Su Ling’s heart pounded wildly, and he subconsciously lightened his breathing, terrified that Ye Moran might suddenly return and find him.
With trembling fingertips, he tapped on the social media app he had just finished downloading. He quickly registered an account, choosing a soft white cat as his profile picture.
Su Ling hesitated for a moment over the nickname before filling in two words.
Maomao!
He filled in the rest of the information randomly. He didn’t dare use any real information for fear of being discovered by people from his past, even setting his gender to private.
Not long after the registration was successful, a friend request popped up in his message list.
Su Ling looked at the stranger, whose profile picture was a cup of coffee. He hesitated for a long time before cautiously clicking to accept.
***
[Hello]
As soon as the request was accepted, the other party sent a message.
Su Ling typed “Hello” in response.
[Hello there! Can we be friends?]
‘Friends?’ Su Ling was stunned. He had a friend again. Including Lu Yu from before, and now adding this one, he already had two friends.
[What’s wrong? Are you unwilling?]
[No, I’m very willing. Thank you for being my friend.]
Seeing the words the other party typed, Su Ling immediately realized he hadn’t responded at all. He quickly typed out what he wanted to say.
After finishing, he prayed in his heart. He prayed the other person wouldn’t be angry and would still be willing to be his friend.
[Hehe, that’s good!]
[Then from today on, we are friends!]
[Hugs!]
Looking at the hug emoji the other party sent, Su Ling thought for a moment and typed the word “hugs” as well. The phone automatically suggested a hugging emoji, and he selected one to send back.
On the other side of the phone, Nangong Wan looked at the emoji that had been sent. A long-absent smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
When she had bought this mobile phone for Ye Jin, she hadn’t tampered with the device itself, but she had tampered with the SIM card. As long as Ye Jin used this phone number to register for social media or similar apps, she would receive the information immediately.
Originally, she thought the phone had been confiscated by that woman, Ye Moran. She hadn’t expected it to still be in Ye Jin’s hands. This way, she could stay in contact with him!
Thinking of this, she glanced at the additional floor on the building near the mountain not far away. A look of determined possessiveness erupted in her eyes.
She continued typing on the phone, testing him step by step and casually sending words of concern.
Su Ling huddled in the closet, holding the phone. His fingertips felt slightly warm from nervousness and happiness. Every word of concern from the other party was like a little sun falling into his heart, making him feel as if he weren’t locked up, but still living happily as he did before.
[Maomao, are you all alone right now?]
Su Ling’s nose felt a bit stingy. He typed quickly.
[Yes… it’s just me.]
He didn’t dare say he was being kept in confinement, he didn’t dare mention Ye Moran, and he certainly didn’t dare reveal his location. He only dared to cautiously reveal a tiny bit of his emotion.
Watching the words on the screen, Nangong Wan’s eyes were a mix of heartache and coldness. Her gaze was fixed on the extra floor of the building.
That floor was held firmly in the air by several steel brackets. The only connection between it and the other floors was a narrow elevator.
Thinking of Ye Jin staying in that room all by himself, a wave of uncontrollable anger welled up in her heart.
‘That beast, Ye Moran. She snatched him away but doesn’t know how to treat him well. Instead of staying with him, she actually leaves him alone in a place like that.’
‘She is an absolute bastard!’
But there was nothing she could do yet. With her current strength, she was still unable to confront Ye Moran. She could only continue typing, hoping to comfort the little fellow.
[Then I’ll chat with you from now on, okay? Whenever you want to talk, you can find me.]
[If someone bullies you, you can tell me too.]
[Thank you, friend.]
Nangong Wan looked at that line of text, and her heart felt as if it were being gripped hard, aching with tightness. She stared intently at the floor suspended in mid-air like a cage, her nails digging deep into her palms.
‘Just wait… just a little longer. I will definitely rescue him from Ye Moran’s hands.’
She took a deep breath, trying to make her tone sound as relaxed and warm as possible.
[No need to thank me. We’re friends, and friends should care for and look after each other!]
[By the way, Maomao, do you… usually get to go out?]
Su Ling’s typing motion froze instantly.
‘Go out?’
He had already lost the right to go out. He feared he would never be able to leave this place for the rest of his life. He would stay here forever and ever, until he grew old and died.
He pursed his lips tightly as tears fell, splashing onto the screen. He wiped them away and typed a reply.
[I can’t… I can’t go anywhere.]
Nangong Suo’s heart sank completely. It was exactly as she had guessed. Ye Moran had truly and completely placed him in confinement.
She was about to ask more when, from outside the closet, a very light footstep suddenly echoed—one enough to make Su Ling’s soul scatter.
Tap, tap, tap!!!
The footsteps stopped in front of the closet and went still.
Su Ling’s blood froze instantly. His cat ears snapped upright, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably. He scrambled to turn off the phone, but his fingertips were weak, and he couldn’t hit the button accurately.
In the next second, a voice so gentle it was almost eerie slowly drifted through the thin wooden panel of the closet door.
“Little fellow, hiding inside… are you in there? Why are you hiding in there?”
It was Ye Moran.
She was back!
Su Ling covered his mouth tightly, not daring to make even the slightest sound of crying.
Inside the closet, it was cramped and dark. Only the phone screen still glowed faintly, illuminating his deathly pale face. Su Ling could clearly hear Ye Moran just outside the door. Her breathing was so light it was almost non-existent, yet it felt like a net slowly closing over him.
“Little fellow, come out, okay?”
The woman’s voice remained gentle, so gentle it made one’s heart race with fear.
“It’s so stuffy hiding in there. If you stay like this, Elder Sister will get angry.”
Su Ling’s teeth chattered. His fingers pressed desperately on the power button, but the more panicked he became, the more he fumbled. The screen refused to go dark.
Inside the chat box, Nangong Suo was still sending messages incessantly—
[Maomao? What’s wrong?]
[Did something happen?!]
The moment the closet door was pulled open, everything would be over. The hidden phone, the secret friend, everything… would be torn to pieces.
He huddled in the deepest corner of the closet, his back pressed tight against the wood. His cat ears were strained into straight lines as tears flowed silently down his cheeks.
The outside of the closet remained quiet for a few seconds.
In the next moment, the closet door was pulled open gently, yet with an irresistible force.
The moment light flooded in, Su Ling slammed his eyes shut. The phone slipped from his weakened hand.
Ye Moran looked down, quietly watching the little fellow curled into a ball and trembling with fear. Her gaze landed on the still-lit phone.
The chat history on the screen, the nickname “Maomao,” the cat profile picture, and that stinging sentence “I can’t go anywhere”… word for word, it was all perfectly clear.
She slowly crouched down, her fingertips gently lifting Su Ling’s tear-stained chin. Her smile remained gentle, but there wasn’t a hint of warmth in the depths of her eyes.
“Little fellow, it’s only been how long? Not even half a day, and you’re being naughty again.”
“To think you actually hid a phone behind my back and even… made a friend outside!”
Su Ling’s entire body shuddered violently. His tears flowed even harder as he sobbed and whispered a plea for mercy.
“Sister… Elder Sister… I was wrong… I won’t do it again…”
Ye Moran didn’t scold him or act fierce. She simply picked up the phone, her fingertip sliding lightly across the screen.
When she saw the contact information on the other end, her eyes darkened slightly. Then, she curled her lips into an ambiguous smile.
“Do you know who you were chatting with?”
Ye Moran’s finger tapped lightly on the screen as she slowly typed out two words.
[Get Lost!]