The Missing Daughter – CH 009

Chapter 9. Daughter 3

It was a cloudy day, and it was drizzling when I went out.

I didn’t bring an umbrella, and my hair was soaked when I got in the car. The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror and jokingly said that even in the middle of the day, he almost thought a female ghost was stopping the car. I ignored him.

Feeling bored, the driver fell silent.

Rain pattered against the windshield, the wipers making a constant racket.

After getting out of the car, I went straight into the residential complex, to Building 8. I’d walked this route many times. Passing a trash can, I took all the medication from my bag and threw it away.

I’d been taking these medications for two years; I wouldn’t take them anymore.

At the door, I knocked, but no one answered. I called Yu Nu, but he wouldn’t answer. As far as I knew, Qiao Ni didn’t have a job; where could she be if she wasn’t home?

I tried to break down the door, but even after bruising my shoulder, it was no use. Yu Nu had changed the locks, and the doormat that had been there previously had been thrown away. It seemed he didn’t want to leave any trace of me.

After a while, I texted Yu Nu. 【I’m at your door. I’ve already called the police about Xiaoxiao’s disappearance. If you don’t come over within an hour, I’ll die on your doorstep.】

Soon, Yu Nu called. “What are you doing? Don’t do anything rash; Xiaoyun, calm down. I’ll take leave and come back right away. Don’t do anything stupid!”

I sat on the floor by the door, shivering.

I touched my burning forehead, drifted in and out of sleep for a while, and was woken by my own alarm clock.

For an hour, the alarm went off every twenty minutes. Forty minutes after I sent the text message, the elevator rang, the doors opened, and Yu Nu and a short-haired young woman stepped out.

The young woman was looking down at her phone; I’d never seen her before.

The moment Yu Nu saw me, he breathed a sigh of relief. “You came alone? Don’t do anything foolish. There are outsiders here. Whatever it is, let’s go inside and talk.”

I stared at him. “I’ve already called the police. Where exactly did you hide Xiaoxiao?”

Yu Nu walked to the door and unlocked it with his key. “This isn’t the first time you’ve called the police, Xiaoyun. Our child died before it was even born. You… never mind, I won’t upset you. Come in, I’ll get you a glass of water.”

The short-haired girl heard me speak and glanced up at me, her expression somewhat puzzled. But she didn’t say anything, walked to the opposite door, opened it, and before turning to close the door, she glanced at me again.

Although I didn’t look at her, I knew she was looking at me.

But I’d gotten used to these strange looks.

After coming inside, he poured me a glass of hot water. Yu Nu looked helpless and sat down opposite me. “Xiaoyun, this is all your imagination. Your illness is getting worse; you’re even showing symptoms of delusions. I told you before, you must take your medication on time. Stopping your medication will cause problems.”

I took a sip of water. I repeated my previous question. “Where’s Xiaoxiao?”

Yu Nu seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he just scratched his hair and looked up at me. “My work and life have already been affected. If you keep doing this, I’ll go crazy!”

I asked again, “Where’s Qiao Ni?”

Yu Nu looked at me. “What Qiao Ni?”

He started playing dumb with me.

“You mean…that was so long ago. And I told you, she and I were just ordinary colleagues. I was just mentoring an intern!”

Yu Nu said, “Take a rest. I’ll call Brother Sun over.”

Take a rest. That same phrase again.

Everyone told me to rest.

I stood up and walked towards Xiaoxiao’s room.

Yu Nu didn’t stop me; instead, he followed me. I pushed open the door but froze.

Everything had changed.

The cute wallpaper was gone; the cabinet where the toys used to be was gone. Even the bed’s color and style were completely different.

This was a room I didn’t recognize at all.

In my memory, this was Xiaoxiao’s room!

Yu Nu stood behind me and said, “I once suggested adopting a child, but you were extremely stubborn; you insisted on having your own child. I did dream about the future with you, but why do you insist on living in the past? Can you even tell what year it is?”

“If we had a daughter, why aren’t those dolls in my house, with the daughter you said was awarded to me, but with you?”

“I know you went to the property management office to check the security footage. Are you still not giving up?”

I picked up my phone and looked at Yu Nu. “I’ll call the school.”

Yu Nu frowned. “Which school?”

I opened the previous numbers and dialed them one by one in front of him.

But as each call connected, each inquiry revealed answers that became increasingly unacceptable.

Yu Xiaoxiao was seven years old, starting school this year.

None of them matched, not even a name that was the same.

My daughter was a figment of my imagination.

She didn’t exist. Therefore, the security cameras didn’t capture her, and I couldn’t wait for her to come home from school.

My head throbbed with pain, and the world before me transformed into a blinding shower of colorful snowflakes, their spots flashing incessantly. Then I lost consciousness.

**

When I woke up, it was pitch black.

The screen of my phone lit up. I glanced at the time: 10 PM.

I got up, turned on the light, and looked around. This was Yu Nu’s and my old home.

But it was vastly different from when I first arrived. The living room was filled with cardboard boxes, containing countless items, while the tabletop was completely empty.

The wedding photo that used to hang on the wall, Yu Nu’s and Qiao Ni’s, was gone.

Even the cardboard boxes were nowhere to be found.

The front door was ajar, the security light outside was on, and I heard someone emerge from the elevator.

I pushed open the door and saw that short-haired girl again.

She looked at me, even more surprised than before, and asked, “Are you… alright? Should we go to the hospital?”

I asked her, “Have you seen the couple who live here?”

A flicker of surprise crossed the short-haired girl’s eyes. “What couple?”

“A couple who live here, with a child, you know them?!”

She was startled. “I just moved in. I didn’t know before, but now, aren’t you… the one living here?”

I took out my keys from my pocket and closed the door. “Look, my keys don’t work—”

Before I finished speaking, the door clicked open.

The short-haired girl took a few steps back, creating some distance between us, and said cautiously, “However, I’ve heard from other residents in the neighborhood that there was a couple in our building who were very loving, but unfortunately, they never had children…”

She paused, then continued, “Then the husband died in a car accident about two weeks ago, and the wife isn’t doing well… that mole on your nose…”

I turned and stared at her. “What about the mole?!”

The short-haired girl took a few more steps back, leaning against the wall. “Don’t get agitated; I just heard it from them. The family that had the accident, the wife… There’s a mole on her nose…”

I asked her, “You said Yu Nu is dead?”

I rubbed my temples. “No, no, when you came home this afternoon, didn’t you see me with Yu Nu?”

The short-haired girl walked along the wall to her door. “Sister, don’t scare me! You said this afternoon? When I came, I only saw you talking at the door, and then you went inside by yourself… You didn’t see a ghost, did you?”

She hurriedly opened the door and rushed inside, as if I were a real ghost, afraid to stay with me for long.

I finally understood.

There were no ghosts in this world.

So, it was all my imagination.

I had no daughter, no husband. To make sense of it all, I told myself that my daughter was missing, and my husband divorced me and left me.

Dr. Sun was right.

I shouldn’t have doubted him.

I shouldn’t cling to the characters I’ve created in my imagination. I should say goodbye to them. Only by clearing away these illusions that were trapping me in the past, changing my living environment, and taking my medication on time could I move on.

I called Dr. Sun and told him I didn’t want to go to a mental hospital.

He suggested I go to his sanatorium to rest for a while. I’d been there a few times before; when I had severe emotional breakdowns, Yu Nu would drive me there. It was in a beautiful little town by the sea, only a half-hour drive away.

Knowing I was willing to cooperate with treatment and stop resisting, Dr. Sun was very happy.

“If Yu Nu were still alive, knowing you’ve finally let go and can move on, he would be very happy too.”

“He always said he wanted to have a child with you, but unfortunately, after your miscarriage, your uterus was damaged, and you can no longer conceive.”

A person might lie.

But when everyone was saying the same thing, perhaps it had been me who was wrong all along…

It was me.

I no longer resisted Dr. Sun’s treatment, no longer doubted everything in my life, and no longer questioned any details because they didn’t match my memories. My memories were chaotic. To start a new life, I at least needed to cure my illness first.

Before going to the sanatorium, I went back to Anquan Residential Area one last time.

To say a complete goodbye to the past, I also needed to tidy up my home.

All the illusions finally disappeared.

I threw away my rabbit doll.

I no longer suffered from insomnia, and I could sleep peacefully for long periods every day.

Unfortunately, my peaceful life at the sanatorium was shattered after only a few days.

While tending to the plants in the yard, two policemen came to my door.

“My name is He Chenghui. You should remember me, Ms. Lu?”

“Yes… What can I do for you?”

“Didn’t you report your daughter missing?”

I gave a sheepish smile. “Officer He, I’m so sorry. I had some mental health issues before. The doctor said I had severe hallucinations and delusions. I reported it when I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

I brushed aside the rose petals in the sunlight.

The rose petals were fully open, their colors vibrant.

I looked up at them and said firmly, “I don’t have a daughter.”

He Chenghui and his colleague exchanged a glance, somewhat surprised. “Let us finish; we… uh… we have some news for you.”

“Is it because of the false police report? Are you going to punish me?”

“No… we’ve found your daughter.”

The breeze stopped, and the petals and leaves ceased swaying.

After a long pause, I smiled and pulled my light-colored coat tighter. “Impossible. I don’t have a daughter. I called the school.”

“We’ve found out your daughter attends a primary school in Luocai District, and her household registration is under Yu Lin, Yu Nu’s father… It was transferred there at the beginning of this year. The primary school tuition near your neighborhood is very expensive, while it’s much cheaper in Luocai District. I think the transfer was to make it easier for her to attend school…”

“We want to take some of your usual medications back for testing…”

“Ms. Lu? Are you listening to us?”

I couldn’t hear what they said after that.

The sound of the waves on the beach grew louder, and the vibrant spots before my eyes reappeared, gradually converging into the shape of a smiling rabbit.

I heard my own voice drifting from afar—

“Where is my daughter?”

**

The day before the police found me.

The short-haired girl took the elevator home as usual. These past few days, every time she returned home, she could smell a nauseating stench permeating the hallway.

But there was nothing in the hallway; the smell could only be coming from the apartment across the hall.

She frowned and knocked on the door.

This wasn’t the first time she’d knocked, but the first few times, no one paid attention. The stench was getting worse, and with the hot weather, she really didn’t know what those people were up to. Did they have dead rats or cats in their house?

Sometimes she felt that even walking around the hallway left her covered in this indelible stench.

As usual, there was no response. Just as she was angrily banging on the door, Duan Xiqun came out of the elevator. “Quiet down, quiet down. What are you doing?”

The short-haired girl glanced at Duan Xiqun’s work uniform. “Are you from the property management? Perfect timing. I want to complain about this household. Can you smell this stench? It’s the middle of summer, and it’s been stinking for days. It’s really bothering other people!”

Duan Xiqun knocked on the door, but there was still no answer. “They probably aren’t home.”

“By the way, what are you doing up here?”

Property management staff didn’t come upstairs unless there was a reason.

Duan Xiqun checked the form in his hand. “I’m here to collect the property management fees. They were supposed to be paid three days ago, but this family hasn’t contacted me at all. They don’t answer the phone, and there’s been no reply in the residents’ group chat. Could they have gone on vacation?”

The short-haired girl frowned. “I saw them a few days ago. They didn’t seem like they were going on vacation.”

“Them?”

“Yeah, a man and a woman. They said they were filming some kind of supernatural short video. The man gave me two thousand yuan to be an extra.”

“An extra?”

“Just saying lines and stuff. You know, that woman’s acting… Wow, it was really impressive. It didn’t seem like acting at all. After I finished speaking, she seemed genuinely amazed, like she’d seen a ghost. I’d never seen this actor before. Sigh, talented actors aren’t famous, and famous actors lack talent. That’s just how the world is.”

The short-haired girl, still smelling the stench, covered her nose and said, “Forget it, you should still open the door and check. Nobody’s home. If something’s happened inside, it’s hard to say. What if a thief broke in and died?”

The last part was just a casual remark, but the smell definitely made Duan Xiqun feel uneasy. The building management didn’t have keys to other apartments, so he had to call security. After a lot of trouble, he finally managed to break down the door.

But when they saw what was inside, all three of them froze.

After a long pause, the short-haired girl let out a piercing scream.

The security guard stumbled out the door, pulling out his phone. “Hello, 110? I… I need to call the police!”

The blood on the floor had long since dried, turning black.

The bloodstains spread across the living room floor like blooming roses.

Three men could make a tiger¹; many voices could melt metal².

If one person could lie, did that mean a group of people couldn’t lie?

【Daughter Chapter/Complete】