"It depends on the style. The cheapest ones are over a hundred thousand, and the limited editions can go for over a million," Suxu said. As a designer, she often paired accessories with her fashion shows for the models, and watches were a frequent choice, so she knew a thing or two about high-end timepieces.
The police officer clicked his tongue, "It's truly unbelievable that someone so wealthy would engage in such activities."
Suxu remained silent, unable to guess the person's identity and waiting for the police department's investigation results.
After identifying the surveillance footage, she intended to find Su Kangxi, only to discover him waiting for her at the police station entrance.
"Sister Suxu, I've checked. President Qin and the others didn't take a plane yesterday. There are no domestic or international flight records for them," Su Kangxi informed her of the facts he had uncovered, unaware of the situation between her and Qin Tianyi.
Suxu asked disbelievingly, "Are you sure? Could there be a mistake? Is the date correct?"
"I've checked several times; it's not wrong."
"Then why did he lie to me?" Suxu's mood plummeted. "Is he still in Lancheng and didn't go on a business trip? Why isn't he answering my calls?"
Su Kangxi didn't know how to comfort her. "Perhaps he didn't take a plane but traveled to City W by other means?"
"No, what if something happened to him?" Suxu grew anxious and tried calling him again, but it was still out of service. Video calls also failed.
"It'll be fine," Su Kangxi said, noticing the two bodyguards waiting for her at the police station entrance. "Sister Suxu, you should go back first. I'll check other modes of transportation and notify you as soon as I have any news."
Although Suxu desperately wanted to know if Tianyi had taken other transportation to City W, she understood that Su Kangxi's investigation wouldn't yield immediate results, given the sheer volume of daily traffic in and out of Lancheng. She had to return and wait for news.
Back home, she could only distract herself with her design work, trying not to dwell on why Tianyi was keeping secrets from her. She just hoped he would return safely.
Her phone lay beside her design drafts, and she glanced at it frequently, afraid of missing any news or calls. She firmly believed, as Su Kangxi had suggested, that the place Tianyi was in might simply have no signal. If there were a signal, Tianyi would surely contact her.
No news was the best news. She had to take care of herself and the baby in her belly, and not overthink. Everything would become clear when Tianyi returned.
Besides eating and sleeping on schedule, she busied herself revising her design drafts, pushing away all other thoughts. She endured a day and a night.
Lancheng's stormy weather had passed, and the past two days had been beautifully sunny. Suxu resent her revised design drafts to Lily Zhou. Just as she was about to send her a message, Su Kangxi called.
Before Su Kangxi could speak, Suxu preempted him, "Did you find out? What mode of transportation did President Qin take to City W a few days ago, or did he not take any? Could he have driven there himself with Xiao Anjing?"
"Suxu, President Qin and the others left Lancheng by train," Su Kangxi said, his voice hesitant. "However, they didn't go to City W; they went to Eshan County."
"Eshan County?" Suxu was a little bewildered. "What are they doing there? Has the Aoxiang Group's business extended to Eshan?"
"I find that very strange too. Isn't Eshan County where the orphanage we stayed at is located?"
"Yes. Why did he hide going there from me?" Suxu still couldn't figure out what Tianyi was hiding.
"I don't know that either," Su Kangxi paused. "The signal is poor there because it's mountainous, so you don't need to worry. Just wait for them to come back with peace of mind."
Suxu, however, didn't want to wait. "Kangxi, I want to go to Eshan County. I went there once to find Sophie, but I didn't get to visit the orphanage where we stayed. This time, I'll go and visit the orphanage too..."
Su Kangxi interrupted her, immediately advising, "Sister Suxu, you can't go now. Please wait for them to return in Lancheng!"
"Staying cooped up at home isn't good either. I just want to get some fresh air. Don't worry, I'll bring bodyguards," Suxu insisted.
Su Kangxi became anxious. "You can't go, and that's final! The weather there... the weather there is bad..."
"That's not right. Did something happen to them? Are you hiding something from me?" Suxu sensed a change in his tone and pressed further. "Just tell me what's going on. Are you going to hide it from me forever? No, I'm booking a ticket to find Tianyi right now!"
"Sister Suxu, the weather there is terrible. Long-distance buses and trains to that area are basically suspended. If you want to go, you can't go now. Wait until the transportation there returns to normal," Su Kangxi not only found out that Qin Tianyi and the others had gone to Eshan County but also saw online news that the orphanage in Eshan County had been destroyed by a mudslide, causing many casualties and missing persons.
He didn't know if Qin Tianyi and the others were among the dead, injured, or missing, but he feared telling her would be too much for Suxu to handle and cause her to worry.
The road to the orphanage was still blocked. To get there, one had to walk, so rescue personnel had to climb to the mountainside on their own, making rescue efforts very slow.
Suxu anxiously asked, "How could this happen? How bad is the weather there? No wonder I couldn't reach Tianyi, and he hasn't contacted me. But when will this end?"
Su Kangxi could only lie to appease her. "It shouldn't take many days. Once the bad weather passes, it will be fine."
Suxu remembered her promise to Tianyi to take good care of herself, so she could only continue to wait.
After hanging up with Su Kangxi, she wondered if Tianyi's trip to Eshan County was meant to be a surprise for her. Since she grew up in the orphanage there, was Tianyi going to donate money or something else as a surprise?
Thinking this way, her anxiety lessened, and she began searching online for the weather conditions in Eshan, to see how bad the weather truly was.
However, according to the weather forecast online, Eshan County was predicted to be cloudy with light rain from today for the next week, with no extreme weather conditions in sight.
Just as she was about to put her phone down, she noticed a rather inconspicuous news report about a geological disaster. She clicked on it and read carefully, her expression turning grim.
"In the early morning of March 5th, Eshan County experienced a large-scale mudslide. As of now, two local villages and an orphanage have been completely washed away. The exact number of casualties is still unclear, but it is reported that many villagers and children from the orphanage are trapped on the mountainside. Rescue personnel are making every effort to reach the mountain for rescue..."
Suxu's face grew paler and paler. She tried calling Tianyi's phone again, but only heard the beeping sound and the cold automated voice, "Sorry, the number you have dialed is out of service. Please try again later."
She couldn't care about anything else, sensing that something major had happened. Clutching her phone, still in her loungewear, she rushed out of the bedroom and strode downstairs, intending to go to Eshan County to find Tianyi.