“Sir, I understand you and your wife are very anxious right now, but we can’t just seal off the amusement park. Doing so could cause panic. Here’s what we can do—Miss Liu, you…”

Lin Qianshi noticed Liu Suxiang and a few other staff members being pushed around by the couple. They looked helpless, so he stepped forward to mediate.

The husband glared at him, slapping away his hand. “Who the hell are you? What does this have to do with you? My son is missing right now! Who’s going to take responsibility? He’s the only heir in three generations of our family, our precious boy!”

The wife, hands on her hips, pointed at Liu Suxiang and the others, shouting, “It’s all your amusement park’s fault! If you’d assigned staff to watch over the kids, my son wouldn’t have gone missing. And now you refuse to shut down the park? Maybe… maybe your park is in cahoots with human traffickers!”

What?!

Liu Suxiang and the others were stunned by the unreasonable accusation.

Holding back her frustration, Liu Suxiang stepped forward and said, “I understand how anxious you must be. Here’s what we’ll do—we’ll immediately assign staff to search the entire park for Qiangqiang, alright? The moment we find him, we’ll let you know.”

Seeing how accommodating Liu Suxiang was, the husband grew even bolder. “Even if you find him, this matter can’t just end here! I’m going to sue you all for mismanagement and negligence!”

Liu Suxiang and her colleagues all looked uncomfortable.

Other staff members protested, “What does this have to do with us? We’ve announced several times at the entrance for everyone to keep an eye on their kids. We even made you sign a consent form when you came in. You…”

Hearing her colleague speak up, Liu Suxiang immediately felt uneasy.

She had dealt with unreasonable people like this before and knew that arguing with them would only escalate the situation into an endless cycle of shouting.

Sure enough—

The couple immediately exploded, pointing at Liu Suxiang and the others, hurling insults and threatening to file complaints to shut down the amusement park.

Gu Xicao couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She stepped forward, slammed her hand on the table, and grabbed the microphone. “Shut up!”

Buzz!

The amplified sound echoed through the office.

Everyone instinctively covered their ears.

Zhang Hanlin, who had initially flinched, saw that the speaker was just a young girl and immediately dismissed her, pointing angrily at Gu Xicao. “Who the hell are you? What does this have to do with you?”

“I’m just doing the right thing and can’t stand parents like you bullying others.”

Gu Xicao’s words were blunt, her gaze full of disdain as she looked at Zhang Hanlin and his wife. “Do you even remember your son is missing? If you were truly worried, you wouldn’t be here yelling at the staff. They’re trying to help you find your son, aren’t they?”

Her words were fair, and many of the onlookers outside nodded in agreement.

“That young lady makes a good point. The staff are helping, and yet they’re here shouting their heads off. Do they even care?”

“I think the staff have been pretty responsible. Why are they being scolded? This amusement park is part of the Lin Group. Such a big company wouldn’t be involved in kidnapping. These parents are really overthinking it.”

Zhang Hanlin and his wife’s faces alternated between green and red, clearly embarrassed.

Mrs. Zhang glared at Gu Xicao angrily. “It’s easy for you to talk—you’re not the one whose child is missing! Of course, you wouldn’t be worried. My son is really missing, and I won’t let any of you off the hook!”

Gu Xicao gave them a cold look. “What if your son isn’t missing?”

“What do you mean? If he isn’t missing, we’ll apologize to them!” Mrs. Zhang pointed at Liu Suxiang and the others.

Liu Suxiang looked at Gu Xicao with gratitude but also a hint of helplessness. “Miss, thank you for speaking up for us, but…”

“Wait, aren’t you that ‘Master Gu’ from the newspapers?” Suddenly, one of Liu Suxiang’s colleagues recognized Gu Xicao, stomping excitedly. “Yes, yes! I remember—it’s definitely her!”

“Fortune-teller?”

Liu Suxiang was puzzled.

Zhang Hanlin and his wife sneered. “A so-called ‘fortune-teller’? Stop pretending. If you’re so great, why don’t you tell us where our son is? Then we’ll be impressed!”

“I don’t do divination for free. I charge upfront—188 per session,” Gu Xicao said, holding out her hand to the couple with a righteous tone.

Zhang Hanlin glared at her, pulled out some money from his pocket, and threw it into her hand. “Fine! But if you’re wrong and can’t find my son, I’ll destroy your reputation in the newspapers tomorrow!”

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

Sun Zhaoqian and his girlfriend Sun Jiaying, who had planned to enjoy their rare day off at the amusement park, saw a crowd gathered near the lost children’s notice and curiously pushed their way through.

When they got to the front, they saw Gu Xicao and Lin Qianshi leading some people outside.

Sun Jiaying’s sharp eyes immediately recognized Gu Xicao. “Hey, isn’t that Miss Gu?”

“Yeah, it’s her. What’s she doing here?” Sun Zhaoqian said gossipingly. “And the guy next to her looks pretty handsome. Could he be her boyfriend?”

Seeing the two, Gu Xicao nodded. She then turned to Liu Suxiang and said, “You should come along. That way, you can give them an explanation when we find the child.”

“Alright, I’ll go with you!” Liu Suxiang didn’t hesitate, putting down her work and following Gu Xicao and the others out.

Gu Xicao led the group straight out of the amusement park.

Zhang Hanlin sneered. “You’ve already left the park. How are you supposed to find my son?”

“You’re willing to suspect that your son was kidnapped. Why can’t you consider the possibility that he walked out on his own?” Gu Xicao retorted.

Mrs. Zhang immediately shot back emotionally, “Impossible! My son is so well-behaved. He listens to everything we say. We told him to stay in the restaurant, and he wouldn’t leave on his own!”

“Well, let’s wait and see,” Gu Xicao replied.

Seeing that Gu Xicao was heading toward the west side of the park, Liu Suxiang suddenly had a guess. There was an arcade in that direction—a popular spot for young people and children. Could it be…?

It was the weekend, and the arcade was packed with people, both adults and kids.

Although the laws in Hong Kong prohibited minors from entering arcades, everyone knew such rules were often bent. The clever owner played cat-and-mouse with the authorities, making the arcade a hotspot for kids.

“Ahh! Fight, fight, fight! Take that!”

A chubby boy in a green shirt and black pants was furiously mashing buttons on a gaming console.

On the screen, his game character was being defeated by the opponent, and soon the sound of a knockout rang out.

“Qiangqiang, you lost again! You’re so bad at this!” his opponent laughed, teasing him.

Zhang Qiang’s face turned bright red. He dug into his pocket for more game coins. “What do you know? My parents were strict lately and didn’t let me play. That’s why I lost! Just wait—I’ll beat you this time!”

“Qiangqiang,” another boy playing a driving game nearby turned to him and said, “You’ve been here for a while now. Don’t you think you should head back? If your parents find out, you’re dead meat!”

Zhang Qiang scoffed and patted his chest dismissively.

“What’s there to be afraid of? At home, my word is law. Even if they find out, what can they do? They’re not going to kill me, right?”

Before he could finish speaking, he noticed his friend’s expression turning strange. The friend kept winking and signaling with his eyes as if trying to warn him about something.

Zhang Qiang’s heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran down his spine.

It was a feeling he was all too familiar with. Every time his parents stood behind him, he felt this exact same way.

Zhang Qiang stiffly turned his head bit by bit.

“There you are, you little brat! Your dad and I have been frantically searching for you everywhere, and here you are playing games?!”

Mrs. Zhang, both furious and embarrassed, grabbed Zhang Qiang by the ear and yanked him up.

“Ow, Mom, that hurts!” Zhang Qiang struggled.

“It should hurt! Look at what you’ve done! We’ve searched the entire amusement park, even made announcements, and were on the verge of calling the police! And you’re just hiding here playing games? Why didn’t you tell us you left?” The angrier she got, the more she smacked Zhang Qiang on his behind.

Zhang Qiang howled in pain and broke free from her grasp. “Alright, alright! But before you blame me, have you thought about yourselves? You went off to ride the roller coaster, so why can’t I play games?”

He spoke with conviction, sounding both self-righteous and defiant.

Liu Suxiang turned to Zhang Hanlin and his wife. “Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, now that you’ve found your son, can you rest easy?”

The couple’s faces burned with embarrassment. If there were a hole in the ground, they would have gladly crawled into it.

Unable to contain his anger, Zhang Hanlin took off his slipper and hit his son several times on the rear. “This is for running off without a word! And this is for playing games! I’ll beat you until you see stars today!”

“Ah! Dad, stop hitting me! I was wrong! I won’t do it again!”

Zhang Qiang clutched his sore bottom and kept pleading for mercy.

After a few more hits, he finally quieted down.

Lin Qianshi frowned. He disapproved of the couple venting their anger on their child but chose not to intervene since they weren’t related. Instead, he said, “Mr. Zhang, since your child has been found, you can discipline him at home. For now, don’t you owe the staff an apology?”

The couple exchanged awkward glances.

Zhang Hanlin huffed, “Apologize for what?

It’s your fault for not keeping an eye on my son and letting him sneak off to play games. You’re lucky we’re not asking you for compensation!”

“Move aside. We’re taking our son home,”

Zhang Hanlin barked as he shoved Liu Suxiang aside.

Liu Suxiang stumbled and nearly fell, but Gu Xicao quickly caught her.

“Thank you, Miss Gu,” Liu Suxiang said, her face tinged with gratitude.

“No need to thank me,” Gu Xicao replied calmly.

She turned her sharp gaze to the Zhangs.