The sunlight in late autumn was not as scorching as it was in summer, but it was still intense enough to get someone's delicate skin sunburned after prolonged exposure. Daisy took a break to rest for a while. She sighed as she looked up at the relentless sun. After getting her breath back, she suddenly realized how far she'd come. Although the trip didn't exhaust her, she was now dehydrated.
Daisy raised her hand to wipe the sweat off her face. She assumed that she must look a lot more terrible than when she was doing field training at the base. At least at the base, she was wearing flat combat boots instead of high heels and camouflage attire instead of this full-length dress which trailed along behind her and made walking difficult. At the moment, she felt like a drowned mouse. But there was no one to blame but herself. She originally just planned to walk around but before she knew it, she had strayed off the path and ended up on the peak of a natural forest park. Although she enjoyed the beautiful sunrise and the fresh mountain air, she found that wearing high-heeled shoes while trekking along the mountain was a big mistake.
To be honest, when she opened the closet and found the glittering array of dresses this morning, her heart started racing. She stood in place and stared at those women's clothes for quite a long time without even touching a single one of them. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that they were brand-new with price tags still attached on them, so they could not be some other women's clothes. But she had trouble making up her mind while looking through the collection. There were a lot of brands and styles available, but none of them seemed to suit her. All the clothes were either strapless or backless, even if the upper part was acceptable, the lower section could barely cover her hip. In the end, she reluctantly chose this long snow-white dress, which further added to her aloof image and otherworldly beauty.
Swallowing hard, she tried to relieve her thirst only to find that her mouth was dry. She could do nothing but continue to walk when suddenly, a pavilion drew her attention. She unconsciously stopped, not because she wanted to take a break, but because she found it familiar. She had a feeling that she could recognize it in her memory. It was strange because this was her first time in K City, and she had never visited this forest park before. It was impossible for her to have seen this pavilion before. But now, she could even vaguely picture a similar pavilion in her mind. However, when she tried to remember more details, the images became blurry and simply faded away.
With a confused look on her face, she walked over and sized it up curiously. She admitted that it was merely a typical pavilion that people could easily come across in many tourist spots. There was nothing special about it, but she just couldn't shake off the familiarity. Sitting down slowly on the stone bench inside, she did her best to search her memory for the reason. But every time she got close to an answer, it just slipped away.
'It's better to forget it. Maybe I'm just too tired and I'm imagining things,' she thought to herself. After reassuring herself, Daisy decided not to linger any longer. She rose up and continued her trek down the mountain. Maybe she was distracted by the confusion, or the heels were too high for her, because she suddenly lost her balance and sprained her ankle. She was already a bit tired after walking for so long, a twisted ankle would surely add to her woes. She bent down to stroke her ankle gently. As expected, she felt a dull pain in the joint. Luckily, it wasn't very serious, and she could still get back on foot. As she hobbled along the steep mountain road, she got drenched in sweat from the heat and the aching pain. But years of military life had toughened her will, so she wasn't frustrated or upset, nor did she show any delicacy or weakness that a regular girl might have done in this situation. On the contrary, she clenched her teeth and walked on, displaying her tenacity and strong will as a soldier.
Compared to Daisy, who had coped with her difficulties gracefully, Edward could barely stay calm and was on the verge of an angry rampage. He and Luke had literally searched every corner of the hotel and the area around, but could find no trace of Daisy. Edward was currently filled with both worry and anger. On one hand, he feared that something bad might have happened to her. On the other, she had riled him up by going out alone. How could she not even ask him to accompany her? Edward came to feel useless, dispensable and unwanted as a husband.
"Luke, how is it going? Are there any sightings of her?" He used the phone in his car to call Luke every ten minutes to ask about Daisy. It was clearly evident how anxious he was at the moment.
No. I'm sorry Mr. Mu, but I suspect that Mrs. Mu is no longer in the area. Shall we expand the search? I think I remember her talking about watching the sunrise. Perhaps we can go and try checking some higher places where one can view the sunrise at the earliest," Luke said as he kept looking around the street, hoping to spot the missing woman.
Checking out higher places? Wait a second, I might know where she is." Edward then turned the car around sharply. Luke's words reminded him of a place where people could see the first rays of sunlight in this city. But the odd thing was, that place was quite far away from the hotel. If Daisy went out on foot, then she was less likely to have walked that far. Nevertheless, he still decided to try his luck and check it out. After all, it was better than running around like a headless chicken.
In less than twenty minutes, he stood at the gate of a forest park. He wasn't familiar with this park, but wasn't a stranger to it either. Because it was exactly the place he described to Daisy last night. It was a place where people could stroll around in the secluded pathways and watch the mountain spring cascade into waterfalls. People who were unfamiliar with the place could hardly be expected to know the existence of such a beautiful scenery.
Edward trotted all the way up the steep and winding mountain road. He prayed in his heart that Luke was right, and that Daisy actually did come here to watch the sunrise. This way, he could put an end to his worries and their hit-and-miss strategy.