Missing
4123 Words
The following morning, Wanning woke before Gu came to get her.
She had barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same things.
The photograph.
Her grandmother.
The strange message that had appeared and disappeared.
The woman in white.
And the old woman in the village whispering about a groom who was supposed to die.
She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the half-heart around her neck.
For years, it had been nothing more than a necklace.
Something her grandmother had given her.
Something sentimental.
Something she wore because it was the last gift she had from the woman who raised her.
Now it felt like a key to a door she wasn’t sure she wanted to open.
A knock came.
Wanning looked toward the door.
“Who?”
“Gu.”
She hesitated.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Gu stepped inside.
He had changed into dark clothes, his expression as controlled as ever.
“You’re awake.”
“Obviously.”
He glanced at her.
“You didn’t sleep.”
“You didn’t either.”
“I slept.”
“For how long?”
“Enough.”
Wanning rolled her eyes.
“You’re impossible.”
“So you’ve said.”
He placed a folder on the table.
“I found information about the man in the photograph.”
Wanning immediately stood.
“What information?”
“His name.”
She walked over.
Gu opened the folder.
There was an old photograph.
A few documents.
A newspaper clipping.
Wanning picked up the photograph.
The man standing beside her grandmother was there again.
“This is your father?”
“Yes.”
“What was his name?”
“Gu Mingyuan.”
Wanning looked at the photograph.
“Gu Mingyuan.”
She repeated the name quietly.
“What happened to him?”
“He disappeared.”
“When?”
“Seventy-three years ago.”
Wanning looked up.
“You said he disappeared more than seventy years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me his name yesterday?”
“Because I hadn’t confirmed it.”
“And now?”
“Now I have.”
She picked up the newspaper clipping.
The paper was old and yellow.
She could barely read the headline.
GU FAMILY HEIR MISSING AFTER PRIVATE JOURNEY
Her eyes widened.
“He was an heir?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did nobody find him?”
“They searched.”
“And?”
“Nothing.”
“Was he dead?”
“No body was found.”
Wanning put the paper down.
“Then how do you know he’s dead?”
“I don’t.”
She looked at him.
“But you said the old woman called him a dead man.”
“Yes.”
“So she might know something.”
“That is why we’re going back.”
Wanning nodded.
She grabbed her bag.
“Let’s go.”
Gu looked at her.
“You haven’t eaten.”
“I’ll eat later.”
“No.”
“Gu.”
“Breakfast first.”
“I don’t have time.”
“You’ll faint again.”
“I won’t.”
He stared at her.
She stared back.
Neither moved.
Finally, Wanning sighed.
“Fine.”
She walked past him.
“But I’m blaming you if we waste time.”
“I’ll survive.”
She muttered something under her breath.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“I heard you.”
“I said you’re annoying.”
“I heard that.”
Wanning looked at him.
For the first time that morning, the corner of her mouth lifted.
“Good.”
⸻
The drive back to the countryside took several hours.
Wanning spent most of the journey reading the documents Gu had found.
There wasn’t much.
That was the strange part.
For a man who had belonged to one of the most powerful families in the city, Gu Mingyuan’s disappearance had almost vanished from history.
There were newspaper reports.
A few old records.
A photograph.
Then nothing.
Wanning frowned.
“Your family didn’t keep records?”
“We did.”
“Then where are they?”
“Some were destroyed.”
“By who?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked at him.
“Do you ever know anything?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“That you ask too many questions.”
She smiled faintly.
“Someone has to.”
Gu glanced at her.
“You’re different.”
Wanning looked out the window.
“From who?”
“Everyone I’ve met.”
“That sounds like an insult.”
“It isn’t.”
She turned toward him.
He was already looking at the road again.
She didn’t ask what he meant.
There were too many other questions.
After another hour, they reached the village.
This time, Wanning noticed something.
People were watching the car.
Children stopped playing.
Older men sitting outside shops looked up.
A woman carrying a basket whispered to another woman.
Wanning lowered the window slightly.
“Why is everyone staring?”
Gu looked ahead.
“They recognize the car.”
“That makes sense.”
She paused.
“But why do they look afraid?”
Gu didn’t answer.
Wanning closed the window.
The car stopped outside her grandmother’s house.
She got out.
The house looked exactly as they had left it.
Except for one thing.
The back door was open.
Wanning stopped.
“We locked that.”
Gu stepped out.
“Yes.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“Then why is it open?”
Gu walked ahead.
“Stay behind me.”
Wanning followed.
Inside, nothing seemed disturbed.
The wooden chair remained in the corner.
The old table was untouched.
The cupboard was closed.
Wanning walked into the bedroom.
The wooden box was gone.
Her eyes widened.
“Gu.”
He came in.
“What?”
“The box.”
He looked at the empty compartment.
“Someone took it.”
Wanning’s stomach dropped.
“But we brought it back to the mansion.”
“I know.”
“So who came here?”
Gu looked around.
“Someone who knew where to look.”
Wanning’s voice became quiet.
“The photograph.”
“What?”
She searched her bag.
The photograph of her grandmother.
Still there.
The letters were also there.
She breathed out.
At least they hadn’t taken everything.
Then she noticed something on the floor.
A muddy footprint.
She crouched.
“Someone was here recently.”
Gu examined it.
“Not recently.”
“What do you mean?”
“This mud isn’t from this area.”
Wanning frowned.
“How can you tell?”
“Different soil.”
She looked at him.
“You really notice everything.”
“Usually.”
She stood.
“Then where did they come from?”
Gu looked toward the door.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
⸻
They started with Madam Xu.
The old woman lived two streets away.
When Wanning knocked, there was no response.
She knocked again.
“Madam Xu?”
Nothing.
She looked at Gu.
“She should be here.”
He examined the door.
“It isn’t locked.”
Wanning pushed it open.
“Madam Xu?”
The house was empty.
Not abandoned.
Empty.
A cup sat on the table.
Still half full.
A chair was pulled out.
A basket of vegetables rested beside it.
Wanning walked farther inside.
“She left in a hurry.”
Gu nodded.
“Recently.”
“Do you think someone took her?”
“I don’t know.”
Wanning looked at him.
“That’s getting old.”
He almost smiled.
Almost.
She walked toward the back room.
A piece of paper lay on the floor.
She picked it up.
There was writing.
Go to the old shrine.
She showed Gu.
“Where is the old shrine?”
He looked at the paper.
“I don’t know.”
Wanning sighed.
“You don’t know anything about this village.”
“I’ve never been here.”
“But your father came here.”
“Yes.”
“Maybe someone remembers him.”
“Perhaps.”
They left the house.
An elderly man sitting outside the neighboring house called out.
“Wanning.”
She turned.
“Uncle?”
The man waved.
“Come.”
Wanning approached.
He looked at Gu.
Then quickly looked away.
“Who is he?”
“My husband.”
The words came out before Wanning could stop them.
She immediately regretted saying them.
Gu looked at her.
The old man looked surprised.
“Your husband?”
Wanning nodded.
“Yes.”
The man stared at Gu for several seconds.
Then his face changed.
“You look like him.”
Gu’s expression became cold.
“Like who?”
The man swallowed.
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
The old man shook his head.
“I shouldn’t.”
Wanning stepped closer.
“Please.”
He sighed.
“Your grandmother told us never to speak about that family.”
“What family?”
“The Gu family.”
Wanning looked at Gu.
The old man continued.
“Your grandmother was afraid of them.”
“Why?”
“She said they came to take something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did they take it?”
The old man shook his head.
“Your grandmother refused.”
Wanning’s eyes widened.
“Refused what?”
The man looked at Gu again.
“Her daughter.”
Wanning’s heart stopped.
“Which daughter?”
The man looked confused.
“Your mother.”
Wanning’s face went blank.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“But my mother wasn’t living here.”
“Not when you were born.”
“What does that mean?”
The old man lowered his voice.
“Your grandmother tried to hide your mother from them.”
Wanning stared.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then who was they?”
“The Gu family.”
Again.
Always the same name.
Gu remained silent.
Wanning looked at him.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“You never heard this before?”
“No.”
The old man suddenly stood.
“You should leave.”
“Why?”
“Because if they find out you’re asking questions…”
He looked toward the road.
“…they’ll come.”
Wanning’s voice dropped.
“Who?”
The old man whispered,
“The dead.”
Then he shut his door.
⸻
Wanning stood in silence.
She turned toward Gu.
“Your family wanted my mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your father knew my grandmother.”
“I know.”
“And now someone is looking for me.”
“I know.”
“Do you understand why I’m beginning to think this has something to do with your family?”
“Yes.”
She waited for an argument.
None came.
Instead, Gu said,
“That is why I brought you here.”
Wanning frowned.
“You’re not defending them.”
“They are my family.”
“Exactly.”
“That doesn’t mean I defend everything they’ve done.”
She studied him.
It was the first time he’d said something personal about his family without shutting down the conversation.
“Do you trust your family?”
Gu looked away.
“Not all of them.”
That answer stayed with her.
⸻
They found the old shrine just before sunset.
It stood behind a hill, surrounded by thick trees.
The structure was small.
Old.
Almost forgotten.
Wanning walked inside.
There were faded candles.
Old offerings.
Dust.
A wooden statue stood at the center.
She didn’t recognize the figure.
Gu did.
His expression changed.
“What?”
“That is a Gu family symbol.”
Wanning stared.
“Why would it be here?”
“I don’t know.”
She walked around the shrine.
On the wall were names.
Some had faded.
Others were still visible.
Then she saw it.
Shen Wanning.
She stopped breathing.
Her name.
Carved into the wall.
Beside it was another name.
Gu Chenyuan.
She turned slowly.
Gu was staring at the same thing.
“What is this?”
He didn’t answer.
“Gu.”
“I don’t know.”
She approached the wall.
The names looked ancient.
Far older than her.
Far older than him.
Her fingers moved toward the carving.
Gu caught her wrist.
“Don’t.”
She looked at him.
“Why?”
“Don’t touch it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know what it will do.”
She pulled her hand away.
“Fine.”
A wind suddenly moved through the shrine.
The candles went out.
Wanning turned.
“Did you feel that?”
“Yes.”
A whisper came from somewhere behind them.
“Wanning…”
She turned sharply.
Nothing.
“Did you hear that?”
Gu’s eyes moved across the darkness.
“Yes.”
Her heart hammered.
“Who is there?”
No answer.
Then another whisper.
“Come home…”
Wanning stepped backward.
“That’s my grandmother’s voice.”
Gu immediately moved in front of her.
The whisper came again.
“Wanning…”
She stared into the darkness.
“Grandma?”
Nothing.
She took one step forward.
Gu blocked her.
“No.”
“But that’s her voice.”
“It isn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she’s dead.”
Wanning looked at him.
He said it without cruelty.
Just fact.
“Dead people can still speak.”
“Not like this.”
The whisper stopped.
Then a loud c***k came from the ceiling.
Wanning jumped.
Something fell.
Gu caught it before it hit the ground.
It was a wooden plaque.
Wanning looked at it.
There was a date carved into the back.
And a name.
Gu Mingyuan.
⸻
Night had fallen by the time they returned to her grandmother’s house.
Wanning couldn’t stop thinking about the shrine.
She placed the wooden plaque on the table.
“Why would your father’s name be there?”
Gu sat opposite her.
“I don’t know.”
“Did he come here?”
“Apparently.”
“Why?”
“Maybe your grandmother knew.”
“She can’t tell us now.”
Silence.
Wanning looked at the old photograph.
“Unless she left something.”
She opened the box again.
This time she checked every letter.
One by one.
Then she found another envelope.
There was no name on it.
Only a date.
The date was several years before Wanning’s birth.
She opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The handwriting was her grandmother’s.
She read aloud.
“If you’re reading this, then I failed to keep the promise.”
Wanning’s voice shook.
Gu listened.
“Don’t trust the man who comes looking for you.”
She stopped.
Her eyes slowly lifted toward Gu.
He didn’t move.
She continued.
“He will tell you that he waited for you.”
Wanning swallowed.
“He will tell you that you were his bride.”
Her hand tightened around the paper.
“He will show you the other half.”
Gu’s eyes dropped to the gemstone around her neck.
“And when he does, you must remember one thing.”
Wanning continued reading.
“The man who comes back is not always the man who left.”
Silence.
She lowered the letter.
“What does that mean?”
Gu stood.
“I don’t know.”
Wanning looked at him.
“You’re not going to say anything?”
“There is nothing to say.”
“He’s talking about you.”
“Perhaps.”
“She knew you would come.”
“Perhaps.”
Wanning stared.
“You’re not even angry.”
“I don’t have enough information to be angry.”
She laughed.
“That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said.”
He looked at her.
“Perhaps.”
She sighed.
“Stop saying that.”
Back in the city, Liliana was preparing for the Gu Foundation dinner.
Her mother stood behind her, adjusting her necklace.
“You look beautiful.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Liliana smiled at herself.
Her dress was elegant but simple.
She didn’t want to appear as though she was trying too hard.
Her mother stepped back.
“Don’t forget what we discussed.”
“I know.”
“Be respectful.”
“I will.”
“Don’t embarrass Wanning.”
Liliana turned.
“I would never.”
Her mother smiled.
“I know.”
Her father entered.
He held an envelope.
“What is that?”
Liliana asked.
“An invitation.”
Her eyes brightened.
“For me?”
“For both of us.”
She took it.
The invitation bore the Gu family seal.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
Her father noticed.
“Don’t get carried away.”
“I won’t.”
“You’re still marrying Lu Cheng.”
Liliana’s smile faded.
“I know.”
Her father sighed.
“It’s already arranged.”
“But Daddy…”
“No.”
She looked hurt.
“Why are you always against me?”
Her father immediately softened.
“I’m not against you.”
“You are.”
“No.”
“You want me to marry Lu Cheng even though I don’t love him.”
Her mother immediately intervened.
“Don’t cry.”
Liliana’s eyes filled with tears.
Her father looked guilty.
“Fine.”
He sighed.
“Go to the dinner.”
Liliana looked up.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Her face brightened.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
He smiled.
He couldn’t stay angry with her.
He never could.
⸻
At the dinner, Liliana played her role perfectly.
She greeted everyone politely.
She laughed softly.
She complimented the hosts.
She asked about Wanning.
More than once.
“I hope my sister is okay.”
“She has always been sensitive.”
“I worry about her.”
Anyone watching would have thought she was a devoted sister.
Then Gu Chenyuan entered.
The room changed.
Conversations lowered.
People turned.
Liliana’s eyes followed him.
He didn’t look at her.
He walked through the room as though nobody else existed.
A businessman approached him.
“Mr. Gu.”
Gu nodded.
They spoke briefly.
Liliana watched.
She waited.
Then she saw an opportunity.
A server passed carrying drinks.
Liliana reached for one.
Her fingers deliberately slipped.
The glass fell.
It shattered.
Everyone turned.
“Oh!”
Liliana stepped back.
A piece of glass cut her finger.
She immediately covered it.
“I’m sorry.”
Gu looked over.
Their eyes met.
Liliana lowered her gaze.
“I’m fine.”
She made her voice small.
“It’s nothing.”
Gu walked toward her.
Her heart raced.
He stopped.
“Are you hurt?”
“A little.”
She smiled weakly.
“I’ll be fine.”
Gu looked at the blood.
Then called a staff member.
“Get the Doctor.”
Liliana looked up.
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
He turned away.
“Make sure she gets treated.”
Then he walked off.
Liliana stared after him.
Her smile slowly disappeared.
That wasn’t the reaction she wanted.
She wanted him to stay.
To ask if she was okay.
To personally help her.
Instead, he had delegated the problem to someone else.
Her mother hurried over.
“Liliana!”
“I’m okay.”
Her mother looked at her finger.
“Poor baby.”
“I said I’m okay.”
Her mother immediately hugged her.
Gu had already disappeared into the crowd.
Liliana watched him.
Her jaw tightened.
She wasn’t giving up.
⸻
At the countryside house, Wanning couldn’t sleep.
She kept hearing the old woman’s words.
The man who comes back is not always the man who left.
She looked at Gu, who was sitting across the room reading.
“How long have you known about me?”
He looked up.
“I told you.”
“One hundred years.”
“Yes.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
He closed the book.
“I knew there would be another bride.”
“Another?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
He didn’t answer.
“Gu.”
“Enough.”
Wanning stared.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you should sleep.”
She laughed.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“You’re exhausted.”
“I have questions.”
“You always have questions.”
“And you always avoid them.”
He looked at her.
“Because some answers are dangerous.”
Wanning went quiet.
“Are you dangerous?”
Gu didn’t respond immediately.
Then he said,
“Yes.”
The honesty surprised her.
She looked at him carefully.
“Should I be afraid of you?”
His eyes remained on hers.
“You should be careful around me.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is.”
Wanning lowered her gaze.
She didn’t know what frightened her more.
That he might be dangerous.
Or that he was the first person in her life who didn’t pretend otherwise.
⸻
Hours later, Wanning woke suddenly.
The room was dark.
She heard something outside.
A soft dragging sound.
She sat up.
Gu was asleep in the chair.
At least, she thought he was.
She got out of bed.
The sound came again.
Dragging.
Slow.
Heavy.
From outside the house.
She walked toward the window.
A figure stood in the yard.
A man.
Tall.
Wearing old-fashioned clothes.
Wanning’s breath caught.
He lifted his head.
She couldn’t see his face.
Then he raised one hand.
In it was the other half of the heart-shaped gemstone.
Wanning stepped backward.
The figure smiled.
She screamed.
Gu’s eyes opened instantly.
“What happened?”
She pointed toward the window.
“There!”
He turned.
The figure was gone.
Gu moved to the window.
He opened it.
Nothing.
Wanning hurried behind him.
“He was there.”
“What did he look like?”
“I couldn’t see his face.”
“What was he wearing?”
“Something old.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No.”
Gu looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
“He had the other half.”
Gu’s face hardened.
He looked outside again.
Then he turned to her.
“Stay here.”
“Where are you going?”
“To find him.”
“No.”
Wanning grabbed his sleeve before she could think.
He looked down at her hand.
She immediately released him.
“I mean…”
She swallowed.
“You don’t know who that is.”
“I know.”
“And you were going to chase him alone?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds stupid.”
His eyes lifted to hers.
“You were worried?”
“No.”
She looked away.
“I just don’t want another mystery disappearing before I understand it.”
For a moment, Gu said nothing.
Then he nodded.
“Stay inside.”
He left.
Wanning remained at the window.
She watched him disappear into the darkness.
Then she looked down.
Something was lying on the ground beneath the window.
A small piece of black cloth.
She opened the window wider and reached for it.
There was something embroidered on it.
A symbol.
The same symbol from her grandmother’s box.
Wanning stared at it.
Then she heard a whisper behind her.
Not outside.
Inside the room.
“Wanning.”
She turned.
The wooden box was open.
And inside it was a new photograph.
A photograph that hadn’t been there before.
She picked it up.
Her fingers began trembling.
It showed her grandmother standing in front of the old shrine.
Beside her stood Gu Mingyuan.
And behind them…
was a little girl.
Wanning stared at the child.
The girl’s face was hers.
Her exact face.
Her exact eyes.
Her exact scar near the eyebrow.
But the photograph had been taken decades before Wanning was born.
On the back, someone had written:
The first Wanning was not the bride.
Wanning’s breath caught.
A second line slowly appeared beneath it.
Find out who she really was.
She looked toward the open doorway.
“Gu…”
But he wasn’t there.
And somewhere far beyond the village, in the darkness between the trees, a man was walking away with the other half of the heart in his hand.
For the first time, Wanning understood that the mystery wasn’t simply about a dead bride.
It wasn’t even simply about Gu Chenyuan.
Someone had been waiting for her long before she ever knew his name.
And now that she had opened the box…
they knew she was finally looking back.
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