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Yuan Ye supported Liu as they watched the rolling shutter door slowly descend. Liu was shouting and running out of the corridor, with Lao Ran's fierce figure trailing behind. "Hurry up, let's go upstairs, the elevator..."
"Follow me! There's a way ahead..." Liu whispered. At that moment, Yuan Ye couldn't think too much and could only follow their lead, running wherever possible, just to shake off Lao Ran.
…………………………
The car carrying Ziya's family finally arrived at the entrance of the News Agency building. Liu Haoming honked the horn, and the security guard at the entrance peeked out and quickly raised the barrier. The car smoothly drove into the courtyard of the building. Ziya, still in the car, anxiously gazed at the dark entrance hall, noticing that the rolling shutter door was tightly closed with seemingly no one lingering inside. Aside from a few cleaners who could enter through the side door, everything appeared calm.
With a loud 'bang', Liu Haoming closed the car door and took the phone from his wife. He noticed the security guard who had followed them; everyone at the News Agency knew about Liu Haoming's relationship with Zhang, the Chief Editor, but this guard seemed genuinely unaware.
"May I ask who you are..."
"I am Liu Haoming, a friend of Zhang, the Chief Editor."
"Ah, well, Zhang left work a long time ago. There’s no one else here except for a few cleaners," the security guard replied politely. Meanwhile, Ziya and Zi Anqing stepped out of the car and looked around at the quiet courtyard of the building. "Is there really nothing unusual? It can't be as serious as you say," Zi Anqing murmured to her daughter.
Ziya pressed her lips together; she wouldn't deny her instincts and knew they weren't unfounded. She approached the rolling shutter door and knocked on it a few times. "Could you open this shutter door? I want to go in and take a look."
"Uh... that doesn't seem to be in accordance with regulations! It appears everyone has left for the day; unauthorized personnel cannot enter freely," the security guard said, feeling awkward about her request. Ziya understood that as an intern, she had no authority to demand that they open the shutter door; it was simply part of their duty. Realizing this made things a bit more complicated.
Liu Haoming looked at the closed shutter door and concluded that his daughter's claims about something unusual happening here were completely unfounded; unless they were fools, Yuan Ye and others would not still be waiting around.
"Ziya, listen to me; let’s go back. There’s no one here. Don’t disturb their rest; let’s go!"
“Dad, they are inside. As long as we open the roll-up door, I will definitely find them.” Ziya paced back and forth, her anxiety escalating as she heard Liu Haoming calling for them to go home. She kept dialing Zhou Chen's number, but it was always busy.
Zi Anqing believed her daughter's words without a doubt because Ziya had an extraordinary intuition since childhood; every premonition she had was astonishingly accurate. At this moment, she hoped the security guard would open the roll-up door to take a look. However, the guard was particularly loyal to his duty and found Ziya's words amusing. He thought that this family was deliberately trying to make things difficult for him. Feeling a bit embarrassed, the guard's expression changed.
“I say, you rich folks really love to stir up trouble, don’t you? You should think about us too!”
“Come on, brother, I won’t make things hard for you. I’m calling your chief editor right now…” Liu Haoming glanced at Zi Anqing and her daughter before dialing Zhang, the Chief Editor.
“Hello? Are you living in Beijing or Mars? Damn it, I’ve been at your News Agency for quite a while now; why aren’t you here yet?” Liu Haoming shouted into the phone while holding a cigarette in one hand.
A burst of static crackled through the line, followed by the familiar hoarse voice of Zhang, the Chief Editor: “Old friend, calm down. I’ll be there in ten minutes…”
“Go open the door for your chief editor; he’s at the entrance,” Liu Haoming instructed the guard before hanging up and muttering under his breath, “This guy is full of crap; he’s already at the door and still dawdling.”
“Fine, I’ll open the roll-up door for you!” The guard quickly changed his tune upon realizing that Zhang’s call had gone through and hurried to open the door.
As soon as the roll-up door opened, Ziya and Zi Anqing rushed inside without hesitation. Liu Haoming pulled out another cigarette, placed it in his mouth, and shielded it from the wind as he lit it. After watching his daughter and wife enter the hall, he turned back to walk with the guard toward the entrance to see if his old friend was coming.
…………………………………………
Yuan Ye and Liu had been running chaotically for a while without seeing anyone chasing them; finally, they let out a sigh of relief. The three of them looked around their surroundings; they were at the end of a corridor on the first floor, just a few steps away from the restroom.
“I remember there’s a Side Door here. During those inspections at the News Agency, we came in and out through here,” Liu suddenly recalled and said to them both.
"Uh... right... the Side Door is right next to the bathroom. Ugh! I can't believe I forgot," Liu suddenly recalled.
"Liu, Yuan..." Ziya and Zi Anqing shouted loudly as they entered the hall. The porcelain-white light illuminated their figures, but there was no response from anyone around. Aside from their breathing and the occasional sound of an insect hitting the light fixture, there was complete silence.
The corridor of the hall resembled a maze. Yuan Ye and Liu exited through another Side Door, while Ziya and Zi Anqing ventured deeper into the hall in search of the three of them.
As Liu pulled open the Side Door, a wave of relief washed over him; thankfully, this door hadn't been locked by security. Yuan Ye supported Liu as they descended the steps of the Side Door. A cool breeze from outside swept in, and all three felt drenched in sweat. At that moment, it seemed a beam of light shone from ahead; upon closer inspection, they could see the glow from the main entrance. They made their way toward the light, and a car parked at the entrance caught his attention. He thought to himself, isn't that Liu Haoming's car? When did he arrive? Lost in curiosity, he continued walking.
Liu Haoming felt quite frustrated. It had been hours since Old Zhang had said anything, and he wondered if this guy was being held up by some beautiful woman, deliberately messing with him! Cigarette butts littered the ground as he anxiously checked his phone for the time. As the saying goes, waiting for someone can feel like an eternity; at that moment, he was extremely restless when a sudden noise from behind made him turn around.
"You guys... are really in there? Where's Ziya?" He saw Yuan Ye and the two women coming from a side path in the hall and quickly asked.
"Ziya... we haven't seen her! Where is she?" Upon hearing Liu Haoming mention Ziya, Yuan Ye felt a jolt of surprise and asked curiously.
"My wife and daughter came looking for you, and you say you don't know! What do you mean by that?" Liu Haoming exploded in anger, glaring fiercely at Yuan Ye.
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