Chapter 71 – I Won’t Lose

Shen Muan and Ruirui had been missing for two days. In these two days, Shen Fangqi and Chu Yi hardly slept. They only squinted for at most an hour or two each day, then got up and continued to look for clues.

As soon as they got the search warrant, they quickly searched Zhuang Yiran’s house.

As they entered the door, they were immediately met with a group photo of Zhuang Yiran and Shen Muan when they were in college. Shen Muan had this photo once, but he later threw it away.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Zhuang Yiran leaned against the door frame, he watched Shen Fangqi pick up the photo, and said with a smile, “An An and I have a copy.”

“He threw it away a long time ago.” Shen Fangqi didn’t say his name, but they all knew that he was referring to Shen Muan.

Zhuang Yiran looked indifferent, and then dropped a small bomb. He said, “I know, because the one in your hand is the one he threw away.”

Shen Fangqi was stunned for a moment, he then took the photo out of the frame and turned it around. In the back, Shen Muan’s name and the time when the photo was taken were written.

This was clearly a provocation.

Zhuang Yiran deliberately took out this photo and put it here, so that Shen Fangqi could see it at once and make him angry.

“Mr. Zhuang is really unusual.” Shen Fangqi held back the anger in his heart, and said with a sarcastic expression on his face, he wanted to scold this man to death.

But Zhuang Yiran walked around his house very naturally as if he had no care about what was happening. He poured himself a glass of water, “Police officers, you can look around slowly. I’ll take a break for a while. After all, I’m a little tired after being questioned for several days in a row.” Zhuang Yiran’s words contained hints, but no one present cared about his little hints.

Several police officers began to disperse and search the house. They were all veteran officers of the Criminal Police Team. They had encountered all kinds of cases and people before. Zhuang Yiran was just tripping them a little bit. But for them, it didn’t hurt or itch much. It was no big deal. The most important thing now was to find Shen Muan and Ruirui.

Zhuang Yiran dared to let them search since he had already prepared everything. Even if they searched every corner thoroughly, they could only find what he wanted them to find. Everything was going according to his plan, which made Zhuang Yiran very satisfied.

During the search, Shen Fangqi quietly paid attention to Zhuang Yiran. Naturally, they knew that they wouldn’t be able to find anything in Zhuang Yiran’s house, they only came here to stall him a little.

They have basically confirmed that the people missing were in Zhuang Yiran’s hands, but they couldn’t find where the people were. However, with the help of Chu Yi, the Xiao family, the Fang family, and Shan Liang, they quickly found clues.

Following the clues, they knew that Zhuang Yiran had only been messing around. As long as they found out where he was hiding Shen Muan and Ruirui, they could immediately rescue them.

At this moment, Shen Muan was looking at Ruirui through the iPad.

Ruirui was obviously in a bad condition, but still he suppressed himself. In the past two days, apart from eating, going to the toilet and sleeping, he hid in the corner in the daze. Zhuang Yiran’s words were ringing through Ruirui’s head. He was very scared and worried about Brother An An. Therefore, he must be obedient so that Brother An An stays safe.

Ruirui kept every word and every sentence Zhuang Yiran said firmly in his mind, for fear that he would accidentally do something that would give the other party a chance to hurt Brother An An.

Under this mentality, Ruirui was constantly in an uneasy state, making him extremely nervous. He couldn’t rest well, and he was having nightmares all night long.

Shen Muan felt very distressed when he saw Ruirui like this. He couldn’t bear it anymore so once again he asked Zhuang Yiran if he could see Ruirui.

Zhuang Yiran still refused to let Shen Muan see Ruirui. Knowing that this would be the case, Shen Muan retreated. He then asked for a second time, but only requested to talk to Ruirui.

This time, Zhuang Yiran considered the request for a while, and then agreed. He gave Shen Muan’s iPad the permission for the conversations, allowing Shen Muan to talk to Ruirui.

“Ruirui.”

When Shen Muan’s voice sounded in the room, Ruirui straightened up and looked around blankly. His gaze finally fell on the surveillance camera. He was like a little cat who had been waiting for his owner. He leaned over to the camera and shouted, “Brother An An, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me.” Shen Muan was distressed when he saw Ruirui’s appearance, making his tone become softer. The purpose of his desire to contact Ruirui was to appease Ruirui’s emotions, so he tried to speak to Ruirui in a more relaxed tone. He couldn’t let his own anxiety affect Ruirui.

Therefore, the most important thing for him now was to soothe Ruirui. In the past two days, Ruirui’s mentality has been very serious. This child had experienced many things that some people would never even experience in their lifetimes. He wanted to learn to be strong, but being too strong also brought him to blame himself when he failed to do something. He always put himself at the center of the problem, feeling that the unfortunate event was actually caused by himself.

Shen Muan and Shen Fangqi had spent a lot of time before to slowly guide Ruirui out of this mentality. This incident made Ruirui’s mentality begin to turn back to that state again. Ruirui had no faults in the current situation, but still, this child put the responsibility on himself.

Wanting to change Ruirui’s thoughts was not something that could be achieved in a moment, it took time to influence him and change his mind bit by bit.

Shen Muan’s voice made Ruirui gradually relax. After learning that Brother An An could see him from the camera, Ruirui suddenly remembered his appearance from the past two days. It seemed he had made Brother An An worry about him again.

“Brother An An.” Although he tried his best to stay calm, Ruirui’s eyes were still red. He was really scared and worried about Shen Muan, he feared that the other party would hurt Brother An An.

“Ruirui, don’t cry. I’m here, don’t be afraid. I will always be with you. Will you stop crying?” Shen Muan looked distressed as he watched Ruirui cry, but he couldn’t stay with Ruirui, so he could only watch and comfort him like this.

Due to the words of Shen Muan, Ruirui wiped away his tears. He listened carefully to what his Brother An An said. With courage in his heart, he slowly calmed down.

After being caught and brought here, Ruirui had never had contact with Shen Muan, so he had been in a state of confusion. But now he had a backbone.

Ruirui was very obedient. No matter what his Brother An An said, he would not question it, and only put trust in it.

Shen Muan told him not to stay in the corner all the time, he told him could read a book or do something else.

“We will be fine, so don’t worry too much, okay?” Shen Muan’s voice was very gentle, like the cloud’s in the sky enveloping Ruirui. This made Ruirui extremely at ease.

“I understand, Brother An An.”

As soon as Ruirui’s voice fell, Zhuang Yiran cut off the conversation between them. He then said to Shen Muan, “I won’t lose.”

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TL Note: (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )

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Thank you for reading!
_{Translator: asoc1a7 ꒰˶• ༝ •˶꒱}