Chapter 26: Missing

Yang Xuejiao came out of the shower, looked up at the clock on the wall, saw it was already eleven thirty, and noted her husband had not yet returned.

She glanced back at the meal left on the table, sighed, and then walked into the side bedroom.

The side bedroom had a single bed, and opposite the bed stood a very large dressing table.

Ever since her daughter committed suicide, she had converted the original desk into a dressing table.

She picked up the hairdryer on the table, preparing to dry her hair, but noticed the photo frame of her daughter Yin Xingyue on the dressing table; inside the frame was a photo of her daughter.

This photo was taken last summer vacation when the whole family went traveling; her "father" had taken it for her.

Yin Xingyue, wearing a white dress, gazed forward with a faint smile on her face; this was originally a very good-looking photo.

But for some reason, Yang Xuejiao always felt this photo had an indescribable strangeness; she felt her daughter's smile was very fake, and the fixed stare made her extremely uncomfortable.

So she simply flipped the photo frame face down on the dressing table, turned on the hairdryer, and began drying her hair.

Reflected in the dressing mirror was a beautiful mature woman wearing pale pink silk pajamas, with high breasts and fair Bai Xi skin; although not as youthful and pretty as a young girl, she radiated a mature charm all over.

Yang Xuejiao was very beautiful when she was young and had many suitors, but in the end she chose to marry Yin Xingyue's father, Yin Mahayana.

The reason she chose Yin Mahayana was not because Yin Mahayana was handsome, nor because Yin Mahayana's family was well-off, but because Yin Mahayana was a scholar; in their era, scholars were highly sought after, and Yang Xuejiao considered herself marrying up.

But later she discovered that scholars were nothing; what good was having culture? Without money, you were nothing.

So after Yin Mahayana passed away, she married her current husband, Fang Yunlou, without the slightest hesitation.

She had known Fang Yunlou for many years; back then he was even one of her suitors. Although Fang Yunlou was not as scholarly as Yin Mahayana, his family's conditions were good, and his business had been booming these past years, earning him a fortune.

However, she was no longer young and had been married once before; after Fang Yunlou got over the novelty, he treated her like discarded shoes, coming home less and less frequently, especially after her daughter's suicide...

Thinking of this, she stood the photo frame that had been lying face down on the table upright again.

"Useless thing, I raised you for nothing..."

A flash of anger and venom passed through Yang Xuejiao's eyes, an expression a mother should never have.

Yang Xuejiao put away the hairdryer; seeing that Fang Yunlou still had not returned, she decided to go to bed and sleep first.

But when she woke up the next morning, Fang Yunlou still had not returned.

Yang Xuejiao sat dazed against the headboard of the bed for a long time before finally getting up.

She changed into a bodycon skirt, which made her full figure appear even more curvaceous.

When she arrived at the dining room, the leftover food and rice from last night on the table had not been touched at all; she picked up the plate and dumped all the food into the trash can.

By the time she finished applying her exquisite makeup, slung her bag over her shoulder, and went out the door, it was already past ten o'clock.

Arriving at Fang Yunlou's company, the receptionist Miss saw the situation and immediately opened the door for her with a warm, friendly expression.

"Good morning, Boss's wife."

Although the Miss's appearance was not as good as hers, she radiated youthful vitality all over, especially her skin, which was extremely lustrous, making Yang Xuejiao feel a wave of envy; youth is truly wonderful.

"Morning, is the Boss in the company?" Yang Xuejiao asked casually, then walked inward.

"No, the Boss hasn't arrived yet," the receptionist Miss said.

Hearing this, Yang Xuejiao stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the receptionist Miss.

"Did he go on a business trip?" Yang Xuejiao asked.

The receptionist Miss thought to herself, He is your husband; wouldn't you know if he went on a business trip or not?

But she still said, "No, but President Fang hasn't come to the company for two days."

"Two days?"

Yang Xuejiao stopped in her tracks and suddenly felt a vague sense of unease.

Shen Siyuan was awakened by a phone ring; he picked it up and saw it was his mother calling.

"Son, where are you?"

As soon as the call connected, the voice of his mother, Huang Huijuan, shouting loudly came from the other end.

"Where?" Shen Siyuan was still groggy and hadn't reacted yet.

"Son, you haven't gotten out of bed yet, have you?"

"Yeah, it's a day off; I finally managed to sleep in, so why get up so early?" Shen Siyuan checked the time; it was only six ten, and by then he was already awake.

"Didn't we agree you'd be back today? Are you treating my words like wind in your ears?" came Huang Huijuan's angry voice from the other end of the phone.

"Mom, I said I'd go back, but I didn't say when I'd go back," Shen Siyuan said helplessly.

"Then when will you be back?" Huang Huijuan asked, forcing patience.

"I'll go back in the afternoon."

"I bought vegetables on the street and cooked your favorite green-striped fish, and also braised chicken with edamame; come back early..." Huang Huijuan played the emotional card.

"Eating it at night is the same," Shen Siyuan said.

Seeing that Shen Siyuan was impervious to persuasion, Huang Huijuan finally panicked.

"You're already awake anyway, so get your ass back here; dawdling like this, what use are you to me?" After Huang Huijuan finished speaking, she clicked and hung up the phone immediately.

Shen Siyuan looked at his phone and sighed helplessly.

Mom is really annoying; he tossed the phone aside and lay down again, but he was now completely devoid of sleepiness.

Since that was the case, he no longer lingered in bed, got up, and washed his face.

Just as he finished washing and came out of the bathroom, his mother called again.

"Son, are you up yet?"

She acted as if nothing had happened, as though she hadn't been the one who was angry just now.

"I'm up, leaving right now."

"Don't lie to me, okay?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"Tsk~ From childhood to adulthood, haven't you lied to me countless times?"

"What did I lie to you about?" Shen Siyuan said, speechless.

"When men lie to women, it's either about love or money. Your father only lied about love to me; you, boy, are the worst, lying about both love and money."

Shen Siyuan had nothing to say, because his mother spoke the truth.

Every time he wanted to ask her for money, he first played the emotional card, then asked for the money.

"I won't talk to you anymore; I'm going out. You're wasting my time."

"Hmph~"

From the other end of the phone came Huang Huijuan's triumphant voice.

Knowing her son as she did, Shen Siyuan saying such things actually meant he was softening and admitting defeat.

"Then can you rush back for lunch?"

"I'm setting off right now. Don't say lunch; I can even make it for breakfast."

"Forget breakfast; I didn't make any for you. Eat something outside yourself, but don't skip breakfast; it's bad for your health..." Mother started nagging again.

"Mom, I know. Hanging up." Shen Siyuan said impatiently.

After hanging up, he realized his mother never expected him to get up early and come home; otherwise, she would have definitely cooked his breakfast.

The real purpose was actually just to get him out of bed so he could be home before noon.

"Playing tricks on her own son."

Shen Siyuan muttered softly, but a smile he couldn't suppress rose at the corner of his mouth.

From childhood to adulthood, Shen Siyuan and his mother got along particularly well, sharing a motherly love different from others.

After packing some things, Shen Siyuan prepared to go out. Walking to the doorway, he suddenly remembered Yin Xingyue from last night.

So, with a thought, he summoned the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and let her out.

Yin Xingyue turned into a wisp of smoke and dust, appearing out of thin air inside the room. The originally ordinary little girl now carried a hint of the supernatural.