Chapter 11: Deadlock?

“Huh? Wh…what do you mean?”

Too…too late?  It doesn’t matter anymore?

Hearing words completely different from what she’d imagined, Xia Mengxi dumbly raised her head in a daze, her vacant eyes meeting Lin Xue’er’s profound gaze.

“It means exactly what it says.”

Lin Xue’er let out a soft chuckle, then reached out to gently stroke Xia Mengxi’s slightly dirty little face.

The other’s hand was as cold as her attitude.

“At first, I did hope Xiao Xi would recognize her mistakes. But after you ran away, I decided not to forgive you.”

“As I’ve said – if it happens once, it’ll happen again. So I thought, as long as I keep you locked here forever, you won’t get a second chance to make mistakes.”

Though she’d suspected as much, hearing this truth from Lin Xue’er’s lips still left Xia Mengxi unable to comprehend.

What kind of goddamn logic was this – imprisoning her to prevent mistakes? 

It might sound reasonable, but she was a living human being! 

She wasn’t Lin Xue’er’s possession – why should she follow the other’s rules?

Furious at being treated as less than human, Xia Mengxi saw red.

“Lin Xue’er, my so-called ‘mistakes’ are just what you self-righteously consider wrong! I never actually agreed to any promises with you, so I did nothing wrong. Besides, we’re just friends – what right do you have to control my life?”

Angry as she was, Xia Mengxi still held back from saying the worst, yet her words had already breached Lin Xue’er’s defenses. 

“Self-righteous? Heh, yes, I suppose I am. But what does it matter? Xiao Xi, you don’t seem to understand your current situation.”

“My situation?”

Lin Xue’er chuckled lightly, her gaze sweeping over Xia Mengxi’s living quarters these past few days before speaking slowly: 

“Right now, Xiao Xi is completely in my hands. So if I say you’re wrong, you’re wrong. As for why I can control your life – because now, you belong to me.”

Damn it! 

Had Lin Xue’er become so corrupted that she was beyond all reason?

In this moment, Xia Mengxi regretted not properly considering Lin Xue’er’s state back in the brick cell. 

Otherwise she wouldn’t have conceived the idea of escaping, much less been forced into that choice.

But it was too late now. 

The girl before her with that terrifying gaze had already stepped beyond redemption without realizing it. 

All Xia Mengxi could do was try to humor Lin Xue’er – only this could prevent unimaginable actions.

“Lin…Xue’er, I was wrong. I understand my situation now. From now on I’ll obey you completely – if you say east, I’ll never go west.”

“Heh, Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi…do you think I’m stupid?”

The dangerous glint in Lin Xue’er’s eyes sent chills down Xia Mengxi’s spine, making her shake her head vigorously.

“Exactly. I don’t believe a single word of your insincere apology.”

With that, Lin Xue’er picked up the tray and walked up the stairs.

Halfway through, she stopped and turned to Xia Mengxi, saying, 

“Xiao Xi, since we’ve all laid our cards on the table, I won’t pretend anymore. From this moment on, I will teach you how to be an obedient, well-behaved child. I won’t stop ‘adjusting’ you until the day you sincerely repent.”

With the heavy sound of a door slamming shut, Xia Mengxi was plunged back into darkness. 

This time, the chill she felt in the pitch-black environment was noticeably more intense.

“Adjusting” that word clearly didn’t imply anything good. 

Her instincts told her that now that Lin Xue’er had revealed her true intentions, she wouldn’t hold back out of any consideration for their past friendship.

“Why did I have to open my big mouth?! I already knew Lin Xue’er wasn’t normal anymore, yet I still argued with her about so-called human rights-I brought this on myself!”

It was impossible not to regret provoking Lin Xue’er, but at this point, dwelling on regret would only add to her emotional burden. 

The most important thing now was to endure whatever “adjustment” Lin Xue’er had in store and hold onto her sense of self. 

Otherwise, she was done for.

“Damn it, at a time like this, can’t you do something, you useless necklace?”

Xia Mengxi hadn’t forgotten the butterfly pendant necklace around her neck—after all, the deity had emphasized its importance. 

But she still didn’t understand when it would actually be useful. 

Wasn’t this a critical moment? 

Yet the necklace’s ability to reverse time showed no signs of activating. 

Did things have to become even more hopeless, the situation even more dire, before it would work?

The thought made Xia Mengxi hug her slender frame fearfully.

“If that’s really the case, doesn’t it mean I’ll have to carry some unforgettable memories back with me when I restart? That’s just awful!”

Did the deity really have such a twisted sense of humor? 

Now that she thought about it, yes, they did.

Recalling every instance of “help” from the so-called “golden finger,” Xia Mengxi silently cursed the deity’s absurd antics in her heart. 

At the same time, she resolved that if things really played out as she feared, she would take every choice and interaction with the targets more seriously next time.

“Speaking of which… what exactly does Lin Xue’er mean by ‘adjustment’?”

Would she… “develop” her body and do lewd things?

No, no—even if she didn’t know Lin Xue’er well, she could tell the girl wasn’t the type for that.

Then would it be some form of torture to condition her into submission?

That seemed highly likely-in fact, it was probably exactly that.

Judging by Lin Xue’er’s earlier words, she wanted to “adjust” her into a well-behaved child—meaning someone without a will of her own, who only followed orders. 

For an ordinary person to reach that state, they’d either have to endure extreme physical pain or unbearable psychological torment. 

Only through such conditioned reflexes could the “adjuster” control them.

“So… am I going to be beaten brutally, or will she use something to break me mentally… Huh?”

Shit! She knew something was off!

No wonder that whenever that beam of light pierced through the darkness, her dependence on Lin Xue’er grew stronger. 

During the last two meals, she even found herself wishing the other would stay with her a little longer.

There was nothing wrong with having such thoughts—after all, she had been imprisoned here for several days. 

Under immense psychological pressure, it was only natural to crave companionship. 

But now, she realized she was being deliberately led to think this way!

“So Lin Xue’er has been conditioning me like this for days now. Clever, really clever!”

But Lin Xue’er had miscalculated-because she had caught on.