The mountain was vast, and in those years, some even reported seeing tigers roaming and numerous wild boars on the mountain. Everyone searched the mountain for a day, but they couldn’t find the missing person; everyone speculated that Ruan Mianmian must have been eaten by a wild pig or a tiger.
And so, the matter was left unresolved.
Over the years, the Ruan Family never ceased their search for her. As long as they hadn’t seen a body and there was no definitive evidence to prove that Ruan Mianmian was truly dead, they still clung to a sliver of hope, however faint it might be.
"Blind people shouldn’t be able to see, right? Digging for wild herbs?" Shen Mianmian thought this rumor was a bit exaggerated, "Is there any credibility to these rumors?"
"They say Mianmian is very smart. Even though she was young, she knew many wild herbs. Wherever the blind man went, Mianmian would lead the way."
"If the Ruan Family knew how miserably Miss Ruan lived after being trafficked, they would definitely feel heartbroken!" Shen Mianmian didn’t know why, but even though she didn’t know Ruan Mianmian, the mention of her name felt strangely familiar to her, and she even felt a sense of empathy.
"Only Ruan Yiqian knows," said He Nan. Fınd the newest release on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩
If Ruan Lingyu knew about these things, she definitely wouldn’t be able to accept them.
The two were chatting, and soon they arrived at their residence. Upon entering the courtyard, they saw Lu Siyuan and Yang Xiaoxi sitting in front of the stone table in the courtyard, eating a freshly opened watermelon.
Seeing the two return, Yang Xiaoxi greeted them cheerfully, "Early is not as good as the right timing, come on over! Siyuan bought a watermelon, and we’ve just cut it open."
Lu Siyuan and He Nan exchanged glances, then subtly diverted their eyes without making any discernible reactions.
The atmosphere seemed fine, yet somehow not quite right.
Yang Xiaoxi was a bit timid and, sensing something amiss, took the two halves of the watermelon back to her room, leaving the three others staring at each other while Shen Mianmian ate watermelon as if nothing was the matter.
He Nan didn’t eat, and Lu Siyuan didn’t offer any to him, just kept eating enthusiastically.
Shen Mianmian found the atmosphere a bit odd, and almost couldn’t take it, so she directly issued an order for them to leave.
"Brother He, if you have things to attend to at your company, you should go ahead and busy yourself with them!"
He Nan’s face darkened.
Lu Siyuan immediately showed a victorious smile, "Exactly, Brother He. If you have things to do, go ahead, business is important. I heard Mianmian was staying here, so I specifically came to check on her. I’ll be coming over frequently in the future, so you don’t have to worry. If she needs anything, I’ll take care of her."
Shen Mianmian gave him a glare, "You can leave too! I’m sleepy, I want to take a nap."
The smile on Lu Siyuan’s face stiffened, "Are you a pig or what? Going to sleep right after eating?"
Before Shen Mianmian could respond, He Nan stood up and said to Lu Siyuan, "Let’s go!"
Helpless, he could only stand up as well.
"I’ll come to see you again tomorrow."
"Got it, now get going!" Shen Mianmian quickly cleaned up the table and scurried back to her room, as if fleeing. Although she had said it in passing, to her surprise, once back in her room, she really did fall asleep.
The following day, Lu Siyuan did not come as he had said he would. He Nan, being too busy, came by in the morning for a visit, brought breakfast, and after the three of them ate, he left.
By noon, it was just Shen Mianmian and Yang Xiaoxi lazily eating watermelon in the courtyard.
Midway through, a ’thud, thud’ sound of a walking stick hitting the ground suddenly came from the door. They followed the sound and saw an old man standing at the entrance with a cane.
"Young lady, have a heart, give me something to eat!"