one in the room. Where did they go?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go look for them.”
Gu Qianying was also puzzled as to why the Su couple’s room was empty. If no one was there, then where was the cry for help coming from?
“Are they perhaps taking care of Ouyang Qinglin?” Su Cheng inquired. He knew that both the Su couple were diligently looking after Ouyang Qinglin.
“Let’s go, let’s go check Ouyang Qinglin’s room.”
Gu Qianying walked out and turned towards Ouyang Qinglin’s room. Su Cheng followed behind her.
As they passed through the corridor, Su Yuxi and Meng Qinghua were also walking towards Gu Qianying.
“Qianying, did you hear someone calling for help?” Meng Qinghua, holding Su Yuxi’s hand, approached them.
Gu Qianying stopped, waiting for them to come closer.
“You heard it too?” Gu Qianying asked.
Meng Qinghua nodded. “Yes, I heard it. At first, I thought something had happened to Yuxi, so I rushed to see how she was. When I got to her room, it was empty. No one was there. Then I quickly went out to look for Yuxi.”
“In the corridor, I met Yuxi. Yuxi said she also heard the cries for help, and she thought something had happened to me, so she also came quickly.”
Hearing Meng Qinghua’s account, Gu Qianying found it very strange.
Su Yuxi also spoke at this moment. “I also heard the cries for help. I thought Brother Meng had encountered some bad people, so I quickly ran out to find him.”
As she spoke, Su Yuxi walked over and tugged at Gu Qianying’s sleeve. “Qianying, do you know? I thought Brother Meng was beaten by bad people, so I quickly chased after him and ran to Brother Meng’s room. But when I went inside, I found that Brother Meng was actually not in the room. There was no one in his room.”
“I was a little scared, so I came out quickly. I was thinking of finding you, Qianying, but fortunately, I met Brother Meng outside.”
“Yes, my experience was the same as Yuxi’s. Qianying, later, I heard the cries for help, which sounded like they were from Old Mr. and Mrs. Su.”
“I thought something might have happened to the Su couple, so I quickly brought Yuxi to see.”
“The Su couple are not in their room.”
“Let’s go check Ouyang Qinglin’s room first.”
After understanding the situation, Gu Qianying walked past Meng Qinghua and Su Yuxi.
“Okay, we’ll accompany you.”
Meng Qinghua and Su Yuxi followed behind Gu Qianying, and Su Cheng also came along.
A moment later, Gu Qianying pushed open Ouyang Qinglin’s room door. The four of them entered together.
“Qinglin, are you resting?”
As Gu Qianying, Su Cheng, Su Yuxi, and Meng Qinghua entered, they saw someone lying on the bed with their back to them. The person was wearing red clothes and was not covered by a blanket.
“Qinglin, Qianying is talking to you. Didn’t you hear? Are you asleep?”
The person lying on the bed showed no reaction as Gu Qianying spoke.
Meng Qinghua frowned. He walked over and patted Ouyang Qinglin’s shoulder.
However, the person on the bed suddenly turned around.
“This… this… this…!”
Meng Qinghua was startled. This was not Ouyang Qinglin at all; it was a scarecrow. A scarecrow dressed in red!
Meng Qinghua exclaimed. Gu Qianying and the others moved closer and saw the appearance of the person on the bed.
“It’s not Qinglin?” Gu Qianying frowned.
“Where did Qinglin go?” Gu Qianying and the others were also shocked when they saw the red-clothed scarecrow.
At this point, someone raised the most crucial question: “The Su couple are not in Ouyang Qinglin’s room, and Ouyang Qinglin is also nowhere to be found?”
“Could these three have all gone missing?”
If that were the case, then who was calling for help just now in the manor?
The more bizarre it became, the less they should panic; they needed to remain calm. This was Gu Qianying’s way of handling things.
“It’s too strange!” Meng Qinghua glanced around. “Qianying, you just said you heard Su Cheng calling for help, and Su Cheng also heard you calling for help.”
“However, for Meng Qinghua and Yuxi, I heard Yuxi calling for help, and Yuxi heard me calling for help. Afterwards… we both simultaneously heard Old Mr. and Mrs. Su calling for help.”
“This is so strange, so bizarre.”
“Qianying, now that Old Mr. and Mrs. Su and Ouyang Qinglin are all missing, where do you think they could have gone?” Meng Qinghua felt that the entire situation was shrouded in strangeness.
Gu Qianying felt the same. Su Cheng remained silent. Beside them, Su Yuxi tilted her head, lost in thought.
“Let’s not worry about that for now. Let’s go find them first.” Gu Qianying understood the implication of Meng Qinghua’s words.
“Okay, we’ll do as you say, Qianying. Let’s go find them first.”
Following this, Gu Qianying and the others began searching the manor for the missing people. They searched the back garden, servant quarters, storerooms, woodsheds, and kitchens – every place they could think of. However, Gu Qianying and the others did not find the Su couple and Ouyang Qinglin.
Gu Qianying and the others eventually arrived at the Bai family ancestral hall. When they entered, they found no one in the ancestral hall either.
Gu Qianying, Su Cheng, Su Yuxi, and Meng Qinghua emerged from the Bai family ancestral hall.
“We’ve searched the entire manor and haven’t found them. Where could they have gone?” Gu Qianying couldn’t figure it out.
“Could they have gone out with Ouyang Qinglin? Ouyang Qinglin has been recuperating at the manor for several days after being injured, so he might have been in a bad mood.”
“So… the Su couple went out with Ouyang Qinglin?” Meng Qinghua felt something was too strange.
“Ouyang Qinglin isn’t someone who likes to go shopping. This possibility is unlikely.” Gu Qianying shook her head; she knew Ouyang Qinglin well. If Ouyang Qinglin were to leave the manor, he would have informed her, or at the very least, informed Meng Qinghua.
“Then… were they captured by bad people?” Su Yuxi looked at everyone, her eyes innocent as she spoke.
Gu Qianying and Meng Qinghua felt that the current situation was very strange.
Just as everyone was searching outside and meticulously searching the manor again, Old Mr. and Mrs. Bai, pushing Ouyang Qinglin in a wheelchair, walked out from outside. They had returned!