Tianyi asked incredulously, "Why would he be looking for Xiaoxiao?"
Susu, holding back tears, replied, "A few days ago, when he was watching TV, he said he saw Xiaoxiao in the parade and wanted to find her. I didn't pay attention and said he must have been mistaken..."
As she spoke, she squatted on the ground, overcome with worry, and began to cry.
Tianyi tried to remain calm and said, "Listen to me, don't panic. Call the police and ask them to check the surveillance footage of the surrounding roads. They'll definitely be able to find him."
"I've already called the police... and I'm searching everywhere," Susu said, wiping her tears. "But what if they can't find him?"
"They will. Xiao Xingxing doesn't know the roads there well, so he'll definitely ask for directions along the way," Tianyi reasoned. "He said he saw Xiaoxiao on TV. Where was the parade approximately?"
Susu didn't know the location of the parade either. She tried to calm herself down and said, "I'll search for the news broadcast from that day online and ask locals if they know the location."
"Okay, cooperate with the police for now. Don't panic, I'll come find you right away."
"I understand." Until Tianyi arrived, Susu had to remain calm and cooperate with the police to find Xiao Xingxing.
After their phone call, Tianyi immediately asked his secretary to contact a private jet.
Susu stopped wandering aimlessly on the streets and returned to the hotel to search for videos of the parade Xiao Xingxing had seen, to confirm the streets where the celebration had taken place.
The police were also reviewing all surveillance footage of places Xiao Xingxing might have gone.
Susu meticulously watched the online videos repeatedly and discovered that there were road signs and street names in the footage of the passing floats.
She now knew the location. A float had a little girl hiding, who strongly resembled Xiaoxiao.
Xiaoxiao fearfully peeked her little head out, as if hiding from someone.
But the scene flashed by quickly, lasting no more than five seconds. If one didn't look very carefully, they wouldn't notice it.
Susu thought Xiao Xingxing's eyesight was too sharp to have spotted such a fleeting image.
She immediately went to the police station to find the officer in charge of the search for Xiao Xingxing. She informed the police of the place where Xiao Xingxing might have gone, hoping they would dispatch more personnel to search that area.
Susu couldn't wait either and went to search there herself.
Xiao Xingxing was wearing a jacket over his hospital clothes and a cute blue backpack. He walked along, asking people for directions.
His English was sufficient for simple conversations with locals, but the street name he remembered was further away than he had imagined.
His backpack only contained food and water; he had no money on him. As he walked, he lost track of how far he had gone or where he was.
His mother didn't believe him, so he had to find Xiaoxiao himself.
He had seen Xiaoxiao's expression on the TV screen and felt that Xiaoxiao desperately needed his help.
After making up his mind to sneak out of the hospital, he vowed not to return until he found Xiaoxiao.
However, he walked alone until dusk and still hadn't found the street from his memory.
Feeling tired and sleepy, Xiao Xingxing sat on a bench by the roadside, holding the paper with the directions he had jotted down, wondering which way to go.
He had figured out which way to go and was just about to get up to continue searching for Xiaoxiao when a taxi pulled up beside him.
The local Black driver got out and asked, "Little one, why are you alone? Where are your parents?"
Xiao Xingxing saw that the man was smiling, but he felt the smile was fake. He cautiously backed away and shook his head, saying, "My parents are behind me."
The Black driver looked behind Xiao Xingxing, but saw no other Chinese people.
Xiao Xingxing took the opportunity to run when the driver wasn't paying attention. The Black driver immediately realized the child was not with his parents and quickly caught up, grabbing Xiao Xingxing by the shoulder strap of his backpack and forcibly pulling him into the taxi.
"Little one, I'll take you home."
Xiao Xingxing shouted fearfully, "Let me go, I don't want to go home!"
But he was no match for the Black man's strength and was shoved into the taxi.
It was dusk, and there were few pedestrians around, so no one paid much attention to a child being forcibly taken into a taxi.
The taxi sped off like a wild horse.
Xiao Xingxing thrashed around inside the car, knowing that this person wouldn't kindly take him back to his mother. The driver hadn't even asked him where he lived.
He banged on the car door, but it was locked, and with his strength, he couldn't open it.
Soon, it was completely dark. The taxi sped all the way to the seaside and turned on its hazard lights towards a ship.
Someone on the ship responded to the taxi driver with a flashlight.
The Black driver immediately pulled the still struggling Xiao Xingxing out of the car and carried him towards the ship like a chicken.
"Just caught a kid, do you want him?"
The people on the ship shone a flashlight on Xiao Xingxing and asked, "How did you catch him? Where are the child's parents?"
"Met him on the street. Don't worry, no parents with him," the Black driver quoted a price. "Five hundred for you."
Xiao Xingxing continued to struggle and shout, "You bad guys, let me go quickly! My father won't let you get away with this!"
They ignored Xiao Xingxing's shouts, having grown accustomed to children's tantrums.
The people on the ship said, "This kid is too noisy. Two hundred at most."
"No more talking. Three hundred, deal," the Black driver said, throwing Xiao Xingxing onto the ship.
The person haggling with him impatiently threw him three hundred in cash.
The Black driver took the money and quickly left.
Xiao Xingxing lay on the deck, feeling pain all over his body, especially in his chest.
He struggled to get up, wanting to jump off the deck and escape, but the others on the ship had already caught him and dragged him into the cabin below the deck.
Just as the door leading from the deck to the cabin was about to close, Xiao Xingxing heard someone on the deck shout, "Start the engine!"
He didn't know where the ship was going, as he had already been pushed into the cabin.
Seeing the scene in the cabin sent a chill down his spine.
Below the deck were rows of waist-high iron cages, each containing a varying number of children.
The children's ages varied, the youngest being only two or three years old, and the oldest around ten.
It turned out to be a black ship specializing in child trafficking.
Xiao Xingxing was also locked into a large iron cage. He was stunned by the sight before him, completely forgetting to struggle or resist.
He understood that in a place like this, struggling or shouting would be useless.
As the door of the large iron cage was locked, he missed his parents dearly and wished he could return to them. He couldn't help but cry.
"Brother Xingxing, why are you locked up here too?"
As Xiao Xingxing cried sadly, Xiaoxiao's voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
He stopped crying, surprised and delighted. He turned his head and saw Xiaoxiao in another large cage right next to his.
"Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao! I found you!" His fear and sadness vanished the moment he saw Xiaoxiao.