You Are The Apple of My Eyes
Chapter 451 John Was Missing

The members of the Shi family searched for John for a whole day. They scoured every inch of the rivers in Lexingport City. They even asked the people nearby one by one, but to no avail.

It was Lunar New Year's Eve now. It was supposed to be a family reunion day, but the Shi family was shrouded with a blanket of gloom and anxiety.

Even so, Sam still insisted on holding the family dinner.

James came home exhausted and frustrated. The moment he walked through the door, everyone looked at him expectantly.

"Have you found him?" Dora asked in a hoarse voice. It seemed that she had been crying.

"No." James shook his head, threw his coat aside, and lay down on the sofa.

Nobody made a sound. The air just grew even more sorrowful.

They had searched for John for such a long time, but there was no news at all. There was little hope.

Emma, who was also invited by Sam to dinner, took a seat beside James. She thoughtfully poured him a glass of warm water.

Taking a sip of the water, James smiled tiredly at Emma and rested his head on her lap.

They had been out looking all day and night and had not stopped to rest. James' clothes were so filthy that they had started to smell. His stubble had grown out, and his eyes were red with weariness. He looked burned out and messy.

"Dora, can you go to your brother's room and get a razor and some shaving cream?" Emma wanted to go get them herself, but James held her hand tightly. She had to ask for Dora's help. "Okay, I'll get them now," Dora replied obediently.

In less than two minutes, Dora was back with the items Emma asked for. She also brought a blanket for her brother.

James was starting to doze off. Forcing his eyes to stay open, he asked, "Thank you, Dora. Can you check on the news? I want to hear what they're saying about the company."

"Okay." Dora took out her phone and pulled up her mobile browser.

Emma carefully shaved James' beard. Seeing that he was so tired yet still cared about Time Group, she felt a sudden pain in her chest.

It broke her heart to see him like this.

John had a big handle on the economic interests of Lexingport City. Many people were paying attention to the developments of his disappearance. In fact, it was all the media reported about.

Peering at the screen of her mobile phone, Dora read the latest news aloud. "Some asked Time Group whether Uncle John's disappearance would affect the company."

"Has anyone come forth to deal with it?" When James spoke, Emma stopped, lest she hurt him.

It was just a reflex, but it made James feel warm. Her warmth cast away some of his fear and anxiety. He gently rubbed his head against Emma's thigh like a docile cat.

He wanted to assure Emma that he was going to be fine.

Noticing the gesture, Emma felt relieved and smiled.

"Well, the manager of the PR department made a video to give a positive response. The background of the video is her bedroom with a wedding photo hanging on the far wall. I'll play it for you." Dora tapped or the video.

The gentle voice of Time Group's PR manager came through Dora's phone.

"Our friends from the media, thank you for your concern. Our response is that this matter will not influence the future of Time Group. James Shi has started participating in the decision making of all the company's internal affairs since two months ago."

The video ended there.

After watching the video, James was confused.

Daniel also heard the response. He asked in confusion, "You have been calling the shots in the company for two months now?"

"I think so." With his mind wandering, James frowned and continued, "Two months ago, Uncle John started bringing me to all kinds of company meetings and activities. He also let me sign documents in my name and attend the high-level conferences.

Sometimes, he even asked me to preside over the meetings. Even if I didn't do well, Uncle John was not afraid of wasting time and forced me to perform and behave well. Only when I did a good job would he dismiss the meeting. It annoyed me to no end, honestly."

After hearing James' words, Daniel rubbed his chin and thought for a while. "Didn't that strike you as strange?"

"I don't know. Was it strange?" James did not really care about it. "I just thought that maybe Uncle John was upset because of Aunt Nina, and he just took out his frustrations on me. I just obeyed him."

"Are you sure he was just giving you a hard time?" Daniel asked, looking at his son lying on the sofa. "Don't you think that that was your uncle grooming you to take over the company?"

Hearing his father's suggestion, James widely opened his tired eyes. "Shit."

He sat up as if he had thought of something.

"Don't swear in front of your father," Daniel scolded him.

As if he had not heard Daniel, James looked up into his father's eyes and asked in shock, "Could Uncle John have foresight? Could it be that he had known this day would come?"

'What?' Daniel thought that his son was finally becoming smart with all the hours he had spent under John's tutelage, but he was wrong. Daniel shook his head and sighed. "John is so smart that he can predict the future," he said in a mocking tone.

Patting his thighs, James whipped his head at him and said, "But it doesn't make sense."

"Just don't think about it anymore. Get some sleep before dinner tonight, and clean yourself up." With a heavy, disappointed heart, Daniel turned around to leave.

Dora asked after him, "Where are you going, Dad?"

"I'm going to go see your grandpa."

"Why?"

"I have something urgent to discuss with him."

"Okay." Dora stopped asking.

Holding the razor in her hand, Emma was also lost in thought. After thinking for a while, she asked, "James, when Nina told us that she was fine, she must have contacted Uncle John. What do you think? Uncle John must've known that Nina just went back to C Island. If he knew that Nina was fine, why would he be bothered and give you a hard time?"

James waved his hand and said, "I don't know what Uncle John was thinking. I just know that I have to find him as soon as possible. I believe he's alive and kicking somewhere."

"Okay," Emma answered. A thought kept hovering at the edges of her mind. She said meaningfully, "I think it's good that we still haven't found him."

"Yes, the best news is no news," Dora said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I hope Uncle John is safe.

Everything will be all right." Her eyes brimmed with hope.

In her eyes, John was a hero, the most powerful man in the world. He could find his way around any sort of danger.

She firmly believe in him.

"I also think that Uncle John will be fine. I'm worried about him, but I have a feeling that he'll be back safe and sound." James ran his fingers through his filthy hair and took a deep breath. Emma lowered her eyes and smiled, "Maybe this is all just a false alarm. Maybe nothing really happened to Uncle John."

"Let's hope so." James held Emma's hand tightly and twined his fingers with hers. The warmth of her palm made him feel better. The truth was, it was not as bad as the news reported, but it was also not as good as what Emma and the others thought. Following his original plan, John went ashore and met Leon, but he fainted and remained unconscious after that.00000000