Hello, I am Little Monkey's homeroom teacher. The situation is that Little Monkey has not arrived at school yet, and we cannot contact his grandfather.
Okay, thank you, teacher. I'll call back and ask.
After hanging up, Zhong He immediately called the landline in his hometown.
The phone rang and rang, but no one answered.
His unease grew heavier.
He must have overslept and is on his way.
He reassured himself, then found the phone number of his neighbor in his hometown and called.
"Is that you, Zhong He? I was wondering too. I haven't seen Little Monkey or his grandfather for the past two days. I thought you had gone on a trip."
The neighbor on the other end of the phone was also curious.
Normally, Little Monkey would go out for a walk with his grandfather, but they hadn't been seen at all for the past two days.
Zhong He: "Old man, please do me a favor and check. There's a spare key under the doormat."
The old man often forgot his keys, so he left a spare one at the front door.
After the neighbor agreed, he hung up.
Ten minutes passed.
Half an hour passed.
Zhong He was restless, picking up the phone, putting it down, and picking it up again.
Suddenly, the phone rang, and he sat up straight.
"Hello?"
"Zhong He! Your father is gone!"
The voice on the other end of the phone boomed like thunder, making Zhong He's ears buzz.
"Your father has been gone for several days. Little Monkey fainted from hunger at home. I just called the police. You should come back quickly."
"Ah," came the neighbor's sigh from the other end of the phone.
"To think that a perfectly healthy person would just leave so quietly."
"Okay, okay! Okay. Okay."
Zhong He didn't know what he said, only remembering the three "okay"s.
By the time he came to his senses, he had already run out of his unit.
One of his shoes had fallen off.
His eyes were hollow and vacant.
He was at a loss.
His father was gone.
Zhong He's mind suddenly recalled the phone call he received that night.
It was from his father.
He hadn't listened carefully at the time, but now it was incredibly clear.
It replayed in his mind, over and over again.
"Come back tomorrow."
"Live a good life with your wife."
"How could this happen, Dad?"
Zhong He covered his face, leaning weakly against the bus stop sign.
Why hadn't he realized it sooner?
***
In the hospital,
The woman lay in bed, with minor wounds on her face and an IV drip in her hand. She was still unconscious.
Outside the ward, the man sat in a chair, with dark circles under his eyes and unshaven.
He glanced at the ward from time to time but dared not enter.
Just then, a few people approached and stopped in front of him.
"Are you Mr. Fang Weidong? We are from the Lincheng Branch."
The man, dressed in plain clothes, spoke as he neatly showed his identification.
Fang Weidong slowly stood up, his voice hoarse.
"I am."
"We have something we'd like to discuss with you regarding last night's car accident."
"Okay."
Zhou Zhiguo also understood the family's feelings.
He briefly explained and informed him that the perpetrator had been found, and hoped he would come to the police station when he had time.
Finally, he asked a question:
"Do you know about the 'Daily Healing in the Underworld' live stream?"
Fang Weidong shook his head.
Zhou Zhiguo then took out an A4 paper.
On it was a sketch hastily drawn and scanned by someone, based on netizens' descriptions.
The person in the photo was wearing a white robe and a tall hat that read "一见生财" (Yi Jian Sheng Cai - See wealth at first sight).
His face was well-defined, with a high nose bridge and slightly upturned eyes, carrying a hint of wickedness.
He looked like someone cosplaying Bai Wuchang.
Fang Weidong's pupils contracted, and he quickly averted his gaze. "I haven't seen him."
It was hard for him not to think if his daughter's soul had already...
Zhou Zhiguo: "I'm sorry, Mr. Fang, but according to calls from concerned citizens, this person was at the scene of the car accident."
"If you have any information about him, please contact us."
"According to netizens, this person was not only at the scene of the car accident but also took away the little girl's soul."
However, he didn't say this part out loud.
Firstly, it would agitate the man.
Secondly, the matter sounded too absurd.
The live stream playback could not be found at all.
Moreover, the screenshots provided by netizens only showed scenery in the suburbs.
There was no sign of the man cosplaying Bai Wuchang that they mentioned.
Was this incident an accident?
Or a meticulously planned murder? It was impossible to determine for now.
"Mm."
Fang Weidong nodded blankly.
After they left, he sensed something was wrong and looked towards the ward door.
The woman had been listening for who knows how long, and blood was beading from the needle prick on the back of her hand.
"Where's Doudou? Where is Doudou?"
Fang Weidong struggled to open his mouth. "Doudou, she..."
Before he could finish, he choked up.
In the morgue.
A small figure lay under a white cloth, no longer breathing.
"The hospital said that when the car accident happened, Doudou protected you. She hugged you and shielded you from the fatal blow."
"How could this happen?"
The woman suddenly lost all strength, knelt on the ground, and trembled as she reached to lift the white cloth.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Doudou..."
Endless regret engulfed her.
If only she had noticed sooner,
If only she had paid more attention...
"Doudou, can you talk to Mommy again?"
She trembled her lips, and after saying this, she fainted.
Zhang Ke was woken up by his friend's call.
He answered the phone while scratching his head.
He glanced at the time; it was only twelve o'clock.
He had finished editing the video last night at two in the morning.
As soon as the call connected, the other side exclaimed.
"Old Ke, you've really seen a ghost this time!"
Zhang Ke frowned. "What's wrong with you, calling me early in the morning to bring bad luck? Spit, spit, spit!"
He wasn't afraid of ghost movies, but no one liked hearing someone say that about them.
"You go check the video section you posted last night. The comment section has exploded!"
After speaking, the other party hung up.
"Last night?"
Zhang Ke opened his computer, trying to recall.
Didn't he just edit a live stream video last night?
What happened? Did someone come to cause trouble?
Zhang Ke had been making videos for several years and had over two hundred thousand followers.
When he posted a video, it would get at least seventy to eighty thousand views.
Five million views, 12,000 comments?
Zhang Ke clicked his tongue. Did that吐槽 video from last night go viral?
Habitually, he clicked on the comments to see how the fans were reviewing the video content.
These fans were all sharp as needles, analyzing things very keenly.
"Is the uploader okay?"
"Walking by the river often, the uploader really got wet shoes."
"Uploader, my great-grandfather's family is Buddhist. I'll private message you the address, can you go take a look?"
"What is this talking about??? Watching an old man sleep in the middle of the night?"
"Lin Bing Lie Zhe Jie, evil spirits retreat!"
The comment section was clearly not right.
Zhang Ke replied to the comment with the most likes. "What the heck?"
Within two minutes, someone replied.
"Uploader, look at the video you posted yourself, and this news [link]."
"The video I posted?"
Did something really go wrong?
Zhang Ke clicked on his own video with a sense of doubt.