"Brother, is mom dead?" A small, skinny boy around two or three years old tugged at another boy about four years old, his little face full of confusion.
Mom hadn't opened the door in two days, and during this time, they had been eating at their grandparents' house.
Both children wore clothes patched up with repairs.
"I don't know." The older boy finally mustered the courage to approach their mom's bedroom door, knocked once, then quickly dragged his brother away to hide, their bright eyes fixed on that door, waiting for someone to come out. But were they also afraid of being hit if someone did come out?
But after waiting for a long while, there was still no movement from that door.
"Brother, I'm hungry." The younger boy looked pitifully at the older one, rubbing his stomach.
They dared not go to their grandparents' house to eat anymore because their cousins beat them, calling them beggars.
"I'll knock again."
The older boy looked determined and went over to knock vigorously on the door with his small hands, but despite several knocks, there was still no response.
He tentatively called out, "Mom.... Mom..."
The younger boy watched eagerly, also waiting for mom to come out, even if it meant they would get hit, at least there would be something to eat.
Yun Xiaoxiao, groggy, heard someone knocking at the door and talking, her pretty face unconsciously furrowed in confusion.
She had worked overtime until late last night and had planned to sleep in on this weekend day before going back to the office.
Who could be knocking at her door?
Without opening her eyes, she reached out to check her smartphone, wondering what time it was.
But the moment she saw it was already afternoon, she was shocked.
Damn, she needed to get out of bed quickly, she still had to go to the office.
But as soon as she sat up, she felt something was off. Nowadays, everyone sleeps on a mattress, but she felt a hard plank beneath her, and the things in her line of sight seemed strange. There was a large trunk opposite; when she looked around, she shockingly stood up, nearly crying out in astonishment.
Where was this?
Where was her spacious house?
Her smart furniture?
How had they disappeared?
She must be dreaming, surely this was just a dream due to her fatigue from working overtime yesterday.
It had to be so.
But the sounds of knocking at the door continued from outside, along with soft, sticky calls, "Mom, mom..."
Yun Xiaoxiao hadn't recovered from the shock of why she was here when she heard the voices from outside, her mind almost smoking in confusion.
Mom?
When had she become a mother?
And it seemed to be painlessly so?
Could it be that she had been kidnapped?
And then suffered memory loss?
Considering this possibility, Yun Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and thought about getting up to check the outside situation; she wanted to escape back to the big city, to see her parents.
Her mind flashed through the outcomes of women who had been rescued from kidnappings.
But as she prepared to get out of bed, her legs suddenly felt powerless and nearly collapsed beneath her.
The older boy outside heard some movements inside and sighed in relief, afraid the person inside might come out and hit them, he quickly pulled his hungry brother back to their small room, peeking continuously at that door.
Powerless?
Really hungry?
Looking at the smartphone on the bed, she picked it up; she needed to determine her location and call for help.
Nowadays, smartphones usually can pinpoint location, but when she checked, she was startled; there was a signal, yet it couldn't pinpoint the location?
She now recalled the events after finishing work and going home last night.