Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

At a teahouse near Beijing Television Station…

When Yu Manxi received a call from Song Fengwan and heard that Qiao Wangbei agreed to the interview, she was naturally overjoyed. Since he didn’t 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 Manxi’s phone kept vibrating, making her feel uneasy.

“If you have something to do, you can answer the phone.” She was Fu Sinian’s girlfriend, so Qiao Wangbei naturally had more patience. “I’m going to the restroom.”

“Okay.” Yu Manxi nodded with a smile and walked out with her phone.

She had saved this number. It was her biological father, He Maozhen.

“Hello.” She walked to a place with few people.

He Maozhen had been calling her recently because he wanted to meet her.

“Manman, it’s Dad…”

Yu Manxi was the name she had used in the countryside. After returning to the He family, she had a new name—He Shiman.

At the time, He Shiqing said, “There’s a poem called ‘Wild Vine Grass’ in the ‘Classic of Poetry’. And it has the same pronunciation as her name1 The character is very beautiful…”

Later on, she found out that vines were deserted and desolated…

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 didn’t 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 didn’t want to think so badly of a child.

She gripped her phone tightly. “What’s the matter?”

“When are you free? I’ve always wanted to treat you to a meal…” He Maozhen spoke with a hint of negotiation. “Your grandmother misses you a lot too.”

“I’ve been very busy recently, so I’m not free.”

“You can’t possibly not have time to eat, right? I’ll get someone to pick you up later.”

“I’d better make myself clear. I don’t… Hey—” Before Yu Manxi could finish speaking, the call was hung up.

She took a deep breath.

It had always been like this. He hadn’t asked her if she was willing, took her back, and kicked her out of the country. Now, he was trying to please her again. Wasn’t it fine not to interfere in each other’s lives?

When Song Fengwan saw Yu Manxi finish the call, her brows still didn’t relax.

“What’s troubling you?”

“It’s fine.”

“Do you want to eat together later?” It was four o’clock in the afternoon and almost time for dinner.

“No thanks. I have an appointment with someone. I might not be able to send you back later. I’ll ask my colleague to send you back.”

“No need. My uncle and I can just take a taxi.”

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 couldn’t dissuade her and could only agree. Meanwhile, Yu Manxi returned to her office to pack her things and hurriedly returned to her condo.

She didn’t 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.

“Eldest Miss, Master asked us to invite you back.”

Yu Manxi tightened her grip on her bag. “I still have something to do.” The moment she was about to walk toward the elevator, one of them reached out to stop her.

“What exactly do you want?”

“Don’t make things difficult for us. Get in the car with us.”

“What? Do you want to get rough with me?” 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.

“That’s not what we meant. It’s just that Master instructed us to invite you back today.”

“Heh—What if I don’t go today? Are you going to kidnap me?”

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.

“Eldest Miss, please don’t make things difficult for us.” The two of them looked at each other and knew that it would probably be difficult to ‘invite’ her back politely today.

“I have to go up to get something. I’ll be right away.” 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. “Eldest Miss…”

Yu Manxi was furious and waved his hand away. “I said I’d go with you. Don’t touch me.”

“Where are you going then?”

Yu Manxi laughed. “Why do I have to tell you where I’m going?”

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 men’s shoulders. She exerted force with her wrist and bowed slightly before throwing him over her shoulder beautifully. Bang!

The 1.8-meter-tall man’s 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 miss’s punches and kicks were so impressive. She had obviously practiced martial arts before.

“Eldest Miss…” The other person thought that she was going to run and quickly made a move. But he didn’t expect her to side kick…

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.

“Try taking another step closer.”

Yu Manxi gritted her teeth in anger. “Go back and tell your master that he can see me if he wants to, but let him do it himself! I’m not someone he can call and wave at will.”

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 loosened…

Her phone fell to the ground with a thud.

Before she could see who was behind her, she fainted.

***

On the other side…

Yu Manxi’s 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 her…

The first time, no one answered.

“The host Little Yu in charge of the interview today seemed a little distracted. She has something on her mind,” 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 shouldn’t 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 call…

“… She seems to have a lot on her mind. It’s a good thing to strive in her career at her age, but she can’t put all her heart and soul into it. Look at how skinny that girl is.

“She looks like she usually has a lot of things to worry about, but if she keeps working like that, it won’t be easy for her to gain weight…”

Yu Manxi’s 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 Manxi’s 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 Fengwan’s call.

“Hello, Little Aunt.” 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.

“Has Big Sister Yu gone back?” Song Fengwan remembered that she had said that she was going home. Logically speaking, she should be home already.

“Not yet. Aren’t you two together?” 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.

“We separated a long time ago. I called her, but she didn’t answer. I’m a little worried about her.”

“What do you mean?” Fu Sinian’s fingers tightened. He patted the cat’s body, signaling it to get down.

The kitten Niannian was obedient. It immediately jumped down and looked up at him.

“When 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 abnormal…

“She 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.

“I think something’s wrong!”

Song Fengwan’s intuition told her that something might have happened to Yu Manxi.

“Who called her?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Okay, I understand.” 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 Manxi’s phone, and the location was…

The underground garage?

Since she’s in the garage, why isn’t she answering her phone?

Fu Sinian couldn’t 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 Manxi’s!

His breathing deepened, and for a moment, his mind went blank.

“Little Fish…” 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.

“Mr. Fu…” His relationship with Yu Manxi had already been on the news, so she naturally knew about it.

“Hello.” Fu Sinian greeted her and prepared to leave.

The auntie looked at the female handbag in his hand. “Is Miss Yu alright?”

“What did you say?” Fu Sinian suddenly turned around. His eyes were cold, as if a layer of ice had passed through them, making the middle-aged woman’s heart pound.

“I’m just asking,” she said and was about to leave.

“Aunt, did you see her just now?”

“Just beside her car, there were two men in black who didn’t seem to let her go. I was far away, so I don’t know what they said.”

“Men in black?”

Yu Manxi’s phone was fingerprint locked, so Fu Sinian couldn’t 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 Manxi’s phone call history.

Jing Hanchuan was a little surprised. Fu Sinian has never asked me for help. Now that he’s asked, he wants to check his wife’s call history?

“Sinian, are you doing okay with her?”

“We’re fine. She’s missing!”

“Missing?” Jing Hanchuan raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Her bag and phone fell to the ground. She’s gone. What do you think?!” Fu Sinian was very anxious.

“Don’t be anxious. I’ll get someone to investigate immediately.”

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 faster…

“Sixth Master, the last call Miss Yu received was from He Maozhen.”

“The He family?” Jing Hanchuan frowned and called Fu Sinian.

At this moment, Fu Sinian had also found the He family’s car on the CCTV.

“Sir, should we call the police?” the community administrator asked.

Fu Sinian gripped his phone tightly and turned around to walk out…

Jing Hanchuan was holding fish food in his hand and rubbed it gently…

The He family?

Oh no!

He immediately picked up his phone…

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. “Hey, Hanchuan…”

“Hurry and go to the He residence!”

“Hmm?”

“Yu 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.”

“What?” Fu Chen narrowed his eyes and immediately signaled Shi Fang to turn the car around.

“Third Master?” Shi Fang looked at Fu Chen’s cold face. “Where are you going?”

“The He residence!”

Shi Fang was stunned. The He residence?