Chapter 119: Change the flavor

The air in the bedroom seemed to solidify, sweet and cloying like syrup with too much honey, making it hard to breathe.

Gu Yebai wanted to get up and open the window for air.

But he couldn’t move.

Gao Hongyi was straddling him, her seemingly petite body now an immovable mountain, pressing down on his shoulders.

Her strength was unbelievable.

The usually gentle girl seemed like a different person.

She repeated those words in a low, mechanical voice: “Dad’s friend? Friend… friend friend friend… friend?”

Each “friend” was like a dull knife slowly grinding against Gu Yebai’s heart.

Time stretched infinitely, each second as long as an eternity.

Gao Hongyi’s dark pupils were gradually devoured by an eerie crimson.

That wasn’t a normal color—it was more like some long-dormant, maddened flame burning deep in her eyes.

“Uncle Bai, interrogation is quite interesting, you know.”

Her voice was as light as a whisper, but every word carried a chilling tenderness.

“Uncle Bai, let me ask you a question…”

“Do you like the feeling of being bound, or do you hate it?”

“In this world, there are many ways to interrogate someone—spiritually.”

“Everything you can imagine exists, and things you can’t imagine… also exist.”

“In the end, everyone who undergoes interrogation breaks down.”

….

“You’ve heard all this. Do you understand your situation now, Uncle Bai?”

“To slowly shatter a person’s sanity piece by piece, then reassemble them so they only see me… maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, either.”

Gao Hongyi’s voice grew softer, as if talking to herself, or as if confessing her most secret wish to him.

“What a pungent lemon scent…”

Gu Yebai wanted to push her away, to get off the bed, to escape this increasingly oppressive space.

But all her weight pressed down on him, making it impossible to move.

“Hongyi, I…”

“Shh.”

She extended a finger and gently pressed it against his lips.

Under the dim wall light, her pupils glowed terrifyingly bright, like two blood-drenched rubies.

“Uncle Bai was very good today, sending me a selfie every half hour.”

But…

Her fingertips slowly slid down his collar, stopping at the fourth button.

She didn’t go further, just lightly rubbed the fabric, as if confirming something.

Gu Yebai instinctively tried to grab her hand, but she caught his wrist instead.

The grip wasn’t strong, but it carried a firmness that brooked no resistance.

“Don’t move.”

“Let me have a good sniff.”

“Dad’s friend is a woman?”

“A girl who likes to wear sportswear.”

….

“Actually… she’s not Dad’s friend, but your friend, right?”

“You could even say, the one who first called you out wasn’t Dad, but… her?”

“That video call—I should have realized… Dad appeared too conveniently, didn’t he?”

“Because Dad betrayed me.”

“Dad is a traitor! A bad man who threw away his daughter’s happiness!”

Gao Hongyi buried her face deeper, her nose almost touching the side of his neck.

She sniffed lightly, like a wary little beast confirming whether its territory had been violated.

Then she suddenly looked up, her eyes wet, with a light of grievance and madness intertwined.

“That girl loves sports, right?”

“Besides the lemon spray, there’s also a bit of sweat… I can smell it. That’s not your scent.”

“Uncle Bai, I don’t like children who tell lies, understand?”

“Children who lie make me very sad.”

“So sad… that I want to lock you away where no one can see you.”

Her voice softened, as if she were acting spoiled, but it sent chills down Gu Yebai’s back.

“So please be good and tell me the truth, okay?”

“Just say it…”

“If you say it, we’ll go back to how we were before, like old times—loving each other, never apart.”

“Uncle Bai, stop torturing me, okay?”

“I already have the answer.”

“But just knowing the answer isn’t enough.”

…..

“Because if I don’t hear it from your own mouth… it doesn’t feel the same.”

“What’s that damned wildcat’s name?”

The mental pressure surged like a tide, instantly drowning Gu Yebai.

Gao Hongyi’s smile was terrifyingly sweet, like a ghostly maiden stepping out of an ancient painting.

“I…”

Gu Yebai opened his mouth to explain, but his throat was too dry to form a full sentence.

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry, I went out with Bai Xialin…”

Gao Hongyi suddenly leaned down, pressing her entire body against him.

Chest to chest, as if trying to crush all her anxiety and jealousy.

“They just want to take you away.”

“You’re innocent.”

“But… not completely innocent, either…”

“Ah heh…”

She let out a low laugh, her voice tinged with grievance and unwavering certainty.

“They want to leave their marks on you?”

“How ridiculous.”

“Why don’t you understand?”

“You’re already mine.”

“In this world, no one can take things from me.”

“No one!!!”

…..

Her deep cherry-colored hair fell completely, blocking Gu Yebai’s vision like a gentle net, enveloping him entirely.

Gao Hongyi cupped his face, her thumbs lightly stroking his cheeks.

Then she suddenly hugged him tightly and kissed him.

As if to completely block his breath.

A punitive kiss.

Like she was holding something back…

She couldn’t bear to hit him, so kissing him until he couldn’t breathe seemed to be the only option left.

He felt her eyelashes get wet, warm tears sliding down his skin.

He could also see Gao Hongyi’s face turning slightly purple.

Even she struggled to maintain the kiss, nearly suffocating herself.

After a long time, just as Gu Yebai’s consciousness was about to cross the Bridge of Helplessness,

her red lips chose mercy, allowing him to breathe again.

“Uncle Bai… please stop hiding things from me, okay?”

Her voice was choked with tears, soft, like the most fragile kitten.

“I’m really scared… scared that someone will take you away.”

“I know I’m strange, scary like this… but I can’t control it.”

“I just want you to only look at me, only belong to me…”

Gu Yebai’s throat tightened, guilt surging like a wave.

He remembered how casually he had gone out with Bai Xialin that day.

That harmless interaction should have meant nothing, but now it was like a thorn buried deep in Gao Hongyi’s heart.

He raised his hand and gently patted her back, like soothing a child throwing a tantrum.

….

“I’m sorry… I was wrong.”

Gao Hongyi’s body stiffened slightly, then she hugged him even tighter.

After a long while, she lifted her head.

Her eyes were red, but she smiled sweetly, as if she had gained the whole world.

“Now… you’ll stay with me forever, right?”

She gently wiped her own tears with her fingertips, her voice soft and sticky: “From now on, don’t get too close to anyone else, don’t go out without telling me.”

“Otherwise… I might just have to hide you away.”

She paused, with a spoiled stubbornness.

“Hide you somewhere only I can find, so you can keep me company every day, okay?”

Gu Yebai’s chest felt tight, but he nodded, almost as if possessed.

In that moment, he suddenly realized that this obsessive love, though carrying a suffocating weight, also gave him a strange sense of security.

Gao Hongyi acted as if nothing had happened, gently stroking his back like coaxing a child.

“Alright, I’m not mad anymore.”

“Uncle Bai is the best.”

She suddenly stood up, interlaced her fingers with his, and pulled him toward the bathroom.

“Come, let’s go wash up.”

“Uncle Bai got dirty outside today. We need to get you clean.”

Gu Yebai stumbled.

“Hongyi… I can do it myself…”

“No.”

….

She turned back, her eyes sparkling, as if coaxing her favorite toy.

“Uncle Bai went out today without telling me ahead of time. That already made me sad.”

“And now you still have someone else’s scent on you, which makes me even sadder.”

“So…”

She stood on tiptoe, her breath lightly brushing his ear, her voice soft as cotton candy but carrying an unyielding persistence.

“Let me help you with my own hands, okay?”

In that moment, Gu Yebai felt the whole world fall silent, leaving only her breathing and his own increasingly complicated heartbeat.

He suddenly realized that this “interrogation” was far from over.

But strangely, he couldn’t muster much resistance.

Perhaps, from the very beginning, he had already been entangled by her.