Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

"I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry to disturb your lunch break." Zhang Ziqian said, panting, as he took off his employee badge from around his neck and handed it over. It had the logo of a company that Duoduo's mother worked for. "I'm Duoduo's mother's colleague. My surname is Chen."

Su Xiao glanced at the employee badge, her wariness lessening slightly, but she still shielded Duo Duo behind her: "Is there something you need?"

"It's like this, Duoduo's mother suddenly felt unwell at the company." Zhang Ziqian spoke quickly. "She might have been working too much overtime lately and had a heart problem. She's awake now, but she's in the infirmary receiving oxygen, and her condition is very unstable. She... she keeps crying and wants to see Duoduo, saying she feels anxious."

Su Xiao's expression changed: "Is it that serious? Then we should take her to the hospital, or notify Grandma Duoduo..."

"We're contacting the hospital, but right now the most urgent thing is her emotional state. The medical office also said that being emotionally agitated is very dangerous. Besides, the elderly woman is old and has high blood pressure. How can we tell her directly? We're afraid that before she recovers on the other side, she'll collapse on this side as well."

Zhang Ziqian looked troubled, squatted down to look at Duoduo hiding behind Su Xiao's legs, then looked up earnestly and said, "So we came up with a plan. I'll come and take Duoduo over so her mother can see her and put her mind at ease. As long as Duoduo's mother is calm, she'll be more cooperative with the subsequent treatment."

At this point, he looked troubled: "But I'm a grown man, and Duoduo doesn't recognize me. Last time I gave Duoduo a piece of candy to try and amuse her, but she's shy and burst into tears. If I were to forcibly take her away now, I'd definitely scare her."

These words struck Su Xiao's weak spot precisely.

She knew that Duoduo was indeed extremely introverted and sensitive, and she wouldn't be with anyone except her family and familiar teachers.

"Teacher Su, I know this is against the rules." Zhang Ziqian clasped his hands together, his tone almost pleading. "Could you please... take twenty or thirty minutes to accompany Duoduo there? It's not far ahead, only a ten-minute drive. We'll take a quick look and bring her back immediately, it definitely won't interfere with your afternoon work."

Su Xiao hesitated.

She looked at Zhang Ziqian, whose face was full of anxiety, and then looked down at Duoduo, who was clutching her clothes in fright, just like a frightened little deer.

At this moment, her sense of responsibility as a teacher and her innate female compassion took over.

A mother's illness and desire to see her child is perhaps the most irresistible reason in the world.

"Please wait a moment, I'll call Duoduo's mother to confirm." Su Xiao took out her phone.

"Of course, of course!" Zhang Ziqian immediately expressed his understanding, without a trace of surprise or panic on his face.

He was naturally unperturbed, because he was the one who created this situation.

This morning, he arranged a "little incident":

They had someone steal Duoduo's mother's phone.

Su Xiao found "Duo Duo's Mom's" number in her phone's contacts and dialed it.

A regular "beep-beep" sound came from the receiver.

After six rings, the call automatically switched to voicemail: "Hello, I am currently unavailable to answer the phone. Please call back later..."

Zhang Ziqian explained in a low voice at the opportune moment: "She might not be able to answer the phone right now. Maybe she's on oxygen, or the doctor is checking on her. She was a little confused before we came out."

Zhang Ziqian sighed, "Teacher Su, treatment can't wait. My car is parked over there, and I've already installed the child seat. I'll stay with you the whole time. If you're really worried, you can keep the video call with the principal on after you get in the car."

This move, a strategic retreat, completely dispelled Su Xiao's last doubts.

Her gaze fell again on Duoduo, who was clinging tightly to her. The little girl seemed to understand that "Mommy is not feeling well." Her eyes were already red, her little mouth was pouting, and she was full of dependence and fear.

"Well... okay." Su Xiao finally nodded, squatted down and picked up Duo Duo. "Don't be afraid, Duo Duo. Teacher will take you to find your mother, okay?"

"Mmm..." Duoduo responded timidly, burying her head in Su Xiao's arms.

"I'll report to the principal." Su Xiao quickly sent a voice message in the work group, then carried the child and walked towards the black sedan.

Zhang Ziqian eagerly opened the back door, watched as Su Xiao settled Duoduo in the child seat, and then got in himself.

"Thank you so much, Teacher Su, you've been a great help." Zhang Ziqian said as he got into the driver's seat and started the car.

The sound of the car door locking was particularly clear in the enclosed space, a "click".

The black sedan merged into the traffic and drove forward.

At first, the bustling streets outside the window were still familiar. Su Xiao gently comforted Duo Duo while glancing out the window from time to time.

However, ten minutes later, instead of going straight at an intersection, the car suddenly turned right and entered a somewhat bumpy old road.

The scenery on both sides quickly turned desolate, with towering buildings being replaced by low, dilapidated factories, and roadside weeds drooping listlessly under the scorching sun.

A strange unease slowly crept into her heart.

"Mr. Chen, this isn't the way to the company, is it?" Su Xiao keenly sensed something was wrong and instinctively gripped her phone tighter.

"There seems to be a car accident on the main road; it's completely blocked in traffic." Zhang Ziqian said without turning his head, his voice trembling with excitement. "I'll take a shortcut, just through that old factory area ahead. There's no traffic here, and it'll be faster."

Alarm bells rang in Su Xiao's mind. Without hesitation, she quickly unlocked her phone, intending to send Li Rui her location and information.

But just as she looked down to operate the device—

The signal bars at the top of the phone screen disappeared without warning.

Zhang Ziqian pressed some button in the car, which blocked the signal.

The air inside the car seemed to freeze for a moment, with only the air conditioning vents emitting a low hissing sound, like the flicking of a snake's tongue.

The car turned onto a narrower side road.

The sunlight was fragmented by the trees, creating alternating light and shadow inside the car, like a strange shadow play.

Su Xiao was horrified to see Zhang Ziqian's lips slowly curving upwards in the rearview mirror.

That wasn't a friendly smile from a human being, but rather a mechanical twitch of facial muscles.

It was as if something slippery was swimming wildly under that skin called "normal person," finally about to break out!

------

The afternoon sun shone on the glass windows of the casual dining restaurant, and the air conditioning inside was turned up high, keeping out the heat from outside.

Li Rui pushed open the door and entered, his gaze sweeping around the store before quickly settling on a figure in the corner by the window.

Wang Shiwei, dressed in a well-tailored dark business suit, was stirring her coffee with her head down.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up, and a gentle smile immediately appeared in her eyes.