Jing Meng took the note and said gratefully, "Thank you!"
As she spoke, she seemed unable to hold back her tears. "Thank you so much."
Seeing her cry, the waiter felt a bit flustered. He searched his pockets until he found a handkerchief, and after a brief hesitation, he handed it to Jing Meng.
Jing Meng took the handkerchief and thanked him solemnly once more before pushing open the bar's heavy doors.
"Jing Hong is a good man. I wish you two a long and happy life together," the waiter said with a slight smile, offering his most sincere blessing just as she was about to step out.
Jing Meng nodded, her face flushing as she played the role of a shy girlfriend to perfection.
"That guy Jing Hong... he really is lucky," the waiter sighed as he watched her walk away.
The moment Jing Meng stepped out of the bar, the bashfulness and emotion vanished from her face, replaced by gravity and coldness.
"Fengcheng Community, Building C, Room 302."
Jing Meng softly whispered the address. She opened her phone and, after a moment's hesitation, sent a voice message to Pei Shiyi.
After sending the message, she hailed a taxi and arrived at the house Jing Hong was temporarily renting. Her hand hovered in the air, hesitant to knock.
Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she knocked heavily on the door. However, there was only silence from within; no one came to open it.
She pounded on the door twice more. Just as she was about to shout, the neighbor's door suddenly opened. A girl dressed in a provocative style walked out. "Stop knocking. The handsome guy next door hasn't been back for days."
"He hasn't been back for days?" Jing Meng asked, clearly surprised.
"Yeah. Doesn't he work at a bar? Usually, when he comes back in the morning, he reeks of alcohol. He always makes a huge racket opening the door, so loud I can't even sleep," the neighbor said, stretching. "I've finally had a few good nights of sleep these past few days."
Jing Meng's heart sank to the bottom of her chest.
Jing Hong was currently penniless. Even if he wanted to hide from her, there was no way he would stop returning to his place of residence.
The only explanation was that something had happened to him!
Her relaxed state tightened instantly, and the hand hanging at her side clenched into a fist.
Seeing Jing Meng standing there motionless, the neighbor said with a hint of pity, "Little girl, are you his girlfriend? Let me tell you, that man is unreliable. You look like a good kid; you should break up with him as soon as possible."
Jing Meng managed a slight smile. "Thank you, ma'am. I know what I'm doing."
Seeing that her advice wasn't being taken, the neighbor shook her head and went back inside.
The sound of the neighbor's door closing echoed in her ears while her heart hammered with worry. Standing before the closed door, she considered her options until a flash of ruthlessness crossed her eyes.
She scanned her surroundings, her gaze landing on half a brick. A faint curve touched her lips. She leaned over to pick it up and, without a word, used the brick to smash the door open. Slipping inside when no one was looking, she quickly shut the door tight to hide any trace of her entry. However, everything inside the room filled her with doubt.
The place was spotlessly clean. Not a speck of dust could be seen even on the black tea table. It was obvious that someone was cleaning it every single day.
Holding onto the thought that he might be hiding inside and simply didn't want to see anyone, Jing Meng searched every possible hiding spot in the room, but she found nothing.
"Where on earth did he go?" Sitting on the edge of the bed, she subconsciously gathered the scattered clothes and began folding them neatly while she thought.
When she picked up the last item a black jacket her hand slipped into the pocket. The note she found inside caused her dim eyes to sparkle with sudden light.
She pulled out the slip of paper. An address was written clearly upon it.
"Lishi Quyuan, Building B, Room 706."
Jing Meng felt that this address was strangely familiar.
Ding, ding...
Just as she was lost in thought, her ringtone interrupted her. She picked up her phone and saw the caller ID.
It was Pei Shiyi.
Without thinking, she pressed the answer button. "Pei Shiyi."
"Where are you?" The voice on the other end sounded somewhat cold, though she wasn't sure if it was just her imagination.
"Fengcheng Community, Building C, Room 302." Jing Meng gave her location and was about to say more when she heard Pei Shiyi speak in an extremely low voice. "Wait for me there. I'm coming to find you."
Before Jing Meng could respond, he hung up.
She stared at the phone as the dial tone droned, remaining silent for a long while.
How had she never noticed that Pei Shiyi could be so overbearing?
Jing Meng gave a bitter laugh and put the phone away. She opened her navigation app and typed in the address from the note.
"The total distance is 1.3 kilometers. It will take approximately five minutes."
The mechanical female voice announced the details as soon as she finished entering them.
"One point three kilometers? That's not far from here at all..."
Jing Meng checked the map, hesitated for a moment, and then sent the new coordinates to Pei Shiyi before leaving the house.
About ten minutes later, she was standing at the location written on the note. It was a residential community where the residents seemed to live very comfortable lives, but there was still no sign of Jing Hong.
The community was extremely quiet, and the security guards were very diligent. Based on the living conditions Jing Hong had described, there was no way he could afford to buy or rent a place here. If that was the case, why was this address in his jacket pocket?
She quickly dismissed the idea of asking around. People in the city were much more indifferent these days; even immediate neighbors might not know how many people lived across from them or if someone new had been moved in.
Just as her fruitless search was starting to frustrate her, her attention was caught by a surveillance camera overhead. A faint smile touched her lips as she hurried toward the community's security room.
The place looked like a high end complex, so there were bound to be plenty of cameras. By reviewing the footage of people coming and going, she was bound to find some trace of Jing Hong.
However, without a warrant or identification from the judicial department, it would be impossible for her to access the footage. Just as she was agonizing over her dilemma, she was suddenly pulled into an embrace from behind.
Jing Meng instinctively tried to throw an elbow at the person behind her, but her wrist was caught. The familiar scent of cologne washed over her.
"Pei Shiyi?" After recognizing who it was, Jing Meng breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me to death."
Pei Shiyi did not smile at her as he usually did. He merely gave her a cool glance and took a step back to put some distance between them.
"What did you find over there?"
Jing Meng hurriedly handed him the note she had found in the room. "I found this in the pocket of Jing Hong's clothes."
Pei Shiyi reached out to take it, his sword-like brows furrowing slightly. Before he could even ask, Jing Meng took the initiative to explain the situation at the scene.
"Based on the current clues, I suspect that Jing Hong isn't hiding from me on purpose. I think he's run into some kind of trouble."
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