Chapter 33: Nothing Was as It Seemed

Weiwei invited me to the bar again.
“You’ve been looking so gloomy lately,” she said. “A few drinks might help you forget your troubles.”
Could alcohol really do that?
True or not, I was willing to try.
I couldn’t go on like this. Someone as sharp as Weiwei could see straight away what was bothering me.
I needed some backbone. I wasn’t going to keep hurting over someone who didn’t like me.
Starting tomorrow, I would smile at him and let him see that I didn’t care at all.
We slipped out without telling Zhou Guo.
Weiwei said she was becoming unbearable. She suspected Zhou Guo was a lesbian.
“Why would you think that?”
“She must have fallen for you. Haven’t you noticed how she’s always following you?”
I shook my head.
There didn’t seem to be anything strange about her. Of course she was nice to me. We were friends.
At the bar, Weiwei pulled me out of sight.
Just as she’d predicted, Zhou Guo soon appeared, looking around furtively. When she couldn’t find us, she seemed alarmed.
Remembering what Weiwei had said, I felt a flicker of revulsion.
Weiwei led me out through a side door, and we went to another bar, farther away and in a more secluded area.
“She won’t find us here.”
She went off to dance.
I sat alone and drank.
Tomorrow, I would clear the clouds from my heart.
One glass followed another. I drank until everything grew hazy and the whole world began to turn.
Round and round and round.

I woke with my whole body aching.
Then I realised I was locked in a dark room.
Dust and cobwebs covered it. Apart from the two quilts on the floor—one beneath me and one over me—there was nothing inside.
Every part of me jolted awake at once.
What had happened?
How had I got here?
I remembered drinking while Weiwei danced, her waist moving like a snake. Then the people, the floor and even the ceiling had begun to spin.
I must have been drunk.
After that, I remembered nothing.
The room had an iron door painted green.
I pounded on it.
“Is anyone there? Help!”
Nobody answered.
Later, bread and water were thrown inside. Only then did I notice a small hatch in the door.
Who had locked me up?
A terrifying word sprang into my mind.
Kidnapping.
A chill ran down my spine.
Who was going to save me?
They wanted money. Whatever the amount, I was sure Dad would pay to get me back.
What about Weiwei? Surely she was all right.
I hoped whoever was holding me would contact Dad quickly. Then I could get out.
I bit into the bread.
Not bad. It was one of those caterpillar-shaped buns I liked.
The room remained dark. I couldn’t tell day from night.
After bread had been thrown in three times, I guessed I’d been there a day.
These kidnappers were hopeless. How could it take so long to collect the money?
I almost wanted to go out and ask for it myself.
What was happening at home?
Had Mum fainted from the shock?
I was her precious little girl.
Or perhaps she hadn’t. She didn’t seem to love me quite as much anymore.
They must be rushing about, trying to hand over the money as quickly as possible.
If only the kidnappers would hurry.
Still, being shut away had its advantages.
Now I had a perfectly legitimate reason not to face Ji Feiyang.
Did he know I’d been kidnapped?
Was he worried?
At least a little, surely. I was his good friend’s sister.
Perhaps I could stay here a few more days.
Preferably until I had the courage to smile at him again.
The fourth meal was another caterpillar bun.
Something that had tasted so good before now looked like an actual caterpillar, enough to put me off eating.
“Hey!”
I kicked the door.
“Bring me a different kind next time. And I want yoghurt.”
No reply.
I tossed the bun aside and went back to sleep beneath the quilt.
When hunger returned, I had no choice but to retrieve it.
Had I annoyed the kidnappers?
It had been ages since they’d thrown in any more bread.
Some time after finishing the bun, I grew hungry again.
How dare they stop feeding me?
Drowsy and weak, I drifted off.
A sound at the door roused me.
Light entered the room.
I opened my eyes.
The first person I saw was my sister.
She pulled me into her arms.
“Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you? Does anything feel wrong?”
Big Brother stood behind her, his face full of worry.
Once they were sure I was unharmed, they exchanged a smile. Neither needed to say a word.
Only then did I see how well they suited each other.
They really were made for one another.
As we left, I caught sight of Ji Feiyang among the people outside.
Flustered, I quickly looked away.
Dressed in a black suit, he blended into the group of private bodyguards around him.
He stood well away from me.

Back in our spacious front hall, with its spotless windows and gentle, bright light, I sat on the burgundy sofa while they explained what had happened to my sister.
She had suffered only minor injuries in the accident.
Pretending otherwise had been Dad’s idea.
He’d wanted to frighten me and teach me a lesson.
“Yijun has changed so much,” Dad said, looking gratefully at Ji Feiyang. “We have you to thank for that.”
“I haven’t done much. If anything, I’ve bullied her. You won’t hold it against me, will you, Yijun?”
He’d been keeping his distance, and I’d thought he would continue saying nothing to me.
For a moment, his question left me blank.
Then I gave a stiff, polite answer.
“No.”
“You don’t seem to be injured, but we should still take you to the hospital for a check-up.”
Mum held me close, her voice full of concern.
So she was still the mother who spoiled me.
“We’ll take her tomorrow,” my sister said.
She and Mum sat on either side of me, watching me with affection and tenderness.
Big Brother had been right. My sister had always loved me.
Jealousy had blinded me.
She was so accomplished that, ever since childhood, I’d resented her. I’d been afraid she would take everyone’s love away from me.
“Yijun won’t be going back to the hotel,” Dad told Ji Feiyang. “We can’t keep imposing on you.”
Then he turned to me.
“Yijun, do you like Zhou Guo?”
I stared at him.
“I think she’s quite good. Your kidnapping was a failure on her part, but she’s handled things well since. She called just before you came home. She’s found out who kidnapped you.”
“Who?”
Everyone looked at Dad at once.
“A girl called Weiwei.”
The words struck like lightning.
“What? That’s impossible.”
“It’s true. She planned it with her boyfriend. They’ve probably been caught at the airport by now.”
It felt as though a knife had gone through my heart.
How could it have been her?
She was my friend.
No wonder they’d brought me my favourite buns.
“Do you like Zhou Guo?” Dad asked again.
“Who is Zhou Guo?”
I felt dazed.
“She’s a professional bodyguard.”
I should have guessed.
She was so good at fighting.
In an instant, everything had turned upside down.
Weiwei wasn’t my friend. She was the person who’d kidnapped me.
Zhou Guo wasn’t my friend either. She was a bodyguard.
Just like that, I’d lost two friends.
I liked Zhou Guo the friend because she was kind to me.
I didn’t like Zhou Guo the bodyguard because being kind to me was her job.
“I don’t know. I need to think.”
Dad hadn’t expected that answer. He must have known we got along.
I’d thought my family no longer cared what happened to me.
Instead, they’d known every move I made.
Had Zhou Guo noticed that I liked Ji Feiyang?
If she had, would she tell Dad?
The telephone rang.
Auntie Lan went to answer it. A little later, she returned with a delighted smile.
“They’ve caught them. The police want Miss Yijun to come in and give a statement.”
“Call them back and say we’ll come tomorrow.”
My sister could see I wasn’t in a good state.
Holding my hand, she said gently, “We’ll have your check-up first, then go to the police station.”
That evening, Zhou Guo appeared.
Dad had sent for her.
“I’m sorry. I failed to protect you.”
The woman in front of me felt like a stranger.
She stood straight, her expression grave, with the cool authority of a bodyguard. There was no warmth in her words.
It was as though somebody else had taken her place.
I missed the Zhou Guo who used to sit quietly beside me and treat me kindly.