After a while, when Liu Ran still hadn't come out, Liu Duo decided to go in and check, so she pushed the wooden door open.

A student saw her and politely said, "Miss, you must be looking for Liu Ran, right? He's already left."

He recognized Liu Duo. She always came to take Liu Ran home, so he thought she ought to know.

"Ah, is that right? Thanks for the information," Liu Duo didn't react on time. What did he mean Liu Ran had already left?

Why hadn't he waited for her? If he had really left a while ago, she should have met him along the way.

She furrowed her brow and turned to leave, when Ye Xuan exited a building and saw her by chance. He closed the door and went up to her.

"Sister Duo, have you not found Ran Er? He left quite some time ago. I asked him to wait for you, but he said he'd meet you halfway so that you wouldn't have to walk all the way here."

Liu Duo totally ignored him as she passed him by, holding onto her umbrella.

Ye Xuan wasn't angry at her. He left some final words of advice to the students at school, like telling them not to forget their revision, before chasing after Liu Duo.

As she set out on the return journey, Liu Duo felt something wasn't right. She didn't know why, but she felt a premonition that something was going to happen, so she picked up her pace.

But for Ye Xuan, who had a longer stride, she wasn't fast enough, so he caught up to her in no time.

"Sister Duo, what's the rush? Look at you. You're sweating," Ye Xuan unfolded his fan to cool her.

She instantly distanced herself from him, without even giving him an eye-roll.

Ye Xuan was used to that, so he proceeded to chat her up, even though he was the only one talking, "Ran Er has been improving a lot lately. So many words and phrases that he previously didn't know, he came to understand after a brief explanation…"

They walked until they came to a fork in the road. Ye Xuan never stopped talking at an even speed. In fact, his voice was more appealing than his looks, for it was quite pleasant to the ears, but Liu Duo found it terribly disturbing!

She suddenly stopped in her tracks, which made Ye Xuan stop too, "What's wrong, Sister Duo?"

She caught sight of a book among the bushes. She hadn't noticed it on her way to school, but she saw it this time.

She went forward and picked it up. When she turned it over, she found Liu Ran's name written on the first page. Her heart skipped a beat as the restlessness intensified.

The textbook belonged to Liu Ran. How had it ended up among the bushes?

Had he gotten in a fight with a classmate along the way? Had the book fallen out of Ye Ling's bag during the struggle?

Liu Duo believed that wasn't quite possible. She held the book tightly in her arms as she sped up.

Ye Xuan saw the name too. It indeed belonged to Liu Ran, but what was it doing in the bushes? Based on how worried Liu Duo seemed to be, it was obvious that she had not bumped into Liu Ran.

He furrowed his brow. Something must have happened, or something was going to happen.

He followed Liu Duo, keeping quiet this time and not making noise.

When she got home, Liu Duo shouted for her brother once she stepped into the yard, "Liu Ran, come out…"

Her voice was trembling with worry.

Ye Ling heard it from the kitchen, "Oh, you're back, Duo Er."

"Ling, have you seen Ran Er?" she asked him, with her brow furrowed. Her level of uneasiness was slowly on the rise, and despite knowing the answer, she still asked to make sure.

Ye Ling questioned doubtfully, "Shouldn't he be with you? Duo Er, why are you asking this?"