The next morning, the whole Hua family went crazy. Apparently, the main family's youngest child had disappeared. Never mind his parents and big brother, even the branch families and all the servants were mobilized to search for Hua Lin Yu.
The Elders couldn't help but worry that this might have been the doing of that presence they had noticed before. Maybe whoever it was had been lying low after they noticed them and then attacked as soon as their attention was somewhere else?
It seemed entirely possible. But if it was the truth, then that meant that the other side was not only insanely strong but also very sly. To find this perfect opportunity and act in a heartbeat was no easy feat at all. And then that person had also managed to do all this without them noticing. Who knew when they had kidnapped their Xiao Yu and where they had taken him?
The family had already searched the whole estate and even combed through the streets of the city but their youngest child was still lost. They were slowly running out of options.
Hua Lin Rong finally couldn't take it on any longer and went to the room that Xin Lan occupied. Anyway, this person had been staying with them for several years so he didn't feel too awkward about it. Especially since his younger brother was really close to him. He shouldn't mind helping them out, right?
He knocked on the door and then went in, not even waiting for an answer. Even though he knew that this person couldn't be antagonized, he just didn't have the patience to wait any longer while his dear younger brother was missing. Now, every second counted!
As a result, he stopped right in his tracks when he stepped inside. Quite uncharacteristically for him, Xin Lan hadn't woken up when he came close. In fact, even now that Hua Lin Rong had stepped inside, he wasn't awake. It probably wasn't a wonder after he had had the bad fortune of making Hua Lin Yu keep him awake at night for several days straight. What actually shocked Hua Lin Rong was the fact that his little baby brother that everybody had been searching for like crazy was in the room as well, happily sleeping in Xin Lan's arms like this guy was his actual family!
Hua Lin Rong stared at the two of them together for a moment and then backed out of the room, quietly closing the door. It seemed that even a dragon wouldn't be able to hold on forever if he was bothered long enough by a toddler.
He went back to where his family was currently wondering what else they should do and waved. "Don't bother about it. I already found him."
His parents and grandparents leaped to their feet and rushed over, crowding around him.
"What do you mean? Where is he?"
"Then why didn't you bring them with you?"
"Is he alright? He wouldn't be hurt, would he?!"
"Was it that presence? Were you able to find out what it is?"
Hua Lin Rong sighed. "You should all calm down. It has nothing to do with that presence at all. It's just that Xiao Yu was being willful again. He's currently with Xin Lan."
His family fell quiet. Oh. They … they really should have thought of that.
Hua Lin Rong's parents finally exchanged a glance and his father awkwardly cleared his throat. "Well … I guess we should have checked that as soon as we found out that Xiao Yu wasn't there. Hasn't he been hanging around him all the time? It's no wonder he'd be there even early in the morning. He probably woke up really early and then rushed over."
Hua Lin Rong had a grieving expression on his face but he kept quiet. He might be a little frustrated that his baby brother would actually prefer a stranger over him but it was still good that nothing had happened to him. And Xin Lan wasn't a bad person. He had taken care of Xiao Yu very well these years. And it was not his fault either that the child liked him so much.
His grandfather also had an embarrassed expression. "Well, I guess we should tell everybody then that they can stop searching for him." He looked at his wife who nodded.
"Let's just say Xin Lan found him."
The other four mumbled in agreement and then went off to take care of their own matters. Anyway, it would really be too embarrassing to admit that they had created such a panic in the whole city just because their child had once again been harassing their family's guest.
This incident made Hua Ning Shun sink into deep thought when he walked away. Obviously, the child had run over on his own. Otherwise, somebody would have known what was happening. He had been like this all the time since he was able to walk. And even before that, he would stretch out his arms to Xin Lan, asking whoever was holding him at that time to hand him over already. Somehow, this child had fixated on Xin Lan.
Considering that, it wouldn't be easy to make him give up on sticking to Xin Lan anytime soon. That made matters difficult though. How was he supposed to get the child to the Jian Yi Sect like this? Xiao Yu probably wouldn't accept it when he tried to take him there. It seemed that he would need to ask Xin Lan for help to achieve that. It was just … The dragon was rather grumpy on most days. He couldn't even imagine having that conversation with him.
And then there was also the problem that Xiao Yu might not be even less willing to stay at the Jian Yi Sect if Xin Lan accompanied them to bring him over. This really was a tricky situation. Well, for now, he could only give it try. Maybe he would be lucky and Xiao Yu would behave well. It certainly would take some pressure off him.