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墨書 Inktalez
Hearing Yue's words, Han Liqun was even more confused, like a monk who couldn't grasp the meaning of a scripture. He asked, "What do you mean? I don't understand what you're saying."
Yue also felt that this situation was quite strange. If this was a new house, the marks on the walls indicated that someone had lived there before; some areas clearly showed signs of furniture placement. However, given the current state of affairs, with nothing inside, it was evident that no one was living there.
Yet the keys taken from under the doormat could indeed open both doors, which meant this was definitely Han Liqun's home.
Yue was puzzled as well. He could only say, "I did take out two keys from under the doormat, and both of them can open these two doors. But your house is completely empty—there's nothing left, just an empty shell. Do you understand? It’s as if everything is gone."
"Ah?" Han Liqun did not expect such a result.
"Is your address really Unit 100, Silver Sea Crescent Five?" Yue asked.
Han Liqun replied, "Yes, that's right. How could I possibly get that wrong?"
After a moment of silence on the other end, Han Liqun heard footsteps moving around. After a brief pause, Yue said, "Then this place is definitely it. To be frank, everything in your house is gone, and so are your wife and child. I want to be clear: this has nothing to do with me. Things are getting more complicated now, and I really don’t want to get involved any further. That's it."
With that, Yue hung up the phone.
Listening to the busy tone in his ear, Han Liqun was filled with confusion and anxiety, along with a growing sense of worry. From Yue's words, he could deduce part of the situation: his wife and child were missing, and all the furniture in the house had vanished without a trace. He had no idea what had happened; if this matter wasn't investigated thoroughly, Han Liqun would be unable to sleep through the night.
But since Yue had hung up on him, he dialed another number with a sense of trying his luck but still couldn't get through.
The call went back to Yue's phone; fortunately, Yue hadn't blocked his number yet.
"Pick up! Pick up!"
Han Liqun's left hand still held the bottle of mineral water, which spilled out in torrents from the opening. At that moment, he showed no reaction, allowing the water to flow over his hand and drip down. He had no time to think about food arrangements; all he wanted to know was what had happened to his wife and child.
"Can you just stop bothering me?" It was clear that Yue was very angry. "I really don’t want to wade through this mess any longer. I may not know exactly what happened, but even a fool can see that there’s something fishy going on here. You’ve been kidnapped, everything in your house is gone, your wife and child are missing, and the police don’t believe you. What smart person would want to take on this kind of trouble?"
Yue added, "You don’t need to call me again; I’m going to block you."
"I have one hundred thousand yuan in my Alipay!" Han Liqun suddenly stood up, spilling the mineral water all over the floor. "I’ll give you my account number and password right now. Like I said, you can log in and check for yourself; the payment password is still the same as before. I know you’re a con artist, but if I weren’t desperate, do you think I would do this? One hundred thousand—help me find out what really happened!"
Upon hearing this, Yue fell silent again. Han Liqun knew that each moment of silence meant Yue was thinking it over, that he had stirred something within him. Con artists love money; otherwise, they wouldn’t be in this line of work. Han Liqun was taking a gamble—he was betting on Yue's character.
If Yue took the money and didn’t do anything, there would be nothing Han Liqun could do about it.
"I’ve already trusted you enough," Han Liqun pressed on. "Your task is simple: just help me find out what happened and where my wife and son are. I’ll be waiting for your call right here!"
Finally, Yue spoke up: "I checked your Alipay account; you really do have that much money. Since it’s come to this, it would be a bit unfair not to help you. So, I’ll look into it for you. As for whether I can find anything out—that’s uncertain; I’m just a con artist, not a police officer. First, tell me your wife’s phone number so I can see if I can reach her!"
"Yes! Yes!" Han Liqun quickly provided Yue with the phone number.
"Once I find out some information, I’ll call you back," Yue said.
"Please," Han Liqun pleaded.
Yue replied, "Alright, I’ll start looking into it now. Just wait."
It was now twelve forty on August twenty-third, and Han Liqun had been waiting until four o'clock in the afternoon.
During those three long hours, Han Liqun had no idea how he managed to endure. He dialed other people's phone numbers, but none went through. He shouted and knocked, yet no one noticed where he was. The only thing he could see was the blue sky and the shifting clouds.
Han Liqun was on the verge of losing his mind. In a moment of frustration, he accidentally shattered a bottle of mineral water and spilled another. He still had some food left, but while a person could go a week without eating, they couldn't last three days without drinking water. Now, there was only one unopened bottle of mineral water remaining.
For some reason, the more time passed, the thirstier Han Liqun felt.
He longed to gulp down that last bottle of mineral water in one go and end it all, but he couldn't. Deep down, he held onto one belief: his wife and child. Even if he could end it all, he couldn't bear to leave them behind.
He sat quietly on the bed, watching as the bright sky gradually turned dim. The room had no electricity, so there were no lights. He hid in the shadows where the sunset couldn't reach him, as if he were part of the darkness itself.
At four thirty in the afternoon, sitting in the shadows, he finally received a call.
"Hello, Yue? Have you found out anything?" Han Liqun asked anxiously.
Yue's voice was low and somber as he replied, "You were the one who got kidnapped by two abductors yesterday afternoon, right?"
"Yes, at six o'clock yesterday," Han Liqun confirmed.
Yue responded with a grunt. "In these past few hours, I've questioned your neighbors and bribed the security guards to review the surveillance footage from the area. Around seven o'clock last night, just after dusk but still light enough to see clearly, two moving trucks arrived—those big cargo trucks."
"And then what?" Han Liqun pressed for more information.
"After that, your wife came out and arranged for those people to move everything out of the house," Yue said. "I specifically asked the security guard about this. One of them told me that your wife even chatted with him for a bit, mentioning that she had bought a new house and was preparing to move out from here."
At that moment, Han Liqun felt as if a hundred claws were scratching at his heart. He had never heard anything about moving, nor had he discussed anything regarding a new house with his wife. What on earth was happening?
Yue continued, "The security guard verified the owner's information and found it matched, so he didn’t stop them. Around ten o'clock in the evening, two large trucks took away everything from your home. As for where they went, I’m not sure. I looked into it, but there’s no record of this moving company; the trail ends here."
Han Liqun couldn't believe his ears. "Are you saying that after I was kidnapped, my wife called a moving company? No, she called two trucks disguised as a moving company to take everything from my house? What about the safe in my room? Did you see it when you went in?"
Yue replied, "No, your house was completely empty."
Han Liqun's heart sank suddenly as he realized something, but he dared not think about it or guess what it could mean.
"What else is there?" Han Liqun asked again.
Yue said, "After the two trucks left, around ten-thirty at night, a sedan stopped outside the district. The surveillance cameras didn’t capture the license plate. A man got out of the car; he was about one hundred seventy-five centimeters tall, somewhat plump, dressed in a suit, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked to be in his thirties and wore glasses."
"Who is this person?" Han Liqun immediately pressed for more information.
As he questioned further, Han Liqun's mind raced with thoughts—had he seen this man before? Why had this man come here in the middle of the night? Why did his wife rush to move after he was kidnapped? Didn’t she worry at all since he hadn’t returned home all night?
A series of questions flooded Han Liqun's mind.
Yue chuckled lightly. "How would I know who this person is? This was all captured on the district's surveillance footage. If your phone could receive pictures, I could send you this man's photo directly."
"I can't accept this." Han Liqun's voice was filled with helplessness.
Yue said, "No matter who this person is, I have to tell you something. You have definitely been cheated on. The surveillance shows that your wife was very happy after seeing this man. They embraced and were affectionate for a while before getting into a car outside the area and leaving together. I also asked a few neighbors, and some mentioned that this man has come over many times when you weren't home. The neighbors didn't want to gossip, just in case he was a relative."
Hearing this, Han Liqun's mouth fell open in disbelief. He couldn't accept that the woman he loved would betray him like this. Yes, his wife was seven or eight years younger than him, in her thirties, while he was already forty-two.
Moreover, he was busy at work, and their son was at school. His wife had plenty of time to do whatever she wanted.
Han Liqun suddenly realized that there were hundreds of people in his mind who were around thirty years old, about one hundred seventy-five centimeters tall, wearing glasses, and slightly overweight. But who could it be?
"What about my son? Where is my son?" Han Liqun noticed that Yue hadn't mentioned anything about his son.
Yue replied, "He wasn't seen on the surveillance footage, and the neighbors haven't seen him either. I called his teacher, but there’s still no news. Just wait; I'll inform you as soon as I have any updates. Brother, it's hard for anyone to accept something like this, but think about it—could it all be too coincidental?"
Yue hung up the phone.
Yes, could it all be too coincidental!
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