For a long time, so long that Mu Xi felt her neck was about to become stiff and snap, she finally, slowly and extremely reluctantly, lowered her head.
It was as if she had unloaded a thousand-pound burden, or as if she was admitting some kind of complete defeat.
Her voice was so light it was almost inaudible, carrying deep exhaustion and a barely perceptible tremor.
“…Want to sleep.”
A knowing, yet somewhat cruel and playful smile appeared on Ye Lan’s face.
She didn’t let her go immediately, instead leaning forward, close to Mu Xi’s ear.
Warm breath brushed against her ear, but it brought a bone-chilling coldness.
“Want to sleep?” Ye Lan’s voice was soft like a lover’s whisper, but the content made Mu Xi’s body tense.
“That won’t do.”
Mu Xi suddenly looked up, staring at her in disbelief.
Ye Lan straightened up, slowly and deliberately arranging her sleeves, her posture elegant yet full of the patronizing air of a controller.
“Beg me.” Ye Lan spoke flatly, her phoenix eyes looking down at her.
“Like before, act spoiled, say something nice.”
A faint smile curled at the corner of her lips, carrying condescending mockery.
“Maybe, if I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you sleep.”
A sense of humiliation, like icy tides, instantly engulfed her.
The burning pain in her lungs hadn’t subsided yet, and a new stabbing pain spread from her heart.
She could almost hear the sound of her bones being crushed inch by inch.
‘Act spoiled? At this woman who destroyed everything?’
Mu Xi’s lowered eyelashes trembled violently.
She could feel Ye Lan’s gaze, like a solid searchlight, roaming over her, with scrutiny, with amusement, and with a cruel patience waiting for the prey to completely collapse.
Time passed second by second, the air stagnant as if solid. In the Silent Language Building, only the low hum of equipment running accentuated this terrifying silence.
Mu Xi knew that Ye Lan was waiting.
For her to completely give up resistance, for her to abandon her dignity and beg like a dog countless times before.
The fatigue of her body was real, and the blurring of her consciousness was also real.
The darkness before her eyes deepened wave after wave, as if it would completely swallow her at any moment.
She needed rest, she needed sleep, otherwise this broken body would truly collapse.
‘But just thinking about obtaining a moment of peace in that way made her stomach churn.’
Hatred supported her, keeping her from collapsing immediately.
But hatred alone was not enough.
She needed to survive.
Only by surviving would she have a chance.
This thought was like a wisp of ghost fire igniting in the darkness, giving her a sliver of cold motivation.
She slowly raised her head, her movements sluggish like a rusty doll.
Because of lowering her head for a long time and coughing violently, her neck was sore and stiff, and her vision was blurry.
She met Ye Lan’s deep phoenix eyes.
There was not a trace of warmth in them, only the indifference of controlling everything and a barely perceptible interest.
Mu Xi’s lips moved, terribly dry.
She struggled to muster the last of her remaining strength, trying to force an expression.
Rather than a strange twitch, it was more like she barely pulled at the corner of her lips.
She saw Ye Lan raise an eyebrow slightly, as if somewhat interested in her reaction.
“Ye Lan…” The first word cost her immense effort, her throat burning.
Her voice came out, hoarse like sandpaper rubbing.
She couldn’t be too strong, that would only invite harsher treatment. She couldn’t use pure begging either, that would only satisfy Ye Lan’s sadistic desires.
Mu Xi slightly tilted her head, avoiding Ye Lan’s too-sharp gaze, and spoke again with a tone that was almost complaining, slightly nasal.
Her voice was still hoarse, but she deliberately softened the ending, adding a little trembling of grievance.
Not a trembling of fear, but… a trembling of reluctance, similar to acting spoiled.
“I’m so sleepy…” She stretched out a hand, fingers curled, fingertips trembling slightly, stopping in mid-air, just a few inches from Ye Lan’s sleeve.
It was a tentative posture, with a sense of fragility.
As if it would fall from exhaustion the next second.
Or as if she was being petulant.
“…Just… let me go to sleep.”
She paused, as if gathering courage, and at the last few words, she even pouted slightly.
Despite her pale complexion and cracked lips, her overly beautiful eyes managed to squeeze out a hint of moistness.
Not tears, but a physiological dampness from extreme fatigue and exertion.
This appearance carried both the embarrassment of being forced to submit and a kind of prickly, childish charm of giving up after being pushed to the limit.
Ye Lan watched her quietly.
In those unfathomable eyes, emotions shifted unpredictably.
There was scrutiny, amusement, a moment of daze, finally settling on a complex and indescribable emotion.
She seemed to capture a familiar shadow in Mu Xi’s current expression.
The shadow of someone who once relied on her, clung to her, and used various little tricks to achieve their goals.
Although she knew that the Mu Xi before her was filled with hatred for her, it didn’t stop her from enjoying this moment’s ‘performance’.
Or rather, it was precisely because she knew it was a performance that it made it more interesting to her.
“Oh?” Ye Lan finally spoke, her voice carrying a hint of lazy laughter, like being unwillingly rubbed by a little cat.
“Already being obedient?”
She took a step forward, warm breath again brushing Mu Xi’s cheek.
Mu Xi’s body stiffened, instinctively wanting to step back, but Ye Lan reached out and again pinched her chin.
This time, the force was not strong, more like an intimate gesture of claiming ownership.
Cold fingertips rubbed against the skin of her chin, causing a slight tremor.
“Wouldn’t it be fine if you did this earlier?” Ye Lan’s voice lowered, carrying a strange sense of satisfaction.
“Insisting on being stubborn, only to suffer for nothing.”
Mu Xi was forced to tilt her face up, looking at Ye Lan’s face so close.
This face, which once enchanted her, now only made her feel a bone-deep chill.
She didn’t answer, just looked at Ye Lan with those moist eyes, hiding a barely noticeable coldness and calculation deep within.
Ye Lan seemed very satisfied with her current ‘obedience’.
She let go of the hand pinching Mu Xi’s chin, then bent down, sliding her arms through Mu Xi’s knees and back, effortlessly lifting her horizontally.
Mu Xi let out a startled cry, her body suddenly airborne, the feeling of weightlessness making her instinctively grab the front of Ye Lan’s clothes.
The fabric was tough and slightly cool, carrying the unique scent of Ye Lan, mixed with a faint disinfectant and a kind of cold metal.
This embrace was not warm, even carrying a steel-like hardness, but for Mu Xi at this moment, it meant a temporary escape from the pain of standing.
Her head rested in the crook of Ye Lan’s shoulder, her silver hair sliding down, brushing against Ye Lan’s neck.
Ye Lan’s arms holding her tightened slightly, and she walked steadily toward the metal stairs.
The metal stairs emitted a slight echo, sounding especially clear in the empty Silent Language Building.
Mu Xi closed her eyes, burying her face deeper.
She could feel Ye Lan’s steady heartbeat, through the fabric, one beat after another, calm and powerful.
This heartbeat, which once was her comfort, now was like a death knell.
She forced herself to relax her body, making a posture of extreme fatigue and complete dependence.
Only then could she numb Ye Lan.
Only then would she have a chance.
Ye Lan carried her all the way to the master bedroom.
Ye Lan walked to the bed and carefully placed Mu Xi on it.
The soft mattress supported her exhausted body, and Mu Xi almost immediately sank into darkness.