Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At a teahouse near Beijing Television Stationâ¦
When Yu Manxi received a call from Song Fengwan and heard that Qiao Wangbei agreed to the interview, she was naturally overjoyed. Since he didnât accept being filmed or photographed, there was no need for him to visit the station, so she found a teahouse near the TV station.
This way, both parties would be more relaxed.
Song Fengwan came with Qiao Wangbei, while Yu Manxi only brought a female colleague in charge of recording.
Yu Manxi had obviously done her homework. Her questions were very professional, and they were all about stone carvings and jade carvings. The interview went very smoothly.
But Yu Manxiâs phone kept vibrating, making her feel uneasy.
âIf you have something to do, you can answer the phone.â She was Fu Sinianâs girlfriend, so Qiao Wangbei naturally had more patience. âIâm going to the restroom.â
âOkay.â Yu Manxi nodded with a smile and walked out with her phone.
She had saved this number. It was her biological father, He Maozhen.
âHello.â She walked to a place with few people.
He Maozhen had been calling her recently because he wanted to meet her.
âManman, itâs Dadâ¦â
Yu Manxi was the name she had used in the countryside. After returning to the He family, she had a new nameâHe Shiman.
At the time, He Shiqing said, âThereâs a poem called âWild Vine Grassâ in the âClassic of Poetryâ. And it has the same pronunciation as her?name1?The character is very beautifulâ¦â
Later on, she found out that vines were deserted and desolatedâ¦
When this word was used in ancient times, there was almost no good connotation behind it. It was basically saying that she was just a weed.
She didnât know if He Shiqing knew the meaning of this word at the time. But when she went back, He Shiqing had only been twelve years old. She didnât want to think so badly of a child.
She gripped her phone tightly. âWhatâs the matter?â
âWhen are you free? Iâve always wanted to treat you to a mealâ¦â He Maozhen spoke with a hint of negotiation. âYour grandmother misses you a lot too.â
âIâve been very busy recently, so Iâm not free.â
âYou canât possibly not have time to eat, right? Iâll get someone to pick you up later.â
âIâd better make myself clear. I donât⦠Heyââ Before Yu Manxi could finish speaking, the call was hung up.
She took a deep breath.
It had always been like this. He hadnât asked her if she was willing, took her back, and kicked her out of the country. Now, he was trying to please her again. Wasnât it fine not to interfere in each otherâs lives?
When Song Fengwan saw Yu Manxi finish the call, her brows still didnât relax.
âWhatâs troubling you?â
âItâs fine.â
âDo you want to eat together later?â It was four oâclock in the afternoon and almost time for dinner.
âNo thanks. I have an appointment with someone. I might not be able to send you back later. Iâll ask my colleague to send you back.â
âNo need. My uncle and I can just take a taxi.â
In the following interview, Yu Manxi seemed a little distracted.
***
After the interview, she still insisted on having her colleague send them back. Song Fengwan couldnât dissuade her and could only agree. Meanwhile, Yu Manxi returned to her office to pack her things and hurriedly returned to her condo.
She didnât want to use the Fu family to take revenge on the He family. She only wanted to live a peaceful life, so she planned to use this opportunity to clarify things with the He family.
Just as Yu Manxi parked her car downstairs, she saw two burly men in black getting out of a black sedan.
Her heart tightened.
âEldest Miss, Master asked us to invite you back.â
Yu Manxi tightened her grip on her bag. âI still have something to do.â The moment she was about to walk toward the elevator, one of them reached out to stop her.
âWhat exactly do you want?â
âDonât make things difficult for us. Get in the car with us.â
âWhat? Do you want to get rough with me?â Yu Manxi smiled mockingly.
Just like when she was young, two men drove to her home and dragged her into the car without any explanation.
âThatâs not what we meant. Itâs just that Master instructed us to invite you back today.â
âHehâWhat if I donât go today? Are you going to kidnap me?â
Yu Manxi saw the management lady of the condominium building holding some paper and sticking them on the wall of the underground parking garage.
She had clearly seen them arguing here, but she was afraid of getting into trouble and quickly avoided them.
âEldest Miss, please donât make things difficult for us.â The two of them looked at each other and knew that it would probably be difficult to âinviteâ her back politely today.
âI have to go up to get something. Iâll be right away.â Yu Manxi also wanted to cut ties with them completely. If she said it now, it would prevent trouble in the future.
Just as she moved, one of them reached out to hold her shoulder. âEldest Missâ¦â
Yu Manxi was furious and waved his hand away. âI said Iâd go with you. Donât touch me.â
âWhere are you going then?â
Yu Manxi laughed. âWhy do I have to tell you where Iâm going?â
With that, she turned around and walked to the other side. Seeing that she was about to leave, the two of them exchanged glances and reached out to stop her.
Yu Manxi reached out her hand and pressed down on one of the menâs shoulders. She exerted force with her wrist and bowed slightly before throwing him over her shoulder beautifully. Bang!
The 1.8-meter-tall manâs back slammed heavily onto the concrete floor of the underground parking garage. His body arched in pain, and his spine felt that it was about to break.
Their master had asked them to pick her up, but he had never said that the eldest missâs punches and kicks were so impressive. She had obviously practiced martial arts before.
âEldest Missâ¦â The other person thought that she was going to run and quickly made a move. But he didnât expect her to side kickâ¦
She was wearing high heels, and a sharp heel brushed past his face, bringing with it a gust of wind. He was so frightened that his face turned pale.
âTry taking another step closer.â
Yu Manxi gritted her teeth in anger. âGo back and tell your master that he can see me if he wants to, but let him do it himself! Iâm not someone he can call and wave at will.â
The person thrown to the ground struggled to get up. His back felt like it was being torn apart, and it was so painful that cold sweat kept flowing.
Yu Manxi grabbed her bag tightly, turned a corner, and walked toward the elevator. When she passed by a wall, she saw the middle-aged management woman putting up a red paper notice to collect condo fees. Her condo fees were paid by the landlord. She pursed her lips.
She thought that she had to remind Fu Sinian to pay the condo management fees. When she lowered her head to touch her phone, someone hit the back of her head hard, and her fingers loosenedâ¦
Her phone fell to the ground with a thud.
Before she could see who was behind her, she fainted.
***
On the other sideâ¦n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Yu Manxiâs colleague sent Qiao Wangbei and Song Fengwan straight to Yishui Community. After thanking her and separating, Song Fengwan thought that she should tell Yu Manxi that she was safe and took out her phone to call herâ¦
The first time, no one answered.
âThe host Little Yu in charge of the interview today seemed a little distracted. She has something on her mind,â Qiao Wangbei said casually.
Song Fengwan nodded and called again, but still no one answered. She called four times in a row, and it was all the same.
This shouldnât be the case. Yu Manxi could have an interview assignment at any time. She had mentioned to her before that her phone never left her side, so she should have answered the callâ¦
â⦠She seems to have a lot on her mind. Itâs a good thing to strive in her career at her age, but she canât put all her heart and soul into it. Look at how skinny that girl is.
âShe looks like she usually has a lot of things to worry about, but if she keeps working like that, it wonât be easy for her to gain weightâ¦â
Yu Manxiâs work was going quite smoothly, and no one dared to make things difficult for her now. Her relationship with Fu Sinian was also going very smoothly. What did she have to worry about?
Song Fengwan suddenly thought of the mother and daughter who had gone to Yu Manxiâs home that day. Coupled with the state she was in after answering the call, her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately called Fu Sinian.
During this period of time, Fu Sinian was still in a state of being nocturnal. He had just gotten up and fed the cat while thinking that Yu Manxi would be back soon.
He was a little surprised to receive Song Fengwanâs call.
âHello, Little Aunt.â Fu Sinian gritted his teeth every time he called her this.
He lowered his head and petted the cat. He was always unwilling to use this title.
âHas Big Sister Yu gone back?â Song Fengwan remembered that she had said that she was going home. Logically speaking, she should be home already.
âNot yet. Arenât you two together?â Fu Sinian knew that Yu Manxi had interviewed Qiao Wangbei today. When she went home last night, she had even checked the information until late at night and made a lot of preparations.
âWe separated a long time ago. I called her, but she didnât answer. Iâm a little worried about her.â
âWhat do you mean?â Fu Sinianâs fingers tightened. He patted the catâs body, signaling it to get down.
The kitten Niannian was obedient. It immediately jumped down and looked up at him.
âWhen we met today, she received a call. After she came back, she was distracted. I wanted to have dinner with her tonight, but she said that she had made arrangements and was acting a little abnormalâ¦
âShe asked her colleague to send me and my uncle home. I wanted to tell her that I got back safely. I called her a few times, but no one answered.
âI think somethingâs wrong!â
Song Fengwanâs intuition told her that something might have happened to Yu Manxi.
âWho called her?â
âIâm not sureâ¦â
âOkay, I understand.â Fu Sinian hung up and called Yu Manxi. It was the same situation as Song Fengwan had described.
Fu Sinian immediately turned on his computer. He could locate Yu Manxiâs phone, and the location wasâ¦
The underground garage?
Since sheâs in the garage, why isnât she answering her phone?
Fu Sinian couldnât worry about much and took the elevator downstairs. He went out of the garage and looked for her parking space. The parking spaces here were all bought with money, and every car had a fixed spot. Just as he turned a corner, he saw the bag and phone abandoned on the ground.
Yu Manxiâs!
His breathing deepened, and for a moment, his mind went blank.
âLittle Fishâ¦â Fu Sinian bent down to pick up her phone and bag and looked around. There were no surveillance cameras in the underground parking garage.
Just as he was about to look for the property management to check the surveillance cameras elsewhere, he saw the aunt from the management office walk over.
âMr. Fuâ¦â His relationship with Yu Manxi had already been on the news, so she naturally knew about it.
âHello.â Fu Sinian greeted her and prepared to leave.
The auntie looked at the female handbag in his hand. âIs Miss Yu alright?â
âWhat did you say?â Fu Sinian suddenly turned around. His eyes were cold, as if a layer of ice had passed through them, making the middle-aged womanâs heart pound.
âIâm just asking,â she said and was about to leave.
âAunt, did you see her just now?â
âJust beside her car, there were two men in black who didnât seem to let her go. I was far away, so I donât know what they said.â
âMen in black?â
Yu Manxiâs phone was fingerprint locked, so Fu Sinian couldnât unlock it. He could only go to the property management to check the surveillance cameras. Taking this opportunity, he called Jing Hanchuan and asked him to help check Yu Manxiâs phone call history.
Jing Hanchuan was a little surprised.?Fu Sinian has never asked me for help. Now that heâs asked, he wants to check his wifeâs call history?
âSinian, are you doing okay with her?â
âWeâre fine. Sheâs missing!â
âMissing?â Jing Hanchuan raised an eyebrow. âAre you sure?â
âHer bag and phone fell to the ground. Sheâs gone. What do you think?!â Fu Sinian was very anxious.
âDonât be anxious. Iâll get someone to investigate immediately.â
There were no surveillance cameras in the underground parking garage, only at the entrances and exits. Fu Sinian could only check the surveillance cameras based on the time provided by Song Fengwan and estimate the time when Yu Manxi arrived home.
The news from Jing Hanchuan came fasterâ¦
âSixth Master, the last call Miss Yu received was from He Maozhen.â
âThe He family?â Jing Hanchuan frowned and called Fu Sinian.
At this moment, Fu Sinian had also found the He familyâs car on the CCTV.
âSir, should we call the police?â the community administrator asked.
Fu Sinian gripped his phone tightly and turned around to walk outâ¦
Jing Hanchuan was holding fish food in his hand and rubbed it gentlyâ¦
The He family?
Oh no!
He immediately picked up his phoneâ¦
At this moment, Fu Chen had just accompanied Old Madam Fu to watch an opera. After sending her back, he was about to go home. âHey, Hanchuanâ¦â
âHurry and go to the He residence!â
âHmm?â
âYu Manxi is missing. There are various signs that the He family might have taken her away! Sinian might have gone to their house alone to ask for her.â
âWhat?â Fu Chen narrowed his eyes and immediately signaled Shi Fang to turn the car around.
âThird Master?â Shi Fang looked at Fu Chenâs cold face. âWhere are you going?â
âThe He residence!â
Shi Fang was stunned.?The He residence?