On the first day of the month, it was still Ah Qi who sent Su Qingnuan out the door.
But this time, they didn’t go to school directly; they headed straight to the competition venue.
Before leaving, Gu Xiaoxiao called, seemingly to say they had to wait for Kong Rong again, so she told Su Qingnuan to go ahead to the venue without wasting time at school.
Ah Qi dropped Su Qingnuan off at the entrance to the competition venue.
"Young Madam, I’ll pick up the Eldest Young Master first, then come back to get you."
"Ah?" Su Qingnuan waved her hand hurriedly, speaking seriously: "If Mr. Fu needs the car, don’t worry about me. I actually don’t need it that much."
Ah Qi didn’t respond, just rolled up the window and drove away.
Even though she had already said her piece, Su Qingnuan wasn’t sure if Ah Qi would come back in the end.
Thinking of this, Su Qingnuan suddenly furrowed her brows.
She had troubled Ah Qi so much recently—she must find a chance to properly thank her.
Su Qingnuan turned around to see Gu Xiaoxiao running toward her, wildly waving her arms.
"Xiaoxiao." Su Qingnuan smiled faintly. "Why are you here so early? I thought you’d be coming on the school bus."
"Nope." Gu Xiaoxiao grabbed Su Qingnuan, speaking mysteriously: "I heard from a classmate that something might have happened to Kong Rong. She can’t make it to the competition today."
"Really?" Su Qingnuan asked in surprise, "Something happened to her?"
"Yes! I’d bet it’s because of what you said to the director—that must be why she didn’t show up."
"It seems so." Su Qingnuan, pinching her fingers, said excitedly, "I wonder if another student will step in to compete in her place."
"Probably not." Gu Xiaoxiao’s voice grew quieter. "The school wants to withdraw from this competition under some other pretext to avoid affecting its reputation."
Though she understood their reasoning, Su Qingnuan couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for the replacement student.
She sighed silently and said softly, "I’ll head inside first—the competition’s about to start."
"Okay! I’ll wait for you outside. Good luck!"
Familiar with the venue, Su Qingnuan walked straight in.
Su Qingnuan froze for a moment and turned her head.
Kong Rong was standing in the lobby, smiling as she waved at her.
"Kong Rong?" Su Qingnuan frowned, looking at her suspiciously but not moving.
Kong Rong jogged over and stood in front of her. "You still recognize me, don’t you?"
Su Qingnuan nodded. "Of course, I do!"
"Good." Kong Rong linked her arm with Su Qingnuan’s and said softly, "I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?" Su Qingnuan frowned. "I’m about to start the competition. Can it wait until after it’s over?"
Kong Rong raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly. "If we wait until the competition ends, it will be too late."
With that, Kong Rong suddenly reached out and pressed something against Shen Zhiliu’s nose.
A strange fragrance wafted through the air as Su Qingnuan struggled desperately.
The next moment, consciousness faded.
The sound of water droplets. Where is this?
Su Qingnuan frowned, lifting her heavy eyelids.
In this cramped space, Shen Zhiliu could only curl up her legs. She was lying on her back, unable to exert any strength, her head tilted against the wall at an unsettling angle.
The surroundings were dark—disconcertingly dim.
"Is anyone there?" Su Qingnuan called out.
There was complete silence outside. No signs of movement, only the sound of water dripping.
Su Qingnuan furrowed her brows, her voice louder this time: "Is anyone there?"
"Is there anyone outside?"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she rested her head on her shoulder, wiping away the wet corners of her eyes. She continued to call out: "Is anyone outside? Can you help me get out of here?"
The cramped space, the oppressive atmosphere—it all felt so utterly hopeless.
Just like the emptiness in her chest at this moment.
"What time is it?" Fu Yihan asked suddenly.
Ah Qi lowered his gaze, glancing at his phone, then frowned slightly. "It’s already three o’clock."
"It should be over by now," Fu Yihan said absentmindedly, looking out the window. "Go check it out."
Ah Qi got out of the car and returned shortly after, sweat streaming down his face, followed closely by a woman.
"Eldest Young Master, the venue has already closed, and there’s no sign of Young Madam."
"Where is she?" Fu Yihan asked.
"I don’t know." Ah Qi frowned and glanced at the woman behind him. "This is Young Madam’s good friend. She’s also been waiting upstairs. Young Madam went in and didn’t come out again."
Fu Yihan gazed at the towering building in the distance, the corner of his mouth twitching.
The once-quiet competition venue suddenly came alive again after a while.
A group stood waiting outside. When they saw Fu Yihan, they hurried over to him.
"Mr. Fu, we didn’t expect you to come personally. Why didn’t you let us know in advance?"
Fu Yihan’s cold gaze swept over the group. He frowned and asked, "Did all the competition participants show up today?"
The man hesitated briefly, then turned to glance behind him.
Immediately, someone stepped forward and whispered, "Mr. Fu, there were six competitors in total today. One withdrew, and another didn’t show up at all."
"Who didn’t show up?"
"One moment, I’ll find out."
The person walked off to the side, made a phone call, and soon returned.
"Eldest Young Master, the missing participant is named Su Qingnuan."
"No way!" Gu Xiaoxiao said hurriedly. "I saw Qingnuan go in. She never came out until the competition ended!"
With a sidelong glance at the agitated Gu Xiaoxiao, Fu Yihan arched an eyebrow. "Did you hear that? She went in and didn’t come out."
"This... But we really didn’t see this participant..."
Gu Xiaoxiao was adamant that Su Qingnuan had entered, while the competition organizers insisted she was nowhere to be found.
The two sides were at an impasse.
Fu Yihan raised his gaze to the surveillance cameras hanging above the hall.
"The cameras—have they been checked?"
"Mr. Fu, those surveillance cameras... it might be tricky to..."
"Have they been checked?" Fu Yihan asked again, his voice icy.
"Didn’t you hear him? Go check them!"
A group of people scurried into the lobby and then disappeared into the back.
Fu Yihan and the others waited in the lobby.
After a long while, someone came running out, looking uneasy. "Director, I think we found something."
"Where?" Gu Xiaoxiao couldn’t contain herself and followed immediately, pressing for answers.
The person gave Fu Yihan a glance and said softly, "She was knocked out and taken to the restroom, but after that, she vanished."
At those words, everyone was stunned.
Fu Yihan’s brows knitted tightly as he turned to Ah Qi. "Let’s go."
Ah Qi quickly moved, guiding Fu Yihan toward the restroom.
A large group followed in their wake but hesitated at the entrance.
It was a women’s restroom—only Gu Xiaoxiao went inside.
However, after searching thoroughly, Gu Xiaoxiao came out looking confused. "She’s not here! Are you sure she went into the restroom?"