Volume 1, Chapter 10: The Disappearance of Feng Xi

Outside the window, the world was blanketed in silver. Thick, goose-feather-like snowflakes descended from the sky, blurring the horizon until the heavens and earth seemed to merge into a vast, oppressive gray that left one breathless.

Inside the hospital room, it was warm as spring. Gu Qingchen sat at a desk before his laptop, his screen filled with the sleepy, bleary-eyed faces of department managers. Yet, Gu Qingchen was in high spirits. He toyed with a fountain pen between his slender fingers, a faint smile on his lips as his thoughts wandered far away.

New Year’s Day was approaching, and with the company’s affairs winding down, everyone was busy with the annual gala, fostering a relatively harmonious atmosphere.

Suddenly, someone hammered frantically on the ward door. Ding Wen opened it to find an elderly man he did not recognize. "Hello? May I ask who you are looking for?"

Lin Beizheng asked anxiously, "Is Feng Xi here?"

Gu Qingchen muted the audio on his laptop and looked toward the door.

"She is not," Ding Wen replied.

Lin Beizheng continued, "I am Feng Xi’s professor, Lin Beizheng. Feng Xi didn't return home last night, and we can’t reach her. Do you happen to know where she is?"

Hearing this, Gu Qingchen closed his laptop. "Ding Wen, let Professor Lin in."

Lin Beizheng scanned the room, confirming Feng Xi was absent. Gu Qingchen spoke up, "Feng Xi mentioned that her final exams were coming up and she needed to study, so she hasn't been here for the past two days."

Lin Beizheng slapped his thigh in distress. "Alas, she received a phone call at the library yesterday and left. She’s been missing ever since—it’s been over a night now."

Gu Qingchen felt a sudden pang of unease and asked, "Have you called the police?"

"Not yet. I came here first, hoping she might be here. I didn't expect her to be missing from the hospital as well."

Gu Qingchen glanced at Ding Wen, who understood immediately and pulled out his phone to call the captain of the police force.

Gu Qingchen asked, "Do you know who saw her last? I’ve already had my assistant notify the police."

Aware that Gu Qingchen was a man of significant influence, Lin Beizheng realized the "police" he spoke of were likely not standard responders, so he disclosed everything he knew. "The last person to see her was her roommate at the library. She didn't say where she was going, she didn't return that night, and she was absent from this morning’s lecture. No one can reach her."

A thousand thoughts raced through Gu Qingchen’s mind. His greatest fear was that his business rivals had targeted Feng Xi, which made him all the more uneasy. After seeing Lin Beizheng out, he personally called the police chief.

The disappearance of a female university student was a dangerous matter. Unable to rest, Gu Qingchen contacted the security team from the Zhou family.

The police chief, respecting the Gu family’s standing, deployed a large force. They began at the university library and systematically screened all surveillance footage and individuals along the surrounding routes. They conducted a key interview with Lin Xin and dispatched officers to trace her mobile signal across the city.

It was nearly noon before the police force had news.

Gu Qingchen sat in his wheelchair, a heavy blanket over his legs. Accompanied by his bodyguards and Ding Wen, the three entered the police station and were led into the chief’s office.

Captain Liao, who was in charge of the case, was reporting the progress. Seeing Gu Qingchen, the chief invited them in immediately. Skipping the pleasantries, Gu Qingchen asked directly, "Chief Zhang, have you found any trace of Feng Xi?"

"Mr. Gu, this is Captain Liao, who is handling the case. Captain, report the situation directly," Chief Zhang said.

Captain Liao felt some hesitation regarding the man in the wheelchair, but seeing the chief’s deferential attitude, he addressed Gu Qingchen directly. "We traced the surveillance from the library and found that Feng Xi made a phone call at the school gate before walking out. Later, from the surveillance at a mobile phone shop opposite a small restaurant, we saw Feng Xi being dragged into a van by several individuals. The van disappeared after a short distance, and its license plate had been intentionally obscured."

Gu Qingchen’s heart tightened: kidnapping.

"Through information technology, we traced the last call Feng Xi made. The number belongs to her hometown. Since Feng Xi walked out of the school gates voluntarily and headed to the restaurant, we reasonably suspect the owner of the number is someone she knows. This may be an abduction by an acquaintance."

This effectively ruled out the possibility of his business rivals taking action, and Gu Qingchen breathed a sigh of relief. If it was the work of an acquaintance, it at least suggested she wouldn't be harmed immediately.

"Have you tracked the phone signal?" Gu Qingchen asked.

Captain Liao looked discouraged. "Not yet. Her phone was turned off within an hour of the kidnapping and has remained inactive. We are currently seeking assistance via traffic routes, tracking the van based on its characteristics. Furthermore, the last number she dialed is crucial; we have already contacted our colleagues in that district."

Captain Liao continued to elaborate, but the summary was clear: she hadn't been found, the trail had gone cold, and it would take a long time to locate her.

Once back in the car, Ding Wen asked, "Mr. Gu, what should we do?"

"Follow the leads on the van and the last phone number. Don't rule out the possibility that a rival hired someone for this. Investigate both angles."

Bodyguard Wu Feng switched to a trailing car to coordinate the search for the van, while Ding Wen tasked his team with tracking the phone signal.

Gu Qingchen rubbed his temples. How could she have been kidnapped so suddenly? He had protected her well; apart from his mother, no one knew Feng Xi was in his company.

Could it be his mother? No, it had been nearly a month, and his mother hadn't mentioned Feng Xi’s existence. It shouldn't be her. Then who else?

Gu Qingchen was utterly baffled.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long before news arrived from the Zhou family.

"The owner of the last number Feng Xi called is Lin Shengwang. He is the son-in-law of the person who adopted Feng Xi. Our investigation reveals that Lin Shengwang is actually Feng Xi’s biological father."

After Wu Feng finished, Gu Qingchen furrowed his brow. "Feng Xi once said she learned medicine from her grandfather, so the person who adopted her was her grandfather."

"Correct," Wu Feng continued. "When Feng Xi was born, her mother suffered a premature labor. The baby survived, but the mother’s uterus could not be saved. After raising her for a year, the Lin family gave Feng Xi away. Later, when the old man checked on her, he found the family was abusing the child, so he took her back. The Lin family didn't want her, so the old man raised her himself."

He hadn't realized Feng Xi’s background was so tragic—born prematurely, surviving a brush with death, only to be abandoned, abused, and finally raised by her grandfather.

No wonder she was so adept at reading people, so cautious; no wonder she was so poor, struggling even to afford a meal.

Gu Qingchen asked, "So, why did the Lin family kidnap Feng Xi?"

"Because they owe gambling debts."

"What kind of gambling debts?"

Wu Feng replied, "Feng Xi has a brother seven years her senior who was spoiled from childhood. He dropped out of high school, was shiftless, and gambled frequently. Two months ago, he owed 1.2 million in gambling debts to a fellow villager. The Lin family couldn't come up with the money, and the creditor has a son with a mental disability who has yet to marry..."

Gu Qingchen raised a hand to stop Wu Feng. He couldn't bear to hear any more.

The Lin family couldn't pay, so they were using Feng Xi—a beautiful college student—to settle the debt.

Thinking about it, it all made sense now. Feng Xi worked so hard because she was penniless; she was observant because she had lived under someone else's roof since childhood; she was gentle and mild-tempered because she had no one to indulge her.

A mentally disabled man who hadn't married yet—they kidnapped Feng Xi to force a marriage, and the simplest way to trap a woman was to present her with a *fait accompli*.

Gu Qingchen was suddenly overcome with rage and smashed his glass on the floor. "Find her and bring her back to me immediately!"