In the dark basement, one could hear everything from the heavy breathing sounds to the continuous screams of women, and then to the point where even breathing could not be heard.

She was delirious with fever and didn't even know where she was, but she subconsciously called Pei Zhiting's name.

"Pei Zhiting, I'm thirsty..."

"Pei Zhiting, I'm so hot, I want to take a shower..."

"Pei Zhiting, where are you? Come find me..."

"Pei Zhiting, it hurts..."

She called Pei Zhiting's name again and again, each time full of dependence and trust.

"Pei Zhiting, Pei Zhiting..."

"Stop shouting, he can't hear you." A woman whispered, "Now that we've been caught here, we can forget about escaping. Just accept our fate."

Song Xijiao seemed not to hear what she said and continued to call Pei Zhiting's name over and over again.

"Pei Zhiting, Pei Zhiting..."

She kept shouting, her voice hoarse and desperate.

After an unknown amount of time, she finally ran out of strength, but she was still mumbling Pei Zhiting's name.

"Pei Zhiting, it hurts so much..."

"Pei Zhiting, I want to go home..."

"Pei Zhiting..."

Her voice became smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared completely.

She fainted.

Just when everyone thought she was dead, the basement door was suddenly opened and a man wearing a black hood walked in.

He walked up to Song Xijiao with a basin of cold water in his hand and poured the water directly on her face.

"ah!"

Song Xijiao was awakened by the cold water. She sat up suddenly and looked at the man in front of her with a pale face.

"Awake?" The man looked at her with a look of scrutiny in his eyes. "You're not bad looking. No wonder someone paid a huge price for you."

Song Xijiao didn't say anything, but just looked at him warily.

"You've been redeemed." The man looked at her and sneered, "But don't be too happy too soon. The person who redeemed you didn't intend to let you live."

Song Xijiao was stunned and asked subconsciously: "What do you mean?"

"What he meant was that he paid for your life." The man looked at her and said word by word, "After you get out, whether you live or die will depend on your fate."

Song Xijiao didn't say anything, just sat there in silence.

die?

She is not afraid of death.

She was afraid that if she died, she would never see Pei Zhiting, Doudou, or her mother again...

She couldn't even sit still and could only lean against the wall, but even so, she remained silent and didn't even frown.

The man glanced at her, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

This woman was stronger than he had imagined.

After an unknown amount of time, the man took off his headphones, stood up and said, "He's awake. Come and get him."

Not long after, footsteps were heard outside, and then a figure walked in.

…

The other side.

When Pei Zhiting and his men arrived, the basement was empty.

He looked at the empty basement with a terribly gloomy expression.

"We're late." Khun Pira said cautiously, "The other party obviously came prepared. Our people lost them when they followed us here."

Pei Zhiting looked at the empty basement with a cold face.

Jiaojiao, where are you?

When Song Xijiao woke up, it was already the next day.

She tried to speak, but her throat felt like being pulled by a blunt knife, and she could only make a slight sound.

“…”

Someone was feeding her, and she ate whatever was given to her. Although she would spit it out soon after eating, the person did not get angry. He patiently gave her water to rinse her mouth, wiped her mouth clean, and continued to feed her.

Bottles of injections were hung one after another.

Song Xijiao's hands were bruised and blue from being pricked. In the end, there was no place else to insert the needles, so she had to prick her feet.

This went on for the fourth day, and Song Xijiao's condition improved a little. Although she was still having a fever, it was no longer a high fever that wouldn't go away.

"Doctor, she was in good health before. Why hasn't she recovered from this illness for so long?"

"Long-term exposure to a dark, damp environment, coupled with a lack of water and food, can be unbearable for even the strongest body. Furthermore, the medical report showed she hadn't given birth for less than a year, had suffered trauma, and had suffered severe mental trauma. She had also been caught in the rain. Add all these factors together, and it's a blessing she's survived."

He also found out these days that Song Xijiao had been locked up in a dark place for a whole week.

"When will she be well?"

"It's hard to say. It depends on her own recovery ability."

"But even if it heals, I'm afraid there will be sequelae."

"What are the aftereffects?"

"Immunity is low..."

Li Zhenjun and Song Hua called one after another, asking when they would go back home since the New Year was approaching. Pei Zhiting was silent for a few seconds each time, but he finally gave in to Li Zhenjun.

"What?!" Li Zhenjun's voice suddenly rose. "What do you mean by missing? Zhiting, what's going on? Why did Jiaojiao disappear?"

Pei Zhiting briefly explained the disappearance of Song Xijiao.

"Mom, don't worry, I will find her."

After hearing the whole story, Li Zhenjun suddenly became anxious.

"How could such a good person disappear? Zhiting, you must find Jiaojiao. She's a girl out there, what if she gets into danger?"

…

Song Xijiao's health gradually improved. Although she was still weak, she no longer had the high fever like before.

During this period, Pei Hetong stayed by her side, taking care of her daily life and diet in every possible way.

"We've been together for so many years, and this is the first time I've enjoyed your caring care."

Only after the divorce did he take care of her like a husband.

"Why? Do you think I treated you badly in the past?"

After being together for so many years, Pei Hetong rarely took care of her like this. They were both busy and had little time together. She originally thought that they would always be like this, but she didn't expect it to come to this point today.

"I have...always known this, not just now."

It's just that she always loves to deceive herself and make excuses for him again and again.

Until later, she could no longer find any reason.

Pei Hetong twisted the towel and said, "No one has the right to ask another person to treat him/her well unconditionally, not even if they are in love. Besides, putting aside other things, just in terms of money, I have never wronged you."

Whether before or after marriage, Pei Hetong was indeed willing to spend money on her. The movable and immovable properties under her name added up to more than Pei Hetong's net worth, and all of these were given by him.

Song Xijiao sneered, "Pei Hetong, you have such double standards. When it comes to you, you have no right to be nice to me, but when it comes to me, it becomes my obligation to be nice to you."

"My first job was as a designer assistant at a startup. I spent my first paycheck on you. From then on, from head to toe, inside and out, was there anything I didn't buy for you?"