Chapter 154 Mysterious Disappearance

Liu Xingquan pushed open the door of the library .

Teacher Fu was sorting out old journals. She looked up and said with a smile, "Liu Xingquan, you're here."

Ms. Fu is the head of the school library. She used to be a Chinese teacher. She is over 50 years old and will retire in two years.

"Teacher, let me help you." Seeing Teacher Fu struggling to hold several bundles of old newspapers, Liu Xingquan hurried over to lend a hand.

"It's great that you came to help. Just sort these old newspapers into different categories and put them in the cabinet."

"good."

Liu Xingquan is a frequent visitor to the library and has always had a good relationship with Teacher Fu. Recently, Teacher Fu was busy reorganizing some old periodicals and newspapers in the library, so Liu Xingquan volunteered to come over after school to help.

"These newspapers have been scanned into the computer," said Teacher Fu. "Times have changed. Everything needs to be digitized. In the future, you can just search on the computer and the newspaper will come out."

“Since there are electronic versions, should these newspapers be thrown away?”

"This is what you kids think. If the physical copies of old books and periodicals can be preserved under certain conditions, then of course we should keep them." Teacher Fu stroked a stack of old newspapers, his eyes fixed on a certain part of the newspapers.

Liu Xingquan took the stack of newspapers and the words on them jumped into his eyes.

[A girl from a middle school in this city mysteriously disappeared]

According to our newspaper, a girl named Ding from the Fourth Middle School in this city disappeared mysteriously after evening self-study on October 23. After the incident, the police are doing their best to find the girl.

The reporter learned from visiting Ding's family and classmates that Ding was a lively and cheerful girl with excellent grades, helpfulness, no bad habits, and simple social relationships. Her family and classmates all hoped that Ding would be safe and come back soon.

The reporter contacted the Fourth Middle School again, but the school refused the interview on the grounds of student privacy and that the police were investigating the matter.

I seem to have heard of this matter, Liu Xingquan thought.

"Ding Muli." Teacher Fu said softly, "This girl is called Ding Muli."

"Teacher, do you know?"

"Yes." Teacher Fu nodded, "Because she is my student."

"ah?"

"I have always remembered this girl. We all called her Xiao Muli." Teacher Fu smiled and said, "She is very smart, outgoing and lively. She is the representative of the Chinese class in the class. She is very eloquent."

"Oh."

"Liu Xingquan, being a teacher is like being a gardener, watching the flowers bloom every year, and then the flowers turn into butterflies and leave the garden. This happens year after year, and the butterflies rarely come back. Over time, you can't even remember how many butterflies you have cultivated." Teacher Fu whispered, "But there are always a few particularly beautiful butterflies that you will never forget for the rest of your life."

"Is Ding Muli the butterfly that the teacher will never forget?"

Teacher Fu shook his head. "She was a flower that had not yet grown. She disappeared before she could bloom."

"Still no whereabouts now?"

"No." Teacher Fu placed his hand on the newspaper. "It's been more than 20 years, and there is still no result. There is not even a body... Her parents have given up, and only her grandmother is still looking for her."

"If we find it, it should be about the same age as my mother."

"Yes." Teacher Fu said softly, "But in my heart, she will always be that lively and lovely girl. Oh, by the way, I have always kept her photo." She asked Liu Xingquan to wait for a moment and turned and walked into her own office.

After a while, Teacher Fu took out a book and pulled out a photo from the page. "Look, the third one from the first row is her."

This is a group photo of Teacher Fu and a group of students. The photo is a little yellowed, but the characters are very clear. Teacher Fu was young and fresh at that time, as if she had just started working. The boys and girls looked about the same age as Liu Xingquan. Liu Xingquan was surprised when he saw her for the first time, and he blurted out: "Yan Zhen?"

But how could this be possible? How could his friend Yan Zhen be in the group photo taken more than 20 years ago? Liu Xingquan looked at it carefully again and found that it was just a boy who looked very similar to Yan Zhen, with the same stern eyebrows and beautiful eyes, smiling and hugging another boy.

"Oh, that's Yan An." Teacher Fu smiled, "He is one of the students who impressed me the most. He has good grades, is very motivated, and looks good. I knew at the time that this child would have a bright future when he grows up, and now it has proved to be the case. Whenever the principal talks about alumni, he must mention the successful entrepreneur Yan An. You mean Yan Zhen? Yan Zhen is his son and looks just like him. What a coincidence, he is also your classmate."

"Uncle Yan is actually a classmate of Ding Muli..."

"Yes, they are in the same class."

"Oh, right." Teacher Fu pointed at a boy in the photo, "The boy next to him is Wei Hongzhuo, the CEO, Wei Jingjing's father."

"Ah?" The boy leaning against Yan An in the photo had a bright smile on his face, completely different from the majestic man in Liu Xingquan's memory.

"Wei Hongzhuo is a very arrogant child, but if you get to know him better, you will find that he is a really nice person." Looking at the boy in the photo, Teacher Fu said with a smile.

Liu Xingquan couldn't help but want to laugh when he heard Teacher Fu calling Wei Jingjing's dignified and steady father, the CEO, a child. I really don't know what Wei Jingjing would think when he heard it.

"In other words, Yan Zhen's father, Wei Jingjing's father, and the missing girl Ding Muli were all classmates?"

"Yes, there is another one in the photo." Teacher Fu pointed at a girl in the photo, "Bai Xiaoyu. She is Bai Lianlian's mother."

"Ah. Bai Lianlian from Class 1?"

"You don't know, back then Bai Xiaoyu was a little star in the whole grade. She was indispensable in all the school performances. She had been singing very well since she was young. We all thought she might become a singer. Alas, who could have thought of the future? Fate is unpredictable."

Liu Xingquan had always heard the gossip surrounding Bai Lianlian. Among these rumors, Bai Lianlian's mother Bai Xiaoyu played an important role. The other party was a girl from the next class. Liu Xingquan had never been interested in gossiping about girls, and he was not interested in whether it was true or not. However, after hearing these rumors so many times, he inevitably did not have a good impression of Bai Lianlian. Seeing the teacher's gloomy expression, Liu Xingquan did not ask any more questions.

"So they are all good friends?"

"She was a classmate. After Ding Muli disappeared, Yan An mobilized everyone to look for her. But people were in a panic at the time, and everyone was afraid that something might happen to their children. Yan An was severely reprimanded for this. With the police around, why would a child cause trouble?" Teacher Fu sighed, "This happened a long time ago."

In the end, Ding Muli disappeared.

"After she disappeared, all the primary and secondary schools in the city were very nervous. During that period, the school stipulated that parents must pick up students after school. In the following years, there were no more cases of missing female students, and the incident was gradually forgotten by the public. I always feel uneasy about it, and I will pay attention to it when I see such news. By the way, a similar incident happened a few months ago."

"Is it the incident at No. 1 Middle School next door?" Liu Xingquan said, "I saw it on the news. A boy from No. 1 Middle School also suddenly disappeared during the summer vacation. He has been found now, but he has become a vegetable."

"Yes, this boy was your opponent in a TV show before."

"Yes. I remember him, his name is Lu Zhehao." Liu Xingquan nodded, "He hasn't woken up yet."

"Alas, my parents worked so hard to raise me, and now I am like this. Who can bear it? I just hope I can wake up soon."

"Hopefully they'll be OK."

While chatting, Liu Xingquan quickly sorted out the newspapers on the table.

Lu Zhehao, he remembered him. He didn't have a good impression of him. He was an arrogant and rude opponent on a TV show. After he disappeared, Yan Zhen at the time watched the news and said: "Lu Zhehao was abducted by aliens."

"Oh." Liu Xingquan responded expressionlessly.

Yan Zhen said dissatisfiedly: "Your attitude is too perfunctory."

Liu Xingquan said: "Then what kind of aliens took him away?"

Yan Zhen said calmly: "The twinkling star."

"What the hell is Twinkle Star?"

"Ignore these aliens that often appear in stories my dad told me." Yan Zhen sighed, "I still remember how Lu Zhehao tripped you up on TV last time."

"Well, some things are exaggerated by Douban and Tieba." Liu Xingquan participated in a provincial TV program competition that year, and he was briefly famous. When he was in the top 12, each contestant had his own small fan circle, and they fought in Douban groups and Tieba every day. Liu Xingquan's fans and Lu Zhehao's fans fought the most fiercely, and there were all kinds of messed up black materials. Now it has been a year since the competition, and the fans at that time were only popular for three months. Liu Xingquan has long returned to his ordinary life. When talking about Lu Zhehao, Liu Xingquan just smiled bitterly.

"This guy is so arrogant that even if he is captured by aliens, the aliens will not be able to stand him."

"Don't say that. After all, he's missing. His parents must be worried sick."

"That's right." Yan Zhen leaned against the tree and said, "I have a feeling that he will be back soon."

Yan Zhen often used "I have a hunch" to bluff people. But every time he said this, his dark eyes would sparkle and his tone would be inexplicably confident, and Liu Xingquan would immediately trust him unconditionally. Not only him, but Cui Mingzhi, Xiang Zeyu, Fan Yingjie, Gao Yuan, and all the classmates in the class would unconsciously believe him.

At that time, Liu Xingquan suddenly felt a sense of regret. Lu Zhehao didn't know who Yan Zhen was, and he didn't have the luck to become Yan Zhen's friend. If he was Yan Zhen's friend, even if he disappeared, Yan Zhen would definitely bring him back, just like Gao Yuan once did.

In the first semester of middle school, Gao Yuan got the lowest score ever in math exam, 2 points. After being criticized by both teachers and parents, Gao Yuan, who had always been heartless, suddenly broke down. Then, he didn't come to school the next day, and the day after that. Gao's father called the police, and parents and teachers rushed to the train station and major bus stations to look for him, but they couldn't find Gao Yuan.

On the third night, Yan Zhen suddenly told Liu Xingquan that he was going to find Gao Yuan.

"Do you know where he is?"

"Intuition! Follow my intuition." Yan Zhen's momentum was like the bow of a ship breaking through the wind and waves. Liu Xingquan followed him through the streets and alleys without hesitation, and finally they came to the river. They climbed over the railings on the riverside and jumped into a cargo ship docked on the shore. In the dark cabin under the deck, they found Gao Yuan huddled in a corner.

After seeing Yan Zhen and Liu Xingquan, Gao Yuan suddenly burst into tears. "I don't want you to come to me!" "Why did you come just now!" He complained while crying. Although Liu Xingquan didn't understand at the time whether Gao Yuan wanted to leave here with the cargo ship, he stretched out his hand to Gao Yuan, who was trying to stand up, and held his hand tightly.

"If you hadn't found me, I wouldn't have followed you home."

"Yes, yes, yes, it's a pity that I ruined your plan of wandering around the country." Yan Zhen said with a smile.

Gao Yuan is back. As soon as Gao's mother saw him, she hugged him tightly, and Gao's father wiped his tears. Liu Xingquan knew that no matter what, Gao Yuan would never run away from home again. He was very curious why Yan Zhen knew Gao Yuan's hiding place. Later, Liu Xingquan observed carefully and found that this was obviously not an intuition or a premonition, but a simple reasoning. Gao Yuan would take a bus on the way to school. Several stops of this bus were along the river. On the boring way to school, he would look at the boats on the riverside every day on the bus. It was this kind of life that made Gao Yuan come up with the idea of escaping one day and wandering around the world on a boat.

Yan Zhen noticed it, he heard Gao Yuan's inner cry, so he guessed where Gao Yuan might be hiding.

He has always been this kind of person, a reliable classmate and a trustworthy friend.

I have always longed to treat my friends like Yan Zhen does.

Now, another friend of mine, my pen pal, is in a very dangerous situation.

How can I help my pen pal?

After speculating that the letter was not science fiction but came from aliens far away on the other side of the galaxy, Liu Xingquan fell into anxiety after the initial excitement wore off.

Even as a middle school student who had not yet entered society, Liu Xingquan already understood that his pen pal was in a very bad situation. But how should he help him?

Tell his pen pal to run away?

But is this planet really that easy to escape?

Or should he tell his pen pal that he should resist this unreasonable exploitation and oppression? This may bring greater danger to the pen pal.

Liu Xingquan spent the day in anxiety, as he didn't know how to reply to his pen pal.

I need to discuss this with Yan Zhen, Liu Xingquan thought. If it were just the two of us, we would definitely be able to come up with a way to help our pen pal.

Because in the past, there has never been trouble that could stop the two of us.

When this thought came to his mind, Liu Xingquan suddenly felt enlightened. He planned to start writing a letter after returning home. He wanted to tell his pen pal that he had a good friend who was particularly trustworthy. He wanted to introduce Yan Zhen to his pen pal, and he would also tell Yan Zhen all the stories about his pen pal.

Everything will be fine.

Thinking of this, Liu Xingquan couldn't help but smile.

"Liu Xingquan?" Teacher Fu said, "This is the last magazine. Please put it in the innermost cabinet in the third row. Thank you for your hard work today."

"OK."

Liu Xingquan walked into the bookcase holding the magazine and put it in the cabinet.

I will go directly to Yan Zhen's house after school and tell him about this first. He thought so and reached out to close the cabinet door.

Suddenly, Liu Xingquan felt a certain suction force. A whirlwind swept him up.

"Why?"

Reality suddenly twisted and collapsed, space turned upside down, and the void howled.

I don’t know where it came from, and I don’t know where it ends.

In just a moment, the boy only had time to let out a scream before disappearing without a trace.

The cabinet door creaked.

"Liu Xingquan?" Teacher Fu raised his head and asked.

No one answered.

She turned into the aisle in front of the bookcases, the innermost door was half open. There was no one in the aisle.