Chang Xiujuan also grew excited, realizing this was another opportunity to bleed her daughter dry.

Chang Xiujuan stepped forward, holding her hand out toward Siao Jia. "Five hundred thousand, and we won't say a word."

Her logic was simple. You want us to keep our mouths shut so you can climb the social ladder? Just give us the money!

They wanted to squeeze every last drop of blood from Siao Jia. Since they were going to part ways eventually, it was only natural to get as much money out of her as they could.

Siao Fan also threatened, "Five hundred thousand. Just five hundred thousand." If they couldn't get the money from Xu Ke, they would take it from Siao Jia. They expected this move to make her panic.

But to their surprise, Siao Jia revealed a sinister smile. "Did you really think I wouldn't be prepared for this?"

"What?" Siao Fan and Chang Xiujuan froze.

"From the moment you called to ask where Xu Ke lived, I knew the bride price had driven you into a corner."

Siao Jia sneered, "Do you think I don't know how shameless you two can be? I knew you'd come after me when you failed to get money from Xu Ke."

"So, to stop you from bleeding me dry, I've already gone home and destroyed the report. Rest assured, you won't get a thing."

As she finished speaking, Siao Jia wore a victor's smile, while Siao Fan and Chang Xiujuan's faces turned pale.

"And one more thing, don't you worry about it. I had an abortion yesterday."

Siao Jia mocked, "You two should probably worry about how you're going to pay back that bride price."

With that, Siao Jia left triumphantly, leaving Chang Xiujuan and Siao Fan standing rigidly in place with ashen faces. Their chance was gone.

As Siao Jia passed Xu Ke, she paused briefly and shot him a cold look. "We'll settle our score later. For the Ye Family, crushing you is as easy as squashing an insect."

Xu Ke didn't panic. Instead, a mocking smile appeared on his face. "Let the Ye Family try to crush me. But let me give you a friendly reminder..."

"You should work on your skills. Even Li Jun found you worse than a young model. Ye Chen, who's been with countless women, will probably have even higher standards."

As Xu Ke finished speaking, Siao Jia's face turned livid. His words always dealt maximum damage to her.

But this time, Siao Jia didn't forget to retaliate. "So what?" she said with biting sarcasm. "At least it's better than being with someone who never even made it into my bed."

"Utterly useless."

While she was with Xu Ke, Siao Jia had never intended to get a room with him, let alone do... other things. Of course, this was also related to Xu Ke's serious and responsible attitude. He felt that premarital sex was too risky, with an unpredictable future, so he had always firmly refused it.

Siao Jia was clearly bringing this up now to viciously attack him. But Xu Ke's expression didn't change in the slightest. He only sneered, "I'm not interested in public buses."

At his words, Siao Jia's expression turned incredibly ugly. The satisfaction she had felt from outmaneuvering Chang Xiujuan and her son vanished completely, replaced by pure fury.

The last time she'd been humiliated on the street, someone had called her a public bus. Now Xu Ke was calling her one too... She was enraged!

Siao Jia raised her hand to slap Xu Ke across the face, but he was faster. He caught her wrist, his grip tightening until she winced in pain.

Xu Ke sneered. "What's wrong? Did I strike a nerve?"

"Let go!" Siao Jia gritted her teeth, struggling desperately to pull her hand free.

Xu Ke released her. Caught off guard, Siao Jia stumbled back several steps from the momentum and crashed into a table.

THUMP.

A dull sound echoed through the room.

"Fine. Fine! Xu Ke, just you wait," Siao Jia roared. "You're dead! You're dead!"

"I'll be waiting." Expressionless, Xu Ke turned and walked away.

Seeing him just walk away made Siao Jia even more furious.

Behind her, Siao Fan and Chang Xiujuan watched the scene unfold and sneered, "She got what she deserved."

「The Western Restaurant. A Private Room.」

The sun shone brightly outside, but its light was filtered by white lace curtains. On the soft silk carpet stood a pair of black high heels.

Wong Qifu sat at a table covered with a red cloth, eating a plate of spaghetti. She seemed to be lost in thought, her mind somewhere far away.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Miss, I've returned." It was Wang Wu.

Wong Qifu's attention was finally pulled back to the present. "Come in."

Wang Wu entered the private room and bowed. "Miss, Mister Xu asked me to give this to you."

The bento box looked somewhat out of place on the luxurious dining table.

"Alright." A faint smile touched Wong Qifu's lips as she looked at the bento box.

After setting down the bento box, Wang Wu asked, "Miss, should I go and protect Mister Xu?"

"Why?" Wong Qifu asked, surprised.

"Huang Qi has started investigating Mister Xu. If he finds out who he is, I'm afraid it could be bad for him," Wang Wu said. "Furthermore, Mister Xu is wearing the late master's ring. There's a small chance he could be recognized because of it."

Wong Qifu's brow furrowed slightly. After a moment's thought, she shook her head. "Not for now. Based on my understanding of the Huang Family, they probably won't waste their energy on Xu Ke. If you go to protect him, you might just expose his identity instead, potentially putting him in even greater danger."

She sighed. If only Xu Ke were willing to appear in the open, she could protect him much more easily. But the current situation was a true dilemma.

"Understood." Wang Wu nodded.

After a moment's hesitation, however, Wong Qifu added, "On second thought, you should still follow Xu Ke. Watch him from the shadows. Don't intervene unless he's in real danger."

She was still worried someone might try to harm Xu Ke, but she couldn't risk exposing him.

"Understood," Wang Wu nodded. "In that case, I'll have Qing Hua take over your security detail, Miss."

"Alright." Wong Qifu nodded.

Wang Wu then hesitated, looking like he had something else to say.

Wong Qifu noticed his hesitation. "What is it, Uncle Wu?"

"Well..." Wang Wu gave a wry smile. "I'm not sure if I'm just imagining things."

"Tell me," Wong Qifu said.

"It's about Mister Xu... he..."

「After leaving the Fengjiang Building, Xu Ke returned to the urban village.」

Lying in bed, Xu Ke stared at the ceiling, his mind blank.

The incident with Siao Jia at the Fengjiang Building had a minimal impact on him.

He knew perfectly well that he couldn't contend with either the Li Family or the Ye Family. But after being hit by the car at the intersection, Xu Ke had changed.

Even if he had nothing, and even if he couldn't win, he would still take a vicious bite out of his enemy.

Of course, he could have relied on the Wang Family's power, but he chose not to.

The thought of the Wang Family brought Wong Qifu's indifferent gaze to his mind...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.