After that night, Chen Qiao Luo disappeared. I called him several times, but no one ever answered. When I went to the repair shop to find him, the owner told me he’d quit a few days earlier. Thinking back to his unusual behavior that evening, unease grew in my chest. I sent him message after message, but still received no reply.
I didn’t dare ask Aunt He Pei, so I could only worry in silence.
Every Monday during morning exercises, School No. 12 held an assembly. At this week’s assembly, Chen Qiao Luo was once again given a demerit for his prolonged absences. The disciplinary teacher, clearly exasperated, declared, “If anyone can contact Chen Qiao Luo, please inform him that if he doesn’t return to school soon, we will be forced to expel him.”
The disciplinary teacher’s words dropped like a thunderclap, and murmurs quickly began to ripple through the crowd of students.
Expulsions were rare at this school—so rare that in my two years here, it had never happened once. Now, Chen Qiao Luo was at risk of being expelled because of skipping classes, and that news naturally shocked everyone.
I went through the day in a daze, unable to focus on my classes as my mind kept turning over the question of where Chen Qiao Luo might have gone. Only now did I realize how little I truly knew about him, and the thought left me feeling profoundly dejected.
Since I couldn’t disturb Aunt He Pei, the only option left was to turn to brother Xiao Hei. I went to the entrance of “Old Blues,” a bar or café, and gave him a call.
As soon as he heard I was outside, brother Xiao Hei rushed out.
“Yun Hao, why are you here? Come in and sit down,” he said.
“No need,” I declined his kind offer, cutting straight to the point. “Brother Xiao Hei, do you know where Chen Qiao Luo is?”
“A-Luo?” He frowned, confused.
“I can’t find him, and the school said that if he doesn’t return soon, he’ll be expelled,” I blurted out all at once.
Hearing this, brother Xiao Hei was stunned. He tried to comfort me, saying, “Yun Hao, don’t worry. Let me ask Sister He Pei about it for you.”
“No, you absolutely can’t tell Aunt He Pei!” I stopped him immediately, explaining, “You know how much Chen Qiao Luo hates worrying her. She mustn’t find out about this.”
“Alright, I understand,” he said with a sigh. “How about this: wait for me here. I’ll take some time off and help you look for A-Luo.”
“Okay. Thank you, brother Xiao Hei.”
“It’s no problem,” he said with a reassuring smile. “You and A-Luo are like my younger siblings. If something’s wrong, how could I just sit by and do nothing? Wait here—I’ll be right back.”
Although A City wasn’t particularly big, trying to find someone without any leads felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Brother Xiao Hei and I searched all the places Chen Qiao Luo frequented, but he was nowhere to be found.
Just when I was about to lose hope, brother Xiao Hei suddenly smacked his forehead and exclaimed, “Yun Hao! I just remembered—A-Luo mentioned to me a while ago that he started working at a KTV. What was the name of that place again…”
Seeing him draw a blank, I couldn’t help but urge, “What was it called?”
“Don’t rush me! Let me think.” He frowned, deep in thought, and after a long pause, said hesitantly, “I think it was something with ‘Sunshine’…”
Sunshine?
I searched my memory, but no particular name came to mind.
Just then, my phone rang in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw “Dad” flashing on the screen.
“Hello, sweetheart, why aren’t you home yet? It’s late,” Dad asked the moment I picked up.
I didn’t even have time to answer before hurriedly asking, “Dad, do you know of any KTVs in the city with ‘Sunshine’ in the name?”
“Why are you asking about that?” Dad sounded puzzled.
“There’s no time to explain. I’ll tell you when I get back,” I replied hastily.
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