The man was earnestly sobbing by now, rubbing his exhausted and reddened eyes as he continued begging Lu Chen softly for an answer. He had clearly been holding himself together for as long as he could, but whatever strength he had left seemed to have finally collapsed. His shoulders trembled with every breath, and tears continued to slip down his face no matter how many times he wiped them away.
Seeing him like that, Lu Chen couldn't help but sigh.
"I really don't know where Hua Lang is. I'm sorry," Lu Chen said quietly. "But I honestly hope he's safe. I pray to God that he's somewhere out there, alive and well."
He gently patted the man's trembling shoulder, almost instinctively trying to offer him some comfort before turning around and walking toward Tian.
Tian had been waiting for him nearby, looking anxious. The moment Lu Chen approached, he immediately looked up, his expression filled with concern.
"Did they give you trouble?" he asked.
There was a hint of guilt in his voice, and before Lu Chen could even answer, Tian hurriedly continued, "I really didn't send that message. I don't know who sent it from my phone. I swear I didn't. I would never do something like that."
He nervously bit his lip, his fingers twisting together.
Lu Chen looked at him for a moment before his expression softened.
"I know."
He reached over and gently rubbed the top of Tian's head, the familiar gesture immediately making Tian relax a little.
"Come on. Let's go home."
Tian quietly nodded and allowed Lu Chen to pull him along.
But after walking only a short distance, Lu Chen found himself looking back.
The crazy guy was still standing there.
He hadn't moved at all.
Under the dim streetlights, the man looked utterly lost. His head was lowered, and he continued crying despite desperately trying to wipe his tears away. Every now and then, his shoulders would shake violently as another sob escaped him.
There was something strangely painful about watching someone cry like that.
Lu Chen didn't know him. He didn't know what kind of relationship he had with Hua Lang, nor did he know why Hua Lang's disappearance had affected him so deeply. But anyone with eyes could see that this wasn't an ordinary search.
That man was afraid he had lost someone important to him.
And judging by the way he was crying, perhaps he was already preparing himself for the possibility that he might never see Hua Lang again.
Lu Chen's chest tightened faintly.
He wanted to say something, but what could he possibly say?
He didn't know where Hua Lang was either.
So, with a quiet sigh, he turned around and continued walking.
By the time they reached the bus stop, it was already late, and the buses heading toward their home had stopped running. With no other choice, they hailed a cab and climbed into the back seat.
The moment Tian leaned against the seat, the exhaustion that had been building throughout the night finally overwhelmed him. He didn't even manage to stay awake for a few minutes. His eyelids slowly drooped before he fell asleep, his body curling slightly toward the warmth of the seat.
Lu Chen glanced at him and smiled faintly.
At least Tian could sleep.
After everything that had happened, he probably needed it.
But Lu Chen himself couldn't relax.
His thoughts kept circling back to the night's events—the strange message, the suspicious email, Hua Lang's disappearance, and the hysterical man they had just left behind.
None of it made sense.
And somehow, the more he thought about it, the more his attention kept returning to the small piglet sitting quietly in Tian's arms.
The piglet looked miserable.
Its tiny face was damp with tears, and its curly tail, which was usually perked up and full of energy, now lay limp against Tian's lap. Even its little body seemed unusually still.
Lu Chen stared at it for a long moment.
Something about the sight tugged strangely at him.
Was it actually sad?
The thought was ridiculous.
It was a pig.
Yet...
The little creature had looked at Jun Ming earlier. It had seen the man's tears. And now it looked just as miserable as the person they had left behind.
Lu Chen's expression slowly became more complicated.
As though sensing his gaze, the piglet lifted its head.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, Lu Chen forgot to breathe.
Those watery eyes were looking directly at him.
There was no frantic movement, no innocent curiosity that he would normally expect from an animal. Instead, there was something deeply sorrowful in its expression.
Almost human.
Almost as if it understood exactly what was happening.
Lu Chen felt a strange chill run down his spine.
he quickly looked away.
He leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes, pretending that he was tired enough to sleep. But his mind was now more awake than ever.
The most suspicious thing—or perhaps the most suspicious person—in their home was this piglet.
Lu Chen had grown up on the outskirts with his grandmother when he was young. Their family had raised pigs and sheep, and he had personally taken care of many animals throughout his childhood. He knew how pigs behaved.
But this one was different.
Far too different.
It was too intelligent.
Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes again.
His thoughts drifted back to the email.
At first, it had sounded completely insane. The kind of story a person would laugh at and forget five minutes later. Under normal circumstances, Lu Chen would have done exactly that. But these weren't normal circumstances anymore.
Hua Lang had disappeared.
Someone had used Tian's phone to send a strange message.
And sitting quietly in Tian's arms was a pig that behaved far too much like a human being.
The pieces didn't fit.
Yet somehow, Lu Chen couldn't shake the feeling that they were connected.
It sounds like a crazy story...
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at the piglet again.
But I can't just swipe it under the rug.
So he decided to simply observe.
Because if this pig really was hiding something, Lu Chen was going to find out what it was.