Finally, having finished sharing amusing anecdotes about their time in the Capital City, the sky had completely darkened, and the welcoming banquet for the two families had come to an end.
When they got home, it was already quite late.
In Uncle Xia’s shop, the employee who had been holding the fort saw them and hurriedly said, "When you all went out to eat this afternoon, there were continuous calls from the Provincial City, looking for Xia Chuyi."
"They said his daughter came to Ling County to look for you, asking if you’ve seen her," the employee said.
"Provincial City? Looking for me?" Xia Chuyi raised his eyebrows and asked, "Did they mention what their names are..."
Before Xia Chuyi could finish his question, the phone rang again.
The employee glanced at the caller ID and said, "I guess it’s them again."
The employee answered the phone and only managed to say "Hello" when he quickly handed the phone over, saying, "It’s them."
With confusion, Xia Chuyi took the phone and said to the person on the other end, "Hello, I’m Xia Chuyi, may I ask who this is..."
"Is this Xia Chuyi, the student? I am Xiao Fang, Wang Xiaofang’s mother!" The person on the other side hurriedly said, "Xia, my Xiao Fang said she came to Ling County to find you... Is she with you now?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Chuyi was taken aback and, with astonishment, asked Wang’s mother on the phone, "Sister Fang? She came to Ling County to find me?"
"I haven’t seen her!" Xia Chuyi said.
Then it was the turn of the person on the other end to pause: "Really, you didn’t see her?"
Wang’s mother’s tone became increasingly anxious, "The child said she was coming to find you!"
"Xia, is your home easy to find? Could she have gone to the wrong place by mistake?"
"Could she have gotten lost? Got off at the wrong station?"
Growing more and more frantic, Wang’s mother hurriedly piled on the questions.
"Auntie, don’t worry!" Xia Chuyi first reassured Wang’s mother.
Yet inside, he thought: Wang Xiaofang was most likely looking for ’Youwei,’ and in Ling County, ’Youwei’ should be easy to find as long as you ask around.
After thinking a bit, Xia Chuyi asked Wang’s mother, "Auntie, think carefully, about the time Sister Fang left the note. Are you sure she would have arrived in Ling County by now?"
Wang’s mother said, "If she left the note on that date, then she should have arrived there today."
That meant the day after they parted, Wang Xiaofang had bought a ticket and left.
Based on this timing, she really should have arrived.
Thinking further, Xia Chuyi said, "Auntie, don’t panic yet, it’s possible she didn’t buy a bus ticket but a train ticket."
"And whether it’s a bus ticket or a train ticket, if she bought them at the last minute, she might not have gotten one for the current shift; it could be the next shift or the one after that."
"That means she might arrive tonight, or maybe even tomorrow."
"In any case, don’t worry, I will head to both the bus and train stations soon to check things out."
Having heard his analysis, Wang’s mother on the phone calmed down somewhat.
Seeing that things seemed steadier on the other end, Xia Chuyi said, "However, I hope that before I go looking for Sister Fang,"
"could you tell me what exactly happened and why would Sister Fang come looking for me?"
Most importantly, why was Wang’s mother so anxious.
He needed to know the situation.
With this question from Xia Chuyi, Wang’s mother’s tone immediately became somewhat regretful and she said, "It’s all my fault, I saw that the child from the Song Family was decent and insisted on arranging an introduction for her!"