The next morning started with a lie.
"How are you feeling Miss Xu?" the nurse asked while checking her vitals.
"Better," Wanyin said with a smile she didn't feel. "I think I'm ready to go home soon."
Home. She said it like she meant the apartment Shen Jingwei owned. Like she was going to be a good girl and go back to being his kept thing.
The nurse looked relieved. "That's wonderful. Mr. Shen will be so happy to hear that. He's been very worried about you."
Worried. Right. More like worried she'd actually manage to escape this time.
After the nurse left, Wanyin spent an hour going through her phone more carefully. Looking at photos, reading old messages. Trying to piece together the person she'd been.
There were pictures of her and Shen Jingwei at fancy restaurants, at his office, in the apartment. In most of them she was smiling but now that she looked closer, the smiles didn't reach her eyes. She looked tired. Strained. Like she was performing happiness instead of feeling it.
There was one photo that made her stop scrolling. Her and a group of women at what looked like a club or bar. Everyone was laughing, drinks in hand. She was wearing a short dress and heels, her hair was messy like she'd been dancing. She looked genuinely happy.
The date on the photo was from four years ago. Before Shen Jingwei apparently.
Who were those women? Where were they now?
She checked the tags. Some of the names she recognized from her old modeling days. She tried clicking on their profiles but most of them had blocked her or deleted their accounts. The ones that were still active showed lives that had moved on without her. Weddings, babies, new jobs. None of them mentioned her in any recent posts.
He'd isolated her completely. Just like Chen Li said.
Around 10am, there was a knock on the door. Wanyin tensed, expecting Shen Jingwei again.
But it was Qian.
Her sister looked different today. Less angry, more uncertain. She was carrying a small bag from a bakery.
"I brought you breakfast," Qian said quietly. "The hospital food is terrible."
Wanyin stared at the bag. "Why are you being nice to me?"
"Can't I bring my sister food without it being a whole thing?"
"Yesterday you could barely look at me."
Qian sighed and set the bag on the bedside table. "Yesterday I was angry. Today I'm just... tired. Tired of being angry at you. The doctor said the amnesia is real, which means you really don't remember anything. And if you don't remember, then maybe you get a chance to not make the same mistakes again."
"What mistakes?" Wanyin asked even though she thought she knew.
"All of them. Choosing him over us. Letting him cut you off from everyone who cared about you. Staying with him even when it was obvious he was never going to leave his wife." Qian pulled up a chair. "Jiejie, I missed you. The real you. Not the version of you he created."
Wanyin felt tears prick her eyes. "I don't even know who the real me is anymore."
"Then figure it out. But not with him. Please not with him."
"I'm not going back," Wanyin said firmly. "I know everyone thinks I will but I'm not. I'm leaving as soon as I get discharged."
Qian's eyes widened. "Where will you go?"
"I can't tell you. Not because I don't trust you but because he'll ask. And I need you to be able to honestly say you don't know."
"Jiejie—"
"Please Qian. Just trust me. I have a plan. Or at least the start of one."
Her sister looked like she wanted to argue but then she just nodded. "Okay. But promise me you'll be careful. Shen Jingwei isn't the type to just let you go. When he realizes you're serious about leaving—"
"What? What will he do?"
Qian was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Remember I told you we stopped talking about a year ago? That was after I tried to help you leave him the first time. He found out I was helping you look for apartments, helping you save money secretly. And he..." she swallowed hard. "He threatened me. Said if I didn't stay out of it, he'd make sure I never worked in Shanghai again. He has connections everywhere, jiejie. He can destroy careers with a phone call."
Wanyin felt sick. "Did he hurt you?"
"Not physically. But he made his point very clear. So I backed off. Stopped helping you. And I've regretted it every day since."
"That's not your fault—"
"Isn't it though? Maybe if I'd been braver, if I'd helped you anyway, you wouldn't have been in that car alone the night of the accident. Maybe you'd have already been free."
The guilt in Qian's voice was painful to hear. Wanyin reached out and grabbed her sister's hand.
"You were protecting yourself. There's no shame in that. And Qian? This time I'm not asking for your help. I'm doing this on my own. So when he comes after me, you can honestly say you had nothing to do with it."
Qian squeezed her hand back. "Just promise me you'll stay safe. And maybe... maybe once you're settled somewhere, you'll let me know you're okay? Even if it's just a text from a burner phone or something."
"I promise."
After Qian left, Wanyin opened the bakery bag. Inside was a pork bun, still warm. Her favorite. Qian had remembered her favorite.
She ate it slowly, savoring each bite. When was the last time someone had done something kind for her without expecting anything in return?
The rest of the day dragged. Nurses came and went. The doctor stopped by to check her progress, said she was healing well. Another day or two and she could leave.
Wanyin spent most of her time pretending to sleep while actually planning. She needed clothes that weren't the expensive things in the bag Qian had brought from her apartment. Something plain, something that wouldn't stand out. She needed to figure out how to get past the hospital security without Shen Jingwei being notified. She needed to coordinate with Chen Li without leaving a trail he could follow.
Around 3pm, her phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number.
"This is Chen Li. New phone, he doesn't have this number. The shelter can take you tomorrow night. Can you be ready by then?"
Tomorrow night. Less than 48 hours away.
Wanyin typed back quickly. "Yes. What do I need to do?"
"Nothing. Just act normal. Don't tell anyone you're leaving, not even the nurses. Tomorrow at 8pm there will be a shift change at the nurse's station. That's when security is most lax. I'll have someone meet you at the service entrance on the east side of the building. Bring nothing that he gave you. No phone, no jewelry, no clothes from your apartment. We'll provide everything else."
"How do I get out of my room without being seen?"
"There's a staff bathroom near your room. Go in there around 7:45pm like you're using it. There's a door that leads to the service stairs. Take those down to the ground floor. The person meeting you will be wearing a blue jacket and carrying a clipboard. They'll look like hospital staff."
"Okay. I can do that."
"Wanyin. Once you leave, don't contact anyone from your old life for at least a month. That includes your sister. He'll be watching everyone, checking phone records, looking for any trace of you. You have to completely disappear."
A month without talking to Qian. Without letting her family know she was safe. It seemed cruel.
But the alternative was going back to Shen Jingwei. And that was worse.
"I understand."
"Good. Delete these messages. I'll text you once more tomorrow afternoon with final instructions. After that, destroy your phone or leave it behind."
Wanyin deleted the entire conversation and then blocked the number so it wouldn't show up in her recent calls if someone checked.
Tomorrow night. She just had to survive one more day.
That evening, Shen Jingwei came back.
Wanyin had been expecting it. He came every evening now, like clockwork. Always around dinner time when visiting hours were technically over but rules didn't apply to men like him.
"Wanyin." He sat in the chair next to her bed, his suit perfect as always. "You look better today."
"I feel better." She kept her voice neutral, not warm but not hostile either. Just... distant.
"I spoke with the doctor. He said you can be discharged tomorrow or the day after. I've arranged for a private car to take you home."
Home. That word again.
"That's thoughtful of you," Wanyin said carefully. "But I was thinking maybe I should stay with my parents for a while. Just until I'm fully healed."
His expression didn't change but something cold flickered in his eyes. "Your parents' apartment is too small. And the stairs would be difficult with your ribs still healing. The apartment I provide has an elevator, a full kitchen, everything you need."
"I could stay with Qian then—"
"Qian lives in a studio. Where would you sleep, on her couch?" He leaned forward. "Wanyin, stop making this difficult. You're coming home with me. End of discussion."
There it was. The control. The expectation of obedience.
Wanyin forced herself to nod. "Okay. You're right. The apartment makes more sense."
She watched him relax slightly. Watched him think he'd won.
"Good. I'll come get you tomorrow evening. Around 6pm." He reached out and touched her face, his thumb brushing over her cheekbone. "I know you're confused right now. The amnesia makes everything complicated. But we'll work through it. I'll help you remember who we were together."
Who we were. Like they'd been something good. Something worth remembering.
"Thank you for being patient with me," Wanyin said and hated how easily the lie came out.
After he left, she felt dirty. Like playing along with his expectations had contaminated her somehow.
But it was necessary. She had to make him think she was cooperating. Had to make him believe she'd given up on the idea of leaving.
That way, when she disappeared tomorrow night, he wouldn't see it coming until it was too late.
That night, Wanyin couldn't sleep.
She kept thinking about what Chen Li had implied. That maybe the accident hadn't been an accident. That maybe Shen Jingwei had done something to cause it.
She tried to remember that night. The rain, the spinning car, the impact. But every time she got close to the memory, pain lanced through her head and the images scattered.
There was something there though. Something her brain was protecting her from.
The other car. The one that had been in her lane.
She remembered headlights. Bright, blinding. Coming right at her.
But why would someone be in her lane during a rainstorm? That didn't make sense unless...
Unless they'd done it on purpose.
Unless someone had forced her off the road.
Her heart started racing. Was that real or was she just paranoid because of what Chen Li had said?
She couldn't know for sure. Not without the police report. And Shen Jingwei had probably made sure she'd never see that.
Around 2am, her phone buzzed.
Unknown number again. Chen Li.
"Change of plans. Tomorrow is too risky, he's increased security. We're moving it to tonight. Be ready in 30 minutes. Same plan but earlier timeline. Delete this message now."
Tonight.
Thirty minutes.
Wanyin's hands shook as she deleted the text. She looked at the clock. 2:17am. The hospital was quiet, most of the staff were in the break room or doing rounds on other floors.
This was it. This was her chance.
She threw back the covers and immediately pain shot through her ribs. Fuck. She'd forgotten about her injuries. Moving was going to hurt like hell.
But she didn't have a choice.
Slowly, carefully, she got out of bed. She was wearing the hospital gown and nothing else. Qian had brought her clothes but those were all from the apartment, all things he'd bought for her. She couldn't wear those.
There was a set of scrubs in the bathroom closet. The nurses sometimes changed in there. Wanyin grabbed them, they were too big but they'd work.
She changed quickly, every movement sending pain through her chest. Her ribs screamed in protest but she bit her lip and kept going.
The business card Chen Li had given her was still hidden in the Bible. Wanyin grabbed it and shoved it in the scrub pocket. Then she grabbed her phone, hesitated.
Chen Li had said to leave it behind. He could track it.
Wanyin turned it off and left it on the bedside table.
She checked the hallway through the small window in her door. Empty. The nurse's station was down the hall but she couldn't see anyone there.
2:28am.
She had to move now.
Wanyin opened her door as quietly as possible and slipped out. The staff bathroom was three doors down. She made it there without being seen, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst.
Inside the bathroom, she found the door Chen Li had mentioned. It was labeled "Staff Only" and was partially hidden behind a supply shelf.
She pulled it open. Beyond was a concrete stairwell, dimly lit.
Wanyin took a deep breath and started down.
Each step hurt. Her ribs protested, her head was spinning. But she kept going, one floor, two floors, three.
Ground level.
The door opened into a service corridor that smelled like cleaning supplies and old coffee. She followed it to the end where a door led outside.
This was it. Once she went through that door, there was no going back.
Wanyin pushed it open.
The night air hit her face, cold and sharp. A car was waiting, engine running. A woman in a blue jacket was standing next to it, holding a clipboard just like Chen Li had said.
"Xu Wanyin?"
"Yes."
"Get in. Quickly."
Wanyin climbed into the backseat and the car started moving before she'd even closed the door properly.
She looked back at the hospital, watching it get smaller and smaller in the rear window.
She'd done it.
She'd actually escaped.
The woman in the blue jacket turned around from the passenger seat. "I'm Liu Wei, I work with Chen Li. We're taking you to a safe house for tonight. Tomorrow we'll move you to the shelter. Do you understand?"
Wanyin nodded, not trusting her voice.
"Good. Now I need you to do something for me. In the seat pocket in front of you is a pair of scissors. Cut your hair. All of it. Short as you can get it."
"What?"
"He's going to be looking for a woman with long dark hair. We need to change your appearance as much as possible. Cut it now while we drive."
Wanyin's hand went to her hair automatically. It was down to the middle of her back. She'd always had long hair, even before Shen Jingwei. It was part of her identity as a model.
But Liu Wei was right. He'd be looking for the woman he knew. Not someone new.
Wanyin found the scissors and started cutting.
Long strands of dark hair fell into her lap as the car sped through empty Shanghai streets. She cut and cut until her hair was barely past her ears, choppy and uneven but short.
When she was done, she looked at her reflection in the car window and barely recognized herself.
Good.
That was the point.
Xu Wanyin, mistress and kept woman, was gone.
Someone new was taking her place.
Someone free.