Page 39

As the city lights came on, the night was still young. All kinds of streetlamps and neon signs lit up the entire city as brightly as day. After dinner, elderly men and women out for a stroll had already filled the huge plaza. The crowded throng stopped and moved amid the deafening music and bustling clamor. Nearby, vendors sold snacks, drinks, little accessories, and toys.

Huo Jiu stood at the edge of the plaza. Before him was a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, and behind him was a ceaseless stream of traffic. There was no sign of Granny Yang or Nannan anywhere.

Even calling them—at a place like this, they probably would not even hear the phone ringing.

Huo Jiu sighed and carried the lunchbox around the plaza once. He still could not find them, so he called Granny Yang again.

The beeping went on for a long time without anyone answering. When the call disconnected automatically, Huo Jiu dialed again.

A faint irritation began to rise in his heart.

This time, someone finally answered.

Amid the noisy background came an elderly woman's heart-wrenching sobs, along with the shrill reproaches of men and women. Huo Jiu frowned and asked, "Is this Granny Yang? I'm Huo Jiu. I brought Nannan some pastries—"

Before he could finish, Granny Yang's crying cut him off. "Nannan... Nannan is gone."

Huo Jiu: "!!!"

"At a time like this, you still have the mood to answer the phone?" On the other side of the plaza, a young man in a jacket searched for someone while berating Granny Yang. "How many times have I told you? Don't bring Nannan out to dance at night! There are so many people in the plaza, and it's dark at night. Once you start dancing, you can't keep an eye on the child at all. It's too dangerous. Can't you just stay home with the child?"

"You just had to come out dancing! Would you die if you skipped one day?" Another woman, exquisitely made up and looking like an urban office worker, also snapped in frustration. "...At your age, you're still so unreliable! If we don't let you do plaza dancing, it's like we're killing you."

"Well, now look what happened. Nannan is gone. Are you happy now?"

As she spoke, the woman began crying in panic. "Give me back my daughter! Give me back Nannan!"

Granny Yang was so overwhelmed by her son and daughter-in-law's accusations that she could not say a word. She lowered her head and sobbed while the elderly men and women dancing nearby could only try to mediate softly.

"You two should stop scolding her. Old Yang hasn't had it easy either. She gets up early and stays up late every day to cook for you, clean the house, and look after the child. She takes Nannan to kindergarten every morning and picks her up every evening. Isn't that all Old Yang's responsibility? How many days have the two of you ever looked after her? Now that Nannan is missing, Old Yang is the most anxious and frightened one!"

"It's just plaza dancing! You young people are away at work every day, and on weekends you go out to have fun, leaving us lonely old people at home. Other than doing laundry, cooking, and looking after children, can't we have lives of our own?"

"You make it sound so easy!" Granny Yang's son and daughter-in-law retorted furiously. "She lost the child because she was doing plaza dancing. What are we supposed to say?"

"So what if we work every day? Without working, where would we get the money for the mortgage and car payments? Where would our living expenses come from? Do groceries and cooking cost nothing? It's because we're so busy with work that we brought my mother here from our hometown to look after the child. And she can't even handle something this small..."

When Huo Jiu arrived, this was the scene he saw: Granny Yang's son and daughter-in-law crying as they complained about their grievances.

Granny Yang had cried so hard she was nearly fainting. Her whole body swayed as an older woman beside her held her up.

Huo Jiu stepped forward and handed her a packet of tissues.

"Little Huo!" Seeing Huo Jiu, Granny Yang grabbed his hand through tear-blurred eyes. "Nannan is gone."

Huo Jiu patted Granny Yang's shoulder and asked patiently, "How did she go missing? Have you called the police?"

"I called the police as soon as I realized Nannan was gone. I don't know how she disappeared either. Every night, I bring her here with me for plaza dancing. Nannan would follow behind me—"

Before she could finish, Granny Yang's daughter-in-law angrily interrupted again. "What would you know? All you ever think about is dancing!"

"You let her follow behind you while you danced? It's so late, and there are so many people here. You really were afraid she wouldn't get lost, weren't you? Give me back my Nannan!"

The people around them also began discussing the matter all at once. Some defended Granny Yang, while others sided with her son and daughter-in-law.

Granny Yang began crying again, calling Nannan's name as she wept. Her son and daughter-in-law held their phones, with Nannan's photo as the lock screen, and asked everyone they met whether they had seen Nannan or seen who had carried her away.

The elderly men and women who danced with Granny Yang also volunteered to help search. Nannan came out every night to dance with Granny Yang. She was pretty and sweet-talking, practically a little celebrity among the plaza dancers. Those who often came here to stroll or dance all remembered her.

But there were too many people in the plaza, and it was dark. No one would keep watch over a child every moment. At least, none of the people they had asked had noticed when Nannan disappeared.

The police arrived soon afterward. After questioning people nearby, they took Granny Yang and her family of three to the police station to check the surveillance footage.

Granny Yang and Nannan had dinner at six that evening. They went to the plaza to dance after dinner at around 6:40 to 7:00 p.m. The plaza dancing started at seven every night.

According to Granny Yang's recollection, Nannan had still been by her side when they began dancing that night. They had danced four or five songs in succession, and when Granny Yang turned around, she discovered that Nannan was gone.

Based on Granny Yang's account, the police determined that Nannan had likely gone missing between 7:15 and 7:30 p.m. When they checked the surveillance footage, they indeed saw Nannan still dancing behind Granny Yang at around 7:20. Then, apparently drawn by something, she slowly walked out of the camera's range.

The footage showed that Granny Yang noticed Nannan was gone at 7:36 p.m. She immediately cried out, and everyone nearby who had been dancing stopped to help search for Nannan. But they found no trace of her.