After returning from the Greater Khingan Mountains, Zhou Sicheng used his authority as a supervisor to file an official missing person report for his employee.

Neither Li Guihua nor Dou Manning could give a clear explanation of where Xiang Zhen had gone. Waiting in vain in the mountains without any sign of him, Zhou Sicheng was nearly driven out of his mind.

Police feedback indicated that Xiang Zhen had not used any form of public transportation and had not appeared on a single facial-recognition surveillance camera—it was as if he had evaporated into thin air.

When he left, he hadn’t brought his phone, ID card, or anything of value. What was Xiang Zhen eating out there? Where was he staying?

Under these circumstances, Li Guihua and Dou Manning could surprisingly still sit tight. According to the bodyguards Zhou Sicheng sent to monitor the mother and son, they went about their days eating and drinking as usual—one grinding coffee every day, the other playing mahjong every day—not showing the slightest worry about Xiang Zhen, who remained completely off the grid.

Zhou Sicheng couldn’t sit still. His wife only had him; no one else cared about his wife.

He spent exorbitant sums hiring private detectives and search teams, even blasting missing person notices far and wide. Xiang Zhen’s hair was particularly recognizable; yet when he posted Xiang Zhen’s photos, people suspected they were AI-generated or part of a pre-launch publicity stunt because of Zhou Sicheng’s relentless, carpet-bombing spree on social media.

Offering a reward of one hundred thousand yuan for a single lead, Zhou Sicheng didn’t dare offer too much, nor did he dare publicly declare that it was his wife, fearing that money might instead breed crime.

On the missing person notices, he relied more on playing the emotional card.

Netizen sleuths split into three main camps:

First, suspecting that Xiang Zhen was an idol about to make his debut, undergoing closed-door training—how else could there be zero news?

Second, suspecting that Xiang Zhen had been imprisoned by the behind-the-scenes big boss of Zhoufu Group; with an employee that strikingly gorgeous, it was hard for a boss not to enforce workplace casting couches.

Third, someone claimed he had just returned from a industrial park in Southeast Asia and had seen Xiang Zhen, seizing the chance to start a live stream to scam money.

There were also malicious speculations, which Zhou Sicheng ignored entirely.

The first was pure nonsense; Zhou Sicheng could personally debunk the second; but the third genuinely brought a surge of anxiety to Zhou Sicheng, prompting him to contact the platform directly to get the account banned.

Xiang Zhen was so naive—could he really have been “introduced” to work as an overseas phone customer service representative?

The online discussion raged fiercely for a whole week, yet among over a billion people, not a single person had seen Xiang Zhen.

Dou Manning assured him with absolute certainty that Xiang Zhen was 100% not kidnapped, swearing, “If anything happens to Xiang Zhen, I’ll break up with Shen Ku.”

Zhou Sicheng pulled down all public missing person notices, switching to sending people to search quietly in secret instead.

Zhou Sicheng stopped reading news online, leaving all incoming leads to Secretary Gao to handle.

Before meeting Xiang Zhen, Zhou Sicheng had never taken a single day off. Now, he gave himself a vacation, trying his hand at various basic frontline jobs.

Ever since visiting Xiang Zhen’s hometown and seeing his room, Zhou Sicheng had come to understand his wife.

A wife who, since childhood, knew how to turn discarded packaging bags into treasures—how could he possibly stand the extravagance and wastefulness of capitalists?

His wife possessed a powerful theoretical framework to arm himself, which was why he could live his days so brightly and radiantly.

He couldn’t strip away Xiang Zhen’s armor; that wouldn’t be right.

Zhou Sicheng hoped that when his wife returned, he would make him see him in a whole new light.

Xiang Zhen used to envy Dou Manning for having a blue-collar worker husband, and he had also once felt proud that Zhou Sicheng was a ride-hailing driver.

Zhou Sicheng silently took up this job he had once looked down upon.

However, he didn’t pick up passengers; he specialized in running intercity cargo routes, searching for his wife along the way. Xiang Zhen’s missing person poster was pasted right onto his truck’s cargo bay.

Xiang Zhen had once mentioned that he wanted them to run a heavy truck together as a husband-and-husband duo.

Zhou Sicheng went to get his B2 driver’s license, planning to upgrade to an A2 license in two years.

August 24th, morning.

Although today marked the end of the hottest period of summer, the scorching heat in Haishi hadn’t abated at all.

Zhou Sicheng had hauled a truckload of plastic water pipe fittings from Jiangyin, transporting them to a construction site in the suburbs of Haishi—a three-and-a-half-hour trip entirely on national highways.

Back when he was a forest ranger in the Greater Khingan Mountains, there had been an element of “acting” in it, waiting to be seen by Xiang Zhen.

Fan Hao had commented that his truck driving “didn’t look like an act at all”—he genuinely looked like a working-class laborer now.

When the old man found out about this, Zhou Qingyun called him home, gave him a harsh scolding, and then launched into, “When I was young, back when I drove trucks, there were hardly a few people in the entire country who could drive big rigs…”

Zhou Sicheng truly wasn’t acting; he genuinely loved the work—physical labor could temporarily rescue him from his anxiety.

He loved the feeling of being on the road, because this was a path leading toward a reunion with Xiang Zhen.

Earning a little more or less didn’t matter; what mattered was looking for his wife along the way.

Zhou Sicheng stepped down from the cab and opened the rear doors of the cargo bay to unload.

Wearing cargo pants, a black tank top, and a pair of sunglasses, he looked starkly different from his usual image in the boardroom.

Unscrewing a bottle of mineral water, he gulped down half of it in one go, took off his sunglasses, and used the remaining half to thoroughly soak a disposable towel to wipe the sweat from his face.

After entering the construction site, it was best to put on a hard hat.

Carrying four cups of coffee, Shen Ku spotted Zhou Sicheng. The two men locked eyes, both sharing a trace of bitterness.

Ever since Xiang Zhen went missing, Dou Manning continued setting up his stall to sell coffee. Whichever construction site Shen Ku was stationed at as a technician, Dou Manning would follow to sell coffee right outside.

Shen Ku bought coffee for his colleagues every day. After improving his recipes through the training course arranged by CEO Zhou, Dou Manning’s coffee was actually able to sell; many technicians at the construction site relied on coffee for a boost of energy.

With the cautionary tales of CEO Zhou and Xiang Zhen before him, Shen Ku’s days were growing increasingly tough, not daring at all to mention his real family background to Dou Manning.

Shen Ku was still somewhat better off; he could just be a blue-collar worker for the rest of his life. After all, the family business was inherited by his older brother anyway, and he just lived off dividend payouts, so it had nothing to do with him to begin with.

Given his background, he originally didn’t need to stay at construction sites long-term. Last time, he stayed at the site for half a month straight—initially because of technical challenges caused by the soil conditions that needed solving, and later because he couldn’t bear to leave the coffee stand.

Engineer Shen was the only person who didn’t dare mock Driver Zhou.

Swayed pillow-talk by pillow-talk by Dou Manning’s constant praises of “Hubby, it’s so great that you’re the greatest worker,” he was blending in more and more like a regular blue-collar worker.

Shen Ku helped Zhou Sicheng unload the cargo: “Still no news on Xiang Zhen?”

Zhou Sicheng: “None. Is your wife still completely unconcerned?”

Shen Ku: “Manning even swore that if anything happens to Xiang Zhen, he’ll break up with me. You don’t need to worry too much.”

After finishing unloading, Shen Ku handed Zhou Sicheng a cup of coffee: “Let’s go eat at the cafeteria for lunch.”

This construction site was quite large—it was a high-speed railway station along with its supporting buildings, fully equipped with a cafeteria inside, where Shen Ku had contracted a coffee stall for Dou Manning.

Zhou Sicheng: “Pass.”

He didn’t want to stop; the moment he stopped, he couldn’t help but wonder where his wife was suffering out there.

Shen Ku: “It’s mealtime, just eat a bite. How will you have the strength to look for your wife if you’re not full?”

Zhou Sicheng didn’t speak, his gaze fixed dead on a certain spot.

……

Xiang Zhen began walking south.

After realizing he was pregnant, he felt his seed head growing heavier and heavier. He walked along the mountain ranges; there was no human presence here, so he cast his gaze down toward the roadway below—

If only I could catch a hitchhike.

Xiang Zhen pressed his lips together, watching transport trucks speed past one by one. He didn’t dare try to flag down a heavy truck—what if he got flattened?

Is that a construction site up ahead? Why are there so many trucks carrying materials?

A construction site?! Construction sites are great! He could go to the entrance, find a driver, and borrow his phone to dial his husband’s number.

He knew his husband’s phone number by heart!

Xiang Zhen quickened his pace.

In his mind, he began to fantasize about meeting his handsome, extraordinary husband.

This time, he was confident he wouldn’t throw up.

The reason he had been vomiting earlier was that the developing little sunflower seed was afraid of the sun. Xiang Zhen had wrapped the little sunflower seed tightly with solar energy, hiding it deep within the seed head for shade, cutting off its perception of the outside world.

“This way it won’t get hurt, and it won’t be scared anymore.”

Xiang Zhen stopped. Before reaching the construction site, he sat down to rest for a moment and comfort the little baby in his belly.

For this final stretch of the journey, he needed to take human form and walk barefoot to find humans.

Xiang Zhen could also continue traveling in his sunflower form, find a crowded scenic spot, transform back into a human, and wait for tourists.

But the construction site was so close! Xiang Zhen looked down toward the construction site at the foot of the mountain; the tower cranes and cargo trucks were right before his eyes, and he couldn’t wait to hear his husband’s voice.

He heard the sound of excavators at work, and a faint aroma of food wafted over in the air.

This construction site had a cafeteria, and the chef was even making stir-fried dry pot!

The workers were eating so well!

Xiang Zhen swallowed his saliva; he hadn’t eaten for thirty-three days.

Being an adult had this one drawback—getting food cravings.

Could he have his husband transfer money to the workers and let him eat a meal first?

Zhou Sicheng was definitely working at the CBD office in the city center right now; it would take him some time to rush over here.

Preoccupied with thoughts of his husband and delicious food, Xiang Zhen carelessly stepped into a hole.

A small pit covered with branches and fallen leaves—near the construction site, dust was heavy, so it was coated in a layer of dirt, looking just like flat ground.

Hiss… Xiang Zhen pulled his calf out. Really, before heading out, he had specially scrubbed his clothes in the stream; although tattered, they were clean, but now his pant legs were covered in mud.

Xiang Zhen lowered his head, frowning as he looked at his dusty instep. His husband used to leave five-star positive reviews here; if his husband saw his feet so dirty, he wouldn’t leave positive reviews anymore.

He walked toward the main gate of the construction site. This section of the road had been repeatedly run over by heavy trucks, crushing down the sharp edges of the stones; it didn’t hurt his feet too much, but it was extremely hot on the soles of his feet!

Xiang Zhen ran in one breath over to the big iron gate, finding a soft patch of sand to stand on. He stepped his right foot onto his left foot, and after a moment, switched to stepping his left foot onto his right foot.

He poked his small golden head inside, searching for humans.

He spotted a truck, and right beside it, two tall workers were chatting.

That’s Manning’s husband!

Xiang Zhen recognized him at a glance—he had bumped into an acquaintance!

Xiang Zhen felt a wave of joy, just as the other man turned his face around.

This one is so handsome… Why does he look so much like my husband?

Xiang Zhen didn’t dare recognize him at all, because in his memory, his husband only had three skins: suit, pajamas, and naked.

It wasn’t until that person stared dead at him and started running toward him, faster and faster, his facial features becoming clearer and clearer.

Xiang Zhen froze in place.

It was his husband.

When Zhou Sicheng saw that small golden head poking out from the main gate, his adrenaline instantly spiked.

His wife had casually appeared right under his nose just like that.

Spurred by adrenaline to reach the fastest speed of his life, Zhou Sicheng couldn’t even manage to shout “Don’t move!”

“Husband! Why are you here?” Xiang Zhen asked in confusion.

Only when Zhou Sicheng got close did he clearly see Xiang Zhen’s full appearance—hair that looked like it had been scorched by fire, tattered clothes covered in dust, stepping barefoot on the ground… It looked as if his wife had been wandering in an abandoned factory for a month and only ran out after the factory caught fire.

How could this happen? To escape from him, Xiang Zhen had been living a life like this? He hadn’t gone to find some hidden grand master at all, but had been wandering in hardship all on his own.

With a sharp pain in his eye sockets, Zhou Sicheng scooped up his wife, whose feet had been burned by the hot ground.

Xiang Zhen immediately wrapped his legs tightly around Zhou Sicheng’s waist, burying his head into his shoulder: “Husband, I missed you so much.”

Zhou Sicheng closed his eyes, tears slipping from the corners of his eyes: “Where did you go?”

This question was hard to answer, so Xiang Zhen tilted his head, planted a kiss on his mouth, and swept over it lightly with the tip of his tongue.

As the soft kiss fell on his lips, Zhou Sicheng froze. Only after a good while did he realize—Xiang Zhen didn’t throw up.

Surged by a mixture of heartache and joy, Zhou Sicheng was tormented by these two emotions into hugging his wife tightly, his palms rubbing forcefully against his back.

His efforts over the past month hadn’t been in vain; Xiang Zhen must have sensed the working-class aura on him.

Zhou Sicheng: “Wife…”

Xiang Zhen: “Husband, I’m so hungry.”

Five minutes later, in the construction site cafeteria.

Zhou Sicheng watched his wife devouring the food voraciously, feeling both pain and hatred—hating his past self who had forced Xiang Zhen away a month ago.

“Eat slowly.” Zhou Sicheng shredded the meat off a chicken leg for him in advance, dipping it slightly in sauce.

Dou Manning: “Zhenzhen, I’ll go get you a set of clothes to change into.”

Zhou Sicheng: “Thanks, but I have some in my truck. Could you help me fetch them?”

He always kept a set of his wife’s clothes in his truck.

Dou Manning: “Sure.”

Xiang Zhen’s ears perked up. Truck? Why was Zhou Sicheng driving a truck?

He suddenly recalled that before he left, Zhou Sicheng seemed to have resigned from Zhoufu.

The little spirit didn’t understand what a behind-the-scenes major shareholder was at all, assuming that resigning meant Zhou Sicheng no longer had anything to do with Zhoufu Group.

His husband… ran out of money?

Xiang Zhen felt increasingly guilty as he ate, glancing at his truck-driver husband bit by bit.

“Husband, your money…”

Zhou Sicheng stroked a tuft of his scorched hair and said, “None of that is important.”

“…”

Xiang Zhen stroked his slightly bulging belly. Oh no, he had driven Zhou Sicheng into complete poverty.