Gu Qingtang covered her face with her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks as she ran out of the little hut by the river. She hadn’t gone far before she ran into Liang Feng and his group.
Gu Qingtang had been adopted by Zhou’s father, and she had visited the Zhou family’s rural hometown only a handful of times. She barely knew any of the villagers in Laotianwan.
Feeling utterly humiliated at the thought of anyone seeing her in such a state, she turned away and tried to avoid the group.
Liang Feng didn’t recognize Gu Qingtang either, but her current appearance was enough to make anyone’s imagination run wild. Her clothes were disheveled, her hair a complete mess, and her eyes were red from crying.
The moment he saw her, his heart gave a sudden jolt.
Had something gone wrong?
Could it be that the person whose innocence had been taken wasn’t Zhong Yi after all?
For a moment, Liang Feng’s heart pounded like a drum, and his thoughts spiraled into confusion.
“Liang Feng, why have you stopped walking?”
Zhong Huilan was completely preoccupied with finding her daughter, Zhong Yi, and had no time to pay attention to anyone else. Seeing Liang Feng suddenly stop, she casually asked him a question.
Liang Feng snapped out of his thoughts and instinctively pushed up the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.
“I’m coming, Aunt Zhong. I just remembered—isn’t there a little hut by the river behind the mountain? I wonder if Xiaoyi might be there.”
“That can’t be, can it? Hardly anyone goes there,” one of the village aunties said before Zhong Huilan could respond.
“Not necessarily. Respectable people don’t go there, but the place is secluded. I’ve heard that men and women having affairs often sneak off to that little hut by the river to fool around.”
The other woman spoke suggestively, covering her mouth as she chuckled.
Her words couldn’t have pleased Liang Feng more.
He had specifically instructed his mother to lure someone to the riverside hut, and that was exactly why he had made the arrangement.
Hearing this, Zhong Huilan’s expression darkened.
“Madam Liu, what exactly are you implying? My Xiaoyi is a perfectly respectable young woman with a fiancé. They’re getting married in the second half of the year! You’re spreading rumors that could ruin her reputation. What kind of intentions do you have?”
Madam Liu hurriedly explained that she hadn’t meant it that way.
“Aunt Zhong, don’t misunderstand,” Liang Feng chimed in, pretending to help smooth things over.
Zhong Huilan snapped, “Finding my Xiaoyi is what matters right now. But if I ever hear you say something like that again, don’t blame me for being rude!”
Watching Zhong Huilan’s fierce and outspoken behavior, Liang Feng felt nothing but disgust.
He was a man of status now. Having such a crude and unreasonable future mother-in-law made him feel embarrassed.
Fortunately, he would soon be rid of the vulgar Zhong family!
“Let’s hurry up and go,” Liang Feng urged, barely able to contain his excitement.
The group soon arrived at the little hut by the river.
Behind it stood a mountain, while a winding river flowed toward some distant, unknown destination. Trees grew thickly along both banks. It was early summer, and the lush foliage was flourishing, filling the surroundings with vibrant life.
Beside the river stood a small hut with black roof tiles and whitewashed walls. The plaster was peeling, and the wooden door had turned a dark gray from years of neglect.
At that moment, the dilapidated wooden door was firmly shut.
Liang Feng was secretly delighted. There had been no movement from inside, and Zhong Yi still hadn’t returned home. That meant there was a good chance the two people were still inside.
He had improved the drug’s formula, greatly increasing its potency. After spending the entire night entangled in each other’s arms, the two of them would undoubtedly still be unconscious.
Suppressing his excitement, Liang Feng deliberately remarked, “The door is closed. It doesn’t look like anyone’s here. Could she be somewhere else?”
“Since we’re already here, we might as well take a look. We shouldn’t overlook any possibilities,” Zhong Huilan replied. Her mind was entirely focused on her daughter, and she didn’t want to leave any suspicious place unchecked.
Liang Feng secretly rejoiced.
“All right, then. We’ll do as you say. Let’s go have a look.”
The group approached the hut.
It wasn’t very wide, its rectangular structure making it look rather cramped, and the doorway itself was quite small.
Liang Feng stopped at the entrance, took a deep breath, and pretended to call out.
“Xiaoyi! Xiaoyi, are you in there?”
No one answered.
One of the impatient villagers urged, “Stop calling out and just open the door! We don’t have time to waste.”
“Exactly! Exactly!”
“All right, then. I’ll do as you all suggest, Uncle and Auntie.”
As he spoke, Liang Feng could barely keep the corners of his mouth from curling upward. He knew exactly what scene awaited them once the door opened.
However, he couldn’t let his happiness show. Instead, he had to act shocked, bewildered, and utterly disbelieving.
He forced himself to compose his expression, then glanced at the uncles and aunties gathered behind him.
With one swift movement, he pushed the door open.
“Xiaoyi—!”
The hut was completely silent.
Its walls were covered in a layer of dust and grime. An old table with a missing leg stood against one wall, while a narrow bed sat on the other side, its sheets and bedding piled into a messy heap.
But there was no one there!
“This is impossible!”
Liang Feng stared at the empty hut, his expression as ugly as if he’d just swallowed a fly.
“What did you say?”
Zhong Huilan was about to check the area behind a curtain. She thought she had heard Liang Feng mutter something, but she hadn’t caught it clearly, so she turned around and asked him.
Liang Feng pushed up his glasses and hurriedly explained, “I said there’s no one here either. Where else could Xiaoyi have gone?”
Indeed, where on earth had her daughter gone?
Zhong Huilan was growing increasingly anxious. She pulled back the curtain and searched the space behind it, but it was empty. Apart from a simple earthen stove, a few chipped bowls, and two broken stools, there was nothing inside.
The hut was so small that one could practically see everything at a glance. There was nowhere a person could possibly hide.
“Since she’s not here, let’s look somewhere else.”
“Where could that child have gone? The village isn’t even that big. How can we still not find her?”
“Exactly.”
The villagers who had come to help search began discussing the situation among themselves. They all lived in the same village. Although neighbors sometimes had disagreements, that was one thing; a serious matter like this was another.
When something important happened, the people of Laotianwan still stood together. Much of that unity was thanks to the wise leadership of Old Master Zhou.
“Come to think of it, we’ve made quite a commotion. If that girl Zhong Yi were really still in the village, she should have come out by now after hearing so many people looking for her.”
“That’s true. But if she’s not in the village, then things could be much more serious. Should we report it to the police?”
Zhong Huilan had actually begun considering the same thing.
But the moment Liang Feng heard someone mention calling the police, his expression changed. Panic flashed across his face, and cold sweat nearly broke out on his forehead.
If the police got involved, they would undoubtedly investigate the matter. What if they discovered that his mother had drugged Zhou Shu?
“Why don’t we search a few more places first?”
After considerable persuasion, Liang Feng finally managed to convince everyone to continue searching elsewhere.
He followed the group, bringing up the rear. Even as they left, he couldn’t resist turning around to stare at the little hut.
How could this have happened? The person was supposed to be inside!
For some inexplicable reason, despite the bright sunshine overhead, Liang Feng suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Meanwhile, in the nearby woods…
Zhong Yi removed the leafy camouflage she had been wearing.
Zhou Shu certainly lived up to his military background. He hadn’t simply told her to hide in the woods. Worried that someone might recognize her, he had quickly improvised a disguise, using tree leaves to fashion a hat and a cloak that he draped over her.
Unless someone looked very carefully, they would never have guessed that two people were hiding there.
“Was that Liang Feng?” Zhou Shu asked.
Zhong Yi’s expression darkened.
“Yes. That was him.”
That despicable man!
Back when the Liang family had been so poor they could barely scrape together a living, they had relied entirely on the money Zhong Yi’s mother earned from selling tofu to support them.
Now, Liang Feng had merely become a doctor. He hadn’t even established himself properly, yet he was already thinking of dumping her.
Even if he wanted to break off their engagement, the least he could do was explain himself clearly and end things with some dignity.
Instead, he had resorted to such a despicable, underhanded scheme. What a vile and shameless man!
Then, remembering something, she shot Zhou Shu a rather resentful glance.
“It’s all your fault for stopping me from exposing his disgusting true colors right there and then! The more I think about it, the angrier I get.”
Despite her complaints, Zhou Shu didn’t get angry. He simply responded with magnanimity, “I only thought that being caught in bed with someone would damage your reputation, especially as a woman.”
Zhong Yi froze for a moment.
Just then, scattered sunlight filtered through the tree branches and fell across Zhou Shu’s face, making him seem to glow.
He had a strikingly handsome yet cold and stern appearance, but at that moment, he was unexpectedly gentle.