I will always put you first (WangXian modern au)

15. "I will surrender"

Dr. Wei Wu Xian, Yunnan

I have no clue how I managed not to break down in the van. Lan Zhan came to see us off. I could feel that he wanted to talk to me. Did he read my notes?

I did not have it in me to face him. He already thinks I am an irresponsible team leader. I am afraid if he says something else like that I will break down. If on the other hand, he wishes to apologize, I will break down then too. And today I cannot afford to lose the little fake confidence I have managed to gather.

Most importantly, if 'they' are watching me somehow, I do not want them to know anything about my association with Lan Zhan. They can insult me, ridicule me, hurt me,  or even kill me. But if they did anything bad to my Lan Zhan, my heart would not be able to tolerate that. Moreover, if I were the reason to cause him mockery, I would die a thousand deaths.

As we board the van, I look at him and wave. I save his picture in the deepest part of my heart. This might be my last time seeing him. I am very much aware of that.

I reach YMC and get busy. At 4.30 PM I am contemplating my next move. Should I just go to the place they have asked me to? I am pulled back into the here and now when I get a call from Wen Ning. "A-Ning, where are you?", I ask. 

The response I hear back is not Wen Ning.

It's the muffled voice. My heart drops. "We just wanted to give you a little incentive to decide on surrendering yourself. We have Dr. Wen Ning here with us. If you don't do as instructed, we will send his dead body over." Someone laughs menacingly.

"How do I know you really have him or have just stolen his phone?", I ask trying to stall for time. "Ha! You are smart! Well, ask Wen Ning yourself then, here..." they say and then I hear Wen Ning's scared voice "Xian-ge, don't come to save me. Save yourself and tell my Jiejie that I love her." I hear shuffling and It's back to the other voice, "Pfft! Self-sacrificing dumbass!! But I think you know what you should do, Dr. Wei Wu Xian." They say and are about to hang up.

"Wait, I will surrender. I will meet you at the place you mentioned in 30 mins. Don't hurt Wen Ning. Please.", I plead.

"Remember any other smartness on your part or reaching out to authorities and we will kill your little friend here." "Understood.", I reply and then the call gets disconnected.

I inform Dr. Song Lan that I am getting ready to leave early as I have some urgent work. I tell him that I might reach the base late at night.

The wheels in my brain are turning. I grab my bag and head to the restroom.

I change into street clothes and attach the little device Jiang Cheng had given to my shirt button. I put my phone on silent mode and send a text to Wen Qing.

"They have taken Wen Ning. They will release him when I trade places with him. Below is the information on how to get to the evidence I have collected. Please share this with Jiang Cheng and have him take a backup as soon as possible. Ask him not to change anything. I might need to trade this data, to free Wen Ning. If I am not able to save Wen Ning and you decide to reach out to someone for help, please seek Captain Lan Wang Ji at the Yunnan Military base. Under any circumstance do NOT go to the police station. Wen Zhu Li works there."

I share the URL, username, and password of my online data store. I share Lan Zhan's phone number and address of the base.

And then send another text, "Do NOT message me back. They will most probably take my phone. I am activating the device that A-Cheng had given me. I think they will take me to the same place where Wen Ning is. You should be able to find him using that device. Thank A-Cheng for me."