Before and after, there was no end in sight. Jiang Ziyu, caught in the middle, had no idea when things would get back to normal.
Ten minutes had passed since kindergarten let out. Jiang Ziyu had no choice but to take out her phone and contact the kindergarten teacher.
As soon as she dialed, the other party answered.
"Principal Fang, it's me, Yuze's mother," Jiang Ziyu greeted as soon as the call was connected.
Fang Hua, on the other end of the phone, responded politely, "Yes, Yuze's mother, is there something you need?"
"It's like this, I'm temporarily stuck in traffic. Could you have Yuze wait for me at school for a while? It'll take me some more time to get there." Jiang Ziyu watched the vehicles ahead begin to move.
The speed was agonizingly slow, the cars crawling forward like snails.
A long time after she finished speaking, Principal Fang on the other end of the line remained silent.
Jiang Ziyu couldn't help but ask, "Principal Fang, are you still there?"
"Yuze's mother, did you not communicate with your family? Yuze has already been picked up by a family member." Principal Fang replied after inquiring with the teacher on duty.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ziyu sat bolt upright in her chair, "Family? Did they leave a name?"
"The teacher said it was a friend of Yuze's father." Principal Fang's tone grew uneasy.
Jiang Ziyu had always been the one to pick up Yuze. She tried to suppress the panic rising within her and said with a heavy heart, "I'll call my family to confirm now, and please, Principal Fang, could you check the school's surveillance footage?"
"Okay, okay, I'll go now." Principal Fang's heart was in her mouth. She sensed Jiang Ziyu's nervousness but lacked Jiang Ziyu's strong heart. Holding her phone, she paced for a few moments before confirming which way to go. xxs 1
Replaying Principal Fang's words in her mind, Jiang Ziyu's fingers trembled as she dialed Shen Lin's number.
A persistent busy signal echoed from the receiver. Just as the call was about to be hung up, Shen Lin answered.
"Special Assistant Shen, where are you now? Is Yu... Qianqian with you?" Jiang Ziyu almost said the wrong name.
Di Mingjue, standing next to Shen Lin, heard Jiang Ziyu's voice through the receiver. He reached out and took the phone.
"Qianqian is at the kindergarten. You didn't pick her up?"
If he hadn't picked up Qianqian, then who was this person claiming to be his father's friend!
A heavy weight pressed down on Jiang Ziyu's heart. She looked at the congested vehicles ahead and impatiently honked her horn.
The piercing blare of the car horns erupted as Di Mingjue urgently pressed, "Say something! Where are you now? Has something happened to Qianqian?"
"Qianqian seems... seems to have been kidnapped," Jiang Ziyu confessed through gritted teeth.
Kidnapped!
The heavy two words struck like a bolt from the blue!
Di Mingjue anxiously rose from his wheelchair, "Where are you now? I'll come find you."
"I'm on my way to the kindergarten now. You go straight there, and we'll meet at the kindergarten," Jiang Ziyu opened her car door and began to run through the narrow gaps between cars.
Her mind was filled with the image of Yuze, small and helpless. If her negligence caused Yuze any harm, she would never forgive herself.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Ziyu arrived at the kindergarten, breathless.
Principal Fang was waiting anxiously. Upon seeing Jiang Ziyu, she didn't know how to speak.
"About what time was Qianqian picked up?" Jiang Ziyu grabbed Principal Fang's hand.
The teacher responsible for Qianqian was new and didn't know much about her situation. During pickup, with many parents present, after learning the identity of the person, the teacher had briefly questioned Qianqian and then allowed her to be taken away.
As for the appearance, the teacher hadn't paid attention, and the cameras at the school entrance hadn't captured it either.
By the time Di Mingjue arrived, Jiang Ziyu was slumped despondently on the steps outside the school gate.