Chapter 57 Chapter 57 "If she loses even a hair, I will tear you apart...

Xitong has been missing for more than twenty-four hours.

The Yu Mansion, which has been filled with warmth recently, is now shrouded in unprecedented panic and low pressure.

The air was as stagnant as if filled with lead, and every breath was filled with heavy anxiety.

Yu's mother sat on the sofa in the living room, unconsciously twisting a silk scarf in her hands. The scarf had already been crumpled into pieces.

The tea in front of him was completely cold and he didn't even take a sip.

She looked towards the door from time to time, her eyes bloodshot. Every tiny sound would startle her and make her stand up. When she found that it was not the person she was expecting, she sat back dejectedly, muttering to herself.

"Where would Xiaoxi go? She never does this... Could something have happened..."

Yu Ping paced back and forth in the living room with his hands behind his back. His steps had lost their usual steady pace and he looked anxious and messy.

He picked up the phone several times, then put it down heavily again, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Call the police! Call the police immediately!"

His voice was hoarse and full of unquestionable determination, but he was held down by his nephew who was a little calmer.

"Uncle, wait a moment. I'm already using all my resources to find him. Calling the police would have too much of an impact..."

Yu Sixie's cousin tried to comfort him, but his face was equally uneasy.

The person who was able to kidnap someone in Jing City, right under the nose of the Yu family, must be no ordinary person.

The one who makes people feel the most distressed is Xizhi.

He curled up in the corner of the sofa, holding the small quilt that Xitong usually covered herself with. He didn't cry or make a fuss, but just stared out the window with his big eyes empty. His little face was tense, as if it would break if touched.

Mother Yu wanted to hug him, but he dodged gently and just hugged the small quilt with his mother's scent tighter, repeating softly and stubbornly.

"Mom will come back. Dad will find Mom."

That forced calmness is more heartbreaking than crying.

At this moment, Yu Sixie was at the center of a war where no smoke could be seen.

He was standing in an office that overlooked half of Beijing, but had a cold and solemn decoration style.

Opposite, sat two solemn-looking figures of prominent status—

One is a superior who can directly interfere with the actions of the special department, and the other is Wen Yanming, who has just been "invited" out and arrived late.

Yu Sixie's body seemed to be wrapped in a layer of Arctic ice, and all his anxiety and panic were compressed into an extreme and dangerous calmness.

He didn't beat around the bush, didn't exchange pleasantries, his hawk-like gaze fixed directly on Wen Yanming. He got straight to the point, each word coming through like an ice-hardened bullet:

"Where is she?"

Wen Yanming still looked like a handsome gentleman today, wearing a well-tailored light gray suit. His eyes were calm, and even had a hint of just the right amount of confusion and innocence.

He spread his hands slightly, his tone gentle but distant.

"Si Xie, I don't understand what you're talking about. Miss Xi is missing, and I'm worried too. But you called me here with such a fuss. Is there some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstand?"

Yu Sixie sneered, and the laughter was cold and hard, hitting the smooth floor.

"Wen Yanming, put away your hypocritical tricks. You've suppressed the Huashan Hospital incident to the bone. All the troublemakers and their families that night have shut up and disappeared. The on-site surveillance footage is mysteriously damaged... Apart from your Wen family, who else would have such a grand plan and motive? Who would have taken her away and hidden her in the first place?!"

The man's voice suddenly rose, carrying a thunderous sense of oppression, and even the leader next to him frowned slightly.

The smile on Wen Yanming's face faded a little, but he still maintained his composure, only a barely perceptible cold light flashed in his eyes.

"Mr. Yu, a case requires evidence. What do you have to do with me?"

"I just happened to be passing by that night, and bravely took the initiative to send the injured Miss Xi to the nearest hospital for treatment. As for where she went after that, how would I know? Maybe she needed to rest and didn't want to be disturbed?"

"I know you're anxious, but taking your anger out on others isn't a wise move."

This airtight sophistry and implicit provocation completely broke the string in Yu Sixie's heart that had been stretched to the extreme!

All the rationality, all the planning, all the forbearance, shattered when Wen Yanming mentioned the words "rest" and "don't want to be disturbed"!

He seemed to see Xitong lying helplessly in some unknown corner, and the man in front of him, this hypocrite, was using the hands that had touched her, holding up a false mask, and confusing right and wrong!

"Bang--!"

A dull thud!

Without any warning, Yu Sixie's figure was as fast as lightning, and he suddenly jumped over the expensive mahogany desk between the two of them. With a fierce and precise right hook, wrapped in all the pent-up anger, worry and fear, he hit Wen Yanming's cheek hard!

The force was so great that it knocked Wen Yanming and the armchair he was sitting on to the ground!

The phone flew out and hit the wall, the screen shattering.

The corner of Wen Yanming's mouth cracked instantly, and bright red blood gushed out, looking particularly glaring on his pale skin.

He collapsed on the carpet, covering his face, as if he had not expected Yu Sixie to dare to attack him in front of his leader.

For the first time, those eyes that always showed affection and smiles showed real, stunned shock, and a hint of sinisterness that quickly spread.

The air in the office froze instantly.

The leader stood up suddenly, his face livid: "Yu Sixie!"

Yu Sixie seemed not to hear.

He stood there, breathing slightly, looking down at Wen Yanming who was lying on the ground. His eyes were as cold as if he was looking at a dead person. He shook his wrist, which was numb from the force. His voice was low and dangerous, and every word was like a final judgment:

"Wen Yanming, if she loses even a hair, I will tear down your Wen family's century-old foundation, bone by bone."

…

In the autumn in City B, the sky is a clear and lofty blue.

The ancient temple, far away from the city, is hidden in the mountains. Its red walls and golden tiles are hidden among the layers of ginkgo and maple leaves. The incense is lingering and the Buddhist chants are low. Time seems to flow slower here.

On a quiet bamboo forest path in the temple, the sunlight shines through the dense bamboo leaves, casting mottled and fragmented light and shadows.

Xitong was wearing a simple white cotton dress, with her long hair draped softly over her shoulders. She was not wearing any makeup, and her face had an almost transparent purity and innocence. She really looked like a student who had taken some time off to play.

Wen Yanming, who was walking beside her, also changed into a light-colored sweater and casual pants, with a pair of black glasses on his nose. He looked less sharp and more bookish, like a gentle and handsome senior.

She liked his black glasses.

"So, do you think Raskolnikov ultimately surrenders to Sonya's 'love', or does he completely collapse before his own inner 'superman theory'?"

Wen Yanming turned his head and gently guided the topic, his eyes falling on Xitong's brows which were slightly furrowed in thought.

Xitong held a copy of Crime and Punishment, her fingertips unconsciously running across the cover. After pondering for a moment, she softly said, "I think... it's torn."

“He could neither become the superman who trampled on the rules, nor fully embrace Sonya’s religious, sacrificial love. It was in this rift that he rediscovered… the pain and perception of being an ordinary person.”

Her vocabulary was a little awkward, but it carried a kind of naive and sincere exploration.

A hint of satisfaction and pity flashed across Wen Yanming's eyes.

Xitong now is like a piece of white paper with all traces carefully erased, leaving only the original authenticity.

The concussion and shock from the heavy blow caused her memory to remain at the stage of her senior year of high school. She forgot all the ups and downs in life, the death of her parents, the birth of her child, and also forgot Yu Sixie and all the love-hate entanglements between them...

Wen Yanming only told her that she was sick and needed to rest, so he took her to City B to relax.

He is her friend.

Their parents knew each other, and it was Xitong's father Xi Guoming who asked him to take care of her.

Xitong believed it, and was full of dependence and affection for this gentle, considerate, knowledgeable friend who took care of her in every possible way.

“Great insights.”

Wen Yanming nodded appreciatively.

They walked slowly along the path, passed through the bamboo forest, and saw an ancient Buddhist temple in front of them.

There were not many pilgrims, and the air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.

"Let's go and pay our respects?" Wen Yanming suggested in a cheerful tone.

"OK."

Xitong nodded, his eyes filled with the curiosity and a bit of awe that students often have for such places.

The two knelt on the cushion in front of the Buddhist temple.

Xitong imitated others, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and her long eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyes. Her expression was focused and pious.

She whispered a wish, which was nothing more than hoping for the safety of her family and success in her studies.

Wen Yanming did not bow.

He just tilted his head slightly and stared at the girl beside him.

The sunlight filtered through the palace door, outlining her clean and soft profile. The hem of her white skirt was scattered beside the futon, like a quietly blooming gardenia.

His eyes were deep and complex, intertwined with a kind of satisfaction of getting what he wanted, an almost pathological possessiveness, and a cherishment of this stolen time that he himself might not even be aware of.

Wen Yanming knew why Xitong had an inexplicable attachment to this temple.

Here she met a fortune teller who told her that everything would go well if she broke up with Yu Sixie.

From then on, his tragic life completely changed.

These were the things Xi Tong would often mention to Wen Yanming later. He had only offered gentle comfort at the time, but he had taken every word to heart.

Now, he brought her back here, back to a time before everything started, or before what he considered a "mistake" had happened.

He wanted to use carefully woven lies and just the right environmental cues to confine her in a vacuum world with only him and the "past".

After worshiping Buddha, the two went to the temple’s dining hall for a vegetarian meal.

A simple vegetarian meal of vegetables, tofu and mushroom soup, but very refreshing and delicious.

Wen Yanming carefully helped Xitong to serve the dishes, moving her favorite dishes in front of her with natural and considerate movements.

"The vegetarian food here tastes delicious." Xitong ate in small bites, her eyes slightly curved. "I feel like my mood has calmed down."

"As long as you like it." Wen Yanming smiled, his eyes so gentle that they could drip tears of water. "We can come here often in the future."

"Yeah!" Xi Tong nodded vigorously and gave him a smile that showed complete trust and no gloom.

That smile was pure and bright, causing Wen Yanming's heart to shrink slightly.

This is what he wanted. There was only him in her world, her smile only bloomed for him, and her memory was filled with the "beautiful" past that he gave her.

The sunlight shines through the wooden lattice windows of the dining hall onto the two of them. The picture looks harmonious and beautiful, like an autumn travelogue of a real campus couple.

Only Wen Yanming himself knew how, beneath this warm exterior, he had carefully constructed a gorgeous cage to imprison the canary using lies and tricks.

And this temple where Xitong once got the answer to her fate has now become the best stage for him to tamper with her destiny.

Wen Yanming's fingertips brushed against Xitong's loose hair, which felt cool and soft.

The movement moved naturally downwards, and his fingertips inadvertently brushed against her soft lips.

An electric throbbing and dark desire instantly surged in his eyes - he wanted to see this purity completely shattered, crying and begging for mercy under him.

What would she look like in bed?

Is it still so pure and flawless?

However, just as his fingertips were about to deepen the touch, Xi Tong seemed to be startled by some subconscious alarm and suddenly turned her head to avoid the overly intimate contact.