BXBX NOVEL Chapter 187: Mumu, Where Are You
Chapter 187: Mumu, Where Are You
As he drove, he made phone calls, initially losing his temper, but as the latter half of the night approached, his hands on the steering wheel gradually loosened…
The Maybach aimlessly drove on the roads, with a fleeting moment where his vision blurred.
The car, like a cheetah that had lost its direction, dashed haphazardly, prompting passersby to dodge and yell in fright, “Driving like that, do you have a death wish?!”
He seemed to hear nothing; he only wanted to find her.
“Mumu, where are you…”
His eyes fixated straight ahead, the bloodshot orbs dull and lifeless, the normally bright, obsidian-like eyes now seemed to have turned to ashes.
Xiao Mo called him: “President Shen, I haven’t found her on my end.”
At first, he would rage at the person on the other end of the phone: “Damn it, keep looking. If you don’t find her, don’t you ever show your face again!”
Xiao Mo hurried to hang up the phone, scared, and continued searching for her.
In the latter half of the night, having really not found Xu Chaomu, Xiao Mo reluctantly plucked up the courage to call Shen Chi again.
“President Shen, shall we call the police?”
Shen Chi cursed him out as usual, but after several curses, around four in the morning, when Xiao Mo could barely keep his eyes open, he sleepily called Shen Chi again.
“President Shen, it’s very late, you should go back and sleep. I’ll search for her.”
This time, Shen Chi didn’t reply, for a long, long time.
The silence on the other end was so profound that Xiao Mo thought Shen Chi had hung up.
“President Shen, where are you now?”
“Xiao Mo,” Shen Chi finally spoke slowly, his voice faint and choked, “You go back first.”
Xiao Mo was stunned, it took him a long time to come back to his senses.
He had never heard Shen Chi speak to him with such a tone.
“President Shen, let me continue searching, you go back to sleep. The group’s business can’t do without you, you have to take care of your health.”
“I told you to go back,” Shen Chi emphasized.
Xiao Mo knew if he persisted, Shen Chi would lose his temper.
He could only nod his head: “President Shen, don’t overexert yourself.”
After four in the morning, Xiao Mo never called Shen Chi again.
Shen Chi drove around to all the places Xu Chaomu might go, realizing that she actually had always been a good girl, her usual haunts weren’t many.
The car stopped at the entrance of the amusement park, looking up, the giant Ferris wheel stood silently in a corner.
In the deep quiet of the night, with the whistling wind, the Ferris wheel appeared like a sleeping behemoth, motionless.
He remembered, since she was ten, she would tug at his sleeve saying, “Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother, why can other little girls often go to amusement parks, but you never take me?”
“Annoying,” he glanced at her with disdain, continuing to read his newspaper.
She was persistent, her small paws gripped his clothing, preventing him from reading the paper.
“Fourth Brother, take me!”
“No!”
“Then I’ll go by myself!”
“No!”
“You don’t allow me to go to the amusement park, then you should at least play with me!” Xu Chaomu, unhappy, clung to him.
With his personality, how could he play with someone, especially someone as pestering as this little girl.
So he pulled his clothes out of her hand, threw away the newspaper, and without a word, stood up and left.
Naturally, she wasn’t as strong as him; left behind by him, her large eyes shimmered with tears of grievance.
Shen Chi sat immovable in the driver’s seat, and in the darkness of the night, the amusement park’s lights shone brightly. As he watched, his eyes grew moist.
He truly seldom took her out to play.
Even over the course of eight years, the number of times he’d taken her out could be counted on one’s fingers.
That night, when he saw her sneaking out to the amusement park with Lou Yanli, her eyes were filled with laughter.
He angrily took her away, yet never once considered simply accompanying her properly.
Today, in the hospital room, he promised her, when he returned from South Africa, he would take her there.
Wherever she wanted to go, he’d take her there.
“Chaomu, Mumu… where are you…” Shen Chi’s hand fell limply, his voice deep and hoarse.
His eyes were hazy as he stared ahead, until everything in front of him fell apart.
For a whole hour, he just sat in the car, motionless, like a statue.
The hands on his watch moved from four to five, then from five to six.
Rain drizzled from the sky during the late night, but stopped by dawn. The trees by the roadside in the morning were adorned with glistening dewdrops, which fell as the wind blew.
The morning air held a mist, white and indistinct.
The night quietly retreated, and with the first ray of sunlight, the day brightened again.
Around five in the morning, Shen Chi stepped out of the car; he leaned against the car door and lit a cigarette.
The sky was still dark, with misty water vapor floating everywhere.
The corner of his black suit was lifted by the wind; surrounded by the swirling smoke, his face became increasingly indistinct…
By the time Xu Chaomu and Nie Chenglang went out for an outdoor barbecue, the sun was already high in the sky.
The weather, clear after the rain, was truly pleasant.
The sky was a shade of azure, dotted with white clouds; the air was fresh, everything was desirable.
“Don’t run around, everyone,” Chenglang chased after a group of little kids.
But the kids were fast, as he caught up to one, another would take off running.
Xu Chaomu had no choice but to step in, cutting them off!
She bent down to pick up a brick, threatening them, “No one is allowed to run, or the brick will be thrown at you.”
The little kids immediately stood still, looking at Xu Chaomu innocently.
Chenglang couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the situation. Who handles things like that?
“Raise your hands!” Xu Chaomu commanded with hands on her hips and fierce eyes, intimidating them.
“Wow,” the group of little kids uniformally raised their hands.
They were of various heights and wore different clothes, but they all raised their hands in unison!
One after another, they gazed at Xu Chaomu, eyes wide with fear.
“Good,” Xu Chaomu was clearly satisfied, “Put your hands down.”
“Wow,” with a unanimous sound, the little kids put their hands down, pressing them against their trousers.
“Good,” Xu Chaomu was satisfied again, “Line up! Count off!”
The little kids quickly lined up, there weren’t many of them, just seven or eight, but they quickly formed a line and began to count off.
“One!”
“Two!”
“Three!”
Xu Chaomu was still quite pleased; it seemed these kids could be taught. To deal with this bunch of little kids, rough measures were necessary.
In fact, she learned all this from someone, whenever she was disobedient, he always resorted to force.
Remembering that person, the brightness in her eyes dimmed.
“Alright, let’s march!” Xu Chaomu called out.
The kids cooperated and marched forward, their steps disordered yet oddly uniform.
Chenglang laughed himself into a stoop, one little ghost leading a bunch of little kids; they actually looked the part.
Carrying a pile of things, Chenglang followed behind, and soon they arrived at the site for their barbecue, at the foot of a hill.
There were hills, water, green grass, and colorful flowers.
“Halt!” Xu Chaomu commanded seriously.
Her crisp voice echoed charmingly and beautifully in the valley.
The little kids immediately stopped in their tracks and began to play, hopping and jumping around.