There were hardly any people in the lobby.
Most of the guests had gone outside to join the open-air party.
Shen Nanyue had just walked through the restaurant and was heading toward the elevators when, after turning a corner, she was suddenly bumped by a small figure.
“Ouch, My butt!”
A little boy in denim overalls lost his balance and fell onto the floor.
Shen Nanyue immediately crouched down and looked at him with concern.
“Are you okay, little one? Should Auntie take you to the infirmary?”
The moment he heard the words infirmary, the little boy waved his hands so fast they were almost a blur.
“No doctors! Xiaogu doesn’t want injections!”
His chubby little face and grape-like eyes were filled with resistance, making Shen Nanyue instantly charmed by him.
Smiling, she looked at the child still sitting on the floor.
“Your name is Xiaogu? Where are your mommy and daddy? Auntie will take you back to them.”
Xiaogu was about to answer when he looked up and saw Shen Nanyue’s radiant smile.
A grin immediately spread across his own face.
“Pretty sister, you’re so beautiful.”
Unable to resist, Shen Nanyue reached out and pinched his cheek.
“Based on your age, you should be calling me Auntie.”
“But wouldn’t calling you Auntie make you sound old? Pretty Sister looks very young. You don’t even look eighteen.”
Do kids nowadays all have such sweet mouths?
Shen Nanyue found herself in a much better mood after being praised.
Helping him to his feet, she said, “You can call me whatever you want. But you still haven’t answered my question. Where are your parents? Why are you here all by yourself?”
There were a lot of people around.
It could be dangerous.
Instinctively, Shen Nanyue began worrying about the little boy.
Xiaogu had actually sneaked out of his room.
Afraid that Shen Nanyue would send him back, he put on a pitiful expression and looked at her with wide, pleading eyes.
“Pretty Sister, Mommy and Daddy wanted to spend time alone together, so they left me behind and went out to have fun. Now I can’t find my way back.”
“How awful!”
Shen Nanyue couldn’t help complaining.
What kind of parents left their child behind to go partying?
The boy was still so young.
What if he got lost?
His parents were far too careless.
Turning toward the sea of people outside, she saw nothing but a dense crowd.
Searching for his parents there would be a huge hassle.
She asked again, “Do you know which room you’re staying in? Pretty Sister can take you back.”
Xiaogu shook his head.
“I forgot.”
“What’s your name?”
“Xiaogu.”
“Do you remember your parents’ names?”
Xiaogu tilted his head and stared at her blankly.
Clearly, he had no idea.
Shen Nanyue gave up.
“Pretty Sister is going back to her room to rest. Do you want to come play with me for a while? When the party ends, I’ll help you find your parents.”
Xiaogu thought about it.
Playing with a pretty sister sounded far more fun than staying with his perpetually expressionless uncle.
Excitedly, he nodded and took Shen Nanyue’s hand.
The two of them headed toward her room together.
As their figures disappeared into the elevator, a man hiding near the restaurant pulled out his phone and made a call.
“They’ve gone upstairs. Move quickly.”
The elevator stopped on the sixth floor.
Shen Nanyue led Xiaogu out.
Holding his hand, she walked to her room and swiped her keycard.
Just then, Xiaogu’s voice came from beside her.
“Pretty Sister, do you know that man? He’s been staring at you.”
Shen Nanyue followed the direction of his finger.
A fierce-looking man stood at the stairwell entrance, half his body exposed as he stared directly at her.
Goosebumps instantly spread across her skin.
The next second, the man strode rapidly toward her.
Without hesitation, Shen Nanyue unlocked the door and pushed Xiaogu inside.
“Don’t come out unless I tell you to!”
The man charged at her immediately afterward.
Shen Nanyue swiftly dodged his attack, and the two began fighting in the hallway.
So this man really had come for her.
Although Shen Nanyue was agile, she quickly realized she was no match for someone who had received professional combat training.
Before long, she was at a disadvantage.
A powerful kick slammed into her stomach.
Her body flew backward like a withered leaf and crashed onto the carpeted hallway floor.
“You’re trying to kidnap me? Why?”
A look of contempt appeared on the man’s face.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
As he spoke, the man pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket.
Shen Nanyue tried to dodge, but it was too late.
The handkerchief covered her nose and mouth, and the drug-soaked fumes instantly invaded every nerve in her body.
Before she could react, darkness overwhelmed her, and she lost consciousness.
Inside the room, Xiaogu was lying against the door, listening for sounds outside.
Unfortunately, the room’s soundproofing was excellent.
After straining his ears for a long time, all he heard was a brief rustling noise before everything became silent again.
Tentatively, he called out, “Pretty Sister?”
No one answered.
He still had no idea what had happened, nor did he understand why she had pushed him into the room by himself.
Could Pretty Sister be a human trafficker?
Was she planning to sell him?
The thought made him shiver.
But he quickly shook his head.
“Pretty Sister is so pretty. She can’t be a bad person!”
Standing on tiptoe, he tried to reach the door handle.
Unfortunately, he was too short.
Even jumping didn’t help.
After looking around the room, he found a stool.
With great effort, he dragged it over to the door and finally managed to open it.
The hallway was eerily quiet.
He poked his head out and looked left and right.
No one was there.
“Pretty Sister?”
Was she playing hide-and-seek with him?
Xiaogu leaned his entire body out of the room.
The moment he stepped outside, another white handkerchief suddenly covered his nose and mouth.
His vision went black.
Within seconds, he lost consciousness.
When the man finally met up with his accomplice while carrying both Shen Nanyue and Xiaogu, the accomplice frowned.
“Why did you bring an extra burden? Madam only wanted the adult woman.”
“I had no choice. The little brat saw my face. Better safe than sorry.”
The accomplice said nothing further.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the two men slipped out of the resort unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yushen was searching for Xiaogu with a dark expression.
The little troublemaker had actually staged a runaway because he wasn’t allowed to eat ice cream.
Zhou Yushen felt that, on behalf of his useless cousin, he really needed to teach the child a lesson.
He went to the security room and requested access to the surveillance footage.
To his surprise, several cameras in the resort’s security system had mysteriously stopped working.
Reviewing the available recordings, he eventually spotted Xiaogu near the restaurant entrance.
The little boy had bumped into someone.
Because of the camera angle, only a pair of long, slender legs could initially be seen.
When the woman crouched down to comfort Xiaogu, Zhou Yushen finally saw her face.
Shen Nanyue.
His eyes immediately darkened.
“Find out which room Shen Nanyue is staying in.”
The elevator cameras were also out of order, so he had no way of knowing where Shen Nanyue had taken Xiaogu.
“One moment, please.”
The staff didn’t dare offend Zhou Yushen.
They quickly checked the records and informed him that Shen Nanyue was staying in Room 6006.
Without another word, Zhou Yushen turned and headed straight for the sixth floor.
For some reason, a sense of foreboding had settled in his chest.
The door to Room 6006 stood wide open.
Frowning, Zhou Yushen entered.
Neither Shen Nanyue nor Xiaogu was inside.
He returned to the doorway.
A faint but slightly pungent odor lingered in the air.
The moment he recognized what it was, Zhou Yushen made a decisive choice.
He immediately called the police.
— The end of the Chapter–
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