no one answered the first time. On the second attempt, Chen Mumu's mother, Ming Da Run, picked up the phone.
"Yes, Neighbor Wang, why are you calling me at such an hour?" Ming Da Run asked, her voice groggy with sleep.
The neighbor, Wang, quickly asked, "Ms. Ming, did Chen Mumu come over to your house today?"
Ming Da Run replied sleepily, "Yes, but she already left."
"At what time did she leave?" Neighbor Wang pressed further.
"Just before 6 p.m. Is there something wrong?" Ming Da Run asked, now sounding more alert.
Neighbor Wang shook her head and quickly came up with a story. "It's the landlord. He's looking for her because there's a problem with her drainage, and he wanted to fix it."
She lied on the spot to avoid worrying Ming Da Run, fearing that telling her about Chen Mumu's disappearance might alarm her unnecessarily.
