He Jichen finished the pack of cigarettes. It was only when it was dark that he took two steps back in complete exhaustion and leaned against a tree.
He pulled out his phone to call her several times, but her phone was still turned off. Then he sent another message to Tang Huahua, but the reply he received was the same; she still hadn't come back to the university.
She wasn't with her friends, he checked all her favorite places, and he'd spent a whole day searching the streets for her, but he couldn't find her... She couldn't have left Beijing, right?
At that thought, He Jichen suddenly clicked into his call logs. He found his secretary's number and was about to call and ask for help with finding out if Ji Yi recently took a plane or train. However, before his finger could touch the screen, a reminder popped up: "Low battery."
He Jichen casually flicked his last cigarette into the trash then straightened up before he walked over to the car. He pulled the car door open and searched the compartment for a phone charger. That was when he accidentally caught a glimpse of another phone.
This is He Yuguang's phone... He Yuguang...
As those three words flashed across He Jichen's mind, he suddenly stopped searching for the phone charger.
How could he be so careless? He searched everywhere. How could he not think of the "newly-wed" house "He Yuguang" prepared for her? She always relied on He Yuguang, so could she be there now?
Before the thought settled in He Jichen's mind, he got into the car and sped off.
After the car drove quite some distance away, He Jichen had a sudden thought - if she really was there, it'd be bad for him to go like this, so he made a detour and turned into his own place.
He took a thorough shower then pulled open the lowest drawer in the changing room. He removed the red string that he rarely took off all these years and he carefully checked himself in the mirror to see if there were any flaws. Only then did he grab He Yuguang's phone and walk out the door.
He Jichen hailed a taxi and headed straight for the house he prepared for Ji Yi as He Yuguang.
When he reached the building, He Jichen paid the taxi fare and without waiting for his change, he took big strides into the building.
When the elevator doors opened, He Jichen darted towards the door and quickly entered the code for the front door. He charged in without even removing his shoes.
The lights in the room were off, but with the scattered lights from the floor-to-ceiling windows of the balcony, He Jichen immediately saw a round shadow.
He Jichen tightened up and forgot to turn on the light switch as he slowly walked over.
With the light from outside the window, the closer he got, the clearer he could see who it was.
It was her. It was her, the person he'd been looking for all day.
She sat balled up in the corner of the wall with her face buried between her knees.
She looked very calm, yet He Jichen's heart ached as he watched her.
When he was just two meters away, his footsteps stopped. He stopped on the spot for a few seconds before he closed the distance between them and crouched down in front of her.
It seemed like she hadn't noticed he was drawing closer as she didn't move an inch.
He Jichen stared at her ruffled hair for a little while then slowly reached his hand out and touched her.
Finally, she slowly started to raise her head.