‘Why can’t my legs move?’
Su Ling looked at his calves with tearful, despairing eyes. He had thought that after resting for one night, his legs would recover enough for him to find a chance to escape. But why — why were they still immobile? Last night, there had at least been a sense of numbness, but now even that was gone. It felt as though his lower legs didn’t even exist!
“What are you thinking about? Get out here, now!”
Su Ling wiped his tears and crawled off the bed with great difficulty. He dragged his legs until he reached her, then looked up.
“Follow me!”
Su Ling lowered his head and followed closely behind her. She walked very fast, and it took a massive effort for him to keep up. By the time she stopped, he was almost too exhausted to keep crawling.
“Climb up!”
Su Ling looked up. She was sitting in a gaming chair in a lazy posture, a lollipop tucked into the corner of her mouth as she squinted down at him. Su Ling’s eyes were dazed, his white teeth biting down hard on his lip.
“I told you to climb up. Get into my lap. Did you not hear me?”
Gu Qingyuan’s tone suddenly turned cold. Su Ling’s body jolted in fear, and tears instantly welled up.
“Mph!~”
Gu Qingyuan grabbed Su Ling by the chin, her eyes narrowing. “You know how to cry, but you don’t know how to be obedient? Or do you think that by crying and acting pitiful, I’ll let you go?”
Su Ling shook his head slightly; he didn’t mean that at all. He was just terrified. He only cried because he was scared. Why — why did she keep misunderstanding him? Su Ling felt a surge of grievance in his heart, and his tears fell even faster.
“Tsk. Cry, cry, cry. That’s all you know how to do. CRY ONE MORE TIME AND I’LL CUT YOUR TONGUE OUT!!”
“Mph!~”
Terrified, Su Ling covered his mouth with both hands. His body shook uncontrollably as he stared at her with uneasy eyes.
“Shaking, are we? Are you that scared?”
Su Ling didn’t answer. Gu Qingyuan pulled him up, and he landed in her lap. Her embrace wasn’t warm like his Elder Sister’s; it was ice-cold and not comfortable at all.
“Hug me.”
Su Ling hesitated for a moment before slowly reaching out to embrace her. His arms weren’t long enough to wrap around Gu Qingyuan completely, so he could only spread his hands and press them tightly against her back.
The corners of Gu Qingyuan’s mouth curled up. She was quite satisfied with the little thing’s performance and couldn’t help but pat his head. When her hand brushed his soft cat ears, Su Ling flinched, and an involuntary flush crept onto his cheeks.
“Do you know how to play games?”
Su Ling turned to glance at the computer in front of them, then shook his head. He had never played a computer game before; his Elder Sister never allowed it.
“Hmm? You’ve never played?” Gu Qingyuan looked at the little thing in her arms with surprise. She hadn’t forgotten his identity. He was Ye Jin, the Young Master of the Ye Family! Even if he wasn’t anymore, as a Young Master, he should have been able to play games whenever he wanted, right?
Seeing the look in the little fellow’s eyes, she stared intensely, as if trying to read the answer from them. Su Ling wanted to look away under her constant scrutiny, but he didn’t dare. He was forced to maintain eye contact. He suddenly realized the person in front of him was actually quite beautiful. Although she was a bit inferior to his sister, it wasn’t by much. He couldn’t understand why someone so beautiful could be so cruel when bullying others.
His Elder Sister was always so gentle, and Nangong Wan wasn’t like this either. None of the beautiful women he had met acted this way — only this person. At the thought that he might never be able to speak again, his heart ached. Just as his tears were about to fall once more, Gu Qingyuan finally looked away.
“Was it that Ye Moran who didn’t let you play?”
Su Ling looked up, his eyes full of confusion. How did she know?
“It seems I guessed right!” Gu Qingyuan smirked. That Ye Moran really was overbearing. Her little thing must have suffered quite a bit under that woman’s thumb, right? With that thought, her fingers began to wander over him.
Su Ling’s body tensed. He felt that large hand on his body and desperately wanted to dodge or swat it away, but he couldn’t. If he actually did that, he would surely be beaten severely or even have his legs chopped off. He didn’t want his legs to be cut off… Even if they were numb and lacked all sensation now, he didn’t want them gone. He didn’t want to become a cripple.
Fortunately, Gu Qingyuan only touched him for a little while before stopping. Instead, she adjusted him in her lap so he was facing the screen.
“I’ll teach you how to play! This game is very fun. You have to explore and defeat monsters. You should like it.”
Gu Qingyuan grabbed the little fellow’s two small hands and began teaching him how to play, hand-over-hand. Su Ling was resistant at first, merely following her movements blindly, but as the images on the screen progressed, he was gradually drawn in. His fingers began to move of their own accord.
A long time passed without them realizing it. Su Ling was in the middle of enjoying himself and was just about to defeat a minor monster when his stomach let out an untimely protest! He looked down at his belly as a true sense of hunger surged within him. He pursed his lips and looked up at her.
“Hungry?”
Su Ling nodded vigorously, his eyes looking at Gu Qingyuan expectantly.
“Want to eat?”
Filled with hope, Su Ling nodded again. She was in a good mood right now, so she would probably give him something to eat, right? But he was clearly mistaken. Gu Qingyuan reached out and slowly tilted his chin up, carefully examining the little fellow’s face.
The first thought that popped into her mind was ‘adorable.’ His chubby little cheeks felt soft to the touch, and his watery eyes revealed a sense of innocence mixed with the simplest of desires.
“Well, you have to do something to earn your food, don’t you? Otherwise, you have no value at all. Why would I bother raising you?”
Su Ling froze. The expectation on his face slowly faded, replaced by panicked helplessness. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do to get a bite of food.
“Tsk, you really are a dummy! Come here. Give me a kiss right here, and I’ll give you food!” Gu Qingyuan pointed at her cheek and spoke with some impatience.
Su Ling bit his lip. He didn’t want to do that, but if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be allowed to eat. She would definitely starve him until he complied.
‘Sister, I… what should I do?’
Su Ling looked up, tears blurring his vision until the person in front of him became a haze. In his daze, it was as if he didn’t see the devil who bullied him, but rather his beloved Elder Sister. If it was his sister, then a kiss was okay.
That thought suddenly surfaced, and he didn’t find anything wrong with it. His sister was different; she was unlike anyone else. Only his sister would take care of him and comfort him with her whole heart. Besides her, no one would ever treat him that way.
He lifted his head, closed his eyes, and tried his best to imagine her as his sister before kissing her cheek! It was very light and very quick, like the gentle peck of a bird. Gu Qingyuan’s brow furrowed slightly, but seeing the state of the little thing, she ultimately decided to let him off the hook.
“Stay here while I have someone prepare food. You can play the game by yourself, but you are not allowed to leave this room. Do you understand?”
Su Ling nodded. After she left, he lowered his head again, staring unblinkingly at the carpet. His mind was filled entirely with images of his sister.
‘Sister, where are you? I miss you.’