Volume Two: Slim Chances of Survival

An Changpu exchanged a glance with Qin Ruonan. Qin Ruonan nodded at him and turned to call over the missing child’s mother. “Please come with me.”

The woman was reluctant, shooting a fierce glare at her ex-husband before finally following Qin Ruonan out of Cheng Feng’s office.

Qin Ruonan led her to her own desk, gestured for the woman to sit, opened her notebook, and asked, “May I have your name?”

“My name is Qian Yuling.” Once she was away from her ex-husband, her anger lessened, replaced by deeper worry for her son. “You must help me find my son. Nothing must happen to him! He’s my only precious boy. If anything happens to him, I don’t know how I could go on living!”

“What’s your family situation? Why did it take so long for the father to realize the child was missing? And as his mother, how could you not notice anything?” Qin Ruonan was puzzled. She had heard of and dealt with other divorced single-parent families; even if the parents separated, it didn’t mean the child was neglected. At least one parent would usually keep a close eye on the child’s well-being.

When Qin Ruonan asked this, Qian Yuling’s eyes reddened instantly, tears welling up.

“It breaks my heart to talk about it. When I divorced Fang Da, at first I fought desperately for custody of my son. But Fang Da is the only son in his family. He has sisters, but among the Fang family, my son is their only grandson. Neither of us wanted to let go. In the end, even my in-laws knelt in front of me, begging me not to take their precious grandson. They promised they would treat him well. That bastard Fang Da also swore to me that he’d take good care of him. I was so foolish then—I believed them! Besides, my job and income were not as good as Fang Da’s. If the child stayed with me, he might have a harder life, so I agreed to let them have custody. But in hindsight, a man’s promises can’t be trusted!”

As she spoke, tears spilled down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them with the back of her hand. “We’d been divorced less than a year when he remarried. Once a man has a new wife, how could he care about his child? Look—my son has been missing for so long, and as his father, he didn’t even know!”

“Even if your child doesn’t live with you, don’t you keep in touch with him?” Qin Ruonan pressed.

“I used to, but then Fang Da forbade it. He said I was poisoning my son against him and his new, scheming wife. According to the agreement, I’m allowed to see my son twice a month—every other week, pick him up Friday, return him Sunday. If it hadn’t been my turn this week, who knows when that bastard would have found out our son was missing!” As she recalled all this, Qian Yuling’s resentment surged. Tears streamed down her face, and this time she didn’t bother to wipe them away.

Qin Ruonan sighed and handed her a tissue. Qian Yuling took it but didn’t use it to wipe her tears; instead, she clutched it and tore it into shreds, bit by bit.

“Qian Yuling, I hope you can try to control your emotions. I called you out not to speak with you alone, but because even though you and your ex-husband, Fang Da, are divorced and no longer live together, there are many things about your son’s disappearance that require answers from both of you together. So I want you to let your feelings out now. When you face Fang Da again, please try to stay calm. Can you do that?” Qin Ruonan waited as Qian Yuling cried and shredded the tissue, only opening her mouth again when the woman had calmed down somewhat.

Qian Yuling was reluctant to make such a promise, but after considering for a moment, she nodded begrudgingly.

Qin Ruonan left Qian Yuling in her office and went to check on the situation in Cheng Feng’s office. An Changpu was talking with Fang Da, who, being a man, was better at controlling his emotions and maintaining composure in front of outsiders than Qian Yuling. He soon agreed to face his equally worried ex-wife with a calm and tolerant attitude.

With this assurance, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan felt safe to bring the two together again. Both kept their promise and were generally restrained and composed, though the undercurrents in their eyes were hard to miss. The two sat together and introduced themselves as calmly as possible. Fang Da was a mid-level manager at a large state-owned enterprise; his job was stable and his living conditions decent. In contrast, Qian Yuling’s situation was less favorable. She explained that she had been a nurse at a public hospital, but the stress of the divorce period made her absent-minded at work, leading to mistakes and her eventual resignation. She now worked at a private hospital for less than half her previous wage.

Her words carried a trace of resentment, which drew a dissatisfied look from Fang Da. But with An Changpu and Qin Ruonan present, he said nothing.

When asked when she last saw her son, Qian Yuling, who only saw him once every two weeks, couldn’t provide any useful information. When it was Fang Da’s turn, he too was evasive.

“As far as I know, the homeroom teacher said my son hasn’t been to school in four days—today makes five,” he replied, citing the teacher’s account.

“But when did you last see your son? Please think carefully,” Qin Ruonan pressed.

Fang Da frowned, thinking hard, and finally answered with some embarrassment, “My job requires a lot of socializing. I often come home late, after my son is already asleep. In the mornings, by the time I get up, he’s already left for school. So we don’t see each other much. But I recall four days ago, I came home late and saw my son’s room light was off. I asked my wife if he was asleep, and she said he’d gone to bed early. I didn’t want to disturb him. I trust my wife wouldn’t lie, so that’s probably the last time I was aware of my son’s whereabouts.”

Hearing this, Qian Yuling let out a loud snort. Fang Da glared at her but said nothing.

Clearly, Fang Da wasn’t certain of his own answer. An Changpu checked the time—it was just after four in the afternoon—then said to Fang Da, “Would you mind calling your wife to confirm this?”

Fang Da looked at his watch, hesitated, but agreed. He got up to leave but was stopped by An Changpu.

“Please also ask her if she’s received any strange calls or messages—if anyone has demanded ransom in any form,” An Changpu instructed.

Fang Da nodded, gestured that he would step out to make the call, and left the office.

“Asking her is pointless! That scheming woman would never care about my son!” Qian Yuling sneered as soon as Fang Da left.

Qin Ruonan had no interest in probing why Qian Yuling repeatedly disparaged Fang Da’s current wife; it was obvious—what ex-wife would have fond feelings for her ex-husband’s new spouse?

“Are you sure you haven’t received any ransom demands?” An Changpu asked Qian Yuling.

She shook her head firmly. “Who would try to extort me? I barely make enough to stay above the poverty line. My family isn’t rich—what good would it do to kidnap my child?”

Suddenly, she seemed to realize something and gripped Qin Ruonan’s arm nervously. “Do you think my son has been trafficked?”

Neither An Changpu nor Qin Ruonan answered immediately. That question lingered in their minds, too. Statistically, boys are more likely to be trafficked than girls, but a ten-year-old is already considered a bit too old for the “market.” Trafficking an older child is riskier and less profitable for criminals, so it’s less likely—but not impossible. Without further investigation, they couldn’t rule out any possibilities.

“In your daily life, do you have any enemies or people with whom you have a bad relationship?” Qin Ruonan considered another possibility.

For a ten-year-old boy to vanish so mysteriously, there are generally three possibilities: first, kidnapping for ransom; second, as Qian Yuling guessed, child trafficking; and third, the most likely at present—someone using the child to take revenge on an adult.

In most cases, kidnappings for ransom quickly lead to demands for money. But if it’s the third scenario, the chances of survival are far slimmer.

Soon, Fang Da returned from his call and told An Changpu and Qin Ruonan that his current wife couldn’t remember the last time she saw Fang Wan either, and she hadn’t received any ransom demands. When asked whether he had any enemies, Fang Da insisted he did not.

“I’m not an important official, and I have no power. I wouldn’t even know how to make enemies! There’s no chance anyone’s targeting me for revenge,” he said, firm and decisive.

These two had rushed in, anxious to report the case, but knew nothing of crucial details. Left with no other option, An Changpu decided to use the remaining time in the afternoon to visit Fang Wan’s school and gather more information.