Chapter 396: Eager to Return Home

Su Yan walked out of the publishing house and onto the bustling streets, feeling somewhat lost and despondent.

The New Year was approaching, and laughter and joy could be heard everywhere, yet she felt exceptionally lonely.

With nowhere else to go, she returned directly to the hotel where she had previously stayed. Ma Chulong and his sister had already checked out of their room, so she stayed in her old room instead.

Aside from not knowing where Gu Yang had gone, she was also unclear about Zhou Ye's whereabouts.

Before setting off with the Zhou family, she hadn't even caught a glimpse of her teacher.

Picking up the landline receiver, she dialed a specific set of numbers.

"Hello, this is the Special Operations Team. This is Du Jinsong."

Du Jinsong's voice came through the telephone line.

"Big Brother Du, it's me."

Du Jinsong was incredibly surprised to hear Su Yan's voice. This was the first time she had proactively contacted them, and they had only been separated for a single day.

"Su Yan, is something wrong?"

That was the first thing he thought of.

Su Yan replied directly, "I want to speak with your Captain."

Since her teacher was a friend of the Special Operations Team's Captain, and they had been able to arrange for Du Jinsong and Zhang Ximing to protect her, perhaps this Captain might know where her teacher was now.

There was a brief silence on the line; Du Jinsong clearly hadn't expected her to make such a request.

"What? Is there a problem?" Su Yan pressed.

"Of course not. It's just that I don't know if the Captain is currently at the station. How about this: wait for me a few minutes, and I'll call you back once I find him."

"Okay."

Su Yan hung up the phone.

She wanted to go home as soon as possible; she still hoped to see her teacher one last time before leaving.

Firstly, her teacher could help her analyze whether those matters were true or false; secondly, regarding whether the Profound Spirit Liquid could wake her father, she wanted to ask if her teacher knew.

Five minutes later, the phone rang.

This time, an unfamiliar male voice came through.

"Hello, this is Liu Kang. Are you looking for me?"

Su Yan knew that Liu Kang was the Captain of the Special Operations Team.

"Hello, Captain Liu. Do you happen to know my teacher's contact information? My teacher is Zhou Ye."

"Zhou Ye shouldn't be in the capital right now. Is there something going on? You can tell me, and I'll help you handle it," Liu Kang replied, his tone not entirely certain.

Su Yan's breath hitched. Gu Yang had suddenly left; could it be that even her teacher was doing the same?

"Then do you know where my teacher went?"

Although she knew very well that Zhou Ye was an extremely free-spirited person who always did as he pleased, it was precisely because of that that he was so difficult to find.

"It seems he went south, but he mentioned before that if anything happened, he would contact me proactively."

Liu Kang's words sounded more like a reminder to Su Yan: a person like Zhou Ye would appear on his own if something happened, so there was no need to trouble oneself trying to contact him.

Su Yan understood, of course. "Sorry to trouble you, Captain Liu. I have nothing else."

After exchanging greetings, she hung up the phone again.

It seemed that finding her teacher was also impossible.

After composing herself for a while, she picked up the receiver for a third time. This time, she called Su Yao's workplace.

Since it was almost noon, the lunchtime period, there was a high probability that Su Yao would be at the station.

Once the call went through, she indeed found Su Yao quickly.

"Yan Yan, you actually know how to contact your cousin? I thought you'd forgotten all about the family once you went to the capital," Su Yao teased and complained at the same time.

When she left, she had said she would likely return in about a month, but in the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed, and she had only made one or two calls. Naturally, the family was worried.

Listening to the familiar voice, Su Yan's depressed mood finally eased a little.

"I'm sorry, Cousin. I've been quite busy here lately and haven't kept in touch. How is my dad? Is he doing okay in the hospital?"

Mentioning Su Jianguo, Su Yan's voice trembled slightly.

She really wasn't a good daughter; her father was in a coma, yet she hadn't stayed by his side to care for him.

"Don't worry. Second Uncle is the same as before, but the doctors said all his physical indicators are gradually returning to normal. He might suddenly wake up at any time. My parents and Uncle Gu and the others go to the hospital frequently to look after him. Everything is fine."

Knowing Su Yan was worried about Su Jianguo, Su Yao spoke with extra detail.

Su Yan listened intently, and by the end, the heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settled.

"Thank you all for your help."

"It's what we should do. But how are you doing out there? Are you still with Gu Yang? I ran into Uncle Gu and the others a few days ago, and we were all chatting about how the New Year is coming up soon, so you two should be coming back together."

Even through the phone, Su Yan could sense Su Yao's animated excitement on the other end.

Her hand tightened around the receiver. "Cousin, I'm already arranging my trip back. I should be home within the next few days."

"That's great! Gu Yang is coming back with you too, right? When the time comes, I'll have to make sure he treats me to a good meal!" Su Yao was incredibly excited.

Su Yan felt a bit stifled. "Cousin, Brother Gu can't come back with me."

"Huh? Why? No matter how busy that kid's job is, could it be busier than mine? Does the publishing house not even give holidays for the New Year?" Su Yao let out a string of dissatisfied rhetorical questions.

Su Yan's voice was tense. "It's not like that. Brother Gu isn't in the capital right now either. He went somewhere to handle some business, so he probably won't be able to make it back for the New Year."

She didn't directly mention that Gu Yang had already resigned. After all, Uncle Gu and the others were still around; if Gu Yang hadn't told the family about such a major matter, she feared the elders might not be able to handle it if she were the one to say it.

"Is he on a business trip?" Su Yao sighed. If that were the case, he really couldn't blame Gu Yang.

Su Yan gave an ambiguous "Mm."

"The publishing house is really something. Why must they schedule such important work during the New Year? If he's not coming back, fine, just tell me your train schedule and I'll go pick you up." Su Yao didn't think much of it and immediately believed Su Yan's explanation.

"No need, I can get back on my own," Su Yan declined his kindness.

Su Yao knew that Su Yan's vision had completely recovered back when she went to the capital, and since her ability to take care of herself was very strong, he wasn't worried.

After the siblings exchanged a few more simple pleasantries, the call ended.

Su Yan had originally thought about calling the Gu family as well, but the moment she picked up the receiver, she hesitated.

She could lie and make excuses to deal with Su Yao, but how could she explain things when faced with the inquiries of her elders?

After much thought, she decided to wait until she returned and met with the two elders before discussing the matter.

Suddenly having nothing to do was not as relaxing as she had imagined. Just as she was preparing to do something, the Qiankun Bag suddenly began to shake violently.

(End of Chapter)