After Bin Guan got home, he opened the drawer by his bed and took out a sketchbook. Inside the sketchbook were pages of the same drawings of the back of Xiao Ling's ear, where there was a unique crown shaped birthmark on it.
"This is the only memory I have of you. This birthmark, that I've seen plentiful times because you always had your back towards me. Xiao Ling, where are you? I was weak in the past and you protected me during the kidnapped days. What happened? Why did you disappear?" His fingers felt the rough sketches and a frown appeared on his face.
He recalled the incident from long ago. He and Bin Ruo were playing with Ran Ran when they got kidnapped that day. When they woke up, they were already tied up in a dirty, creepy room. After a while, a girl was shoved into the room with beaten bruises on her body.
Even though the girl had terrible blue and black looking marks, she didn't shed a tear. It was as if she was already used to such treatment. Her cheeks were swollen, and it was difficult for her to even open her mouth.
The woman who pushed her into the room was Gu Wing. That evil smirk on her face was deeply imprinted, perhaps indelible, in his brain. After Gu Wing slammed the door shut, the girl brushed her knees and walked towards the them. Bin Guan's first impression of her was that she had a beautiful pair of eyes that showed her strength. She quickly untied the three and handed them some bread that she hid in a sanitized spot.
When Qiu Rei and Gu Wing came to take the kids to make a ransom phone call to their parents, the girl followed behind them, looking pitiful. Qiu Rei used the girl as an example, demonstrating what will happen to them if they don't listen to him while staying there. He beat her with his belt in front of them and left them terrified. That was the cost of untying them without his permission.
None of them knew how long they've been trapped in the same attic. They only knew that food was given to them at different times and slowly, the four became friends. The girl's mouth was still badly bruised, so she could barely talk. The only thing they managed to get out of her is "Xiao Ling," when they asked for her name.
Since then, they've been calling her by that name and she responded with either a nod or shaking head. One time, Bin Guan bit Qiu Rei on his arm and angered him. When he raised the wooden stick in his hands, Xiao Ling took the hits for him. She dodged in front of him and covered his body. He really wanted to push her off, but she whispered lowly, "No. Stay like this. It'll be over soon."
After a few more strikes, Qiu Rei got tired and told the guards to throw them back into the attic. Bin Guan decided that he will grow stronger and protect her when he grows up. He swore to himself that he would definitely bring her with him once their family pays the ransom. Taking a closer look, Xiao Ling's hair was cut unevenly, obviously a forced trim. When he took care of her in the attic, he noticed the crown birthmark behind her ears and remembered how it looked because of its uniqueness.
While the others were sleeping, he linked Xiao Ling and his pinky together, "Xiao Ling, I promise that I will save you from this place. So you must be strong and get better." She was running a fever, but could still hear him. She nodded in response before knocking out from tiredness.
One night, Xiao Ling woke them up after the guards came in to make sure they were asleep. She waved and pointed towards the wall where she started pulling out loosened bricks. They followed her movements and quickly revealed a secret passageway out. Xiao Ling guided them until they reached a small hole in one of the walls that leads back to the neighborhood. She was still running a fever and couldn't go too far.
She handed them a piece of paper of a map she drew for them to continue after crawling through the hole. They really wanted her to go along with them, but with her current condition and pace, they would end up getting caught and their efforts would become a waste. Unwillingly, the three avoided the guards and ran to the nearest police station where they called their parents to pick them up.
They gave the map to the officer and pleaded for him to go to save Xiao Ling. Unfortunately, a day later, the officers said that they already went through Yang Mansion and found nothing. Worst than that, there was no evidence or tracking of the IP address, so the officers said that they couldn't open a case file against the Yang's. They also looked for the underground attic that the kids provided a detailed description of, but they couldn't find it.
Even though the officers said they couldn't do anything, the Bin's didn't let the incident slide that easily. They cut off all their business ties with the Yang's and terminated contracts with companies that are working with that corporation. The Bin's also asked private investigators to look for Xiao Ling, but for some reason, no matter how much they looked, there was no Xiao Ling.
At one point, Bin Guan and Bin Ruo's parents were questioning whether their children had hallucinated or met a spirit of a girl around their age. Either way, they searched for years and nothing showed up. Ever since then, the Bin's have been enemies with Yang family's Yang Qiu Rei. Whatever projects that Yang Qiu Rei wanted to obtain and the Bin's happen to also have an interest in it, the Bin's would offer thrice the price for it.
Bin Guan opened his eyes and ended his flashbacks, "Where are you? Are you doing well? I still haven't fulfilled my promise to you yet. Please let me find you or come find me. I wished I could've seen your face without the bruises, so it would've been much easier looking for you. All I have is this crown birthmark of yours."