Chapter 51: Lost

This café was quite a distance from where Zhou Quanyi had gone to look at figurines. Jiang Zheng wandered for a long time, walking far as he searched for a place to sit. On his way to find Zhou Quanyi, Jiang Zheng was suddenly bumped into by someone again. This time, he didn’t stumble; he stood firm on his feet.

Frowning, Jiang Zheng looked at the person before him—a middle-aged woman carrying a child. She seemed vaguely familiar to him, but before he could take a closer look, the woman bowed her head, apologized, and hurried away. He thought for a moment but said nothing. Although being bumped made him uncomfortable, considering she was carrying a child, he decided not to make a fuss.

When he finally found Zhou Quanyi, he glanced at the items Zhou was carrying and asked, “Boss, is this all you bought?”

“This is enough, just these are quite good,” Zhou Quanyi replied.

Suddenly, Jiang Zheng caught sight of the receipt. For just a few figurines, Zhou Quanyi had spent more than thirty thousand. Jiang Zheng felt a chill run through him—such a price seemed outrageous. To spend over thirty thousand on these figurines was beyond his understanding; surely there were better things to buy with that money.

He and Zhou Quanyi had vastly different attitudes toward spending.

“Fourth, you’ve been wandering for so long—didn’t you buy anything?” Zhou Quanyi asked.

“Didn’t see anything suitable, so I didn’t buy,” Jiang Zheng replied with a smile.

He hadn’t really gone shopping at all, so naturally, he hadn’t bought anything.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Quanyi said, “How about picking a figurine here? I’ll pay for it.”

“No need. I’m not that interested in these things; I’d rather not waste money,” Jiang Zheng shook his head.

“Why worry? Anyway, it’s not your money—I’ll pay,” Zhou Quanyi insisted.

Jiang Zheng looked at Zhou Quanyi with some confusion. “Boss, something’s off. I’ve never seen you so eager to pay before. What’s going on today?”

“Ahem, really? I’ve always been generous at school, haven’t changed much,” Zhou Quanyi replied.

Jiang Zheng simply looked at him in silence. Before long, Zhou Quanyi admitted defeat and said, “Alright, there’s indeed a reason.”

“What reason?” Jiang Zheng asked.

Zhou Quanyi’s behavior was unusual. They had a good relationship, but Zhou was so determined to buy something for him, as if he had to do it.

Jiang Zheng didn’t quite understand.

“Last time, I got drunk, didn’t I? You paid for the drinks…” Zhou Quanyi explained.

Jiang Zheng suddenly understood what Zhou meant—he didn’t want to owe favors.

“It was just a round of drinks. Consider it my treat; there’s no need for all this,” Jiang Zheng said.

“It’s not the same. If you treat me, I’m happy to accept. But that round of drinks wasn’t a small expense for you,” Zhou Quanyi replied.

He’d been to nightclubs before and knew how expensive drinks could be. He’d had quite a lot that night—the bill surely wasn’t trivial.

Of course, for him, that money was negligible, but for Jiang Zheng, it wasn’t. They all lived in the same dormitory and knew something of each other’s circumstances. Jiang Zheng still worked part-time every week; his family wasn’t affluent.

Zhou Quanyi felt that simply repaying the money was too crude, so he wanted to make it up in a different way.

“Boss, if you insist on keeping things so clear-cut, it loses its meaning. You paid for the hotel last night, and the transportation here—should I buy you something in return then?” Jiang Zheng said.

“That’s not what I mean. It’s just, saving up through part-time work isn’t easy for you,” Zhou Quanyi replied.

“It’s not so hard. Anyway, if you really consider me your brother, don’t do this,” Jiang Zheng said.

Zhou Quanyi was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Alright! I’ll do as you say.”

“That’s more like it. Come on, let’s eat—I’m starving,” Jiang Zheng said.

“What shall we eat? My treat—pick any restaurant you like,” Zhou Quanyi smiled.

“Then I won’t be polite. That buffet upstairs looks good; shall we go there?” Jiang Zheng suggested.

“Why a buffet? Let me take you for Western cuisine, that’s better than a buffet, isn’t it?” Zhou Quanyi said.

“Western food? No, I think the buffet is nice—take whatever you like, it’s more comfortable,” Jiang Zheng replied.

“Alright, as you wish. Let’s go to the buffet,” Zhou Quanyi agreed.

The two of them headed upstairs to the buffet, chatting and laughing as they walked. The buffet upstairs wasn’t cheap either—198 per person, which was fairly high for a buffet. In the city center, few things came cheap.

Jiang Zheng had never eaten at a 198-per-person buffet, and now he was filled with curiosity as he walked upstairs. He wanted to see what such a buffet had to offer.

Zhou Quanyi wasn’t fond of buffets. He felt the ingredients weren’t particularly fresh, especially at only 198 per person. But since Jiang Zheng wanted to go, he accompanied him.

Just as they reached the upper floor, their vision blurred as someone blocked their path.

“Excuse me, have you seen this child?” The man held up his phone, displaying a photo of a smiling child.

“No,” Zhou Quanyi replied, shaking his head.

Suddenly, he recognized the man before him and exclaimed in surprise, “It’s you?”

The man with the phone was taken aback, and after a moment, he recognized Zhou Quanyi as well.

“Hey, it’s you two!” The man was the husband from the couple they’d met on the high-speed train.

“What’s going on, brother?” Zhou Quanyi asked.

The man’s face turned bitter as he replied, “To be honest, my child is missing.”

“Missing? How did that happen?” Jiang Zheng frowned.

He remembered the child from yesterday—so young, surely unable to walk very far on his own. How could he be missing?

Hearing Jiang Zheng’s question, the man’s expression darkened, but he answered, “We were shopping for clothes just now. The child was in the stroller, asleep, so there was no movement. When we finally checked the stroller again, we found the child was gone.”

“You were too careless,” Jiang Zheng remarked.

“We were too careless,” the man replied, lowering his head.

Jiang Zheng wanted to say more, but Zhou Quanyi interjected, “Alright, let’s not dwell on that. Have you checked the surveillance cameras?”

“We checked the store’s cameras, but the stroller was outside. We were picking clothes at the entrance, and the camera couldn’t see it,” the man said bitterly.

Pain and regret gnawed at him, but he suppressed all his emotions. Finding the child was the urgent priority.

“Could someone have taken the child away?” Zhou Quanyi asked.

“Most likely, but we haven’t found who yet,” the man replied.