Before she could figure out how to respond, her phone vibrated and the front camera activated automatically—Liu Yinuo had directly called her on video.
Qin Haiyue’s expression turned cold, and she decisively tossed the phone aside, ignoring it.
She knew her plan had failed. Somehow, Liu Yinuo had sensed something was off and actually called to verify via video.
This made her extremely irritable. Even though she had failed, the anger rising in her heart didn’t diminish in the slightest; instead, it grew even more intense.
‘Fine. Using the phone I bought, sharing a couple’s username with someone else, you ungrateful little bitch.’
She gritted her teeth, a new plan already forming in her mind. As the call’s ringtone faded and the barrage of messages continued, she shifted her gaze to the packed dinner she had prepared for Ye Xingmian, placed to the side.
‘I was originally thinking of being a little gentler this time. After all, constant violence is tiring for me too. But this discovery… it really pisses me off.’
She felt she had been too good to Ye Xingmian.
“Drive faster!” she raised her voice, shouting at the driver in the front.
Upon hearing the command, accompanied by the roar of the car engine, the speed quickly increased. In no time, they had entered the villa district and arrived at the gate of her home.
Picking up the food, she slung her bag over her shoulder, dismissed the driver, then passed through the series of gate locks, entered the living room, and with a cold expression and heavy steps, went upstairs.
She opened the door and casually flipped on the bedroom light.
The pretty, adorable little “pet” she kept chained up was staring blankly at the ceiling, as if unaware of her arrival. Only when the harsh white light came on did she instinctively squint.
Those dull eyes stared dazedly at her, showing no discernible joy or anger, only a faint sense of relief.
Ye Xingmian slowly crawled down from the bed, as if only now coming to her senses. Her feet, clad in black knee-high socks, gently touched the carpet. The chain around her neck swayed lightly, emitting a soft clinking sound.
She seemed to want to approach Qin Haiyue, almost unconsciously. Perhaps she was drawn by the food in Qin Haiyue’s hand? She herself didn’t know.
But after realizing it, she stopped. In fact, she couldn’t even reach Qin Haiyue’s side—it was outside her range of movement.
Seeing her like this, Qin Haiyue revealed a cold smile.
“Did you miss me?”
Ye Xingmian just lowered her head, silent, wordlessly pressing her legs together and looking at her own feet.
Her carefully braided hair fell over her shoulders, and paired with her lovely face, she looked like a princess unaware of the ways of the world.
‘Oh, not a princess, but a little pet I keep hidden at home, one I can bully at will.’
Qin Haiyue thought with malicious amusement.
She hadn’t forgotten the thoughts she had on the way home. On the contrary, she was contemplating how to implement them.
“Come here.” She beckoned to Ye Xingmian with one hand while casually placing the plastic bag containing the food to the side with the other.
Hearing her command, Ye Xingmian clearly hesitated for a moment. Her mental state seemed somewhat poor, worse than it was in the morning. ‘How strange. Didn’t she just sleep the entire afternoon away?’
Qin Haiyue didn’t dwell on it. Crossing her arms, she commanded, “Kneel!”
This time, however, Ye Xingmian did not comply. She just raised her head, staring blankly at Qin Haiyue, clearly not understanding what she wanted to do.
Qin Haiyue didn’t want to waste words either. She directly kicked Ye Xingmian in the thigh. With a muffled groan, Ye Xingmian lost her balance and fell to the floor.
But that wasn’t the end.
The distance she fell exceeded the length of the chain. The chain suddenly pulled taut.
As her neck was yanked by the chain from the ceiling, her body couldn’t continue falling, and her throat was constricted, bringing a clear, choking pain.
She had no choice but to endure the pain and crawl backward a bit before she could catch her breath.
‘Why did Qin Haiyue suddenly kick me? I don’t know.’
‘But Qin Haiyue’s actions never seem to have much reason anyway.’
Somewhat weakly, she slumped on the floor, hugging her legs, looking up at Qin Haiyue in confusion.
‘…I’m used to it.’
Qin Haiyue paid no attention to her gaze. She found a bowl, poured the dishes into it, scooped a bowl of rice, poured a bowl of water, and placed them all on the floor.
Looking at Ye Xingmian slumped on the ground, she curled her lips into a playful smile. “Do you want to eat?”
Did she want to eat? Naturally, she did.
Having only eaten that one meal in the morning all day, Ye Xingmian was already starving. Combined with last night’s mental torment, she felt extremely uncomfortable now and naturally craved the food on the floor.
But what puzzled and unsettled her even more was Qin Haiyue’s changed attitude once again.
‘She’s changed again. She wasn’t like this when she left. Now she’s hitting me again.’
She just didn’t know why.
Feeling weary and distracted, she nodded faintly.
“Good. Then crawl over here to eat.”
“Crawl…?”
What an insulting thing to say.
Was she supposed to crawl on the ground like a dog or a cat, begging for her scraps?
She was stunned for a moment, not moving.
Qin Haiyue noticed her hesitation and frowned.
“What? You think I’m still going to prepare food for you? If you don’t eat, I’ll just take it away. I won’t prepare anything for you tomorrow.”
Tomorrow… did she mean tomorrow morning?
Her body was already frail. If she went so long without eating, would her low blood sugar act up again? Fainting wouldn’t be good. Back at home, she had fainted before and almost hit her head.
Thinking of this, Ye Xingmian’s face paled slightly.
Qin Haiyue had already walked up to her, crouched down, and grabbed the chain behind her neck.
Seeing her still hesitating, Qin Haiyue grew impatient.
“Are you going to eat or not? Huh? Eat or not?”
The chain was suddenly yanked tight, and the pain of suffocation struck. Ye Xingmian instinctively reached up to grab the collar around her neck, but it was useless.
A tear uncontrollably slipped from the corner of her eye.
She quickly nodded, wanting to stop Qin Haiyue’s violence.
Seeing her nod, Qin Haiyue finally released her.
It seemed there was only this one path left now.
Ye Xingmian hesitated for a moment, but finally began to slowly crawl over from the floor.
The chain behind her neck swayed lightly with her movements, making a soft clinking sound.
She should have felt humiliated, but at this moment, she was already somewhat numb.
‘Why? Because of that kick just now? Or the one this morning? Or maybe those hours of darkness and silence earlier?’
She didn’t know.
She just crawled, listlessly and slowly.
Only after a while did she realize Qin Haiyue’s malicious intent.
The food was placed just out of her reach.
She reached out to grab it but couldn’t reach. If she went any further, the collar would choke her painfully, even suffocating her.
She had no choice but to look up at Qin Haiyue with pleading eyes.
Sure enough, Qin Haiyue revealed a smile that said “just as I expected.”
She also crouched down, holding a spoon in her hand.
“Do you want me to feed you?”
Ye Xingmian fell silent. She didn’t want to answer this humiliating question.
“Hmm? I’ll ask again—do you want me to feed you?” The voice rose, carrying a clear tone of threat.