Chapter 13: Father

“Dad!”

Shi Yue blurted it out. She was about to ask why he looked so battered and injured, but the moment her father saw her, he didn’t say a word—he just pulled her into a tight embrace, as if she might run away at any second. Shi Yue didn’t struggle; partly because she didn’t want to hurt her father’s injuries, and partly because the cool weather in recent days made this long-overdue hug feel especially warm.

“Dad…”

Her father slammed the door shut with a bang, still holding Shi Yue, and shakily pressed several kisses to her forehead. He had never acted this way before, and Shi Yue felt a strange shyness stir in her.

“Dad, what are you doing? Your injuries…”

Her father held her tightly for a long while before finally letting go, his eyes red as he looked at her closely. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and said, “Come with me,” taking a few steps into the kitchen.

He boiled a pot of water and turned on the stove, pulling a bag of wontons from the fridge. “I’ll make you something to eat. Just stay here—don’t move. Stand here and tell your father properly, where have you been these past few days?!”

“I’m not hungry, Dad…”

“You don’t eat until you explain!”

“….”

Her father had never been this serious and intimidating. Shi Yue knew she couldn’t fool him, so she told him everything about missing her stop on the bus and falling into the lake. Of course, she only said she had accidentally fallen into the water; she left out all the darker details. She explained that she lost her phone, wallet, and ID, was stranded in the outskirts, and survived by scavenging for leftover food until a kind person finally gave her a ride home.

“A kind person? Male or female? What do they do?”

Her father held the freshly cooked wontons and placed them in front of her. Shi Yue obediently sat down at the table, and her father pulled up a chair opposite her, hands clenched. “How could you get into a stranger’s car?”

“I was eager to come home! There just happened to be someone willing to take me…”

“Never get into a stranger’s car again, no matter what. Don’t ever.” Her father took a bite of wonton. “Why didn’t you call the police?”

“I couldn’t find them…”

“…Ah, as long as you’re safe, that’s fine.”

Her father looked at Shi Yue and said, “Tomorrow I’ll take another day off and tell Officer Zhang that you’re home so they don’t need to look for you. I’ll also inform your teacher, see if they can replace your textbooks and student ID… maybe catch you up on classes; and we’ll need to buy two new phones…”

“Eh, Dad! How did you get injured? Did you get into a fight?”

“Injured? Who’s injured?” her father quickly pretended not to understand.

“Dad, be honest! Where did you get hurt? If you don’t tell me, I won’t eat!”

Shi Yue theatrically threw down her chopsticks, acting as if she would starve herself until he spoke. Her father couldn’t resist her and had no choice but to explain.

He learned of Shi Yue’s disappearance on Tuesday morning. That day, after finishing his night shift and coming home, he got a call from her teacher saying she hadn’t attended class. When he tried calling his daughter, the phone was unreachable, and panic set in immediately. He rushed to the nearest police station to file a report. While the police agreed to help, they also suggested he print missing-person notices. For the next few days, he went around posting notices everywhere, skipping work, asking anyone on the street if they had seen his daughter.

Until yesterday, he happened to hear people in a breakfast shop talking about human traffickers in Xu’an District. He learned that a few days prior, someone had forcibly taken a girl on the street, claiming she was a runaway, and then kidnapped her. No one dared intervene because they feared getting involved, and even if it wasn’t a misunderstanding, who dares act heroically these days?

Upon hearing this, he immediately told Officer Zhang at the police station, but the police didn’t comment. Rumors like these sprang up every day in Huangzhou, and in a big city, there was no shortage of people—alive or dead.

Moreover, with the long-standing border conflicts between Dachu and Beiyan along the Huai River all the way to Tianji Mountain and Kunlun Mountain lasting hundreds of years, natural disasters and human misfortunes seemed small in comparison to the “things that must separate after long union.”

But he refused to give up this lead. So he went to Xu’an District himself, to an abandoned distillery next to a shantytown. Locals said a gang of suspected traffickers frequented the deserted factory.

Determined not to lose hope, he limped inside. The area was desolate, with moss-covered high walls casting deep shadows. After a while, he heard voices and followed them into a factory building. Inside, a group of six or seven street ruffians were playing cards. Startled by his voice, they looked up.

“Who’s there?”

“Want to die?!”

Seeing a stranger, they immediately set aside their cards and rushed him, pinning him down within moments.

“Are you a cop?”

They searched him roughly; when they realized he wasn’t a police officer, they became even more violent, kicking him and injuring his arm, scraping his forehead. After a beating, they asked who he was and why he was there. He said he had wandered in by mistake and apologized for disturbing them. They had no suspicion and, after a brief warning, let him go.

“What kind of people are they? So violent.”

“Human traffickers, probably. Seeing how they reacted, who knows what shady things they do.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Never mind them! As long as our girl is safe, that’s what matters! Eat, eat. Go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow we’ll buy new phones, replace your cards…”

“Dad, aren’t you going to call the police?”

Seeing her father’s injuries, Shi Yue couldn’t eat. But he waved her off. “It’s useless. Let them be! Just a bit of bad luck, like a dog bite. Only a scratch.”

“A scratch? Dad, your head is cut open!”

Shi Yue stood up angrily but sank back down under her father’s gaze.

“…The police don’t care?”

“They’d get nothing out of it. Now, no need for you to worry. Rest well, tomorrow we’ll go see your teacher and fix everything you lost. Go to bed early.”

“Okay.”

Shi Yue nodded. Her father pretended to swing his arm, but accidentally banged the wound against the chair and howled in pain. Shi Yue covered her mouth to hide a laugh. He swatted her forehead, scolding, “You little rascal, go to sleep!” Shi Yue hid her smile but noticed his bandages. Seeing her father’s injured leg and wounds made her heart ache. She reminded him to sleep first; she would wash the dishes. He laughed, “You’ve grown up, huh? You care about your old man now,” and Shi Yue joked back. Seeing her father’s leg and injuries, she muttered:

“Those people… really deserve to die.”

“Dad’s fine. You sleep well.”

Halfway through, he called back, “Don’t get lost again. Next time, I’ll spank you for sure!”

“Hehe.”

After washing the dishes, Shi Yue turned off the lights and electronics, locked her room, and opened her laptop.

Her father had bought it as a reward for getting into high school. They had been happy for a while, only to discover it was a second-hand, DIY-assembled machine. Shi Yue didn’t mind—it was good enough for studying and life, only games ran a bit laggy.

But tonight, Shi Yue didn’t play games or study; she started researching information about Huangzhou’s Wuan District, 4th Street.

Shi Yue had only heard Old Jin and others mention it. According to them, 4th Street in Wuan District was a notorious black market. The area once had a bustling workforce and thriving commerce, and nearby shops never slept. Later, as the city shifted focus to other emerging economic zones, the area didn’t collapse but became chaotic, and the black market flourished—especially after 1 a.m., when mysterious goods, antiques, and weapons could be seen.