“!”
The scene and that sudden sound instantly drained all color from Xia Mengxi’s face.
Her entire body trembled, and in that moment, memories she wished she could forget flashed across her mind.
However, before she could react further, she felt a cold touch at her neck.
She had experienced this before—so her body moved before her mind, panic-stricken, as she turned around in fear.
“Xue… Xue’er…”
The person in Xia Mengxi’s line of sight was none other than Lin Xue’er.
But the moment she called her name, her vision blurred, her limbs went limp, and darkness swallowed her consciousness.
When she awoke again, Xia Mengxi found herself sitting on a chair.
Her hands were tied behind the backrest, her legs bound to the chair legs, and her mouth gagged with a towel, unable to utter a sound.
“Mm…!”
Her senses had just returned, so at first she struggled wildly against the restraints.
But as clarity returned, she realized she had once again been caught by Lin Xue’er—her emotions gradually settled down.
Just as she began to calm, the door in front of her opened, and when she saw who entered, her heart shot up into her throat again.
“Eh? Xiao Xi? How did you wake up so soon?”
As soon as she came in, Lin Xue’er rattled off three questions in a row, her puzzled expression almost as if Xia Mengxi had no right to wake up so early.
“That’s odd, I clearly adjusted the dosage concentration the day before yesterday. By all rights, Xiao Xi, you should have been unconscious for over three hours, just like Saturday Morning… Has your body started developing resistance?”
Lin Xue’er frowned, completely ignoring Xia Mengxi’s stupefied gaze, and began patting and feeling her up and down.
As Lin Xue’er’s hands touched her, Xia Mengxi suddenly realized something.
No wonder she’d felt so weird on Saturday Morning, why she’d slept so deeply—turns out Lin Xue’er had been secretly drugging her!
But she hadn’t even given herself away back then, and she’d still been so frail and sickly—why would Lin Xue’er drug her?
Xia Mengxi hadn’t said a word, yet Lin Xue’er seemed to see straight through her thoughts, her voice even and calm:
“Xiao Xi, are you wondering why I’m doing this? Of course, it’s because I want to make your body even weaker—so weak you can’t go to School, but just strong enough to move around. After all, I really don’t want you appearing in front of other women again.”
As she finished speaking, Lin Xue’er’s colorless eyes locked onto Xia Mengxi’s.
The next moment, Lin Xue’er smiled and gently stroked her face.
“Hey… Xiao Xi, didn’t I already hint to you? Why did you, like that little girl in the story, have to shatter our beautiful dream with your own hands? Oh, and by the way, Xiao Xi, did you know? I actually didn’t finish telling that story.”
The girl had realized she could never receive love from her Parents or the warmth of Family, but she didn’t mind—since she’d never had it, there was nothing to lose.
So, the girl didn’t care if others truly cared for her; all that mattered was having someone to play with, someone to laugh with, someone to dote on her.
Even if it was only because of her status, even if it was because she was their Employer, even if it was for personal gain, she didn’t care.
But even so, people around her would disappear every now and then.
The girl was scared—terrified that she’d be alone forever—so she tried even harder to fulfill every wish and whim of her Servants.
But after some time, she realized that only made people leave faster.
Troubled, the girl searched for a way to keep those around her with her forever.
She started learning, and eventually found a brilliant solution: she would use any means necessary to turn those around her into her own ‘Puppets.’
Puppets controlled by strings.
After finishing the story, Lin Xue’er gave her a classic, smileless smile.
That chilling expression made Xia Mengxi’s skin crawl.
That familiar sense—she… she was about to be imprisoned by Lin Xue’er again!
“Why, Xiao Xi? I’ve already let you in on my past, so why are you still chasing after other things? Haven’t you heard that curiosity killed the cat?”
For… me?
In that instant, Xia Mengxi’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the girl before her.
If her understanding was right, then Lin Xue’er was saying she’d already known about Xia Mengxi’s investigation all along—and had still let her keep going?
That feeling—being manipulated without even knowing it—made Xia Mengxi’s gaze fill with fear as she looked at Lin Xue’er.
It brought back the memories from before the timeline reset—she had been toyed within Lin Xue’er’s palm just like this.
Her composure shattered, and even her steadfast will began to waver.
“Why are you angry, Xiao Xi? You secretly investigated my past and used my concern for you—this is your fault. I’m not even angry, so what right do you have to be?”
Hearing Lin Xue’er’s words, Xia Mengxi was left speechless.
No matter how she looked at it, she had been the first to do wrong.
Her anger, not yet fanned into a flame, was extinguished by Lin Xue’er’s bucket of cold water—there wasn’t even a spark left.
Seeing her crestfallen face, Lin Xue’er cupped her cheeks in both hands, forcing her to look up, their eyes meeting.
“I’d thought this game of playing house could go on forever, but it’s already over before it even started. Hey… Xiao Xi, what do you think I should do?”
Lin Xue’er appeared to be seriously pondering the question, making Xia Mengxi even more anxious.
A madwoman isn’t scary—but one with sanity and intelligence, that’s the kind of person that’s truly terrifying.
Sure enough, after several minutes, Lin Xue’er spoke a chilling thought.
“Right, since Xiao Xi, you’ve already seen the missing pages in my Diary, let’s just get married right now—and you can help me have a child! I believe that once you have a child, your Motherly Love will make you put the child first. That way, you won’t leave me, nor this Home.”
“Mm…! Mm-mm!!!”
Xia Mengxi wanted to scream her rejection, but with the towel gagging her, not a single word could escape.
And with Lin Xue’er’s hands holding her cheeks, she couldn’t even shake her head.
But even so, her expression was full of protest.
Yet Lin Xue’er took her reaction as agreement.
Clearly, Lin Xue’er could no longer communicate normally.
“Eh? Xiao Xi, you think it’s a good idea too? Mm! Then it’s settled! Though getting you pregnant with my child might be a bit tricky, and there’s still the matter of us and School, and your Parents, and my two… Well, there are always more solutions than problems. If nothing works, we can just ignore everyone else. You know, Xiao Xi, beneath our School there’s actually a…”