He could go nowhere; he was forced to remain in this chair. Su Ling sat in the oversized chair, looking completely out of place. He instinctively wanted to pull his legs close, but he couldn’t lift them at all, let alone hold them. His legs wouldn’t move, and he didn’t want to leave by crawling, so tears welled up again. ‘I don’t want to cry,’ he thought. ‘I’m not the type of person who cries.’ Yet, ever since he had been held in Confinement here, he had been crying constantly.
He was beaten, scolded, and especially had his throat destroyed. He had lost the ability to speak and had become a disabled person. In the future, he would never be able to communicate with others normally again. He really wanted to leave this place. ‘I shouldn’t have wandered off,’ he thought. ‘If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been caught, and none of this would have happened.’
He tried to wipe away his tears, but they only flowed faster as his body began to twitch rhythmically with his sobs.
“Are you made of water? So many tears!”
Gu Qingyuan’s impatient voice rang out, startling Su Ling so much that he nearly fell off the chair.
“Come out and eat!”
Just as Su Ling was about to move toward her, Gu Qingyuan had already turned around, leaving him with only the sight of her back. He froze for a moment before slowly sliding down from the chair. On all four limbs, he began to crawl forward slowly.
When he reached the dining table, he thought that he might be allowed to sit at the table this time. Instead, he saw a stainless steel bowl on the floor next to the table, filled with food.
“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and eat. Today’s meal is very hearty!”
Su Ling stopped in his tracks. ‘Should I really do this?’ He struggled internally. The hunger in his stomach made him want to eat, but the humiliating way of eating made it impossible for him to do it again. Even though he had already eaten this way once, he didn’t want to.
“Sigh.”
Gu Qingyuan let out a sigh and slowly stood up from her chair. She walked over to Su Ling and looked down at him. She kicked off her slippers, stepping onto the carpet with her bare feet.
Just as Su Ling was wondering what she was about to do, her foot was suddenly raised, pressing directly against his chin and forcing his head up!
Mmf!
Su Ling was forced to look up at her. From this height, it felt as if a Pet were looking at its Master. He hated it.
“It seems you still don’t understand your status! A Pet must have the self-awareness of a Pet. Unfortunately, you don’t!”
Su Ling turned his head away. He didn’t want to admit he was a Pet at all. He was a person—he had always been a person.
Mmf!
Su Ling was caught off guard by a kick that sent him rolling backward once, leaving him lying helplessly on the ground. The faint pain radiating from his chest made him feel an involuntary sense of dread, and his body began to tremble with fear.
“You knew the price of disobedience, yet you chose to be disobedient anyway. Tell me, what was the point?” Gu Qingyuan crouched down and carefully examined the little thing’s face as if she were genuinely asking a question.
Su Ling’s tears flowed uncontrollably. He didn’t know; he didn’t know what he was trying to achieve. He just didn’t want to live like a Pet. He could endure being beaten, scolded, and bullied, but this kind of mental humiliation was 10,000 times more painful than any physical abuse.
“Isn’t it better to just be a little more obedient? Eat. It’s just for today. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll allow you to eat at the dining table. Don’t let this happen again next time.” Gu Qingyuan patted the little thing’s head, then scooped him up in her arms and placed him on a chair at the table.
Su Ling didn’t answer. He just hung his head, lost in thought.
“Forget it. I won’t hit you today. I have to catch a flight tomorrow.”
Su Ling looked at the food pushed in front of him. He bit his lip, pushed the food away, and looked at her.
“What is it?”
Su Ling wanted to speak; he wanted to ask what she meant about catching a flight. But no matter how long he gestured, he couldn’t make himself clear. His frustration caused more tears to fall.
The corners of Gu Qingyuan’s mouth curled slightly. As the one who had orchestrated everything, she could guess what the little thing was gesturing even if his movements were a mess. She casually stirred the food in her bowl with her chopsticks, resting her chin on one hand as she watched his panicked, anxious state. Only then did she speak in a leisurely tone.
“Do you want to ask what I meant when I said I was catching a flight tomorrow?”
Su Ling nodded immediately, his large, bright eyes filled with longing.
“I’m taking you abroad tomorrow, of course.”
Su Ling froze. ‘Going abroad? Leaving this place?’ No, absolutely not! If he left, his Elder Sister would never be able to find him. And… if he went somewhere else where he didn’t even know the language, he would have no way to escape!
He shook his head frantically, bracing his hands against the chair to flee, but where could he go? Before he could even leave the chair, she grabbed his shoulders and shoved him back down!
“What, you don’t want to go? Actually, I didn’t plan on taking you at first. But you’re just too delicious, you know? You’re so delicious that I don’t want to let you go!” As Gu Qingyuan spoke, memories of the past few nights flickered through her mind, and her fingers grew restless.
“And most importantly, your Elder Sister is coming back! It’s tomorrow, too. Maybe you’ll even run into each other at the airport. But don’t worry, I won’t let her find you! Besides, look at yourself now. A mute—and a dirty one at that. When your Elder Sister sees you, will she be disgusted? She probably will, right? After all, that woman seems to be a bit of a clean freak.”
Su Ling’s body wouldn’t stop shaking, and tears surged out uncontrollably. He wanted to tell her that his Elder Sister wouldn’t be disgusted by him, but he couldn’t even convince himself. If his Elder Sister saw him like this, she would definitely be disgusted. She had already abandoned him.
“Alright, be a good boy and finish your meal. Then go take a shower and go to bed. Don’t overthink anything else, and don’t try anything, understand?” Gu Qingyuan didn’t expect an answer. She grabbed Su Ling’s wrist, forced him to hold the chopsticks, and pushed the food back toward him. “Eat!”
Su Ling looked at the food in front of him. Trembling, he picked up a mouthful and put it in his mouth. The food was delicious, but he had no interest in its taste. He simply ate one mouthful after another mechanically, as if doing so could make him forget all his pain. Large tears fell into his food, but he didn’t care. He swallowed the meal, bit by bit, mixed with the salt of his own tears.
—
Ye Moran stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of her hotel, gazing at the scenery outside. A long-absent smile played on her lips. Just then, a phone call disturbed the silence. She tapped her Mobile Phone and answered.
“Boss!” Qin Siyu’s voice carried a hint of anxiety. “Young Master Ye Jin is missing!”
Qin Siyu waited for a long time without receiving a response from the other end of the line. She grit her teeth and explained everything that had happened.
“This morning, I contacted the people responsible for monitoring Young Master Ye Jin as usual. They reported that everything was normal. However, I felt uneasy, so I sent someone to check in person! It turns out Young Master Ye Jin wasn’t there at all. There weren’t even any signs of anyone living in the room! CEO Ye, I’ve already sent people to look for him, but so far, there are no results!”
Qin Siyu clenched her hands tightly, her palms slick with cold sweat. She didn’t know if Ye Moran would believe her, but this was all she could say.
“I see.”
After a long silence, Ye Moran’s voice finally came through the phone, followed immediately by the sound of the call disconnecting. Qin Siyu looked at the disconnected screen of her Mobile Phone in confusion. ‘What does that mean? Shouldn’t she be worried?’