Chapter Forty-One: Compensation and the Kidnapping Case

Chapter Forty-One: Compensation and the Kidnapping Case

An Changpu neither confirmed nor denied what You Zhou said, but silently nodded, signaling him to elaborate. Regardless of the usual complaints parents might voice, deep down, most parents see their children as precious and well-behaved. Even if their child has a reputation as a troublemaker or a delinquent, parents often believe their child is just immature or going through a rebellious phase.

You Zhou seemed worried that An Changpu might not believe his praise of their son, so he quickly pointed to the wall that Qin Ruonan had already noticed. "Look, all these are honors my son has earned since he was little! He plays the accordion exceptionally well. Even his instructor said our little Yang is a promising talent and could pursue a music scholarship. But my wife and I didn’t want him to go that route. Little Yang is also excellent academically—his grades in the entrance exams for middle school were outstanding, and he was placed directly into an advanced class. You two tell me, how could such an outstanding and well-behaved child possibly run away from home so irresponsibly?"

Qin Ruonan listened to You Zhou’s words but continued with her original line of questioning, as in any investigation, before gathering sufficient evidence with clear leads, the only effective method was elimination.

Of course, such elimination couldn’t be casually dismissed by a simple "impossible" from the relatives.

"My son never argues with us. He always behaves properly. We don’t have to nag or scold him every day. Even if you asked us to argue with him, we wouldn’t know what for," said Lan Xinli, You Yang’s mother, shaking her head sadly. "There were no conflicts at all. Besides, the child normally stays at school and only comes home on weekends. Sometimes, when exams approach, he comes back once or twice a month to study. We’re so happy when he does come home; how could we find fault with him? Actually, I’m worried he might have been kidnapped!"

"May I ask what you both do for work?" An Changpu’s ears perked up at the word "kidnapping," and he immediately inquired about the parents’ occupations.

You Zhou glanced at his wife with some disagreement before replying, "I teach calligraphy at the city’s senior university, and my wife works in the retired cadres' department of the Women’s Federation."

Hearing this, both An Changpu and Qin Ruonan couldn’t help but look puzzled. Although their jobs seemed stable and their livelihood secure, their income was modest—enough to get by but not abundant.

Kidnapping, besides demanding a hefty ransom, could also be motivated by revenge. But given You Zhou’s teaching at a senior university and Lan Xinli’s work with retired staff, it seemed unlikely they had made enemies capable of such a vendetta.

Was Lan Xinli’s suspicion of kidnapping truly justified? And if so, what was the motive?

You Zhou then offered an explanation.

"Our house, as you’ve seen, is old and rundown. We bought it when we got married, almost twenty-five years ago. For the first five years, we had no children due to health reasons. After treatment, we finally had our first child, but he passed away young due to frail health. Little Yang is actually our third child. We had decided that if he didn’t survive either, we would stop trying to avoid repeated heartbreak. Fortunately, little Yang is strong and healthy despite a weak start. Relatives and friends all know he’s our precious treasure," You Zhou said, sighing deeply as he spoke of their son.

"Both of us are salaried employees with no side income. Life isn’t exactly tight, but supporting a child’s education is a strain, so we’ve never had the means to move to a better home. Recently, with the area developing, many buildings around us were demolished and rebuilt, but our building remains because it’s detached and the land is expensive. No one wants it. There’s been talk lately that the large mall nearby is booming, but its parking lot is too small. They might want to buy our land to build more parking."

"I heard neighbors talking about that too," Lan Xinli chimed in eagerly, taking over the narrative. "Some people have even approached other residents to negotiate. We casually talked and figured out that if the house is demolished, we might get over two million in compensation. I think someone overheard us chatting, learned about the money, and knowing we only have little Yang as our treasure, they kidnapped him to demand ransom."

"You’re so stubborn, refusing to listen!" You Zhou shot his wife a helpless, restrained glance. "At our age, you should know better. There’s no concrete sign that compensation will come. The developers haven’t even contacted us personally. Who would be foolish enough to kidnap little Yang before the money arrives, targeting us two poor folks?"

You Zhou’s rebuttal darkened Lan Xinli’s mood further. Though she didn’t argue back, her heavy sigh betrayed her unease. Whether she truly believed her husband’s words was unknown to others, but for now, she remained silent.

"What do you know about little Yang’s friends and his school environment?" Qin Ruonan asked, sensing their silence.

Lan Xinli spoke up, "Little Yang had a few childhood friends, neighborhood boys of similar age, but after third or fourth grade, they gradually moved away. I heard one even attended the same middle school as him, but the others lost touch. He rarely talks about school life, but I don’t think he causes trouble. Otherwise, his homeroom teacher would have summoned us long ago."

"When did little Yang start boarding at school?" An Changpu asked, recalling that he was supposed to send his own child to boarding school next year.

"He’s been boarding since middle school. He suggested it himself, saying commuting wasted time, and home distractions like TV affected his focus. So we agreed," You Zhou replied, adding, "He didn’t come home this weekend, and we thought he was preparing for midterms at school, so we didn’t worry. But on Monday, the school called asking if he was sick and absent without leave. Only then did we realize he hadn’t attended class. We immediately contacted relatives and friends to help find him. We’re all lifelong residents of C City with many local connections, but despite searching all day, we found nothing. That’s when we were advised to report to the police."

He gave Lan Xinli a reproachful look. "But your mother still wanted to wait a little longer, worried that if we reported it, they might harm him."

"They always show that in TV dramas! I’m just worried about my son’s safety," Lan Xinli said, feeling wronged.

"You should watch less of those trashy dramas," You Zhou snapped.

Qin Ruonan wanted to explain that in reality, many kidnapping victims are killed early on—often before families can even report their disappearance. Some kidnappers never intend to release their captives alive, fearing exposure of their own identities. This grim truth is not necessarily linked to whether the police are involved.

But she held back, realizing that while clarifying the misconception that reporting equals harm might ease fears, it could also deepen Lan Xinli’s anxiety for her son.

"We don’t have enough evidence yet to confirm this is a kidnapping. You haven’t received any ransom demands either. Regardless, with the police involved, there’s more support. We will do our best," Qin Ruonan said, shifting her tone to reassure the couple.

"Have you prepared any missing person posters?" An Changpu asked You Zhou.

You Zhou nodded, stood, and went outside briefly. When he returned, he held a stack of A4 papers.

"They’re all here. They said they want to put them up now, but I told them to wait until we hear from the police."

An Changpu nodded, taking a few posters from the stack. "We’ll check out little Yang’s school situation. You can continue putting up the posters. I’ll take these to ask around near the school."

The You couple expressed heartfelt thanks. An Changpu and Qin Ruonan stood to leave, escorted to the door by a crowd of family members. After several polite refusals, they managed to go downstairs.

Before leaving, Qin Ruonan turned back and reminded You Zhou, "Don’t touch anything in your son’s room for now."

Suddenly, an amusing thought crossed her mind. She wondered if she could ask Xiao Mo: if this were a TV drama, who would you imagine playing the leads in our family? Of course, not limited to An Changpu and Qin Ruonan—imagining Lu Xiangdong, Tian Mi, Cheng Feng, and Liu Jiayi joining in would be just as fun! Come on, tell me! Hehe…

Chapter Forty-One: Compensation and the Kidnapping Case
A Worthy Recommendation