But as soon as she arrived at the train station in Eshan County town, she still received a video call from Qin Tianyi, constantly telling her to pay attention to this and that, and repeatedly instructing the three bodyguards to protect Susu and not to linger in Eshan County for too long.
Susu found him nagging and repeatedly assured him that she would return immediately after finding Sophie.
She never expected to return to Eshan County in this manner.
The bodyguards suggested she find a hotel near the train station to rest for the night and look for the person after dawn, as the mountain roads were everywhere, and it would be difficult to find someone at night.
Susu followed the bodyguards' advice, found a hotel in the county town not far from the train station, settled down, and then ate at a restaurant next to the hotel.
She sat at one table by herself, and the three bodyguards sat at another.
She couldn't sleep right after eating and was thinking of taking a walk around the town when she saw a familiar figure walking into the restaurant from outside.
She immediately got up and called out to the person, "Allen, how is it you? It's really you!"
When Allen saw Susu, he was surprised at first, but then quickly regained his composure and said, as if equally surprised, "Susu, what are you doing here?"
"What a coincidence, I'm here to find a friend. What about you?"
Allen said, "I'm here with a friend to travel and relax."
Susu smiled and asked, "What friend, your girlfriend?" As she spoke, she looked behind him but saw no one else.
Allen smiled without answering, "He's in the room, I'm here to buy some food to pack for him later."
"Which girl is so fortunate to be your girlfriend? She can have endless desserts every day," Susu continued to tease him.
Allen scratched his head and said, "Then I'll go buy some food. Come visit my shop when you have time after returning to Lancheng."
Susu stopped him seriously and said, "I haven't thanked you properly for what happened last time. If you hadn't known how to remove the toxins from my body, I would still be suffering greatly right now. Thank you very much."
"No need, I only found out about Frank's matter later," Allen asked, "He was indeed excessive. Do you still blame him now?"
Susu said faintly, "He's already gone, so there's nothing to blame. All the sins he committed can only be punished in hell."
"If he hadn't died, would you have forgiven him?" Allen suddenly asked.
Susu looked at him in surprise and said, "He was shot and fell off a cliff right before my eyes. He can't possibly be alive."
"I mean, hypothetically."
"There's no hypothetical. I won't forgive him in this life, nor in the next," Susu said calmly.
Allen said helplessly, "I didn't expect you to hate him so much, to have no feelings for him left?"
"It's not hatred, it's neither love nor hate. He's not worth it," Susu smiled and changed the subject, "Let's not talk about this. How many days will you and your friend be here, and when will you be going back?"
Allen felt immense pity for Yang Sijie. Was it worth it for him to love this woman at all costs?
"We've been here for two or three days and plan to leave tomorrow. I'll go buy food now, I'm afraid he's waiting in the room and getting hungry."
"Okay, you go ahead. I'll go for a walk," Susu said as she walked out of the restaurant, and the three bodyguards immediately followed her.
Allen glanced at the three bodyguards behind her, assuming they were arranged by Qin Tianyi for her.
She said she was here to find a friend. What friend? A friend from the orphanage?
Allen dared not ask more, for fear that she might discover Yang Sijie and have these bodyguards capture him, which would be terrible.
He decided to take Yang Sijie and leave here for Lancheng that very night.
Susu did not expect to meet Allen here. Allen had helped her remove the toxins from her body last time, and she hadn't properly thanked him yet.
Tonight, she took the opportunity to thank him.
She hadn't gone to his shop to thank him before, partly because she didn't want to anger Qin Tianyi over this matter again, and partly because seeing Allen would stir up sad memories.
She knew that no matter what Yang Sijie had done, Allen still considered him a friend.
Allen could not understand the pain of those who had been tortured by Yang Sijie, the hellish experiences they could never forget in their lives, just like Sophie who had not yet emerged from her suffering.
She walked aimlessly on the county town's road. The phone in her pocket suddenly rang. She thought it was Qin Tianyi calling again.
But when she took out her phone, the number was wrong. After connecting, the other party politely said, "Hello, is this Miss Sophie's relative? This is the county police station."
Susu was startled and quickly asked, "What happened to her? Is she alright?"
"Please come over as soon as possible. Do you need us to send you an address?"
"No need, I'm in Eshan County and will be there shortly."
Susu rushed to the police station without delay. A police officer received her, confirmed her identity, and led her to a small room in the police station.
Sophie was sitting against the wall, her hair messy and full of weeds. Her eyes were vacant and listless, as if she was afraid of something and trembling.
Her clothes were also stained with mud or grass, as if she had rolled on the ground.
Susu walked towards her, having just heard from the police officer.
Sophie was found by people from the orphanage in a patch of grass that afternoon, squatting and muttering to herself. Her face and arms were covered in insect bites, but she felt nothing.
When the staff from the orphanage tried to lead her away from the grass, she resisted fiercely, shouting and screaming like a madwoman, frightening the children from the orphanage.
The staff had no choice but to call the police to take her away.
"Sophie, what happened? Why are you like this?"
Hearing her voice, Sophie suddenly stood up and, in a daze, hugged her tightly, "Susu, is that you, Susu?"
Susu nodded instinctively, returning her embrace and saying, "It's me. Why did you come here?"
"Take me back, I want to go back!" Sophie was still trembling.
Susu soothed her, "Okay, okay, I'm here to take you back. Let's go back."
She didn't understand how Sophie had become like this. Even if she had some psychological problems before, her appearance seemed no different from a normal person.
But Sophie's current state was no different from when she was first rescued by the Paris police. What terrible thing had she encountered?
Sophie let go of her and took her hand, saying, "Let's go, let's leave quickly."
"Okay, okay." Susu stood still and asked, "Did someone bully you at the orphanage or elsewhere? Tell me who it was. We're not afraid, I'll help you punish that bad person."
Sophie looked back at her in terror and said, "You can't even protect yourself, how can you help me? We need to leave quickly, and then everything will be fine. He won't find us."
Susu was startled by her appearance and asked, "Who? Who is he?"
Sophie suddenly smiled again, covered her face with her hands, and answered noncommittally, "If I cover myself like this, he won't see me or catch me, right?"