Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
For the entire day, Zhao Yu and Su Jinmei were looking for clues that would help them find Miao Ying. This was an extremely unique mission, as although they were looking for someone, they couldn’t reveal who exactly they were looking for to anybody.
They couldn’t even show Miao Ying’s photo to anybody! With such a hindrance, they only had one course of action left, which was to search for surveillance videos that may have footage of her. From these surveillance videos, they would try to discover more clues that would help them find Miao Ying.
Luckily, most of the shop owners on the shopping street were quite friendly. When Su Jinmei gave them her puppy eyes and pleaded with them via her womanly charm, those shop owners basically fell all over themselves to provide them with the surveillance videos!
However, in order to not stir up any suspicions, Zhao Yu didn’t haphazardly go and ask for numerous surveillance videos from one shop after another, but picked a few shops only. Specifically, he picked the ones that had the most prime locations.
These few shops were scattered in each direction of the shopping street, and Zhao Yu figured that if they were to check the footage from these shops carefully, they would definitely be able to discover Miao Ying’s whereabouts. As it required a lot of time and energy to acquire the surveillance videos, not to mention making copies of them, when they were done with this task, the sky had already grown dark.
They proceeded to bring the copies of the videos back to the hotel room in order to check them one by one. To save time, Zhao Yu told Su Jinmei to call for room service to have their dinner brought to the room. After they rushed through their dinners, they started watching the videos carefully.
Actually, ever since Zhao Yu had become a police officer, he hadn’t really watched any surveillance videos. This was because there was usually a designated person who was in charge of this task. As such, he wasn’t often required to participate.
Of course, Zhao Yu knew that, in this case, his watching surveillance videos was a must. This was a tough task that required one to spend long periods in front of the monitor.
On top of that, one had to analyze the footage and make judgments based on the surveillance video. Hence, Zhao Yu knew that he couldn’t miss a second, as each one could be integral to unraveling the mystery of the missing Miao Ying.
However, after only watching the videos for two hours, he already felt exhausted. In the end, just as he was taking a break, someone rang the doorbell.
As Zhao Yu quickly took a look at his watch, he suddenly remembered that it was time for the side quest of the day. As he knew that the miracle adventure would take place in his room, Zhao Yu was certain that the knock on the door was definitely related to the side quest.
When he opened the door, he saw a familiar face. Surprisingly, it was the tour guide, Han Dewang!
“Mister Zhao, did you see the text message that I sent you?” Han Dewang asked politely. “Did you have need of my services tomorrow? If so, I have to prepare ahead of time!”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Zhao Yu then remembered that he did receive Han Dewang’s text message earlier, but he had been occupied with Miao Ying’s matter.
He quickly replied, “At the moment, no. I’m sorry that made the trip here! How about this… Just stay within reach via the phone, and I’ll contact you when I need you!”
“Mm… But…” Han Dewang seemed to be worried about something as he stood at the door.
“Don’t worry!” Zhao Yu understood his thoughts immediately, so he quickly chuckled and said, “I’ll pay you your salary regardless, with a generous tip as well. If my personal affairs can be taken care of smoothly, I will even give you a bigger tip than normal! Then, you can treat yourself to a holiday! So, go ahead and rest for now!”
“Mm… But…” Han Dewang didn’t move an inch, but said with some hesitation, “Mister Zhao, money is not the problem. I simply wanted to help! Mm… I know that you are here to look for someone. So, I wanted to ask if you are looking for this person?”
As Han Dewang spoke, he took out his phone and showed Zhao Yu a picture on his phone.
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What?
Han Dewang’s action suddenly caught Su Jinmei’s attention, and she quickly came forward. Simultaneously, Zhao Yu was caught by surprise as he looked to the left and the right, then quickly pulled Han Dewang into their room. After Han Dewang entered their room, he quickly shut the door behind him.
Looking at Zhao Yu and Su Jinmei’s nervous responses, Han Dewang creased his eyebrows and asked anxiously, “Mister Zhao, I wonder if I am being too much of a busy body? If so, just be straight with me! I only wanted to help, so…”
“Shh!” Zhao Yu signaled him to stop talking and lifted Han Dewang’s phone in front of his face, while Su Jinmei got closer and looked at it carefully.
“No…” Su Jinmei looked at the person who was in the picture and shook her head. “Tour Guide Han, who is this girl? She’s so tan. She doesn’t look Chinese… Why are you showing us her photo?”
“Oh. You’re not looking for her? Oh…” Han Dewang said anxiously, “I thought you were all looking for the same person!”
“All? What do you mean?” Zhao Yu was confused. “You’d better make this clear to me right now!”
“Oh, okay!” Han Dewang steadied his emotions and reorganized his thoughts before he spoke, “Didn’t I tell you that I am staying at my friend’s place?”
“Well, when we were chatting, I told them about you, explaining that you came here to look for someone. After hearing this, my friend suddenly recalled that, a few days ago, there were a few people who came to the island to look for someone too!” He then pointed at the photo on his phone. “They were looking for this girl!”
He then added, “This girl is a student at Auckland National Business College. You’re right about her ancestry, as she’s Thai. The people who came to look for her were some of her classmates. They said that she came to the Landing for research. She was travelling alone and never returned. She went missing, just like that!”
Han Dewang then said, “It is said that the police have already opened a case and have set out to look for her. As such, I’m not sure if they have found her yet. So, when I saw that Mister Zhao was quite impatient yesterday, I thought that maybe you came here to look for the same girl! So, I came to ask you about it.”
“Seriously? Are you joking? We are Chinese, so why would we be looking for a Thai girl?” Su Jinmei shook her head.
“No!” Han Dewang shook his head, then quickly explained, “You don’t understand… There are hardly ever any missing persons cases in Auckland, and it is even more rare in the Landing. So, I thought that you must be looking for the same person!”
He then blushed and added, “Mm… I’m so sorry. I always think too much! I was really only trying to help. I hope you don’t mind.”
Zhao Yu took a look at the Thai person’s picture again. He noticed that, although the girl had tan skin, she was quite pretty. So, he asked Han Dewang, “When did this girl go missing?”
“Er… I heard from my friend that the last time the girl was seen here was about a week ago! Her classmates came here to look for her about three or four days ago. They put up many photos around the island, so many people on the island already know about this!” Han Dewang recalled.
He then continued, “Her classmates said that the girl, whose name is Suchien, came to the island to research the travel and tourism economy.”
“Alright, alright, send us a copy of the photo later!” Zhao Yu said. “If we see her while we are looking for our person, we will let you know!”
“Oh. You don’t have to do that. I only wanted to help you. As you are not looking for the same person, then forget it!” Han Dewang bowed and said, “Again, I’m sorry. If Mister Zhao has any further needs, please let me know, and I’ll try my best to accommodate you. Now, I shall depart!”
Then, Han Dewang turned and left, closing the door behind him politely. After he left, Su Jinmei said suspiciously, “Master, this tour guide is very strange. Why would he show us a photo of a Thai girl? She is quite pretty, though!”
“Humph!” Zhao Yu shook his head helplessly and reminded her, “I once heard that the more pretty a girl is, the more that may indicate that she might not be a real girl!”