Jiang Yingjie pressed his lips together silently, directly shutting the car door, and then locked it with the car key before walking towards the hotel.

But when he returned to the hotel lobby, Song Xi was nowhere to be seen. His brow furrowed slightly, but he thought Song Xi must have left. So after failing to spot her, he turned around and headed outside.

After Jiang Yingjie left, Song Xi, who had been pulled behind a pillar by a man, struggled to break free from his grasp. She suddenly turned around, took a few steps back, and asked warily, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The man, dressed in a black coat, stood tall and focused his gaze on Song Xi. His eyes deepened slightly, then his thin lips parted as he spoke, "Who I am doesn’t matter, and what I want, hmm... isn’t very important either."

Song Xi frowned at the man in front of her. "I don’t know you. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving first."

For some reason, Song Xi felt an inexplicable sense of attraction towards this man, but seeing the men in black standing behind him, whom she had never met before, made her instinctively want to stay away.

She turned to leave, but the next second, she heard the man behind her speak, "You’re Song Xi, right?"

Song Xi paused. She was well disguised today, with freshly styled hair that made her hard to recognize.

She stopped in her tracks, turned back to the man, and asked, "Who exactly are you?"

The man’s expression didn’t change. His eyes fixed steadily on her as he spoke in a calm tone, "Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that you need to know your sister is with me."

Song Xi’s eyes widened in shock, and she blurted out, "Are you the one who kidnapped my sister?"

Her tone was filled with certainty, her eyes staring straight at the man in front of her.

...

Song Qiao didn’t expect that being kidnapped with Xu Qian would be one thing, but that Song Xi would also be brought here.

Since she cooked dinner yesterday, the man also asked her to make lunch today. However, this time, instead of asking her to do much, he asked her to teach his two minions how to cook.

Watching the two reluctant men holding spatulas with puzzled expressions, Song Qiao found the scene inexplicably amusing.

Imagine men in black suits, looking like bodyguards, holding spatulas with a clueless expression. It’s truly unprecedented.

"Add a bit of soy sauce to the meat, and then turn down the heat. Once it’s flavored, you can dish it out... The vegetables are almost done too, don’t cook them too long, they won’t taste good if overdone..."

Song Qiao didn’t feel at all like she was kidnapped, and knowing there was a chance to leave with Xu Qian, she wasn’t as terrified as before. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Moreover, the man who kidnapped her and Xu Qian didn’t seem that bad, quite reasonable. Although they had to return to the basement after meals, he had provided them with two blankets the night before, aware of the dropping temperatures, and even gave them a late-night snack.

Even though that late-night snack was takeout from outside and didn’t taste great.

The man instructed to add soy sauce took a bottle of it and poured it in a large quantity, perhaps due to his inexperience in cooking, as if soy sauce were of no cost.

Song Xi, who was just directing the man stir-frying vegetables to plate them, looked to the side and was startled to see that the soy sauce was soaking the meat, prompting her to quickly say, "Stop, why are you pouring so much? Is soy sauce free or what?"

The man was startled as well upon seeing the excessive soy sauce in the pot, hastily turned off the stove, and looked at Song Qiao with a puzzled expression, asking, "What should I do now?"

Song Qiao sighed helplessly as she took the spatula from him, "Go wash the other vegetables; we’ll have hot pot tonight, and this can be used as a dipping sauce."

Although it might not taste great, it would suffice.

The idea of having hot pot suddenly came to her. With so many people here, hot pot was indeed a good idea, and during her cautious conversations, she learned that these people had always stayed abroad and were visiting An City for the first time, surviving on takeout meals without cooking for themselves.

When she curiously asked whether they’d ever had hot pot, everyone shook their heads.

Although it’s not winter, the slightly chilly weather made hot pot quite enjoyable, especially when sweating between bites.

If... a meal of hot pot could win over their leader, maybe he’d be in a good mood and just let her and Xu Qian go?

The man acknowledged with an "Oh," obediently following her instructions, though only in the kitchen.

...

Song Xi followed the man into the villa. Initially, she had categorized him as a kidnapper, but as they walked into the villa, she instinctively rejected that thought. This was no kidnapper; they weren’t lacking money at all, were they?

Moreover, looking at the man’s demeanor, he doesn’t seem to be as simple as a kidnapper.

Though there are many questions in her heart, Song Xi doesn’t dare voice them, as the man’s subordinates have been expressionless from start to finish, which makes her a bit scared.

Only when she enters the villa and takes a look at its arrangements and decor does she confirm that this man is definitely not short of money.

Because she immediately recognizes that the chandelier alone is worth tens of thousands.

"Where’s my sister?" After entering the villa, Song Xi surveys around and doesn’t see Song Qiao, prompting her to ask.

The man halts his steps, then turns to Song Xi and asks, "Who’s your father?"

Song Xi knits her brows, not expecting this question, sizes him up and down, then counters, "Do you know my father?"

"If I knew, do you think I would ask you?" The man looks at her with disdain.

It’s as if Song Xi asked a very stupid question, his tone full of disdain.

Song Xi, "..." Her face turns pale and red alternately, quite a sight.

After a moment, she grits her teeth and says, "My father’s name is Song Zhiyuan. Since you don’t know him, why ask? Besides, my father is dead."

"So who’s your mother?"

Upon hearing this, Song Xi suddenly becomes wary, looks at the man with an odd expression, and asks, "What exactly do you want to know? Are you just doing a census check?"

The man suddenly stops speaking, his eyes deeply fixed on Song Xi, as if trying to see something in her face. But after about half a minute, until Song Xi feels a bit uncomfortable, he retracts his gaze and turns upstairs.

The man hasn’t told her where her sister is, which makes Song Xi anxiously shout, "Hey, didn’t you say you kidnapped my sister here? Where is she? Where did you hide her? Or are you lying to me?"

The man stops his steps, turns back to look at her, his gaze a bit somber, "Do I get food by lying to you?"

Song Xi snorts, "Who knows if you find it fun to deceive me?"

Perhaps the person knows her identity, or is her fan, and thus deceived her to come here?

This is also possible.

Now that she thinks about it, the more she considers this possibility, the more likely it seems. Maybe this man really used her sister as a pretext to trick her into coming here.

Suddenly, Song Xi feels that her actions today are rather foolish. If she ends up being sold, she might help the seller count the money.

The man chuckles, says nothing, but looks at Song Xi with even more disdain.

...

In the kitchen, Song Qiao is personally cooking, having already sent the two underlings to wash and chop vegetables. Although the chopped vegetables look quite disastrous, as long as they’re edible, it’s fine.

Focused on cooking, she suddenly seems to hear a familiar voice, causing her cooking movements to pause as she listens attentively.

The kitchen door is closed, perhaps the other party worries about her escaping. Actually, Song Qiao thinks it’s quite unnecessary.

After all, though she truly wants to leave, to return to Lu Jingchen, to the two children, Xu Qian is still here, she can’t just abandon Xu Qian and escape alone.

Most importantly, the villa is surrounded by the man’s subordinates. She, being a woman, simply can’t escape.

With the kitchen door shut, she barely hears the sounds outside.

A sudden bad feeling emerges in her heart. She eventually dishes out the vegetables from the pot and heads towards the door.

The man in black who was chopping vegetables sees her heading to the door, becomes vigilant, brandishes the knife and blocks Song Qiao, demanding, "Mrs. Lu, where are you going?"

Song Qiao, seeing the vegetable knife in his hand, is frightened and steps back, afraid of being accidentally hurt, explains, "I just want to take a look at the door, not trying to escape. You can rest assured, my mother-in-law is still here, I can’t leave her alone. Besides, I can’t even run away."

—— Two more Chapters, might be late, ladies look in the morning