Xiao Zhao had checked all airplane flights in the morning, all bullet trains and long-distance buses that required real-name registration, and reported back to Shi Che, "There were over fifty people named Ling Chuxia on all flights this morning, heading to different places like Europe, the United States, Australia, etc. As for the bullet trains and buses, there were also more than thirty people, all heading to different destinations. President Shi, it’s quite difficult for me to determine which Ling Chuxia is the Young Madam."
The name Ling Chuxia wasn’t exactly common, but it wasn’t particularly unique either. The existence of so many people with the same name indirectly increased the difficulty.
Listening to Xiao Zhao’s report, Shi Che’s dark eyes grew even deeper, and he spoke in a very low voice, "What about the phone tracking?"
Xiao Zhao helplessly shook his head, "The last trace was still in Liang City. Either the Young Madam hasn’t left Liang City, or... the phone card was discarded by the Young Madam."
The implication was, it was impossible to determine whether she had left or stayed.
"What about the surveillance?"
"I checked the surveillance at the entrance of Miss Ji’s apartment building. I saw the Young Madam leaving around five o’clock in the morning by taxi. The taxi’s license plate number was a bit blurry, and it’s not clear yet, so we’re stuck here for now."
Xiao Zhao’s words were followed by a long silence from Shi Che. The atmosphere stiffened, and the air around seemed to stagnate a bit. Xiao Zhao couldn’t help but lift his eyes, only to catch sight of grief slowly spreading across Shi Che’s handsome face. His heart felt as if it had been heavily struck by something, shaking him so much he could barely stand steady.
In his eyes, President Shi had always been tall, steady, restrained, inscrutable; no one could ever glimpse a trace of his true emotions. Yet now, he was engulfed in such sorrow, as if... he had lost something vitally important to his life energy, a pain too heavy to bear.
After a long while, Shi Che’s hand lifted slightly, waving at him, his voice still low, "Xiao Zhao, you can go now."
Xiao Zhao looked at Shi Che, his lips moved, wanting to say something, to offer some comfort, but as he opened his mouth, he realized he didn’t know what to say.
Some words, some comforts, are extremely powerless at certain times.
All he could do was slowly nod and then quietly withdraw.
After Xiao Zhao left, the office became even quieter. Shi Che turned his head, his gaze blankly falling on the photo frame on his desk, a picture of himself with Ling Chuxia.
It was taken when he graduated from high school. At that time, it was said that on graduation day, if a girl took the third button of a boy’s white shirt, it meant that boy belonged to her.
Back then, he was the most attractive guy at school, and all the girls were crazy for him. On graduation day, the girls were fierce, each eyeing his third button like predators.
When Ling Chuxia heard about this, she didn’t care that she was still in class; she immediately rushed out of the classroom, running madly, and when he was surrounded by all the girls, she single-handedly fought her way through and fiercely protected his third button.
In the photo, her arms were wide open, in a stance like a hen protecting her chick, clinging tightly to him, keeping any girl from getting close. And then, this moment was captured.