Zhao Ger and the maid entered through the back door, avoiding people all the way. Until they reached the small rear courtyard, he still hadn't seen Guaizai. Zhao Ger didn't dare look around indiscriminately, keeping his eyes downcast the whole way. The maidservant leading the way suddenly stopped and cried out.
"Miss..."
She rushed over. Zhao Ger looked up and saw someone lying on the ground ahead.
"Miss, Miss, what's wrong with you? Wake up, don't scare me!"
The maid helped Lianniang up. The slap mark on Lianniang's face was clearly visible.
Zhao Ger said: "She might have fainted."
____
Zhao Ger didn't manage to pick up Guaizai.
That maidservant was busy with her mistress's affairs, how could she still remember Zhao Ger?
The Yang residence was large, just this small rear courtyard seemed endless. Zhao Ger didn't dare wander around and had to retrace his steps back the way he came.
With Fang Zichen there, he wasn't worried. Fang Zichen protected Guaizai like the apple of his eye. If Guaizai had actually gotten soaked and Zhao Ger hadn't arrived, Fang Zichen would certainly have figured out a solution on his own.
He returned to the shop, washed and scrubbed, and didn't go back to Xiaohe Village until the afternoon.
In the evening, just as he finished cooking dinner, he was picking vegetables in the yard when a carriage stopped outside.
Yang Mingyi got down from the carriage, then turned around and lifted Guaizai out from inside.
Guaizai seemed unhappy, his little mouth pouting. He only smiled when he saw Zhao Ger: "Daddy!"
"You're back." Zhao Ger took him and greeted Yang Mingyi.
He looked towards the carriage, but no one else came out.
"Where is my husband?" Zhao Ger asked.
Yang Mingyi frowned upon hearing this: "Brother Fang hasn't returned?"
Zhao Ger shook his head: "Not yet. Didn't he come back with you?"
"No," Yang Mingyi said. "I haven't seen Brother Fang since this afternoon. I thought he had already returned."
Fang Zichen seemed a bit unreliable.
At noon, he said he was going to the outhouse, handed Guaizai to him, and then never returned.
Yang Mingyi didn't think much of it, assuming he had forgotten about Guaizai and gone back alone. Besides, the residence was somewhat chaotic, busy and bustling, so he only now had the chance to bring Guaizai back.
As it turned out, Fang Zichen still hadn't returned?
Zhao Ger grew anxious.
Yang Mingyi comforted him, then turned and instructed the coachman and maidservant behind him to go back and help look, to see if he was still in town and hadn't returned.
In town, there weren't many places Fang Zichen could go. He wasn't at Zuixiao Restaurant, nor was he on the streets.
Yang Mingyi returned to the residence and asked the gatekeepers. The gatekeepers said they hadn't seen Fang Zichen leave all afternoon.
Fang Zichen had a striking appearance and was tall; the gatekeepers remembered him vividly. If he had left, it was impossible for them not to have seen him or have no impression at all.
Upon hearing that Fang Zichen was missing, Yang Mutao, who hadn't even had time to deal with the matters concerning Madam Yang and the steward, immediately sent people to search.
But after searching the entire residence, they still couldn't find Fang Zichen.
He sent people to search outside, but all possible places were searched, and Fang Zichen was still missing.
He seemed to have suddenly vanished into thin air.
Without a trace, without a shadow.
Yang Mutao comforted Zhao Ger, saying it was fine. Fang Zichen was a man, not a child or a ger; nothing could happen to him. Besides, a living person couldn't just disappear for no reason.
These words struck Zhao Ger's ears, and he seemed to think of something, the blood instantly draining from his face, leaving him pale and haggard.
His body trembled uncontrollably, almost like a thin, helpless bamboo pole in the wind, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Yang Mingyi reached out to support him, but the moment he touched Zhao Ger's wrist, he froze.
It was ice-cold, like a dead person's, without a trace of warmth.
"Brother Zhao?"
Zhao Ger didn't respond, hanging his head and staring blankly at his finger.
A small piece of cloth was wrapped around it, stained with some blood.
It had been an entire afternoon. At the time, it didn't feel like much, but now the pain was almost unbearable.
"Brother Zhao..." Yang Mingyi frowned and called out to him again.
After a long moment, Zhao Ger slowly raised his head, looked at him, his voice trembling, his eyes sorrowful.
"Has my husband come back?"
"He's still..." The hope in his eyes was too intense; Yang Mingyi suddenly found himself unable to speak. The words 'he has not' seemed like they would plunge Zhao Ger into an abyss if uttered.
Guaizai was still tightly clutching the lychee. Now he seemed to understand something. He looked at Zhao Ger, then at Yang Mingyi. Seeing their grave expressions, he suddenly ran out towards the door.
"Guaizai, where are you going?" Yang Mingyi chased after him.
"Looking for Father," Guaizai said.
Yang Mingyi stopped him: "I've already sent people to look for him. Don't go."
"But... but they haven't found him." Guaizai's eyes reddened: "Father, did he get lost?"
Yang Mingyi was silent for a moment, then coaxed him: "Yes, he got lost. He'll be back soon. Don't run off, or Brother Fang will be angry when he returns and can't find you."
Guaizai looked at him: "Really? Don't lie to Guaizai."
"Mm!" Yang Mingyi wiped his tears, his tone strained: "Uncle Yang won't lie to you."
With no sign of him at the Yang residence, Zhao Ger had no idea where else to look. He was panicked and at a loss when Yang Mingyi suddenly said, "Could Brother Fang have already gone back?"
Zhao Ger looked at him.
There was only one road from Xiaohe Village to Fu'an Town.
But from the town entrance to the Yang residence, there were many roads leading there.
Zhao Ger, holding Guai Zai, ran back immediately, not daring to rest for a moment along the way. Wolf howls and tiger roars came from the distance, but he seemed not to hear them, just running forward desperately. He had never run so hard in his life, his heart felt like it was about to split open. On a cold late autumn night, he was drenched in cold sweat. When he was not far from the yard, he saw something and suddenly staggered a few steps, as if he could no longer endure it. The strength that had driven him to run back so desperately vanished in an instant.
Zhao Ger fell forward. Guaizai tumbled out of his arms, the fruit crushed, and his forehead hit a protruding stone. He didn't dare to cry, just scrambled up on all fours and hurried to pull Zhao Ger up.
Zhao Ger lay motionless. Guaizai called out: "Daddy, get up, Daddy, get up quickly..."
Zhao Ger's eyes were blurred with tears, staring fixedly ahead.
The yard was pitch dark, no lights were on.
Fang Zichen still hadn't returned.
Was he going to vanish suddenly, just like years ago... disappearing without a trace? No matter how desperately I searched, no matter how far I looked, I couldn't find him. I couldn't locate him...
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