The white congee Bai Rourou wanted was delivered quickly. Perhaps due to the transportation, the congee had developed a thin white film on the surface, and there was no visible steam.
Just as Bai Rourou was about to move, Cai Jing’er stopped her.
“Don’t move. I’ll feed you.”
A perverted woman feeding her?
Bai Rourou doubted her ears, but when Cai Jing’er propped up the upper half of her hospital bed, she realized the other really intended to feed her.
Bai Rourou, already bruised and battered all over, was extremely wary inside, though on the surface she appeared soft, weak, and timid.
“Huff~”
Cai Jing’er scooped a full spoonful of congee, then thoughtfully blew on it before bringing it close to Bai Rourou’s lips.
Bai Rourou opened her mouth and took the congee in. At first, the warmth was acceptable, but the congee inside was scalding hot.
“Ugh!”
No matter how hot it was, Bai Rourou dared not spit it out—she was afraid that if she did, Cai Jing’er would find another excuse to torment her.
During her captivity, this perverted woman often found reasons to cruelly tease her. Sometimes even when Bai Rourou did everything perfectly, she would be tortured just because she stepped with her left foot first.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing Cai Jing’er’s gaze, Bai Rourou quickly shook her head and pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth to cool down.
“Nothing, nothing.”
“Is the congee too bland?”
Though illness usually makes one prefer bland food, Cai Jing’er felt plain congee was a bit too tasteless on its own.
“How about I add some seasoning?”
Cai Jing’er, rarely this caring, had last shown such concern for Gong Nanxue.
“I’ll obey my master,” the girl’s voice was a little muffled.
Cai Jing’er searched for the provided seasonings and added some meat floss and pickled radish to the congee.
Then she fed Bai Rourou another spoonful.
“Hot, hot!”
The congee was still very hot.
Bai Rourou endured it as the scalding porridge slid down her throat, feeling like she swallowed molten lava.
But then, the pickled radish was spicy!
The spicy flavor, amplified by the intense heat, flushed a bit of red onto Bai Rourou’s pale face.
Seeing how fast Bai Rourou ate, Cai Jing’er thought the added seasonings made the congee much more appealing.
Happily, she fed her even faster and stopped blowing on the porridge altogether.
After more than ten spoonfuls, the white film on the surface was completely broken, and the rising thick steam finally caught Cai Jing’er’s attention.
Glancing at the girl’s increasingly reddened cherry lips, Cai Jing’er frowned, scooped a spoonful herself, blew on it, and tasted it.
“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!”
Cai Jing’er immediately spat it out, then looked at the frightened girl and said in a warm but angry tone, “It’s so hot and you’re still eating?”
“S-sorry.”
The girl’s beautiful, soft eyes clouded over with tears.
Hearing the girl’s scared apology, Cai Jing’er felt a bit irritated.
If it were before, she might have felt excited, but now she just felt uncomfortable.
“Open your mouth.”
The girl obediently opened her small mouth.
“Stick out your tongue.”
A small, rosy tongue poked out from her cherry-red lips.
“You’ve already burned it.”
Cai Jing’er’s eyes dimmed slightly.
She had blown on the porridge when she tasted it, but after the first spoonful she didn’t blow before feeding Bai Rourou.
And Bai Rourou just swallowed it all out of fear?
“You idiot, don’t you know to tell me if it’s hot?”
Looking at Cai Jing’er’s angry expression, Bai Rourou closed her mouth, suddenly unsure what she was trying to do.
Feeding her such scalding congee—wasn’t that just to mess with her?
“Sorry.”
The girl still apologized, her soft voice like a kitten scratching at the heart, making Cai Jing’er feel torn between wanting to tenderly care for her and wanting to cruelly torment her.
“Alright, I told you—you’re a patient, I won’t do anything to you!”
Cai Jing’er restrained her inner restlessness and said gently, “I won’t bully you anymore. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Oh…”
The girl nodded faintly, seemingly not fully understanding, but the long captivity and abuse had made her instinctively obedient.
“Okay, finish this bowl of congee. If it’s hot, just say so. Don’t be mute.”
“Mm.”
Afterward, Cai Jing’er’s spoonfuls were less hot, and she blew on them for a good while before feeding Bai Rourou.
This gentle and caring demeanor made Bai Rourou wonder if she was still dreaming.
“Has this perverted woman really changed her mind? Just because I’m in the hospital, she seems like a different person?”
Eating the congee, feeling the faint pain on her tongue, Bai Rourou began to consider Cai Jing’er’s behavior.
After carefully reviewing everything, Bai Rourou—who had been dumped by dozens of girls before—came to a startling conclusion: Cai Jing’er liked her!
“How disgusting!”
Bai Rourou hadn’t forgotten how she was bullied and tortured.
Now that she was seriously ill and hospitalized, suddenly this change of heart felt highly unbelievable.
Besides, this inexplicable affection was likely like a passing thunderstorm—coming and going quickly.
“But maybe I can seize Cai Jing’er’s sudden emotional change and escape this hellhole?”
A plan slowly formed in Bai Rourou’s mind.
“This perverted woman probably bullies me every day, and now she’s developed feelings.”
Thinking of her constantly improving, more beautiful body and the especially charming and enticing scent she now had,
It was very likely Cai Jing’er had fallen for this body.
The mere physical form wasn’t enough anymore—now she wanted a connection of soul and spirit.
“First, I’ll slowly gain Cai Jing’er’s trust, then escape!”
Bai Rourou remembered her personal identification documents were still in Cai Jing’er’s hands.
To break free from the perverted woman’s grasp, she definitely needed those documents.
Finally seeing a glimmer of hope, she had to hold on tight and not let it slip away!
After finishing the congee, Cai Jing’er called the doctor for a reexamination, gave some dietary instructions, and then there was nothing more.
But for the next period, she would have to recuperate well in the hospital.
“Bai Rourou, as long as you behave, I won’t bully you.”
Cai Jing’er squeezed the girl’s thin, soft hand, her voice cool and clear.
“Gong Nanxue treated you that way—what do you still have to care about?”
“Mm…”
Cai Jing’er was sure she hadn’t misheard—Bai Rourou actually responded with an “Mm”!
Previously, no matter how much she was tormented or bullied, whenever Gong Nanxue was mentioned, Bai Rourou always silently resisted like a mute.
Now she actually responded!
Was it Cai Jing’er’s gentle behavior that softened her?
But how could it happen so fast?
Could this be the legendary Stockholm Syndrome?
After long-term captivity and abuse, sudden cessation of cruelty or gentle treatment can create a so-called ‘favor,’ which fits this situation remarkably well.
“So I just stumbled into this by accident?”
Cai Jing’er secretly rejoiced, firmly deciding to treat Bai Rourou even better next, or add some tortures again, repeatedly manipulating her, so she could fully control Bai Rourou.