“What? Liang Zhiwei’s missing? How could a person just disappear like that?”
The boss jumped up, startled, then immediately looked at Sister Li.
They had just been talking about Liang Zhiwei—how could she suddenly go missing?
Sister Li’s expression turned serious.
She took the phone from him:
“Where are you now? Did this happen during the shoot? Does the production team have any backup plans? Where have they searched so far? Has the rescue team been dispatched? Do the media know about this?”
The boss watched as Sister Li took the phone and stepped outside, swiftly directing everyone.
The company staff weren’t familiar with Sister Li yet, though they’d heard of her reputation.
They were stunned to see her walk out of the boss’s office, unsure why she was suddenly here.
Sister Li assigned tasks to everyone one by one.
Seeing them still standing there, dumbfounded, she clapped her hands: “Move, get to work now!”
The others snapped out of it, somehow following her orders without objection, even though they didn’t know why.
Even the boss was stunned.
In the blink of an eye, Sister Li took charge with decisive efficiency, handling all of Liang Zhiwei’s matters.
She took over all the information from the assistant and began preparing clarifications and counterattacks.
She set the phone aside, put on her earpiece, sat at her desk, and started typing, quickly contacting the writers and influencers she knew.
“So, the person responsible for preparing and assisting with the rescue during the show is Mr. Gu Zhaoye, right?”
“Yes.”
“Because Ruan Nian was injured, Mr. Gu was busy tending to her wound and ignored the distress calls, so the production team only just received the news?”
“Got it.”
Before Liang Zhiwei was found, this matter needed to be blown up—made even bigger.
Sister Li hit send.
The internet was already buzzing with rumors about Liang Zhiwei being a homewrecker.
At that moment, a new bombshell dropped.
It was said that Liang Zhiwei had gone missing during the shoot.
Everyone’s minds crashed.
What was this?
They were just speculating about Liang Zhiwei being a third party, and now there was suddenly a missing person case?
How could someone go missing while filming a show?
This wasn’t some international layover.
How could the production team’s chartered transport be so unreliable?
Some people speculated: [This couldn’t be a PR stunt, could it? Shift the public’s focus to worrying about Liang Zhiwei’s safety, hoping she’s okay and doesn’t get hurt. That way, the homewrecker issue gets less attention, and she can smoothly clear her name?]
[Yeah, it’s too convenient. Too strange.]
[Missing just like that? There are so many people on the production team, and they’re celebrities—there must be bodyguards with them. If it’s that easy for them to get into trouble, wouldn’t ordinary people be even more at risk?]
[Stop worrying about her. Worry about yourselves.]
The company staff hurriedly turned to Sister Li, asking,
“Sister Li, should we clarify these?”
These issues about Liang Zhiwei were supposed to be clarified, but since they weren’t familiar with her and didn’t know the full story, and no one was specifically handling her affairs, PR would take time.
And their biggest fear was that, since the other party was Gu Zhaoye, a figure like Mr. Gu, if they clarified and then got slapped in the face, it would be too embarrassing.
They couldn’t just go to Mr. Gu and align with him immediately—they didn’t have that kind of authority.
“No need to rush,”
Sister Li said with a stern face, speaking slowly but firmly.
“We need to make this a big deal. It absolutely has to be a big deal.”
Making it a big deal was Liang Zhiwei’s last chance to turn her reputation around.
This sudden disappearance struck many as strange, but no further news came out since the production team was busy searching for her and had no time to deal with the rumors.
Those not on-site were clueless.
Sister Li looked at some of the messages.
Though she had a grasp of the online sentiment, she couldn’t help but feel a pinch of worry for Liang Zhiwei.
Deep down, she felt more guilt than anything else.
After all, personally, she had no grudge against Liang Zhiwei.
As Ruan Nian’s agent, she had done many unfavorable things to Liang Zhiwei.
She had no way to atone or apologize.
Perhaps what Liang Zhiwei needed most was to clear the slander against her and restore the life that was rightfully hers.
Lately, Sister Li couldn’t shake a strange feeling.
Ever since she fell out with Ruan Nian, it was as if a layer of fog had lifted from her eyes.
She even wondered why she had ever agreed to be Ruan Nian’s agent when she hadn’t intended to initially.
And she couldn’t understand why, after taking over Liang Zhiwei’s matters, everything felt so familiar, as if she’d been doing it all along.
She let out a deep sigh.
Liang Zhiwei, I hope you’re safe.
At the ski resort:
Sliding down to the base, Gu Zhaoping finally took out her phone to check messages.
Theodore, beside her, said,
“Today’s experience was quite thrilling. If you hadn’t stepped in to help, that person might have been in danger. Your skiing skills are impressive—I bow to you.”
“It’s alright,” she replied.
She hadn’t gone all out today.
The weather had worsened in the latter half, and they were busy descending.
Gu Zhaoping felt it was just a warm-up, but it was still an enjoyable experience after so long.
If only the weather had been better.
Theodore could only smile at her nonchalant tone.
Just as he was about to say something, Gu Zhaoping’s movements suddenly froze.
Her finger paused on the screen.
She seemed puzzled, even surprised.
She zoomed in on someone’s photo, then glanced at the wooden sign at the base of the mountain.
It was clearly taken from the same angle.
Checking the location, she thought, no way—they were skiing on this mountain today too?
Objectively, it made sense.
This ski resort was renowned, a natural choice for a show looking for ideal filming locations worldwide.
But she hadn’t expected such a coincidence of time and place while skiing.
She only replied in the group chat: [Stay safe.]
Then she walked forward slowly.
Not far ahead, she saw a crowd of bustling figures.
Though they were bundled up, making it hard to see faces, they seemed anxious and appeared to be part of the show, carrying a bunch of equipment.
Gu Zhaoping slowed her pace, stopping nearby to watch them.
Theodore stopped too, confused.
In the crowd, Su Yubai and his group had just finished their tasks and returned to the base, only to find everyone gone.
They were stunned.
After asking, they learned Liang Zhiwei was missing.
They were horrified: “What? How could she go missing? Wasn’t the production team with her? There were cameramen right there, and the routes are fixed. How could this happen?”
The production staff they surrounded were frantic, almost frothing at the mouth: “We don’t know what happened. The map we drew had a mistake. One section wasn’t as planned, so they went down different paths. This mountain is vast and dangerous, and we don’t know where Liang Zhiwei is now!”
Su Yubai’s expression changed.
Having come here often with Sister Zhaoping, he was familiar with the mountain’s terrain.
He knew that straying from the designated route could be unimaginably dangerous.
Especially for Liang Zhiwei, a complete beginner with almost no skills.
If something happened, she’d have no way to save herself.
Even worse, if there was no signal…
At that moment, two people passing by paused.
Su Yubai, momentarily distracted, glanced over.
The woman in full ski gear gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
But before he could place her, his heart skipped a beat, and she sped off toward another area.
Gu Zhaoping contacted the production team.
“Miss Gu.”
The director was startled by her call.
He was still searching for Liang Zhiwei, and seeing Gu Zhaoping’s call made his heart sink—he hadn’t briefed this Miss Gu yet.
Of all times.
But what he didn’t expect was the sound of howling wind from Gu Zhaoping’s side.
Her calm voice came through: “Are you looking for Liang Zhiwei?”
The director froze.
How did she know?
“There’s a fork on this mountain. I don’t know if it was sabotaged or misplanned, but someone already had an issue up there, nearly sliding off a cliff. Liang Zhiwei might have been misled by that fork.”
Gu Zhaoping continued: “She left me a message before going up. There’s a gap in that area you can access directly. If you go down from there, you might find traces of her path…”
As she spoke, the line suddenly cut to static, drowned out by the wind.
Gu Zhaoping paused, realizing the director’s voice was gone.
She checked her phone—no signal.
She tried calling again patiently, but the connection was spotty.
After two attempts, it dropped entirely.
She then messaged the rescue team.
The rescue team, caught off guard, quickly responded: “Alright, Miss Gu, but we’re short on manpower right now. The wind and snow are picking up, and many tourists are stranded at the summit. We’re evacuating them, so it’s going to be tough…”
Gu Zhaoping paused, falling silent.
Finally, she said,
“Not enough people, huh?”
She looked up at the chaotic, overcast sky, the sun’s light dim and faint.
She lowered her gaze.
“Fine, you focus on evacuating.”
Gu Zhaoping tucked the phone into her chest pocket, securing it.
Theodore watched her, unsure of what was happening, but looking back at the situation, he roughly understood someone was missing.
Theodore stepped forward and said,
“Your judgment is correct. The situation is indeed dangerous now. If we don’t find her quickly, things could get even worse.”
Gu Zhaoping looked at the channel where many tourists were being evacuated, then suddenly turned to Theodore and said,
“Do you have a Picio helicopter?”
“Get one here.”
As soon as she spoke, Theodore saw Gu Zhaoping charge toward the increasingly ominous, darkening area.
He froze, instinctively reaching out to grab her, but he missed.
What was she doing?
The production team gathered nearby was also stunned, wondering why someone would head up the mountain against the incoming tide of evacuated tourists.
And only the woman left—the man stayed behind, seemingly dazed for a moment before hurriedly pulling out his phone to make a call, to whom, they didn’t know.
He wasn’t speaking English, and no one could understand him.
The weather was worsening, the snow falling harder.
The director and his team were forced to retreat down the mountain.
Only the professional rescue team could stay up there now.
Where was Liang Zhiwei?
Amid the confusion and chaos, a snowball came tumbling down the mountain.
A young man in a striking, color-blocked ski suit finally came to a stop!
He staggered to his feet, limping.
After spotting the crowd, his gaze darted around before locking onto Chu Yanze.
“Holy crap, Chu Yanze, what are you doing here?!”
But then, realizing his sister was here too, it made sense that Chu Yanze would be as well.
Gu Zhaosi struggled to catch his breath, scrambling up to grab him and ask,
“Chu Yanze, where’s my sister?! Where is she?!”
Hearing this long-lost voice, Chu Yanze was momentarily thrown off, not quite recognizing it.
His first thought was whether a fan had spotted him—maybe he should’ve kept his goggles on, but he’d been too busy searching for someone to care.
The next moment, it hit him.
Wait, this guy seemed to know him.
What sister?
Gu Zhaosi, still dizzy from his fall, shook him.
“Damn it, don’t play dumb! My sister must be here filming the show with you guys. I’ve seen your show! Where’s my sister? Tell me quick—she saved me up there but refused to acknowledge me as her brother. She’s definitely mad. I need to talk to her!”
Chu Yanze was still confused, eyeing the young man with suspicion.
But the next second, the man roughly yanked off his goggles, revealing his face.
Chu Yanze’s pupils constricted.
Wasn’t this his college classmate, Gu Zhaosi?
Handsome guy, sure, but with a weird, loner personality?
Suddenly, Chu Yanze froze, realizing the connection between their names.
He looked up at the looming dark clouds and snow, then turned back to him.
“Your sister is Sister Zhaoping?!”
Gu Zhaosi finally let out a breath.
“So you didn’t know?!”
At that moment, Su Yubai, among the crowd, froze.
He whipped his head around, thinking of that figure from earlier?!
In the midst of the silence, he suddenly shouted,
“Sister Zhaoping went up just now!”
The others were stunned.
Gu Zhaosi, not recognizing this person, squinted at him through his goggles, confused.
Su Yubai immediately pointed to where the woman had disappeared.
No one had time to question why he called her Sister Zhaoping.
“That was her just now!”
He recognized those goggles!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
What was going on??
How was Sister Zhaoping here?
And going up the mountain in this storm?
Suddenly, Chu Yanze’s breath caught.
Su Yubai said,
“There’s no time, they haven’t found her!”
“She went to find Liang Zhiwei!”
“What?! Sister Zhaoping?? Gu Zhaoping??”