Over the next few days, Mu Xi tried to communicate with Little An, hoping to awaken a spark of awareness within her.
“Little An, what’s your favorite color?” Mu Xi asked softly, offering her a piece of pastry.
Little An took the pastry with mechanical precision but didn’t respond to the question, staring blankly ahead.
“Did you ever have any happy moments at Mrs. Karin’s place?” Mu Xi tried again.
Still no response.
Little An simply sat quietly, like an exquisitely crafted doll.
Mu Xi sighed, gazing into Little An’s lifeless eyes, a wave of helplessness swelling in her chest.
Those eyes were like shattered mirrors, no longer reflecting any emotion.
“Could you help me tidy up the bed?”
Mu Xi changed the subject.
Little An immediately stood up and began tidying the bed with fluid, practiced movements that were almost heartbreaking.
This reflexive obedience, this automatic compliance, was even more despairing than the failed attempts at conversation.
Every attempt ended in failure, and Mu Xi had to accept a harsh reality.
Little An’s inner world had already collapsed, leaving behind only a breathing, moving shell.
‘I really wish I could help you…” Mu Xi whispered to herself, watching Little An numbingly carry out each of her instructions.
Though filled with sympathy, Mu Xi slowly grew accustomed to having Little An by her side.
Little An never questioned why, never asked for explanations, simply followed every order faithfully.
“Little An, could you help me get that book?” Mu Xi pointed to a book on music theory on the shelf.
Little An silently walked over, precisely retrieved the book, and presented it with both hands.
“Thank you.” Mu Xi accepted the book, whispering her thanks, even though she knew there would be no response.
This kind of interaction, free from worrying about the other’s feelings, gave Mu Xi a strange sense of freedom.
She didn’t need to consider Little An’s thoughts, fear offending her, or expend effort maintaining the relationship.
As time passed, Mu Xi found that Little An was indeed a capable assistant.
She tidied the room, prepared bathwater, helped with dressing, and even quietly waited nearby when Mu Xi practiced singing—never once disturbing her.
“Little An, could you bring me the comb?” Mu Xi rubbed her sleepy eyes, just sitting up from bed.
Little An immediately retrieved the comb from the dressing table and stood at the bedside, awaiting the next instruction.
This silent companionship, while lacking real communication, still brought Mu Xi a thread of comfort.
In this gilded cage, Little An was the only presence that would never harm her.
A soulless companion was better than being alone.
After half a month of rest, Mu Xi’s body gradually regained vitality.
She could get out of bed, even jog a few steps, and the weakness had faded significantly.
“I want to go back to the Manor,” Mu Xi said firmly to the medical staff.
The hospital soon received a message.
Though Ye Lan was not at the Manor, her subordinates came to relay her words: “The Mistress says you may leave at any time, but before that, she hopes you will meet with Miss Li Xin.”
Mu Xi’s brow furrowed slightly at the words, a surge of wariness rising within her.
“When did Ye Lan become so kind?” Mu Xi murmured, “She knows about me and Li Xin… why would she willingly arrange for us to meet?”
Despite her doubts, Mu Xi followed Ye Lan’s subordinate down the hospital corridor to the door of Li Xin’s Observation Room.
The moment she pushed the door open, Mu Xi saw Li Xin half-leaning on the hospital bed.
Though her legs were wrapped in bandages, her condition had improved considerably since before.
“Li Xin…” Mu Xi called softly.
Li Xin’s gaze was fixed on a large screen mounted before the bed.
Hearing Mu Xi’s voice, she only turned her head slightly, a flicker of embarrassment and avoidance in her eyes.
“What’s wrong? What are you watching?” Mu Xi asked, confused but with a faint smile of goodwill.
As she stepped closer and caught the content playing on the screen, Mu Xi’s smile froze instantly.
On the screen were the humiliating scenes of Mu Xi and Ye Lan in bed, every detail recorded clearly.
Mu Xi’s face went pale.
“This is…” Her voice caught painfully in her throat.
Li Xin avoided Mu Xi’s gaze, her fingers gripping the bedsheet tightly.
“I’ve been forced to watch this… for three days now,” Li Xin’s voice was low and hoarse.
“It’s a punishment for my betrayal.”
The room was thick with suffocating silence; neither knew how to break the awkwardness.
Outside the door, Ye Lan’s subordinate stood, lips curling into a cold sneer.
Mu Xi wanted to explain she had been forced and couldn’t resist, but when she looked at the version of herself immersed in pleasure on the screen, all words of defense stuck like a fishbone in her throat, impossible to voice.
The air felt as if it had solidified, the silence between them a wall.
Finally, Li Xin spoke, breaking the tension with a hint of relief: “Have you recovered and are ready to leave?”
She forced a smile, her eyes filled with complicated emotions: “It’s really good to see you safe and sound. I can die without regrets.”
Mu Xi bit her lip in silence, her silver hair falling to cover trembling lips.
“Li Xin, you’ll get better too.”
Her gaze involuntarily flicked back to the continuously playing screen, the sounds coming from it burning her cheeks.
“Can’t we turn off this screen?”
Li Xin shook her head with a bitter smile, fingers absentmindedly tracing her bandaged legs.
“It’s Ye Lan’s order.”
Her voice was low and hoarse: “If I don’t watch, they’ll gouge out my eyes. Otherwise, I have to keep watching.”
She lifted her head, a determined light shining in her eyes: “I’m not afraid of going blind; I’m afraid of never seeing you again, so I accepted it.”
She stared into Mu Xi’s eyes, her tone tinged with obsession: “Mu Xi, even like this, you’re beautiful.”
Mu Xi forced a smile that was more painful than tears, the shame almost drowning her.
“You’ll get better, I believe that.” Mu Xi said hurriedly, then turned and fled the room like escaping a nightmare.
She nearly ran to catch up with Ye Lan’s subordinate, desperate to leave this suffocating place and return to the surface.
Behind her, Li Xin’s gaze followed like a shadow, while the merciless images kept playing on the screen.
The elevator doors slowly opened; Mu Xi staggered out, greedily breathing in the fresh air above ground like a drowning person surfacing.
The smell of disinfectant and the suffocating memories in the underground hospital made her nauseous.
Little An was already waiting by the elevator, dressed impeccably in her maid uniform, expressionless, standing like a delicate doll.
“You’re out,” Little An said with a slight bow, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.
Ye Lan’s subordinate spoke coldly, “Miss Mu Xi, the Mistress instructed you to rest well in your room.”
Mu Xi nodded, “I understand.”
As they turned to leave, Mu Xi changed her mind and quietly said to Little An, “Take me to the Practice Room.”
“Teacher Ling Yue should be there.”
Mu Xi’s eyes flickered with a trace of hope; perhaps Ling Yue could offer her some comfort.
Walking through the Manor’s splendid corridors, Mu Xi pushed open the heavy soundproof door of the fifth-floor Practice Room, only to find the room empty.
The piano stood silently in the mottled sunlight, but Ling Yue was nowhere in sight.
“Where is Teacher Ling Yue?” Mu Xi asked a passing female bodyguard.