CHAPTER 371: CHAPTER 227: TEARS, SCALDING HIS HEART

Gu Qingchen looked at the crying little one, whose face had already begun to resemble Bei Ran.

The thought of Bei Ran brought an unbearable ache to his heart.

He held the small child as if she were a precious treasure, gently wiping the tears off her little face. The child’s tears were like drops falling onto his heart, one after another, scorching his soul.

The entire room was silent.

Only the child’s sobs could be heard, and Gu Qingchen didn’t tell her to stop crying.

Perhaps, crying was the best way to release those emotions.

He had not taken good care of the little one; she had gotten sick, and he had not been there for her. For a child, crying and feeling scared were perfectly normal reactions.

"Daddy..." the little one looked at him, "where’s Mommy?"

Although the older one had not asked, he had always been thinking about this, especially so late at night and still not having seen Bei Ran.

Gu Qingchen looked at them: "Mommy had something to attend to and is not here, but Daddy will definitely tell her that you are with him now. Of course, Mommy will be sad knowing you are sick, so let’s get better first, and then we’ll call Mommy, okay?"

"Okay!" the little one sobbed and said.

Night had fallen, and Gu Qingchen watched as both children had fallen asleep.

Only then did he rise and step outside to light a cigarette.

The butler Zhang Yuan and the doctor and nurses had not yet rested. Zhang Yuan approached: "Young Master, you should rest. You still have to work tomorrow. The doctor, nurses, and I can watch over Little Young Master and Miss."

"No need, you all go to sleep!" said Gu Qingchen, "I’m here, that’s enough."

"But Young Master, how will you have the energy for work tomorrow if you don’t rest?" Zhang Yuan insisted, "I’ll stay up instead!"

Gu Qingchen just looked at Zhang Yuan, "Did Bei Ran leave anything behind when she left?"

"I don’t know, Young Master. I only know that she went to see the old master," Zhang Yuan said quietly, "Young Master, Miss Bei is a very understanding woman, she will definitely not blame you! Now you just need to focus on running the company well. I will take full responsibility for taking care of the children at home..."

Gu Qingchen said nothing, just took a deep drag of his cigarette, the harsh smoke filled his lungs, yet he felt nothing.

Seeing his persuasion was futile, Zhang Yuan also went to rest.

Gu Qingchen then called Bei Ran’s mobile phone again, which was still switched off.

So, Gu Qingchen made a call to Zhuo Yufeng.

Zhuo Yufeng was already half asleep when he picked up the phone: "What’s up so late? What happened?"

"Has Bei Ran come to find you?" Gu Qingchen urgently asked.

"No..." Zhuo Yufeng suddenly sat up, "What’s happened to Bei Ran?"

"She’s not at home, and her phone is off when I call her," said Gu Qingchen, "If you see her, you must let me know!"

Zhuo Yufeng would certainly ask, "What happened between you two?"

"Both the older and younger one are sick, and Bei Ran isn’t at home..." Gu Qingchen didn’t go into detail, just said, "Anyway, if you get any news of her, you must tell me."

Zhuo Yufeng said angrily, "What exactly happened? Bei Ran has never been so irresponsible. If it wasn’t for something you did to upset her, why would she leave without a word? Gu Qingchen, I always thought that you and Bei Ran would be happy together forever. What is this?!"

Gu Qingchen, somewhat anxiously said: "I want to know where she is too, but I, Gu Qingchen, can swear to the heavens, I absolutely did nothing to betray Bei Ran. It’s just that you understand the people of the Gu Family, they want to drive her away. I was busy at the company all day today, and when I came back, the kids were sick, and she wasn’t by my side. Yufeng, without Bei Ran by my side, I’m more anxious and distressed than anyone..."

"Alright, I’ll believe you for now," Zhuo Yufeng snorted, "I will do my best to find Bei Ran, and if something happened to her because of you, Gu Qingchen, you will pay the price."

Zhuo Yufeng, having said this, had already gotten up. He could no longer sleep. Bei Ran’s close friends were few, and after going over them in his mind, there were really only a few.

Gu Qingchen hurriedly said: "Okay! As long as you find Bei Ran, she can do as she wishes. Also, as you know, there’s been no news from Qin Shan, and Qin Shan has hurt Bei Ran before. She’s out there alone now, and I’m worried about her safety."

"You first take good care of the twins!" Zhuo Yufeng said, "Leave the rest to me!"

Zhuo Yufeng hurriedly called several of Bei Ran’s close friends, naturally starting with Tian Xin. After receiving the call, just like Zhuo Yufeng, Tian Xin couldn’t sleep either.

Tian Xin simply came out: "Zhuo Yufeng, where are you?"

After Zhuo Yufeng reported the address, Tian Xin went to his side, "What should we do? Bei Ran is not such an irresponsible person; even when she was pregnant with twins years ago, she never disappeared like this..."

"The key is where could she go?" Zhuo Yufeng was also very anxious, "We must find her immediately. The longer she’s outside, the more danger she’s in."

"I’ll search with you," Tian Xin was anxious as well.

Zhuo Yufeng took out a short stick and began to draw on the ground, "You, Zheng Tong, and Song Ziyu are her close friends. You’re in charge of asking Zheng Tong and Song Ziyu if Bei Ran is with them or if they’ve seen her. Additionally, Tang Baijin is very familiar with her, and they were each other’s first loves; could she be with Tang Baijin?"

"Bei Ran wouldn’t!" Tian Xin denied, "Bei Ran is a principled person. She would absolutely not return to an old flame, so she will definitely seek out Tang Baijin."

"Besides, what male friends does Bei Ran have?" Zhuo Yufeng looked at Tian Xin.

Tian Xin thought for a moment, "Aside from the company’s CEO Pan Yutao, others are just acquaintances, like some clients, but they’re not very close. I don’t think Bei Ran would approach them. I feel, the biggest possibility is that Bei Ran is staying somewhere alone. She doesn’t want anyone to know her whereabouts... If she does this, she must have suffered great emotional distress. But what exactly happened?"

Zhuo Yufeng’s expression became more solemn: "First ask these friends. I will also use my channels to check on Bei Ran’s identity and bank and credit card information. We’ll find her using multiple approaches!"

Tian Xin didn’t care it was late night, so she immediately called Zheng Tong and Song Ziyu, but they had no news of Bei Ran.

The two of them were busy all night but found nothing.

Zhuo Yufeng bought chocolate milk tea for Tian Xin, while he picked out a coffee, "Can you hold up?"

"I’m okay!" Tian Xin said anxiously, "I’ve been friends with Bei Ran for so long and know that she’s always responsible and principled. She must have been heartbroken. Alas, love can harm people, so hurtful..."

It reminded her of her relationship with Yang Junyi.

Today is the day to collect the DNA test result. The thought of it made Tian Xin tremble uncontrollably.

Tian Xin, irritated to the extreme, downed her cup of chocolate in one breath and still looked very nervous.

Zhuo Yufeng looked at her, "What’s wrong?"

"I..." As a person who couldn’t keep things to herself, she was about to speak to Zhuo Yufeng when her family called. She hurriedly said, "It’s my mom..."

"Mom, what’s up?" Tian Xin answered the call.

Her mother asked on the phone, "Xin’er, I’ve made soup for Junyi’s mother. Why didn’t you come to get it?"

"Mom, sorry, there’s been a little issue with Ranran. I’m afraid I can’t make it today!" Tian Xin said, "Mom, since you’re free anyway, could you please deliver the soup to Auntie?"

"Alright!" Her mother agreed, "By the way, how’s Ranran now?"

"She’s missing; we’re all looking for her!" Tian Xin hurriedly said, "Mom, let’s not talk about it now. You go deliver the soup..."

After Tian Xin finished speaking with her mother, she then said to Zhuo Yufeng, "Zhuo sir, do you know? I have a brother who went missing when we were young, and our family really wants to find him..."

"I will also help you look!" Zhuo Yufeng knew she was a good friend of Bei Ran’s.

Tian Xin smiled, "You know? Zhuo sir, what I want the most is a big brother like you, with a sense of justice, a policeman, someone responsible..."

"You can see me as a big brother just like Bei Ran does," Zhuo Yufeng said generously.

Tian Xin was deeply moved. On this chilly autumn morning, she had a cup of hot chocolate milk tea and a big brother like Zhuo Yufeng. "But, do you know? Junyi is not really our family’s child. What I’m most worried about is that he and I are siblings..."

At that moment, Zhuo Yufeng reached out and patted her shoulder, "Yang Junyi is a doctor himself. Once the DNA proof comes out, it will explain everything. Going through such a situation, both of you must be feeling terrible..."

However, Tian Xin was unaware that her cellphone hadn’t been disconnected; on the other end of the line, her mother was listening...