Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
It was hard to come by a Sunday.
Ye Chenfeng had no mood to go to the Paper Craft Shop. He truly didn’t want to continue in this ambiguous state with Li Xin; what happened that night was too strange. He couldn’t quite believe that he had actually been intimate with Li Xin.
But seeing Li Xin planning to come find him at the Paper Craft Shop tomorrow didn’t seem like nothing had happened between them.
For the first time, Ye Chenfeng refused to go to the Paper Craft Shop. This surprised Ding Li, who quickly dismissed her doubts when he explained his reasons for not going. It turned out that Xiang'er had been gone for a long time without any contact, and he wanted to check on her, which was why he didn’t plan to visit the Paper Craft Shop.
Xiang'er had been taken away by a single woman.
The intermediary was Li Xin.
Now Ye Chenfeng didn’t need Li Xin to guide him; he could find the woman who took Xiang'er on his own.
Ye Chenfeng thought that by avoiding Li Xin and being a bit cold towards her, the matter between them would naturally cool down. A period of calm would be beneficial for both of them.
Was this cowardice?
Ye Chenfeng asked himself this more than once. Every time he drifted off into other thoughts, Ding Li would notice immediately.
“Ye Chenfeng, do you have something on your mind?”
Ye Chenfeng forced a smile and said, “No, why would you ask that?”
Ding Li put her hands behind her back and looked up at the sky. The blue sky with white clouds and the sun shining gently on the earth made everything feel warm. The sun now wasn’t as harsh as in summer; it was soft and pleasant. She loved spring and its sunlight.
“I can see you’re distracted.”
Ding Li didn’t voice her inner thoughts; she suspected that Li Xin, who had approached them, might have some hidden agenda with her husband, Ye Chenfeng. There was something odd about the way Li Xin looked at her when she asked about Ye Chenfeng.
Ye Chenfeng held her shoulder and looked seriously into her hazel eyes, saying, “You’ve got me all confused. I’m fine. Right now, let’s go see Xiang'er. If necessary, we can bring her back.”
Xiang'er was a thorn in Ding Li's heart.
No matter what had happened at that time, whether it was directly related to her or not, the child had indeed been abandoned then.
When Ye Chenfeng mentioned Xiang'er, he noticed Ding Li's expression darken and his demeanor become somewhat uneasy. Concerned, he asked, "Are you still harboring any resentment towards Xiang'er?"
Ding Li felt guilty and feared that Ye Chenfeng could see through her thoughts, so she instead claimed to be petty. She forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, I just felt a bit dizzy earlier."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine; let's hurry up and go!"
The journey from home to their destination required a long detour, and that place was located in a remote mountain village in the northern region.
What puzzled Ye Chenfeng was why that woman, who was so wealthy, would choose to go to such a desolate village to renovate a house.
Wouldn't it be better to buy an apartment in the big city?
Given the chaos at that time, he refrained from voicing his thoughts.
Later, Li Xin told him that she simply wanted to breathe fresh air and didn’t care about anything else.
Ye Chenfeng rented a car.
If they wanted to buy one, both of them could afford it; however, over the years, they had donated quite a bit of their earnings. So buying a car was just a long-term plan that couldn't be implemented immediately.
As the car drove away from Purple City and headed north, the surroundings grew increasingly desolate. Finally reaching their destination, they learned that the woman who had adopted Xiang'er had moved away half a month ago, and no one knew where she had gone.
Nightfall was approaching quickly.
The only option for returning was to drive through the night, which would be exhausting and could easily lead to an accident.
After weighing his options, Ye Chenfeng decided to rest for a night in a nearby town before heading home the next day. If necessary, he could always request an early vacation from work.
The countryside at night was quieter than the city, offering a sense of tranquility and peace.
The sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking felt familiar. Ye Chenfeng felt as if he had returned to his grandmother's house from his childhood.
At Grandma's House, there was a fluffy dog with a short tail and whiskered face, its fur long enough to cover its eyes.
"What do you think of this person? She left without even telling us," Ding Li said, gazing at the empty house where the woman had moved out.
The entrance was paved with blue stone slabs, and beside the door hung a faded paper lantern that swayed gently in the wind.
"Don't worry. The locals say she treated Xiang'er very well, like her own daughter."
"I'm not worried about Xiang'er; I just find this woman mysterious and hard to figure out."
Ye Chenfeng nodded in understanding. "Yes, you don't know her well, and neither does she know you. It's natural to feel uncertain."
"Maybe!" Ding Li walked over and tried to push the door open, only to find her palm covered in dust. She found it strange; logically, it shouldn't be so dusty since the person had only left half a month ago.
She turned around to ask Ye Chenfeng what was going on when his phone rang.
In this place at this time, who could be calling?
Ding Li was perceptive enough not to pry like other women might have about who was on the other end of his call. Instead, she walked away to give him some privacy.
On the side of the house was a large patch of greenery.
The walls were covered in climbing ivy, with a green glow enveloping them. In the summer heat, it must be quite cool; however, there was a downside: these green vines were home to other creatures.
For example, snakes are the easiest to climb into a house.
Thinking of snakes, Ding Li felt goosebumps rise on his arms.
The caller was Li Xin, someone Ye Chenfeng dreaded in his heart.
How did Li Xin know my number? Ye Chenfeng wondered as he listened to Li Xin speak.
Li Xin said, "Ye Chenfeng, are you trying to avoid me?"
"Not at all. I really had something to do today, so I didn't go to the Paper Craft Shop."
"You went to that place?" Li Xin asked speculatively.
"What?"
"Is she by your side?" Naturally, Li Xin was referring to Ding Li.
Ye Chenfeng disliked other women speaking about Ding Li in such a way. He emphasized his words and replied firmly, "She is my wife; why wouldn't she be by my side?"
"That won't be the case for long," Li Xin's words were excessively harsh.
Ye Chenfeng was furious and said, "Just tell me what you want. If there's nothing, I'm hanging up."
"I'm pregnant."
Ye Chenfeng froze for a moment, then burst into laughter before quickly suppressing his voice and angrily retorting, "Li Xin, you're going too far. What nonsense are you talking about? I didn't even do anything to you back then. Even if I had, it wouldn't be possible for you to get pregnant so quickly."
"It's true. I can feel it; the baby is already growing inside me. It started as a little sprout and then spread out, developing and growing limbs..."
"You, stop talking. I have things to do; I'm hanging up." Ye Chenfeng ended the call.
Ding Li noticed the grim expression on his face and quickly asked, "Who called?" She guessed it was likely a friend or perhaps a classmate, but she never expected it would anger him this much.
"A stranger, a sales call," Ye Chenfeng replied, forcing himself to remain calm. He coughed lightly and swiftly added Li Xin's number to his blacklist. This way, when she called, it would indicate he was already on another call.
"Set up call blocking," Ding Li reminded Ye Chenfeng.
"Yeah, I did."
The two of them headed toward their rented place.
On the way, someone was performing a ghost sending ritual.
There were burning candles, Joss Paper, two apples, and a Broken Bowl. The Person Sending Off the Ghost murmured, "Fulfill your wishes; please don't come looking for my child."
Another child!
Ye Chenfeng glanced at The Person Sending Off the Ghost, who was a young woman.
The woman was also watching Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li.
Ding Li looked at the items and felt an inexplicable chill in her heart, prompting her to quicken her pace.
Suddenly, the woman stood up and chased after Ding Li, shouting, "Return my child!"
Ye Chenfeng instinctively wrapped his arms around the frightened Ding Li and reached out to stop the approaching woman. "What are you doing? Your child has nothing to do with us."
The woman was relentless, screaming and crying out, "It's her! She stole my child! My child!" Then she collapsed on the ground, rolling around and throwing a tantrum, attracting more onlookers.
Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li were utterly confused, feeling like they were in over their heads.
The crowd quickly recognized the troublemaking woman and shouted, "Isn't that Fengxi from Sun Er's Family?"
Ye Chenfeng walked over to ask what was going on.
The man pointed to a woman named Fengxi and said, "She's crazy. A while ago, she lost her child and went mad. Whenever she sees someone else's child, she grabs them and drags them home, claiming that they swapped her child."
"What happened to her child?"
"Lost. It's strange here; since the year before last, children have been disappearing one after another. Fengxi isn't the first to lose a child, but she’s the only one who went insane."
Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li found this situation puzzling.
"Did you report it to the police?"
"Reporting is useless. There's no evidence. They come, take a simple statement, say they'll wait for news, and then nothing happens."
The onlookers murmured among themselves for a while before dispersing.
Someone had already come to take Fengxi away; it seemed to be her husband.
Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li quietly pondered as they went to their rented place. They asked the landlord and learned that since the year before last, children had been disappearing continuously. There were no traces left behind; it was as if people vanished without a trace.
"Are there any human traffickers around here?"
"If you talk about human traffickers, they’re everywhere. But with children disappearing one after another, those traffickers must be quite bold. Besides, most of the missing children are minors—some are just teenagers, while others are only a few months old."
"They're even taking infants?" Ding Li exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes."
"This is really strange."
The landlord clicked his tongue and nodded, "Indeed. We've tried every possible way to find clues, but nothing has turned up. Everyone has been trying to protect their children, which has helped a little."
It was late at night.
Ye Chenfeng tossed and turned, unable to sleep. It wasn't just about Li Xin; the loss of their child weighed heavily on his mind, keeping him awake.
Ding Li also found herself restless.
Thinking of those well-behaved, chubby children made it impossible for her to close her eyes.
"Ye Chenfeng, can we still have children?"
"Why do you ask that?" Ye Chenfeng didn't want to hurt her pride. It was clearly an impossible situation; bringing it up would only cause more pain.
"Just thinking about those children... If they were eaten by wild animals, how terrifying would that be?"
"That can't be! They must have been taken by a human trafficking ring. So many children have gone missing, and the authorities are taking it seriously. How could the traffickers remain so calm while continuing their crimes?"
"If you weren't working, we could stake out this place. Maybe we could uncover something."
Ye Chenfeng took a deep breath, the scent of earth filling his nostrils. He forced a smile and said, "I have several days of vacation coming up. We can stay here for a while, but don't you want to know what happened to Xiang'er?" For some reason, thinking about Xiang'er in connection with the lost children made him feel uneasy.
Comment 0 Comment Count