Chapter 596: Su Zhiyuan Missing!

"Zhi Yuan, calm down!" Lin Yuan took a step back, widening the distance between them.

Lin Yuan's tone carried a hint of barely perceptible severity: "What you're doing is wrong; there's really no possibility between us."

The shame and despair of being rejected instantly engulfed Su Zhiyuan...

She staggered back two steps.

She leaned against the cold wall, covered her face with both hands, and burst into loud sobs.

"Why... why..."

Su Zhiyuan's sobs were heart-wrenching, echoing continuously in the silent hallway.

She carried endless resentment and unwillingness.

The voice-activated lights were awakened by her crying.

The dim yellow light... illuminated her reddened eye sockets and disheveled hair.

It also illuminated Lin Yuan's furrowed brows and solemn expression.

"Zhi Yuan, I've always regarded you as my own sister." Lin Yuan spoke softly, with a hint of barely noticeable fatigue.

"My protection of you, my care for you, has never involved any other thoughts."

"But I never saw you as a brother!" Su Zhiyuan suddenly lowered her hands, her crimson beautiful eyes glaring at Lin Yuan.

Tears continued to pour endlessly from her beautiful eyes.

Lin Yuan was at a loss for words.

Only Su Zhiyuan's suppressed sobs filled the hallway...

The dim yellow light flickered on and off, adding a touch more oppression.

Lin Yuan remained silent for a long time.

He saw that Su Zhiyuan's crying showed no sign of weakening.

Lin Yuan ultimately couldn't hold back and stepped forward.

Lin Yuan softened his tone further: "Zhi Yuan, stop crying; it's cold in the hallway, you'll catch a chill if you keep crying."

"I'm not going up!" Su Zhiyuan shook her head violently.

Her tears splattered onto the cold floor.

…

Su Zhiyuan lowered her head without hesitation, sinking her silver teeth into Lin Yuan's arm... biting down hard.

"Hiss..."

Lin Yuan's brows furrowed slightly.

He clearly felt a sharp pain coming from his arm.

But Lin Yuan did not resist, nor did he push her away.

Lin Yuan simply stood still in place, letting her bite.

If this could let the girl vent her anger, then let her bite.

Su Zhiyuan bit for a good while, until she tasted a hint of blood in her mouth, then she panicked and released.

She looked at the deep, bloody tooth mark on Lin Yuan's arm.

Su Zhiyuan's tears surged even more fiercely.

Su Zhiyuan's voice choked up beyond bearing.;

Lin Yuan's tone remained gentle: "Alright, no more fuss, okay?"

Her sobs gradually softened.

However, Su Zhiyuan continued to hiccup uncontrollably.

Lin Yuan watched her emotions gradually calm, lightly patting her back.

Lin Yuan gently advised: "Be good, how about going up first? Your mom is still waiting upstairs; if she finds you missing, she'll worry. I'll see you to the door."

She slowly went upstairs.

Lin Yuan let out a soft sigh, deliberately fell half a step behind, walking beside her, accompanying her step by step upstairs...

Upon reaching the Safe House door, Su Zhiyuan stopped.

Yet she did not immediately push the door open...

She merely turned her back to Lin Yuan, her shoulders still slightly trembling.

Lin Yuan stood behind her, speaking gently.,

"Go in, rest well, don't keep overthinking. If there's anything, we can talk about it tomorrow after your emotions settle."

Su Zhiyuan kept her head lowered, saying nothing.

She merely slowly lifted her hand, pushed the door open, slipped inside, and then gently closed the door.

Su Zhiyuan did not look back.

Lin Yuan gazed at the tightly shut door, then glanced at his arm where the tooth mark still throbbed faintly.

Lin Yuan let out a soft sigh, confirmed that Su Zhiyuan had entered the house, then turned and went downstairs...

After going downstairs.

Lin Yuan headed straight for his Tesla sedan.

Lin Yuan had just started the car, slowly driving away from the residential complex toward his home...

But Lin Yuan hadn't gone far...

The Safe House door quietly opened a crack again.

Su Zhiyuan poked her head out, her beautiful eyes looking at the hallway situation with a complex, broken expression.

After confirming Lin Yuan had completely left, the resentment in her eyes was instantly replaced by stubborn anger.

Just thinking about having to stay under the same roof as my mother……

Just thinking about the intimate scene of my mother and Lin Yuan……

Su Zhiyuan's heart felt as if it were being pricked by millions of needles, painful and sore, full of jealousy.

"I don't want to see her at all!"

Su Zhiyuan gritted her teeth and muttered angrily.

She didn't want to see her mother……

Afterwards, Su Zhiyuan gently closed the door, tiptoed, and sneaked into the elevator.

That night, Su Zhiyuan…… ran away from home.

……

Late at night, the Safe House gradually grew quiet.

Su Monong was in the study, after finishing her work, she thought of her daughter.

She then got up and walked toward her daughter's room.

Su Monong gently knocked on the door and called out softly: "Zhi Yuan? Are you in there? Mom warmed up some milk for you."

There was no response from the room.

Su Monong called out twice more, but still heard nothing.

A hint of unease immediately arose in Su Monong's heart.

She reached out and gently pushed open the door……

As a result, she saw only that her daughter's room was…… empty.

The bedding was neatly folded, and there was no sign of disturbance on the table.

Obviously, her daughter was not in the room at all.

Su Monong's heart sank instantly.

She hurriedly searched every corner of the living room, kitchen, bathroom, etc……

Su Monong turned the entire Safe House upside down, but still never saw Su Zhiyuan's figure.

Su Monong then waited patiently for a long time, from 11 p. m. until 2 a. m.

Outside the window…… the moon hung high in the night sky.

Su Monong still did not see her daughter's figure return.

At this moment, Su Monong's unease…… turned completely into panic.

Su Monong hurriedly took out her phone.

She first made a WeChat call to her daughter Su Zhiyuan.

Only the cold prompt of "no one answered" came from the earpiece;

She then sent several voice messages in succession to her daughter.

The tone went from an initial gentle inquiry to gradually becoming urgent and worried.

But Su Monong Fa's WeChat messages were like a stone sinking into the sea……

Her daughter's WeChat never received any response.

At this moment, Su Monong completely lost her composure.

She could no longer bear it and was instantly frightened.

In the middle of the night, her daughter suddenly went missing—where could she have gone?

Su Monong hurriedly called Lin Yuan……

……

Late at night, Shidai Gongyu.

Lin Yuan had already washed up and gone to sleep; the days of rushing about had made him sleep very deeply.

But just then, a piercing phone ring…… suddenly rang out in the quiet room.

It harshly jerked Lin Yuan awake from his sleep.

He fumbled groggily to pick up the phone, eyes closed, and answered the call.

Lin Yuan's voice…… still thick with sleep: "Hello? Who is it?"

"Lin Yuan…… it's me……" came Su Monong's choked, panicked sobbing from the phone.

Through the earpiece, one could feel Su Monong's collapse and helplessness: "Lin Yuan, my daughter has gone missing…… she's not at home, I've searched everywhere and found nothing, I've called and messaged but she doesn't reply…… what should I do?"

"What?" Lin Yuan's originally drowsy eyes snapped open, all sleepiness vanishing instantly.

Lin Yuan instantly became fully awake.

He bolted upright, his tone grave: "Don't panic first, tell me slowly—when did you notice Zhi Yuan was missing?"

"I finished my work at night and went to look for her, then found she wasn't in her room, and after waiting a long time she still hadn't come back……" Su Monong's sobs grew louder, her words incoherent as she described the situation.

Lin Yuan, upon hearing this, combined it with Su Zhiyuan's emotional outburst earlier in the hallway……

Lin Yuan instantly realized.

Lin Yuan gripped the phone and spoke in a low voice: "Director Su, please calm down a bit, I have something to tell you…… Just now when I went downstairs, Su Zhiyuan secretly followed me and even showed me a photo."

Lin Yuan paused, then spoke with a complex tone: "The photo is of you and me kissing in the office this afternoon. Our affair has been discovered by her. She was just extremely agitated; I guess it's likely because of this that…… she ran away from home!"

"What……" On the phone, Su Monong heard the words "kissing photo" and "been discovered by her," and was utterly shocked.

On the phone, Su Monong's emotions were somewhat bewildered and complex.

Su Monong's emotions completely collapsed, and her repressed sobs sounded again.

Su Monong was even more desperate than before: "She actually…… she actually found out…… it's all my fault…… all my fault……"

Lin Yuan's heart also clenched, and he hurriedly urged in a low voice.

"You shouldn't blame yourself first; now is not the time to blame yourself. I'll come over right away; your daughter probably left home on impulse because she was angry. When I arrive, we'll go look for her together—she just left not long ago, so she should be nearby and won't have gone far."

Lin Yuan's voice was steady and strong, bringing a kind of power that made people feel at ease.

His voice, through the earpiece...... reached Su Monong's ears, easing her devastated emotions a little.

Su Monong choked up, unable to speak a complete sentence......

She could only respond in broken fragments: "Okay...... I...... I'll wait for you......"

After hanging up, Lin Yuan delayed not even a bit......

He casually grabbed the jacket draped beside the bed, and rushed out the door......