“Waaah, no!”
“I don’t want to go to that kind of place. I don’t want to go. You can’t do this to me. I’ll hate you.”
“Then be a good boy, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll be good, I’ll be good. I’ll never run away again.”
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry.”
“I—I have no way of escaping. I was just thinking about it.”
“Even thinking about it isn’t allowed!”
“I… I understand. I won’t think about it anymore.”
Su Ling took the initiative to hug her. He knelt on the ground and looked up, revealing a pair of pitiful little eyes. Coupled with his small face, which was flushed red from a high fever, he looked exceptionally pathetic.
“I—I have nothing left. Even if I ran away from here, I wouldn’t know where to go. I really was just thinking about it.”
“I promise I won’t think like that ever again. I’m begging you, Sister, don’t send me to that kind of place, okay?”
Su Ling shook her body, trying to get a definite answer from her.
Ye Moran looked down at the little fellow. Seeing his fragile and pitiable appearance, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Little fellow, you really are a bit of a clever one.”
“To beg for mercy, you’d even say things like that.
“I haven’t forgotten that you still have friends. You’d go find your friend after escaping, so don’t give me that nonsense about having nowhere to go!
“Having nowhere to go is just a lie you’re using to deceive me!”
“No, no, I didn’t think that. I really have nowhere to go. I wouldn’t go looking for her.”
Su Ling explained in a panic, his tone carrying a hint of grievance. He really hadn’t thought that way; he had always been someone who didn’t want to trouble others.
How could he possibly go to Nangong Wan?
“I really didn’t think that. What will it take for you to believe me?”
Su Ling wept. He only felt that his body was exhausted, his heart was tired, and the heaviness in his head was becoming more and more intense.
Ye Moran was about to say something when she noticed the little fellow look away. She became instantly displeased and forcefully pinched his chin, lifting him up.
“Look at me!”
Su Ling felt a sense of suffocation and struggled twice with all his might, but he couldn’t break free. Gradually, he gave up struggling. His body was so tired.
He didn’t want to move at all. It felt like being strangled to death like this wouldn’t be so bad.
He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into chaos.
Ye Moran saw that the little fellow struggled twice at the beginning, but after a moment, he became limp, as if he had lost all his strength in an instant!
She immediately realized something was wrong and placed the little fellow on the chair.
“You—what’s wrong? Don’t scare me, don’t scare me.”
Her frantic and helpless appearance was exactly like a child who was about to lose their favorite toy, or like a child who had done something wrong.
She tremblingly extended her finger and placed it under the little fellow’s nose. Feeling his scorching breath, her panicked heart gradually calmed down.
Her palm touched the little fellow’s forehead. The searing temperature made her frown instantly.
This little fellow got sick at just the right time. Before she could even punish him, he had fallen ill!
‘Forget it, I’ll let him off this once!’
Thinking this, she took out her mobile phone and called Qin Siyu directly, telling her to find a doctor to come over.
***
Su Ling opened his eyes. His head was still a bit heavy, and his thoughts weren’t very clear. He subconsciously swallowed, and his dry throat immediately sent back feedback!
A stabbing pain made it take a long time for him to difficultly swallow that mouthful of saliva.
“Have some water!”
Ye Moran sat to the side. Seeing the little fellow was awake, she handed a cup of honey water she had already prepared to him.
Su Ling looked at her as if he were thinking about something. After a moment, he struggled to support his body and slowly sat up.
Taking the cup of honey water, he swallowed cautiously, for fear of triggering that stinging pain again.
Ye Moran rested her chin on one hand, watching the little fellow’s weak appearance as he even drank water with such caution. Her throat tightened, and her tone unconsciously softened, though it still carried a trace of unavoidable firmness.
“Drink slowly. No one is going to take it from you.”
“The doctor will be here soon. Lie down properly. You’re not allowed to move around anymore, and you’re certainly not allowed to think about those messy things again.”
Su Ling’s hand holding the water cup paused, and he nodded gently. His voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, carrying the hoarseness and softness of illness.
“I understand, Sister.”
He didn’t dare to be disobedient or make her angry again. At this moment, he was like a small beast that had its edges completely worn away, leaving only obedience and cowardice.
Ye Moran watched his submissive appearance, and the fire in her heart mostly dissipated. However, she couldn’t help but reach out and gently pinch his chin, forcing him to look up and meet her gaze.
Her fingertips were slightly cool as they brushed against his hot cheeks, and her tone deepened.
“Consider yourself lucky this time. Since you’re sick, I won’t settle the score for your escape yet.”
“But little fellow, I’m warning you, this is the last time.”
“Once you’re better, if you dare lie to me again, or if you dare have the slightest thought of escaping…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but the danger and obsession in her eyes said everything.
Su Ling trembled all over. His eyes instantly turned red again, and tears welled up, but he bit his lip hard, not daring to let them fall. He nodded vigorously, fearing that being a second too slow would make the person in front of him angry again.
“I won’t… Sister, I really won’t…”
Su Ling was truly afraid this time. He was afraid of that scorching room, afraid of those cold threats, and even more afraid of that Young Slave Pavilion he didn’t even dare to hear about.
Ye Moran saw the little fellow on the verge of tears, and her heart softened. She finally let go and reached out to gently brush the sweat-soaked hair from his forehead. Her movements carried a rare trace of genuine tenderness.
“Be a good boy and stay by my side. I won’t let anyone bully you, nor will I let you be mistreated.”
“As long as you are obedient, I can give you anything.”
‘Except, never think about leaving.’
She didn’t say these words out loud, but they were deeply etched in her eyes!
Su Ling leaned against the headboard, taking small sips of the honey water. Listening to her gentle words, he only felt a heart full of bitterness.
He didn’t want to be like this, but it seemed he had no choice. As for escaping, it was really just a thought. After escaping, he truly had nowhere to go. The only place he could think of was his former home, but there was no longer a place for him there.
Naturally, he thought of Jiang Yu, the True Young Master. In his memory, Jiang Yu was always expressionless. He had tried to please him at the beginning, but he was rejected coldly every time. It was as if there was an invisible wall between them!
*Click, clack, click, clack!!!*
Two sets of footsteps echoed from outside the door. Before long, the door was pushed open, and Ye Moran walked in with a doctor.
But when Su Ling looked up and saw the doctor, his pupils suddenly constricted, and his body immediately tensed up.
It was that doctor—the one who made him feel terrified!
The woman glanced around indifferently. Ye Moran didn’t speak. The doctor walked straight over, sat on the edge of the little fellow’s bed, and reached out to touch his forehead.
“It’s a bit serious. Let’s try an IV drip first. I’ll prescribe some medicine as well. If that doesn’t work, we’ll give him an injection.”
The woman’s tone was indifferent. Under her gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes were slightly downcast, appearing uninterested in everything around her.
“Mhm, thank you for your trouble.”
Ye Moran nodded slightly, then glanced at the little fellow, an imperceptible smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
The little fellow looked at her with pleading eyes, but he didn’t dare speak. He didn’t even dare to breathe heavily.
He really wanted to say that he didn’t want an injection. He had been afraid of needles since he was a child—always afraid. Especially the feeling of watching a syringe pierce through flesh; just thinking about that image made him tremble uncontrollably with fear!
Ye Moran was naturally aware of this, so she had already planned the means for the little fellow’s punishment in her head!