This incident involving Xie Qining had dealt a significant blow to the Xie family.
When asked about it now, Xie Zhendong would tell people that Xie Qining had gone to Africa to expand into new markets.
Some gossip tabloids managed to uncover some information and posted speculative news online about Xie Qining being arrested and imprisoned abroad, but Xie Zhendong managed to suppress it all.
Xiao Anjing and his group only wanted Xie Qining to be punished and did not intend to capitalize on the situation to further damage his reputation, so they did not publicize the matter extensively in Lancheng.
After Tianyi and Susu had dinner with Xiao Anjing and his wife, they returned home, and Xiao Xingxing immediately ran to them.
"Dad, Mom, did Uncle Xiao and Aunt Lan Yu come back? Does that mean Xiaoxiao is back too?"
Tianyi and Susu's expressions froze for a moment, but Susu quickly smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, Uncle Xiao and the others are back."
Xiao Xingxing said excitedly, "You had dinner together tonight, why didn't you bring me? Can you invite Xiaoxiao to our house tomorrow then?"
Tianyi felt that he could no longer hide the truth from Xiao Xingxing and decided to tell him, "Xingxing, Xiaoxiao can't come to our house to play..."
Susu stopped him and said, "Tianyi, let me talk to the child. You go upstairs and take a bath first."
She was afraid that if Tianyi explained it too directly, Xiao Xingxing might not be able to accept it.
Tianyi nodded and went upstairs first.
Seeing his parents' reactions, Xiao Xingxing was confused and asked, "Mom, why didn't you let Dad finish? Is Xiaoxiao sick?"
Susu put her arm around his shoulder and said, "Let's sit down and have a good chat. How was school this week? Tell Mom about anything new."
"Nothing much, I got first prize in the math competition, and my Chinese essay was selected by the teacher for the school newspaper." Xiao Xingxing replied perfunctorily, his mind solely focused on finding out what happened to Xiaoxiao.
Susu sat down with him on the sofa and stroked his head. This child never gave them any trouble with his studies; he was truly a born scholar.
"That's great! What school newspaper? Let Mom see what essay you wrote."
Xiao Xingxing couldn't wait any longer and eagerly asked, "Mom! Why can't Xiaoxiao come to our house to play?"
Susu tried to speak in a calm tone, "Xingxing, sometimes not all friends can accompany you for a lifetime. There are gatherings, and there are partings. Xiaoxiao, she, she went missing while abroad..."
"Was she kidnapped by those bad people who specialize in snatching children?" Xiao Xingxing asked, unable to accept it.
Susu could only nod and say, "It's possible she has already met with misfortune. Mom knows you will be very sad, but life is sometimes like this; bad things are always hard to avoid..."
"Xiaoxiao will be fine, she definitely will be fine! I'm going to find her!" Xiao Xingxing grabbed Susu, saying excitedly, "Mom, buy me a plane ticket, I'll go abroad to find her, I'm sure I can find her!"
Susu looked at Xiao Xingxing, whose eyes had instantly turned red, and said, "Your Uncle Xiao spent several months abroad looking for Xiaoxiao, and he tried everything but it was no use. How could you, just a child, find her there? We can only wait for news."
"Mom, believe me, I know where Xiaoxiao likes to play. If Uncle Xiao can't find her, does that mean I can't find her either?" Xiao Xingxing said defiantly.
Susu knew he was heartbroken from losing his playmate and comforted him, "Although Uncle Xiao and the others have returned, they haven't given up on finding Xiaoxiao. They've even posted missing person notices abroad. If there's any definite news, there's still hope of finding her."
"You're lying, you're all lying!" Xiao Xingxing threw her off and stood up, saying, "You've actually given up, you don't want Xiaoxiao anymore!"
Susu also stood up, hugged him tightly, and comforted him, "Don't say such hurtful things. Didn't you see how much Uncle Xiao doted on Xiaoxiao? We adults are doing our best for Xiaoxiao, and it's natural for you to be sad. I've been sad about this for a long time too, but you can't be reckless and go look for Xiaoxiao yourself, or we'll have to worry about you too."
Xiao Xingxing buried his head in Susu's arms and cried, "She promised to bring me a gift when she came back, and we would play together... How can she not come back, how can she be missing..."
Susu said nothing more, just gently stroked his back, understanding that he would be sad for a while after learning this news.
However, he was only an eight-year-old child after all, and he would be fine after this period of sadness.
She accompanied Xiao Xingxing back to his room. After watching him fall asleep, she returned to their bedroom.
Tianyi had already finished his bath and was working on company matters on his laptop. Seeing her come in, he asked, "How is it? Is Xiao Xingxing very sad?"
Susu replied with a hint of sadness and helplessness, "Yes, I had to coax him for a long time before he stopped crying."
"Sigh, losing a pet can also make one very sad, let alone when he and Xiaoxiao always played together. Their relationship seemed quite good." Tianyi knew this would happen. Xiao Xingxing, like Susu, was too sentimental.
"Hey, here you go again. How can you compare Xiaoxiao to a pet?" Susu rolled her eyes at him. "Mr. Qin, when will you finally get rid of this habit of treating people like pets?"
Tianyi stopped what he was doing and winked at her, "Except for wanting to keep you as my pet, I don't have this habit with anyone else. The moment I see you, I can't help but have such thoughts."
Susu knew he was teasing her again, and she smiled and raised her eyebrows, "You're so annoying, always so unserious. I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to take a bath."
Seeing Susu go into the bathroom, Tianyi looked back at the computer screen, thinking that it would be good if Xiao Xingxing could slowly accept this reality.
The next morning, after breakfast, Tianyi and Susu took the two children out for a walk. When they returned, Xiao Xingxing had not yet woken up.
They had originally planned to let Xiao Xingxing sleep in a bit longer this Saturday, as he was in a bad mood, and had not gone to disturb him.
But it was already past ten o'clock, and she and Tianyi were thinking of taking Xiao Xingxing to his favorite amusement park to cheer him up, so they asked Xiaomei to wake him up.
Susu was still discussing with Tianyi what to do at the amusement park when Xiaomei hurried out of Xiao Xingxing's room and said, "Young Master, Young Mistress, please come quickly. Little Master seems to have a fever. His forehead is quite hot, and he won't wake up no matter how we call him."
"Ah." Susu thought he was fine before going to sleep last night, so how could he have a fever? She rushed to Xiao Xingxing's room.
Tianyi followed behind her, and Xiaomei moved aside to let them in, standing at the doorway.
Susu sat by the bed and called out to him a couple of times. Then, she touched his forehead and body; he was burning up and drowsy.
She quickly looked at Tianyi and said, "This child has a fever."
Tianyi said decisively, "Quickly put some clothes on him, and let's go to the hospital now."
Susu hastily agreed, fumbling to find some thicker clothes to put on him.