Unreachable

Yao Tang had gone to Beijing a few days ago. They had to find out through Yao Yan, since she was in such a hurry that she was unable to tell them herself.

Despite this, Yao Rong and his family believed that Yao Tang would be just fine.

“But you see, I asked Xiao Chen to call her a few times already, but she never picked up. Maybe something happened…”

Old Madam Yao’s face was wrought with worry.

After all, her precious granddaughter was a great beauty. It was inevitable that people would covet her once they laid eyes on her. It would be horrible if Yao Tang became a target of some seedy punks.

And that was not all. Old Madam Yao was aware that there were many other dangers Yao Tang might encounter outside. She couldn’t help but worry.

Jiang Wan patted the old lady’s hand and spoke in a gentle tone. “Her phone must have run out of battery, or she must have been tasked with something important by her teacher. That’s why she couldn’t look at her phone.

“President Tan is a responsible and dependable person. He will definitely take good care of Yao Tang. Don’t fret too much, Mom. You should be enjoying your birthday instead. Do you think Tangtang would be happy to know that you spent your birthday worrying about her?”

Old Madam Yao found some comfort in her daughter-in-law’s words, but she still couldn’t completely dismiss her misgivings.

For whatever unknown reason, a ball of unease sat heavily in the old lady’s heart.

She knew that Jiang Wan’s reasoning was sound, but the sense of foreboding she felt remained.

As for Jiang Wan, she was trying her best to lighten the old lady’s mood. It was Old Madam Yao’s 60th birthday. She should be having fun and basking in everyone’s blessings, not worrying her heart out.

Even so, the next time that Old Madam Yao asked someone to call Yao Tang, Jiang Wan sneaked to the side and called the girl as well. She dialed Yao Tang’s number repeatedly, but no one answered.

At that point, she caught Old Madam Yao’s worry. Jiang Wan hurriedly sent out a text message to Yao Tang’s classmates to see if anything had happened.

At long last, she finally received some news from Qin Jing.

She told Jiang Wan that Yao Tang had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Apparently, she had been working hard in the past few days. Qin Jing also sent Jiang Wan a couple of photos.

Sure enough, Yao Tang appeared to be in a deep, peaceful slumber.

Everything seemed normal at first glance, but Jiang Wan could tell that something wasn’t right.

The idea burrowed into your heart, but she didn’t dare to voice it out for fear of provoking Old Madam Yao even further.

Beside Jiang Wan, Yao Rong also frowned. He was growing worried as well.

But before the couple could do anything about their sentiments, Qin Man made her appearance in a bejeweled dress. On top of that, she was also sporting a bracelet made of coral-colored gems and a massive diamond necklace.

She sauntered over and paid her respects to Old Madam Yao before casting a snide look at Jiang Wan.

“Where’s your dear little Yao Tang?”

Her question surprised them, as they never expected Qin Man to be concerned about Yao Tang in any way.

“Tangtang is busy with some business in Beijing,” Jiang Wan promptly replied. “So she can’t come to the party.”

Old Madam Yao scowled, suspicious of Qin Man’s intentions.

Today was her birthday banquet, for goodness’ sake. She wouldn’t allow this vile woman to stir up trouble on such an occasion.

“Hmph,” Qin Man snorted.

“Then go and ask Yao Tang where Ranran is right now.”

Yao Rong tilted his head in confusion.

Jiang Wan was just as baffled as her husband, not fully understanding what Qin Man was asking from them. “I’m not sure if I know what you mean. Why would our Tangtang know where that girl is?”

More than anything, though, Jiang Wan couldn’t fathom the sheer audacity that propelled Qin Man to ask her biological daughter the whereabouts of her adopted one.

How could she fawn over an outsider and not care about her own daughter? Jiang Wan pressed her lips together, wondering how Yao Tang had endured living with Qin Man under the same roof.

Her heart ached for the girl.

Qin Man huffed, unfazed by Jiang Wan’s question. “Back in Beijing, Yao Tang insisted on having our Ranran join them for a meal. She didn’t return that night. We’ve been looking for her ever since, but we can’t even reach her phone. It’s only right that I demand answers from Yao Tang, don’t you think?”

After failing to contact Yao Ran, she had made countless calls to Yao Tang, but the brat never picked up.

Qin Man felt as though she would burst a vein out of rage over that girl’s insolence!

She didn’t know if Yao Tang had kidnapped her daughter and held her hostage somewhere, or if Yao Ran was going through some kind of abuse.

After parting with Yao Tang’s group that day, she had hurried after Madam Meng and Meng Ling, but the two had only given her the cold shoulder.

In the odd moments that Madam Meng did not ignore her, she would glare at Qin Man with obvious displeasure.