A crisp sound of a slap echoed in the restaurant.
Song Ge's face instantly turned bright red and began to swell visibly. Just by looking at her face, one could tell how much force Xu Yan had used when he slapped her.
Although Xu Yan had slapped Song Ge in a fit of anger, he was still extremely furious. He stared at Song Ge with a gloomy expression.
Song Ge continued to sneer. "Do you still want to deny it? Isn't this the truth of the matter? You coward. If it weren't so, what are you doing holding so many young and beautiful girls here?"
"Shut up!" Xu Yan's head was buzzing with anger. He impatiently interrupted her. "It's their fortune that I've captured them."
Another scoff. Song Ge sneered disdainfully. "So you're really a coward. No wonder you've always been suppressed. There's a reason for it after all."
Xu Yan was completely enraged. He tightened his grip on her, looking as if he was about to strangle Song Ge.
"You clearly have no strength, yet you still fight head - on with others. What else could this lead to but a definite defeat?" Song Ge felt as if she could hardly breathe. She gasped desperately under his hand. "If you knew the bargaining chip to control that person, things wouldn't be so hard to solve."
Song Ge quietly revealed some information while still pretending to know nothing on the surface.
Bargaining chip? Xu Yan suddenly realized something. He angrily demanded, "What do you mean? Explain it clearly."
Hearing this, her eyes fell on his hand that was clutching her neck. She didn't say a word.
Although he was still extremely angry, Song Ge's words had a kind of eye - opening effect on him.
After some consideration, Xu Yan angrily let go of her neck. He coldly demanded again, "What did you mean just now? Do you have a bargaining chip to deal with him?"
Song Ge fell to the ground and gasped for breath. It took her a while to calm down.
Looking at Xu Yan's anxious expression, a sneer flashed across Song Ge's face. She met his gaze and said, "It doesn't mean anything. I'm not feeling well now and don't want to talk."
Her vocal cords had been a bit affected when Xu Yan had choked her. Her voice was a bit hoarse when she spoke just now, which happened to be an excuse for her to refuse.
Xu Yan glared at her fiercely. She stared back fearlessly, showing no sign of fear, nor any intention of answering his question.
After a stand - off, it was finally Xu Yan who gave in. He glared at her one more time and then ordered someone to send her back.
Soon, a bodyguard dragged Song Ge out.
"Send her something to eat," Xu Yan coldly instructed the person beside him after Song Ge had walked some distance away.
The person was stunned at first but quickly reacted and rushed out to complete the task.
After sending Song Ge away, Xu Yan stood alone in the restaurant, lost in thought and gradually calming down.
This woman wasn't a fool. He couldn't do anything to her for now. Maybe she would still be useful.
The Basement.
Song Ge was roughly pushed in. She staggered and almost fell. Fortunately, someone beside her held her up in time.
Everyone in the basement had their hearts in their throats the moment the door opened. They were all prepared to see the person who came in badly beaten, but they didn't expect Song Ge to come in safe and sound.
Everyone's eyes were filled with shock.
"This is for you too," the bodyguard sized Song Ge up meaningfully and then threw a large pile of food on the ground in annoyance.
Song Ge just stared at him coldly without saying a word.
The man stared back at her for a while and then left.
The girls in the basement hadn't had a full meal for a long time. When they saw the suddenly delivered food, they were not only surprised but also delighted.
As soon as the bodyguard left, they swarmed around the food and fought over it.
Song Ge watched them gobbling down the food and felt a strange pang of heartache.
The girls were so focused on grabbing food that no one noticed her heart - aching look.
"This is for you," Song Ge took out the food she had secretly hidden in her pocket and handed it to the girl who had talked to her just now.
The girl was extremely thin and was no match for the others. So she just stared blankly and didn't manage to grab any food.
"Thank you," the girl's eyes were filled with tears. She quickly took the food and stuffed it into her mouth without even looking.
The food the bodyguard had brought was not much, and each person got only a little. But it was still better than the days when they had nothing to eat.
After everyone calmed down, Song Ge sat down against the wall alone, thinking about how she could escape.
On the other hand, in the villa.
Since Song Ge's disappearance, Zhai Cheng had become like a walking time - bomb. One wrong move and he would explode.
The servants in the villa didn't even dare to breathe loudly when passing by Zhai Cheng for fear of setting him off.
The servants carefully maintained the peace, but there was someone who didn't think so.
"Uncle, it's just as well that that woman is missing. She's not a good person anyway. Why are you so worried about her?" Leng Jing endured her joy and sat on the sofa making sarcastic remarks.
Zhai Cheng's face instantly changed when he heard this while he was on the phone, asking others to help find Song Ge.
"What did you say?" Zhai Cheng coldly questioned, his knife - like eyes sweeping over her.
Leng Jing was completely unaware of this. She obediently repeated, "That woman is no good at all. She doesn't deserve your concern."
She doesn't deserve Ji Qingyun's heart either. She silently added this sentence in her heart.
"It seems I've really spoiled you. Look at what you've become. You can't do anything right. You don't have the slightest air of a gentlewoman and you don't even realize it. Where's your upbringing? Has it been eaten by the dogs?" Zhai Cheng's face was gloomy and his voice was extremely cold.
Leng Jing had never seen Zhai Cheng like this before. She shivered in fear and stared blankly at him, unable to say a word.
"Get out of here now. Come back only after you've figured out what you did wrong," Zhai Cheng pointed to the door with a straight face and didn't even want to look at her again.
She was telling the truth. Why did Uncle not only not listen to her but also scold her? Leng Jing felt extremely aggrieved. She angrily snorted at Zhai Cheng, picked up the phone on the tea table and rushed out.
Zhai Cheng didn't look at her even once from beginning to end.
Running from the living room to the yard, Leng Jing felt more and more aggrieved. Unconsciously, she took out her phone and dialed Ji Qingyun's number.
"I was scolded by Uncle. Will you comfort me?" Leng Jing said aggrievedly.
Ji Qingyun perfunctorily asked what had happened.
"That woman Song Ge is missing. So what? Why did he scold me? I'm telling the truth. She..." Leng Jing was about to list all of Zhai Cheng's "crimes".
"What did you say? What's wrong with Song Ge? Explain it more clearly," an urgent voice came from the phone.