Chapter 62 Gone Missing

Chapter 62: Missing

After squeezing through a narrow path wide enough for only one person, the space opened up noticeably on both sides. Nearby, there was a heavy, muffled sound distinct from the rain, growing clearer the closer they got—the deep, powerful roar of rushing water.

The fog was so dense it was impenetrable. All Shen Shiyan could see was a dead, stark white. Just moments ago, there had been the voices of Lin Yuan and Shen Siyu conversing, but the moment he stood still, his surroundings fell silent except for the sound of water.

“Teacher Lin?” Shen Shiyan held onto the hope that Lin Yuan, who was usually easygoing, still had a shred of conscience.

There was no response.

Shen Shiyan turned on his phone’s flashlight, but the light couldn’t penetrate the fog at all. Staring at his phone with no signal, he had no idea how to get out.

He wasn’t thinking straight today, he’d come out too recklessly. He couldn’t believe he’d actually fallen for Shen Siyu’s bullshit.

Shen Shiyan let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. The fog had numbed his senses, but he was sure the waterfall Lin Yuan mentioned was nearby. He just couldn’t tell which direction—he could be below the waterfall or at the top of a cliff. To be safe, he didn’t move.

He remembered walking south all the way. In theory, using his phone’s compass, heading north would lead him back the way he came.

The principle was similar to some navigation techniques used in cloud-sea surveys. The phone’s electronic compass didn’t rely on cell towers or satellites, just hardware sensors, so the direction was pretty accurate.

After turning around to get his bearings, he took two steps. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a force slammed into Shen Shiyan from behind. Two hands shoved him hard in the shoulder and side of his back. He stumbled and pitched to the left, and then a huge wave of weightlessness swallowed him. His insides lurched upward, and the white fog yanked his body down.

It was a cliff.

In those few seconds of falling, Shen Shiyan gripped his phone tight. If he somehow survived the fall, this was his only hope.

“No!”

Shen Ci curled up in his sleeping bag, jolted awake by a nightmare. He struggled to sit up, his heart hammering, sweat on his forehead, his hair plastered to his face.

It was the same endless darkness from his childhood nightmares, but this time, the one being swallowed was Shen Shiyan.

A wave of intense dread and panic washed over him. Hands shaking, Shen Ci pulled out his phone and called Shen Shiyan.

After a few short beeps, instead of a familiar voice, a cold, robotic female voice came through repeating: “Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. Sorry, the number...”

Shen Ci’s panic spiked. Shen Shiyan had taken the only umbrella. Shen Ci threw on his shoes, didn’t even grab a jacket, and ran straight into the rain.

His thin summer clothes were instantly soaked, clinging cold and wet to his skin. His hair got heavy with water. Wiping the rain out of his eyes, Shen Ci yanked open the flap of Shen Rong’s tent from outside.

Inside, no Shen Shiyan, no Shen Siyu—just Shen Rong reading a comic.

“Who the hell’s that? You got a death wish?” Shen Rong was startled. When he saw it was Shen Ci, his voice turned mocking. “Oh, look who it is—our little fake, Shen the Green Tea Bitch.”

Shen Ci, soaked to the bone, locked eyes with Shen Rong. “Where are they?”

Shen Rong was a little freaked out by his look. He remembered vaguely overhearing Shen Siyu and Lin Yuan talking—something about a deal where Lin Yuan would help set up a trick to lure Shen Shiyan out.

“How should I know?” Shen Rong shut his comic, enjoying Shen Ci’s panicked face. “They went out. Shen Shiyan probably already fell off a cliff and died, or got bit by a snake...”

Shen Ci’s eyes went wide. He ducked in, stepped forward, and slammed a brutal punch into Shen Rong’s right cheek, rainwater flying off his fist. “Your dad’s the one who’s dead, motherfucker.”

Ever since he joined the Shen family, Shen Ci had buried the part of him that used to run with beggars, never cussing once.

Ignoring Shen Rong, who was nursing his face, Shen Ci stormed out of the tent, radiating fury, and ran to find the homeroom teacher.

He forced himself to calm down, but tears still mixed with raindrops as they fell. For over four years, Shen Shiyan had never missed one of his calls. Now, with two bars of signal, the call should definitely go through.

“It’s okay,” the homeroom teacher said, also frightened by Shen Ci’s appearance. He pulled him into the tent, draped his own jacket over Shen Ci, and spoke soothingly. “Teacher Lin is with them. They just went to survey the area. They might have hit a spot with no signal. It’s fine.”

Just as he spoke, Lin Yuan’s voice came, calling out as he jogged over.

“See, they’re back. It’s okay.” The teacher sighed in relief and wiped Shen Ci’s hair.

Hearing the voice, Shen Ci ran out, only to see Shen Siyu and Lin Yuan.

“Teacher Lin!” The jacket slipped off Shen Ci’s shoulder. “Where’s my d-ddy? Why didn’t he come back with you?”

Lin Yuan, who liked this long-haired boy, showed a troubled expression. When Shen Ci asked again, he stammered, “He’s... missing.”

Missing...

What does that mean?

What the hell does “missing” mean?

It felt as if a giant hand covered in thorns was gripping his heart, suddenly contracting, the thorns piercing through skin and blood vessels, deeper and deeper, until it shredded his heart into a pile of bloody fragments. Shen Ci was in so much pain he could barely breathe.

He looked up. Large raindrops hit his face, stinging slightly, but he seemed not to feel it. His gaze shifted right and stopped on Shen Siyu’s face.

That face, which Shen Ci had hated since childhood, wore a fake expression of sorrow and anxiety. When their eyes met, Shen Siyu’s demeanor was equally mournful.

Shen Ci watched his mouth move, but tinnitus blocked his hearing. He didn’t know what Shen Siyu was saying, but he could imagine it—nothing but hypocritical comfort.

Shen Siyu’s hypocrisy was flawless, making Shen Ci feel utterly nauseated.

The homeroom teacher also rushed over. Shen Ci could occasionally catch a word or two from their conversation. When Lin Yuan called the police, Shen Ci suddenly charged forward, lunging at Shen Siyu. Caught off guard, Shen Siyu was pushed to the ground by Shen Ci, his umbrella rolling to the side and stopping after a couple of turns.

Shen Ci straddled him, grabbing Shen Siyu’s collar with one hand, his fist almost landing on Shen Siyu’s face, but Shen Siyu blocked it by grabbing his wrist.

Lin Yuan and the teacher tried to pull Shen Ci away but failed.

“If you’ve got the guts, kill me too,” Shen Ci said calmly, staring coldly at Shen Siyu. “Otherwise, if my d-ddy doesn’t come back, you won’t have it easy either.”

Shen Shiyan never told Shen Ci about the family’s internal struggles, but Shen Ci knew that the Shen family was a difficult place to stand, and Shen Siyu was no good person. So at home, he tried to keep a low profile as much as possible, afraid of causing unnecessary trouble for Shen Shiyan.

He released Shen Siyu, got up, and returned to the teacher’s tent to grab his phone.

Shen Shiyan had gone missing after going out with them. To say this had nothing to do with Shen Siyu was utter bullshit.

Shen Ci now trusted no one in the rainforest—not Lin Yuan, not the teacher, and not the police and firefighters who were on their way.

No more tears came from his eyes, but the phone screen was covered in water. Shen Ci swiped several times but couldn’t unlock it.

“Damn it!”

Shen Ci shook it hard, his trembling fingers tapping the screen several times before finally entering the call interface.

He made two calls: one to Song Xianghan, and the other to Shen Sicheng.