Do you know how difficult it is to find one person among 1.4 billion people across 9.6 million square kilometers of land?
Ever since Zhan Jingchun went missing, Zhan Beijue and Jiang Nanfang had been on a relentless search for their daughter.
Initially, they were confident. No wall is completely impenetrable, no crime is perfectly executed without leaving a trace. As long as they tried, they were sure they could find their daughter.
But as they investigated, their confidence dwindled.
The day of the incident was overcast. The village where Zhan Jingchun and her companions were located, in order to preserve its original ecological charm, had no surveillance along the path. It was as if no evidence had been left behind.
They encountered immense difficulty right from the start. With no other options, they had to begin by examining vehicles at locations with surveillance cameras.
All vehicles from the week before and after the incident were meticulously reviewed by dozens of traffic police working through the night. Tens of thousands of vehicles were inspected, and the drivers' information was cross-checked one by one, revealing no anomalies.
Two days had already passed. The optimal time for rescuing their daughter had gone. Zhan Beijue and Jiang Nanfang prepared for the worst: kidnapping, human trafficking, or even…
But no matter what their daughter had endured, it was not her fault. She was their most beloved child.
Regardless of the effort, money, or time invested, they would not give up. They would find her!
However, searching for a needle in a haystack was truly arduous.
Excluding first, second, and third-tier cities, there were countless districts, streets, and buildings in cities with permanent populations exceeding 500,000. Furthermore, there were numerous counties, towns, and villages waiting for them to search one by one.
The Zhan family, being prominent, attracted considerable attention. Every move, every ripple, could affect stock prices and the entire industry. They had to search discreetly.
Apart from Jiang Jingyu, who remained to oversee the group's main affairs, everyone else was mobilized.
Each team, led by a different person, coordinated with local law enforcement, taking responsibility for different regions such as North China, Northwest China, South China, and Southwest China.
They strove for in-depth, meticulous, and thorough investigations, leaving no stone unturned, determined to find Zhan Jingchun.
A month later, after meticulously searching every household in the urban areas, they turned their attention to the more likely county-level regions.
China has 1,472 counties and 394 county-level cities, totaling 1,866.
As of the 2021 statistics, there were a total of 691,510 administrative villages and 2.617 million natural villages nationwide.
Undoubtedly, for the Zhan family, the real challenge had just begun.
Daddy, Mommy, and siblings were trying their best, and Zhan Jingchun herself was also making an effort.
Unfortunately, her efforts lacked a bit of luck.
At this moment, in a cold hospital bathed in the dim morning light, she and Peng Fei met each other's gaze. The two who had been playing the role of husband and wife just a day earlier were now staring at each other like sworn enemies.
In Zhan Jingchun's eyes, there was an unspeakable fear and numbness.
Peng Fei, on the other hand, looked at her with intense anger and sorrow.
He couldn't understand why, after he had been so good to Zhan Jingchun, she still tried to escape.
Even though her family was poor, he had given her all the good things he could offer.
He boiled water for her bath, bought her what she wanted, tended to her needs, and his mind was solely occupied by her, his future with her meticulously planned.
Yet, why wasn't Zhan Jingchun satisfied?
He had never dared to lay a hand on her, unwilling to treat her like others treated their wives.
Why couldn't she understand gratitude?
Zhang Wei, having just given birth, was so frail. Yet, she had been dragged along by Zhan Jingchun in her escape. His brotherhood with Wang Kang was likely at an end because of this incident.
Watching Wang Kang angrily slap Zhang Wei, he felt an urge to hit her too, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it.
Seeing her hair cut so short it was plastered to her scalp, a stark contrast to how she looked initially, his heart ached as if it would explode.
He loved her hair so much that he would rather borrow money to let her pay Zhang Wei's red envelope, but he couldn't bear to see her cut it.
Yet, to escape, she had cut it to this state.
After furiously hitting Zhang Wei, Wang Kang dragged her home.
Zhang Wei's desperate wails were filled with unwillingness as she stumbled and clung to the ground, refusing to leave.
"I don't want to go back! I don't want to follow you anymore! I hate that place, I hate that home! I'd rather die than go back! Wang Kang, please, just let me go! I admit I've wronged you and your family. I'll kowtow to you, alright? Please, let me go! You'll definitely find someone better, please!"
But Wang Kang was unmoved.
Beautiful girls like them, girls from big cities, could not truly understand the importance of a wife to a family.
Wang Kang knew that if he let her go, he would never find anyone better. She was his lifeline, and he would never let her go, not even in death.
If Zhang Wei wouldn't walk, he would carry her.
Perhaps accustomed to such scenes, none of the pedestrians passing by the hospital raised any objections.
Soon, only Zhan Jingchun and Peng Fei were left in the lobby.
Peng Fei, having stared enough at Zhan Jingchun, finally moved.
"Walk yourself, or shall I carry you?"
Having witnessed Zhang Wei's situation, Zhan Jingchun knew her pleas would be useless.
Looking at the encroaching Peng Fei, she felt only anger.
"Peng Fei, you are young, strong, and healthy. It's not like you can't find a wife. Why do you insist on pursuing me? You know you can't keep me, and even if you keep my body, you won't keep my heart. Why must you do this?"
Her words were like sharp knives piercing Peng Fei's heart, causing him pain with every step he took.
But he refused to give up.
Everyone had different standpoints, and everyone was self-serving. As long as he could achieve his goal, as long as he could possess her, he didn't care what hurtful things she said.
"Then I'll carry you."
He walked over, grabbed Zhan Jingchun's arm, and hoisted her onto his shoulder.
Zhan Jingchun didn't struggle, as she was no match for him.
She was thus carried out of the hospital by him.
On the way back, she felt dazed.
Perhaps it was due to lack of sleep the previous night, exhaustion, or a heart turned to ash, but Zhan Jingchun slept the entire way.
In her dreams, she saw her Daddy, Mommy, and siblings again.
They stood on the other side of a crowd, peering anxiously towards her over the heads of countless people.
Though they were so close, and Zhan Jingchun could see them, they couldn't see her.
She desperately tried to push through the crowd, but there were so many people. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move, and she couldn't get close to them…
After a long night, the news of two wives escaping simultaneously had spread throughout the village.
When Peng Fei appeared in the village carrying Zhan Jingchun, people lined the path, eager to witness the spectacle.
Peng Fei's mother, utterly humiliated, began to curse as soon as she saw them.
Peng Fei maintained a stern expression, not responding to anyone, and walked quickly, taking Zhan Jingchun back to that room.
Then, he went out, found many wooden boards, and with a flurry of hammering, reinforced the windows and door.