The man descended the stairs of the bas.e.m.e.nt, flicking on a lamp he held. He was grinning, and Qian Meigui couldn"t understand why he was so smug.
Qian Meigui sat on the cold concrete floor, slightly annoyed and bored. "Get on with it, then," she told him. She instead would rather it be over and done with than this nervous waiting game in the pit of her gut.
The man approached closer, holding it up between their faces. He appeared to be an ugly and bitter man. He didn"t say anything; his hazel eyes stared at her with some twisted astonishment. He held a closed knife in his hand, using his dirt-stained fingers to caress her cheek.
Qian Meigui knitted her brows, staring into his stone-cold eyes. "What the f.u.c.k do you want?" she asked him, spitting at his face.
The man smiled in satisfaction. Qian Meigui cringed. He wiped away the spit from his face, unlatching the knife, holding it close to her face. Qian Meigui stared at him vacantly. She had seen horror before and embraced death back; now, it was no different.
"That"s enough," said Lin Anni, who also descended the stairs. She closed the wooden doors above her. "We just need the information, stop terrorizing her," she said to him.
Her ex-husband snickered coldly, "Still trying to be a loving aunt?" he mocked her. Lin Anni gave him a repulsed look.
"You killed my sister," she reminded him.
"On your orders," he seethed.
"I asked you to take care of her, not kill her."
"Aiguo wouldn"t give up what we needed, and she risked it on the cost of her family. But you"re the one who said we could do what we wanted. You hated Aiguo; you were jealous, don"t pretend."
"And you betrayed your brother," She retorted with her chin held up high, dignified and confident as if she had no regrets, it made Qian Meigui sick.
After her aunt composed her cool, she shot her eyes up to her. "Mei," she called out. Qian Meigui grunted, spitting at Lin Anni"s foot. "Only those I am close to, call me Mei."
Lin Anni exhaled, "Fine." She stepped towards her. "Qian Meigui, I need you to tell me. Where did Aiguo keep her files regarding Project Cytoblast?"
Qian Meigui raised a brow, keeping still on the floor. "I don"t know what you"re talking about."
Lin Anni"s ex-husband chuckled. "Don"t play stupid girl. They said that it was given to Song Rui"s daughter. And you happen to be Aiguo"s real girl. Isn"t that a coincidence?"
"Who"s "they"?" Qian Meigui questioned, puzzled.
Lin Anni raised her hand to shut him up. "s.h.i.+t," she said, placing her hands at her hips, pacing around the room. "I think we got the wrong person," she told him.
"What do you mean? Who else would have it beside Aiguo"s daughter?" he responded.
Lin Anni"s eyes widened. "Use your f.u.c.king brain. Song Rui"s gave it to Song Ren most likely."
The man"s eyes widened slightly. He smiled and roared a burst of laughter. "Ah. Song Rui. That cunning, brilliant man. Sometimes I feel like gutting him."
Qian Meigui felt a burst of anger; she clenched her teeth.
"Yet, you never had to the guts to do it," Lin Anni said. The man frowned coldly at her.
"What are we going to do with her?" he asked Lin Anni instead.
"I"m not sure," she responded while looking at Qian Meigui. Lin Anni"s face was remorseless, and what made it all the more gut-wrenching was how much she resembled her mother. The same chestnut-brown hair and dark brown eyes. But Lin Anni"s face was drained of colour, and she aged more than what women her age would typically appear as.
"Keep her here," was all she said before turning her heel, ascending the stairs.
Lin Anni"s ex-husband approached Qian Meigui close to her face, so close their breaths entwined. She kept her mouth shut, preventing her panting breath, stifling her fear.
Using the back of his knife, he knocked it against her head, unconscious. Qian Meigui fell to the floor.
After what felt like an eternity, Qian Meigui rose again with a pounding headache. She grunted in pain, trying to see her surroundings. But it was useless. She couldn"t tell if her vision was blurry because of how dark the room was. She also couldn"t know if it was large or small due to the little lamp lighting a small amount of s.p.a.ce in the room when Lin Anni"s ex-husband was here. Now, it was pitch black.
Qian Meigui tried to use her hands, guiding her to the wall, trying to feel things around the room for a weapon, for anything. But she was afraid of what she might find, at what she could accidentally touch.
Qian Meigui kept touching the s.p.a.ces around when she met with empty s.p.a.ces until she felt a table. Blindly, she touched the table finding round-bottom flasks and vials. There were no sharp tools, but judging by the things, it was some old laboratory.
She heard the door begin to unlatch when she quickly grasped a round-bottom flask, hiding it behind her, setting herself as the same position before.
A light appeared, and Qian Meigui cringed, but she caught a glimpse of the outdoors. The door led to outside, and she felt like some relief. If she could get out of the bas.e.m.e.nt, she could run away whether it would be the woods or a field, it didn"t matter as it could lead to a road, to a town or city, hopefully. The downfall was, it was sunset; therefore, it would be dark, no matter where she was going.
Lin Anni descended the stairs with her ex-husband, stepping toward her with that stupid lamp.
Qian Meigui"s heart began to pound furiously. "What do you want?" she asked with crystal-clear tone.
Lin Anni crossed her hands together, smiling. "We want to use you for ransom."
"What?" Qian Meigui questioned.
"We want Song Ren," Lin Anni responded.
Qian Meigui"s eyes widened in surprise, gritting her teeth. "No!" She said. She then rose, "Don"t you dare f.u.c.king touch her. Just kill me! Do it now!" She cried, pleaded. "She has nothing to do with this."
Lin Anni shrugged her shoulders. "She has what we want, and I"m sure she will come."
Song Sheng and Song Ren arrived at the traditional looking home. The butler informed him that Lin Anni wasn"t home. Rong Ming and his guards swept the house, but they only found families; there was no sign of Qian Meigui.
Song Sheng went back to the helicopter when Song Ren completely disappeared with no sign of her. He looked all over, trying to call her, there was no answer.
Song Ren ran towards the field of wheat, in between the tall gra.s.s, covered by grain. She kept running, her long black ponytail swaying. Song Ren knew where Qian Meigui was as she received an anonymous phone call earlier stating if she did not give them what they wanted, alone, then they would kill Qian Meigui. Song Ren didn"t care what happens to her, but towards her family, she would do anything.
She no longer cared that Qian Meigui was Song Sheng"s lover. Instead, she was happy for them. But Qian Meigui had been through so much, and if had to the chance, she would make them both happy. She loved Song Sheng and Qian Meigui, and it was because of them that she fell in love with Su Feng, that she obtained an incredible position within the company. Even if her life was cut short, she had no regrets. But it was Qian Meigui that should live and be happy.
So Song Ren ran toward them without much of another thought.