By the time Gao Hongyi returned, the sky was almost dark.
Gu Yebai had been home alone for an entire day again.
He wanted to step out the front door, wanted to gradually explore the map’s fog of war like in a game, to better understand Donghai City, and also wanted to properly make friends with some like-minded people.
Unfortunately, Gu Yebai couldn’t.
It wasn’t that Gu Yebai hadn’t tried to walk out the door, but every time he was about to, there was a feeling.
The cameras behind him seemed to come alive, staring fixedly at his back.
The collar around his neck suddenly tightened—not actually choking, just that faint, almost imperceptible sense of suffocation, a chill crawling down his spine, freezing him instantly.
His fingers unconsciously rubbed the silver-gray chain on the collar and the pendant at its center…
The gem felt ice-cold.
Others might say, “Totally hairless, but classy,” but in reality, this was a GPS tracker.
The ruby was like a drop of blood congealed on his skin.
“Hongyi should be back soon.”
As soon as he said that, the elevator gave a soft ding, disrupting Gu Yebai’s thoughts.
Since he was by the door, Gu Yebai heard it and opened the door accordingly.
“Bai Shu——”
The red-haired girl drew out the word, her Oxford shoes making a crisp, pleasant sound on the floor.
Then, with a leap of her lithe body, without even changing her shoes, she pounced on him directly, wrapping her arms around Gu Yebai’s waist, burying her entire face in the crook of his neck, and taking a deep breath.
“I missed you so much today… missed you…”
Her voice was muffled in his collar.
“I watched you all day. You were really good today. Although you stood at the door a few times, like you wanted to leave the house without permission, you didn’t do anything stupid…”
Gu Yebai’s body stiffened slightly, and he subconsciously raised his hand to keep some distance from her.
But halfway, his hand slowly fell onto her back, gently patting her, as if to soothe her, and also to comfort himself.
“…You’re back. I missed you too.”
“Mm.”
She lifted her head, her wine-red hair brushing against his chin, tickling him numb.
Her eyes sparkled, as if soaked in honey, reflecting the lamplight.
“Did you eat well today?”
“Yes.”
“Did you eat meat too?”
“Yes.”
Gao Hongyi curled her lips in satisfaction.
Her fingertips traced down along his Adam’s apple, gently hooking the thin chain of the collar.
With a slight tug, the chain pulled taut, and a chill instantly crawled across his skin.
She didn’t actually choke him, just maintained that faint, almost imperceptible pull, as if silently reminding him: Even the rhythm of your breath is in my hands now.
“So good.”
She stood on tiptoe, her lips against his ear, hot breath spilling out with the scent of roses.
“A reward for you.”
Before he could react, she was already kissing him.
This kiss wasn’t as urgent as the one at the entrance; it was a wet, lingering, possessive deep kiss.
Her tongue probed in, as if tracing his outline bit by bit, inch by inch, not missing any corner.
Gu Yebai’s breathing was completely disrupted.
His hands gripped the back of her school uniform, knuckles white, yet he dared not push her away, only passively enduring until she finally pulled back a little, her forehead against his, eyelashes trembling like butterfly wings wet with dew.
“Bai Shu… seems a bit unhappy today?”
“When I was at school, I was watching you the whole time. You stood on the balcony for a long time, staring off into space. Are you too bored at home?”
Gu Yebai’s heart clenched.
He instinctively denied it.
“No.”
“Liar.”
“I’ve been watching Bai Shu all day today, you know.”
Gao Hongyi laughed softly, as if stating something perfectly natural.
“I know you kicked off your blanket twice today. The first time at 10:07 AM, it seemed intentional—you’ll catch cold like that. From 1:22 PM to 1:45 PM, you went to the bathroom three times; I’m a bit worried your kidneys aren’t very healthy.”
“Also, don’t bother trying to find the camera in the bathroom; you won’t find it… At 3:09 PM, you stood on the balcony for 17 minutes and 8 seconds. The wind messed up your hair badly. I wanted so badly to hug you from behind, bury my face in the back of your neck, and block the wind for you.”
She said it so naturally, like talking about the weather, but every detail was like a fine needle, precisely piercing Gu Yebai’s spine.
He suddenly felt a chill run down his back.
Previously, when he came across those “voyeur” memes online, he thought they were pretty funny.
Today in the reader group, someone even said they wished a beautiful girl would stalk them 24/7.
But now that it was happening to him—being watched from morning till night like a prisoner under surveillance, every tiny movement dissected, recorded, and analyzed—it really wasn’t funny.
It was even a bit creepy.
That feeling of being seen through from the inside out was like standing naked under a spotlight, with nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.
But even more terrifying was that he had let his heart get used to this terrible thing.
He even comforted himself internally: ‘Just endure a little longer; school is starting soon.’
Once school starts, meeting new friends and a new environment, maybe it will get better.
At least… there will be room to breathe.
He thought this, but didn’t dare say it out loud.
Gao Hongyi seemed to see through his thoughts and smiled even more sweetly.
She let go of the chain, turned around, and went to the entrance to change shoes.
Her movements were light and quick, as if she had to control herself.
Actually, Gao Hongyi really was a perfect sixteen-year-old high school girl.
“It’s okay. It’s almost the weekend anyway. We can go out together, like when we first came to Donghai and rode the Ferris wheel… Do you remember? The wind was strong that day. You put your coat over me, said you were afraid I’d be cold. But I said I’d rather we cuddle together and let your body be my coat.”
“Ah, and Bai Shu took the initiative to kiss me. I still dream about it often. I’m so happy. We must create even more happy memories!”
After changing into slippers, she walked back, her fingers twirling the chain of the collar again, circling it for fun, but not enough to choke Gu Yebai.
“Actually, I know you get bored staying home, but… as long as I think that you might be outside, seen by others, approached by others, I can’t control myself.”
Her voice gradually lowered, almost a murmur.
“So, on the weekend, I’ll always be with you, just the two of us.”
“Aquarium, movie theater, or park—I’ll be with you. On the weekend, even if we take time to go to Seoul or Tokyo, it’s fine. Like going to Sensō-ji Temple would be pretty nice. Bai Shu hasn’t been abroad, right?”
“Why Sensō-ji? Not Akihabara, or even Kyoto?”
“Because Bai Shu…”
“Sensō-ji.”
Gao Hongyi hugged him tightly.
“I like Bai Shu the most.”
“Don’t take it to heart~”
“Okay, let’s go to the sofa. You have to hold me in your arms and spoil me, okay?”
Gu Yebai held her delicate body.
He felt that he was really completely controlled in every way.
No room to breathe.
At 6:30 PM, the butler silently pushed in a silver cart, the wheels gliding over the carpet almost soundlessly, and set out tonight’s dinner one by one on the table.
The main course was a truffle Wagyu fillet rich with black pepper aroma, accompanied by lobster tail in lemon butter sauce and golden crispy grilled scallops.
The side dishes were silky foie gras drizzled with sweet and sour fig sauce, plus tender roasted asparagus sprinkled with sea salt.
The dessert was raspberry macarons with vanilla ice cream drizzled with hot chocolate sauce, the sauce melting and flowing slowly like dark blood vessels.
Gu Yebai and Gao Hongyi sat at the dining table.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the bright lights of the Bund.
In front of the table was extreme luxury…
“Open wide, ah——”
Gao Hongyi cut the Wagyu fillet into small pieces, speared one with a fork, and held it to Gu Yebai’s mouth, smiling especially sweetly.
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