Chapter 459 - 458: Asking Around
Upon hearing Xie Yuanzhou’s words, both Yiyi and Wei Zhirong looked a little upset.
Yiyi then turned to Xie Yuanzhou and asked again, "When did Little Tao go out this morning?"
"It was probably around eight in the morning. Wen Lin said his sister greeted him when she went out and then left directly."
Yiyi heard this and continued to ask, "At that time, didn’t Wen Lin ask Little Tao where she was going?"
Xie Yuanzhou shook his head and replied, "No, because Wen Tao had previously told him she was going to meet friends today, Wen Lin thought she had gone to meet you guys directly and didn’t ask a thing."
Wei Zhirong, standing nearby, was full of self-blame.
"How could this happen? I wish I hadn’t invited Little Tao to dinner yesterday, or I could’ve come over to pick her up this morning. Why didn’t I think of that?"
Seeing Wei Zhirong’s remorseful look, Xie Yuanzhou quickly said, "It’s not your fault, and besides, who could’ve expected this to happen? The most important thing now is to find Wen Tao."
Hearing this, Wei Zhirong quickly nodded and said, "Yes, the most important thing now is to find Little Tao, so let’s split up and look for her."
Yiyi then said, "Little Tao has been missing for so long, we definitely can’t manage by ourselves. I’ll go home first and tell my grandfather to quickly send people out to search."
"Yes, yes, why didn’t I think of this? I’ll also go home to my parents. The more people, the better, and we will definitely find Little Tao."
Seeing Yiyi and Wei Zhirong say this, Xie Yuanzhou nodded as well and said, "Alright, I’ll also notify my brother and father so they can help search as well."
Besides, the Wen Family has always been on good terms with the Xie Family, so with Wen Tao missing, their family would naturally help with the search too.
The few of them began to move out separately.
After rushing home, Yiyi told Old Master Ding about the situation.
Old Master Ding didn’t ask much; upon hearing it was Yiyi’s friend who was missing, he immediately gave orders for people to go search.
Seeing his granddaughter’s anxious expression, he comforted her, saying, "Don’t worry, Yiyi, we’ll certainly find her. Besides, as you just said, apart from our family, the Wei Family, Xie Family, and the Wen Family are all fully mobilized to search, so there will definitely be no issues."
"Grandfather, I’m still a bit worried. After all, Little Tao has been missing for an entire day, and I want to join the search."
Old Master Ding knew his granddaughter’s skills, so he nodded and said, "Alright, you and Yun Chu can also join the search, but remember that no matter how late it gets, you should come home at night. Otherwise, your mother will be worried."
Yiyi heard this, nodded, and then left the house.
However, she didn’t wander aimlessly; instead, she headed directly to the vicinity of the Wen Family with Yun Chu. When Wen Tao left in the morning, someone might have seen her, so it’s worth asking around for any unexpected leads.
But unexpectedly, when Yiyi arrived there, she found Wen Lin there as well.
Wen Lin was a bit surprised to see Yiyi, then immediately said, "Are you here to look for Little Tao too? I’ve already heard from Yuan Zhou about you all helping with the search, thank you."
Seeing Wen Lin’s face full of anxiety and exhaustion, Yiyi simply shook her head and said, "No thanks needed, after all, we are good friends with Little Tao, so looking for her is the right thing to do. Brother Wen, are you asking around about Little Tao here? How is it going? Did anyone see her in the morning?"
Wen Lin shook his head dejectedly and said, "No, I’ve already asked several neighbors, but none of them have seen Little Tao."
Seeing Wen Lin like this, Yiyi couldn’t help but say, "Brother Wen, don’t lose heart. Maybe someone has seen her. I’ll go and ask others now."
Hearing Yiyi’s words, Wen Lin expressed his gratitude, "Thank you then, I’ll continue asking. If no one has seen Little Tao, I’ll look elsewhere."
Yiyi nodded and immediately took Yun Chu to start asking people.
But just as Wen Lin had said, no one in this area had seen Little Tao in the morning. Even Yun Chu said to Yiyi, "Miss, let’s try looking somewhere else."
Yiyi looked back at the long street they had walked down and finally said, "Let’s ask the household at the very end first. If we really get no information, then we’ll search elsewhere."
Yun Chu nodded and he and Yiyi approached a low house at the street corner.
After knocking on the door, an elderly lady answered.
"Granny, have you seen a young girl with a gentle appearance but lively demeanor? She lives around here. Look, here’s her photo."
This photo of Wen Tao was just given to her by Wen Lin, making it convenient to ask around.
The elderly lady saw the photo and said with a smile, "Isn’t this Little Tao? From your description, I thought it might be her. Are you looking for Little Tao? Her home is indeed nearby. Walk to the end of this road, and you’ll find her house."
Upon hearing this, Yiyi quickly asked, "Granny, do you know Little Tao?"
"Of course I know her. This young girl is kind-hearted, always coming over to chat whenever she’s free. Seeing my tough living conditions, she sometimes brings food too. She even brought me some fruit this morning."
Hearing this, Yiyi was full of joy.
"Granny, did you see Little Tao this morning?"
"Yes, she came expressly to see me this morning and chatted for quite a while."
Yiyi was truly excited now; after asking so many, finally someone had seen Wen Tao in the morning.
"Granny, do you know where she went afterwards?"
The elderly lady directly said, "Afterwards, Little Tao went to the street. She said she wanted to buy gifts for a few friends. Why, why are you suddenly asking me this?"
The granny reacted by then, looking at Yiyi with full tension, "Are you looking for Little Tao? Did something happen to her?"
Yiyi saw the old lady’s nervous look and suddenly didn’t know whether to tell her or not.
But the elderly lady immediately said, "Little girl, you should tell me. I’m quite acquainted with Little Tao, maybe I know where she went."
Hearing this, Yiyi quickly explained the situation.
The elderly lady, upon hearing it, was very anxious, "No way, did Little Tao go missing after leaving my place? I watched her walk out and head toward the street. How could this happen? She’s perfectly fine and just vanished."