Time quickly proceeded into winter, and the gift shop introduced a new batch of medicinal wines for winter nourishment. Lin Xiaoguai was counting inventory in the store when Jiang Xiaomei hurried in, looking flustered.
"What’s the rush?" Lin Xiaoguai asked in surprise, seeing the sweat on her forehead.
Jiang Xiaomei leaned on her knees, panting, "Is Yiyi, is Yiyi here with you?"
"Yiyi? No, why?" Lin Xiaoguai was taken aback.
"Where on earth could he have gone?" Jiang Xiaomei was both angry and anxious.
"What exactly happened? Stop beating around the bush and tell me," Lin Xiaoguai said, pulling her to talk.
"We scolded him a bit, and he got mad at us and ran out yesterday. I thought he had returned to his school dorm early when he didn’t come home last night, until his teacher called just now, asking why Yiyi hadn’t showed up at school yet," Jiang Xiaomei cried. "He’s been out since yesterday afternoon, where could a child go at night? What are Ah Feng and I supposed to do if something happened to him?"
"Don’t panic, have you checked all the places he normally goes to?" Lin Xiaoguai hurriedly comforted her.
Jiang Xiaomei nodded, "The school, basketball court, his friends’ houses, even the supermarkets and convenience stores he usually goes to, I’ve searched everywhere before coming here."
Lin Xiaoguai frowned, "What about Yi Feng?"
"He’s gone to ask his colleagues for help," Jiang Xiaomei said, wiping away tears.
"Wait here, I’m making a call to Shen Chi. He knows some people in the police force, let’s see if he can ask for help."
In Jiang Xiaomei’s expectant gaze, Lin Xiaoguai made a call to Shen Chi, and then she called the Charitable Foundation, described Yiyi’s appearance, and asked the publicity department to keep an eye out since they are often out and about, and they might come across him.
Fortunately, things were not as bad as they feared. Halfway through the day, Lin Xiaoguai received a call from Shen Chi saying the child had been found.
"A friend of mine from the police delivered him back to our house."
Hearing Shen Chi’s voice over the phone, Lin Xiaoguai, who had been searching near the school with Jiang Xiaomei, immediately grabbed her and rushed back.
"Where’s Yiyi?" Jiang Xiaomei asked anxiously as she saw only Shen Chi standing in the living room.
"He was exhausted, collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep. I had Jian’an take him to the guest room," Shen Chi pointed to a room, "It’s that one."
At these words, Jiang Xiaomei hurriedly entered the room to check on her son.
Lin Xiaoguai stayed behind, asking Shen Chi, "Where was he found?"
"The train station," he paused, then added, "the train station in Xingcheng County."
"Why would Yiyi go to Xingcheng County?" Jiang Xiaomei, who had just glanced at her son and came out to inquire about the circumstances in which her son was found, said in surprise at the mention.
"You tell me," Shen Chi said calmly.
"Indeed," Lin Xiaoguai thought, and turned to Jiang Xiaomei, "Xiao Mei, what was the argument about with Yiyi exactly?" She felt the key issue was here.
Jiang Xiaomei sighed, clearly annoyed, "It’s because he’s not doing well. His grades are just average, and he’s imitating others by falling in love early. You have no idea, when I received a call from his teacher about his early romance, I was completely stunned."
Lin Xiaoguai hadn’t expected it to be for this reason, and before she could contemplate further, she heard Jiang Xiaomei continue, "Especially since we hadn’t had a chance to talk to Yiyi, the girl he has a crush on, her parents called, insinuating that our Yiyi was vain, immature and not behaving properly. She accused him of scheming to climb social ladders by seducing their daughter."
"You have no idea how angry I was, I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. What’s more outrageous is that the girl’s parents even threatened us, saying they would have Yiyi expelled from school if he continued to be anywhere near their daughter."
"Talk about it, just talk about it," Jiang Xiaomei said with indignation, "After all this, am I supposed to let my son date their daughter?"
"And the child, he doesn’t understand our good intentions at all, ran out after just a few words." She wiped away a tear, "He’s my only son, I’ve pampered and cherished him since he was little, and look what he’s turned into. Xiao Guai, I really feel like I could die."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Xiaoguai got a fright and quickly said, "Every child makes mistakes, what’s this about dying?"
Jiang Xiaomei knew her previous words were too impulsive and had scared her friend but still couldn’t help feeling aggrieved, "It’s just too hard to bear. Since he was little, I’ve cherished him as my heart’s treasure. Yet now I can’t even scold him," she lamented.