Adrien had made his way to the Thousand Delights restaurant and was surprised to discover that Marinette was also in Shanghai.
"Marinette is in Shanghai?" Adrian said as Wang informed him. "What an incredible coincidence!"
"Or fate," said Wang.
"Love is beautiful! Love, love!" Bastille squawks.
Adrien laughed. "No, Marinette's just a friend." He gasped and looked at Wang. "Maybe we can surprise her! Do you mind if we wait here with you?"
"Oh my, that would be delightful!" said Wang. "You can help me prepare our meal if you like."
"It would be a pleasure, and an honour, Uncle Wang," said Adrian in Mandarin.
Wang laughed.
Bastille then noticed the Sparrow action figure in Placide I.T.'s pocket.
Marinette was wandering through an alleyway at sunset. She had lost everything.
"I had lost my Miraculous, my kwagatama, and Tikki. Without my smartphone to guide me or to translate what I'm saying, I had no way to get back to Uncle Wang or get myself understood to get help."
Marinette attempted to communicate with the locals by gestures, but they couldn't understand.
"Apologies," said an old man in Mandarin.
Marinette was disappointed, and seeing her disappointment, the old man gestured for her to follow him.
"Come," he said in Mandarin.
At the Thousand Delights restaurant, Adrien was in the kitchen with Wang as they made xiaolongbao.
After they were done, Adrian put the dishes in the wash, which was then washed by a mechanical device operated by Bastille.
Adrien puts some dishes to wash.
"Bastille, get me some chilli peppers from the pantry, please," said Wang.
"Chili peppers! Chilli peppers!" Bastille squawks as he took off, making Adrian laugh. "Comin' in hot!"
Back in the alleyway, a man handed Marinette a notepad.
"I'm looking for these earrings," she said, showing the drawing of her earrings, "did you see anyone wearing them?"
They looked at the picture but couldn't understand it.
"I don't understand, young lady; what do you want?" said the man and his eyes lit up. "Ah, hold on!"
He then returned to the building and came out again with a black plate.
"Is this what you need?" he asked.
Marinette sighed in disappointment.
Back at the Thousands Delights restaurant, everyone was getting a little worried about Marinette as it was getting late.
"Is Marinette often late?" Wang asked as he looked at the clock nervously.
"Marinette? Yeah, all the time," Adrian assured him. "It would actually be unusual for her to be on time!"
Wang looked at the clock again, still concerned. "I'll call her anyway."
He then began to call Marinette on her phone, but of course, the phone was in the hands of Fei. The moment it rang, she removed the SIM and placed the phone in the purse, making Tikki nervous.
"It's Marinette, leave a message, beep!" said Marinette's voicemail.
"Marinette, this is Uncle Wang," said Wang. "I hope you didn't get lost. I've got Adri—" Adrian quickly shushed him, "uh… a surprise! See you soon."
Marinette was still wandering through the alleyway, showing people a drawing of her with arrows pointing at her earrings.
"She's very talented, this little girl!" said a man amazed.
"Can you draw me one, please?" an old man asked.
"Oh yes! Me too, please!"
Marinette looked at them, confused, as they were speaking in Mandarin. However, an old lady tapped her shoulder and gestured for her to follow her. She guided Marinette to her store and offered her a pair of earrings.
"Oh! These are nice, thank you, ma'am!" said Marinette, though she knew they weren't her earrings. "It's not what I'm looking for, but it's very kind of you."
"When you wear them, you will look very pretty," said the old woman, gently putting the earrings in Marinette's hand.
"Thank you," said Marinette.
In hindsight, she should have realised that there was no way anyone would find her specific earrings. She can only hope that Tikki was all right, knowing that she was in her purse when it was stolen.
Fei, meanwhile, was standing in front of a store called Cash Antiques and could hear a vinyl record playing.
"I would come to this place every day to sell whatever I'd gotten my hands on. Little by little, I'd pay the one who was to carry out my revenge."
She then entered the store.
"Cash!" Fei called.
"Fei!" said Cash, who was the same man who drove her father's students away, though she had no idea that. "What treasures do you have for me today?"
Fei emptied Marinette's purse, revealing its contents, but Cash looked down at the contents disapprovingly.
"You're going to tell me there's nothing of value in there again?" said Fei, narrowing her eyes.
"I want to help you, really, but everything has a price, and the price of these things is not very high," said Cash.
"I'm tired of stealing," said Fei frustratingly. "I want you to tell me his name."
"Until you bring me enough things to pay that price, I can't give it to you!" he said as he looked through the items, pointing his fan at each one. "This purse is not bad; this phone's just junk, and the earrings…"
"But they're antiques!"
"I know more about that than you. They're commonplace," he said and looked at Tikki. "Bleugh, how awful! But at least that can go in the clawdrain… 200 Yuan for it all."
Fei banged her fist on the table in outrage. "What?! Are you kidding me?!"
One of Cash's thugs looked out from the office.
"You know, Fei, I like you a lot," said Cash, gesturing to his man to stand down. "At 200 Yuan, I'm actually doing you a favour in memory of the noble Wu Shifu and all he stood for."
Fei narrowed her eyes. "So if you respect his values, why can't you introduce me to the man who can tell me who burnt down my father's school?"
"Because, just like the school, those values no longer exist," he said simply as he walked around the counter. He then approached the cash register and pulled out some money. "What matters today is driven by the market. Cash is king, baby!" He then returned and placed the 200 yuan on the table. "It's sad, but adopting is the key to success. 200 Yuan."
"At that price, I'd rather take these things back to that poor girl!" said Fei, reaching out for Marinette's things, but Cah stopped her with his fan.
"Wait… That's a great idea!" Cash smiled. "If you find her, your poor girl can buy them back. This pitiful stuffed animal must be very valuable… to her! Sentimental value and feelings are priceless."
Fei took Marinette's I.D. card. "If I bring you the owner of these things, and she buys them all back from you, will you finally tell me what I want to know?"
"A deal's a deal."
Fei then left the shop, and Cash dumped Tikki into the clawdrain. Once he was gone, Tikki began to move and was concerned and frightened for Marinette.
Fei was now making her way through the alleyway, looking for Marinette and showing her I.D. to anyone she could find.
Marinette, meanwhile, was wandering, roaming through the streets of Shanghai, completely lost.
"I had lost all hope of finding my things. Now, I was trying to find my way back to Uncle Wang's restaurant to ask for his help, but I was completely lost."
Then suddenly, Jiao and his friends arrived on a motorbike right in front of her.
"There, that's her! It's the girl from before!" said Jiao in Mandarin.
Marinette recognised them as the guys who had been chasing Fei earlier and then quickly ran off frightened, unaware that Jiao was trying to return her kwagatama.
"Miss, come back!" said Jiao as they ran after her. "We found your necklace!"
Marinette was running through an alleyway when she bumped into Fei.
"Sorry!" She said, and the two gasped, recognising one another. "You're the girl they were chasing earlier! They're running after me now. I guess you don't speak a word of French, either…"
Fei then saw Jiao and his friends appearing around the corner.
"That's her! The thief!" Jiao pointed.
"Yes, I speak French," said Fei and then grabbed her hand. "Follow me!"
She then pulled Marinette away down the alleyway.
"We lost them," Fei panted, then noticed Marinette crying. "Something wrong?"
Marinette wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm so glad I found someone who understands what I'm saying! People here are so nice, but it's been impossible to explain my situation to them."
"I'm sure I can help," said Fei. "Tell me what happened to you."
"Someone stole all my things: my purse, my phone, my earrings…" said Marinette, showing her the earrings the old lady had given her.
"You found them?" Fei gasped.
"What?" Marinette gasped. "These? No, a nice old lady gave those to me."
"What about the real ones?" Fei asked. "Did they have… sentimental value?"
"Yes, someone important gave them to me," Marinette nodded. "Someone who trusted me…"
Fei suddenly felt immensely guilty for stealing. "I also had a jewel stolen from me. One that someone special had entrusted me with. Like you, I want it back at any cost."
"So, you get it?" Marinette asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'll help you!" Fei nodded.
"Really? Thank you!" Marinette cried excitedly. "I need to go back to my uncle's. He has a restaurant in Shanghai, but I don't know the address…"
They then heard the sound of a motorbike and saw the boys from earlier passing by.
"It's them again," said Fei, rubbing Marinette's hand. "Follow me!"
She then grabbed Marinette through a passageway.
Back at the Thousand Delights restaurant, Bastille and Placide I.T. were playing with the action figures. Adrien was checking out the piano while Wang tried calling Marinette again.
"Marinette, it is me again," said Wang. "I and 'the surprise' are very worried. Please call me back." He then hung up the phone. "I should not have let her go out alone."
"I'm sure everything's fine," Adrian assured him.
"I'm still going to call the police," Wang decided and began to call them on his phone.
"And I'll go out and see if I can find her," said Adrian.
"Are you sure?" Wang asked.
"She can't be very far," Adrian assured him. "And I do speak Mandarin!" He then turned to Placide I.T. "Stay here, I won't be very long."
Adrian immediately made his way into an alleyway.
"It'll be much easier to find Marinette as Cat Noir," he said, letting Plagg out.
"And how will you explain Cat Noir's presence in Shanghai?" Plagg asked.
"I'll figure something out," he said confidently and then held out his ring. "Plagg, claws out!"
Adrien then began to transform into Cat Noir. He then extended his staff and made his way onto the rooftops as he began his search for Marinette.
Meanwhile, in the ruined school, Sprite was searching the place, making sure that he was not being spotted by Gabriel. Fortunately, he seemed to be more focused on the waterfall than the school itself.
As he investigated the school, he found evidence that someone was still living there and noticed a shrine for an old man who he assumed to be the former Master of the school.
He then pulled out his cane and contacted Master Fu. "Master, I'm at the school, but it's been burnt to the ground."
Master Fu closed his eyes. "Then I assume that Wu Shifu is no longer with us."
"I did find evidence that someone is still living, but there was also a shrine to whom I assume is Wu Shifu," Sprite reported.
"Do you have any idea who lives here now?"
"I can only assume that whoever was either his child or student. I'm going to stay here and hope they come back; I may be able to find out more."
"I'm afraid we may have another problem," said Lady P as she joined in on the conversation. "I just intercepted a message from Shanghai police. Apparently, Marinette is in Shanghai at this very moment and is missing."
"Marinette is here and missing?" Sprite stared.
"Hmm, this is indeed most troubling," said Master Fu.
"You want me to go and find her?" Sprite asked.
Master Fu closed his eyes in deep thought. "I am deeply concerned about Marinette, but we all know what she's capable of. Finding what happened to Master Wu Shifu is critical, considering that the eclipse is nearly upon us."
"I'll see if I can't hack into surveillance cameras and try and find Marinette," said Lady P. "I'll update you if I find her."
"And I guess the only thing I do is wait and stay hidden," said Sprite.
In the streets of Shanghai, the police officer had just received an alert on his on-board computer regarding Marinette. The news also spread to the local news.
"French middle schooler Marinette Dupain-Cheng was lost in Shanghai," said a T.V. reporter.
"I think we're okay now," said Fei, looking at Marinette curiously. "Why were you alone in Shanghai?"
"I'd gone out to meet with a friend," said Marinette, and Fei noticed the news report behind her, "and then I realised that someone had stolen my things."
Fei noticed that passersby were looking at Marinette.
"Come on!" said Fei, dragging Marinette to an alleyway. She then pulled a hat and a pair of glasses from her backpack. "Put these on in case we bump into those kids who were chasing us again."
Marinette blinked. "Why do you have all these costumes in your bag?"
"I… I just got back from a costume party!" she said quickly.
Now wearing their disguises, they made their way back onto the street.
"Let's take a bike," said Fei. "I thought of something about your earrings. I know a street filled with pawn shops. Maybe your thief tricked one of the owners into buying your things, pretending they were theirs."
"Oh… Okay," said Marinette, then noticed Fei's phone. "Oh! Do you think we could find the number at my uncle's restaurant so I can call him? He must be worried."
"Uh… I ran out of credit," Fei lied. "I can't call anyone, sorry.
She then took one of the bikes. "Don't worry! You'll be able to reassure him in person very soon."
The two of them were now riding down through the Bund district.
"What's your name, by the way?" Marinette asked.
"Fei," she said.
"I'm Marinette," she said and hugged her. "I'm so lucky I ran into you!"
Fei looked back at her, feeling even more guilty.
Cat Noir, meanwhile, was asking anyone he could find if they had spotted Marinette Marinette.
"Hello!" he said to a passerby. "Don't worry, I'm Cat Noir, Paris' superhero."
The man blinked. "Paris? What are you doing here?"
Cat Noir then showed him a picture of Marinette on his staff. "I'm looking for a French girl who went missing in Shanghai."
The man adjusted his glasses and looked at him bewildered. "French superheroes deal with lost tourists?"
"Uh… yes, among other things! Part of our public service."
He looked at the photo and shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't seen her. Good luck finding you, citizen!"
He walked away and Cat Noir used his staff to continue the search.
Meanwhile, Marinette and Fei were still riding down the street on the bicycle.
"Ugh, I knew I should have started Mandarin lessons a long time ago…" Marinette groaned and looked at Fei. "What about you? How come you speak French, Fei?"
"My father loved that language; he wanted me to know it," she said. "Besides, his Kung Fu school had lost all its local customers, but...he thought he could teach Kung Fu-loving tourists. But his school went up in smoke, and with it, everything he believed in."
"Not everything: you're still here."
"I've become the complete opposite of what he believed in!" said Fei regretfully.
Marinette frowned. "I don't get it. He wanted you to be mean and a selfish coward?"
Fei looked at her, confused. "Why would you say that?"
"Fei, you've been helping me for hours now even though you don't even know me, and you were super brave protecting me from the kids who were chasing me!" said Marinette, hugging her. "You're such an amazing person! So… If your father wanted the opposite for you…"
"I'm not as amazing as you think," she said guiltily when she came to a stop. "We're here."
Back at the Thousand Delights restaurant, Wang was still trying to call Marinette, and now Placide I.T. was having difficulty getting a hold of Adrian.
"We are still looking for French middle schooler Marinette Dupain-Cheng," said the news reporter on the T.V.
"It's Marinette; leave a message, beep!" said Marinette's voicemail and Wang hung up.
"You've reached the voicemail of Adrien Agreste," said Adrien's voicemail and Placide I.T. started to walk away. "Leave a message, and I'll…"
"Gonna be okay, gonna be okay," Bastille squawks.
"I hope so, Bastille," said Wang looking deeply concerned. "I hope so."