Shen Liubai was recently worn out by Shen Chiyan. He hadn't had time to settle accounts with Shen Chiyan for escaping the hospital while injured to find Song Qinian, and Shen Chiyan had been downgraded to ICU again.
After barely holding onto his life and waking up, he still dared to court death.
His younger brother had always been calm and self-possessed, so why was he now like a greenhorn, causing worry at every turn?
"But Qiqi..."
"She's fine, she's recovering from her injuries, and in your current state, even if you saw her, neither of you could do anything. It's best to follow the doctor's orders, don't worsen your injuries, and don't make your family worry."
Shen Liubai lectured Shen Chiyan incessantly. Shen Chiyan's head was already dizzy, and hearing Shen Liubai drone on like a monk, he immediately threw up his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright, I won't go. But brother, if I don't see Qiqi, I'm very uneasy. How about this, you ask the doctor to move Qiqi's bed to my room."
Shen Chiyan was indeed in no condition to do much, but seeing Song Qinian was the only way he could feel at ease.
Shen Liubai refused without a second thought, "Absolutely not! With your condition, you'd rush to see her even if she wasn't around. If she were in the same room as you, who knows what earth-shattering things you'd do. For the health of both you and Song Qinian, you must stay in separate rooms."
Shen Chiyan: "What do you take me for?"
Shen Liubai snorted, "A beast!"
Shen Chiyan: "..."
Shen Chiyan had just woken up and was physically weak, not having the strength to fight with Shen Liubai. Under the influence of medication, he soon fell into a deep sleep again.
Shen Liubai looked at his sleeping handsome face and sighed heavily. He walked out of the ward and immediately called Gao Kunlun, "Ah Yan is awake. Haven't you found Song Qinian yet?"
Gao Kunlun almost wept with joy upon hearing that Shen Chiyan was awake, then became extremely anxious. "No, the young madam seems to have vanished into thin air, without a trace."
"What about Qingjiu Village? Did you search there?"
"We discreetly inquired without disturbing Old Mrs. Song. We found An Sheng, who brought Fifth Master and the young madam back to Jinghua City. An Sheng said they ran separately at the time. After he was safe, he called the police. The police and we searched for two full days, but the young madam hasn't returned to Qingjiu Village, nor is there any news."
Shen Liubai's brows furrowed tightly. The worst-case scenario was that Song Qinian had met with misfortune, but even then, there should be a body.
How could she just disappear?
"Ah Yan is awake, and we can't hide Song Qinian's situation for much longer, so we need to act quickly."
Gao Kunlun on the other end of the phone clenched his fist tightly, "I know, Eldest Young Master. I'll leave Fifth Master to you."
Shen Liubai hung up the phone, his mood quite complex.
Ever since Shen Chiyan woke up, he kept asking for Song Qinian and wanting to see her, but Shen Liubai refused him every time.
One day, Shen Keqin came to visit Shen Chiyan. While Shen Liubai was out, Shen Chiyan beckoned to Shen Keqin, "Come here."
Shen Keqin had been warned by Shen Liubai before she came, not to mention Song Qinian's disappearance to Shen Chiyan. Seeing Shen Chiyan call her, she cautiously asked him, "What do you want?"
"Tell me, which ward is Qiqi in?"
Shen Keqin's heart skipped a beat. As expected, he wanted to ask about his sister-in-law.
"Eldest Brother said that you can't see sister-in-law until you've recovered. This is your punishment for being discharged from the hospital before your injuries were fully healed."
Shen Keqin didn't dare to offend Shen Chiyan, so she used Shen Liubai as a shield.
"Don't you always dislike Eldest Brother's pedantry? Why are you listening to him so much this time?"
"Hmph... that's because you almost died. Brother, do you know how scared we were when you went into surgery? Grandma almost fainted, and Auntie Two has become so haggard."
Shen Chiyan hadn't expected to encounter danger on this trip to the countryside.
"How are Grandma and Mother? Is everyone else alright?"
"Not really alright. Although you're out of danger, everyone is still very shaken. Brother, do you know who was trying to kill you?"
Shen Chiyan shook his head. The attacker wasn't just after him, but also wanted Song Qinian's life...
Thinking of something, Shen Chiyan's face changed drastically, "No, I must see Qiqi. If the mastermind didn't succeed, they will definitely target Qiqi again!"
As soon as he thought of this, Shen Chiyan couldn't care about anything else. He got up to get out of bed. Shen Keqin quickly stopped him, "Brother, you're still injured, you can't move around. Don't worry about sister-in-law, we will protect her."
Just then, Shen Liubai walked in. Seeing Shen Chiyan acting recklessly, his handsome face instantly turned cold, "Shen Chiyan, can you be a little more sensible?"
"I want to see Qiqi!"
"She's recuperating properly, why do you have to disturb her?"
"Recuperating? It's been three days, she must have woken up long ago. If she knew I was awake, she wouldn't not come to see me..."
As he spoke, Shen Chiyan seemed to realize something and grabbed Shen Liubai's arm fiercely, "Did something happen to Qiqi?"
Shen Keqin's heart tightened, and she looked at Shen Liubai nervously.
Shen Liubai said calmly, "Song Qinian was rescued with you. What could have happened?"
"Then why won't you let me see her? Why won't you let her see me?"
"I told you..."
Shen Chiyan didn't let Shen Liubai finish speaking, but instead looked coldly at Shen Keqin, "Qingqin, you tell me!"
Shen Keqin was on the verge of collapse. She secretly glanced at Shen Liubai, and the next second, Shen Chiyan grabbed her arm, "I told you to speak, why are you looking at Eldest Brother?"
"I..."
Shen Keqin knew that Shen Liubai didn't want Shen Chiyan to know about Song Qinian for his own good, and she wanted to tell a white lie.
But when she thought about how three or four days had passed and there was still no news of Song Qinian, she felt scared and sad.
So, under Shen Chiyan's persistent questioning, Shen Keqin couldn't hold back and burst into tears, "Wah!"
"Fifth Brother, sister-in-law is missing. She's neither seen nor found, dead or alive!"
Shen Liubai roared at Shen Keqin, "Shen Keqin!!!"
"Wuwu... Fifth Brother will find out about this sooner or later, there's no point in hiding it from him!"
Shen Chiyan's mind was filled with those bloody eight characters: "Neither seen nor found, dead or alive!"
His face was deathly pale and terrifying. He muttered in disbelief, "How could this be? We were clearly together the whole time."
The next second, he roared angrily, "What exactly happened? What do you mean missing? What do you mean..."
Shen Chiyan couldn't bring himself to say those eight characters. His heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, and his breathing hurt.
Shen Liubai heard something amiss in Shen Chiyan's words. He patted Shen Keqin's back, handed her tissues, and told her to go cry in a corner.
Then he asked Shen Chiyan, "When Gao Kunlun found you, it was only you and Lin Qiutong. We asked Lin Qiutong, and she said she hadn't seen Niannian, but you said you and Niannian were together the whole time. What exactly happened?"