Chapter 191: They Really Are on This Bus

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: They Really Are on This Bus

"It’s not exactly that they’ve disappeared."

Facing Manager Shao’s astonishment, Lu Jianrong, the elderly man who had arrived with the driver Xiao Li, looked extremely embarrassed. He spoke up sheepishly from the side, "Originally, Old Shao was indeed going to wait for you. But as it happened, my younger daughter-in-law came back this morning with my little grandson, Lu Feng. When Lu Feng saw Little Heng’s military knife, he went nuts for some reason and insisted on having it. You know, my daughter-in-law only had that child after being married for fifteen or sixteen years, so she spoils him rotten. No matter who tells her not to dote on him so much, she just does as she pleases. She’s completely spoiled the boy and given him a domineering personality."

Lu Jianrong sighed, a helpless look on his face. "The two kids were arguing fiercely, neither willing to back down. In the end, Old Shao couldn’t stand it any longer. Knowing you wouldn’t arrive until one or two in the afternoon, he decided to just take Little Heng and head back first on the bus. I called your office before Old Shao and Little Heng left, thinking I could save you the extra trip. But they said you had other matters to attend to, had already set out early in the morning, and that you weren’t coming specifically just to pick them up."

"We did leave early this morning," Xiao Li sighed. "We figured after we finished our business, we’d make the extra drive to pick up Mr. Shao and the boy... Sigh, if only we’d known..." Lu Jianrong himself was even more vexed. "It’s all my fault. I tried to persuade them to wait for you, but in the end, Old Shao insisted. I arranged with him this morning that he’d call me when they got back to the city. But I never got his call. After Xiao Li arrived this afternoon, we tried calling his home, but there was no answer. We don’t know what held them up. The two of them should have been home ages ago, but they still haven’t shown up."

"It’s not entirely your fault. Once my father makes up his mind, it’s very difficult for anyone to change it. But if they took the bus to the city, they should have arrived long ago. Could they have decided not to go straight home and taken Little Heng somewhere else instead?" Shao Qingyang’s heart was in his throat. He couldn’t help but glance toward the bottom of the cliff, and he suddenly recalled what one of the rescuers had said when they arrived. "We checked before we came. This bus was very likely the one from Liuyun Town to Xuanbei County." His heart settled a bit, and he felt a small sense of relief. ’Thank goodness Father and Little Heng aren’t on this bus.’

He collected himself, thinking, ’Ever since Mother passed away, no one has been able to keep Father in check. He’s gotten so used to being willful; whatever he decides, he insists on doing it his way. Take this time, for instance. He flat-out refused to bring any guards or even use a driver, stubbornly taking Little Heng by bus to visit an old subordinate. Not only did he stay for three straight days, but he also changed his mind about me picking him up over something so trivial...’

’He really couldn’t be sure that his father, upon reaching the city, would obediently take Little Heng straight home.’

’The saying "an old man is a child again" was a perfect description of him.’

He sighed to himself, feeling a sense of defeat when it came to his father.

"Old Shao and Little Heng took the bus heading to Xuanbei County; they didn’t go directly back to the city. He said that since Xuan Bei is on the coast and Little Heng loves seafood, he wanted to go buy some to bring back. Besides, there are plenty of buses from Xuan Bei to the city, and it’s not far... But even so, look at the time! By any calculation, they should be back in the city by now, right?"

Lu Jianrong then remembered he hadn’t specified which bus Old Shao had taken, so he quickly added the detail. He grew increasingly vexed with himself. The real reason he had anxiously accompanied Xiao Li here was because he’d heard a bus had fallen off a cliff. With no word from Old Shao, he couldn’t help but be terrified. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if he didn’t come see for himself.

Lu Jianrong hadn’t expected his words to be met with a collective sharp intake of breath. He was still confused when the next thing he heard made his face drain of all color.

Shao Qingyang froze. "...Mr. Lu, are... are you saying that my father and Little Heng took the bus... from Liuyun Town to Xuanbei County?" Even for someone as composed as he normally was, his face paled upon hearing this, and his voice couldn’t help but tremble.

"You’re saying this bus... the one down there... could that be the one from Liuyun Town to Xuanbei County?" Lu Jianrong’s legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed. If Xiao Li hadn’t been there to grab him, he would have slumped right to the ground.

Hearing this exchange, the officials from Changxi County and the other rescuers standing nearby all looked at one another in dismay. The town leaders who had rushed over from Liuyun Town, in particular, broke out in a cold sweat. If Manager Shao’s father and nephew were on that bus below—and if they were unharmed, that was one thing—but if something had happened to them, this incident would escalate into an unmanageable disaster.

The Shao family was a major aristocratic family from Beijing, and it was said they had come to the city on this trip with a huge amount of capital to scout for investments.

The atmosphere instantly froze. Everyone fell silent, afraid to make a sound.

"Maybe... maybe it’s a mistake? This bus isn’t actually the one from Liuyun Town to Xuanbei County, is it?"

While supporting Lu Jianrong, who was still reeling from the shock, Xiao Li felt his own legs begin to tremble. Having worked for Manager Shao, he understood better than anyone the importance of Mr. Shao and the manager’s nephew. He knew what a devastating blow it would be to the Shao family if something had truly happened to them.

’Damn it, if I’d known, I would’ve skipped sleep and driven out in the middle of the night just to bring Mr. Shao and the boy back myself—’

’A little kid with a military knife?’

Gu Nuan Nuan had been keeping an eye on the group and had already drifted closer. She suddenly thought of the RS military knife her great-uncle had brought up with him. Seeing Manager Shao’s brow knitted in such a deep frown and thinking he seemed like a decent man, she couldn’t bear to see him so overwrought. She decided to speak up. "Are you talking about a knife with a black handle?"

"The handle of that knife is black. You’ve seen it?" Shao Qingyang stared intently at Gu Nuan Nuan, his heart sinking. The last shred of hope vanished.

"My great-uncle came up from the crash site earlier, and he was carrying a knife with a black handle. He said a little boy down there had offered it to him. My great-uncle also mentioned that the boy was very brave and that he was with an elderly man." Gu Nuan Nuan nodded with an air of importance. "When my great-uncle rescues people, he always prioritizes the elderly, children, and women. So I’m sure they’re fine. You don’t need to worry so much."

"So they really were on this bus," Shao Qingyang murmured, a dazed look on his face. Far from being reassured by Gu Nuan Nuan’s words, the confirmation only made him more anxious.

It was the same for Lu Jianrong, Xiao Li, and the others. To say their faces were ashen was an understatement; they all looked utterly grief-stricken.