When Yi Fei saw the person, her world collapsed.
"Auntie Yu!"
Yi Fei knew that she had heard of the voice somewhere, but she didn't think that it would be the new employee at her school. Yi Fei always assumes the good in people, and since the new janitor has been nothing but being kind and friendly to her, Yi Fei did not expect that she will be the one behind the kidnapping.
But good people can do bad things; make bad decisions. We are only human.
"Stupid Ah Yu. Why do you have to show your face like that? Now that she sees your face, she knows your identity."
Another familiar voice spoke from behind Auntie Yu. The person is tall, and she's wearing a disposable surgical mask with big black shades. Yi Fei doesn't have to think hard, and she'll know the identity of the other person straightaway – She must be Auntie Zhang.
"Arghh, you are right!" Auntie Yu face palmed her face. Then she took out a disposable surgical mask from her pocket and wore it.
Yi Fei was trying to guess whether both the aunties are joking or not. Maybe, it was a hidden camera prank or what. Because Yi Fei thought that everything was so stupid.
Do the aunties think that she was so stupid that she would not be able to recognise their voices? There are a lot of ways to be in disguise, and Yi Fei wanted to teach the aunties on how to adequately disguise themselves. But she couldn't do that now, couldn't she?
"Phone!" Suddenly Auntie Zhang was alarmed. "Switch off her phone. They will be able to track them her down by using her telephone. We watched this on television already"
From the look of it, Yi Fei could conclude that Auntie Zhang is the smarter on among the two.
Auntie Yu went over to Yi Fei's side and started rummaging her handbag. When she got the phone, she switched it off immediately, but of course, it was too late.
"I advise you not to scream or shout for help or else; we have to harm you. Xiao Wang, Xiao Fang, if Miss Fei shouted, make her stop. Just hit or slap her so that she'll stop" Auntie Zhang spoke to what it seems as more persons outside the tiny room.
Yi Fei figured out; the two men were the owner of the hands that pulled her into the van. So, they have more accomplices, and it seemed as if Auntie Zhang is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
"Okay" could be heard from outside the room. "Can we play with her?"
"No. No playing. We need her to be safe until we get the ransom. She's just a mistake; the one we want is Wu Chen's family, not her." Auntie Zhang reprimanded the two men outside not to do anything rash.
When Yi Fei opened her eyes, by right, an average person would shout instantly to ask for help. At first, Yi Fei did not feel scared or panic, it could be the after effect of the chloroform, or she just didn't think that everything is real.
But when she heard that the two men outside wanted to 'play' with her, she got panic. She wanted to shout now, but it's too late. The two men were already notified of what they need to do if she ever shouts.
"Blame it on your fate and destiny for being unfortunate. I just want you to know that we did not mean to kidnap you but with some twists, they took you instead of Miss NaNa. We can't let you go just like that now, can we? Boys better sealed her mouth with duct tape" Auntie Zhang approached Yi Fei. One of the men came inside the room with duct tape. He sealed Yi Fei's mouth with the tape.
"Since you are in this now, let me tell you why we decided to kidnap NaNa." Auntie Zhang looked at Yi Fei before she decided to sit next to her.
Isn't the kidnapper a bit too friendly now? Yi Fei never saw a movie where the kidnapper makes a small talk politely with the hostage.
"I used to be happy before. I have a husband and a son. I don't even have to work this hard to earn a living… But it all changed when my husband was caught and accused as a rapist. You know who sent him to the police?" Auntie Zhang looked at Yi Fei as if urging her to answer her even though Yi Fei's mouth was sealed.
"You are right! It's Wu Chen.I don't believe that my husband will do such a thing, but I don't know what cards were played by Wu Chen, my husband was put into prison. And here I am…" Auntie Zhang gestured at the room. "Living in a dire state since nobody provided food on the table for me anymore."
"I have to leave my toddler at home just to earn a living in here, but my luck is good. I can find Wu Chen's relative right after I arrived in this city. I'm going to ask for money, and then I'll kill her so that Wu Chen will understand how it feels to lose a family member as I did."
By now, Yi Fei was very grateful that she didn't reveal that she is the fiancée of Wu Chen to the aunties last time. At the same time, Yi Fei felt guilty that she told the identity of Chong NaNa. It was a good thing that NaNa was not taken. If the kidnappers took her, Yi Fei would feel guilty for the rest of her life.
"Since you are NaNa's best friend, I guess she must want to save you no matter what so you'll do" Auntie Zhang stood up, facing Yi Fei. "I'll make sure your death is quick after I get the money" Then she patted Yi Fei's head.
Auntie Zhang went out of the room and closed the door. From outside the room, Yi Fei could hear that Auntie Zhang was giving some instruction.
"Wipe clean the phone with alcohol. Go to the school and switch her phone there and threw it somewhere there. Make sure to be discreet... And please, let anyone sees you."
A familiar voice responded with 'mm'.
Yi Fei sat frozen when Auntie Zhang mentioned death. It was naïve of her to think that the kidnapper will let her live after she saw their face. Of course, they will kill her to silence her. Auntie Zhang seemed to be a professional kidnapper or at least; this looked as if it's not her first time kidnapping people.
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"We lost her. The phone had been turned off."
Liu Shi looked at the professional investigator in front of him.
"Where is her last location?" Liu Shi asked the man.
"The overpopulated area in the outskirt of City L. The black area" The man responded to Liu Shi's inquiry. "Squatter camp, drug smuggling… all very dangerous kinds of stuff. Not to mention, that place is huge. It would be tough to locate Miss Fei."
Liu Shi asked the investigator to continue investigating. His boss was about to get crazy over his missing fiancee.
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A man in a security uniform yawned a few times already, but he still had another two hours to his night shift. His partner was asleep in the security hut. It was almost eleven, of course, everyone would be sleepy.
Even though he was poor and did not have a good education background, his late mother never fails to remind him to be a good person. "Be honest and be kind in everything, good things come to those who are kind" would be her late mother's favourite motto in life.
Since he was an honest man, the man did not slack in his job and continued patrolling the school when he saw a short silhouette in a white shirt was squatting near the flower bushes he trimmed just this morning.
Uncle Tang knew who that person is the moment he laid his eyes on her; it was his friend from the countryside – Ah Yu. Uncle Tang hid in the corner, trying to see what Ah Yu was trying to do. He saw that Ah Yu was looking at her surroundings while holding a phone. Then, she shoved the phone in the flower pots and ran from there.
Uncle Tang thought that Faith Middle School was excellent but the only thing lacking in the school would be CCTV. If the school has a CCTV, he would know when Ah Yu arrived at the school for doing the only god knows what thing.
After some time, when Uncle Tang was sure that Ah Yu was not around anymore, he went over to the flower bushes and searched for the phone that Ah Yu shoved into the pot.
Uncle Tang saw that the wallpaper was of an anime character with three swords and green hair. Usually, people will put their picture as their wallpaper. If the wallpaper were a picture of the owner, Uncle Tang would know straight away who the owner of the phone is.
Since it was a character from an anime, of course, Uncle Tang would not be able to guess the identity of the phone owner.
Suddenly, the phone vibrated, and the ID of the caller was 'Chen Chen' with a heart symbol next to it. Uncle Tang did not think much of it and just pressed the answer button as he'll ask the caller to inform the owner about his or her phone is in the school.
"Fei Fei, where are you? Are you okay? Fei Fei?" A panic voice could be heard from the other end of the line.
"Hello, this is not Fei Fei. I found her phone in school. May I know who the owner of the phone is?" Uncle Tang asked the caller.
"Who are you? Which school?" There was a hint of urgency from the caller, so Uncle Tang answered his questions briefly.
The person hung up without even thanking him, but it's alright since he was not someone important after all. Little did he know that his life was about to change because of what happened tonight.