Shen Yin walked to the door and pressed her fingers against it. As the door opened, she suddenly blacked out and lost consciousness.
A man wearing a black cap and a delivery worker's uniform hurried over and asked, "Madam, what's wrong with you? Wake up."
The man placed Shen Yin on a nearby electric scooter, then mounted it, allowing her to lean against him, and drove away.
The electric scooter wound through one alleyway after another, taking a circuitous route.
Xu Yunzheng had been waiting for a long time on the third floor, but he didn't see Shen Yin coming up. Feeling hungry, he took small steps down the stairs.
When he came downstairs, he found the front door on the first floor wide open, and the five dogs were still there.
"Flower, where is Mommy?" little Zhengzheng asked.
The five dogs looked left and right but made no sound.
The little one started to panic, tears streaming down his face. But he seemed to realize that it was no use.
Helpless, he could only obediently go back upstairs to find a solution.
It took the little one a long time to finally make it back to the third floor. Shen Yin's phone on the dining table started ringing.
The little one walked over to the table, trying to reach it, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't.
The phone kept ringing with its ringtone. Zhengzheng wanted to answer it but could only try to reach the phone.
He was too short, and even standing on tiptoe, he couldn't touch the table surface.
Seeing a chair nearby, the little one had an idea. He tried hard to climb onto it, attempting various positions until he finally managed to stand on the chair.
Imitating how Shen Yin had answered the phone before, he tapped the green answer button, and Xu Xiuhe's face appeared on the screen.
Xu Xiuhe was startled to see Zhengzheng standing on the chair, as it was far too dangerous for a child just over two years old.
Suddenly, Xu Xiuhe realized something was amiss. If Shen Yin were there, she would never have allowed Zhengzheng to do something so risky.
"Zhengzheng, sit down and don't move. Where is your mother?" Xu Xiuhe asked urgently, grabbing his car keys, ready to rush back.
"Daddy, Mommy is gone," Zhengzheng said, sitting down and crying.
Xu Xiuhe's suspicion was confirmed by the child's words. He strode out quickly, almost running.
He hurried, rushing as if he could fly.
The phone in Xu Xiuhe's hand was still connected.
"Zhengzheng, how did your mother go missing?" Xu Xiuhe asked in the elevator.
"Mommy told Zhengzheng that she was going downstairs to get groceries and told Zhengzheng to be good upstairs. But Mommy was gone for a long time, and Zhengzheng got hungry, so Zhengzheng went downstairs to look for Mommy. But Mommy wasn't there."
"What about the door? What happened to the downstairs door?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
"The door was open, and Mommy was gone. Zhengzheng asked Flower and Furball, but they didn't tell Zhengzheng. Daddy, Zhengzheng misses Mommy, Zhengzheng is hungry."
Xu Xiuhe was more anxious than anyone, wishing he could fly home and find Shen Yin.
"Zhengzheng, listen to Daddy. Stay on the chair and don't move. Daddy will be home soon, and you wait obediently for Daddy."
Zhengzheng nodded.
Xu Xiuhe immediately sent a message to Xue Jingrui.
[Shen Yin is missing, likely kidnapped. I don't know who is behind it. Can you check the surveillance footage at my house entrance? I'm on video with Zhengzheng, so it's not convenient for me to look.]
Surprised by the message, Xue Jingrui had just finished lunch and was doing the dishes in the kitchen on his day off.
Earlier, he had asked why Qi Ji hadn't gone to the Martial Arts Club today and hadn't met with Shen Yin.
Qi Ji said Shen Yin was in Yang City and wouldn't be back until around noon, so she wouldn't be teaching classes this week. She would make up for it by teaching two days next week.
But it was just past noon, and Xu Xiuhe was telling him that Shen Yin had been kidnapped.
After receiving Xu Xiuhe's surveillance password, Xue Jingrui logged in.
"Qi Ji, we need to go out for a bit. Shen Yin may have been kidnapped. I'll go check it out. Do you want to come?" he asked.
Hearing this, Qi Ji grew anxious. Of course she had to go. Shen Yin was so kind to her, and she had to find out what happened.
"What about Zhengzheng?" she asked.
"Xiuhe said he's on video with Zhengzheng, so Zhengzheng is probably still at home. He asked me to help check the surveillance footage first."
Qi Ji immediately gathered her things and went with Xue Jingrui.
"You watch the footage first, and let me know if you see anything. I'll drive," Xue Jingrui said, handing Qi Ji his phone to view the surveillance.
Qi Ji took the phone and pulled up the morning's video.
"Shen Yin saw off an elderly woman and then closed the door. Then she probably ordered groceries on her phone on the first floor. After that, she went upstairs to the third floor with Zhengzheng. A little while later, Shen Yin came back down alone."
"And then?" Xue Jingrui asked.
"Then she opened the door and collapsed. The delivery man rushed over and tried to wake her up, saying, 'Madam, wake up.'" Qi Ji narrated, turning to face Xue Jingrui.
"Switch to the outdoor surveillance now," Xue Jingrui instructed.
Qi Ji did as he said.
"What happened?"
"Look, Brother Jingrui, this man sprayed something at Shen Yin, and that's why she passed out," Qi Ji said, holding the phone in front of Xue Jingrui's eyes.
On the video, the delivery man took out a small spray bottle and sprayed it at Shen Yin several times as she opened the door. Then he pretended to try to wake her up before placing her on the electric scooter. The delivery man rode the scooter away from Qinghe Street.
"It's a kidnapping. That delivery man was probably an imposter," Xue Jingrui guessed.
At the same time, he also relayed the information to Xu Xiuhe.
Both cars sped up, heading toward the Qinghe Apartments.
Xu Xiuhe rushed upstairs and picked up Zhengzheng.
Xue Jingrui and his wife stood at the entrance, examining the scene. They found that the fake delivery man had left no clues behind.
Xu Xiuhe came down and told them, "It's a kidnapping. I just had Liu Bo check on this guy, but with the mask and cap, it's hard to identify him. There's no result yet."
"Any suspects in mind?" Xue Jingrui asked.
"What do you think? Could it be Qi Yan?" Xu Xiuhe asked in return.
Everyone fell silent.
"Daddy, where did Mommy go? Does she not want Zhengzheng anymore?" The little one started crying.
"No, Mommy had something to take care of. She didn't abandon Zhengzheng. Auntie will hold you," Qi Ji said, reaching out to take Zhengzheng.
Xue Jingrui and Xu Xiuhe stepped outside.
"I don't think it was Qi Yan," Xue Jingrui said.
"Why? You're not defending her again, are you?"
"No, she shouldn't have the guts for that."
"Not necessarily. At your wedding last time, the two of them got into a fight," Xue Jingrui had some doubts.
"What should we do now? Should we report to the police?" Xue Jingrui asked.
"No, it hasn't been 24 hours yet. I'll keep tracking the delivery person on my end, and you help me check if Qi Ji can take care of Zhengzheng for now," Xu Xiuhe said.
