You’re Beautiful When You Smile

Tong Yao went out the door.

She sent a WeChat message to Lu Sicheng as she left the house, asking him where he was, whether he had located his friend, Pope, and that she had left the house and would call him when she got there……Holding the cell phone in hand, she waited for ten minutes without receiving any response from Lu Sicheng.
She muttered: “Is his phone dead?” She put her phone into a pocket and quickened her steps– —

It was raining hard and the wind was strong.
An umbrella was of little use.
When Tong Yao arrived at the mall, she was soaking wet……The cool air inside the mall made her shiver and sneeze.
She pulled out her phone to call Lu Sicheng.
At first it was silent on the other end of the line, then she heard the disappointing voice prompt– —

[The number you’re calling cannot be reached at the moment……]

Tong Yao took the phone away from her ear and looked at it as if it was some kind of monster.
She couldn’t believe that the jerk’s phone was out of battery right now……She was standing dumbfoundedly at the entrance and desperately looking at the humongous mall……

She sent a message to Xiao Rui telling him the unfortunate news that she couldn’t get in touch with Lu Sicheng.
Tong Yao then started searching every coffee shop at every floor of the mall.
For now, she still had confidence at her captain’s intelligence.

Until, she saw the next door captain, Liangsheng, who was as confused and anxious as her, at a bakery on the third floor.

Liangsheng looked even younger than Tong Yao.
He was wearing a short sleeved top with fuzzy hair and looked like an easy going person.
When he saw Tong Yao, his eyes instantly brightened up as if he had been rescued.
He rushed over, holding onto her arm: “Ahh, you’re the Mid next door.
Do you have time now? Could you please do me a favor– –”

Tong Yao: “……”

Tong Yao: “I know you’re looking for your AD, I’m looking for our AD too– –As far as I know, about half an hour ago your AD got lost and sent a WeChat message saying that he was lost and asking our AD to come get him.
Then our AD set out here……half an hour later, your AD and our AD disappeared together.
His cell phone has been turned off.
I’m here to look for him.”

Liangsheng: “……………………………………..”

Tong Yao pulled her hand back, patted his shoulder, felt like she had finally found a comrade: “Hurry, call your AD, let him tell our AD to pick up the phone.”

Liangsheng answered: “Oh.” But he didn’t do anything.

Tong Yao: “……It can’t be that you don’t have his number?”

Liangsheng: “He doesn’t speak Chinese, why would I have his number for.”

Tong Yao desperately covered her face with both hands.
The “solo journey” turned into “a desperate search party of two people.” She and Liangsheng together searched aimlessly for the people they were looking for– —

Until, another half an hour later.

The two of them wished that they could turn the mall upside down and shake it as they reached the arcade on the top floor.
They could hear the sound of the machines from afar.
 Tong Yao covered her ears and asked Liangsheng: “Those two have a combined height of at least 4 meters, they couldn’t possibly be in this childish place?”

When she finished, she noticed the young man next to her had fixed his eyes at a place not too far from them– —