The next day, Su Ling’s body had recovered significantly, but he continued to pretend he couldn’t move, lying still in bed.
After Gu Qingyuan impatiently finished feeding him, she went to another room to play games.
Su Ling waited for a while to ensure she wouldn’t return anytime soon before he light-footedly climbed out of bed. He stepped onto the slightly cool floor with bare feet, keeping his breathing extremely shallow, terrified that even the slightest noise would draw Gu Qingyuan from the room next door.
He braced himself against the cold wall and slowly straightened his body. The places where he had been injured still throbbed with a dull ache, but it couldn’t compare to the urgency and fear surging in his heart. He didn’t dare turn on the light, relying only on the faint glow from the window to grope his way toward the door.
With every step, he stopped to listen for a moment. The intermittent sound effects from the game in the next room became his best cover.
When his fingertips touched the icy doorknob, Su Ling’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest. He slowly turned the handle, not daring to use force for fear that the friction of the metal would make a piercing sound.
The crack in the door widened inch by inch. Light from the hallway spilled in, falling across his pale face and reflecting the determined light in his eyes.
As long as he could get out of this door, as long as he could leave this place…
He held his breath and slowly lifted his foot, preparing to take the first step.
Su Ling pressed himself against the door, pulling it open bit by bit. Since he wasn’t wearing shoes, the cold sensation of the floor spread from the soles of his feet, instantly clearing his muddled mind.
Every movement of his injured leg brought a surge of dull pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured it, refusing to let even a faint groan escape.
In the room next door, the sound effects of Gu Qingyuan’s game continued to echo, occasionally mixed with a few impatient, low-voiced curses. She didn’t seem to have noticed the commotion at all.
The gap in the door grew wider. Just a little more, and he could leave!
Su Ling covered his chest. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it would explode. His palms were slick with cold sweat, and he didn’t even dare to breathe heavily.
Just as the door was open wide enough for him to slip through, the game audio in the next room abruptly stopped!
The entire house fell into a deathly silence.
Su Ling’s movements froze instantly. His blood felt like it had turned to ice, and he even forgot to breathe.
‘No, I have to run!’
His mind went completely blank, and he immediately bolted.
Gu Qingyuan saw the fleeing figure the moment she stepped out, but she merely narrowed her eyes. She didn’t give chase. Instead, she unhurriedly poured herself a glass of water and returned to the Game Room.
Su Ling ran forward recklessly. Just as a sense of joy began to sprout in his heart, he was grabbed by the back of his collar.
A woman dressed in a black trench coat appeared behind him. Su Ling turned his head blankly, only to see a familiar face—
Gu Qingyuan!
‘How is she so fast? I clearly ran quite a distance!’
“Let me go! Waaaah, no!”
“Please, let me go! I don’t want to go back! Sob—”
The “Gu Qingyuan” remained expressionless, carrying Su Ling back toward the room.
However, once they reached the Game Room, Su Ling stopped crying. The sounds coming from inside the room made it difficult for his brain to process the situation.
Who was in the room?
Was it Gu Qingyuan?
Then who was the person in front of him?
The game sound effects inside were still playing intermittently, and that familiar, impatient figure was clearly sitting in front of the screen.
Meanwhile, Su Ling was held firmly by the collar by a cold, powerful hand, suspended in mid-air. Even his struggle became weak.
He turned his head stiffly, his eyes meeting a pair of eyes that were exactly the same as the person in the room.
The same features, the same cold beauty, and the same air of nonchalant cruelty.
But this woman in the black trench coat carried an aura of deep, bottomless indifference and coldness.
The Gu Qingyuan in the room was still cursing at her teammates, while the “Gu Qingyuan” holding him remained expressionless from beginning to end, like a tool that only knew how to follow orders.
The blood in Su Ling’s body froze instantly. Fear shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Why were there two identical people? Even twins would have some differences, but these two looked as if they had been carved from the same mold. There was no difference at all.
The sound in the room stopped at some point, followed by the rustling sound of slippers rubbing against the floor.
A deeper fear took root in his heart. He wanted to flee, but he was suspended in the air. Even if he used every ounce of his strength, he couldn’t break free.
The door was gently pulled open, and the Gu Qingyuan from inside walked out with a candy in her mouth, looking impatient. Her gaze first landed on Su Ling, who was dangling from the trench-coated woman’s hand, before flickering toward the person who looked exactly like her. She gave a short *tsk*.
“Running? Why aren’t you running anymore?”
She reached out and lightly patted Su Ling’s pale cheek, her fingertips carrying a teasing chill.
“Did you think my place was somewhere you could just leave whenever you wanted?”
Despite his intense fear, Su Ling’s inner confusion and curiosity managed to outweigh his terror.
“Are you… her?”
“She is my Body Double, and she is also the ‘me’ in the eyes of outsiders.”
Su Ling was still lost, unable to fully understand.
“Heh, it’s normal that you don’t know. After all, since that incident happened, the Ye Family no longer has the scale of a Great Family. It would be impossible for them to do something like this.”
The more Gu Qingyuan spoke, the more confused Su Ling became. What incident? What had happened to the Ye Family? Why didn’t he know?
“Alright, you can leave now,” Gu Qingyuan said indifferently.
The Gu Qingyuan in the black trench coat nodded, but she didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she said in a heavy voice, “Your movements need to remain a secret. You can’t be so flamboyant anymore. You also need to stay here.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingyuan instinctively frowned. She was about to refuse when the other woman’s next words cut her off.
“I have already called your parents. They have agreed.”
“Tsk, how annoying!”
Gu Qingyuan kicked a nearby cabinet in frustration, letting out a dull thud, but she ultimately said nothing more.
She was in a terrible mood, and luckily, there was a little thing right in front of her that she could vent on.
Su Ling immediately felt that something was wrong. His cat ears twitched as he looked toward the person holding him as if asking for help.
“What are you looking at her for?”
Gu Qingyuan’s voice was icy. She grabbed Su Ling by the hair, forcing him to look at her.
“Little thing, do you have any idea how angry I am right now?”
With that, she dragged Su Ling by the hair into the Game Room, without sparing a single glance at her so-called Body Double.
The trench-coated Gu Qingyuan merely watched with indifference before withdrawing her gaze. After scanning the house, she chose a decent room for herself.
Meanwhile, Su Ling was in a miserable state inside the Game Room.
Gu Qingyuan threw him aside and went back to her game.
Su Ling knelt on the carpet, rubbing his sore scalp as he stared at her with teary eyes.
This person was completely different from his Elder Sister. Even if he made a mistake, his Sister would never hit him, but this woman actually used violence—not as a lesson, but as pure, brutal physical force!
He missed his Sister. If she knew he had been hit, would his Sister come to save him?
‘She probably… would, right?’