Footsteps followed, and Hua Xian immediately grew nervous, the iron chains on her hands rattling uncontrollably.
Hua Xian looked helplessly at the shaking chains and pursed her lips. What, are you scared too?
Before Chi Meng even got close, Hua Xian already felt physically uncomfortable. Her skin felt frozen by ice, countless ice picks stabbing into her, leaving her both numb and in pain.
The footsteps stopped by the bed. Hua Xian knew Chi Meng was observing her. Although she didn’t know what could be seen in the pitch black, she could distinctly feel a cold gaze on her body.
Before Chi Meng could speak, Hua Xian opened her mouth first: “Mengmeng, come up and sleep. The bed is more comfortable.”
Chi Meng was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Although her parents had a bad relationship, they never skimped on her material needs. She had used the best of everything since childhood, so sleeping on the sofa must have been a first for her.
She was a very delicate person, usually unable to sleep soundly if the sheets were slightly stiff, yet now she was subjecting herself to this extent of discomfort.
Hua Xian recalled the scenes she had dreamed of, her heart stirring with indescribable feelings. She struggled to wriggle to the side, freeing up most of the space.
“Come up. I promise I won’t touch you.” Whether the chains touch you, however, I can’t guarantee.
“Who wants to sleep with you!” Chi Meng’s voice was low, but seemed to contain anger. She’s emotionally unstable again, Hua Xian thought.
After a few seconds of silence, Hua Xian tentatively suggested: “Or how about you tie me to the sofa or the floor? I’m durable and tough; sleeping on the floor is fine.”
Chi Meng snorted coldly and said, “Don’t think I can’t see through your tricks.”
Hua Xian: …You’ve misunderstood me, truly misunderstood me. I just want you to sleep comfortably.
Hua Xian knew that Chi Meng’s resentment and disgust toward her were deeply rooted. If she continued speaking, Chi Meng’s emotions might collapse again, so she silently shut up and waited for Chi Meng to react.
Chi Meng stood by the bed for a long time—so long that Hua Xian’s neck grew stiff from glancing at her—before she slowly climbed onto the bed.
She fumbled around the headboard, and then Hua Xian felt a slackening on her hands. Before she could rejoice, Chi Meng’s emotionless voice sounded by her ear.
“I’m just changing the position, don’t overthink it.”
Hua Xian: I wouldn’t dare. I wouldn’t dare.
The fine iron chain was re-fastened to Hua Xian’s side, giving her a lot of room to move. After Chi Meng lay down beside her, their two shallow breaths mingled, and Hua Xian slowly relaxed as drowsiness overcame her.
The chain made a “jingle” sound. Hua Xian’s consciousness cleared slightly, and she realized she was hugging Chi Meng. The look in the other woman’s eyes—the look of wanting to kill her—was palpable even through the darkness.
“If I told you this was muscle memory, would you believe me?”
Without a word, Chi Meng kicked her onto the floor, then turned over, facing away from her.
Hua Xian’s wrists were chafed raw by the chains, and she gasped continuously from the stinging pain. Yet, she didn’t dare say anything, only sat on the floor, leaning against the bedside like a dog, silently sighing at Chi Meng’s cold, aloof back.
When will you hate me a little less? Sigh.
The length of the chain wasn’t enough for Hua Xian to lie directly on the floor, but she didn’t dare get back on the bed. She could only curl up in the corner by the bed, like an abandoned dog.
Even in such an uncomfortable position, Hua Xian couldn’t fight off the fatigue. Firstly, being forcibly dragged into this world caused some physical depletion; secondly, her natural abilities were being affected by Chi Meng’s blackening value, which made her already weak body even worse.
The stinging sensation on her skin persisted, but her physical exhaustion was equally overwhelming. The two sensations tormented her, driving her mad.
In a daze, she seemed to hear a faint sigh, but she was too tired to distinguish what the person had said before drifting off to sleep. When she woke up again, it was the next day. The room was bright with sunshine, and Chi Meng was already gone.
The discomfort on Hua Xian’s body had disappeared, and she felt her energy had recovered somewhat. The sunlight shining on her dispelled the negative effects of the darkness.
Due to her utterly unscientific sleeping posture, her entire body was stiff on the floor, and it took a while for feeling to return to her legs and feet. Hua Xian slowly crawled onto the bed. Feeling the soft, warm mattress, she was almost moved to tears.
I will never mess around again.
However, her instinct to hug Chi Meng last night was purely her body’s automatic response. After all, they had shared countless nights sleeping in each other’s arms before.
Her stiff body gradually relaxed. Hua Xian felt she had recovered a bit more strength. She tried to tug at the chains on her hands. “Snap,” the chain broke immediately at the wrist.
Hua Xian: “…” Did Chi Meng buy a counterfeit product?
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door. Hua Xian panicked. She quickly grabbed the broken chain in her hand, pretending she was still tied up.
The moment she secured the chain, Chi Meng pushed the door open. She was carrying a tray with a bowl of meat congee, an egg, and a plate of preserved vegetables.
Chi Meng placed the tray on the nightstand, adjusted the placement of the chain, and said coldly, “Eat.”
Hua Xian replied, “Okay,” and waited for her to leave. However, Chi Meng sat down on the sofa by the window, with no intention of leaving.
After ten seconds, seeing that she wasn’t moving, Chi Meng’s cold gaze shot over, her tone even more severe.
“What? Is it not to your liking?”
“No, no! It looks very delicious!” Hua Xian quickly replied. Even if it wasn’t to her liking, she couldn’t say so.
Chi Meng was expressionless, her eyes still devoid of warmth: “Then why aren’t you eating? Are you afraid I’ll poison you?”
That’s unlikely. Poison is too troublesome. If you wanted me dead, couldn’t you just starve me?
Hua Xian didn’t voice this thought. She looked earnestly at Chi Meng and said with utmost sincerity, “No. I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”
Chi Meng was momentarily speechless. She stared at Hua Xian for several seconds before looking away. Then, darkness swirled in her eyes, and her brows furrowed intensely.
She had to admit, Hua Xian was truly beautiful. That face was like God’s most perfect masterpiece; every feature was exquisite, and when put together, they were bright and enchanting. Anyone who saw her would be attracted. Her fans nicknamed her “Nuwa’s masterpiece of showing off,” and it was no exaggeration.
I was seduced by that face in the beginning, which is why I was fooled so completely. Why haven’t I learned my lesson yet?
Chi Meng curled her lips into a self-mocking arc, digging her nails into the sofa cushion to maintain control of her emotions.
Hua Xian sensed Chi Meng was upset and remained silent. However, she was holding the chain; if she went to eat, wouldn’t she be exposed?
After a moment of consideration, Hua Xian spoke boldly: “Mengmeng, can you feed me like you did yesterday? The chain chafed my wrist, and it hurts a little.”
Chi Meng suddenly looked at her, her eyes full of shock. She apparently hadn’t expected her to make such a shameless request.
Hua Xian blinked, her expression utterly sincere.
In truth, she was nervous inside, afraid Chi Meng would get angry and dump the congee on her face. Fortunately, she won the gamble.
Chi Meng reluctantly got up, picked up the bowl, and sat on the edge of the bed, feeding her the congee spoonful by spoonful.
Hua Xian obediently ate, her gaze fixed on Chi Meng. Seeing the dense scars on her arm, her heart constricted.
When another spoonful of congee reached her lips, Chi Meng noticed she wasn’t opening her mouth and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Hua Xian swallowed, her voice somber: “I’m sorry. Everything I did before was wrong. I won’t make you sad again.”
Not just wrong; I was practically inhuman.
As soon as Hua Xian finished speaking, the bowl in Chi Meng’s hand dropped. Half a bowl of congee spilled onto Hua Xian. Luckily, the temperature wasn’t very high; her chest and thigh were only slightly red from the heat.
Chi Meng sprang up, her face pitch black with fury, her eyes filled with undisguised coldness and disgust.
“It seems I’ve been too kind to you, and now you’re taking advantage of it.”
Chi Meng finished speaking, violently snapped the remaining chain, then grabbed Hua Xian’s wrist and dragged her into the bathroom.
The wound on Hua Xian’s wrist reopened, and blood dripped down between Chi Meng’s fingers. Seeing the blood, Chi Meng’s eyes grew darker. She shoved Hua Xian inside and turned on the shower, dousing her from head to toe.
Hua Xian was jolted by the cold, unable to open her eyes, but she knew Chi Meng was enraged and could only endure it silently.
Chi Meng sprayed her for about three minutes. She only turned off the water when she saw Hua Xian’s teeth chattering and her whole body shaking from the cold.
“Remember this lesson, and don’t say unnecessary nonsense to me again!”
Chi Meng dropped the showerhead and left. Hua Xian took a while to recover, slowly crouching down.
Feeling wronged, she drew circles on the floor. How was that nonsense? I sincerely wanted to compensate you and make up for the mistakes I made before.
Chi Meng walked into the living room, opened the window, and let the cold wind blow over her face. Only this way could she remain completely clear-headed.
She had been deliberately avoiding past memories, but the harder she tried to forget, the more tumultuous the pain became, especially when it was brought up by the person who created those memories. Her heart felt like it was being repeatedly fried in oil, painful to the point of speechlessness.
Hua Xian’s apology was so sincere that she almost believed it. But if she simply let it go, then what did all the suffering she endured before count for?
Since childhood, she had always used arrogance and indifference to mask herself, because she knew that once she exposed her heart, she would be giving others the chance to hurt her.
She had done very well until she met Hua Xian—the exception in her life.
This time, she lost. She lost completely.
A gust of cold wind blew past, and Chi Meng came to her senses. She glanced indifferently at the bloody cuts left by her fingernails on the back of her hand, then walked towards the bedroom.
Hua Xian waited for the coldness to recede somewhat, then, with trembling hands, took another shower with warm water. Just as her body temperature recovered, Chi Meng pushed the door open. Without a word, she dragged her back onto the bed and tied her hands with rope.
“Mengmeng…”
“Don’t call my name!”
Chi Meng’s tone was sharp. Hua Xian dared not speak again, sitting obediently on the bed.
Chi Meng gave her a cold glance, then left without looking back.
A moment later, a sound came from the front door, followed by the sound of the door closing. After that, everything returned to silence.
Chi Meng went out? Hua Xian tentatively called out twice, but there was no response.
It seems she really did go out.
Hua Xian then began to worry. Chi Meng was so emotionally unstable right now; wouldn’t it be too unsafe for her to go out alone?
Thinking of this, Hua Xian stared at the knots on the rope for a moment, an idea forming in her mind. She slowly moved her body to a place where the sunlight could reach. Then, she closed her eyes. When her body was in a state as if bathed in holy light, she opened her eyes, gave a gentle tug, and the rope snapped.
It looks like my natural abilities have recovered, she thought, though showing no sign of happiness on her face.
Hua Xian walked to the closet, casually grabbed one of Chi Meng’s pajamas, put it on, then opened the door and walked out.
Formerly, this closet held clothes for both of them, but now her clothes were gone.
The living room was mostly unchanged, except that the framed photos and posters of the two of them that had been on the wall were removed.
The entire wall of posters, photos, and portraits, visible right upon entering, was now completely bare. The white wall made her feel quite uneasy.
To be precise, Hua Xian was the one who felt uneasy. Her heart felt empty, as if she had lost something extremely important.
After staring blankly for a while, Hua Xian remembered the purpose of her coming out.
Chi Meng had a habit of keeping a spare phone at home. If all went as expected, it should be in—
Found it! It was indeed on the cabinet in the study.
Hua Xian entered the password and dialed a familiar number. The call was quickly answered, the voice on the other end sounding surprised.
“Hua Xian?”
“It’s me. Sister Ai, could I trouble you with something?”