Li Ran had always remembered that today was the day Li Xin would return home. Ever since the year of her Rebirth, she had been looking forward to this day every single moment.
Over these eleven years, through her careful planning, she believed the Li family would surely care about her even more than in her previous life, and her “perfect image” would undoubtedly make her path to revenge smoother.
And today’s little drama was merely a welcoming gift for Li Xin. She truly hoped Li Xin would like it.
After Li Qing drove out, the first thing he did was call Father Li. “Dad, have you and Mom gone to pick up Xiao Ran yet? Xiao Ran just called me, crying very sadly. From the sound on the other end of the line, she seemed to be by the roadside. When did she leave the school?”
Hearing this, Father Li grew anxious as well. He told his son to first check the places Li Ran usually frequented, while he and Mother Li would go to the school to review the surveillance footage.
“Husband, what’s wrong? Has something happened to Xiao Ran?” Mother Li was a university professor by profession, and her demeanor was that of a woman from a scholarly family—very cultured and refined.
Father Li patted the back of Mother Li’s hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Xiao Ran has always been well-behaved. Maybe she just skipped class to go out with a friend? Don’t worry.”
“Skipped class? Xiao Ran has never skipped class in all these years!” Mother Li grew even more agitated upon hearing Father Li’s words. She took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose, urging the driver to speed up.
The driver had worked for the Li family for over ten years and was very fond of Li Ran. Upon hearing this, he unconsciously accelerated, cutting the original forty-minute drive in half.
When they arrived at Jingcheng No. 1 High School, where Li Ran attended, classes were not yet over. Father Li and Mother Li got out of the car and split up. Mother Li went to the homeroom teacher’s office, while Father Li headed straight for the school’s surveillance room.
The Li family had donated a substantial amount of money to the school—so much that everyone from the cleaning staff to the principal had firmly memorized the faces of their family of four.
Thus, both of them reached their destinations without any obstacles. Mother Li found the homeroom teacher responsible for the daily lives of the students in Class 1.
When she knocked and entered, the homeroom teacher was sitting at her desk preparing lessons. She was puzzled to see Mother Li rushing in.
“Teacher Zhang, do you know what time Li Ran left the school? Did she inform you before leaving?” Before Teacher Zhang could speak, Mother Li asked her questions first.
Teacher Zhang was even more surprised upon hearing this. “What! Wasn’t Xiao Ran picked up by you? When Xiao Ran came to ask for leave, she said there was an emergency at home. Wasn’t she picked up by you?”
Because Li Ran had always excelled academically and was seen by the teachers as a well-behaved and obedient good student—she had never acted arrogantly despite her family’s wealth—both teachers and classmates liked her very much.
So when she asked for leave, Teacher Zhang had given her the permission slip without hesitation.
Teacher Zhang continued, “She seemed in a very poor state when she left, looking as if she had just been crying. That’s why I believed her when she said there was an emergency at home. Has Xiao Ran gone missing? Mrs. Li, quickly, let’s go check the places Xiao Ran usually goes to.”
Mother Li gently stopped the homeroom teacher who was about to rush out with her bag. “No need to hurry just yet. Xiao Ran’s father has gone to the surveillance room to check the footage. Let’s go there together first!”
Just as the two were about to leave the office, they saw two tall boys rushing in.
“Aunt Li, why are you here? Did something happen to Xiao Ran?” These two were precisely the children from the Qi and Lu families, who were very close to the Li family—Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou.
Qi Jingchuan was a year older than Li Ran, while Lu Zhizhou was the same age as her. Both had grown up alongside Xiao Ran.
Seeing the two familiar boys, Mother Li felt her nose sting slightly. “Xiao Ran is missing. Your Uncle Li is checking the surveillance footage right now. Come with me to take a look.”
When the four arrived at the surveillance room, Father Li and the security captain had just found the footage of Li Ran leaving the school.
In the video, Li Ran was wearing her school uniform, walking slowly with her head lowered toward the school gate. Her posture suggested she was quietly sobbing.
The camera shifted to the school entrance, capturing Li Ran’s face clearly. Her small face was streaked with tears as she clutched her backpack strap, rubbing her eyes with her other hand before turning left and walking out of the school gate.
Seeing this, the anxious Father and Mother Li felt slightly relieved. Since their daughter had left on foot, she likely hadn’t gone too far.
Meanwhile, Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou felt their hearts ache at the sight of Li Ran crying.
Father Li glanced at the people around him. “Judging by the direction Xiao Ran went, she probably headed toward Zijin Mall or Lanting Park. Should we split up and search?”
Qi Jingchuan and Lu Zhizhou nodded. Qi Jingchuan spoke up, “Uncle Li, Zijin Mall is my family’s property. Zhizhou and I will go there. I’ll call you if we find anything.”
And so, the four split up and hurried toward the mall and the park.
In the car, Li Ran’s parents began to talk. “Ah, Xiao Ran must have found out about Xiaoxin. It’s our fault for not telling her in advance. If we had, she wouldn’t have reacted like this.”
Father Li pulled Mother Li closer. “My dear, no matter when we told her, the outcome would have been the same. Xiao Ran had to go through this process eventually.”
“I’ve always believed that the bond of upbringing outweighs that of blood. Not to mention her biological parents are no longer here—even if they were, I wouldn’t let anyone take our precious girl away.”
“It’s only natural that Xiao Ran is struggling to accept this right now. We need to give her a chance to come to terms with Xiaoxin.”
“And we also need to give ourselves a chance to prove to her that she will always be the little princess of our family, regardless of blood ties.”
Mother Li nodded helplessly. Although she also looked forward to meeting the biological daughter she had carried for ten months, she would never abandon her most considerate and beloved “little cotton-padded jacket.”
Whether it was her colleagues at the university or the wealthy ladies in her social circle, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t envy her.
Her Xiao Ran was not only an excellent student but also had a wonderful personality—gentle, obedient, and, most importantly, incredibly beautiful.
As a child, she looked like a doll, and as she grew older, she became as lovely as a fairy untouched by worldly affairs. Her only flaw was that she was too gentle and soft-spoken, which made her parents worry she might be taken advantage of in the future.
Once she and her husband found their daughter, they would comfort her properly, holding her tightly in their arms. They couldn’t bear to imagine how heartbroken Xiao Ran must be feeling right now.
Both the park and the shopping mall were not far from the school, less than a ten-minute drive away. After arriving at Zijing Mall, the two teenagers first sought out the security captain and asked him to arrange for a door-to-door search for Li Ran.
If they had arrived twenty minutes earlier, they could have spotted their little childhood friend happily eating shaved ice at the dessert shop on the first floor.
But after hanging up Li Qing’s call, Li Ran had left the dessert shop and headed to Lanting Park, where she was now sitting by the lake, enjoying the breeze and watching the sunset.