Lü Qiaolan stood in front of the door, facing it with her hands clasped over her chest, looking anxious as she waited.
When she saw me, her breath caught and she held it, waiting expectantly.
I silently closed the door and said to her, "I know where your bears are..."
Before I could finish, Lü Qiaolan stepped forward and reached out as if she wanted to grab me. She grew even more agitated.
"I only know where some of your bears are. The others were probably sold to someone else." I hurried to explain.
Lü Qiaolan nodded vigorously. "I know!" Her voice came out strained. She swallowed before continuing in a normal tone. "I know. I've already found the ones that were sold. There are only twelve left, including Bear... Just twelve. They said they were broken, so they threw them away. I searched the trash cans and even went to the waste treatment plant. They all said they didn't know. Bear has to still be out there! I can feel it. They're still out there... Please tell me where they are. I'm begging you..."
Lü Qiaolan choked up.
I sighed. "They're in a very dangerous place..."
Lü Qiaolan jerked her head up and stared at me tensely.
"It's dangerous for us, but probably not for them. I..." I didn't know how to explain the whole situation to Lü Qiaolan.
Lü Qiaolan suddenly looked toward the agency behind me, and her expression softened.
"Mr. Lin, you don't need to worry. Back then, when I contacted the agency for help and got Bear and the others back, I spoke with them about it too. Ms. Wu told me they were born from good intentions and sustained by ill intentions, so they couldn't exist forever. All I could do was give them