Hearing his words and seeing his expression, Yurong was a bit at a loss whether to laugh or cry. She rolled her eyes at him: "You've been working hard and tiring yourself out? I see you've been out enjoying yourself instead, and losing weight too! It's good enough that you haven't gained weight."

After she said that, another layer of thought came to her mind, 'Why is he being so nice to me?' Is this considered being nice to you? This should be very normal, right? Have I not done this before? Have I usually been unkind to you?

This thought made her feel slightly disheartened and apologetic. Perhaps her mind had truly been too preoccupied with work.

"Is that not the case? Then is there something you want me to do, letting me sleep?" Li Yan nonchalantly said, drinking the ginseng tea she had personally brought over.

Yurong tried her best to smile: "Not really, if you're very tired, have your drink and then go rest."

"Silly! I was just joking with you." Li Yan didn't have the habit of savoring carefully. Coming back without having had water, soaking in a hot bath had worked up a sweat, so he downed the ginseng tea in a few gulps. "So, tell me, what happened with Yue Yao?"

Seeing him seriously inquire, Yurong also became serious: "A few days ago, Yue Yao said she was going to meet an online friend coming in from out of town. She needed to drive to pick the friend up at a hotel, so she asked to borrow your car. Since you were not at home and didn't need the car, I found your keys for her. She left very early the next day, before dawn, and I figured the flight must have arrived early, so I didn't think much of it. But later that noon, she didn't come back, and even by nightfall, there was no sign of her, nor did she call me. I started getting a bit worried, but when I tried her phone, it was already turned off!"

"That's pretty much it. Maybe she was just having fun with her friend, and her phone happened to run out of battery. But two days ago, there was still no message. I checked the GPS, and I couldn't even locate where the car was. Calling and texting were useless. Yesterday it was the same, and there's still no response now."

At this point, Zhang Yurong was a bit anxious: "Do you think... could this online friend Yue Yao mentioned actually be her ex-boyfriend? She had come to S City to ease her mind because her boyfriend dumped her. Maybe that jerk came to find her again. Afraid I might hold her back or accompany her, she might have just said she was meeting a friend online. And that jerk might have done something terrible to her again..."

Li Yan listened and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He wasn't sure about the story Yue Yao came up with to get to know Zhang Yurong or how she painted the 'bastard boyfriend' who hurt her. That one time when the three of them were on Yue Yao's bed, he had also heard her 'story' and assumed she had indeed met someone she liked and had dated a boyfriend. But he later realized that Yue Yao had concocted it, and the prototype of the boyfriend was him.

"This... it shouldn't be, right? Even if that... bastard is no good, it shouldn't go as far as to continue hurting Yue Yao, right? At most, he might con her out of some money. He already ditched Yue Yao before and wouldn't be after her again." Li Yan found these words quite awkward, as it felt like he was insulting himself, and he didn't want Yue Yao to go through such an experience, even if fabricated. Yet, he couldn't easily disclose the truth.

"Who knows! You men often think with the lower half of your bodies, seeing a pretty face and running off with her at a mere gesture. Only after losing something do you understand its value! And... maybe he is after money, but Yue Yao writes those web novels; how much could that earn her? If he couldn't get money, he might have kidnapped Yue Yao, taking the car too..."

This was actually a scenario Zhang Yurong had considered all along, but when she had no one to discuss it with, she didn't dare speak aloud or think too much. Now that she had Li Yan to rely on, she voiced it out.

"Do you think he could have sold Yue Yao?"

"..."

This assumption made Li Yan find it both funny and exasperating, but seeing Yurong growing more worried as she spoke, he realized her concern for Yue Yao was sincere. No wonder Yue Yao was always considerate of her.

He walked over, embraced Yurong, and patted her back, softly comforting her: "Don't worry! Yue Yao will be okay. Whether or not she'll be sold, I can't say, but the car is definitely intended to be sold. That way, it can be found, just give me some time, and I'll definitely find her!"

Yurong had been worried for many days. Although she always remained strong and calm, having no one to talk to left the burden on her heart heavy. Now, seeing Li Yan, she felt he was someone she could rely on, someone who could help her, relieving the pressure brought by him.

The moment Li Yan held her, she felt a surge of strength as though she didn't have to worry anymore, with a sense of shelter from the wind and rain!

Yurong didn't pull away nor feel awkward, just naturally leaned on Li Yan's shoulder, softly saying, "Yue Yao is a poor good girl, she has helped us a lot, a lot, she's like a sister to me, we can't let her get into trouble..."

"I know, it won't happen." Li Yan felt slightly ashamed, as he always thought so, yet this time Yue Yao got into trouble, and it was because of him.

"Should we... report to the police? It's been several days since her disappearance, we can file a case immediately." Yurong, having received higher education, first thought of the formal help from the police.

Li Yan gently stroked her back, "What do you say? Where did she go to pick someone up? The exact time and place? If it's like you guessed, and she went to meet her boyfriend, then it might not be the airport or station, it could be anywhere. And such an early timing, it might have been intentional."

"Then..."

"Let me handle it! I have my ways, though it might cost a bit. You just stay home and wait for news!"

Yurong looked up at him, "Your way?"

"Well, just asking various friends for help. You focus on work and don't understand the complexity of society; some friends have a lot of influence." Li Yan intentionally spoke with a hint of mystery.

Yurong watched him for a while as if she understood, and nodded: "Mm, money isn't the issue. The main thing is to find the person, and you should be careful not to get into trouble."

As she said this, she left Li Yan's embrace and went to fetch a card.

"In here..."

Before she could say it, Li Yan already placed his hand on her lips and then smiled, "Do you trust me?"

Yurong nodded.

"Then that's right, I don't need you to run around, and I don't need your money, I'll take care of everything."

Zhang Yurong stared blankly at him. She had always been used to being in control, managing everything. Now Li Yan tells her that he doesn't need her effort or money, he will handle everything. This gave her a sense of pressure!

But in her heart, she didn't resist this kind of pressure too much. Perhaps a strong woman accepts a gentle man as a complement, but perhaps subconsciously she also liked a stronger man to conquer her!

"Mm, I believe you. I believe you can do it!"

Li Yan thought for a moment: "Wait at home, I'll go out for a bit, maybe today, maybe tomorrow there will be news!"

"Take my car! I don't need to go out today, I'll wait for you at home!"

"Okay." Li Yan hesitated whether to take her to the hospital!

(Thanks to the brothers who rewarded yesterday: Lin Qiufeng, Wen Zili, zjun971210, Dark Night卍Feng's Dance, dongmin8061) (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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