Her body instinctively leaned back, but her dazed movements were easily restrained. Qin Haiyue walked in front of her, bent down, and effortlessly fastened the chain—completely unable to match Qin Haiyue’s speed.
With just one reach, she pulled Ye Xingmian’s back against the reserved position behind the collar. Then, standing up straight again, Qin Haiyue brushed back her golden hair, looking at Ye Xingmian with a hint of smugness.
She looked up toward the ceiling. There was actually a metal ring embedded there at some unknown time. She hooked the chain onto the ring and then locked it with a padlock.
“Alright, that’s it. I’m leaving. Be good and wait for me to come back.”
Then, before Ye Xingmian could react, she opened the door and left the bedroom, locking it from the outside as she went.
With a crisp click, the sound of footsteps outside the door gradually faded away. Only then did Ye Xingmian snap back to reality.
She looked at the chain extending from behind her neck up to the ceiling, then touched the collar around her neck that couldn’t be removed without a key.
Only at this moment did she feel a sense of reality. So Qin Haiyue wasn’t planning to lead her outside to humiliate her, but was using the chain to lock her up and prevent her from escaping?
Ha… Should I be grateful? At least I avoided social death and humiliation.
The chain wasn’t very long. Extending from the ceiling, it only allowed her to move about five meters away from the bed, not enough to reach the door. If she tried to go any further, the collar would transmit a suffocating pain.
Forget about picking the lock. She didn’t have a key, nor the strength or tools. Even if she did manage to open it, she wouldn’t get far, and the door was locked anyway.
This feels awful…
She closed her eyes for a moment and had no choice but to lie down on the bed, waiting for Qin Haiyue to return.
Qin Haiyue had taken the cellphone when she left, so Ye Xingmian didn’t even have a tool to pass the time. The room’s window wasn’t open, and she couldn’t reach it to open the curtains and see outside.
All that was left for her here was gloom and the faint, almost negligible light seeping through the gap in the curtains.
As time passed, even that sliver of light disappeared, plunging the room into darkness and dead silence.
She couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything. The only thing she could do now was wait for Qin Haiyue to return.
But how long would she have to wait? She didn’t know.
Her body trembled lightly. She clutched the bedsheet tightly, trying to gain a little sense of security.
When she was little, she was very afraid of the dark, terrified of this kind of silent environment. As she grew up, the situation gradually improved a bit.
But perhaps because she had become a girl, this fear had been inexplicably reawakened.
She always felt like something was staring at her, as if something was hiding behind the curtains gently swaying in the breeze, wondering if some terrifying thing was lurking behind her, in those blind spots, anywhere she couldn’t see.
Once a person starts thinking like that, they feel prickles on their back. She changed her position, lying on her back on the bed, her eyes darting around, trying to lessen the fear, but it had little effect.
Until, gradually, she grew a bit weary.
Why hasn’t Qin Haiyue come back yet? Would going out for dinner really take this long? Come to think of it, she was getting hungry too. Would Qin Haiyue bring her something to eat? How long until she returns?
She didn’t know. She knew none of this. It was as if a black cloth was covering her eyes; she couldn’t see anything, couldn’t understand anything.
How strange, am I actually looking forward to Qin Haiyue’s return?
It shouldn’t be like this. This isn’t right.
She tried to convince herself, closing her eyes, wanting to sleep through this dark period. But for some reason, even though she had been desperately tired when she woke up earlier, now she felt no sleepiness at all.
She forced herself to close her eyes, wanting to fall asleep, but a sense of unease surged over her like a tide, making it hard to breathe.
What was she so uneasy about? She was fine at the Lin family’s house, fine in her own bedroom. Why did it become so strange here? She couldn’t figure it out.
After trying for a long time, she finally fell asleep.
She didn’t know how long she slept, but she woke up again. Opening her eyes, it was still pitch black. What time was it now?
She didn’t know.
Why hasn’t Qin Haiyue come back yet? What does she actually want to do?
She didn’t know.
She spent a long time alone in the bedroom like this.
Is she coming back? Why isn’t she back yet? Did something happen, so she’s not coming back? Then what about me? No food, nothing to do, the collar and chain around my neck making it impossible to move.
So annoying, so chaotic. Silently, she stood up, then silently sat back down.
In the end, she tried to sleep again, but this time she couldn’t fall asleep.
She had no choice but to endure the time bit by bit, enduring for who knows how long, not knowing if it was just nightfall or already the dead of night.
She still had to go to school tomorrow. Qin Haiyue would definitely come back, right?
She could only comfort herself like this.
***
After packing a meal, Qin Haiyue got into the car and took out her phone to check the time.
It was eleven o’clock.
She had deliberately lingered outside, purposefully not going back, just to torment Ye Xingmian a bit. The feeling of being bound by a chain must be uncomfortable, right? She must be starving by now, right?
Would she be bored all alone? Would Ye Xingmian feel utterly collapse?
All of this was within her consideration, but she wasn’t worried about it. Instead, she felt pleased.
Well, this was the punishment for trying to sneak away.
She rummaged through her schoolbag and pulled out the phone she had given Ye Xingmian. While charging it, she leisurely opened Ye Xingmian’s social media app.
A newbie who just got a phone wouldn’t use features like a password lock. Plugging in the charger and pressing the power button, the screen lit up.
She hadn’t paid much attention at first, but a nickname on the chat list quickly caught her eye. Ye Xingmian’s online name was “Nanfeng Liang” (South Wind Cool). She knew that, but—
As soon as she opened it, she couldn’t help but frown.
Wasn’t this a couple’s name?
Was Ye Xingmian using the couple name “Beifeng Nuan” (North Wind Warm) with someone else?
An inexplicable fury instantly rose in her chest. Suppressing her anger, she checked their chat history, growing more and more furious with each line.
Care, concern, looking after, consideration. From those few lines of text, she read such an attitude. Combined with the way they addressed each other, this “Beifeng Nuan” was probably that Liu Yinuo, right?
A cold smile curled on her lips as she imitated Ye Xingmian’s tone and typed out a line.
“Class Monitor?”
Very quickly, a reply came from the other side. The speed was so fast it made one suspect Liu Yinuo had been staring at this chat window, just waiting for Ye Xingmian to send a message.
“What’s wrong?”
Qin Haiyue’s fingers flew across the screen. She knew Liu Yinuo was very close to Ye Xingmian. She wanted to ruin their relationship. Ye Xingmian was her private pet; she wouldn’t allow others to lay a finger on her.
“Let’s break off our friendship.”
Without much thought, she typed out this line.
However, unlike the intense reaction she had hoped for, the other party only replied—