The liquid wasn’t as bitter as he had imagined. Instead, it was sweet like sugar.
Su Ling couldn’t help licking his lips. He looked at the woman and hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand and made a few gestures in the air.
“What does that mean?” The woman frowned. She didn’t understand sign language, and besides, this little cripple’s gestures didn’t seem like sign language either.
Seeing that she didn’t understand, Su Ling tried again with more effort, but the woman still looked confused, completely clueless about what he meant. Su Ling dropped his hands in defeat. ‘I really can’t do anything right.’
The woman thought for a moment. She really didn’t understand what the little cripple was trying to say, but there were other ways. Since the drug onset still had some time, she might as well play with him a bit. She walked over to her workbench, picked up a small notebook and a pen, and tossed them in front of Su Ling.
“Write it down.”
Su Ling froze for a moment, then glanced at her. ‘This woman doesn’t seem that bad.’ The thought suddenly popped into his head, but he quickly pushed it away. ‘How could she not be bad? If she weren’t bad, would she have used those two innocent people to force me? If she weren’t bad, would she have hit me? No, she wouldn’t. So she is bad, a bad person!’
Gritting his teeth, Su Ling grabbed the notebook and began to write. Soon, he had written down everything he wanted to say.
(Don’t hurt them. You said yesterday you’d take them away—where are you taking them?)
(I’ll behave well. I’ll be a good pet.)
(Please, don’t hurt them. Take it out on me instead.)
In writing this, Su Ling had abandoned almost all his dignity. He no longer wanted to hurt anyone for the sake of his so-called pride. Dignity didn’t matter at all! He wasn’t even human anymore, so why should he cling to something that belonged to humans? But why… why did his heart ache so much?
“Huh?” Su Ling suddenly felt something was wrong. His body was growing hot, and his mood inexplicably became irritable. The feeling grew stronger and stronger! He parted his lips slightly, trying to breathe in fresh air, but that didn’t help. Instead, his vision grew increasingly blurry.
A peculiar fragrance filled the air. The woman sniffed it, and the corners of her mouth curled up. The drug effect was kicking in!
She had promised Gu Qingyuan she wouldn’t toy with the little cripple, but if the little cripple took the initiative, that was a different story! She hadn’t done anything—it was all his own doing!
With a flick of her finger, she picked up the chain around Su Ling’s neck and gently tugged him onto the bed.
Su Ling felt as if all his strength had drained away. Every part of his body ached, especially his neck and wrists, where the pain was unusually sharp! He breathed with difficulty. Suddenly, a large hand stroked his chest, making him gasp. He suddenly realized—he was being played again.
And this time, it felt even worse than before. Last time, at least he could move, but now he barely had the strength to breathe.
Su Ling stared blankly at the ceiling. ‘Will I die? Every breath is so hard now. What if I just stop breathing? Would I die then?’ He thought about it and slowly began to hold his breath. Holding his breath was terrible—his lungs felt like they were about to burst! But he kept holding, since he barely had any strength left. Once he used up the last of it, he wouldn’t be able to breathe anymore.
Gradually, his vision grew fainter, and he heard distant calls echoing in his ears.
“Smack!”
A crisp slap woke Su Ling. Instinctively, he let out the breath he was holding, and his body began heaving violently, each breath heavy and urgent.
“Little cripple, if you want to die, don’t do it on my bed!”
“And even if you do die, I’ll kill those two little things you care about so they can accompany you!”
“After all, you’re so good-looking. In ancient times, you would have been an empress. And when an empress dies, how could there be no burial objects?”
Hot tears streamed from Su Ling’s eyes. ‘Why has it come to this? Can’t I even die? This hurts. This is unbearable. Big sister… what… what should I do? Why did you abandon me? No one wants me. No one likes me…’
“Cry. Cry. I like watching you cry. You look beautiful when you cry. Keep crying.” The woman whispered like a pervert. “From now on, be a good little cat and do whatever I tell you.”
“As for that master of yours, ignore her. She might come looking for you, and when she does, you’ll put on an act. Remember, I don’t want you to listen to her. You only listen to me!”
“Do you understand? If you do, nod. If you don’t, I’ll make you understand slowly.”
Su Ling nodded with difficulty. He was slow, but her words were clear enough. She wanted him to be her pet, and he had to hide it from his previous master.
“Oh, right. You probably don’t even know my name, do you?”
“Let me tell you. My name is Liu Ruyan.”
Liu Ruyan. Su Ling silently etched those three characters into his heart.
“Alright, sleep now. I was so tired last night that I’m still sleepy. Let’s get some more rest and talk when we wake up.”
Su Ling’s thin body was pulled into her arms. He didn’t dare struggle or resist. He just silently endured everything. He didn’t know if this was right or wrong. He had no choice. He could only obey. Beyond obedience, he could do nothing.
‘Big sister…’ Her figure inexplicably floated into his mind, along with her kindness to him. ‘Maybe big sister didn’t mean to abandon me. Maybe I did something wrong and made her angry?’ After all, he was always messing things up. It was normal for her to be upset with him.
—
Ye Moran couldn’t sleep. She stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the night outside, but her mind remained unsettled. She couldn’t figure out why. Was it because of her father? Sure, she admitted that Su Xing’s recent moves had irritated her a bit, but she could handle them. It would just take some time. There was no way that was making her this sleepless.
But beyond that, she couldn’t think of any other possibility. Helpless, she went to her liquor cabinet again, grabbed a bottle, and took a deep swig. Alcohol not only numbed her nerves but also let her temporarily set aside her worries.
Recently, for some reason, she had become addicted to the taste of liquor. Maybe it was just a way to relieve stress.
Take Su Ling, for example… ‘How is that little fellow doing now? He should be doing okay, right? Gu Qingyuan should treat him well. After all, he’s so beautiful. A single smile can captivate anyone. He can wrap her around his little finger with just a gesture!’
‘I’ll wait a bit longer. Once I’ve completely dealt with my matters, I’ll bring him back. Then we’ll live together forever. Even if he stops loving me, I won’t let go this time!’
As she thought this, she felt an inexplicable drowsiness. Perhaps it was the alcohol. She rested her head on the table and closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Gu Qingyuan sat in her car, slowly stroking her belly. Several times, she wanted to start the car and go see the little thing, to check if he had become obedient. But she forced herself to hold back. It had only been a day, and one day changed nothing. She had been with the little thing for so long, and he had never listened to her. One day wouldn’t make him obedient!
Yet deep down, she couldn’t help hoping he would listen. If he really became obedient, she would bring him back and treat him well. She would never hit him again! As long as he listened, she could learn how to be good to him and try her best to control her temper.
So she decided to wait one more day. She would go see him after that. She hoped he wouldn’t disappoint her.
With that thought, she hesitated for a long time before finally stepping out of the car and returning to the house where the two of them had once lived together.