The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two
Ji Linxi a.n.a.lyzed: "Ling Miao has left home before. At the time, he had a bad fight with his dad over his job, so he packed up and came to my place. This time the situation"s different. He can"t come to me and he can"t look for people who know me.
"If Ling Miao"s still in the city, he"ll probably go to his high school or junior high cla.s.smates for help. All his junior high cla.s.smates are in Nanping, and that"s where his home is, too."
"You mean, he might have gone home?" Feng Ji followed Ji Linxi"s words. "Which part of Nanping does he live in?"
"That, I"m not sure about," Ji Linxi said regretfully. "But I heard that Ling Miao"s relations.h.i.+p with his stepmother isn"t good and his dad is often away on business, so it"s not very likely that he"ll go home."
"I think it"s more likely he went home than that he looked for his ex-cla.s.smates," Feng Ji smiled and said. "I"ll tell Su Yuyang to get in touch with Ling Miao"s cla.s.smates, and if we can"t find him then we"ll have to go to Ling Miao"s old home and look."
Feng Ji hung up the phone then picked up Su Yuyang who was as limp as wet clay. He dusted Su Yuyang off and said, "Ji Linxi said that Ling Miao might have gone to look for his middle school cla.s.smates, or went home. I suggest you get in touch with his middle school cla.s.smates, and if there"s no news of him, then go to his old home and look."
A ray of sunlight shot through Su Yuyang"s gray eyes. He pressed Feng Ji"s hand and said ardently, "Really?"
"It"s possible." Feng Ji didn"t want to be too definite. "But since it"s possible, we have to try, right? I suggest looking in Ling Miao"s yearbook and the phone book and getting in touch with those with phone numbers first."
"I know a faster way," An Yan, who had not spoken until now, said. "Look at Ling Miao"s call history and see who he"s gotten in touch with recently. Check his recent messages on QQ, too."
"Might anything fall through the cracks?" Feng Ji asked uncertainly.
Su Yuyang had already unlocked Ling Miao"s phone and logged into Ling Miao"s QQ.
"Ling Miao"s phone was with me all along and he didn"t touch it. I just checked the last login time on all his QQ handles. The main account was on the day he was kidnapped. The secondary account, even longer." Su Yuyang looked dejectedly at his laptop. Now he had to place his last hope on "Ling Miao went back to his old home."
"Does Ji Linxi know where Ling Miao"s old home is?"
"He only knows it"s in Nanping. He doesn"t know the address."
Su Yuyang thought about the people who might know Ling Miao"s old address and suddenly his eyes lit up.
3000WPH: Yu-ge, Xiao Miao"s contract was mailed to his old house, right?
Aside from Mu Yu, Su Yuyang really couldn"t think of anyone else he knew who might know Ling Miao"s address.
Mu Yu: I checked. There are two return addresses. Why?
3000WPH: Can you tell me the first address? I want to go to his old home and look for him.
Mu Yu: This… You"re putting me on the spot.
3000WPH: Yu-ge, I"m begging you.
Mu Yu: Begging won"t help. I"m surprised, though, that going by your relations.h.i.+p with Ling Miao he hasn"t brought you home to see his parents.
3000WPH: Thank you, Yu-ge. I"ll do other things in the meantime.
Su Yuyang didn"t read Mu Yu"s reply. Now, he only wanted to know where Ling Miao"s old home was.
Like a headless fly Su Yuyang searched the house. He was trying to find something useful from the things Ling Miao had left behind.
"Let"s help him," An Yan sighed.
Feng Ji held An Yan back and shook his head. "Let him do it. Let"s go to Ling Miao"s apartment."
Ling Miao had left some of his things at the apartment. Feng Ji intended to go and see if they could find any clues.
Su Yuyang had turned his apartment upside down but hadn"t found anything of use. Su Yuyang sat on the floor in a daze, sunlight falling in a thin veil over him. He looked at the sun setting in the west and hopelessness flowed through his blood, from his heart to every part of his body.
"Su Yuyang, I found it!" The sound of Feng Ji panting could be clearly heard. Su Yuyang looked in the direction of the sound but didn"t see any sign of Feng Ji. As he got to the doorway he saw Feng Ji standing at the corner, holding the handrail and out of breath. Seeing Su Yuyang looking at him, Feng Ji waved something white in his hand. Su Yuyang took three steps forward and took it. It was something very familiar to him—a contract!
"The contract Ling Miao signed with the web novel site?" Su Yuyang looked with surprise at the name "Ling Miao" on the contract. He asked agitatedly, "Feng-zi, how did you find this?"
Feng Ji had sprinted the whole way back and now he couldn"t say a single word. An Yan ambled up just in time to hear Su Yuyang"s question. He explained on Feng Ji"s behalf, "Feng-ge and I found this at Ling Miao"s apartment. On the way, we also moved the things he left at the apartment over here."
"The landlord didn"t give you a hard time?"
"Not a soul was in the apartment," An Yan smiled and said.
An Yan and Su Yuyang helped Feng Ji back into Su Yuyang"s apartment. Su Yuyang used Ling Miao"s phone to send a text to the landlord explaining the situation.
He took the two contracts Feng Ji had brought back. One of them had Ling Miao"s school as the return address and the other return address was the same as on Ling Miao"s envelope!
"Xiao Miao." Su Yuyang touched the address on the contract and his hands trembled with emotion he could not repress. He decided to go to Ling Miao"s old home!
"Ah, where are you going?" Feng Ji caught hold of Su Yuyang and asked.
Su Yuyang said matter-of-factly, "Looking for Xiao Miao."
"Stop right there!" Feng Ji looked Su Yuyang over and laughed, "Go look in the mirror. If you go out like that, you"ll be lucky if you aren"t mistaken for a hobo."
Su Yuyang had been frantic since Ling Miao"s disappearance. A week ago, under pressure from Feng Ji, he had shaved his beard, showered, and changed his clothes. The clothes he was wearing now were from one week ago. His hair was so greasy that, in Feng Ji"s words, "if we sc.r.a.ped the oil from your hair, we"d be able to cook a dish of food."
"But…"
"Besides, if you go to Ling Miao"s old house, you might not get to see Ling Miao, but you will very likely meet his father and stepmother. If you go like this you won"t leave a good first impression. Be careful or they might not hand their son over to you," Feng Ji said in a tone like he was asking for a beating.
But Su Yuyang seemed to be concerned about something other than the first impression. He asked in shock, "Stepmother?"
"Ji Linxi mentioned it," Feng Ji explained.
"It"s gotten dark and I"m hungry. Xiao An, let"s make dinner." Feng Ji pulled An Yan towards the kitchen.
Su Yuyang touched his chin; the beard was scratchy. He went to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and was shocked: "Ah, this…" Su Yuyang was very sure that the person in the mirror was him, but if he were to meet his future in-laws looking like this, he"d probably be kicked out immediately.
Su Yuyang turned on the hot water and began to shave. Thinking that he would get to see Ling Miao tomorrow, his spirits lightened.
But Ling Miao"s mood was the opposite of his.