Nethersky - Chapter 2

“How should I begin?” Yuning asked after some time of wondering how to start.

Looking at the young man who was fidgeting in his chair impatiently, Hu Bing said, “You can start in any way you feel comfortable with.”

Yuning gave the older man a slight nod before, in a halting voice, began to speak. “As everyone knows, the Xao family is said to be one of the wealthiest families in the world. In my naivety, what I didn’t realize back then, but what I came to understand now is that when a person has something good, other people would want it too.”

Yuning lifted his head to look at Hu Bing; the man in question gave the boy a slight smile, motioning him to continue. After taking a deep breath, Yuning did precisely that.

“It was because of those other people’s want for my parent’s money that I was kidnapped from school only a week after my eighth birthday and held for ransom. It’s funny because I remember that school day vividly even when other days have faded in my mind, that day was always clear.” Yuning told the man.

“Can you tell me about what happened that day before the event happened?” Hu Bing asked as he wrote something down in the file he was holding.

Shrugging uncaringly, Yuning replied, “It was just an ordinary day, nothing special. My parents were once again busy at work and didn’t see me off to school, but I was used to that; they always put work and making money before me.”

“How did that make you feel?” Hu Bing asked, interrupting the young man before he could continue. “That your parents didn’t see you off to school.”

“Like I said many times before, I was used to it. It was just how things were back then.” Yuning explained.

“I see.” Hu Bing said, for he really did understand. He had many wealthy patients whose parents were neglectful, like this boy who was sitting in front of him.

Seeing the understanding look on his therapist’s face, Yuning continued, “As I stated before, the day was completely normal. My driver sent me to school; I listened to my teacher and played with my friends at recess. One of my friends invited me to his birthday party, and I remember being so excited about it. After class, I immediately wanted to rush home and ask my parents if I could go. It was too bad I never made it home.”

“Take your time and tell me what happened after your school day was over.” Hu Bing told the boy when he heard his voice break in the last sentence.

Getting a hold of himself, the boy nodded. “I was standing by the gate like always waiting for my driver to pick me up. There were always a lot of people there, so I felt safe standing there. I don’t know why, but my driver was taking longer to come than he usually did, and before I knew it, I was alone at the school gate. I was about to call him when suddenly I was grabbed. I tried to scream, but I was gagged.”

“What happened next?” the older man asked when the boy paused for some time.

“I was blindfolded and tied up before being thrown into the back of a truck and taken to an unknown location,” Yuning told him, slowly beginning to relive the events that happened all those years ago.

In a somewhat steady voice, Yuning told Hu Bing everything that had occurred during his captivity with his kidnappers. He explained how his captors told him that once they got 200 million dollars ransom from his parents, that they would release him.

He also told the man how his stay with his kidnappers went on for weeks because his parents cared about their money more than him and wouldn’t give in to the criminal’s demands.

To Yuning, it felt as though they would rather take the slim chance of the police catching the criminals than to pay a single dime, even for the expense of their only child.

Even at the young age of eight, he knew his parents were complete misers, and wouldn’t give up the money. All throughout his duration with the kidnappers, he was positive that he wouldn’t be able to leave their captivity alive.

It took fourteen days until he was rescued by the police, and all fourteen days as he waited to be saved felt like hell to him. Yuning explained to his therapist that his kidnappers were civil to him the first few days, but as the days went by and his parents dawdled, they became increasingly angrier and started taking it out on him.

Going into detail, the young man told Hu Bing how they had imprisoned him in a small metal dog cage, and every time he made even the tiniest of sounds, they would shock him with an electric stick. Yuning clarified that he didn’t remember being rescued since everything was a blur to him during those last few days.

When Yuning stopped speaking, Hu Bing handed him a tissue. The young man was quite confused at first as to why he needed one until he felt the wetness on his face. It seemed that he had unknowingly started to cry while he was telling the older man about what had happened.

Wiping his face, Yuning looked at his therapist, who was writing something in his file with worry. Feeling the young man’s stare on him, Hu Bing looked up and gave the boy a smile while closing the file.

“I just have one more question to ask you before I tell you the results of my assessment.” Hu Bing said.

Taking a calming breath, Yuning hesitantly asked, “What is it?”

“After everything they made you go through, do you forgive your parents?” The older man asked.

If he was asked this question ten years ago, his answer would have been a quick no, but now he could say yes. After what happened to him, his parents tried to make it up to him the best they could; they went from cold-hearted business people to doting parents.

Although Yuning understood that it was the guilt that made them act that way, they still tried their best. So he forgave them, but even though he did forgive them, he could never forget that they caused this and all trust he had in them was gone.

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