"What…?" Fu Hanjiang waited for Fu Hanchuan to continue.
But Fu Hanchuan withdrew his words and shook his head. "It's nothing."
"Big brother," Fu Hanjiang said with curiosity and frustration. "You can't do this to me. What's the matter? Are you still hiding things from me?"
"..." Fu Hanchuan smiled. "We'll talk about it later. I need to go to the hospital to see Leyi now. You'll have to join Grandma for dinner tonight."
So, he was going to see Leyi.
"Alright."
Fu Hanjiang nodded in agreement. But he felt that his brother had something on his mind, something difficult to speak about.
What could it be? Why was it so hard to mention even to him?
...
Because he was worried about Sheng Xiangsi, Fu Hanjiang didn't sleep well that night.
The next morning, instead of heading to the company, he went to the entrance of Hexiyuan.
He knew Sheng Xiangsi usually went to the dance troupe in the afternoon, but he wanted to check on her before heading to work, to see if she was feeling better than the day before.
He picked up his phone, hesitating. Was Xiangsi awake at this time?
He wanted to go up to find her, but Xiangsi had said before… it wasn't convenient.
As he was debating, he saw Sheng Xiangsi coming out of the main gate! She was carrying a bag and looked a bit hurried.
"Xiangsi!"
Fu Hanjiang immediately drove up and stopped beside her. "Where are you going? Let me give you a ride."
"Okay!"
Seeing it was him, Sheng Xiangsi didn't hesitate and got into the car.
As the car started, Fu Hanjiang noticed she still seemed a bit sleepy.
He guessed, "Just got up?"
"Mm."
Sheng Xiangsi hesitated and nodded. Was it that obvious?
Last night, she had trouble sleeping at first, and only fell asleep in the latter half of the night, so she woke up late in the morning.
Xu Chun didn't know that the dance troupe had adjusted their schedule due to the performance hiatus, so she didn't wake her up.
Sheng Xiangsi checked her phone frequently, urging Fu Hanjiang, "Can you drive faster?"
The dance troupe had a clock-in system, and being late would result in a deduction in pay and losing the perfect attendance bonus.
"Alright."
Fu Hanjiang pressed the gas pedal, but it was the rush hour, and there was some traffic.
He glanced at the anxious girl beside him. "In a hurry, and you haven't had breakfast, right?"
"No." Sheng Xiangsi shook her head. How could she think about that now?
Immediately, Fu Hanjiang picked up his phone and dialed a number. "It's me. Go to West Season Brocade and buy their assorted buns. Yes… deliver them to Lightning Dance Troupe. Quickly!"
Beside him, Sheng Xiangsi heard everything clearly.
Was he buying those for her?
Fu Hanjiang put away his phone and nodded at her. "Wait a bit, they'll be here soon. Your favorite assorted buns, right?"
"…"
Yes, that's right.
But why did he remember that?
Feeling strange, Sheng Xiangsi's tongue felt a bit numb, and she muttered, "Yes, that's right."
They didn't talk much on the way.
When they arrived at the dance troupe, Sheng Xiangsi quickly thanked him. "Thank you!"
Then she got out of the car.
"Xiangsi!" Fu Hanjiang called her back. "Wait, the buns will be here soon!"
"No need!"
Sheng Xiangsi, eager to clock in, shook him off. "I have to clock in! I appreciate your kindness!"
She waved her hand and hurried inside without looking back.
"What do I need your appreciation for?" Fu Hanjiang shook his head helplessly, muttering to himself, "How can you skip breakfast? It's not good for your health."
He was worried about her health.
West Season Brocade's buns were not easy to get. After waiting for another ten minutes, someone finally delivered them.
"Second Master!"
"Here!"
Fu Hanjiang took the bag and instructed, "Tell Mr. Rong that I'll be ten minutes late. He can take care of things until I get there."
"Got it, Second Master."
After giving his orders, Fu Hanjiang carried the bag and headed toward the dance troupe.
Luckily, he was the big boss and didn't need to clock in like Xiangsi.
...
Inside the dance troupe.
Sheng Xiangsi clocked in just in time, with two seconds to spare.
Now, she was slowly changing clothes in the locker room.
Today wasn't the weekend, and the kids' class didn't have morning lessons. They had free time.
"Xiangsi."
Someone called her from the locker room door.
"Someone's looking for you at the east side entrance."
"Okay, thanks!"
Sheng Xiangsi responded and thanked her before heading to the east side entrance. She wondered who was looking for her.
The east side entrance was an employee entrance, usually unknown to outsiders. Could it be someone she knew?
She locked her locker and went to the east side entrance.
Fu Hanjiang had just reached the locker room door and bumped into Bai Ran.
"Could you help me find Xiangsi?"
But when Bai Ran checked, "Xiangsi isn't here. A colleague said someone was looking for her, so she went to the east side entrance."
"Alright, thank you."
Fu Hanjiang smiled at Bai Ran and turned to leave.
Bai Ran was momentarily stunned. Wow… this Mr. Fu is quite handsome, especially when he smiles. It's a bit captivating.
It's understandable that Xiangsi would be entangled with him.
At the east side entrance.
Sheng Xiangsi was craning her neck, looking around. Who was it? Who was looking for her?
She didn't see anyone, but why was there a van parked here? It looked like it hadn't been washed in days, covered in a thick layer of dust.
Then Sheng Xiangsi noticed, this van… had no license plate!
Not good!
Sheng Xiangsi instinctively sensed danger and turned to run.
At that moment, the van door slid open, and a man in his twenties stepped out, grabbing her immediately.
"Let go… mmm…"
Before Sheng Xiangsi could shout, he covered her mouth.
The man was strong, with muscular arms, and easily dragged Sheng Xiangsi into the van.
"Stuff her mouth!"
There were others in the van! A woman!
The woman stuffed a towel into Sheng Xiangsi's mouth and handed over a rope. "Tie her up!"
Then, the woman moved to the driver's seat and started the engine.
As the van started moving, the man shut the door.
In that instant, Sheng Xiangsi saw Fu Hanjiang coming their way, and he saw her too!
"Xiangsi!"
"Mm!"
Sheng Xiangsi tried to respond to him, but her whole body was being pressed against the van door.
But her shoulder was restrained.
The man tying her up glared at her fiercely. "Be quiet! You can't escape! No one can save you!"
"Want to run? Ridiculous!"
The woman in the driver's seat stepped on the gas, accelerating.
"Xiangsi!"
Fu Hanjiang sprinted towards them, but could only watch helplessly as Sheng Xiangsi was taken away by the van.
But he didn't stop, nor did he have time to think.
Driven by pure instinct, he chased after the van on foot.
While running, he pulled out his phone and made a call. "Where are you? Come back! I'm at the east side entrance of the dance troupe. Hurry back!"
He called the subordinate who had delivered the buns earlier, someone nearby.
After hanging up, Fu Hanjiang pushed himself harder, gritting his teeth as he chased the van.
"Xiangsi! Don't be afraid! Ah…
In the van, the man was stunned. "This guy is still chasing? How can he run like that?"
Not only him, but Sheng Xiangsi was also shocked. Can Fu Hanjiang run like this? But seeing his grimacing face, it wasn't easy for him…
How long could he keep this up? How long would he persist?