Lu Nanzhan curved his lips, but there was not a trace of emotion in his eyes. “Xianxian, as long as I can see you, that’s enough.”
In this game of taming, he would hold absolute dominance.
Song Qingxian’s face turned pale. “No, Azhan. You can’t sew my eyes shut. I’ll die.”
“You won’t,” Lu Nanzhan said in a deep voice, soothing her. “I’ll do it myself. I’ll be very careful.”
Fear wrapped tightly around Song Qingxian. She suddenly realized that, compared to this moment, the previous version of Lu Nanzhan almost felt like an angel.
Gathering all her courage, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Azhan, didn’t we agree to become better together?”
Lu Nanzhan pressed her down onto the bed, pinning her beneath him as he looked down at her. “Xianxian, I don’t like your way.”
“I tried to accept it, but I don’t want anyone to see you.”
Compared to dates and outings, he preferred tightly controlling Song Qingxian. Once she was exposed to the outside world, someone as beautiful as her would inevitably attract endless prying eyes.
Lu Nanzhan knew he himself did not belong in the light, so he wanted her to stay in the darkness with him.
Song Qingxian looked at him, feeling as if she were staring into an abyss filled with unknown terror, something that could crush a person to pieces.
“Azhan, don’t hurt me,” she said softly.
He lowered his head and kissed her eyes gently. “Xianxian, I won’t hurt you. Everything I do is because I love you.”
Love?
She almost asked out loud what he even understood about love, but stopped herself at the last moment. He was not a normal person, and provoking him would only make things worse.
Instead, she pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips, her voice gentle enough to make anyone’s heart ache. “Azhan, don’t sew my eyes shut. It will hurt a lot, and you would feel bad for me too, wouldn’t you?”
A flicker of hesitation appeared in his eyes. “It will hurt?”
“Yes,” she nodded, looking fragile and helpless.
“Alright,” he said at last, stroking her eyes. “Then I won’t sew them.”
But the next moment, he got up and brought back a black cloth strip. He gently tied it over her eyes and leaned close to her ear.
“Xianxian, don’t take it off. Otherwise, you know the consequences.”
Everything plunged into darkness.
Song Qingxian understood instantly that he still intended to “tame” her like a falcon, just using a slightly gentler method, only covering her eyes instead of sewing them.
The next morning.
When Song Qingxian opened her eyes, she was still surrounded by darkness. She let out a bitter smile. She had almost forgotten that her eyes were covered.
“Azhan?” she called out.
No response.
She reached out beside her. The bed was empty. Lu Nanzhan was gone.
As she moved, she heard a faint jingling sound from her neck. She touched it and froze.
A collar had been placed around her neck, with a small bell attached. Every slight movement made it ring softly.
A wave of humiliation surged through her. Did Lu Nanzhan really treat her like a dog?
“Azhan,” she called again.
Still no answer.
Panicking slightly, she pulled the cloth off her eyes, only to immediately meet Lu Nanzhan’s gaze.
He was standing not far away, silently watching every movement she made.
Song Qingxian stiffened in fear and instinctively closed her eyes again, fumbling to put the cloth back on.
Lu Nanzhan strode closer. He grabbed her wrist. “Xianxian, I told you not to take it off. Why didn’t you listen?”
“I… I didn’t mean to…” she stammered, trying to fix it.
“It’s too late,” he said, lowering his voice near her ear. “Looks like I really need to sew your eyes shut temporarily.”
“No…” Her voice broke as she begged. “Azhan, I won’t take it off again, I promise.”
But Lu Nanzhan only gently stroked her hair and calmly brought out a needle and thread.
Crazy!
Only then did Song Qingxian realize that submission and pleading did nothing for this obsessive man. She shoved him away and ran toward the door.
But fear overwhelmed her, and before she could even reach it, she stumbled and fell to the ground.
Lu Nanzhan walked toward her step by step. She backed away on the floor, the bell on her collar ringing sharply in the silent room.
He crouched in front of her, gently touching her pale face. “Xianxian, are you trying to run again?”
This wasn’t running away. It was survival.
She felt the story was already veering far off the original plot. She had tried to save Lu Nanzhan, yet instead triggered something far more twisted inside him.
“Let me go, Azhan,” she whispered.
A cold curve appeared on his lips. “Let you go? Before I lose my temper, come back to the bed obediently.”
She quickly calculated her chances of escape. Three seconds later, the answer was zero.
She could not even get out of this villa, let alone his maze-like estate.
Forcing herself to stay calm, she softened her voice. “Azhan, I think I twisted my ankle just now. Can you carry me to the bed?”
A hint of approval flashed in his eyes. Good, she was still obedient.
He lifted her effortlessly and placed her on the bed, then activated a mechanism and cuffed her hands to the bed.
Being handcuffed again did not shock her much anymore. Compared to having her eyes sewn shut, this was nothing.
His gaze fell on her slender ankle. “Which foot is injured?”
She casually pointed to her right foot.
He held her ankle gently and massaged it. “Does it hurt?”
“Not really.”
After a while, he said, “Move it. See if it’s fine.”
She rotated it slightly. “It’s okay now.”
“Good,” he said softly, stroking her head. “Xianxian, don’t run around.”
She finally relaxed slightly.
The next second, he picked up the needle again.
Song Qingxian nearly broke down. Was he schizophrenic? How could he be gently massaging her ankle one moment and trying to sew her eyes the next?
As the needle slowly approached her lower eyelid, she realized there was no way out left.
Defeated, she closed her eyes.