Lu Shiyu smiled. “Don’t worry. It won’t harm you physically, but without relief, you’ll feel very uncomfortable.”
The effects of the drug were spreading, and Su Tao’s breathing became increasingly rapid.
A faint blush spread across her skin, and her entire body felt unbearably warm.
She trembled, shifting restlessly against the leather recliner as she struggled to ease the discomfort.
But the effects of the drug grew stronger, and the strange sensation deep within her became increasingly intense.
She bit down hard on her lower lip, desperately trying to remain conscious until her lips turned pale.
Lu Shiyu gently caressed her cheek, his thumb brushing away the tears at the corner of her eye.
“You poor thing.”
Su Tao instinctively followed his hand, pressing her cheek against his palm. Her lips moved slightly, like a little cat seeking shelter.
“I was wrong, Lu Shiyu. Please.”
Lu Shiyu looked down at her. His fingers passed through the damp strands of hair at her temples and gently tucked them behind her ear.
“I’ll give you what you want. As long as you behave.”
He stood and walked toward the black metal rack.
Su Tao heard a faint sound.
Lu Shiyu took something from the storage box beneath the rack.
It was a small metal plate.
It looked like something from a science-fiction movie, similar to a brain-computer interface.
Lu Shiyu connected the data cable attached to the metal plate to a black device.
The device had a matte-black casing with no markings.
He placed the metal plate against her temple.
A green indicator light came on atop the black machine.
“The effects should last about four hours,” he said as he stood. “I’ll ask you a few questions. If you lie…”
He paused.
“You’ll be punished.”
Su Tao’s consciousness was gradually being consumed by the drug, and her reasoning was slowly beginning to collapse.
“Fachai… Fachai… help me…” she murmured through her tears.
Lu Shiyu leaned closer.
“Who are you talking to?”
Su Tao opened her eyes and realized that her lips had been moving. She had accidentally spoken the thoughts in her mind aloud.
She did not answer and turned her face away.
His gaze remained fixed on her.
“Is it the system?”
Su Tao immediately turned back, her pupils shrinking.
How could he know?
She had never told him anything.
Lu Shiyu watched her shocked expression and tilted his head slightly.
“You’re wondering how I knew, aren’t you?”
He straightened and slowly walked toward the black rack, casually running his fingers over it.
The instruments clinked softly.
“Everyone has secrets. People think that if they keep quiet, others will never find out. But… as long as someone lives, they leave traces behind.”
He turned around and smiled at her.
“I hacked your phone. Your search history told me everything. You don’t belong here, do you?”
Su Tao bit her lip and did not dare say a word.
When the system first bound itself to her, it had warned her that revealing its existence to characters from the book would cost her life points.
If the situation was serious enough, she would be erased completely.
He walked over and held her chin, his thumb gently brushing against it.
“From the very first day you appeared, I knew you weren’t Su Tao. Apart from your face, there isn’t a single thing about you that is the same.”
He paused and lifted her face toward him. His deep black eyes seemed to look straight through her.
“Why did you come to me? What are you really here for?”
Su Tao clenched her teeth and remained silent.
“Not going to tell me?”
Lu Shiyu tilted his head. His expression remained completely calm.
“Then you’ll have to accept your punishment.”
He leaned down, one hand resting against the back of the chair beside her, his shadow completely covering her.
With his other hand holding her chin, he lowered his head and kissed her.
The sudden kiss left Su Tao overwhelmed. Her mind went blank, and her body trembled uncontrollably as the effects of the drug intensified.
But he did not go any further. He simply kept kissing her, leaving her caught between hope and discomfort.
When he finally pulled away, he watched her trembling and spoke softly.
“Taotao, you need to be more honest with me. The effects have only just begun. It’ll become harder for you soon.”
Su Tao raised her tear-filled eyes, her voice already broken.
“Please… let me go…”
“What is it that you really want?” Lu Shiyu looked at her, his voice gentle. “Tell me. I’ll give it to you.”
Su Tao’s consciousness was already hazy. Her lips moved slightly.
“I want… to break up.”
The lie detector remained silent.
Lu Shiyu said nothing. Then he reached out and gently wiped away the tear hanging from her chin.
“One last question. Tell me the truth, and I’ll let you go.”
He leaned closer until their faces were almost touching.
“Do you love me?”
His deep black eyes remained fixed on hers, as though waiting for a final verdict.
Su Tao looked at him through her tears.
The effects of the drug were still overwhelming her.
The cool surface of the lie detector remained against her skin.
She could lie. Perhaps then he would show her some mercy.
But Lu Shiyu had already said that she was terrible at lying.
She could not fool the lie detector, and she certainly could not fool Lu Shiyu.
“No,” she whispered.
The lie detector remained silent.
The secret room was utterly quiet.
The red light stretched Lu Shiyu’s shadow across the floor.
Su Tao closed her eyes, afraid to see his expression.
Lu Shiyu held her chin.
“You’re lying.”
His lips brushed her cheek, gently wiping away the traces of tears.
“The punishment continues.”
He kissed her for a long time.
His touch remained gentle as he kissed away the tears on her face and lingered close to her, never allowing the moment to go any further.
Su Tao’s consciousness gradually faded.
Her reason was like a sandcastle repeatedly washed by the tide, slowly collapsing and dissolving.
She heard herself crying and pleading, calling his name in a broken voice.
Yet he remained silent.
He slowly took things down from the rack one by one.
He watched her struggle, plead, and finally break down.
He forced her to say things that made her ashamed.
He taught her the words one by one and made her repeat them again and again.
Until her voice became hoarse and only faint, helpless sounds remained.
Until she was exhausted and marked by everything that had happened, he finally showed her mercy.
In the end, he held her tightly, as though he wanted to keep her close enough that she could never leave him again.
He lowered his head and pressed a trembling kiss against the back of her neck.
“You’re mine.”
When Su Tao woke up, she was still in the secret room.
There was a bed now.
The restraints had been removed, and her body had been cleaned. She was wearing a clean T-shirt.
It belonged to Lu Shiyu. The collar was loose enough to expose one shoulder.
“Awake?”
Lu Shiyu’s voice came from beside her.
Su Tao stiffly turned her head.
He was sitting on a chair beside the bed.
He had changed into clean home clothes and was holding a bowl in his hands. His expression was calm and gentle.
Su Tao caught the scent of food.
“Eat something.”
He handed her the bowl.
It was porridge.
Su Tao did not take it.
She looked at him, her eyes turning red again.
“When you left the house today, had you already decided to keep me locked up here?”
Her voice was painfully hoarse.
Lu Shiyu was silent for a moment before shaking his head.
“Last week, while you were asleep, you talked in your sleep. You said you wanted to break up with me. That was when I decided I wouldn’t let you leave me.”
Su Tao gripped the edge of the blanket, her fingers trembling.
She looked at the man before her.
She felt as though she no longer knew him.
Or perhaps this was the real him all along.
Just then, a burst of electrical static sounded.
Fachai’s voice came through intermittently.
【Host, because the male lead has deviated severely from the original plot, causing the world to collapse, I can now provide you with one chance to rewind time.】
【You may abandon your current target, Lu Shiyu. The system will erase all memories related to this character and reset the timeline to the beginning of the mission. You can then continue pursuing other characters to complete the mission.】
【Please confirm: Do you wish to abandon Lu Shiyu as your target?】