The Missing Daughter – CH 007

Chapter 7. Daughter 1

“Daughter”
“This is the seventh day since she disappeared.”
By Zhen Bai

**

“Name.”

“Lu Xiaoyun.”

“Age.”

“Twenty-two years old…”

The typing on the keyboard on the other end stopped.

The man sighed, looked up at me, and said, “Lu Xiaoyun, right? Twenty-two years old? Are you kidding me?”

He picked up my ID card from the table, glanced at it, and said, “Are you sure you’re twenty-two?”

I snapped out of my daze, realizing that this wasn’t when I first got married, but in my seventh year of marriage.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

I quickly apologized, “I, I misremembered; I’m twenty-nine.”

The man glanced at me and sighed helplessly, probably worried about my mental state. “Home address.”

“…”

I was frantic, my head throbbed, and the veins on the back of my hand, gripping my bag, were bulging.

But I had to answer all these tedious questions. “Officer, could you… Could you please help me find my daughter first?”

“We will, but you need to answer my questions first. That way, it’ll be easier for us to get started. Calm down, do you… need a break?”

“I don’t need a break!”

I suddenly stood up and shouted at him, “There’s no time, officer! There’s no time! It’s too late! Please, please help me find my daughter!”

He froze, then recovered and tried to calm me down. “Ms. Lu, please don’t get agitated. Please explain things clearly first. Otherwise, even if we wanted to help you, we wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“I…I understand. Can you ask quickly? I don’t have time. My daughter has been missing for seven days! Seven days!”

“Don’t rush; tell me slowly. How old is your daughter? What’s her name?”

“Seven years old! Her name is Yu Xiaoxiao…”

“Yu Xiaoxiao… According to you, your child has been missing for so many days; why are you only reporting it now?”

“I…I…”

The man poured me a glass of water, telling me to calm down and explain everything slowly.

**

I had a seven-year-old daughter named Yu Xiaoxiao.

She was very cute, obedient, and sensible. Her hair was slightly blonde, and when she wore two little braids, she looked like a little princess from a fairy tale.

She was sensible. When Yu Nu and I argued, she always stood quietly to the side, hugging her doll.

When I was tired, she would come over, pat my shoulder, and say, “Mom, don’t be angry; Mom, don’t be angry.”

She was very beautiful. The most beautiful thing about her was her eyes, so bright and sparkling, as if they could speak.

On the first day Xiaoxiao disappeared, I didn’t notice because I didn’t live with her.

Besides working during the day, I also did some freelance translation work at night, introduced to me by friends, so I could only see her for a very short time each week.

I thought that once I saved enough money, I could bring her over.

My husband and I had known each other since high school, and we even applied to the same universities.

After completing my four-year undergraduate degree, a professor at my university wanted me to continue my studies as a graduate student, going abroad to Europe the following year as an academic exchange representative. My foreign language skills were good, and I translated many of his materials.

But my husband—no, to be precise, my ex-husband—advised me to focus on graduating and prioritizing my family.

I knew this kind of story wasn’t new, and it was probably similar to many others.

But that was reality.

Countless people, like me, were forced to choose between career and family.

“With me working outside, earning money to support the family, why work so hard?”

“My mom has wanted a grandchild for a long time. I told her I’d wait until you graduate from university, but she urges me every year. Her health isn’t good; can you… be more understanding?”

“Look, I’ve never asked anything of you before. Just this one thing—can’t you even think a little more about me, about our family?”

Yu Nu was indeed good to me, always putting me first.

When I was angry, his gifts and phone calls followed immediately until I calmed down.

Many people pursued me in high school, and it was the same in university. Even after I told them I had a boyfriend, people still persistently sent flowers, meals, and helped me get water…

Although Yu Nu wasn’t handsome, he was clean-cut and pleasing to the eye.

He had a good personality; he never went out drinking and gambling with his bad friends, and his grades were among the top in high school.

He said he wanted to give our child a stable home, so he had always worked hard.

I was amused by him. “We are still so young, and you’re already thinking about your child?”

The boy looked at me tenderly then and said, “If you like someone, you should reserve the best place for that person in your future.”

Later, the same person stood in court, coldly looking at me, and said, “If two people have no feelings for each other, they should separate. Forcing them to stay together’ll only hurt each other.”

I stood in that cold courtroom, on the opposite side of him.

Not to win him back, but to fight for my child.

He was right; if there were no feelings, then separate.

I was also tired of so many years of arguing and giving in.

I stood there to fight for Xiaoxiao’s custody.

But I had no job, no stable income, and no house.

Xiaoxiao wasn’t a toddler; in the court’s view, she was past the age where she needed her mother. She was awarded to Yu Nu, but at my and my lawyer’s request, Yu Nu allowed me to visit her weekly.

He and the child lived together in Anquan Residential Complex.

The down payment for the apartment in Anquan Residential Complex was one million yuan.

Of that, 800,000 yuan was paid by my parents, almost all of their savings.

The remaining 200,000 yuan was paid by Yu Nu, who said that buying the apartment in his name would allow them to enjoy preferential loan policies and lower interest rates. Since my household registration was in another city, I couldn’t benefit from these special policies.

The only problem was that only his name could be on the property deed.

Because of this special policy, if both of them bought the house together, the interest rate wouldn’t be so low.

Later, every time I brought up adding my name to the deed, he would hesitate, saying he had argued with his mother several times about it.

“You know, the mortgage, the car loan, and the family’s expenses… it isn’t a small amount of money.”

“If it weren’t for my parents’ frequent support, I don’t know how we would manage. My mom feels that the repayments are what we are paying, and she…”

“Of course, I know. Your parents contributed a lot to the down payment, so what she’s saying is wrong! That’s why I argued with her! We won’t eat at their place this month!”

“I’m just sorry, but we are family, so what difference does it make whose name is on the deed?”

Since he said that, I didn’t want to insist any further. “Why don’t you go apologize to her? It’s better not to let things get too tense between family members. I’ll buy some supplements tomorrow… Shall we go see the elderly together?”

“No need…”

Yu Nu looked tired. “I have to go on a business trip for a few days tomorrow, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. I won’t be home for a few days, so you should rest.”

I said, “How about I go out and find a job too? That way, your stress will be lessened.”

“Xiaoxiao is still so young, and your health isn’t good. What will happen to the family if you go out to work? Who will cook? Who will take care of the child? Don’t think so much. I’m here; it’ll be fine. I promised you I would earn money to support the family, and you just need to stay home and take care of everything. You don’t need to go out and work.”

And so it went, one thing after another.

The house was in his name, and the mortgage was paid with his salary; there was proof of all this.

Standing in court, I didn’t know he would produce a prenuptial agreement from somewhere, proving that the house… had nothing to do with me.

The down payment for the house was made through his bank account, which was necessary to verify the bank’s records.

I withdrew cash from my parents’ account and deposited it into his account on the spot, and then he transferred it to me. This was Yu Nu’s suggestion. Although I was suspicious, I didn’t think much of it. I never expected…

Had he already planned this?

I had no evidence to believe so, but it was true.

Cash transaction, no transfer receipts.

It was fine if Xiaoxiao lived with him and could have a better life.

In the first month after the divorce, I visited Xiaoxiao frequently. Yu Nu was often at the company and rarely came home. I also had a key to the house. But starting in the second month, everything changed.

The locks were changed, and the house had a new owner. Every time I went, I saw a face that wasn’t welcoming.

But I didn’t care.

I wasn’t going to see her and Yu Nu.

During the two days Xiaoxiao was missing, I didn’t go to Anquan Residential Area.

I was going to go, but Yu Nu called, saying he was taking our daughter to the amusement park and wouldn’t be back until late, asking me to come in a few days.

On the third day, I brought Xiaoxiao’s favorite rabbit doll to visit her.

I had many more of these dolls in my room. I bought her a new one every birthday. After the divorce, I took all of them with me.

When I arrived that day, Yu Nu was home. When he saw me, his face darkened like a stormy night. He asked what I was doing there now that we were divorced.

Behind him, in the open kitchen, a young woman was busy at work.

I knew her. Qiao Ni, only twenty-two years old, just graduated from university. I met her when I interned at Yu Nu’s company during my sophomore year.

Now, she was the new mistress of this house.

But in the kitchen, she wasn’t cooking; she was cutting fruit and mixing it with yogurt for dessert.

She didn’t cook. Xiaoxiao always ate takeout. She and Yu Nu ate out every day.

I said I was there to see my daughter.

Yu Nu’s eyes showed impatience, his face saying, “Here we go again.”

“We’ve never had children. You’ve had a miscarriage, but when will you ever get over that?!”

He showed me his home behind him—warm and beautiful.

This was the house we used to live in together. After the divorce, I moved out and lived with my mother. My father had passed away years ago. When I returned, my mother knew what had happened to me and didn’t ask many questions, just patiently cared for me.

But a few days later, my mother suddenly died of a stroke. That cold house was left with only me and the dolls my daughter had left me.

“Look, look,”

I held up the rabbit, as if I’d heard a joke, and asked him incredulously, “We don’t have a daughter, so how come I have so many dolls?”

His eyes held an emotion I couldn’t understand; he seemed very disappointed in me. “You forgot to take your medicine again, didn’t you? Where’s your medicine?!”

I didn’t speak. Yu Nu snatched my bag, took out a small pill bottle, and asked Qiao Ni to pour me some water. He watched me take the medicine at the door.

My ex-husband said, “We don’t have children. How many times do I have to tell you before you remember?! If it weren’t for this, why would I have argued with you, and why would we have separated? Lu Xiaoyun, everyone has patience. Over the years, you’ve worn down all the patience I can give you!”

Qiao Ni stopped him. “Don’t be so fierce. Sister Lu is a patient, too. Why don’t we call Dr. Sun and have him check on her?”

I was momentarily stunned by her attitude. Wasn’t Qiao Ni the person who disliked me the most?

Every time I came, she always gave me the cold shoulder.

Why was everything before me different from my memories?

I couldn’t care less about these chaotic memories; I just wanted to see my daughter. “Have you hidden Xiaoxiao? Let me see her.”

After saying that, I tried to force my way inside.

Yu Nu stopped me and pushed me out the door. “Let it go. You and I both need to move on. The child is gone; that’s it. You keep saying these things while holding your rabbit doll. Do you want me to live in the pain of the past forever, just like you?!”

“Lu Xiaoyun, you’re not the girl I know anymore. You’re like a madwoman now! A madwoman living in her own fantasy, wanting everyone else to be dragged down with her!”

With that, he slammed the door shut without hesitation.

Yu Nu said, Xiaoxiao didn’t exist.

My child was never even born in the first place.

How could that be?

Every time I saw Xiaoxiao, she would comfort me, ask if I was tired, and give me the candy she had hidden.

“When Mom saves enough money, she’ll bring you over.”

“Then I can continue to listen to Mom’s stories at night!”

“Of course, the story of the Great Rabbit Demon King that wasn’t finished before, and all sorts of stories you haven’t heard before, I’ll tell you! But the condition is that you have to finish your homework every day.”

The child in my memory, with dimples when she smiled and eyes that could speak.

Every day we spent together was vividly clear in my memory.

I didn’t believe it. He definitely didn’t want me to see his child.

He wanted Xiaoxiao to completely forget me, her mother, to erase all traces of me from this family, so that someone else could become her mother.

Xiaoxiao went to the nearby elementary school every day; she was seven and had just started first grade. I only needed to wait downstairs, and I would see her at dawn.

The neighborhood was unusually quiet at night. The patrolling security guard saw it was me, but didn’t pay much attention.

He knew I used to live here, but didn’t know I was divorced. He thought I was just acting out. He shone his flashlight, confirmed my identity, shook his head, and walked away.

At other times, people passing by in the neighborhood would give me strange looks but then walk away as if avoiding a plague.

The girl who wore a mask when taking out the trash, the deliveryman who walked hurriedly carrying takeout, the middle-aged man with a stubble beard who always looked flustered and glanced around, and the construction worker rushing by…

I didn’t look at them specifically, but I knew they were watching me. Besides waiting for my daughter, I also needed to check if there were any suspicious people in the neighborhood. I’d seen a lot of reports about human trafficking on the news and on my phone lately.

If Xiaoxiao really was abducted, those people might target others and reappear here.

Anquan Residential Area was an upscale community. Entry was by facial recognition, and security guards patrolled occasionally, so many people let their guard down and let their children play freely.

Little did they know that if delivery drivers could follow residents in, so could human traffickers.

And what if human traffickers had rented an apartment here?

What if the delivery drivers or construction workers were human traffickers?

I waited outside the apartment building for two days and two nights. On the fifth day, I was certain my daughter was missing.

During that time, Dr. Sun called me many times, as did my company.

I wanted to take leave, but the company wouldn’t allow it.

When they hired me, I clearly stated to them that I had no plans to marry and no children to support.

“Since your child was given to your ex-husband, let them look for her. If they can’t find her, report it to the police. Looking for her yourself will only waste time!”

“I really want to understand you, but this project is very important. If you can’t handle it, I’ll replace you. I also have a family to support. Should I let an entire department starve because of your family problems? We are already short-staffed, and now you’re taking leave? Do you know how many people are waiting for your position?”

I completely turned off my phone; finally, it stopped ringing.

Dr. Sun must be in cahoots with them, trying to prevent me from seeing my daughter.

And the people at the company…

In their eyes, I was just a tool for their work.

My daughter was missing.

She didn’t come home; she didn’t go to school.

She didn’t appear at the entrance of the apartment building.

Yu Nu wouldn’t let me call the police. His parents called and said I had made false reports more than once or twice, and if I continued, I’d be sent to a mental hospital.

The child, the disappearance—it was all my imagination.

I couldn’t let them lock me up.

But I had another way.

I went to the property management office and said my child was missing, requesting to see the building’s security footage.

Property management usually kept the footage for seven days.

My ex-husband said we didn’t have a daughter at all, but six days ago, I took Xiaoxiao out to play.

If the footage showed Xiaoxiao, it would prove Yu Nu was lying.