CHAPTER 23: CHAPTER 22: WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND GOES TO CLASS AT MIDNIGHT

Mu Yunchu was calm and collected, forming a stark contrast with Huang Panpan beside the screen.

"Don’t worry, he’s fine."

Just as she was about to continue, a loud slamming sound suddenly came from Huang Panpan’s side.

Her parents had returned.

But from their expressions, it was clear they had come back empty-handed.

"The police took us to check the nearby surveillance cameras."

However, their neighborhood was old, and the surrounding streets were built decades ago, so the surveillance coverage was incomplete.

"So we could only see Shang Huang heading north on the screens, but couldn’t confirm where he went."

The elderly couple hung their heads.

But upon realizing something, they looked up at Huang Panpan and quickly comforted her, "Don’t worry and don’t be too upset, your mom and I know it’s not your fault."

"We just followed the path back home to rest a bit and then we’ll go out to look again."

"The police also said that Shang Huang is so young, he couldn’t have gone too far even if he walked."

...

The only thing they feared was that he might have been abducted by traffickers.

But they didn’t want to make their daughter feel guiltier, so they chose to keep these words to themselves.

However, they didn’t know that Huang Panpan had just learned from Mu Yunchu about her brother’s safety.

"Mom, Dad, I might have a way to find Shang Huang!"

Huang Panpan’s parents: !!!

She took out her phone, "This is a famous fortune-teller streamer online, she might be able to tell us the answer."

The elderly couple, who were quite excited moments ago, displayed a rather peculiar expression upon seeing this scene.

It’s not that they don’t believe in mysticism.

On the contrary, people of their generation might be more superstitious.

But what they believed in were things like not sticking chopsticks vertically into a rice bowl...

Ultimately, they just didn’t believe in fortune-telling.

The couple exchanged glances, and Father Huang was the first to speak, carefully choosing his words, "Panpan, we know you’re anxious."

"But in situations like this, let’s trust the police first."

They didn’t blame their daughter, only considered it an act of desperation.

Mrs. Huang also chimed in during the pause: "Right, I know about fortune-telling, there used to be a blind man at the entrance of our village who could do fortune-telling."

"But there’s actually a whole set of rhetoric to it, Panpan, you shouldn’t fall for it."

"Oh dear!" Huang Panpan didn’t know how to persuade them, she was so anxious she stomped her feet.

"Forget it, streamer, just tell me where my brother is now, okay?"

Mu Yunchu didn’t act mysterious nor did she lay any groundwork, she got right to the point, "He’s at school now."

The others: ???

[ ??? ]

"Impossible!"

Responding faster than Huang Panpan was Father Huang.

He knew his son well.

A child who would love nothing more than not going to school, why would he choose school when running away from home?

"You have no idea how hard it is to get him to go to school, I have to set several alarms for him to wake up."

"Moreover, school will have people in half an hour, then everyone will notice him."

Wouldn’t running away from home at midnight be utterly pointless?

Partly distrustful of Mu Yunchu and partly overconfident in himself, Father Huang waved it off, refusing to accept this answer.

"He could go anywhere, but school is absolutely impossible!"

Although Mrs. Huang didn’t speak, she shared the same thought, so she just nodded beside him.

But having previously experienced how accurate Mu Yunchu’s fortune-telling was, Huang Panpan held a completely different opinion.

So despite their objections, she had already grabbed her phone and headed to the door to put on her shoes.

"I’ll just take a chance, even if it’s wrong we won’t have lost anything."

With that, she turned around and ran toward the school.

Seeing this, her parents feared Huang Panpan was being deceived, so they had no choice but to follow her.

Their neighborhood wasn’t far from Huang Shanghuang’s elementary school, just a bus stop, or a fifteen-minute walk.

When Huang Panpan arrived at the school, some students were already trickling in.

After explaining her intentions to the security guard, he led them to the classroom.

Walking down the corridor of the teaching building, the four attracted frequent glances.

Father Huang grumbled, "Panpan, I told you he certainly wouldn’t be here."

"Oh... Maybe I should ask more neighbors to help search when I get back home."

...

However, before he could finish speaking, Huang Panpan opened the classroom door and froze in place.

Father Huang blurted out words he had prepared earlier.

"I told you he wouldn’t be..."

He followed her in and was stunned too.

No other reason needed.

Because the son they had been searching for hours was now lying comfortably on a desk in the classroom.

[ Oh my! We actually found him! ]

[ Streamer, how did you do it? ]

Excitedly, Huang Panpan pulled her brother up. She had already resolved not to lose her temper upon finding him, but at this moment, she couldn’t control herself.

"Huang Shanghuang!"

"What the heck were you doing running around at midnight!"

The little boy heard the familiar yelling, thinking he was in a nightmare.

He instinctively stood up straight, even before opening his eyes he started to apologize.

"I’m sorry, sis!"

"I was wrong!"

But what greeted him was a large bear hug.

Confusedly opening his eyes, Huang Shanghuang saw the three closest people to him looking on the verge of tears, utterly perplexed.

Afraid that the just recovered child might run away again, Father Huang directly asked the teacher for a leave.

Back at home, once the emotions of losing and then regaining subsided, anger followed.

"You know, just because your sister said a few words to you, you ran away from home!"

"Do you know we’ve been looking for you since four in the morning all the way until now? How long we’ve been searching?"

"You worried us sick!"

But Huang Shanghuang was still utterly confused.

A grudge? Running away from home?

What on earth was all of this?

He wanted to deny it.

But his family wouldn’t listen at all.

"If you weren’t running away from home, what were you doing going out at midnight?"

"Who in their right mind goes to school at midnight."

[ Here we go, the double smackdown is likely coming. ]

[ Poor kid, I can already foresee what he’s going to go through. ]

[ But why do I feel like this little boy seems unaware of any running away from home, maybe there’s another reason. ]

[ What reason could there be, his legs are attached to him, it had to be he walked out on his own at midnight. ]

...

At this moment, Huang Shanghuang felt more wronged than Dou E.

He wished for snow to fall in July to prove his innocence.

Mu Yunchu coughed slightly as a reminder, and only then did Huang Panpan remember she hadn’t disconnected her live connection.

"He wasn’t trying to run away from home."

"What?" Huang Panpan blinked, "Then why?"