The sound of shoes trampling branches and leaves grew clearer.
It wasn't just Zhang Bo and the others...
Hm?
The man, who had been looking troubled as he thought about how to comfort his friend, suddenly looked up.
Could it be...
He couldn't help walking a few steps to the side.
He thought he'd heard something.
The ponytailed woman and the short-haired woman noticed the man's movement.
They looked up.
Confusion showed on their faces.
What was wrong?
"Listen!"
The man turned around, a little excited.
"There are footsteps."
"Someone's coming!"
Someone—
Before the two women could respond to him, Qianqian suddenly pulled free of her friends' hands.
She staggered into a run.
"Where?"
"Where do you hear it?"
"Is it Nini?"
"Has Nini come back?!"
"Calm down."
The man grabbed Qianqian by the wrist.
"They're coming this way."
"They?"
The short-haired woman looked puzzled.
Wasn't it just one person?
She'd almost believed Qianqian was right.
That the child, Nini, had come back...
"There are a lot of footsteps."
The ponytailed woman had heard them too.
"They're closer."
Everyone looked toward the direction the sounds were coming from.
Their eyes burned with hope.
The atmosphere was silent, fraught, and tense.
Zhang Bo and the others exchanged glances.
Clearly, the Child's Mom and her friends hoped the people coming were there to bring the child back.
They probably hadn't noticed...
That one person was missing from their group.
Which meant...
The one making those footsteps could also be... Xiao Xiao.
"Third Brother didn't go that way," Zhao Luzheng suddenly said.
Huh?
Zhang Bo and Zhuge Yun froze.
A few seconds later, they understood what Zhao Luzheng meant.
Right.
Third Brother had headed southeast earlier.
Not in the direction the footsteps were