“Okay…”
Ye Xingmian trembled all over, pursed her lips, and softly agreed. Qin Haiyue then scooped a spoonful of rice from the bowl and brought it close to Ye Xingmian’s mouth.
She wanted to lean forward to eat it, but soon realized with frustration that she couldn’t reach it.
She looked up, her gaze hesitant as she met Qin Haiyue’s eyes. Qin Haiyue’s face was already curved into a mocking smile.
“Eat. Why aren’t you eating?”
“I can’t reach…”
“If you can’t reach, don’t you know how to crawl forward?”
Ye Xingmian fell silent instantly. She immediately understood what Qin Haiyue wanted her to do, but she didn’t want to do it.
But, not wanting to do it was useless, wasn’t it?
She had no choice but to struggle and crawl forward a little more. The chain behind her neck tightened with her movement, the collar transmitting a strong sense of restraint.
Enduring it, she managed to crawl forward a bit more, finally reaching the spoon in Qin Haiyue’s hand. She opened her mouth and took the rice in.
After doing this, she knelt on the ground, catching her breath, her neck tilting back, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
“So, is it tasty?”
Qin Haiyue stared at her, blinking.
“Goo… good… cough! Cough cough!”
Struggling to respond, she suddenly choked on her breath. She started coughing violently.
Fortunately, she had already swallowed what was in her mouth; otherwise, if she had sprayed it out now, she didn’t know what punishment Qin Haiyue might inflict.
A pathetic sense of relief actually rose in her heart. She looked up to see Qin Haiyue scooping up another spoonful of food. She had no choice but to continue enduring the restraint of the collar to eat it.
Afterward, each time she finished eating, Qin Haiyue would pat her head, like rewarding a well-behaved puppy, making her feel intensely uncomfortable.
To be honest, she only ate a small portion; the rest seemed to be eaten by Qin Haiyue herself. After who knows how long, this torturous dinner finally ended.
Qin Haiyue grew impatient. She casually placed the bowl on the table and then just stared at her.
That look made her skin crawl, leaving her restless and uneasy.
“Is… is there something…?”
Unable to hold back, she voiced the question in her heart.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Qin Haiyue took something out of her pocket—her cellphone.
Ye Xingmian’s pupils contracted, an ominous premonition instantly arising.
Qin Haiyue walked up to her, crouched down again, her gaze somewhat cold, and showed her the content on the phone.
“Who is this?”
The screen displayed her chat window with Liu Yinuo.
Ye Xingmian’s body trembled. She instinctively lied, “My… my younger sister…”
Qin Haiyue narrowed her eyes.
“Tell the truth!”
“It’s… it’s really…”
Qin Haiyue got angry. She used her knee to press Ye Xingmian down onto the floor, flipped the collar over, and gripped the chain attached to it.
“Daring to lie to me now? Got some guts?”
Pinned beneath her, Ye Xingmian weakly shook her head. She knew she was going to be hit, but she couldn’t admit that person was Liu Yinuo. Admitting it might mean getting beaten even worse.
However, she somewhat underestimated the other’s rage.
Qin Haiyue suddenly kicked her hard on the thigh. The girl pinned beneath her couldn’t help but let out a pained cry.
“Ugh!”
“Don’t worry, I can afford the medical bills,” she sneered. “Still not telling the truth? Do you believe I’ll break this leg of yours?”
The pain in her legs, combined with Qin Haiyue’s threat, made Ye Xingmian tremble all over.
“It’s… that… that… is Liu Yinuo…”
Qin Haiyue sat fully on her waist, brushed aside the hair covering Ye Xingmian’s eyes, lifted her face, forcing those timid pink eyes to look at her.
“Do you know what to do now?”
“Wh… what…”
Ye Xingmian’s eyes were full of confusion, her body still trembling slightly from the pain. She was truly afraid of Qin Haiyue.
Clearly, this answer did not satisfy Qin Haiyue. She slightly narrowed her eyes, raised her right hand, and brought it down heavily—
Slap!
After a crisp sound, a bright red handprint appeared on Ye Xingmian’s face.
“Ugh?!”
Hit again for no clear reason. Ye Xingmian reached up to cover her burning cheek but was blocked by Qin Haiyue’s arm.
Tears of physiological reaction uncontrollably spilled from the corners of her eyes. She just felt immensely wronged, that indescribable feeling of misery.
She even thought back to earlier, how she had actually been looking forward to Qin Haiyue’s return—such a bully, such a scoundrel…
“Now, do you know what to do?”
Qin Haiyue grabbed her by the collar, pulling her up from the floor, coldly staring into her trembling eyes.
“Huh…? I…”
She didn’t know. She had no idea at all.
Baffling things, baffling demands, baffling bullying, baffling confinement. She clearly knew nothing, so why was she being treated like this?
Her mind was a complete mess. She didn’t know what she was thinking or what she should do now.
Seeming to finally recognize her confusion, Qin Haiyue stopped tormenting her and directly stated her demand:
“Delete Liu Yinuo. Send a voice message cutting ties with her. Understand?”
“Huh…?”
For a moment, Ye Xingmian didn’t even process what she was saying.
“What? Didn’t hear me clearly?”
Cut ties with Liu Yinuo? How was that possible… how could she… She couldn’t do it.
“No… no…”
“If you don’t send it, I’ll beat you. I’ll beat you until you agree.”
Ye Xingmian looked at her, a feeling of desperate resolve suddenly rising from the depths of her heart. She knew this was forcing her to choose the lesser of two terrible outcomes.
She closed her eyes, her body still trembling, her voice somewhat hoarse:
“Then go ahead and hit me…”
Hearing this, Qin Haiyue gritted her teeth, clenched her hands tightly into fists, and began landing blow after blow all over Ye Xingmian’s body.
Ye Xingmian just curled up in pain, using her arms to protect her head, trying to mitigate some of the damage.
But no matter how she tried to dodge, the fists accurately found their mark again and again, bringing unbearable pain.
But she didn’t beg for mercy. She didn’t relent.
She had already been beaten for so long, bullied for so long. She had to hold onto something for herself. Moreover, that person was the only one who had been kind to her—her Class Monitor.
So beat her then. It would stop eventually. After the pain, she could rest.
Even as she comforted herself with these thoughts, tears still couldn’t stop rolling down.
It hurt. It really, really hurt.
Coming to this meeting today might have been the worst decision she had ever made.