Wen Xi’s face looked pale under the light.
Shao Kunye sneered. “Do you know why I took you in? Staying here, this is the only use you have.”
He left the words hanging and went upstairs. Wen Xi watched his tall figure recede, slowly lowering her head.
A few seconds later, she put down the task in her hands and returned to the Maid’s Room.
After a while, someone knocked on the master bedroom door.
Shao Kunye didn’t open it, only glancing at the shadow beneath the door.
After several more knocks, perhaps waiting too long without an answer, Wen Xi mustered courage and pushed the door open.
Inside, Shao Kunye sat on the edge of the bed. A glass of water rested on the nightstand—exactly like the one he had given her yesterday.
Shao Kunye noticed her gaze and glanced at the water beside him.
Yesterday, he had only wanted to test the effect of the drug. Originally, he had planned to let Wen Xi off today, yet she had been bolder than expected, even daring to bargain with him.
Wasn’t she the one who had climbed onto the bed willingly, using her body to stay? And now she pretended to have limits?
“What are you standing there for?” Shao Kunye said. “Waiting for me to invite you?”
Wen Xi, like a wound-up toy, moved slowly toward the bed. The next second, an outstretched arm pulled her, and she tumbled onto the bed.
Luckily, the soft blanket cushioned her fall, sparing her from pain.
The cold glass touched her lips, clinking against her teeth with a crisp sound.
“Drink it yourself.”
Wen Xi struggled to take the glass, her hand trembling. Perhaps knowing what had been added to it, she hesitated, meeting Shao Kunye’s deep, dark eyes.
Closing her eyes, as if steeling herself, she lifted the glass and drank, her lashes fluttering.
An unaware observer might think Shao Kunye had forced her to drink poison.
For Wen Xi, it was almost the same.
When ignorant of its contents, one could drink without a second thought. Once aware, the process became unbearably painful.
As yesterday, within seconds, Wen Xi’s cheeks flushed bright red, her lips blooming with vivid color, her eyes losing focus, glazed and dreamy.
This time, Shao Kunye didn’t rush to touch her. He rose and went to the bathroom.
“Young Master Shao, Jiang Songde has contacted me several times. He wants to meet you,” Han Tao said over the phone.
Shao Kunye’s reflection in the mirror revealed the contours of his muscles. His robe hung loosely, the belt barely tied. He smirked. “Seems like he’s in a hurry.”
“Last time the police discovered Jiang Family’s wildfire factory, they lost a lot of goods and money. Now he’s panicking.”
“The drug cost him only that much? Cheap enough,” Shao Kunye sneered. “Ignore him. Let him stew.”
He hung up and checked the time.
Ten minutes had passed.
Shao Kunye opened the bathroom door to see Wen Xi curled up on the carpet. Her clothes were disheveled, revealing broad patches of pale, reddened skin.
Sensing someone approaching, Wen Xi immediately clung to him like a cat, soft and pliant, burying her head in his neck.
“Touch me? Did I ask you to touch me?”
Tears streamed down her face like broken pearls. She rubbed against him softly. “Husband… I feel so bad…”
“Husband?” Shao Kunye grabbed her chin, his voice icy. “Do you deserve that?”
Wen Xi could no longer process words. Her body felt like it was melting, clinging only to Shao Kunye’s neck as she cried.
Her delicate body, softened by the drug, trembled at the slightest touch. Shao Kunye merely moved his hand, and she shivered in his arms.
So sensitive… How had the Jiang Family restrained themselves all these years, not sending her to others?
He didn’t know whether to call Jiang Songde foolish or Wen Xi lucky.
Shao Kunye’s breathing grew heavier under the robe. He loosened the belt and pressed his tall frame against her, pinning her to the carpet.
For the next several days, Wen Xi was summoned to Shao Kunye’s room every night.
At first, she hoped he might relent. Later, she drank the water without being asked.
She knew that if she disobeyed, Shao Kunye would surely throw them out of the villa.
One day, Shao Kunye left as usual. Wen Xi hurried after him, lifting the hem of her clothes, revealing a small section of fair, slender waist. “S-Shao, Young Master Shao…”
Shao Kunye stopped, expressionless.
Wen Xi nervously fidgeted with the edge of her clothes. “Well… we’re out of vegetables at home.”
Shao Kunye looked impatient. “So?”
Biting her lip, Wen Xi admitted, “I have no money. I can’t buy anything.”
Her snow-white ear roots flushed with shame, hidden under her hair. She couldn’t look him in the eye.
Shao Kunye had expected important news, but it was just because she lacked money.
Now he remembered she hadn’t had a single coin lately. How could she have bought vegetables?
“Then the ingredients you used before… where did those come from?”
Wen Xi blinked. “From the fridge.”
“The fridge?”
She nodded innocently.
Shao Kunye’s expression darkened.
Occasionally, he didn’t want to eat out, so he had a chef prepare meals at home. He remembered that the ingredients in the fridge were bought by Han Tao the night Wen Liyang reported to the police. He had planned to hire a chef later but had gone to Jiang Family instead.
So he had been eating leftovers all this time?
A vein throbbed at his temple. “You fed me expired ingredients?”
Seeing his expression, Wen Xi hurriedly explained, “Those were frozen. I removed the spoiled ones.”
Shao Kunye’s brow twitched. He seriously suspected she might have tried to poison him.
“Wen Xi… you tried to murder me?”
“Of course not!” Wen Xi looked panicked. “If you died, Wen Liyang and I would have nowhere to go.”
Her earnestness unexpectedly cooled Shao Kunye’s temper.
He took a stack of money from his wallet and tossed it onto the table, roughly a few thousand yuan.
Wen Xi immediately said, “That’s too much!”
“Take it. Let me see you try feeding me leftovers again.” Shao Kunye turned and left.
Wen Xi held the money, frowning.
If she had any money, she wouldn’t have asked him. It didn’t matter if she or Wen Liyang went hungry, but Shao Kunye could not.
Back in her room, Wen Liyang sat at the desk writing.
“Wen Liyang, stay home and wait for me. I’m going to buy vegetables, okay?”
He put down the pen immediately. “Mom, I want to go with you!”
“Stay home and practice your characters. Do you remember what I taught you yesterday?”
He nodded.
Wen Xi ruffled his hair. “I’ll buy you candied hawthorn when I come back, okay?”
His eyes lit up. “Okay!”
After calming him, Wen Xi went out alone.
Shao Kunye hadn’t told her where the market was. Probably, he never went to such places. She decided to find one herself.
It was her first time in this city. She didn’t know the roads well and walked two kilometers before finding a vegetable market.
She had handled shopping and cooking in the Jiang Family, so she knew these places well.
Squatting at a stall carefully picking greens, she didn’t notice a car had been quietly following her since she left the villa.
After leaving the market, she realized the road didn’t seem familiar.
Trying to return, she realized she was lost.
At some point, she had wandered onto a secluded path.
Just as she considered turning back, a van abruptly blocked her way.
Before Wen Xi could react, the door opened, and a pair of hands reached out from the darkness, quickly pulling her inside.
As the vehicle drove off, a bag of scattered vegetables lay abandoned on the ground.
Wen Liyang had waited at home a long time, but Wen Xi hadn’t returned.
Usually, his mother returned within an hour.
At that moment, the door unlocked. Wen Liyang dropped his pen, excitedly rushing out. “Mom, you’re back!”
Han Tao opened the door. Seeing Wen Liyang, he looked slightly puzzled.
The boy recognized him as one of his father’s men and peeked anxiously behind him.
Han Tao asked, “Your mother went out?”
Wen Liyang nodded. “Mom went to buy vegetables.”
Buy vegetables?
Han Tao checked the time. It was already afternoon. She hadn’t returned yet?
“When did your mother leave?”
“She’s been gone for six hours.” He pouted, unhappy.
Six hours?
Han Tao furrowed his brow.
Even buying vegetables shouldn’t take that long.
The nearest market was only two kilometers away.
“What’s your mother’s phone number?” Han Tao realized something was wrong. Before he could dial, Wen Liyang said in a childish voice, “Mom doesn’t have a phone.”
Han Tao froze.
An adult woman had no phone?
He quickly decided to call Shao Kunye. “Young Master Shao.”
The man’s cold voice came over. “What is it?”
“Miss Wen went out to buy vegetables and hasn’t returned.”
Shao Kunye thought something had gone wrong. “I told you to go back for the files. Why are you worrying about her shopping?”
Han Tao hesitated. “No, she’s been gone six hours.”
Shao Kunye’s gaze darkened.
Han Tao reminded him, “If Jiang Family can’t reach you, will they target Miss Wen?”
Previously, Shao Kunye had heard Jiang Songde wanted to extract information about a chip from Wen Xi. Though its contents were unknown, Jiang Songde clearly valued it.
It might relate to Wen Xi’s father’s arms business.
Shao Kunye was silent for a moment. “Check the surveillance.”
“Yes, sir.”
Within ten minutes, Shao Kunye had footage from around the villa.
It showed Wen Xi leaving with a bag six hours ago, going to the market.
Perhaps unfamiliar with the roads, she took the wrong exit. When she tried to return, a van blocked her.
The last frame showed her terrified face as she was pulled into the van.
Han Tao looked from the screen to Shao Kunye. He remained impassive, but Han Tao sensed the chill radiating from him.
He understood Shao Kunye’s anger wasn’t for Wen Xi’s safety—it was because she still held secrets that could be valuable to his business.
“How’s the check going?” Shao Kunye suddenly asked.
Han Tao said, “The van was reported stolen. GPS shows it traveled to Faming City after the theft.”
The Jiang Family was based in Faming City.
Shao Kunye seemed unsurprised. “Where is the van now?”
“Heading southeast. The occupants changed vehicles mid-route, but based on stop times, Miss Wen should still be inside, likely at the Jiang Family’s old pharmaceutical factory.”
Shao Kunye stood. “Prepare the car.”