Back Then, I Adored You

The van’s speed was extremely fast. Lu Bancheng was afraid he would lose sight of it, so he continued to accelerate.

The road was predictably empty at this time of night, and within 20 minutes Lu Bancheng had followed the van out of the city heading south. The lights became sparser as they went farther into the suburbs, and the vehicles continued to move rapidly. Even though all his windows were tightly shut, the whistling wind could still be heard.

He maintained a discreet distance behind the van, which finally stopped at the side of the road 30 minutes after meandering around a neighborhood. Afraid he might alarm them, he continued driving past them before he pulled over, too. With the aid of two dim streetlights, Lu Bancheng saw three men emerge from the van one after the other. The last man then bent over and reached for the girl inside the vehicle, after which he easily carried her as all three of them rushed down onto a twisting path.

When Lu Bancheng saw them take off on foot, he drove forward slightly and stopped near the door of a farmhouse. Then, he left his car behind and followed them on the path. He stealthily kept behind them for 10 minutes before they turned and entered an abandoned factory yard by the river.

Lu Bancheng waited a minute before he followed the men and stopped a distance before the entrance to the yard. The suburbs were exceptionally quiet that night, so he inched his way to the entrance until he could see into the yard. He heard the voices of the men drifting over from a nearby cluster of small buildings, one of which had lights on. He couldn’t make out all of what they were saying, but he managed to catch the scattered phrases “take a photo” and “send it over.”

To hear better and maybe even get a look, Lu Bancheng cautiously made his way across the factory yard strewn with discarded steel and spare parts. When he arrived near the door of the lit building, he peeked through a glassless window and saw the girl sprawled on the ground.

The brightness of the light inside was unusually piercing, far brighter than any streetlight. One glance was all it took for Lu Bancheng to easily ascertain that those clothes were not merely like those of Xu Wennuan—They were Xu Wennuan’s clothes.

Thereafter, Lu Bancheng’s gaze lingered on Xu Wennuan’s face. Her eyes were shut, and she showed no reaction to the three men hovering over her taking photographs of her. He was now certain that she had been knocked unconscious.

It’s fortunate I chased after the van—otherwise…

Conflicting waves of relief and fear washed over Lu Bancheng’s heart, but also a raging fire emerged from the depths of his body. He pursed his lips forcefully and curled his fists tightly.

How… How dare they touch her…

Someone in the room suddenly spoke. “Are you done taking photographs?”

Lu Bancheng tried to suppress the anger in his heart and perked up his ears to catch their conversation.

“It’s done.”

“Send the photographs over, and tell him that he has to arrive within an hour, or he can’t blame us for being merciless!”

Tell him… Who is “him”?

As Lu Bancheng racked his brain, the ring of a phone filled the room. It rang several times before someone finally answered it on speaker mode. Lu Bancheng heard Wu Hao’s distinct voice clearly. “Hello?”

So, the “him” they’re talking about is referring to Wu Hao?

And to confirm Lu Bancheng’s assumption, one of the men spoke toward the phone. “Mr. Wu, did you see the photo that I sent you?”