Chapter 82: Change
Achi, arms crossed, leaned lazily against a white marble Roman column.
Perhaps the sunlight from the glass dome was too warm, even the air conditioning couldn’t dispel the afternoon drowsiness. He yawned lazily.
When he looked up again and saw Oliver lowering his head to take a cigarette from a pack, Achi said, “Public law states that smoking isn’t allowed in public places; violators will be fined.”
Oliver knew his deputy didn’t smoke, so he didn’t offer him one. Holding the cigarette, he said, “I’m not smoking. I’m just sleepy; I’m chewing on the tobacco to wake myself up.”
Achi shrugged, expressing his incomprehension of tobacco’s ability to invigorate.
They chatted for a while when Sha Xia, who had gone to pick up Mu Mu, hurried over.
Achi had been colleagues with Sha Xia for decades and knew that privately, Sha Xia was outgoing and boisterous, sometimes prone to being startled.
But at work, Sha Xia was always serious and cautious, rarely showing uncontrolled emotions.
If Sha Xia looked anxious, something was wrong.
And Sha Xia had just gone to pick up Mu Mu.
Achi felt the half-roasted chicken he’d eaten half an hour ago doing a ballet in his stomach.
He took a deep breath and intercepted Sha Xia to ensure that what Sha Xia was about to say wouldn’t be heard by Yan Gui Xing and Mi Ya in the flower hall behind them—primarily Mi Ya.
“What’s wrong?” As Achi approached, he noticed a thin layer of sweat on Sha Xia’s forehead; his bad feeling intensified.
Sha Xia also knew the gravity of the situation. He bent down, using Achi’s tall figure as cover, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said in an almost inaudible voice, “The little wife is missing.”
Achi: “!”
Although Achi had guessed it was related to Mu Mu, hearing the confirmation made him feel a little faint.
“What do you mean, missing? How can someone that big just disappear?” Achi gritted his teeth, his voice squeezed out between them.
Sha Xia whispered, “The old painter said someone came to deliberately pick a fight with the little wife at noon, so he sent the little wife home early.”
Achi subconsciously glanced towards the flower hall behind him; he had a feeling that the ones who started the fight were Mi Ya and her maid.
“Did the old painter say what time the little wife left? Who was it that started the fight?”
Sha Xia looked at Achi seriously, found a video the old painter had sent him on his datapad, and handed it to Achi.
“The little wife left before one o’clock. As for who started the fight, see for yourself.”
The video was muted, and Achi didn’t turn the sound on. But judging by the expressions of the two people in the video, he could tell who was the bully and who was the victim.
People tend to be biased. Achi instinctively clenched his fist, but thinking of the upcoming marshal election, he gritted his teeth and released it.
Anger wouldn’t solve anything, at least not here.
Achi took a deep breath, glanced at the time in the upper right corner of the video, returned the datapad to Sha Xia, and said, “I remember Luo Tang was with those two; didn’t he see the little wife leave?”
Sha Xia’s expression darkened at Achi’s mention. “It wasn’t Luo Tang’s shift today; it was Yu Li and Lu Yu. They were asleep in the car and didn’t see the little wife leave. I’ve already scolded them; let the boss decide on their punishment later.”
Achi pressed his throbbing temples, forcibly suppressing his anger. He was the deputy commander; he had to remain calm and avoid any misplaced anger that might affect Yan Gui Xing’s judgment.
Achi understood that Yu Li and Lu Yu weren’t to blame. Yan Gui Xing’s personal guard was twice the size of other marshals’, a company of soldiers divided into three squads, each responsible for different tasks.
The First Squad was always by Yan Gui Xing’s side, responsible for his safety. The other squads only acted with the First Squad during major events.
Because of this, the First Squad was familiar with Mu Mu.
Not only did Mu Mu go out with Yan Gui Xing, but after going to the gallery, Yan Gui Xing usually picked him up personally. If he didn’t have time, he’d let Achi, Sha Xia, or Oliver, who were familiar with Mu Mu, pick him up.
Yu Li and Lu Yu belonged to the Second Squad, rarely saw Mu Mu, had almost no contact with him, and only knew that Mu Mu worked at the gallery.
As for the gallery’s address, they didn’t know it.
That’s why they didn’t report it immediately when Mi Ya went to the old painter’s gallery, and why they thought the gallery was familiar but couldn’t remember why.
Their laziness was definitely their fault; if they had been even slightly alert and seen Mu Mu coming out of the gallery, Mu Mu wouldn’t have gone to Zheng An’s place.
But it was too late now; the priority was finding Mu Mu.
“Did you send people out to look?” Achi asked. “Have you contacted home? Asked Xiao Ting if the little wife is home?”
Sha Xia said, “I contacted home immediately. Xiao Ting said the little wife hasn’t returned. I’ve sent people out to look, but there’s still no news. What should we do? Should we tell the boss?”
Achi hesitated. He looked sideways towards the flower hall; Yan Gui Xing, looking impatient, looked over.
Their eyes met, and Achi read Yan Gui Xing’s intention to get an excuse to leave.
Achi smiled wryly; he didn’t even need to make up an excuse. He just didn’t know if the boss would be angry enough to punch them both later.
“Say it,” Achi exhaled, whispering. “If we don’t say it now, and we haven’t found the little wife when the boss gets home, how are we going to explain it?”
Sha Xia imagined that scene, closed his eyes, and gasped. The image was too “beautiful”; he didn’t dare think about it!
Achi entered the flower hall; Yan Gui Xing, who had been lounging at the table, brightened instantly, his green eyes shining like precious jewels.
“Something?” he asked, feigning impatience.
Mi Ya, who was cutting a red velvet cake, looked up upon hearing the voice, saw the towering figure standing next to Yan Gui Xing, slightly frowned, and a hint of disdain flickered in her eyes.
Achi ignored Mi Ya’s gaze and said in a low voice, “Boss, something important needs your immediate attention.”
Seeing Achi’s serious expression, Yan Gui Xing praised his acting skills in his heart and played along, apologetically looking at Mi Ya. “Sorry, Miss Mi Ya, I can’t stay with you today.”
Mi Ya, however, had her limits. She merely frowned, looking displeased, but didn’t stop Yan Gui Xing, saying that work was important.
Yan Gui Xing successfully escaped. After entering the elevator, his first action was to unbutton his light gray suit jacket and then the dark gray waistcoat underneath, before letting out a sigh of relief, feeling utterly liberated.
He patted Achi on the shoulder, teasing, “Your acting has improved. I almost thought it was a real emergency.”
Achi, Sha Xia, and Oliver’s faces all changed; Sha Xia and Oliver, already standing behind Yan Gui Xing, took another step back. If it weren’t for the railing on the metal wall behind them, they would have transformed into geckos, clinging tightly to the wall.
Achi lowered his head. “Boss, something really has happened.” He secretly glanced at Yan Gui Xing’s expression. Seeing him raise his eyebrows slightly and close his eyes, he gritted his teeth and continued.
“The little wife is missing.”
The smile faded from Yan Gui Xing’s lips, his brow furrowed. “What do you mean, missing?”
Sha Xia knew Yan Gui Xing was asking him; he was the one Yan Gui Xing had ordered to pick up Mu Mu. Now that Mu Mu was missing, he was naturally responsible.
Sha Xia repeated what he had told Achi to Yan Gui Xing, except that he didn’t wait for Yan Gui Xing to ask before mentioning who had picked a fight with Mu Mu.
Yan Gui Xing looked down at Sha Xia’s datapad. The voice of the elegant and somewhat arrogant girl, and the soft, oddly pitched voice of the boy echoed in the confined elevator.
The conversation wasn’t long, but the boy’s voice became smaller and less confident.
Soon, the video ended. Yan Gui Xing lowered his head, his face pale in the fluorescent light. He squeezed the datapad tightly, his knuckles white, his fingertips turning pale, the surrounding aura palpable.
Achi, Sha Xia, and Oliver held their breath, wishing their heartbeats would slow, afraid of making a sound that might incur Yan Gui Xing’s wrath.
A deathly silence fell over the elevator; the air seemed to stagnate. This silence was broken by the “ding” of the elevator arriving.
The elevator reached the helipad.
Without speaking, Yan Gui Xing tossed the datapad back to Sha Xia and exited the elevator first. He took large strides, almost running.
Achi, Sha Xia, and Oliver hurried after him. Seeing Yan Gui Xing board the aircraft, the three exchanged glances and boarded separately.
Yan Gui Xing, who was looking at his datapad, heard Achi come in but didn’t bother responding, his gaze fixed on the stationary red dot on the screen.
Without a word from Yan Gui Xing, Achi dared not speak, sitting properly in the pilot’s seat, waiting for Yan Gui Xing’s instructions.
Yan Gui Xing waited for ten minutes. Seeing the small red dot still hadn’t moved, he wondered, zoomed in on the map, and obtained the exact coordinates of the red dot.
He was about to report the coordinates when the stationary red dot moved, heading towards their home.
Yan Gui Xing breathed a sigh of relief, assuming the previous coordinates were for a shopping mall or something similar, without further investigation. He said calmly, “Go home.”
Achi skillfully entered the coordinates and hesitantly asked, “Boss, aren’t we going to look for the little wife?”
Seeing the red dot moving faster, Yan Gui Xing raised his eyebrows. “Mu Mu’s going home.”
Seeing Yan Gui Xing’s certainty, Achi didn’t say anything more but secretly increased the flight speed.
After disembarking, Yan Gui Xing strode towards the villa. After entering, he called out Mu Mu’s name loudly.
Xiao Ting emerged from somewhere, reminding him, “Madam is looking at the little flowers in the grass outside the living room. Master can find Madam there.”
Yan Gui Xing patted Xiao Ting’s round head, quickly said, “Good boy,” and passed Xiao Ting, who had transformed into a celebratory confetti emoji, entering the living room.
He came to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at Mu Mu curled up in a small ball outside, finally showing a smile.
Yan Gui Xing tapped the glass with his finger, the crisp sound causing Mu Mu to look up.
Seeing Mu Mu’s bewildered expression, he should have been relieved, but for some reason, his chest ached sharply.
The two, one standing, one squatting, separated by a pane of glass, stared silently at each other, their former sweetness seeming to subtly change at that moment.
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