“Awake?”
Ye Moran’s voice was low and melodious, sounding as gentle as ever. However, to Su Ling’s ears, it felt sharper and more piercing than the keenest blade.
Ye Moran walked in slowly. Her leather shoes clicked against the floor, creating a crisp yet heavy rhythm as she approached the bedside one step at a time.
“Do you like the new place I found for you? It’s higher up than before, with a better view, and it’s also… safer.”
Su Ling bit his lip, his small hands clutching the bedsheets so hard that the once-neat fabric became a wrinkled mess.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you speaking? Don’t you like it here?”
“If you don’t like it, you can pick a place yourself!”
“How about you choose from the places you lived before, one by one?”
“No, there’s no need. I—I think it’s fine here. I… I really like it. Thank you, Elder Sister.”
Su Ling forced himself to stay calm, his words coming out with great difficulty.
Ye Moran raised an eyebrow and leaned down, lightly hooking her finger under Su Ling’s chin.
“Why is your voice trembling so much, Little Fellow?”
“Are you cold?”
“I… yes, I’m a little cold…”
Su Ling didn’t dare admit he was afraid of her. He could only follow her lead and fabricate a plausible excuse.
“Heh, fine! ~”
Ye Moran casually picked up the remote control from the nightstand. She set the air conditioner to heat and turned the temperature to the maximum setting.
‘Since the Little Fellow is cold, I’ll make sure he gets nice and warm!’
She would make him understand the price of deceiving her!
The air conditioner vent immediately began blasting scorching hot air. It blew against Su Ling’s face, but it couldn’t melt the bone-chilling frost deep in his heart.
Ye Moran’s fingertips still hooked his chin. The pressure wasn’t heavy, yet he didn’t even have the courage to turn his head away.
The smile in the woman’s eyes gradually faded, replaced by an almost icy, piercing insight.
“Still cold?”
“N-no, not anymore…”
“Then why is your body still shaking?”
“Or rather, are you lying to me?”
Ye Moran spoke softly. Her tone was as flat as if she were stating a mundane fact, but every word felt like an ice pick stabbing into Su Ling’s heart.
“You aren’t cold at all, and you don’t like it here one bit, do you?”
“No, that’s not it. Listen to my explanation, I…”
Ye Moran frowned and suddenly pinched the Little Fellow’s mouth, cutting him off.
A so-called explanation was nothing more than another form of deception—lies layered upon lies. What was the point in listening?!
She leaned down slightly, her warm breath enveloping him. She pinned Su Ling between herself and the bed, the distance between them becoming incredibly close. An overwhelming sense of pressure surged toward him without restraint.
Su Ling could clearly smell the faint scent of violets on her. That scent used to bring him comfort, but now it only made his entire body shudder.
“You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Are you afraid I’ll punish you again? Or are you afraid I’ll send you to the Youth Slave House?!”
Ye Moran spoke each word slowly, precisely puncturing all his pretenses.
Su Ling’s face instantly turned deathly pale. His hands gripped the sheets even tighter, and even his lips began to quiver uncontrollably.
He wanted to deny it, to weave another lie, but his throat felt blocked, unable to produce a single sound.
Seeing his terrified state, Ye Moran let out a low chuckle. There was no Tenderness in that laugh, only a heavy, stifling sense of possessiveness.
“However, you don’t need to be so scared. I’m not going to do anything to you for now!”
“I’m going to cook. Stay in this room. Once the food is ready, I’ll come get you!”
Su Ling was stunned. ‘She’s letting me off that easily?’
He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Even after she left and slammed the door shut, he still couldn’t figure it out.
Since he couldn’t find an answer, he decided not to think about it. If she didn’t want to punish him, that was for the best.
He crawled toward the nightstand and picked up his Mobile Phone.
He had noticed the phone as soon as he woke up. She seemed very relaxed, leaving the phone with him as if she had no intention of confiscating it.
Just as he turned on the phone to play a game, his eyes accidentally grazed the icon for a messaging app. As if possessed, he tapped on it.
However, the familiar contact for Nangong Wan was gone. The list was a total blank.
He checked his contacts, and as expected, only Ye Moran remained. Nangong Wan had vanished!
He felt a sense of grievance. He had lost his friend again—a friend he had worked so hard to make.
Suddenly, a spark of realization flashed in his mind. He immediately ran to the wardrobe and pulled it open. Sure enough, all his clothes were inside, including several outfits he had worn before!
Only the clothes Nangong Wan had given him were missing. Pushing aside his disappointment, he rummaged through the clothes and found a pair of gray-white trousers. The moment he pulled them out, joy flooded his face!
It was that phone—the one Nangong Wan had given him!
Many things had happened after he returned that day. He had tossed these pants aside, and the phone had been left inside.
Remembering that day made Su Ling’s heart heavy. It was from that day on that Elder Sister began to change…
‘If only that hadn’t happened. Maybe Elder Sister wouldn’t have become like this.’
Unfortunately, there were no “ifs” in this world, and there was no medicine for regret.
He hid inside the wardrobe and carefully turned on the phone…
Su Ling played with the phone happily. Although he couldn’t find Nangong Wan’s contact information on this device either, he was still excited because this phone could connect to the internet.
That meant he could download many games and watch more videos.
While his previous phone could also play games and watch videos, those games were all offline single-player ones that became boring over time.
As for the videos, they were completely uninteresting—full of things he didn’t like—and he couldn’t search for what he actually enjoyed.
However, it seemed to be getting hotter and hotter.
Su Ling tugged at his clothes. He didn’t pay it much mind at first, assuming it was only hot because he was in such a cramped space.
But as time passed, the air in the room became increasingly stifling. Eventually, he could no longer stay inside the wardrobe!
After hiding the phone, he pushed open the wardrobe door and staggered a few steps before collapsing onto the bed in exhaustion!
His throat was dry and itchy. The sweltering environment forced him to gasp for air to relieve his discomfort.
He looked up at the air conditioner and finally understood why she wasn’t “punishing” him. The punishment had already begun from the very start!
He struggled to push himself up and went to the door, pounding on it with all his might.
“Let… let me out!”
***
Ye Moran was busily working in the kitchen, humming a song while she stirred the food.
Calculating the time, the room the Little Fellow was in should be heating up by now!
That air conditioner had been modified to heat up rapidly. Ordinary air conditioners could only reach 30 or 40 degrees, but this one could go up to 50 degrees!
Originally, she had only thought that since the floor was so high, it would get cold easily. By installing a high-powered unit, she wouldn’t have to worry about the cold.
Now, however, it could be used to properly punish a certain Little Fellow who loved to lie.
The sound of Su Ling banging on the door echoed through the hallway. The youth’s voice was raspy from the heat and filled with sobs, each cry a helpless plea.
“Let me out… Elder Sister, I’m so hot… I was wrong…”
The scorching air felt like physical flames wrapping around every inch of his skin. The stray hairs on his forehead were soaked with cold sweat, clinging to his pale cheeks.
‘What do you mean “no punishment”? What “going to cook”? It’s all a lie! This pervert just thought of a new way to torture me, waah!’