Chapter 299
The spring mountains were awash with green and blooming flowers. As soon as they got off the bus and heard the assembly reminders, the children scattered like birds released from a cage, running off in groups to play.
Second Child and Jiang Jiu led a group of classmates and immediately started playing hide-and-seek everywhere.
The two children, holding hands, quickly vanished without a trace.
Students from other classes also dispersed in their own groups.
Si Nian found a spot to sunbathe, her gaze falling upon several children gathered around Eldest Child playing a numbers game, their voices filled with excitement and admiration.
Since Eldest Child had switched classes, the atmosphere had improved greatly.
There was none of the oppression from Class Four, and no one came looking for trouble.
Si Nian was also enjoying the peace.
Watching Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) being so popular, Chu Xiang'er bit her lip and walked over.
She was very pretty. Though still young, her features were delicate, and she was slender and tall. Dressed in a little gauze dress, she looked like a noble princess.
Yet this noble princess had no eyes for any prince; her gaze was always fixed on that country bumpkin, Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child).
Li Youcai watched her go over to talk to him, his eyes red with jealousy.
His friends weren't happy either. Their class had been fine before Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) arrived. Since he came, he always caused trouble, making everyone upset and restless.
Because they were used to this kind of life, they had grown accustomed to it.
They no longer saw any problem with Teacher Xu.
They got good grades, and Teacher Xu was all smiles with them.
Teacher Xu only had a sour face for those who didn't study well.
And she didn't hit them, she just scolded them.
The students who got scolded were the ones who didn't study well, were lazy, disliked studying, and dragged down the class average. Wasn't it only right they got scolded?
They totally deserved it.
Nothing strange about it.
They couldn't understand why he had to make such a big fuss, almost getting Teacher Xu fired because of it.
They had all heard that Li Youcai could have placed in the competition.
But because Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) held a grudge, he deliberately answered questions to snatch the chance, causing Li Youcai to end up in last place.
Li Youcai and Chu Xiang'er had always been the pride of their class. When they won awards, everyone felt proud too.
But Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) had ruined it.
Everyone thought he switched classes because he felt guilty, afraid everyone would give him a hard time, so he ran away.
He was really so annoying.
What's so great about getting first place? Honor gained by stepping on your classmates is something they wanted no part of.
Compared to the newcomer Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child), everyone naturally trusted Chu Xiang'er and Li Youcai more.
They were already unhappy that Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) had snatched this opportunity, and now that he won an award and just left, they despised him even more.
In any case, Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) was now disliked by most of the fourth graders.
Seeing Chu Xiang'er still going to play with him made them even angrier.
But they didn't dare vent their anger on Chu Xiang'er, so they redirected their rage towards the inconspicuous Yuan Yuan standing nearby.
"Liu Yuanyuan, who said you could stand with us? Get away from us!"
"You used to sit with that Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child), you probably stink of pig manure like him."
"Yeah, so disgusting, you fat pig!"
Yuan Yuan was already unpopular. She was chubby, and a group of boys always made fun of her.
This time, no one spoke up for her either. Her eyes reddened with hurt, and she walked away, keeping her distance.
Only then did those boys retract their gazes with satisfaction.
Teacher Xu naturally saw this too.
The most disliked student from her class, Zhou Ze (Dong), went to Class One and became the most popular person.
She felt a sour taste in her heart.
She said to Li Youcai, "Youcai, go call Xiang'er back. I have something to tell her."
Li Youcai ignored her. Even though Teacher Xu had told his grandmother that she hadn't told Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) to target him like that,
Li Youcai still believed it was because Teacher Xu insisted on letting Zhou Zedong (Eldest Child) join the competition that he had been so humiliated!
He hated Teacher Xu to death now and naturally didn't give her a good look.
If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have bothered at all.
But for Chu Xiang'er, he still walked over.
He just didn't put Teacher Xu in his eyes.
Watching even a child dare to give her such an attitude, Teacher Xu's expression turned icy for a moment.
But it was gone in an instant.
Elsewhere, Second Child and his classmates were playing hide-and-seek.
The two little ones ran to the parking area to hide.
Their eyes swept over several tour buses, and soon they noticed a van parked in the corner with its sliding door wide open. The two immediately hid inside.
They didn't know how much time had passed. They were both hungry, and still no one had come to find them.
Second Child immediately pulled out a lunchbox from his bag, and the two children squatted in the back of the van, eating and giggling.
After eating their fill, they got sleepy.
They drifted off into a doze.
They didn't notice several men quickly approaching.
Then, the van shook a few times, as if something was being loaded inside.
Then with a "clunk—" the door was shut.
The van started swaying as it drove off.
By the time the teachers realized the children were missing, it was nearly noon.
It was Si Nian who first noticed something was wrong. She had napped for a while and woke up as everyone was preparing to eat lunch.
Since it was a spring outing, everyone had brought some food to replenish their energy.
Some children, tired from playing, were already asleep on the grass.
Eldest Child was still sitting to the side, playing the numbers game with classmates.
Originally only five or six people had been around him, but now over a dozen were gathered.
Everyone looked defeated, having clearly lost.
They were still unwilling to give up, the whole group playing with great interest.
However, the noisiest ones, Xiao Han (Second Child) and Jiang Jiu, were nowhere to be seen.
Second Child was usually playful, but whenever Si Nian was around, he would come over to say a few words every now and then.
Today, she had slept for so long, and he hadn't come to find her at all. It really wasn't like him.
She looked towards the first-grade area and saw the teacher gathering the students for lunch.
She couldn't help but walk over. Not seeing the child in the crowd, she asked worriedly, "Teacher, where are Xiao Han (Second Child) and Jiang Jiu?"
"He went to play hide-and-seek with classmates. I just sent someone to call..." Before she could finish, a student ran over and said loudly, "Teacher, we can't find Second Brother and Jiang Jiu. We don't know where they're hiding."
"Yeah, we couldn't find them from the very first round this morning."
They had been feeling defeated, thinking they had searched the whole hillside and still couldn't find them.
They had even thought the two were really amazing at hiding.
Hearing this, Si Nian and the teacher exchanged a glance, both sensing something was wrong.
Sure enough, they immediately heard a fourth-grade student say, "Teacher, several students from our Class Four are missing too. It's Youcai, Xiang'er, and the others."
Si Nian tilted her head to look over and saw Wu Ren'ai's anxious expression. "What's going on? How are they missing?"
The students looked at each other, unable to explain.
Five students were missing from Class Four.
Including the first graders, a total of seven children were gone.
If only the fourth graders hadn't disappeared, the teachers might have just thought the two little ones were being playful.
But fourth graders were old enough to know better, and these were all top students. How could they possibly go missing?
Si Nian's face instantly turned grim. The teachers were also worried and began organizing search parties.