Ye Wanwan looked at the person at the door, her breathing turning rapid.
She swallowed hard, her heart thumping quickly, her back pressed tightly against the cement wall, as though that would make her safer somehow.
After a dozen seconds, the person standing at the doorway finally moved.
He lifted his hand and felt along the cement wall beside him, and in the next instant, the pitch dark was replaced by a blinding incandescent light.
Ye Wanwan had stayed in the darkness for so long that this sudden light was uncomfortable, and she instinctively closed her eyes tight.
The sound of shoes tapping on the ground went "tap tap tap," and as it drew closer to Ye Wanwan, she felt more and more nervous, disregarding her discomfort, she struggled to open her eyes to see.
"Ye Mingrui!" Ye Wanwan’s voice was a bit hoarse, her tone revealing shock, she hadn’t expected it to be Ye Mingrui!
"How could it be you!" Ye Wanwan had always thought it was Ye Shiying, but now, she was seeing Ye Mingrui.
Could it be that the two of them had conspired to abduct her?
Ye Mingrui looked at Ye Wanwan, who sat on the ground against the wall in a very disheveled state, and sniffed hard, stuttering, "Wanwan, I—I didn’t mean to hurt you! I just want money, just get the money, and I’ll definitely let you go!"
"Just sit tight, just stay here honestly, and I won’t hurt you!"
"I only want money, that’s all I want!"
Ye Mingrui was getting anxious as he spoke, seemingly worried that Ye Wanwan wouldn’t believe his words.
"Don’t get worked up, I’ll stay put, I won’t do anything, just don’t get worked up!" Ye Wanwan hastily said.
Ye Mingrui’s gaze at Ye Wanwan faltered for a moment, and it took him a while to snap back to his senses.
Ye Mingrui raised his hand and rubbed his face, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself down slightly.
After a while, Ye Mingrui dropped his hand and said to Ye Wanwan, "Later, you’ll call uncle, and tell him not to call the police, no police, and we can negotiate everything."
The meaning was clear—if the police were called, there would be no room for negotiation.
He wanted money, but he also needed to keep his life, otherwise, what use would the money be!
"Okay, I promise you," Ye Wanwan agreed verbally, but she was very clear in her heart that Uncle Zhang must have already called the police.
They had just been to the police station that morning, concerned that Ye Shiying might harm her, with Uncle Zhang accompanying her the entire time, aware of all the details.
So after her disappearance, Uncle Zhang would certainly have contacted the police officer who had met with them today first.
But for now, she could only say what Ye Mingrui wanted her to say.
Ye Mingrui sighed, took out his phone, found his uncle’s phone number, and dialed.
Ye Mingrui turned on the speakerphone and stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far from Ye Wanwan, making sure that the person on the phone would be able to hear Ye Wanwan speaking.
The phone rang for a long time, and just when Ye Mingrui thought it wouldn’t be answered, it was picked up.
From the phone came Ye Zhenhua’s characteristically stern voice, "Hello?"
Ye Mingrui glanced at Ye Wanwan, and then she spoke, "Dad."
"Wanwan?" Ye Zhenhua seemed somewhat disbelieving, after a pause, he continued, "Isn’t this Mingrui’s phone? Are you together?"
Ye Wanwan glanced at Ye Mingrui again, noticing that he had no intention of speaking up.