novelhk Chapter 78 The elderly couple who left the group
Chapter 78 The elderly couple who left the group
Chapter 78 The elderly couple who left the group
"Phew! Thank you, that's good, that's good." Hu Yi breathed a slight sigh of relief and then saw the professor panting as he caught up, his glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose, his greasy hair rising slightly from the steam emanating from his head, and Sister Sun following behind, also panting.
Hu Yi was taken aback. Before he could even open his mouth, the professor bent over, clutching his knees, and gasped for breath. He then raised his head with difficulty and pointed at him, saying, "Little, little, little Hu, don't, don't, don't act on your own. We—we are a small group, and we should act in unison. I said I would stay close to you and never leave your side."
"Alright, I got it." Hu Yi interrupted him impatiently, "I was worried something had happened to the old couple, so I came to the police station to ask about the situation. Fortunately, it seems they haven't encountered any accidents."
Seeing the three men's flustered state, the policewoman stubbed out her cigarette and asked, "Do you need help?"
"Yes!" Hu Yi ignored the professor and turned to the policewoman: "Two elderly Chinese tourists, a man and a woman, have gone missing on Arbat Street and cannot be found."
"Understood, come in." The policewoman led Hu Yi into the police station and called out loudly upstairs, "Valodya! Valodya! Come here for a second!"
A skinny policeman came downstairs in response. Hu Yi glanced at him and recognized him immediately—it was the bearded man who had brought him from the subway station last year. He quickly stepped forward and said, "Valodya! Do you recognize me? We met at the Ahotene-Iliat subway station last year!"
"Ah? Yes, you do look familiar." The man with the mustache stared at him and scratched his head. "But I can't remember."
"I encountered skinheads in the train carriage, and you and your colleague saved me. Before you left, you even gave me a cup of coffee! Remember? Coffee!"
"Coffee? Oh! It's you!" The man with the mustache chuckled, lightly tapping his right fist against his left palm. "I remember now. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Hu Yi explained the situation in a few words, and then described the two old people's clothing and appearance. He said urgently, "I was worried that something might happen to them, so I came here to seek help."
"I understand, wait a moment." The man with the mustache turned and went upstairs, returning a few minutes later in a hurry. "I contacted the nearby patrol officers, but no one has seen a Chinese elderly couple like this, and there have been no reports of anything unusual in the area. If you need further assistance, you'll need to provide them with detailed information."
"Okay!" Hu Yi turned to Sister Sun and asked, "Let's report this to the police and ask them to help us find them. Please show their identification information to the police."
Sister Sun reached into her bag, then hesitated for a moment, and shook her head, saying, "This matter—I need to report to the company before I can decide. Let's go back and talk about it first."
"Go back? Aren't you going to look anymore?"
"Let's go back first," the professor said in a low voice. "Perhaps the two of them have already rejoined the others."
It wasn't impossible. Hu Yi reassured himself, feeling a little more relaxed. The three thanked the man with the mustache and the policewoman, then left the police station and headed back.
Hu Yi walked briskly ahead, the professor followed in the middle, chattering incessantly, and Sister Sun lagged behind silently. Just as they returned to the vicinity of the statue, they heard the woman from Northeast China shout from afar, "Have you found them yet?!"
"No!" Hu Yi rushed over to his older sister. "Didn't they come back?"
"No!" Everyone looked at the professor and Sister Sun behind him.
The professor shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. Sister Sun sighed dejectedly, "I think they probably—probably ran away."
Silence fell. Hu Yi looked utterly bewildered: "Ran away? What do you mean?"
"I'm just guessing," Sister Sun stammered. "They might not come back."
"They're not coming back? Where did they go?"
"I don't know either. Anyway, they're probably planning to stay in Moscow and not go back home."
"Not going back to China?!" Hu Yi was greatly shocked. He turned to look at the others in the group, who all seemed to agree with Sister Sun's guess. He paused for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "But aren't their passports still being kept by you?"
"Sigh!" Sister Sun gave a wry smile. "If they really don't plan to go back, what's the point of having passports?"
"Not going back to China? Not taking your passport? Staying here illegally?" Hu Yi muttered to himself, then suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, remembering the old woman's last words to him: "If I've done anything to cause you any trouble, please forgive me, Director Hu."
The old woman's words didn't seem strange to Hu Yi at first, but now, upon closer reflection, they clearly had another layer of meaning, something he could never have guessed at the time.
Hu Yi slumped onto the statue's base, scratching his head in frustration, still feeling unwilling to give up: "I can't be that sure, can I? Let's wait a little longer, maybe they'll be here soon."
No one agreed, no one disagreed; everyone just watched Hu Yi silently. After a long while, the young woman in the group whispered, "I've felt something was off about those two for a while now. Think about it, everyone else carries a suitcase when they go abroad, but these two only brought a handbag and a nylon bag, and they haven't even changed their coats in the few days they've been in Russia."
Her reminder made everyone realize what was going on, and they began to discuss the elderly couple's unusual behavior.
Sister Sun sighed, "I also thought they were a bit strange, but I didn't pay much attention. It's not uncommon for this kind of thing to happen in overseas tour groups, but I've never encountered it before. Sigh, it was my oversight. There will inevitably be a lot of trouble when we return home, and the company will suffer as a result."
Listening to everyone's excited discussion, Hu Yi gradually lost hope, but he still couldn't understand: "Why? They've been in Moscow for three days, why are they only running now? Where could they possibly run to?"
"Someone must be coming to meet them. This is the time and place they agreed upon beforehand." The professor, who hadn't spoken since returning to the statue, finally opened his mouth slowly. "The reason they're leaving now is because this is the only confirmed free time in their three-day trip to Moscow. The rest of the time is mostly group activities, mostly visiting enclosed spaces like museums. They're older and their arms and legs aren't very agile, so they weren't confident they could easily slip away from everyone's sight. That's why they've been patiently waiting for this opportunity today."
The professor's analysis made sense. Hu Yi lit a cigarette in silence and stopped talking. After he finished his cigarette, Sister Sun said softly, "It's getting late, let's not wait any longer, let's take everyone to eat."
The tourists were probably tired from sightseeing, or perhaps they were disheartened by the incident of someone leaving the group; no one spoke on the bus the entire way. Upon arriving at the Huanghai Hotel, Hu Yi settled the guests into their seats, then went around to the kitchen entrance, intending to meet with some old friends.