Chapter 38 : No matter who he is, he is a living being!

But after searching everywhere, she still couldn’t find him.  

She looked in the staff quarters, the woods, and even the beach.  

Song Shiwei had been searching for Zhou Cheng all day, but there was no sign of him.  

Not only was she anxious, but even Zhou Lin, Zhou Wei, and Zhou Xinxin were also extremely worried.  

“Where could Brother have gone?”  

Zhou Lin suddenly thought about what happened yesterday when he and Zhou Cheng went to mess with Zhou Xiaoyan.  

“Could it be that… that thing got discovered? Did Zhou Xiaoyan retaliate against my brother?”  

Hearing this, Song Shiwei’s expression immediately changed.  

“What did you do?”  

Zhou Lin hesitated at first, but he was afraid that his older brother might be in danger, so he told her about throwing cow dung at Zhou Xiaoyan the day before.  

For a moment, Song Shiwei didn’t know how to react. She felt the kids were just causing trouble, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a little relieved and amused.  

But what if this really had something to do with Zhou Xiaoyan?  

After all, she already hated her. Adding what happened last night, it was entirely possible that things had taken a bad turn for Zhou Cheng.  

The human heart was unpredictable.  

Even if Zhou Xiaoyan wouldn’t harm Zhou Cheng physically, what if this pushed him further into resentment and made his personality even more twisted? That would be disastrous.  

Thinking of this, she prepared dinner for the children.  

There were some fish left over from yesterday. She had stewed two at noon and now used the remaining two for the evening meal.  

She asked Zhou Lin to watch over his younger siblings and let them eat first while she went to find Zhou Xiaoyan.  

By this time, the sky had darkened, and judging by the heavy clouds, it looked like a rainstorm was coming that night.  

If she still couldn’t find Zhou Cheng, she was really afraid something bad might happen to the child.  

When she arrived at Zhou Xiaoyan’s house, she saw that the lights were on, and Sun Weidong had just returned.  

The moment Zhou Xiaoyan saw her, her face instantly changed.  

“What are you doing here? You’re not welcome in my house! Get out!”  

Song Shiwei didn’t care about her attitude at this moment.  

Finding Zhou Cheng was her priority.  

“I just came to ask, have you seen our Zhou Cheng?”  

Zhou Xiaoyan suddenly sneered and slammed her chopsticks onto the table.  

“What a joke! Why would I see your Zhou Cheng? Don’t blame me for everything! I, Zhou Xiaoyan, haven’t even settled accounts with you yet!”  

Just as she finished speaking, her son, Xiaodouzi, suddenly blurted out,  

“But Mom, didn’t we see Brother Zhou Cheng?”  

Song Shiwei’s expression froze.  

Zhou Xiaoyan quickly covered her son’s mouth.  

“What nonsense are you talking about? When have we ever seen that little bastard? Never! Never at all!”  

Sun Weidong looked at his wife, then at Song Shiwei, who was clearly upset, and sighed.  

“Xiaoyan, if you’ve really seen Zhou Cheng, just say it. It’s going to rain outside soon. Don’t let something bad happen!”  

Zhou Xiaoyan rolled her eyes at him.  

“No! I said I didn’t see him, so I didn’t see him!”  

At that moment, a strong wind howled outside, rattling the window frames.  

Song Shiwei was getting really anxious.  

“Zhou Xiaoyan, have you seen our Zhou Cheng or not? If you have, please just tell me. You’re a mother too, can you really bear to see a child in danger?”  

Zhou Xiaoyan curled her lips and muttered, “That’s your kid. What does it have to do with me…”  

Sun Weidong frowned and poked her in frustration.  

“Just tell her already! If one day our Xiaodouzi went missing, and someone refused to tell you even if they saw him, how would you feel?”

Zhou Xiaoyan hesitated, glanced at Xiaodouzi beside her, and reluctantly said, “I saw him at the beach this afternoon! He was sleeping on a rock. The tide should be high by now, right? I don’t know if the kid fell into the sea and got swept away by the waves!”  

Hearing this, Song Shiwei immediately panicked.  

She rushed out without hesitation. When she searched the beach in the afternoon, she hadn’t seen him, could he really have fallen into the sea?  

Rip currents during high tide were terrifying. No matter how well someone could swim, they couldn’t fight against the power of nature!  

By the time she arrived at the beach, the rain had already started drizzling. Strong winds howled, and the once calm sea had become rough and violent. Huge waves crashed against the rocks with a deafening crackling sound.  

The beach was completely empty.  

Braving the wind and rain, Song Shiwei carefully searched along the shoreline, fearing she might miss even the smallest sign of him.  

She reassured herself, Maybe Zhou Cheng realized the weather was bad and went home?  

He wouldn’t be foolish enough to fall into the sea… right?  

But the rain was getting heavier. The large, stinging raindrops pelted against her face, making it hard to keep her eyes open.  

Just as she was about to give up and leave, a massive wave surged forward and in that moment, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure!  

It was too far away to see the face clearly, but the small frame unmistakably belonged to a child.  

The tiny figure was like a ragdoll, being tossed helplessly by the raging waves!  

Song Shiwei’s eyes turned red with panic!  

She didn’t know if it was Zhou Cheng. She didn’t even know if it was the child she was looking for.  

But she did know one thing whoever it was, they were a living person!  

Somewhere, their family might be waiting for them just like she was waiting for Zhou Cheng!  

Having grown up by the sea, Song Shiwei was an excellent swimmer it was almost instinctual.  

But as she ran to the water’s edge, her face turned pale.  

Because no matter how skilled she was, facing such a terrifying rip current, she couldn’t guarantee that she would make it back alive.  

The child in the sea was still struggling. As the waves pushed him closer for a brief moment, he caught sight of Song Shiwei.  

His eyes were filled with desperation. He coughed from swallowing too much water, flailed his arms, and weakly waved at her, only to be dragged even further away by the vicious current.  

His small head bobbed up and down in the water, dangerously close to being submerged for good.  

Song Shiwei didn’t hesitate any longer. She kicked off her shoes and dived into the raging sea.  

—  

Meanwhile, back at home, Zhou Lin and his younger siblings sat at the dinner table, staring out the window at the torrential rain.  

Their brother was missing. Their mother had gone looking for him.  

How could they even think about eating?  

Zhou Wei put down his chopsticks, his eyes red.  

“Brother…mom will find him, right?”  

Zhou Lin met his younger brother’s hopeful gaze and opened his mouth to answer.  

But in the end, he said nothing.  

Because he didn’t know either.  

He was scared.  

The rain outside was pouring harder and harder, and an uneasiness clawed at his chest.  

Zhou Xinxin bit her chopsticks before bursting into tears.  

“Wahhh! I’m scared, Brother!”  

Zhou Lin was just about to comfort her when suddenly, the door swung open.  

It was Zhou Tingyue.  

Soaking wet from head to toe despite wearing a raincoat, he stepped inside.  

But the moment he entered, he could sense something was wrong.  

“What happened?”  

Zhou Xinxin couldn’t hold it in any longer. She threw herself into his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.  

“Daddy, Brother has been missing all day! And Mom went to look for him!”  

Zhou Tingyue’s entire body stiffened.  

“What?!”