"Are you trying to ascend to heaven by not going home?"
Gu Chenan frowned in confusion. Ever since Hoshino Kannon had crossed over at noon today, he felt something was off about her, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was wrong.
Hoshino Kannon turned her head and raised an eyebrow. "Why should I go home with you? I'm an independent person with my own free will, okay? I can go wherever I want, so why should I follow you?"
Her words caught Gu Chenan off guard.
Come to think of it, he hadn't even noticed this point before. He had subconsciously assumed that these female protagonists had no family or friends in this world and therefore had to stay with him.
But he had forgotten that these female protagonists became real people the moment they arrived in the real world.
"Well... you're right," Gu Chenan nodded. "But you don't know anyone in this world except me. Where else could you go?"
"If I don't know anyone, I can make friends! There are so many people in this world, I'm sure I can make some friends!"
With that, Hoshino Kannon waved her hand casually. "Thanks for bringing me to the real world, bye~"
After saying this, she looked around, and seeing no one nearby, she suddenly jumped onto the eaves of a nearby low building.
"Where are you going?" Gu Chenan panicked and immediately chased after her.
"I told you already, to make friends," Hoshino Kannon replied coldly.
"No, this world is different from the novel world. It's dangerous for someone with your personality to go out alone!"
Gu Chenan also jumped onto the eaves and reached out to grab Hoshino Kannon's hand.
He knew her personality well, and the danger he spoke of wasn't about others harming her. Rather, if some fool provoked her and she lost her temper, killing a few people on the spot, he might never see her again.
Hoshino Kannon knocked his hand away. "Dangerous? What danger could I possibly face? Don't forget I'm one of the Twelve Hawks, and I lived just fine before I met you."
"No, Kannon, listen to me, this world..."
Before Gu Chenan could explain, Hoshino Kannon turned and jumped onto another rooftop. Standing there, she waved at him, then vanished in a flash.
Gu Chenan froze for a second before giving chase, but when he reached where she had been standing, there was no trace of her.
All that remained was the brilliant glow of massive neon signs. Looking at the bustling street scene in the distance, Gu Chenan called out Hoshino Kannon's name several times but received no response, leaving him with an empty feeling in his heart.
He hadn't anticipated this situation at all. In the latter part of the novel, Hoshino Kannon's personality had become much more subdued. How had she reverted to how she was when they first met, now that she was in the real world?
Although Gu Chenan had roughly explained what the real world was like, this was still only Hoshino Kannon's first day here. She probably couldn't adjust so quickly and might do something extreme.
If that happened, it could be disastrous.
Gu Chenan took out his phone and called Ma Bing: "Bring everyone to the bottom of Caiying Building."
"Yes, sir." Ma Bing didn't ask questions, just acknowledged the order.
After hanging up, Gu Chenan looked in the direction where Hoshino Kannon had disappeared and sighed.
"What's wrong with this girl? Why did she suddenly become like a different person?"
Soon, Ma Bing arrived at the bottom of Caiying Building with dozens of black SUVs to meet Gu Chenan.
After Gu Chenan gave brief instructions, the convoy of SUVs spread out across the city in search of Hoshino Kannon.
Ma Bing drove Gu Chenan as they joined the search party.
As Gu Chenan's Mercedes left Caiying, Hoshino Kannon emerged from the shadows on a nearby rooftop.
Her eyes were red as she watched Gu Chenan's car drive away. Like a child, she wiped her tears with her sleeve and pretended not to care as she turned her head away.
In the novel world, Hoshino Kannon had always felt she was equal to Su Qianmo, especially since Gu Chenan had stayed with her during the later Black Owl period. So when she saw how affectionate Gu Chenan and Su Qianmo were, she couldn't help but feel emotional.
If it were Liu Mingrui experiencing these emotions, she would have openly and secretly competed with Su Qianmo for attention. But Hoshino Kannon was different.
She was still that sensitive, love-starved little girl, so when she acted out, she did so completely.
Although Hoshino Kannon had no conscious intention, subconsciously she felt that acting this way might make Gu Chenan pay more attention to her.
Jumping down from the rooftop via the stairs, Hoshino Kannon walked along the street, stepping on the reflections of neon lights in puddles, like a runaway child - willful yet heartbreaking.
Meanwhile, Gu Chenan was directing his people to search everywhere for Hoshino Kannon.
But finding someone in the vast city was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Time quickly passed until eleven at night, and Gu Chenan still had no success.
"Any news?"
"No," Ma Bing shook his head after just finishing a phone call.
"Damn, where could she have gone? We've searched everywhere within a five-kilometer radius of Caiying!"
"Young Master Gu, is it possible that Miss Kannon is still near Caiying?"
Sometimes an outsider sees things more clearly. Gu Chenan's mind was so preoccupied with finding Hoshino Kannon and worrying about what trouble she might get into that he hadn't thought this through properly.
Although their search covered a five-kilometer radius around Caiying, they hadn't thoroughly searched Caiying itself, the center point.
Gu Chenan had assumed that once Hoshino Kannon left, she would go somewhere far from Caiying. It hadn't occurred to him that she might still be nearby.
It wasn't until Ma Bing mentioned this that Gu Chenan realized that regardless of what was wrong with Hoshino Kannon, there must be a reason for her leaving him.
Or rather, perhaps Hoshino Kannon didn't really want to leave him at all - she was just trying to express something through this behavior.
After all, this was how she had always been.
Understanding this, Gu Chenan's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "You're right. Send some people to search around Caiying - internet cafes, nightclubs, everywhere. Don't miss anything."
"Yes, sir," Ma Bing nodded and carried out the order.
In the passenger seat, Gu Chenan rubbed his face with both hands.
He thought to himself, "Kannon is still that sensitive child. I'll need to adjust how I interact with her from now on..."