Chapter 7 — The Night Before My Wedding, I Disappeared

The plane passed through the stratosphere. I turned off the reading light, pulled down the window shade, and leaned my head against the back of the chair. More than ten hours of flight... I slept very deeply. Not even a single dream. By the time we landed in Milan, it was already ten o'clock in the morning the next day. I turned on my phone, blocked all domestic communication signals, and only connected to the airport's WiFi. WeChat is eerily quiet. There aren't any unread messages. I pulled my suitcase and walked out of Malpensa airport. The Italian sunlight is so dazzling that it makes people squint, and the air still has the faint scent of coffee. I took a deep breath. The feeling of a rock weighing heavily in my chest all this time... Finally completely disappeared. But now in the country. Tong Ky Uyen is standing in front of the gate of the Civil Affairs Department. He bowed his head and looked at the clock. The minute hand pointed to half past ten in the morning. He took out his phone to call me.

“Sorry, the subscriber you called is currently switched off…”

A cold, mechanical female voice echoed in the receiver. He frowned and called again. Still shutdown.

"What's going on? Normally she would have arrived by this time."

He muttered a sentence, opened WeChat and sent me a message.

"Van Thanh, are you out yet? I'm waiting for you in front of the Civil Affairs Department gate."

Next to the message appeared a glaring red exclamation mark. Below is also a small text:

"The other person has turned on friend verification, you are not yet friends with this person..."

Tong Ky Uyen stood still. He stared at that red exclamation mark for half a minute, seemingly completely unable to react to what was happening. Van Thanh blocked him? He suddenly felt an inexplicable panic in his heart. He immediately turned around and rushed back to the parking lot, started the car and drove like crazy back to Canh Thai Uyen. The moment I opened the door... The living room was in chaos. Some strange workers are moving the sofa out.

"What are you doing?! Who let you move my things?!"

Tong Ky Uyen shouted loudly. A woman dressed in business clothes walked out of the master bedroom, holding a blueprint in her hand.

“May I ask who you are looking for?”

"I'm the landlord here! What are you doing?!"

Tong Ky Uyen was so angry that he pointed directly at them. The woman was stunned for a moment then took out her phone to check the records.

“Sorry, this apartment was transferred to Mr. Ly yesterday.”

"We are the construction team hired by Mr. Ly. Today we will start dismantling the old furniture."

Tong Ky Uyen's mind made a buzzing noise.

“Change name?”

"No way! The book is still in the safe!"

He suddenly pushed the worker away and rushed straight into the master bedroom. The safe under the wardrobe opened. Inside is empty. Not only did the certificate of ownership disappear... But all of my passport, identification documents, and even the jewelry that belonged to me were also gone. He turned his head to look at the wardrobe. Inside there were only a few of Miao Xiaoxiao's clothes and his own vest. Half of the empty space that once belonged to me... So clean that not even a coat hanger was left behind. He rushed into the spare bedroom. The cartons that were stacked in the corner of the wall yesterday... Also disappeared completely. In the whole house... There is no longer any trace proving that Tham Van Thanh ever existed.

“Mr. Ky Uyen?”

Mieu Hieu Xao walked in from outside the door, still holding one in her hand cup of milk tea. Looking at the scene in the house, she was startled.

"What happened? Was my house robbed?"

Tong Ky Uyen paid no attention to her. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he was crazy, searching the whole house.

“Where is Van Thanh?!”

“Where did Tham Van Thanh go?!”

He shouted at Miao Xiaoxiao. This is the first time... He used such a tone to talk to her. Mieu Hieu Xao was so scared that she took a step back, her milk tea cup almost falling to the ground.

“I… I don't know…”

“This morning I woke up and didn't see Ms. Van Thanh anywhere…”

Tong Ky Uyen suddenly pushed her away... Then rushed out the door.