He couldn’t do anything; he just didn’t like it. When she was free, she would come to accompany him. He wanted to find a place to live on his own just like before, and then his Elder Sister would occasionally come to visit him.
But his escape wasn’t really to leave his Elder Sister; he just…
Su Ling bit his lip. Should he not have run away? Had he done something wrong? Why…
‘It seems Elder Sister really doesn’t want me anymore.’
He knew… Elder Sister wasn’t there; she hadn’t come back all last night.
The initial confusion gradually turned into a trace of grievance.
Su Ling opened his eyes dazedly, the expression on his face slowly shifting from a blank slate to something complex.
Perhaps she hadn’t been a good person from the very beginning. Even though it clearly wasn’t the Little Fellow’s fault, she still blamed it on him! She suddenly realized how wicked she was. Even though she knew the truth about that matter and had a reason to lock him up again, she still used that opportunity to pin all the blame on the Little Fellow and even… bullied him severely!
She had been enduring every single night. She couldn’t stand it, couldn’t bear it, so she had never touched the Little Fellow.
Lin Qingyu had given the Little Fellow the freedom he wanted. One had to know that during that period, she had actually regretted it long ago.
That was right; she regretted it. She regretted it back then — regretted following those arrangements and not enacting a Second Confinement on the Little Fellow. She hadn’t taken action, but she needed a release, and she needed a reason.
Relying on the past friendship between her mother and the Gu Family, she held back. She remembered that when she was a child, her mother often took her to the Gu Family home to play. That was also when she met Gu Qingyuan. It was only because she thought the Gu Qingyuan of that time was quite foolish that they didn’t have much contact.
The Gu Family and the Ye Family were considered longtime family friends.
That one time, her Little Fellow had almost been defiled by her! It was also that time she became angrier than ever before, even wanting to beat Gu Qingyuan to death on the spot. Unfortunately… she couldn’t!
She thought of two people — Gu Qingyuan!
As Ye Moran thought about it, a smile suddenly touched the corners of her mouth.
—
Tears flowed uncontrollably. It was as if two little figures were fighting in his mind. One said he was wrong and shouldn’t have thought about escaping or making Elder Sister angry; the other argued that he wasn’t wrong and just wanted a little bit of freedom…
His voice was exceptionally small.
He subconsciously gripped the quilt, his entire body slowly curling up.
Su Ling lay in bed for a long, long time before the discomfort in his heart slowly dissipated a little. He climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash up briefly. After coming out, he picked out a few loose, casual outfits from the wardrobe. Looking at the clothes on himself in the mirror, he thought for a moment, took them off, and put on a set of black clothes instead.
After doing all this, he didn’t do anything else but sat by the edge of the bed in a daze.
Elder Sister still hadn’t appeared. Ever since he was subjected to Confinement by his Elder Sister, she had never failed to appear before him for this long.
‘Elder Sister is really going to leave me.’
The moment this thought popped into his head, nothing but panic remained in his heart.
Knock, knock, knock!!!
Suddenly, the sound of knocking rang out, breaking the silence in the room and causing Su Ling to instantly perk up.
‘Is it Elder Sister?’
He was about to run over to open the door, but after taking just one step, he realized something — Elder Sister wouldn’t knock on the door like that…
If it wasn’t Elder Sister, then who was outside the door?
He didn’t wonder about this question for long before the door was slowly pushed open.
Qin Siyu walked in carrying a tray of food.
Seeing that it really wasn’t Elder Sister, Su Ling withdrew his gaze in disappointment.
“CEO Ye told me to bring food over. She told me to tell you that after you eat, you should go to the Studio to practice Painting. I will bring more food over later.”
Su Ling looked up, his eyes gazing at her blankly.
“Where… where did Elder Sister go?”
“CEO Ye has business. Besides, she doesn’t want to see you right now.”
“Is Elder Sister… going to abandon me?”
Su Ling’s voice choked up, and tears quickly welled up in his reddened eyes, looking as if they would fall at any second.
“Perhaps,” Qin Siyu answered nonchalantly, her peripheral vision watching Su Ling.
“Why is it like this?”
“Maybe CEO Ye can’t bear to hurt you?”
Qin Siyu turned to leave after speaking. She couldn’t say too much; there were surveillance cameras in the room. If CEO Ye discovered her, she would be dead! However, given CEO Ye’s current state, she would probably come to deliver food every day from now on. As long as she said one or two sentences every day…
The corner of her mouth quirked up as she left under Su Ling’s complicated gaze.
Su Ling withdrew his gaze and slowly lowered his head. Tears silently slid onto his fair thighs, one drop after another.
Elder Sister didn’t want him anymore.
He slowly squatted down and hugged his knees, his shoulders trembling slightly.
It turned out… Elder Sister really didn’t want him.
Was it because he ran away, because he was disobedient, or because he wasn’t good enough?
But… he clearly just wanted a little bit of freedom. He clearly never truly wanted to leave her.
Tears hit the back of his hand, warm at first, then quickly turning cold, losing their temperature.
He didn’t dare to cry out loud; he could only bite his lip hard, swallowing all his grievances.
As he cried, a sudden sense of hunger came from his stomach. He wiped away his tears, slowly approached the table, and began to eat the food bit by bit.
The taste of the food was very bland and didn’t suit his appetite at all; it was obviously not cooked by Elder Sister. After just a few bites, he couldn’t eat anymore.
He walked into the Studio and looked at the Painting he had done yesterday, which was sitting on the easel in the middle of the room. He sat there in a daze for a while, feeling even worse.
It was a small bird spreading its wings to fly, but the colors looked a bit out of place, carrying a sense of chaos.
Elder Sister had drawn the Painting, and he had done the colors…
The words Qin Siyu had said flashed through his mind instantly —
“When you’ve learned how to paint, she will come to say goodbye to you.”
He didn’t want to say goodbye to Elder Sister.
But he wanted to see her. He wanted to tell her that he would really be obedient in the future, that he would be good and never think about running away again!
Perhaps then, Elder Sister wouldn’t abandon him.
He tore down that sheet of drawing paper, replaced it with a new one, and began to paint with extreme care.
Ye Moran stared through the monitor at that face she had thought about all night, laughing foolishly. As she laughed, however, the depths of her eyes gradually sank, and a thick, inseparable sourness spread out.
Let him go…
This thought had entangled her from last night until dawn, like a thorn pierced into the softest part of her heart.
She thought that he should have freedom, sunlight, and a life where he didn’t have to curl up and cry or carefully try to please someone.
But she couldn’t bear to let go; she couldn’t let him leave.
She had pressed all her insecurity and paranoia onto this frail youth.
She could say it; she could tell him: “You should go; go live the life you want.”
But she couldn’t say those words, and she certainly couldn’t do it.
Just the thought of him walking out that door and never looking back — the thought of him smiling at others in the future, relying on others, and forgetting her entirely — made her entire body go cold. Even her breathing felt painful.
She couldn’t do it; she really couldn’t let go!
On the screen, the youth’s eyes were red as he painted seriously, stroke by stroke. Beneath his brush was her blurred likeness, painted with caution and a terrified attempt to please her.
The redness in the corners of his eyes made her heart throb with waves of pain.
Ye Moran’s fingertips lightly touched the cold screen, tracing the redness at the corners of his eyes.
Was she bad?
She was wicked to the core.
On one hand, she thought about returning his freedom, while on the other, she personally trapped him by her side. On one hand, her heart ached for his tears, while on the other, she used the most cruel methods to force him to be obedient.
She was repeatedly pulled between ‘letting go’ and ‘not letting go,’ as if being torn into two halves.
If she let go, she would go crazy.
If she didn’t, he would be in pain and would be hurt even more by her.
“Wait a little longer… just stay by my side obediently for a little while longer, just for a little while…”
Her voice was hoarse, carrying a deep paranoia and infatuation.