The days after the kidnapping became strangely peaceful.
Life in the Gu mansion returned to normal.
Mornings were quiet.
Dinners were warm.
Sometimes Feng and Mengmeng would sit together in the evening without speaking much.
But the atmosphere between them had changed.
It was softer now.
More comfortable.
Even Mengmeng seemed calmer.
Yet one thought kept returning to Feng's mind.
Only one month remained.
One month until their contract marriage ended.
One month until Mengmeng would leave.
Feng tried not to think about it.
But his grandmother had noticed.
One evening she quietly said to him,
"You're running out of time."
Feng sighed.
"I know."
Neither of them wanted to lose Mengmeng.
Not anymore.
A few days later something strange began happening.
The first message came to Feng's phone late at night.
Unknown Number
You leave for the office every morning at 8:30.
Feng frowned.
Another message appeared seconds later.
You return home around 7:10.
His expression darkened.
Then a third message arrived.
Your grandmother leaves the mansion every Tuesday at 4 PM.
Feng stood up immediately.
"How do they know that?"
But the strange thing was—
The messages didn't stop.
His father received one.
His mother received one.
Even Feng's sister received one.
Each message contained detailed information.
Their schedules.
Their movements.
Their routines.
It was as if someone had been watching them for weeks.
But no one told the others.
Each person quietly assumed they were the only one receiving them.
Until one terrible day.
Everything happened at the same time.
Feng had just left his office building when two men suddenly attacked him.
At the same moment—
His sister was attacked near her college parking lot.
His parents were attacked near their car outside a restaurant.
Even his grandmother was pushed to the ground near the park she always visited.
Everything happened within minutes.
It was clearly planned.
But somehow…
They all survived.
People nearby had intervened.
Security had arrived.
The attackers ran away.
Yet by the time evening came…
Every member of the Gu family was injured.
Back at the mansion…
The living room looked like a small hospital.
Bandages.
Bruises.
Ice packs.
Everyone sat quietly on the couches recovering.
Just then the front door opened.
Mengmeng walked inside.
She stopped immediately.
Her eyes scanned the room.
Everyone was wounded.
Her expression darkened.
"What happened?"
The family looked at her in shock.
"You… you're fine?" Feng's sister asked.
Mengmeng frowned.
"…Why wouldn't I be?"
They exchanged nervous glances.
"Didn't anyone attack you?" Feng asked.
"No."
Mengmeng looked at their injuries again.
"Who did this?"
The family exchanged surprised looks.
Then Feng's mother explained everything.
"The messages started coming a few days ago."
His sister spoke next.
"They knew our schedules."
His father added seriously,
"Today they attacked all of us at the same time."
Feng quietly told her about his own attack.
Then his grandmother spoke softly.
"Someone has been watching this family."
Mengmeng listened carefully.
Her expression slowly turned serious.
"You should have told me earlier."
"We didn't think it was that serious," Feng admitted.
"We thought it was just some strange messages."
Mengmeng looked at the bandages again.
Something about the situation felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Just then—
Her phone rang.
It was the black phone.
The one she only used for underworld matters.
Everyone looked at it.
Mengmeng picked it up slowly.
For a moment she stared at the screen.
Then she answered.
"Hello."
.