Chapter 243: Chapter 243

"Alright, I’ll tell you the truth. He just wanted someone to watch the house. It’s often empty, and leaving it so is a waste of resources; moreover, it could attract thieves. So, I told him it would be perfect for you and your mother to move in and keep an eye on it for him, and he agreed. As for the rent... you won’t have to pay at all," Long Shangxuan said, a glint in his phoenix-like eyes.

"Your friend is so kind... But still, it feels awkward living in someone else’s place without paying. How about you talk to your friend again and tell him I’ll still pay a portion of the rent each month?" Hua Xiaomo said.

"Okay, I’ll tell him." Long Shangxuan smiled. "Don’t just stand here. Hurry up and move your things inside."

Only after ensuring Hua Xiaomo and her mother were settled in did Long Shangxuan slowly drive away from the villa.

At an intersection, he stopped the car. He took out his phone, found the familiar number, and dialed. "Director Mo, everything is arranged. Hua Xiaomo and her mother have moved into your Yuehu Residence."

"...Mm," Mo Rutian replied from the other end, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Don’t tell her for now."

After Long Shangxuan acknowledged, Mo Rutian hung up.

Strands of his long, straight hair gently fell, lightly brushing the corners of his lips, evoking a pleasant sensation.

Xiao Mo... Finally, I can be this close to you...

「It wasn’t until the following evening.」

Qi Longbing had Yu Bao go pick up Hua Xiaomo and bring her to the Banshan White House Villa at Jinyin Shoal. He also instructed Aunt Wang to prepare a table laden with delicious dishes. Then, he sat on the sofa, flipping through a magazine, waiting for her with a smile.

However, when his phone rang, the words from the other end sent a shiver down his spine.

"What did you say? Hua Xiaomo and her mother have moved?" Qi Longbing’s nerves instantly frayed. "Yu Bao, what’s going on? I never permitted them to move! Why did you relocate them? And where to?"

Yu Bao, breaking out in a cold sweat on the other end, stammered, "President Qi... I didn’t move them!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Qi Longbing asked in a perplexed tone, "What do you mean?"

"President Qi, I just asked the neighbors. Miss Hua and her mother moved out yesterday. As for where they went, the neighbors don’t know either," Yu Bao replied.

Even over the phone, Qi Longbing’s breathing could be heard growing heavier.

"Call her mobile at once!" Qi Longbing commanded.

"Miss Hua’s phone is turned off..." Yu Bao said in a low voice.

Qi Longbing’s face darkened. With a sharp click, he hung up without another word.

He clutched the phone so tightly in his palm that it grew warm before he finally looked up her number—this was a phone and number he had provided for her.

Qi Longbing quickly dialed, but an automated voice message played on the other end.

It was indeed turned off.

Qi Longbing sat stunned on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the table laden with food, his expression growing progressively colder.

Finally, unable to sit still any longer, he grabbed his car keys, swiftly left the villa, and drove the black Ferrari straight to Lijiang Elegant Gardens, Hua Xiaomo’s father’s home.

Qi Longbing strode in without a word.

"...President Qi, you... what brings you here?" Hua Renda asked, his face etched with astonishment as he watched the handsome, purple-clad man stride into the hall. Who else could it be but President Qi Longbing of the Qi Family? The source of this content ɪs 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝙣𝙚𝙩

Hua Renda was not the only one taken aback. On the second floor, Hua Shuyue and Hua Shishan, who had been in their rooms, quickly rushed to the corridor. At the sight of the man entering, their eyes practically turned into hearts.

Qi Longbing’s eyes quickly swept over the people in the room, but he couldn’t spot the familiar, devilishly charming little woman he was looking for.

"I’m looking for Hua Xiaomo," Qi Longbing said after a brief silence, his expression stern.

"Hua Xiaomo? She... she hasn’t come here, has she?" Hua Renda said, then subtly gestured with his eyes towards the richly dressed woman emerging from a room.

Seeing this, Zhou Nana quickly stepped forward, smiling. "Oh, President Qi! It’s such a rare honor to have you visit Hua’s Home. We’re just about to have dinner; why not join us?"

"No, thank you. Hua Xiaomo and her mother have moved. Do you know where they went?" Qi Longbing asked again.

"Ah? She moved? How could that be? Hasn’t she always lived in Chaohu Alley with her mother?" Zhou Nana said, somewhat surprised. But she quickly recovered, her smile returning even faster. "President Qi, since you’re already here, why not sit down and join us for dinner? Shuyue, Shishan, hurry down and keep our guest company!"

Zhou Nana deliberately called out to her two daughters.

"No need. I’ve already eaten," Qi Longbing said impassively. He then turned to Hua Renda and couldn’t help but chide, "What kind of father are you? Your own daughter moves, and you don’t even know? Aren’t you derelict in your duties?"

Hua Renda was rendered speechless.

"I have matters to attend to at my company, so I’ll be leaving. Find them for me as soon as possible!" With that, Qi Longbing slid his hands into his trouser pockets and quickly left Hua’s Home.

A deep gloom settled over his features, and a sense of foreboding enveloped his heart.

He looked up her number again, half-believing that once this phone was turned off, it would never be switched on again.

Qi Longbing drove at breakneck speed, his mind filled with her expression from that night. She had been all smiles, always so compliant by his side, showing no hint of anything unusual.

"Could it be... another prank?" Qi Longbing sneered. If he had been willing to overlook their past issues, she should have clearly understood his limits and not dared to cross them so carelessly.

But now, two whole days had passed without any news.

Had she vanished so inexplicably? This was too unusual.

Qi Longbing quickly found a number and dialed. "Yu Bao, immediately send people to investigate which moving company went to Chaohu Alley yesterday. You must find Hua Xiaomo and her mother for me!"

"Yes, President Qi!" Yu Bao responded.

Yu Bao’s heart pounded. This Hua Xiaomo really seemed to enjoy stirring up trouble; she had only just reconciled with President Qi a few days ago, and now she was at odds with him again.

Sigh, when the boss gets angry, it’s always us subordinates who suffer.

However, an entire week passed without any leads on a specific moving company, nor any trace of Hua Xiaomo. It was as if she had truly vanished from the face of the earth.

「In the president’s office of Qi Imperial Court.」

"President Qi, perhaps we should report this to the police?" Yu Bao suggested.