Where is everyone

The two girls left just like that. Su Yang didn't mind them and went back and forth, helping the workers move the furniture from the truck into the living room.

Soon, everything was moved inside, but the work wasn't over yet.

Inside the house, the crew started carrying the beds upstairs, while Su Yang busied himself in the living room.

He positioned the TV stand, and another worker hoisted the 80-inch TV onto it.

"Handsome, do you need this TV mounted on the wall?"

"If possible, please help me mount it."

"Sure thing, it's easy. I have all the tools."

"Great, thanks for the trouble."

"No trouble at all."

While the worker drilled holes in the wall to install the TV, Su Yang went over to arrange the sofa.

Then, he placed an oval coffee table in front of the sofa and wiped it clean.

With these pieces of furniture in place, the living room instantly gained the human touch Pan Ning had mentioned.

[Ding, detected that the host is currently in a great mood and thoroughly enjoying the pleasure of working. Rewarded 2 million.]

The TV installer was very agile, taking only ten minutes to hang the TV on the wall.

Su Yang turned on the TV to test it out. No problems.

He took out a cigarette, handed it to the man, and smiled, "Thanks, brother."

"You're too polite, boss."

"Come, have a bottle of water." Su Yang walked over to the dining table, picked up a bottle of mineral water, and handed it to the worker.

At this time, the workers upstairs had also finished placing the beds in the rooms and came downstairs.

"Boss, we've set up the beds for you. Do you want to go up and take a look?"

"No need, as long as they're set up, it's fine. There's water on the table, help yourselves."

"Alright, thank you, boss."

"You're welcome."

"Oh right, we're still missing the refrigerator, aren't we?" Su Yang suddenly remembered that the fridge was still in the yard.

"Oh, right, I'll go bring it in." A worker quickly walked out the front door into the yard to move the fridge.

However, the refrigerator Su Yang bought was a double-door model. It was quite heavy, making it difficult for one person to move.

Another worker took a sip of water and hurried out to help.

A few minutes later, the refrigerator was in place, and all the other miscellaneous items like tables, chairs, stools, and the barbecue grill were moved inside and properly arranged.

"Boss, everything is done. You'd better check and see if anything is damaged."

Su Yang smiled, "I've already looked, there are no problems."

"Alright then, we'll be taking off."

"Okay, thank you all. Come on, I'll walk you out."

Su Yang walked the six workers to the yard gate. He went to his car, opened the trunk, took out six unopened packs of 1916 cigarettes, and handed one to each of them.

"Here, brothers, take a pack each."

Seeing this, the men immediately waved their hands in refusal. "Oh, boss, we can't accept this! This is just our job."

Su Yang smiled. "I know. Say no more, just take them."

"Oh my, you're really too generous, boss."

"It's nothing, just a few packs of cigarettes. Take them."

Seeing this, the men stopped being coy and stepped forward to take a pack each.

Su Yang smiled, "I won't see you off any further. Take care."

"Alright, you're a really good guy, boss. Wishing your business great prosperity."

"Haha, I'll take your good word for it."

The men smiled as they got into their truck and drove away.

After watching the small truck disappear from sight, Su Yang turned and walked back into the yard.

He gave them the cigarettes mostly because these workers were efficient and very careful when moving the items.

After finishing, they even conveniently picked up the cardboard and other trash from the floor and took it with them.

Naturally, Su Yang noticed this, which was why he gave each of them a pack of cigarettes.

Returning to the living room, Su Yang swept the dust off the floor and then mopped it.

Then he went to the kitchen and put the fresh food and the drinks they would have later into the refrigerator one by one.

After finishing all this, he raised his hand to check his watch. It was already seven in the evening.

He prepared some rice, put it in the rice cooker to cook, and then went to the yard gate to look toward the lake.

The sun was setting. Looking out, there was a patch of fiery orange-red clouds in the distance, and the lake reflected the orange afterglow of the setting sun.

The leaves by the roadside danced in the wind, and a few soon-to-be-yellow leaves drifted to the ground. Occasionally, a villager or two would stroll by leisurely.

This scene was incredibly soothing to the mind and body.

[Ding, detected that the host is admiring the sunset and thoroughly enjoying it. Rewarded 2 million.]

Su Yang smiled faintly. He had almost forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.

Pan Ning and Shen Yixue had gone out for a walk over an hour ago and still hadn't returned.

Su Yang took out his phone and called Pan Ning.

However, the phone rang several times with no answer. He frowned slightly and switched to making a WeChat voice call.

Still no answer.

"Hey? What's going on?"

Seeing that he couldn't reach Pan Ning, Su Yang found Shen Yixue's WeChat and made a voice call to her.

Also no answer.

"Damn, where did these two run off to?"

Muttering to himself, Su Yang turned around, closed the yard gate, and strode toward the lake.

At this time, there were not many people on the pedestrian path by the lake. Almost all of them were local villagers; there were no other tourists.

Su Yang walked about a hundred meters along the left side of the road but still didn't see where the two girls were.

Suddenly, a bad premonition arose in his heart.

"Fuck, don't panic. It shouldn't be anything serious. They probably just walked a bit far, and their phones happen to be on silent."

Su Yang took a deep breath and continued walking forward.

As he walked, he asked the villagers on the road if they had seen two young women, but they all said no.

Su Yang followed the lake for seven or eight minutes. Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder boomed in the sky.

Hearing the sound, he looked up. The orange clouds in the distance had long disappeared, replaced by a thick layer of dark storm clouds.

"Damn, it's going to rain. This crappy weather. There was a beautiful sunset just a moment ago, and the weather changes just like that."

Su Yang took out his phone again to make a call.

Still no answer. About ten minutes had passed since he left the house, and he suddenly started to feel anxious.

"Don't mess with me!! Damn it, where are they!!"

He had been walking fast before, but now he broke into a run. This time, he didn't continue searching forward because there were no more houses ahead. It would take a kilometer or two of walking to reach the next village, and Pan Ning and the other girl shouldn't have gone that far.

Su Yang turned around and ran back the way he came, shouting their names as he ran.

"Pan Pan! Yixue!"

"Fuck, did something happen to them?"

Su Yang sprinted back. When he passed by his own yard, he tilted his head to look, but there was no one at the gate.

He continued running forward, asking everyone he met.

Rumble!! Rumble!

More peals of thunder rolled across the sky. Seeing this, the villagers on the road stopped their leisurely strolls and hurried their steps to get home.

The wind right before the rain was extremely strong, blowing the dark clouds directly over Lianwu Lake.

Before seven-thirty, the small Painting Village was enveloped by dark clouds, and the sky instantly darkened.

Su Yang's heart grew even more anxious. He took out his phone and dialed the number again.

Still no answer.

"Damn it!! Calm down, calm down!"

"I need to call the police!"

Su Yang decided not to search blindly anymore; it was too much of a waste of time.

He had just dialed the emergency number and was about to hit call when a sudden cry echoed from the distant lakeside.

Su Yang immediately turned to look. However, the source of the sound was still quite a distance away. It was getting late, the sky was thick with dark clouds, and the dense trees and bushes along the path completely blocked his line of sight. He couldn't see a thing.

Since he couldn't rely on his eyes, he closed them and listened intently.

Rumble!!

The crash of thunder, the frantic shouts, and the howling wind all flooded into his ears at once.

Two seconds later, he caught the human voice again. It was Pan Ning crying out, a voice he was all too familiar with.

Su Yang's expression instantly turned grim. Pinpointing the direction, he broke into a rapid sprint toward the sound.

......