Her gaze settled on the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the distant trees sway in the wind, trying to distract herself.
Time passed, each minute stretched out endlessly.
By noon, the sun had climbed to its peak, making the room unusually bright.
The Maid pushed the door open again, this time with an even more sumptuous tray: pan-seared salmon, fresh vegetable salad, and a steaming cup of thick soup.
The aroma quickly filled the entire room, and Mu Xi’s stomach clenched violently, loudly protesting.
The Maid seemed to anticipate this, a faint, nearly imperceptible smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Mu Xi clenched her teeth, forcing herself not to look at the food.
Her fingers dug deep into the mattress.
“I said, I’m not eating.” Her voice was hoarse from hunger but remained resolute.
This time, the Maid didn’t even change her expression, as if she had already known the outcome.
She turned elegantly, carrying the fragrant food out of the room.
Once the door closed, Mu Xi finally lost control, curling into a ball while clutching her stomach.
The hunger came in waves, each more intense than the last.
Her mind dulled, thoughts scattered, and brief hallucinations appeared.
She seemed to see plates of delicious dishes floating in the air.
In the afternoon, Mu Xi sat on the edge of the bed, fists clenched tightly.
Her face was pale to near transparency, lips cracked, and faint blue shadows darkened beneath her eyes.
“Hold on…” Mu Xi whispered to herself, her voice brittle like dry leaves.
Hunger was no longer just a physical need; it had become torture, a torment that seeped into her bones.
Her stomach felt twisted and cruelly constricted.
Dizziness hit in waves, and several times she nearly fell off the bed.
Suddenly, Mu Xi realized this hunger strike might lead to no result at all.
Perhaps Ye Lan didn’t care whether she ate or not, or worse, she was somewhere watching it all unfold, enjoying Mu Xi’s suffering.
The thought stabbed Mu Xi’s chest with dull pain, even harder to endure than the hunger.
She hugged herself tightly, nails digging into the skin of her shoulders, leaving shallow red marks.
Outside, the sun began to set, casting golden-red light slantwise into the room, draping everything in a surreal glow.
Mu Xi leaned against the headboard, feeling her consciousness blur as the pain of hunger receded into the distance.
She closed her eyes, imagining what Li Xin must be going through now, wondering if she too was enduring similar pain.
That thought gave her a strange comfort, like a faint light in the darkness reminding her she was not entirely alone.
No one knew how much time had passed before the room was swallowed by darkness.
Mu Xi lay on the bed, eyes hollowly staring at the ceiling, her will and body both gradually drained by hunger…
As night fully enveloped the Manor, darkness seeped in like ink through the windows, plunging Mu Xi’s room into dimness.
Only the colored glass windows refracted moonlight, casting geometric patches of light on the floor like scattered jewels.
The sound of the Maid pushing open the door startled Mu Xi from her half-dreaming state.
The aroma from the silver tray wrapped around her senses like invisible ropes.
Tonight’s dinner was especially lavish.
Golden seared foie gras, tender pink steak, white porcelain plates garnished with colorful vegetables — every dish seemed crafted to torment her taste buds.
“Miss,” the Maid’s voice was as calm as still water, “Miss Ye Lan specifically instructed that this is your final chance.”
She set the tray on the bedside table, the food’s scent growing even stronger.
“If you still refuse to eat, then you need not eat ever again. Boss Ye will watch with her own eyes as you starve yourself to death.”
As the words fell, the Maid bowed gracefully and turned away, her footsteps ticking like a clock, fading into the distance.
The moment the door closed, Mu Xi snapped her eyes wide open, her gaze locking onto the food like a starving beast.
Her heart pounded fiercely, half with anger, half with hunger.
Her first impulse was to overturn the entire tray, letting the exquisite food scatter across the carpet, turning it into a feast fit for hell.
‘I’ll starve to death like this, let’s see what you can do!’ Mu Xi shouted in her mind.
But then, a cooler voice echoed in her thoughts: ‘why fight her by harming yourself?’
Mu Xi’s breathing gradually steadied, and her mind began to operate again.
She stared at the food, but saw the trap behind it.
Isn’t this exactly what Ye Lan wants?
To watch her suffer, torn between hunger and pride, ultimately succumbing or dying.
Either way, it would become just another pastime in Ye Lan’s life, the final fate of an interesting toy.
“No,” Mu Xi whispered to herself, “I won’t let you have your way.”
Suddenly, she understood—the true resistance wasn’t death as a counter to control, but maintaining clarity and rationality within the controlled environment.
Preserving herself, waiting for the right moment, that was the truly wise approach.
The hunger surged again like a tide, but this time she no longer resisted.
Mu Xi jumped off the bed, barefoot on the cold floor, and took a few steps to the tray.
She noticed there were no utensils.
Another humiliation from Ye Lan.
“Want to see me eat like an animal?” Mu Xi curled her lips into a cold smile.
“Then I’ll give you what you want.”
Without hesitation, she grabbed a piece of meat with her hand and brought it to her mouth.
The flavor exploded in her mouth, nearly making her vision darken.
She devoured it greedily, like a traveler in the desert finding an oasis, caring nothing for appearances.
Oil stained her fingertips and even soaked into the white nightgown.
***
Behind the hidden cameras in the room, Ye Lan leaned back in her luxurious chair, sipping Red Wine while enjoying this “performance.”
Her eyes glinted with satisfaction.
“This is the wild little cat I know,” she murmured softly, her fingertip gently tracing Mu Xi’s image on the screen.
“Knowing when to fight back, and when to submit.”
***
Mu Xi swallowed the last bite contentedly and wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth with her forearm.
Her resistance had transformed into another form.
Survive, preserve strength.
Exhausted but slightly revived, she entered the Bathroom and removed the white nightgown stained with food.
The reflection in the mirror suddenly caught her off guard.
Those once nearly flat breasts had somehow developed clear contours, the soft curves casting faint shadows under the light.
“Bigger again…” Mu Xi frowned, fingertips lightly touching the changes on her chest.
Warm water flowed over her body, the scent of the Medicine Bath lingering in every corner of the Bathroom.
After bathing, she stood naked before the full-length mirror, unable to look away from her chest.
The change was no illusion—it was undeniable growth, from flat as a plane to now full and rounded, the speed of transformation startling.
She gently caressed the unfamiliar bulge, the softness under her fingertips sending a chill down her spine.
Back in bed, Mu Xi curled into a ball, overwhelmed by a strong sense of resistance rising within her.
As a soul still male in essence, she deeply resented the increasing female features of her body.
It wasn’t just a physical change—it felt like an invasion of identity, a dissolution of self.