Chapter 198: Bowing Down

She felt as if a block of ice was wedged in her chest. 

Despite being in the sweltering gold mine, her whole body was cold.

Ye Lan struggled to stand up, picked up a plate of delicate pastries, and walked toward Mu Xi.

“Your favorite—candied cherry cake.” Her hand was trembling, but her gaze was steadfast.  

“I had it specially preserved and brought here for you.”

Little An stepped forward, “Allow me to serve the young mistress.”

“No need.” Mu Xi raised her hand to stop her, her voice calmer than she had imagined.

She could feel Li Xin’s gaze burning against the side of her face, the adoration and despair in those eyes so apparent, it nearly suffocated her.

Ye Lan managed to sit beside Mu Xi, her trembling fingers picking up a piece of cake and bringing it to Mu Xi’s lips.

“Open your mouth, will you?” No longer a command, but a plea.

Mu Xi opened her mouth and accepted the sticky-sweet pastry.

The sweetness spread through her mouth, but it couldn’t melt the ice lodged in her heart.

In the corner, Li Xin bit down on their lip, conflicting flashes of pain and solace flickering in their eyes.

“Still alive… that’s good.” Not far away, Li Xin watched the scene and muttered quietly, a mix of relief and fresh dread in their voice.

Ye Lan suddenly spread her arms and pulled Mu Xi into her embrace, holding her so gently, as if afraid she might shatter.

“Do you blame me?” Her chin rested on Mu Xi’s silver hair, each word dripping with fragility, “Blame me for being useless, for not being able to protect you?”

Mu Xi stiffened in place, a cold sneer flashing through her heart.

‘If you died, I wouldn’t blame you at all.’

The thought flickered through her mind, but she didn’t say it out loud.

She felt Ye Lan’s body heat seeping through the thin fabric—once a temperature that terrified her, but now, it seemed so feeble.

Ye Lan’s voice was buried in her hair “I’ve never been this afraid before.”

That short confession was laden with too many emotions Mu Xi could not decipher.

“I can’t be without you, Mu Xi. If I lost you, I’d have nothing left.”

The genuine fear in that voice made Mu Xi shiver.

She tried to disguise her inner turmoil with a joke, “If I’m gone, you won’t live on?”

Ye Lan’s fingers tightened, hugging her closer, “No, if you die, I’ll die too.”

Each word sounded as if it was squeezed from the depths of her soul. 

“You’re the only thing keeping me in this world.”

Mu Xi froze.

This heavy dependence made it hard for her to breathe.

She didn’t know why she was so important in Ye Lan’s heart.

Maybe it was just another casual lie—she reminded herself not to believe it.

Yet the despair in Ye Lan’s eyes was so real, it stung her heart.

“Take them out.” Ye Lan shot a glance at the Escort Team member by the door.

Little An looked anxiously at Mu Xi, hesitating, “Young mistress…”

“Go on,” Mu Xi forced herself to put on a reassuring smile, “I’ll be fine.”

As Li Xin was dragged up, their gaze stayed glued to Mu Xi. 

The obsession and fear in those eyes were like a net, sending a chill deep into Mu Xi’s bones.

When the door closed, leaving only her and Ye Lan in the room, the air suddenly felt thin.

“Mu Xi,” Ye Lan let her go, then slowly knelt down, trembling as she endured her pain, “I was wrong.”

This was the first time Mu Xi had ever seen the proud Ye Lan kneel.

Confusion and vigilance tangled together in her heart.

“I’ll never discipline you again.” Ye Lan’s voice trembled, “You’re not my pet anymore. You’re my girlfriend, my wife.”

She slowly pulled out a ring from her pocket, set with a blood-red gem that gleamed wickedly under the lamp. 

“I’m proposing to you.”

Mu Xi’s mind went blank, as if a bomb had exploded beside her ear.

Her gaze wandered between Ye Lan and that ring, unable to believe what was happening.

“What kind of disgusting joke is this?”

Mu Xi finally found her voice, each word dripping with barbs, “You imprisoned me, abused me, treated me like a pet, and now, with nothing left, on the verge of dying, you’re pretending to be pitiful? Think I’ll be moved?”

Ye Lan’s face turned pale, but she didn’t argue back.

“Proposing?” Mu Xi let out a cold laugh, her voice sharp as shattered glass, “Do you even deserve it? What right do you have to say you love me? You only ever treated me as your possession!”

She stood, towering over the kneeling Ye Lan. 

At this moment, with their roles reversed, she felt a twisted sense of satisfaction.

“I hate you.” Mu Xi enunciated every word, “Every day, I think about how to kill you, how to watch you die right before my eyes.”

Tears gathered in Ye Lan’s eyes. 

On her usually icy face, tears finally spilled over.

The proud woman, like a shattered ice sculpture, completely collapsed before Mu Xi.

“I know,” Ye Lan’s voice sounded as if it came from far away, “I deserve to die. But I really love you—madly so.”

Tears slid down Ye Lan’s cheeks, dripping onto the ground.

Mu Xi watched the woman who had once terrified her now so vulnerable, like a child. 

The thrill of revenge in her heart was suddenly dulled by a strange new feeling.

“You shouldn’t love someone like this.” Mu Xi’s voice grew softer, complicated emotions churning inside her. 

“Love isn’t possession, isn’t imprisonment, isn’t hurting someone.”

Ye Lan lifted her tear-stained face, eyes filled with a world’s worth of despair, “Then teach me. Teach me how to love you.”

Mu Xi’s lips pressed into a cold, straight line. 

In her eyes, there was no trace of tears—only a sharp, icy glint.

“Love? You don’t know what love is, Ye Lan.” Her voice was as piercing as an ice pick. 

“All you know is control, imprisonment, and hurting people. Those loved by you can only wish for death.”

That sentence stabbed straight into Ye Lan’s heart.

The woman lowered her head, her shoulders trembling, fingertips wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes.

She let out a soft laugh, full of self-mockery and bitterness.

“You’re right, I really don’t deserve it.” Ye Lan closed her hand over the blood-red ring. 

“I was being presumptuous. You refuse me… you’re right to.”

Mu Xi stared at Ye Lan’s hunched back, an inexplicable emptiness welling up inside her.

She had never seen Ye Lan like this—fragile, low, defeated.

This abnormality made her wary, yet also curious.

Perhaps, this was a chance to learn the truth.

“I… have lost many memories.”

Mu Xi’s fingers clenched tightly at the hem of her clothes, “I need to know the truth—what really happened between us? Why did you treat me like this?”

Ye Lan lifted her head. 

The sorrow in her phoenix eyes was so real that Mu Xi couldn’t help but hold her breath.

The air inside the room grew thick, time seeming to freeze.

“Many years ago, in Wu City.” Ye Lan’s voice was low and distant, as if pulled from the depths of memory. 

“Back then, I was just a street punk, wasting my days fighting and brawling, covered in wounds. On a stormy night, your father saved me.”

Mu Xi’s pupils dilated slightly, her heart beating faster.

She felt her throat tighten, something in the depths of her memory struggling to break the surface.

“That night was the first time I met you, in your family’s villa.”

Ye Lan’s gaze softened, the corners of her lips curling into a barely perceptible tenderness. 

“You were so little, but better than anyone I had ever met. Even then, I…”

She didn’t finish, but the unsaid words hung in the air, making Mu Xi’s skin tingle.