Chapter 22: Remains oppressive.

The opportunity came sooner than she expected.

That day, Ling Yue brought Feng Ling her meal as usual.

Just then, she noticed that besides the food, there was an extra glass of red liquid on the tray.

Feng Ling stared at the glass of blood when a sudden thought flashed through her mind.

“Sister Ling Yue.”

She called out to Ling Yue, who was about to turn and leave.

Ling Yue paused and glanced sideways at her.

“Well… that blood… if you want to drink it, you can… you can drink mine.”

After saying this, Feng Ling’s face instantly flushed red.

Not from embarrassment, but because she felt so pathetic.

Offering her own blood to be drunk.

But this was the only way she could think of to make Sister Ling Yue stay a little longer.

Ling Yue stared at her for a few seconds.

Then she picked up the glass of blood, tilted her head back, and downed it in one go.

After finishing, she set the glass down and walked straight out.

She used her actions to prove to Feng Ling… she didn’t need it.

Feng Ling stood frozen in place.

Rejected… she wouldn’t even drink her blood anymore?

Back then, Sister Ling Yue used to love drinking her blood.

At that moment, something seemed to explode in her chest.

All the grievances, fear, loneliness, and despair surged up at once, but they all got stuck in her throat, choking her until she couldn’t breathe.

“Why?!”

Once the door was fully closed, she finally couldn’t hold it in and screamed out.

“Why the hell! Sister Ling Yue, what do you want from me?!”

But the corridor outside remained silent.

“I said I was wrong! I already said I’m sorry! What else do you want from me! Just say it! Say it! Tell me!”

Seeing no response, Feng Ling rushed to the door and started pounding on it.

“Sister Ling Yue! Come in here and explain! What exactly do you want me to do! You lock me in here and then won’t even talk to me! What are you trying to do! What! Come in now!”

“Do you hear me! Ye Ling Yue! Get in here!”

She called Ling Yue by her full name for the first time, and for the first time, she used the word “get out” with her.

When she heard Ling Yue’s footsteps retreating, Feng Ling slid down the door panel to sit on the floor, gasping for breath.

Tears were coming out again… but she couldn’t be bothered to wipe them away.

She sat there crying for who knows how long… until her tears ran dry, leaving only dry sobs.

Eventually, leaning against the door, she drifted off into a dazed sleep.

…

When she woke up, she found herself lying in bed… she had no idea who had moved her there.

It might have been Sister Ling Yue, or maybe she had sleepwalked over… she couldn’t remember at all.

On the nightstand was a glass of water and a damp towel.

Feng Ling stared at the glass of water for a long time before picking it up and taking a sip.

It was sweet… had a bit of honey been added to it?

Her tears fell again.

But this time she didn’t cry out loud.

She just silently drank the water as tears streamed down her face.

…

In the days that followed, Feng Ling tried many times.

She tried to talk to Ling Yue when she brought meals, tried to catch her attention with all kinds of topics, and even deliberately knocked over the food or made a mess of the room… to see if Ling Yue would react.

Feng Ling discovered that no matter what she said, Ling Yue would listen, but she never responded.

And whatever she did, Ling Yue would clean up, but wouldn’t say a single extra word.

Feng Ling slowly came to understand.

Sister Ling Yue wasn’t ignoring her… she was using silence to tell her: You must pay for deceiving me.

At that moment, a bitter laugh escaped Feng Ling’s lips.

But as she laughed, tears came out too, and she murmured to herself: “What am I, really… a pet? Or a prisoner?”

But no one answered her question.

…

That day, Feng Ling sat on the bed staring blankly as usual.

She had stopped counting the days… and stopped trying to talk to Sister Ling Yue.

She just sat on the bed, staring fixedly at the wall.

The lock clicked.

Ling Yue entered with a tray.

Today’s meal was curry rice, with a small bowl of vegetable salad, a glass of orange juice… and the classic glass of blood.

Feng Ling watched Ling Yue’s retreating figure and suddenly spoke: “Sister Ling Yue, how long are you going to keep this up? A month? A year? Ten years?”

Her voice was so calm it didn’t even sound like her own.

“Or are you planning to never speak to me for the rest of your life?”

Ling Yue stood there without moving.

Then Feng Ling got off the bed and continued: “I know… I was wrong. I shouldn’t have lied to you or tried to run away… I apologized, I admitted my mistake, and I’m trying to make up for it… but what about you? What exactly do you want from me? Just say it… tell me…”

Feng Ling reached out and grabbed the hem of Ling Yue’s clothes.

“Sister Ling Yue, please… say something to me… even if you scold me… I really… I can’t take it anymore… wuu…”

Ling Yue slowly turned around and looked down at her.

There was still no warmth in her eyes, nothing like the tenderness they once held.

“What do you want me to say?” She finally spoke.

Feng Ling’s tears burst out.

“Anything… just… don’t ignore me anymore…”

“I told you, you’re not allowed to leave this room. That’s the punishment.”

“I know! I’m not trying to leave! I just… I just want you to talk to me…”

“Why?”

“Because… because…”

In the end, Feng Ling still couldn’t say anything.

Ling Yue stared at her for a few seconds, then reached out and gently pulled her hand away from the hem of her clothes.

She said softly: “Go back and eat properly.”

“Sister Ling Yue…”

“Go back.”

Feng Ling stared hard at her cold expression.

In the end, she let go, and Ling Yue left once more… locking the door behind her again.

The next moment, Feng Ling picked up the curry rice and mechanically shoved it into her mouth.

The curry was a bit spicy… she used to not handle spice well, but now it didn’t matter.

No taste mattered anymore.

No matter what she ate, it was all the same.

After a few bites, she suddenly hurled the plate to the ground.

“Ahhh—!”

She screamed and started wildly smashing things.

Pillows, blankets, books, cups, combs… everything she could pick up was thrown.

“Why! Why! Why! Whyyyyy!”

She wept heart-wrenchingly as she smashed things.

But even after all that, from outside the door came only the sound of retreating footsteps.

Feng Ling collapsed to the floor, looking at the wreckage of the room… really, she found it utterly ridiculous.

What was she even doing?

Throwing a tantrum?

Acting out?

Did it do any good?

She picked up a shard of broken porcelain and held it in her hand, feeling the sting as the sharp edge cut into her palm.

The vampire’s self-healing ability quickly closed the wound, but the pain remained.

She stared at the disappearing cut on her palm and whispered: “I really want to die…”

But it was incredibly hard for a vampire to die.

She didn’t even have the freedom to die.