A street urchin turned academic genius, starting by saving the blind school beauty.

Chapter 107 Where is Uncle Xu?

Lu Zhaoye knew he couldn't hide it any longer. He grabbed Xu Ziqing's hand and led her to a blind spot in the security room's surveillance footage, and said bluntly,

"Something must have happened."

Originally, Lu Zhaoye wanted to keep it a secret as before, and tell Xu Ziqing after he had finished everything.

However, the incident happened so suddenly that Lu Zhaoye didn't have time to make any plans or preparations. With Xu Ziqing's keen intelligence, she must have overheard something.

Lu Zhaoye worried that further concealment would backfire.

"It's alright, don't worry, your older brother is here to comfort you," Lu Zhaoye said reassuringly.

But at this moment, Xu Ziqing panicked. In an instant, self-blame, guilt, and helplessness surged into her heart. Her body trembled slightly, and the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Lu Zhaoye felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he pulled Xu Ziqing into his arms and whispered,

"Don't be afraid, your big brother is here."

"Besides, it's nothing serious. Uncle Xu was probably just held up by something."

"Let's wait a little longer, okay?"

"..."

Xu Ziqing nestled in Lu Zhaoye's arms and cried for a while. Feeling his strong heartbeat, her unease gradually disappeared.

She wiped away her tears, slowly rose from Lu Zhaoye's embrace, and said timidly,

"Brother, what do we do now?"

Lu Zhaoye thought for a moment, then frowned and said,

"wait."

Although Xu Ziqing didn't know what her older brother was thinking, she trusted him completely, so she nodded without saying a word.

Lu Zhaoye found a shady spot. He originally wanted to find a public bench to sit on while waiting, but there wasn't one in this godforsaken place, so the two of them had no choice but to sit on the ground.

Xu Ziqing wasn't being pretentious; she just wanted to be able to hold her older brother's hand as long as possible.

Lu Zhaoye and Xu Ziqing sat near the factory and waited patiently. During this time, Lu Zhaoye and Xu Ziqing chatted a lot.

They talked freely about everything from childhood to adulthood, from having light to losing it, and from the present to the future.

But Lu Zhaoye wasn't really focused on chatting; he was actually plotting how to find Xu Ziqing's father.

As time went by, Uncle Xu still didn't send any messages, and Lu Zhaoye had completely given up hope.

Lu Zhaoye already had a plan in mind. If he remembered correctly, the factory workers would get off work at 5:30 pm, and many workers would come out to buy dinner at that time.

Lu Zhaoye planned to take Xu Ziqing to inquire about the situation, as long as some people in the factory knew that he had arrived.

If something really happened to Uncle Xu at the factory, Lu Zhaoye didn't believe they would leave no trace.

Furthermore, Lu Zhaoye had already decided that if it was truly impenetrable, he could climb over the wall and go inside to take a look. It was just a dilapidated dormitory building, and Lu Zhaoye was confident that he could definitely find someone who knew Uncle Xu.

After all, one's own identity is something that truly cannot be chosen.

Lu Zhaoye snapped out of his reverie, glanced at Xu Ziqing who had suddenly fallen silent beside him, and asked,

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly quiet?"

"Big brother, it's been so long," Xu Ziqing said, her head bowed. After a pause, she continued, "Is there still no news about my father?"

Lu Zhaoye nodded, then responded with a "yes".

"Um."

"Big brother, something really happened to my father," Xu Ziqing said, her eyes reddening and her voice choked with emotion, as if she had some kind of telepathic connection.

Lu Zhaoye was taken aback, then quickly took out a tissue to wipe Xu Ziqing's eyes, gently comforting her.

"No, that's not true."

But Xu Ziqing no longer wanted to deceive herself. Although she hadn't looked at it once, the warmth of the sun on her body was real.

From the slight chill in the morning, to the sweltering heat at noon, and now to the gentle breeze, Xu Ziqing knew they had missed their agreed-upon time for a long time.

"Big brother, please don't lie to me, okay? I'll be good. Please tell me the truth," Xu Ziqing cried as she threw herself into his arms, completely breaking down.

Lu Zhaoye had lost count of how many times Xu Ziqing had cried, but there was nothing he could do but hold her and comfort her.

He was also in great turmoil, but he knew he couldn't panic at this moment; he had to keep the morale of his troops stable.

"Xu Ziqing, I really don't know if your father is in any danger."

"But I have a way to test it out. I'll tell you when you stop crying, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ziqing immediately stepped out of Lu Zhaoye's arms, her face streaked with tears, and said...

"I'm not crying anymore."

Lu Zhaoye chuckled, took out a tissue from his pocket to wipe Xu Ziqing's cheeks, and patiently said,

"After the workers get off work, we'll go to the door and say we're looking for Uncle Xu, who is your father. I'm your brother, and you're my sister."

"If something really happens to Uncle Xu, the people at the factory will find out very quickly. Bad people might choose to keep it a secret, but good people might inform us, right?"

Xu Ziqing had wiped away her tears, replaced by a serious expression as she carefully considered Lu Zhaoye's plan.

"Are we waiting for them to slip up on their own?"

"That's right. There are only two of us now, so we can't act recklessly. We can only wait for them to make a mistake on their own," Lu Zhaoye said in a deep voice.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered what Luo Tian had said to him at the police station, and he didn't expect it to come true so quickly.

"Okay, that's settled," Xu Ziqing replied after figuring out the whole logic.

......

......

Soon, the sun slowly set, and at 5:30, the factory gates opened on time, and a large wave of workers poured out.

Lu Zhaoye and Xu Ziqing had been waiting at the door for a long time, and he had also found other helpers.

"Hey Lao Liu, what's the situation with Xu Feng at your factory?"

An older woman selling egg pancakes asked a man wearing a hat in a very casual manner,

"They've already found the child, could you please help them make contact?"

Standing to the side, Lu Zhaoye immediately wore a bitter expression, looking as if he was about to cry, and pointed to Xu Ziqing behind him.

"Big brother, do you know my father? I'm here with my blind sister to find him. If you know him, could you help me find him? I can't get in touch with him."

There were many people around, and several of them changed their expressions when they heard Lu Zhaoye's choked words. Their eyes swept over Lu Zhaoye and Xu Ziqing before they slowly lowered their heads.

The man wearing the hat also stiffened, feeling a pang of pity for Lu Zhaoye and Xu Ziqing's pitiful state. However, remembering what the factory director had said, he quickly waved his hand.

"I don't know, young man. I... I didn't see your father today."

Lu Zhaoye nodded in disappointment, and then he went to ask other people.

But just as he turned his head, a young woman pushed through the crowd and stared at him, her eyes filled with conflict.