That night, Feng Ling tossed and turned in bed, completely unable to sleep.
Perhaps it was because she had the thought of “wanting to go out,” but lately, she had started to notice things she had never paid attention to before.
For example, the castle’s main gate was always locked, all the windows were sealed shut, and her phone could only play games and watch videos—the dialing function had been disabled at some point without her knowing.
Another thing was that every time she got near the entrance, Sister Ling Yue would always appear very quickly… something she had previously thought was just a coincidence.
Maybe, Sister Ling Yue really had locked her up, and everything she said about going out later was all a lie…
This thought drenched her from head to toe like a bucket of ice water.
But…
why would Sister Ling Yue lock her up?
Why?
Then, she abruptly sat up.
No, no… she needed to check…
So, Feng Ling tiptoed to her bedroom door, opened it a crack, and peeked out, finding no one outside.
She took a deep breath and walked on tiptoe along the corridor toward the main gate.
However, as she passed the living room, she heard the voice she least wanted to hear right now coming from behind her: “Little Feng Ling.”
It made her blood freeze in her veins.
Turning around, she saw Sister Ling Yue standing at the other end of the corridor, asking with a puzzled expression, “It’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping?”
Feng Ling’s mind went completely blank.
She stammered for a few moments before saying, “I… I couldn’t sleep… I wanted to get up and drink some water…”
“Water? The kitchen is over here, you’re going the wrong way.”
Feng Ling looked down at her feet, then whispered, “I… I made a wrong turn…”
“Come here first.” Ling Yue beckoned to her.
Feng Ling didn’t dare to hesitate and obediently walked over to Ling Yue.
Ling Yue reached out and stroked her hair, her fingers sliding from the top of her head to the ends and stopping there.
She asked, “Little Feng Ling, are you hiding something from me?”
“No…”
“Really?”
“Really…”
At that moment, Ling Yue’s fingers suddenly tightened, grabbing her scalp.
“Then why were you heading toward the main gate in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”
“I… I really just went the wrong way…”
“Little Feng Ling, I’ve told you before, I don’t like being lied to.”
Feng Ling’s legs were so weak she could barely stand.
Ling Yue stared at her for a few more seconds, then sighed and said, “Forget it, go back to sleep for now.”
Feng Ling felt as if she had been granted a reprieve and immediately turned and ran back to her room.
…
A few more days passed, and Feng Ling felt like she was going to go crazy.
Before, she thought this kind of life was really nice…
But now, she was starting to feel that it was like a very beautiful cage.
“Hey, little Feng Ling, are you unhappy?”
Ling Yue appeared behind her at some point and placed a hand on her head.
The memory of having her head grabbed and hurt last night was still fresh, causing Feng Ling to jump in fright.
She quickly turned around and said, “N-no! I’m very happy!”
“You’ve been absent-minded a lot lately~”
“Have I?”
“Yes.”
Feng Ling lowered her head, not knowing what to say.
Ling Yue reached out, lifted her chin, and made her look into her eyes, saying softly, “Little Feng Ling, if you have something on your mind, you can tell me.”
“I really don’t…”
“You’re lying again.”
Hearing this, Feng Ling’s lips trembled slightly.
“Tell me, what are you thinking about?” Ling Yue asked again.
Feng Ling remained silent for a long time before finally whispering, “I want to go out…”
“What did you say?”
Ling Yue’s voice was still gentle, but Feng Ling faintly felt the temperature around them drop by several degrees.
“I… I want to go out… just for a little while… to see the sun, feel the breeze… and then I’ll come back…”
At that moment, Ling Yue smiled slightly and said, “Little Feng Ling, I’ve told you many times, it’s very unsafe outside.”
“But…”
“No buts.”
Ling Yue released her chin, then went over to the sofa and sat down.
“Come here.”
Feng Ling hesitated for a moment but still walked over and sat down beside her.
The next second, Ling Yue reached out, pulled her into her embrace, and slowly traced circles on her arm with her fingers, asking, “Little Feng Ling, do you think I’m lying to you?”
“No…”
“You do.”
Feng Ling closed her mouth.
Ling Yue tapped the skin on the inside of her arm with her fingernail and said, “Little Feng Ling, I’ve lived for several hundred years… In those centuries, I’ve seen too many people who lost their lives because of a moment of impulse.”
Then she lowered her head, pressing her lips close to Feng Ling’s ear.
“I don’t want you to become like that…”
“I know… but… but…” Feng Ling shrank her neck slightly.
“But what?”
“But… I feel… this place is like a prison.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt Ling Yue’s fingers suddenly tighten, her nails digging deep into her skin.
It hurt terribly.
“Sister Ling Yue…”
“Prison? Does little Feng Ling think this place is like a prison?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Then what did you mean?”
Feng Ling fell silent again.
Then, Ling Yue released her arm, looked down at the small wounds left by her nails, and said, “Little Feng Ling, do you know? Saying such things makes me very sad…”
As she spoke, she lowered her head and licked away the blood that had seeped from the wounds.
Feng Ling bit her lip hard, not daring to move a muscle.
“I cook for you every day, teach you magic, take care of everything for you, and give you your favorite games to play… yet you think this place is like a prison?”
“That’s not it… Sister Ling Yue, I really didn’t mean it that way…”
“Then what exactly did you mean?”
“I… I just… feel a bit stifled here… I… I want to go out for some fresh air…”
“Little Feng Ling, you just need to stay by my side. That’s enough.”
“But…”
“Let’s end this topic here.”
Ling Yue then pressed her finger against Feng Ling’s lips, stopping her from continuing.
Looking at her gentle smile, Feng Ling swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
…
That night, Feng Ling lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
She finally understood now—Sister Ling Yue had indeed locked her up.
And the phrase “just wait a little longer” had been a lie from the very beginning.
Then, she turned over and buried her face in the pillow.
She should be angry… but she found she couldn’t muster any anger.
Because Ye Ling Yue was truly very good to her.
Aside from not letting her go out, she gave her the best of everything.
Food… entertainment… learning… everything.
She was like a canary kept in a cage.
The cage was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the owner was gentle.
But a cage was still a cage… no matter how it was decorated, it couldn’t change its nature of confining freedom.
Feng Ling sat up again and glanced at her bedroom door… it was open.
Sister Ling Yue never locked her door; she could go out anytime.
But what then after leaving the room?
The main gate was locked, the windows were sealed, and her phone couldn’t make calls… there was simply no way for her to leave.
And even if she did leave, where could she go?
In her current transformed state, she had no identity… no money… nowhere to go.
So, Feng Ling lay back down and stared at the ceiling, tears slowly sliding from the corners of her eyes and into her hair.
She didn’t even know what she was crying about.
…
The next day, after magic training ended, Feng Ling followed Ling Yue upstairs.
As they passed through the living room, she saw a key lying on the coffee table, which made her stop in her tracks.
Ling Yue had already walked ahead and didn’t notice her gaze.
Feng Ling stared fixedly at that key, her heart pounding wildly.
Could… could that be the key to the castle’s main gate?
She hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t touch it.
…
In the following days, Feng Ling noticed that the key was always on the coffee table, as if someone had deliberately left it there.
She didn’t know if this was Ling Yue’s test, so she never dared to touch it.
But ever since she realized she was truly imprisoned by Ling Yue, her desire to leave this castle grew stronger and stronger, gradually turning into an obsession.
Maybe she could try it… just try it.