I woke up groggily, my head throbbing intensely.
It took a while for my senses to clear, and then I took in my surroundings.
I was in a room no larger than twenty square meters, empty except for the bare essentials.
My hands and feet were bound with rope, rendering me completely immobile.
A single incandescent bulb hung from the ceiling, its light somewhat glaring, though that might have been due to my just waking up.
The air was tinged with a faint scent of mold, indicating the place was quite damp.
What did Bai Hanyan want with me?
As I pondered this, the wooden door not far away creaked open, and Bai Hanyan slowly entered, a faint smile on her face.
“How are you feeling? Have you thought it through?” she asked me.
I furrowed my brow and stared at her, saying, “What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Bai Hanyan chuckled. “Shouldn’t you have foreseen this outcome long ago?”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Foreseen what?”
Bai Hanyan walked up to me and said, “An Ying has already fled, and you’re still not telling the truth?”
“Fled?”
I was still somewhat bewildered. What did she mean by that?
Why would Sister Ying flee?
And what was her purpose in bringing me here?
“You won’t talk, will you?” Bai Hanyan crossed her arms. “It’s fine if you don’t. I’ll find a way to make you talk!”
My heart sank. I gritted my teeth and asked, “What exactly do you want me to say?”
“Where is An Ying?” Her gaze suddenly turned cold.
So that’s what she wanted me to say.
“I don’t know,” I replied.
She sneered, “It seems you’re quite stubborn. I’d like to see just how stubborn you can be!”
“Don’t do anything rash!”
She ignored me. Soon, two burly men entered, both carrying wrenches used for car repairs.
Judging by their demeanor, they were clearly intending to use them on me.
“What are you looking for Sister Ying for?” I asked.
“It’s not me looking for her. Everyone is looking for her!” Bai Hanyan said.
I frowned. “Everyone? Who?”
Bai Hanyan gave a mocking laugh. “Who do you think? You know better than I do what she’s done… Xiang Fei, if you tell me where she is, I can spare you some suffering.”
“Do you know what you’re doing?” I gritted out. “This is illegal confinement!”
Bai Hanyan looked unconcerned and came closer, her eyes locking onto mine. “You’re lucky you fell into my hands. If you fell into the hands of others, you wouldn’t be this fortunate!”
With that, she waved her hand, and the two burly men approached me.
“Wait!” I suddenly called out. “Tell me what’s going on first!”
Hearing this, Bai Hanyan raised an eyebrow.
Seeing her reaction, I quickly added, “What exactly did Sister Ying do? If you tell me, I’ll tell you what I know!”
Honestly, I was completely clueless.
When I said this, Bai Hanyan clearly hesitated, looking at me with a hint of disbelief in her eyes.
“You don’t know what An Ying did?” she asked, half-skeptical.
“Should I know something?” I asked.
She stared at me for a long moment, as if trying to determine if I was lying. After a while, she waved the two men out.
“How long have you been working with An Ying?” Bai Hanyan asked.
I knew I couldn’t lie anymore. The main thing was that I genuinely had no idea what Sister Ying was up to.
I recounted everything, from how I met Sister Ying to how I ended up working by her side.
Of course, I didn’t mention the Xuande furnace.
After listening, Bai Hanyan’s brow furrowed. “Is what you’re saying true?”
I nodded. “Of course it’s true. I completely don’t understand why you brought me here. Didn’t you say before that you wouldn’t ambush me?”
Bai Hanyan’s expression shifted to one of hesitation, and she turned to leave the room.
“Hey! Where are you going? Let me go!”
No matter how much I called out, she didn’t respond.
Sitting on the chair, I meticulously replayed my time with Sister Ying, trying to find some clue.
The more I thought about it, the more questions arose.
No one around Sister Ying seemed to understand her, and no one knew what she did in her daily life.
Most importantly, she had left without any prior warning.
Why was she in such a hurry to leave?
When the door opened again, a large man entered, holding a fruit knife.
“What are you going to do?” I was startled.
The man said nothing as he approached me and cut through the ropes binding me.
“Are you planning to let me go?” I asked, standing up from the chair.
The man said, “Don’t talk so much. The young lady wants you to go out.”
I couldn’t help but mutter to myself, how were these Bai family members like bandits?
Emerging from the room and passing through a hallway, I discovered it was a villa.
Upon entering the living room, I saw Bai Hanyan sitting on the sofa, a glass of juice in her hand.
“Sit down,” she said, gesturing to the sofa opposite her.
I walked over and slowly sat down. She asked me what I wanted to drink.
I simply said, “Whatever.”
“Xiang Fei, I’ll ask you one more time, was what you just said the truth?”
I nodded. “Of course it’s the truth!”
“Good!” Bai Hanyan put down her juice. “If you’re telling the truth, then I don’t mind telling you about An Ying…”
I took a deep breath and slowly nodded.
“However, if I find out you were just playing dumb, don’t blame me for not being polite,” Bai Hanyan said coldly.
I remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
When she started talking about Sister Ying, I could hardly believe it!
There were even several times I felt she was slandering and framing her, yet I couldn’t find any reason to refute her.
“Since An Ying took over the An Yuan Tang, many fake antiques have appeared on the market in Guangling, and those fakes are more or less connected to her.”
Bai Hanyan spoke with extreme seriousness. “Initially, my father only suspected it; there was no concrete evidence…”
I interrupted her. “Are you saying you suspect Sister Ying made those fakes?”
Bai Hanyan replied, “We suspected it before, but now we are certain!”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you kidding me? Sister Ying doesn’t even know much about antiques. How could she possibly create fakes that are indistinguishable from the real thing?”
Bai Hanyan said, “That’s also why we were hesitant to confirm it was her, because my father tested her several times and found that she indeed knew nothing about antiques…”
At this point, she changed the subject. “But who can say that this isn’t her deliberate disguise?”
I was suddenly at a loss for words, my mind rapidly recalling everything about Sister Ying.