Chapter 1268: The Ending (16)
, but I haven't told you or your parents yet; it's precisely because I'm getting married next year that I came to look after you" 。" Si Mu Tian was stunned, his hands clenched into fists, his eyes bl...Chapter 1268: The Conclusion (16)
After the high-priced missing person notice was published, it quickly caused a huge sensation throughout R Country as expected. Netizens widely discussed that this must be the highest bounty missing person notice in history!
Xiaoger was well-protected by the Tang couple before. Occasionally, An Xiao'tu would post photos of her daughter on Weibo, but she would also P a pair of sunglasses on her face, covering half of it.
This time, many of her life photos were posted on the missing person notice, which caused many netizens to exclaim that the little kid is too cute and adorable. This appearance is simply a fairy descending to earth.
Of course, netizens' attention is still mainly focused on the sky-high reward in that missing person notice.
A professional analysis revealed that the shares offered as a reward, converted into cash, would be worth at least hundreds of billions. Whoever finds the Tang family's daughter and obtains those shares will instantly become one of R country's top twenty wealthiest individuals.
As a result, everyone who saw this missing person poster started to pay attention to people around them for any signs of abnormality. Some even went to the place where Xiao Ge disappeared, hoping to get lucky and find her, driven by the dream of sudden wealth.
For a time, it seemed like the whole of R Country was searching for Xiaoge'er.
Everyone in the Tang family thought that after the sky-high price wanted poster was published, they would soon have news or some clues about Xiao Ge'er.
At first, Tang's staff received numerous calls inquiring about the authenticity of the reward.
I also received thousands of emails, some with photos of two or three-year-old girls asking if they were Xiao Geer. Some looked six to seven points like Xiao Geer, and some intentionally used P pictures to make the children look like Xiao Geer.
An Xiaotu insisted on going out to find Xiao Ge'er in person every day. Tang Yucheng accompanied her as they walked the streets and alleys of Beisi City, and the more secluded suburbs and county towns surrounding Beisi City. He had people searching there.
Every day, I work hard from morning till night, yet I gain nothing.
In the evening, Tang Yucheng and An Xiaotu would personally read each email carefully.
However, the information in each email was not their little song.
Three days, a week, half a month......a month, two months.
The Tang family put in so much energy, money and manpower to find little Ge'er, but they never got any response.
The fervor surrounding that sky-high missing person ad has gradually subsided.
Many netizens said that Tang family's sky-high missing person notice was so sensational, basically everyone in R country knew it. If someone saw Xiaoge'er, they would have contacted the Tang family long ago; a month passed, and there was no news of Xiaoge'er at all, it was mostly likely she was in danger....
Such remarks were accidentally seen by An Xiaotu. Her mind went blank with a jolt, and she was unable to think.
With a loud clang, the phone slipped from her hand.
Tang Yucheng heard the noise and immediately rushed to her side, asking nervously, "Little Rabbit, what's wrong"
An Xiaotù, however, remained speechless.
He picked up his phone from the ground and saw the comments speculating that Xia Ge had met with misfortune. Now he understood why his wife had reacted that way.
"Little Rabbit, don't overthink it. This is just the malicious speculation of a small group of people with dark minds. Our little songbird is definitely safe and sound; she just can't find her way home for a while. Perhaps someone kind took her in and brought her home. Our little songbird is well-behaved, sweet, and likeable. Even in another household, she would definitely be treated well..." Tang Yucheng tried to comfort her.
After Yi Sheng said she had been diagnosed with depression, he took her for a check-up.
As Yisheng said.
These days she is receiving treatment, but there has been no effect.
He continued, "Rabbit, you mustn't believe what people are saying online and give up on finding Xiaoge'er. Remember, our Xiaoge'er is still alive! As long as we don't give up, Xiaoge'er will definitely return to us."
Tang Yucheng said many things to her, but from beginning to end, her eyes were red, but she didn't cry or respond to him.
Tang Yucheng was unable to, so he called Xiao Annian over.
He always knew his son had a way with words that surpassed his own, and thought perhaps the son could lift his wife's spirits.
"Go have a chat with your mommy." Tang Yucheng said this, and then stepped out of the room.
Little An sat in front of his mother, An Xiaotu, without speaking. He just silently looked at her.
After a moment of silence.
"An Nian, I'm sorry..." An Xiao Rabbit choked out, her voice trembling.
"Mommy is going to abandon me and Daddy again" Xiao An finally asked after a few seconds of silence.
He lowered his eyes, his voice low as he continued, “I know Mommy is sick. Uncle Yisheng said it's a very difficult illness to cure, even he can't do anything about it; and in the end, Mommy will leave me and Daddy behind, leaving this world. Then Daddy will be like he was before Mommy left, and then I will truly have no Mommy.”
"Ever since my little sister went missing, Mommy has stopped paying attention to me. She thinks losing her is my fault, but everyone knows it's not my fault that she disappeared... Now Mommy wants to punish herself with her life, and punish me and Daddy too, right"
"An Nian, that's not true..." An Xiaotu hurriedly denied.
"It's you!" Xia Annian shook off her hand that tried to grab him, suddenly stood up from the chair, took two steps back, and looked at her with red eyes. "Since I was young, I only knew about Mommy from my Uncle San. When you came back to me and Daddy, I thought you would finally stay with us forever..."
"Mommy, I hate you! After my and Daddy's immeasurable love for you, you are going to cruelly withdraw from us again."
Xiao An bit her lip, wiped away a tear, and turned to run out of the room.
An Xiaotu was startled by these words and lost her train of thought. She only heard a 'bang' as the door slammed shut before she suddenly came to her senses.
Then, I chased after him out of the room.
Seeing Xiaoyan already running downstairs, she hurried to chase after her, saying as she went, "Xiaoyan, where are you going I'm sorry, Mommy apologizes to you. We won't do that again. It's dark outside, don't go out!"
It was past ten o'clock at night, the Tang family had already gone to sleep, only the servants were still awake, just keeping watch.
Little An has been nine years old for a while now. He is often trained by his dad to run, and he runs incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he's already run out of the house.
Little An Bunny had been suffering from depression since Xiao Ge'er went missing these days, and her body had become very weak. When she caught up to the mansion, there was no sign of Little An Nian.
The front courtyard of the Tang residence had streetlamps, but further away, the night was a seemingly all-consuming darkness.
The fear that Xiao Ge disappeared in an instant washed over her, her vision darkened for a moment, and she couldn't seem to catch her breath.
An Xiaotu was extremely panicked, terrified that her son would also be like Xiao Ge'er, leaving her forever; tears welled up like broken beads, falling incessantly. Her mouth opened but no sound came out.
After a few seconds, her trembling voice filled with pleading, "Annian, I'm sorry! You... you don't hide from Mommy, come out okay Mommy will listen to you from now on, Mommy will always be with you, never leaving you and your father...don't scare Mommy, Annian..."
Only the chirping of night insects answered her.
"Second Miss, what happened" The butler hadn't seen An Nian run out and hearing An Xiaotu's voice, he hurried out to check and ask.
"An Nian is gone! Immediately call all the servants in the house to look for him!" An Xiaotu was so anxious and afraid that her voice rose several decibels.
After giving the order to the housekeeper, she ran out, running aimlessly while calling for Annian's name. She then took out her phone and called Tang Yucheng.
"Over there, the call was quickly connected. An Xiaotu cried urgently, “Yu Cheng, where are you An Nian...An Nian is missing! Please help me find him."
Where are you, little rabbit
"Woooo, I'm here, I'm outside the house. I saw An Nian run out, but he disappeared once he got outside."
An Xiaotu recalled her son's words before he ran out, each sentence piercing her heart.
"I'll be right out, you stay there and don't move, wait for me!"
After hanging up the phone, An Xiaotu didn't wait for him in place as he had instructed. Instead, she continued to walk quickly without a direction while calling out An Nian's name.
It took Tang Yucheng a few minutes to get to her side.
Seeing him, An Xiaotu's emotions couldn't hold back either, and she burst into tears.
“He... if I had cared for him more these days, he wouldn't have run away because of me. I know he loves Xiaoger so much, and Xiaoger must be suffering too now that he’s gone. But he has been bearing his own pain to comfort me, to cheer me up all this time. And I didn't respond to him at all. He came to see me tonight, but I still gave him the cold shoulder…” She cried out in guilt and distress.
She was the one who was wrong, yet she had to bear so much.
"Little Rabbit, An Nian won't be angry with you. He was probably just feeling too down these days and went for a walk to clear his head."
"Annian is just angry with me! He just said he hates me. Before, he would never get angry with me, and he'd never say he hated me. He even said I was his favorite."
“That was just An Nian’s momentary outburst. He always says he hates Dad, but you and I both know it's just a passing whim, he doesn't mean it.”
"..."
After searching outside for over ten minutes, An Xiaotui remembered that Tang's manor was equipped with many surveillance cameras. She quickly called and instructed the housekeeper to check the surveillance footage.
After a few more minutes, they finally found Xiaonian's whereabouts in the surveillance footage: under the crabapple tree planted when Xiao Ge was just born.
Upon hearing the news, An Xiaotu and Tang Yucheng immediately rushed over.
From a distance, An Xiaotu saw the small figure of An Nian. Without hesitation, she dashed over and hugged An Nian tightly in her arms, her own body trembling with emotion.
"An Nian, how could you run out alone And so fast, you almost scared Mommy to death." With her heart finally at ease, An Xiaotu couldn't help but cry again, releasing the fear she had been holding in.
“I'm so sorry! Mommy has ignored you these past few days, but Mommy promises An Nian that she will never abandon you and your dad. Mommy won't do this again, An Nian, please don't be mad at Mommy, okay”
If Annian disappeared like Xiaoge again, she wouldn't be able to live either.
This time, Xiao An remained silent, his eyes downcast and averted.
An Xiaotu's heart ached unbearably. She held his little face in her hands, "Annie, please call me Mom. Don't be angry with me, okay Mommy knows she was wrong."
Xiaonian pushed her hand away, choked out, "Uncle Yisheng also said, you're sick. You take your medicine on time, but your heart resists treatment. Who knows, in a year or two, you might suddenly leave me again. Don't make promises to me anymore, don't let me believe them, and then suddenly disappear; I've already started to prepare myself for the fact that I won't have Mommy."
His words, especially the last one, made An Xiaotu's heart ache so badly she could hardly breathe.
To truly understand the pain of watching someone you love most dearly take each step closer to death, yet being unable to reach out and help, is a feeling of utter helplessness and despair.
Before she was five years old, she didn't have a mommy.
Her Annian was only nine and a half years old. She clearly had Mommy, yet she had prepared herself mentally for the possibility of losing her at any time......
An Xiaotu was so distressed that her throat felt like it was blocked, and she couldn't make a sound.
After a long silence, she finally found her voice, “No no, your Uncle Yisheng is talking nonsense. Mommy would never leave An Nian, mommy swears, she will never leave An Nian, An Nian, trust mommy.”
"Really" Xiao An asked in a cautious tone.
"Really, really! Mommy would never lie to An Nian." Little Rabbit hurriedly nodded her head, afraid her son wouldn't believe her.
"Mommy really won't leave me" he asked again.
Actually, Xiao An knew very well about depression. He understood that his mother's recent behavior was due to the illness and was out of her control. It wasn't her intention.
He ran out tonight, not really because he was ignored by Mommy, nor because he was jealous of his sister for attention. He just wanted to stimulate Mommy, make her feel sorry for him, so that in the future, he would be obedient and cooperate actively with treatment.
He was truly terrified, afraid that depression would take Mommy away from him and Daddy.
"No! Mommy will be with Annie for her whole life!"
"Well, I...actually, I don't dislike Mommy at all. What I said before was just angry talk, and I won't say it again."
"Good."
After the mother and son had finished talking, Tang Yucheng urged them to go back.
Along the way, An Xiaotu held her son's hand tightly, afraid that if she let go, her son would disappear again.
It was probably Xiao An's sudden run out that scared An Xiaotu badly. Thinking of Xiao Geer who had already disappeared, she couldn't bear the thought of losing her son again.
After returning to the Tang residence, An Xiaotu expressed her intention to sleep in An Nian's room tonight.
Li An, who is over nine years old, feels very embarrassed about this. He is nine and a half years old, a big boy, not the four or five-year-old child he used to be.
However, seeing his mother's insistence and what happened tonight, he agreed.
In the middle of the night, Little An Bunny had a nightmare, dreaming that An Nian had disappeared.
After being awakened by a nightmare, she hurriedly turned on the light and saw her son right beside her. She let out a sigh of relief, but for the rest of the night, she couldn't sleep anymore.
In the morning, An Xiaotu and Xiao Anyuan got up together to wash and then went downstairs to eat breakfast; for lunch, she rarely cooked herself and made several dishes that Xiao Anyuan loved.k."Hearing the woman's personal attacks, Holly merely raised an eyebrow slightly without any reaction.Before, in Germany, even when she was hidden away from the public eye, just like now, she had been...