NOVPUBChapter 246: 246, Life and Death Unknown (3)_1
Chapter 246: 246, Life and Death Unknown (3)_1
Quan Family
In the living room, the television was broadcasting news related to the earthquake in J City. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy. Almost everyone had arrived, except for Grandpa Quan who had gone to attend a meeting, and Quan Zheng and Quan Yimo who were in the army.
“Third Aunt, you should drink some water first. Don’t worry, Third Uncle will return safely,” said Quan Yifei, who handed a cup of water to Rhee with comforting words.
Rhee shook her head. Her beautiful purple eyes were filled with worry, “There has been no news from Jingwu until now, how can I not worry?”
From midnight till now, they could not get through to Jingwu’s cellphone. Similarly, they also couldn’t contact Shen Hao and Qiao Yu. How could she be at ease?
Quan Hao took the cup of water and put his arm around her shoulder. “Rhee, don’t worry. Jingwu will be fine. We have to believe in him.”
Rhee buried her face in his chest with a choked voice, “But I couldn’t get through to Jingwu’s phone. If anything happens to him, what am I to do?”
Suddenly, a cellphone rang.
Quan Yifei quickly picked it up, her face lit up with joy, “It’s Second Brother calling.”
As soon as they heard about the earthquake in J City, both Quan Mingxuan and Han Yue had rushed there early in the morning.
Quan Yifei answered the call and turned on the speaker. Everyone watched anxiously.
“Second Brother, how is everything? Did you find anything about Third Brother in the Riches Hotel?”
On the other end, Quan Mingxuan fell silent.
His silence just made everyone in the Quan family even more anxious.
“Axuan, did you find Jingwu?” Rhee asked nervously.
After a moment, Quan Mingxuan finally spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse, “The surveillance footage from the Riches Hotel was destroyed before the earthquake. Ayue and I got hold of a receptionist from the hotel lobby, who didn’t see Jingwu and Shen Hao leaving the hotel yesterday night.”
“So, Jingwu, he…” Rhee’s voice broke off, trembling, with the rest of her words stuck in her throat.
Meanwhile, Quan Mingxuan’s voice rang out again, “We got the list of casualties from the hotel. It said… the status of Jingwu and the others is unknown.”
At his words, Rhee’s face lost all color. She clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
“Grandma!” The matriarch of the Quan family collapsed upon hearing the news. Quan Yifei quickly caught her before she hit the floor.
Weng Ya quickly handed her some medicine to calm down, patting her chest to help her breathe normally.
“Mom, don’t be upset. Jingwu will be okay. He will be okay.”
The old lady held onto Weng Ya’s hand, her breathing growing rapid.
On the side, Rhee was not in any better condition. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she bit her lip without saying a word.
Her son!
“Rhee, don’t be scared. I promise you, Jingwu will be fine. He will be fine,” Quan Hao looked at his distraught wife and comforted her, pulling her into his embrace.
“Ahao, what if Jingwu really didn’t make it out of the hotel? What then? What then?” Rhee clung onto Quan Hao’s shirt, on the verge of breaking down.
Quan Hao soothingly patted her back, an expression of worry etched onto his face. “No, Jingwu never let us worry. He will be fine.”
His words were as much for her as they were for himself.
On his end, Quan Mingxuan listened to the sounds from home. His face turned grave and he said, “Yifei, Ayue and I have to stay here a few more days to look for Jingwu. Please take care of the family.”
“Second Brother, I understand,” Quan Yifei responded, serious for once.
After hanging up, Quan Yifei suddenly remembered someone they all seemed to have forgotten.
Jian Qing!
Third Brother is in trouble. I don’t know if Jian Qing knows or not.
She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed a number to reach Jian Qing.
However, there was no answer on the other end of the phone.
“Feifei, who are you calling?” Weng Ya looked at Quan Yifei, who was anxiously making a call, and asked in confusion.
“Jian Qing. Something has happened to Third Brother. I don’t know how Jian Qing is handling it,” Quan Yifei bit her lip, Jian Qing, why aren’t you answering the phone?
At her words, everyone suddenly remembered Jian Qing too.
If she were to find out about Jingwu’s trouble, she would probably not be able to handle the news!
“Feifei, is no one answering?” Weng Ya asked.
“Yesterday, I went to Shijin Haoting to find Jian Qing and couldn’t find her. When I got back to the company, Yi Kai told me that she and her brother had gone back to M Country. I don’t know what happened.” On the other end of the phone, there was no answer. Quan Yifei dialed the number two or three times and still received no answer.
“Damn, I almost forgot that it’s night in M Country now.”
With these words, everyone’s faces became even more somber.
They were all having difficulty accepting this news. Jian Qing would probably be even more shocked by it!
…
M Country
The night sky was dotted with stars, and the smell of roses in the manor was faintly permeating.
Grandpa Jian had awakened in the afternoon, and Jian Qing had had a chat with him after which she went to the headquarters for a bit. She came back in the evening for dinner and then went to the study to work on her files. It wasn’t until around eleven o’clock that she returned to her room.
As soon as she entered her room, someone knocked on the door.
“Sis, it’s me.”
Jian Luo’s voice was somewhat urgent.
Jian Qing opened the door to see her brother’s serious expression and thought something had happened to Grandpa Jian.
“What’s wrong? Is it Grandpa…”
Jian Luo interrupted her, “It’s Quan Jingwu.”
“Xiaojing?” Jian Qing raised her eyebrows, puzzled.
“Didn’t Quan Jingwu go on a business trip to J City?” Jian Luo looked at Jian Qing and didn’t know how to broach the subject.
Jian Qing nodded, “What happened?”
“There was an earthquake in J City. There have been heavy casualties,” Jian Luo said, steepling his heart.
As soon as he heard the news, he’d instructed Black Jack to check the departure records of J City airport. Quan Jingwu wasn’t on the records.
Jian Qing’s eyes flashed, and her smile disappeared.
Suddenly, she turned away and quickly entered her room to take her phone. 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
She saw that there were several missed calls from Quan Yifei.
She didn’t call Quan Yifei back immediately but instead dialed Quan Jingwu’s number.
The phone rang for a while without a familiar voice on the other end picking up.
Her eyes darkened. She returned the call to Quan Yifei.
This time, the phone was picked up after just a few rings.
“Jian Qing, you finally picked up.”
Quan Yifei’s voice came through. Jian Qing pressed her lips together, “Yifei, where is Xiaojing?”
On the other end, upon hearing her tone, Quan Yifei knew she must have known about the earthquake. She began speaking carefully, “Jian Qing, there is something I think you should know.”
Jian Qing clenched her phone tighter, a faint foreboding gnawing at her.
“Jian Qing, my second brother flew to J City early this morning. He hasn’t found any trace of our third brother. He got ahold of a casualty list from the hotel where our third brother was staying. It says… our third brother’s status is unknown.”
Immediately, Jian Qing’s pupils contracted slightly, and it felt like her blood had frozen in her veins.
