Chapter 28: Study

“Huff… huff…”

He Rou gasped for breath as a massive amount of blood rushed to replenish her oxygen-deprived, blood-starved brain.

At this rate, she’d get a cerebral hemorrhage sooner or later.

After her violent outburst ended, Luo Yun knelt beside He Rou once more, and the twisted expression on her face returned to the gentle look she’d worn when she first entered the room.

“Good girl… good girl…”

Then she picked He Rou up and walked out.

“Xiao Rou needs to study, otherwise it’ll be hard to keep up with the teacher at school.”

Still not recovered from the suffocation, He Rou didn’t hear a word she said.

She only knew she was being carried again, and the harsh ceiling lights were moving.

One… two… door frames… and finally, her gaze returned to that garish, colorful ceiling.

She wondered… was she leaving?

Would she stay outside for a bit, then have to go back somewhere?

Maybe that room wasn’t her room.

Maybe her disobedience had punished her with confinement in that room.

She didn’t want to go there again.

She’d rather be beaten every day than go back.

He Rou stared blankly at the shifting ceiling.

She didn’t know what else was waiting for her.

“Must… be good…”

She murmured the words over and over.

“I know, Xiao Rou is very good.”

Luo Yun looked at the pet in her arms, a sense of achievement from successful domestication flooding her heart.

As for why she alternated between hot and cold toward this pet?

That was how you treated a pet.

If it wasn’t raised right, being disobedient was a small matter; rebelling against the owner was the real issue.

From the time she first met He Rou until now, she had never once treated her as a living human being.

And more than that… this thing still bore the life of her mother on its shoulders.

Besides venting her own discontent, the harm she inflicted on He Rou was mostly driven by a strange psychological urge.

Soon, Luo Yun carried He Rou into a study.

But it was filled with paintings.

Books were tossed carelessly to the side.

Luo Yun set He Rou down in front of an easel.

“Come on… write from memory what I told you on the school rooftop that day.”

“…”

Luo Yun placed a paintbrush in He Rou’s hand.

“If you write it correctly and satisfy me, I’ll… consider treating your wounds. If you’re wrong, then… Xiao Rou should still remember the punishments I mentioned that morning.”

“!”

Receiving the order, He Rou slowly extended the brush and raised it high.

But the easel was a bit high, and since she was sitting on the floor mat, she could only write at the very bottom.

She had long since forgotten most of what Luo Yun said that day.

Besides spending countless days consumed by thoughts of her own meaning due to the pain, the only thing she knew was the word “obey.”

So, right in front of Luo Yun, she wrote down a full page of…

“Obey Luo Yun”

“Mm… that’s wrong, Xiao Rou. It’s ‘obey Master.’”

Luo Yun chuckled softly, bent down, and grabbed her still-writing hand, changing her own name to “Master.”

She wasn’t concerned about the correct answer; she just wanted to see an answer that satisfied her.

She only wanted to know if her taming these past few days had been effective.

If she kept beating He Rou like that, she’d die soon enough.

So she didn’t want to see that happen.

She still wanted to torment He Rou, torment her for a lifetime.

Her mother had died for He Rou, so He Rou ought to stay by her side forever.

After it was done, Luo Yun brought out a huge pile of books.

Her plan for today was to stuff He Rou with knowledge.

At least, she needed to learn the basics.

She couldn’t just enjoy the present; she had to look toward the future.

What would she herself be like in the future?

What would He Rou be like?

At the very least, she had to be fully prepared for the road ahead.

——

Throughout the study session, Luo Yun’s tone was very gentle—so gentle it almost fooled He Rou.

If not for the wound on her leg, she might have truly sunk into that gentle warmth.

When night fell and the study session ended,

Luo Yun stood up and set He Rou aside.

“Today’s Xiao Rou was very good. I’ll allow you to move freely here. Oh, right, I’ve applied for a month’s leave for you. When the time comes, whether your leg hurts or not, you have to go to school.”

Then Luo Yun left the room.

Only He Rou remained.

He Rou squinted.

She had been sleepy for a while.

But her stomach was cramping.

It hurt badly.

She was starving.

In the end, Luo Yun hadn’t given her any food.

So she looked around, hoping to find something she could stuff into her belly.

This study room was huge—so big that He Rou feared she’d tire herself out before she could even make a full round.

She started with the nearest bookshelf.

The bottom row, within arm’s reach.

Then the second row… as for the third row, she couldn’t reach it, so she didn’t bother.

Crawling all the time was exhausting and painful.

Especially since she had no clothes on.

Any little bump would send waves of agony through her.

Soon, she had explored the entire study room.

There was nothing edible here.

With no other choice, she turned her gaze to the rows of books.

“Rip—”

She tore out a page, put it in her mouth, and chewed.

It tasted terrible.

Chewing it required a lot of effort, and it soaked up all her saliva.

Finally, after raising her thirst level to a new high, she swallowed the whole sheet.

But it wasn’t enough.

She was still so hungry.

She needed to find food.

In such a desperate situation, He Rou’s vacant gaze slowly turned toward the wooden door behind her.

It was so exquisite.

The surface was carved with some kind of story scene she couldn’t identify.

But He Rou didn’t care.

She had stayed in this villa for three full years and knew all the places where food was regularly stored.

But going out without permission would definitely bring punishment.

This was a choice.

One: starve to death.

Two: get beaten to death.

Both seemed like correct answers.

“Death”

No…

Luo Yun wouldn’t let her die; she would only torment her.

But starving to death was a real death.

Compared to being tormented, death was preferable.

Go out or not.

Starve or be tormented.

These two questions, like a devil and an angel, swirled madly around He Rou’s mind.

But as she was thinking,

Her body, following some unknown will, had already crawled to the door.

Snapping back to reality, He Rou looked at her current situation.

She doubted herself.

She hadn’t moved at all—how had she gotten here?

“…”

At that moment, He Rou felt a flicker of fear.

This strange sensation had appeared not too long ago.

She clearly didn’t want to resist, but her hands would unconsciously block.

‘Am I… even still me?’