Ying Yue was taken into a huge mansion. Xiaoping walked into a room on the first floor and closed the door behind him without saying a word. The two goons led her up a long flight of stairs to a bedroom on the second floor. Four more bodyguards were posted outside of the room and they all were bigger in size. She entered the room and noticed that the windows were boarded up from the inside. The goons left and locked the door behind them, leaving her with her thoughts.
She looked around and found that the room barely had anything in it. A bed in one corner and a small bathroom adjacent. She moved to one of the windows and pulled on the piece of wood that covered the window. When it didn't move, she sighed heavily, and tucked her hair behind her ear. Her ponytail had come loose and she was starting to sweat. Her chest lifted and her hand went over her mouth. She stifled the cry that threatened to escape her mouth. Tears filled her eyes and she fought to control her breathing. She was scared. What was Xiaoping planning to do to her?
An hour passed as she sat on the bed, crazy thoughts running through her head. Without knocking, one of the hired men entered the room. Her heart raced as the thought of him doing something terrible to her entered her mind. He placed a tray of food on the bed and left. She looked down at the tray. Could she even eat? Her hand went to her belly and she thought about the baby. Gu Hai and Bai LuoYin would want her to eat, she thought. She picked up the chopsticks and ate some of the food.
Half an hour passed and Xiaoping entered the room. She stood up and slowly backed away from the bed, putting her back to the wall. His eyes followed her every move. Visions of how he treated her in the past entered her mind. A slap to the face when she was in the kitchen cleaning up, because she had not spoken to him at dinner. She had chosen not to speak to him after realizing that he had changed as a husband and a man. That night she also came to the conclusion that he was cheating on her. When he had gotten home, he hugged her. The smell of another woman’s perfume lingered on his shirt. She had chosen not to say anything about it because of the abuse.
“I see you’ve eaten something,” he said, turning his head to look around the room. “I will bring up some clean towels so that you can take a bath.”
Ying Yue didn’t want to speak. She couldn’t even stand looking at him. The urge to throw up everything she had eaten earlier was strong. Do not say a word to him, she thought, he doesn’t deserve it. But what if she didn’t speak to him? Would he hit her? Would he get angry and try to hurt her or the baby?
Xiaoping turned his eyes on her again and looked her up and down. His anger bubbled under his skin like a steaming pot covered with a lid. He took a deep breath and linked his hands behind his waist. “I will not harm you,” he said, “but do not make things hard or I will have to.” He turned and left the room.
When the door closed behind him, Ying Yue sat on the edge of the bed and cried quietly. It had taken everything inside of her not to scream at the top of her lungs.
The mall security and even the police had searched the entire mall three times. When mall security pulled the camera footage from the food court they saw when Ying Yue entered the restroom. But she never left. It was strange to everyone involved.
Gu Hai sat down in a chair next to the man who was in charge of the security cameras. They focused on the one monitor that showed the women's restroom. He asked the man to rewind the tape over and over again. He was looking for something out of the ordinary. He needed to solve this mystery fast. Even though he was concerned about Ying Yue, he was secretly more worried about the baby. His heart ached and he tried his best to be strong, even if it was for his wife.
Bai LuoYin watched as mall security blocked off the restroom with yellow tape. The mall was closed now, but still, they didn’t want anyone else coming in and interrupting their investigation. He entered the women's restroom and surveyed the area. The stalls and sinks were the only things in the room. There was no way Ying Yue left the restroom without someone seeing her. He had a horrible thought. What if Ying Yue had changed her mind about keeping the baby? Did she leave because she wanted to keep the baby and raise it herself? He stood in the middle of the restroom and looked down at the tiled floor in silence. Then he thought about what he had done to Gu Hai. If they had been with Ying Yue maybe this would have never happened. Guilt hung heavy in his chest and his nose burned. He wanted to cry. He cleared his throat and shook the thought from his mind. He had to be strong, even if it was for his husband.
“I don’t see any windows,” said one of the officers, scratching his head, “how in the world did she get out?” The other officer shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Bai LuoYin.
Gu Hai watched the tape over and over. He watched as lots of women came and went through the restroom doorway. After a while, he noticed something odd. “Wait,” he yelled to the man next to him, “go back!”
The man jumped in his seat, looked at him puzzled, and did as he was asked.
“Right there,” Gu Hai pointed at the screen. “Do you see the woman pushing the wheelchair?”
The man squinted, leaned forward, and looked at the screen. He didn’t see anything different from all the other times.
“Zoom in on the woman pushing the chair,” Gu Hai ordered.
The man did as he was told.
“Do you see it,” asked Gu Hai. He stood up and looked closer. “That isn’t a woman at all. That is a man!”
The man tilted his head to the side and frowned. He didn’t see what Gu Hai saw. “How can you tell,” he asked.
“Shit,” Gu Hai said. He left the office to go find Bai LuoYin and the police officers.
Bai LuoYin’s heart sank. He was still in his thoughts. He couldn’t help himself. When Gu Hai entered the restroom, he immediately stood taller. He had to be strong!
“She has been kidnapped,” Gu Hai said sternly.
“What,” Bai LuoYin said in disbelief.
“Yes,” Gu Hai said, “come look at this.” He led Bai LuoYin back to the office and they played the tape once more.
Bai LuoYin watched as Gu Hai explained his theory on what he thinks had happened.
“Look at their shoulders,” Gu Hai pointed to the screen. “Women are not built like that,” he said. “Look at the way they’re walking after they leave the restroom,” he added.
Bai LuoYin saw what Gu Hai saw. The last person that left the restroom after the woman pushing the wheelchair walked differently. He saw how odd they moved and knew that they were men also.
“I think they kidnapped her in the restroom, put her in the wheelchair, and left,” Gu Hai said.
Bai LuoYin looked over at the police officers in charge, their eyes wide with amazement, “Go inform the others,” he said, “we have to find her.” He looked over at Gu Hai and said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Gu Hai nodded. “Do you think that it’s Xiaoping?”
“If it’s not someone looking for money, then yes,” Bai LuoYin said.
Hours passed by and Ying Yue lost track of the time. She knew that it was dark outside, but the exact time was hard to tell. They had taken her phone and there wasn’t even a television or a clock in the room. After a short while, a bodyguard she hadn’t seen before walked into the room and handed her a large towel. He left without a word. How could they think that she wanted to take a bath at a time like this? She threw the towel on the bed and folded her hands over her stomach. Five minutes later, a knock came at the door. She frowned. Why would they start knocking on the door now, she thought, irritated.
Xiaoping opened the door, peeked in, smiled at her, and entered the room.
Ying Yue took a step back. It was now a normal thing to do when he was in her presence. The look on Xiaoping’s face was confusing.
He looked at the towel on the bed, walked over, picked it up, and looked up at her with a smile. “It’s time for your bath,” he said.
Was he crazy, she thought to herself and frowned. Had he lost his mind in their time apart? Did he miss her so much that he had gone insane? One minute he was smiling, the next, he was serious and threatening, now he stood there smiling at her as if nothing was wrong.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he snapped, his smile vanishing. His face turned cold. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this day.”
Her eyes went wide and she did her best to control her emotions. She blinked at him. Had he really been waiting for her for all these months? Had time apart from one another make him yearn for her even more? How was this possible? Then she thought about how he had actually been looking for her. That one time when they went fishing and the man behind the counter who looked at her funny. Of course he had looked for her, but why? She knew that he didn’t truly love her. A man wouldn’t hit the woman he loved, ever.
His expression changed to something pleasant. “Come,” he said, holding out his hand, “I will help you take a bath.”
She wanted to really throw up this time. Her stomach ached. The thought of him putting his hands on her body made her feel sick. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs so badly. She hoped that Gu Hai and Bai LuoYin were doing everything in their power to find her.
He walked over to her, gently took her by the hand, and led her around the bed towards the bathroom. She knew better than to fight him. A vision of him getting upset and punching her in the stomach entered her mind and she froze. She couldn’t do anything to piss him off, she thought. She had to protect the baby, so she let him lead the way.
When she stood in the bathroom, she watched as he turned on the water, felt to see if it was too hot, adjusted the temperature, and put the stopper in so that the water wouldn’t go down the tub. She quickly looked to her left and right for something to use to knock him out. But then she remembered the bodyguards outside. Was it possible to get past them if she knocked him out cold? Maybe? She double checked her surroundings. There was nothing in the bathroom that she could use. There was nothing by the sink or on the countertop. The only thing she saw was the bar of soap near the tub.
He turned towards her and smiled again. In his mind, he thought about the divorce papers that she had sent to him. He was going to make her suffer. He stood up and reached out for her. She took a step back and gasped, both her hands covering her chest. He reached out and gripped her arm, pulling her closer to him.
“Don’t,” he warned, his jawline working as if he was growing angry. When her stomach rubbed against him, he stiffened. He didn’t want to look down at it. The thought of another man’s seed in his wife’s belly made him want to rip her flesh apart, starting from her very belly. Instead, he let her see the dark thoughts through his eyes and he almost smiled when she gasped.
Ying Yue saw the darkness deep in his eyes and it scared her. She remained silent as he lifted her dress over her head. Her heart raced. She could feel it pounding in her chest, making it impossible to inhale. She still wouldn’t speak to him, even though he pressured her. If he went too far, she would sink her fingers into his eyes and try to blind him.
He undressed her and threw her clothing next to the tub. Then he helped her into the tub. He watched as she covered her breast with one arm and protected her stomach with the other. Bitch, he thought, then a sadness came over him. He missed her creamy breasts. They were bigger now. The thought of his lips pressed over them made his mouth water. When he had seen her again for the first time after she left, he had undressed her with his eyes. All the other women he had been with didn’t compare to his wife's beauty and grace. He had grown tired of them immediately. He had just used them for sex, discarded them like waste, never gave them a second glance or chance.
She sank into the water. She made sure that the suds covered her as much as possible. She looked at the wall and picked up the soap before he did. She lathered up and began washing her skin.
He leaned against the tub. He rested his chin on his arm and watched as she bathed. "I missed you," he whispered.
She pretended not to hear him. She kept cleaning herself.
"I thought something horrible had happened to you," he said.
She listened and thought, why? Why should he care? He should have treated her better when they were together. He wouldn't have lost her then.
"I searched everywhere for you," he went on. "I've had nightmares every night since you left. I waited for you to come back, but you never did."
She heard the sadness creep into his voice, but she wasn't fooled. No. Not one bit. She knew that it was all an act. There was no way he was still in love with her. He just wanted her back in his life again so that he could control her.
He reached over and took the soap out of her hands. She stiffened and moved back, splashing some of the water onto him and the floor. Some even went into his eyes and he had to wipe them. He didn't get angry though. He took his time wiping his eyes. She debated if she should stick her fingers deep into his eye sockets and blind him while she had the chance. But he finished wiping his eyes and looked at her with a smile as if the whole incident hadn't upset him.
She still never looked at his face. She looked down at the water. If he did decide to hit her at any time, she would attack his eyes and then make a run for it.
With quick thinking, Gu Hai suggested they watch the rest of the tapes. They saw everything and knew that Ying Yue had been unconscious the entire time. The cameras showed when her body flopped to one side as they pushed her towards the exit doors. The person who had been pushing the wheelchair had adjusted her in the seat a few times and even held her head up when they entered the parking garage. Bai LuoYin could have sworn that he had seen a baby bump from under the sheet that covered her body. The big hat had covered her face, so they weren't one hundred percent sure that it was Ying Yue. But something deep inside of them both told them that it was her.
"Zoom up on the man's face," Gu Hai said.
The security man did as he was told, but it didn't do them any good. They still couldn't confirm that it was Xiaoping.
Bai LuoYin had pulled up an image of him from online. When he saw what Xiaoping looked like, he had to admit, he was a very handsome man. He quickly read the article and found out more about him. Xiaoping was very rich. He had many companies across the country. He had many properties and he was well connected with many people from all over the world. Bai LuoYin was impressed.
"When I get my hands on him, I'm going to make him wish he was never born," Gu Hai said through gritted teeth.
Bai LuoYin looked over at his husband. He knew that Gu Hai meant it. He knew that if his husband got a hold of Xiaoping not even the police could save him. Gu Hai would kill him with his bare hands and he would make sure no one ever found his body. Xiaoping may have gotten away with kidnapping Ying Yue, but he would never get away from Gu Hai. If Gu Hai was anything, he was determined and ruthless in achieving his goals.
Gu Hai's eyes searched for something, anything, as he watched a black SUV pull up to the side entrance. They loaded Ying Yue into the vehicle and left, never bothering to speed away. They took their time leaving the area. He watched as the last footage of them disappearing around a corner was shown. He stood up, turned towards the police officers, and said, "Now we follow the street cameras."