Chapter 38: Lost

After they had put their luggage away, Zhou Quanyi said, "Fourth, let's go eat!"
It was already late when they arrived, and the three of them hadn't had dinner yet.
Jiang Zheng smiled and replied, "I'll skip it. Big Brother, bring me something back later, will you?"
Zhou Quanyi glared at him, "Didn't you just say you wouldn't take advantage of me? Changed your tune already?"
"This isn't taking advantage, I'm helping you out here. Giving you a chance for some alone time with her—shouldn't you be thanking me?" Jiang Zheng grinned.
Zhou Quanyi paused, then laughed. "Well, that's true. Alone time sounds great! Don't worry, Fourth, I'll bring you something good."
With that, Zhou Quanyi left the room in high spirits.
After Zhou Quanyi left, Jiang Zheng shook his head.
He wasn't going out for dinner partly to give Zhou Quanyi an opportunity, but mostly because he wanted to stay and write.
Back at the dorm, Zhou Quanyi would be immersed in his video games, not caring what was happening around him, so even if Jiang Zheng wrote, it wouldn't matter.
At school, writing an article was nothing unusual and wouldn't attract much attention.
But things were different here—if Jiang Zheng started typing away, Zhou Quanyi would definitely notice. If he got curious and started asking questions, how would Jiang Zheng answer?
It was simpler to let them go eat while he stayed to write.
The launch date was approaching fast; his new book had only been online for less than a month, and already it was about to go on sale—an unusually rapid pace.
This was all because Jiang Zheng updated with ten thousand words a day. Without this speed, he'd still be waiting for the launch.
He thought it was fast, and so did the editor. Many recommendation slots hadn't even been used up yet.
After the book went on sale, there would still be recommendations, but new releases had more privileges.
...
Tao Luna stepped out of her room and, seeing only Zhou Quanyi, asked, "Where's Jiang Zheng?"
"He said he was feeling a bit unwell and wanted to rest at the hotel. I'll bring his dinner back later," Zhou Quanyi replied.
Hearing this, Tao Luna nodded slightly and said nothing more.
The two of them left the hotel to find a place to eat.
...
Jiang Zheng was writing enthusiastically in his room when his phone suddenly rang. It was Zhou Quanyi.
Jiang Zheng was puzzled. Wasn't Zhou Quanyi having dinner with Tao Luna? Why was he calling now?
Had something happened?
Without hesitation, Jiang Zheng answered the call.
"Hello, Big Brother."
Zhou Quanyi sounded anxious. "Fourth, Tao Luna is missing!"
The words struck Jiang Zheng like thunder from a clear sky, leaving him stunned. Then he quickly asked, "Missing? How could she go missing?"
Zhou Quanyi explained, "I don't know. We finished dinner and were walking back to the hotel. I was ahead and she was a little ways behind. I thought she was right there, but when I turned around, she was gone."
As he listened, Jiang Zheng felt a headache coming on. Zhou Quanyi had no idea how or where Tao Luna had disappeared.
"What do we do now, Fourth?" Zhou Quanyi asked.
"Don’t panic, Big Brother. Tao Luna's an adult—she can't just vanish. Maybe she stopped to shop. Did you try calling her?" Jiang Zheng comforted him, suddenly thinking of this.
Tao Luna was an adult, and even if she got lost, she should be reachable by phone.
"I called, but no one answered," Zhou Quanyi replied.
Jiang Zheng's headache worsened. "Send me your location. I'll come find you now. Meanwhile, keep trying to call her."
"Okay... okay," Zhou Quanyi agreed.
Following Zhou Quanyi’s location, Jiang Zheng quickly arrived.
The restaurant wasn't far from the hotel, and since they'd doubled back, Jiang Zheng soon found Zhou Quanyi.
"Big Brother, any luck? Did she answer?" Jiang Zheng asked.
Zhou Quanyi shook his head, "The call goes through, but no one picks up."
"Let's split up and search. If you find her, call me. We'll meet back here in two hours," Jiang Zheng said.
Zhou Quanyi nodded; he had calmed down by now.
Caring brings chaos, as they say. Zhou Quanyi truly liked Tao Luna.
The two of them began searching separately. In such a big city, Jiang Zheng knew their chances of finding her were slim, but he couldn't give up hope.
An hour passed, and Jiang Zheng found nothing. He’d checked everywhere Tao Luna might have gone, to no avail.
Meanwhile, Zhou Quanyi kept calling, but the phone rang unanswered.
Another half hour went by. Feeling thirsty, Jiang Zheng stopped at a shop to buy a bottle of water.

As he left the store, he twisted off the cap and stood at the entrance, drinking.
Just then, two men walked past, chatting.
"That girl tonight was really something."
"Yeah, pretty dumb and innocent too—just believed everything we said."
"Maybe we'll get a little something extra tonight."
...
The two men walked into the store, and Jiang Zheng didn’t catch the rest of their conversation.
Their voices were deliberately low, but thanks to his enhanced hearing, Jiang Zheng picked up every word.
Normally, he wouldn’t pay attention to such vague and fragmentary remarks, but tonight, with Tao Luna missing, he couldn’t help but connect the dots.
Was the “dumb and innocent girl” they mentioned actually Tao Luna?
Thinking it over, Jiang Zheng decided to follow them just in case.
Whether it was her or not, he’d lose nothing by checking. Who knew—he might save a girl on the verge of a big mistake.
If she was acting of her own free will, there was nothing he could do; he wasn’t a policeman.
But if she’d been tricked and wasn’t acting willingly, then he felt obligated to let her know the truth.
With his mind made up, Jiang Zheng hid in a corner and waited for the two men to leave the store.
Sure enough, before long, they came out carrying a large bag of things.
Jiang Zheng trailed them quietly.
They didn’t seem to have any sense of being followed; they never looked back.
Jiang Zheng’s tracking skills were unrefined—anyone with a bit of vigilance might have noticed.
He followed them to a small hotel, which didn’t surprise him. He had already guessed as much from their conversation.