Chapter 63: The Secret of the Basement
Wen Yuhuai froze completely on the spot.
The hand gripping the phone tightened uncontrollably, the veins on the back of his hand bulging slightly from the force.
What did this text message mean?
Wasn’t the person who kidnapped him Fu Xingjian? Why would he have been kept in the basement of Gu Yanxiuās house?
Or was it that his kidnapping back then was actually related to Gu Yanxiu as well?
Wen Yuhuaiās mind went blank. It felt as if the blood had been drained from his body in an instant. His ears buzzed, and he seemed to lose all reaction to the outside world.
His hand, hanging by his side, unconsciously clenched into a fist. Only the pain of his nails digging into his palm allowed him to regain a shred of clarity.
Could it really be like that? Could it truly be related to Gu Yanxiu?
No, it was impossible. Fu Xingjian must be lying to him. He probably just wanted to trick him into coming out so he could kidnap him againā
But the man had already tracked down his phone number. He surely knew where Wen Yuhuai was living. It wasn’t as if Fu Xingjian was incapable of simply showing up at the door to take him. Why go through this extra step?
Time ticked away second by second. Wen Yuhuai shifted his stiff eyes, deleted the message with a wooden expression, stood up, and quietly walked out the door in his slippers.
As if it were any other day, he picked up the breakfast, turned around, and went back inside, acting as though that deleted text message had never existed.
However, half an hour later, he changed his clothes. He put on an elegant grey coat and a pair of sunglasses that covered half his face, looking as though he were preparing to go out.
Wen Yuhuai entered the elevator. Just like last time, he got off at the first floor. Instead of leaving the building, he turned and pushed open the ajar door of the fire exit.
Basement Level 2.
Wen Yuhuai pushed open the fire exit door and walked out with a calm expression. To the right was the parking garage, where row after row of supercars and luxury vehicles met his eyes. To the left was another large door leading to the underground storage area.
The text message had been deleted, but every word was clearly imprinted in his mind. Wen Yuhuai gripped his phone and followed the directions from the message, turning two corners before finally stopping in front of an unremarkable door.
It was an iron door, the kind that didn’t require a passcode. It was only secured with a large, nearly rusted padlock.
He didn’t know if there were surveillance cameras here. Wen Yuhuai didn’t hesitate; he raised his hand, took off his sunglasses, snapped off one of the arms, and began fiddling with the rusted lock.
Before long, the lock gave way with a clack.
What met his eyes was a silver-white door with a cold, metallic luster.
The material was far too familiar. Almost the moment he saw it, Wen Yuhuaiās heart sank straight to the bottom, and his hand hanging by his side reflexively clenched.
He bit his lower lip hard. The more critical the moment, the calmer he became. He stepped forward and entered his birthday into the keypad. In an instant, the door slowly slid open to both sides until a gap wide enough for a person to pass through remained.
There was no need to go in. Standing at the threshold, Wen Yuhuai could tell at a glance: this was the very cage that had imprisoned him for half a month.
It was in the basement all along.
It was in the basement directly beneath Gu Yanxiuās house.
Ding-dongā
The notification sound echoed in the silent basement. Wen Yuhuai closed the door with a relatively calm demeanor and turned to walk out.
Midway, he tripped over the rusted lock and stumbled, his shoulder slamming into the wall. Yet, he continued to walk out without any apparent awareness, his pace rapid, as if something were chasing him from behind.
The phone chimed again. Only then did Wen Yuhuai realize it and pull the phone from his pocket, pressing the screen to take a look.
[Did you see the surprise I mentioned? Do you like it?]
[Not speaking? Did you not see it?]
Wen Yuhuai turned off the phone. He returned to the first floor via the fire exit he had come through and took the elevator back up.
He had no cash on him; he only had money in WeChat. But the WeChat account had been given to him by Gu Yanxiu. Using the money inside would surely be discovered by him.
Furthermore, there was still Fu Xingjian watching like a hawk outside.
Since Gu Yanxiu had already promised to send him away tomorrow, he would wait one more day. If he could leave, he would. If not, he would deal with it then.
Regardless, the situation couldn’t get any worse than it already was.
It was just 9:30 AM when he returned to the top floor. All in all, he had only been out for an hour. After sitting quietly in the living room for a while, Gu Yanxiuās call came through.
The voice was as gentle and warm as ever. “A-Yu, have you eaten?”
Wen Yuhuai didn’t know if there was surveillance in the living room. He took the phone back to his room and replied in a normal tone, “Iāve eaten.”
Gu Yanxiu chuckled softly over the phone, his tone gentle to the point of being seductive. “You woke up so early today.”
Wen Yuhuaiās fingers curled unconsciously. He gave a soft en.
Gu Yanxiu didn’t seem particularly busy and began chatting with him intermittently. “Have you thought about where you want to go tomorrow? Are you going back to Shencheng? Iāll have someone buy the ticket for you in advance.”
Wen Yuhuai didn’t plan to return to Shencheng, nor did he plan to let the man know. He gave another low en, treating it as agreement.
Gu Yanxiu asked him again, “What do you want to eat for lunch? Which restaurant? Iāll buy it and bring it over to you.”
Wen Yuhuaiās breathing inadvertently quickened. “You’re coming back at noon?”
Gu Yanxiu gave an en and joked half-seriously, “What, not welcome?”
Wen Yuhuaiās tone was slightly urgent. “Iām just afraid Fu Xingjian will notice something. Iām leaving here tomorrow; I don’t want any accidents to happen at the last moment.”
Hearing the ear-piercing word “leave” from his mouth once again, the smile on Gu Yanxiuās lips faded until it was nearly invisible.
Yet, he continued to play the role of the considerate older brother, comforting him warmly. “Don’t worry. Fu Xingjian has been tied down by other matters lately. Most of his attention has shifted away from you. He won’t notice.”
Wen Yuhuai had no reason to refuse and could only agree.
Gu Yanxiu watched the young man’s face on the monitor while asking again in a slowed voice, “So, what do you want to eat for lunch? Have you thought about it?”
Wen Yuhuai gave a random name to brush him off, then said, “You go ahead and get busy. I won’t delay your work. Iām going to play games.”
Gu Yanxiu said “okay” and considerately hung up the phone.
The second the call ended, the smile on his face vanished without a trace.
A-Yu was lying to him.
The surveillance showed he had gone out for an hour this morning, but the cameras in the residential area hadn’t captured his figure.
So, he only went downstairs but didn’t go out?
Gu Yanxiu replayed the surveillance footage over and over with a wooden expression. At 8:30 AM, Wen Yuhuai left. The elevator went from the 26th floor to the 1st floor. At 9:30 AM, it returned from the 1st floor to the 26th.
An hour in between.
Where could he have gone?
As if thinking of a certain possibility, Gu Yanxiuās eyes suddenly turned cold for an instant. He turned and opened another surveillance feed that he hadn’t checked in a long time…
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