163.

He Jiaojiao couldn’t dare to sleep on that cement bed anymore.

It wasn’t even a cement bed, more like a coffin, imprisoning countless restless souls.

She spread a simple bedding on the floor and, while falling asleep, her shoulder hurt from the hardness.

He Jiaojiao lay there for a long time and eventually drifted off.

In her dream, there were many children, umbilical cords still attached, like grapes hanging from a tree. These children pressed onto her, climbing up her legs, each like a small monster.

She felt like she couldn’t breathe, then suddenly woke up.

The light was still on in the room, time seemingly frozen, nothing had changed.

Then she heard a low moan and a sound like teeth clacking together, as if someone was freezing to the extreme and making that noise.

In such an environment, that kind of sound was extremely eerie.

He Jiaojiao was awakened by that sound.

She sat up and determined that the sound was coming from Qi Kexin.

At that moment, the young girl’s eyes were shut tightly, her brows furrowed as if in a nightmare.

Tan Li was also awakened.

She turned her head towards that direction.

He Jiaojiao was a bit startled. “What’s wrong with her?”

Tan Li yawned. “Fever, I guess. Since her last miscarriage, she’s been running high fevers every other day, sometimes passing out directly.”

The hygiene here was terrible. They could only take a bath once a week at most. Each person had only two or three changes of underwear. The men wouldn’t provide them with hygiene products; a bit of toilet paper was all they got.

After the miscarriage, Qi Kexin probably got infected somehow.

Occasionally, the man would give her some antibiotics, but once the medicine ran out, she was left to deal with the fever herself.

Since then, her condition had been fluctuating.

When she felt better, she could walk normally, though she was still weak. But when she felt worse, she’d have high fevers for days on end.

Summoning her courage, He Jiaojiao went over and touched Qi Kexin. She found that her forehead was burning hot, her complexion pale. She was already almost skin and bones; looking like this made her even more terrifying.

Trembling, He Jiaojiao asked, “What should we do? Doesn’t that man take care of her?”

Tan Li turned over. “Take care? How? Do you expect them to send her to the hospital? They wouldn’t care even if she died. At most, there would be one more body in that hole.” Then she closed her eyes, preparing to sleep again.

After a moment, Tan Li remembered something and turned back, saying, “Didn’t she go ask that guy for medicine? Did he not give her any?”

“Medicine?” He Jiaojiao thought for a moment. At that time, Qi Kexin had received a small packet from the man.

Not long ago, she had deeply despised Qi Kexin, even wanting to kill her. But now, seeing her lying weakly in a pile of cotton, close to dying, she felt a pang of sympathy.

He Jiaojiao knew she wasn’t a saint, but looking at a living person dying in front of her, she couldn’t just stand by.

She got up and searched around. Next to Qi Kexin’s bed, she found the packet. Inside were fever-reducing and anti-inflammatory drugs. She wasn’t sure if they were suitable.

Holding the packet, He Jiaojiao’s hand trembled.

She understood what Qi Kexin had meant earlier by saying she’d trade beating her for a week’s life.

So, this was what she had traded for.

He Jiaojiao looked at the almost lifeless Qi Kexin, then gritted her teeth and walked over.

She was essentially offering a desperate solution. She got a mineral water bottle and used it to lift Qi Kexin’s head, feeding her the medicine.

Then she placed the cold bottle on Qi Kexin’s forehead, planning to switch it out once it warmed up.

Tan Li wasn’t sleeping anymore. She lay there, watching He Jiaojiao taking care of Qi Kexin.

She had done similar things before, but day after day, year after year, she had given up.

After working tirelessly for quite a few hours, the effect of the medicine finally kicked in. Qi Kexin’s temperature dropped slightly.

She coughed a couple of times and opened her eyes, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes.

She held onto He Jiaojiao’s hand, her mouth moving slightly. “Mom…”

He Jiaojiao looked at her and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Open your dog eyes and see, I’m definitely not your mom…”

Qi Kexin regained some consciousness and recognized who was before her.

She whispered, “Thank you.”

“Thank you my foot.” He Jiaojiao scolded, “Don’t think you can thank your way out of what you’ve done to me. I will settle the score one day for what you did. It’s just that I think your current situation might be my future, that’s why I’m helping you take the medicine. Even if you apologize, don’t call me mom. I can’t bear that. Promised bad luck.”

She was helping because she felt a pang of sadness that one day she might end up in Qi Kexin’s shoes.

Qi Kexin weakly blinked her eyes and explained, “I’m sorry. I dreamed of my mom just now. I really miss her.”

Hearing this, Tan Li suddenly chimed in with a smile, “Mom, I miss my mom too.”

After saying this, she suddenly burst into singing the song “Mom is the Best in the World.”

“Mom is the best in the world, children with moms are like treasures…”

Her voice in the small room sounded even sadder.

“Keep it down, it sounds awful!” He Jiaojiao interrupted her.

Tan Li continued singing that song as if no one was there, singing and smiling.

But suddenly, in the midst of singing, she burst into tears.

He Jiaojiao wiped her own eyes, saying, “Before I was brought here, I was talking to my mom on the phone. We had an argument…”

But now, she might never see her mom again. This might be their last communication.

Thinking about this, her nose felt sour, and tears started flowing.

Cold, hungry, and in pain now, she missed her mom too.

All three of them were young girls, crying as if it were contagious.

For a moment, the small underground room was filled with sobbing.

After a while, He Jiaojiao wiped her tears and said, “Don’t be so down. My parents will definitely find me. Who knows, maybe they’ll get us all out… and the police, the police will come to rescue us.”

Qi Kexin choked up a bit and covered her face with her hands, “I used to think that way too, full of hope, but…”

Yet, she had waited for seven years, and time had eroded all her hope.

Did her mom and dad still remember her?

Would they have other children now?

Would there be anyone to save them?

“There will be someone, there will definitely be someone…” He Jiaojiao spoke up, “We can’t give up on ourselves.”

On the third day of He Jiaojiao’s disappearance, the police began their investigation in the southern part of the city.

At the same time, the team monitoring Yan Xiaorui started to see some results.

In the morning, Yan Xiaorui took a taxi to a place a few kilometers away, a street associated with funerals.

She entered several funeral shops one by one, browsing for a while and then leaving.

Qu Ming quickly reported this to Lu Junchi.

“It’s not the Ghost Festival, nor any special occasion. There’s no death in her family. This is a bit strange. And she was just browsing; she didn’t buy anything,” Qu Ming reported.

Lu Junchi immediately responded, “Don’t startle the snake. Check those shops and then bring Yan Xiaorui to the headquarters for questioning.”

Conversations were almost impossible yesterday with Yan Xiaorui’s parents present.

Yan Xiaorui was their current breakthrough; they couldn’t let her slip away easily.

Only by separating her from her family first could she possibly tell the truth.

Before Yan Xiaorui finished browsing the entire street, several police officers detained her. They confiscated her phone and took her away.

Twenty minutes later, Yan Xiaorui was brought to the interrogation room.

Lu Junchi and Su Hui also entered the observation room. The interrogation wasn’t going smoothly.

Yan Xiaorui still had a pale face. After Qiao Ze and Qu Ming verified her information, they began questioning her.

“Why did you go to the funeral shops? Were you looking for someone?” Qiao Ze asked her directly.

“I was just… looking around,” Yan Xiaorui said.

“Are you saying you were shopping at funeral shops?” Qiao Ze questioned.

“Yes.” Yan Xiaorui looked at him. “Is that illegal?”

Qiao Ze was caught off guard by her answer. Browsing funeral shops wasn’t against the law.

Yan Xiaorui looked up, her emotions becoming a bit agitated. “I was a victim before. Why did you bring me to the police station? I want to go home…”

Qu Ming spoke sternly, “Miss Yan, we suspect that you might have information related to a series of serial kidnappings. Please cooperate with our investigation.”

“I’ve already told you everything yesterday! Why are you still coming after me?” Yan Xiaorui shouted, clutching her head. Her eyes were filled with immense fear.

“But you didn’t provide substantial information yesterday,” Qu Ming said, “If you know something, you have a civic duty to inform the police. It’s a legal obligation… during those years you were missing, where were you taken?”

“I don’t know, I really don’t know!” Yan Xiaorui inserted her fingers into her hair, pulling in frustration.

Qu Ming was about to say something when the door to the interrogation room was pushed open by Su Hui.

Yan Xiaorui stopped tugging her hair.

This man wasn’t as intimidating as the other policemen. She didn’t feel as threatened by him.

Su Hui approached Yan Xiaorui, looking at the young girl before him. He asked her, “The person who kidnapped you, were they involved in the funeral business? You’re not sure which shop it was, just that it was within this range. So, you’re looking for them, wanting to tell them that the police are investigating this case.”

Yan Xiaorui bit her lip, staring at him without speaking.

Su Hui continued, “You’re unwilling to cooperate with the police, unwilling to reveal your experience, unwilling to provide us with clues. Is it because your child is still with them?”

Hearing Su Hui’s words, Yan Xiaorui felt like a thorn had pierced her heart.

Her eyes widened suddenly, and she looked up.

Su Hui realized something. She wasn’t like Stockholm Syndrome; that would weaken over time and with changes in the environment. They had let her go, so they were certain she wouldn’t tell the police.

What force could make a woman like her keep quiet about those experiences?

Unless it was a child…

She was afraid for her child’s safety.

Afraid that her betrayal would lead to her child’s death.

Afraid her actions would bring retaliation against her family.

That child was a piece of her flesh torn off in her painful hell. Her feelings toward him were too complex.

“The police will ensure your safety,” Su Hui’s hand rested on the table. “By doing this, you’re not helping him or protecting him.”

He paused and said, “Do you want your child to grow up in that kind of environment and become that kind of person?”

After hearing these words, Yan Xiaorui covered her face and cried.

This cry was different from her hysterical cries yesterday, which had a bit of a performative quality.

Her current tears felt like her heart was shattering into pieces.