Chapter 281: Gifts

‘Hit her? Would she feel pain? Or would she only feel more pleasure?’

Emotions intertwined and clashed in her eyes. 

Ye Lan’s hand trembled slightly in midair, anger mingling with a more complex emotion. 

In the end, the raised palm did not fall. Instead, her other empty hand suddenly reached for Mu Xi’s chest.

Through the thin fabric, Ye Lan’s fingers viciously pinched that soft, snowy white. 

The pinch was extremely forceful, with the intent of venting her anger. 

The pain was sharp and clear, but with it came a strange, shameful itch, and a faint tingling numbness that quickly spread along the nerve endings.

Mu Xi arched her body, “Hiss—” She sucked in a breath of cold air. 

“This feeling is more unbearable than simple pain, making me feel even more humiliated.”

“Madwoman!” Mu Xi gritted her teeth and squeezed out two words from between her teeth.

“You shameless madwoman!” Her voice trembled slightly from pain and shame.

Ye Lan watched her instantly reddened eye sockets and her delicate features slightly twisted from pain. 

The anger in her heart seemed to find an outlet, but the inexplicable irritability and emptiness that had been there since that day grew even stronger.

She released her hand, leaving a clear red mark on that snowy white skin.

“Shameless?” Ye Lan sneered, stood up, and looked down at Mu Xi curled up on the ground. 

“Little Xi, talking to me about shame? Have you forgotten who made you what you are now?”

Her voice returned to its usual low and domineering tone, but if you listened closely, you could still detect a trace of barely noticeable embarrassment. 

Ye Lan lightly kicked the shackles binding Mu Xi’s ankles with the toe of her boot, producing a crisp metallic clatter, “Compared to this, what are these little ‘games’?”

Mu Xi curled up, trembling all over from intense pain and shame. 

She bit her lower lip hard, not letting herself make more sounds, and only stared at Ye Lan with eyes burning with hatred.

Ye Lan felt her heart tighten under that gaze, as if she had returned to that night filled with blood and betrayal. 

She didn’t want to see that look anymore, so she averted her eyes and said coldly, “It seems ordinary ‘training’ is no longer effective on you. I’ll make you understand that resisting me will only cost you a heavier price.”

After saying that, she didn’t linger any longer. 

She turned abruptly and strode toward the door.

The metal door was slammed shut, producing a loud sound that shook dust from the walls.

This time, Ye Lan did not hesitate.

“click!”

The sound of the lock turning came clearly, completely cutting off the last ray of light and hope.

The storage room once again fell into dead silence and darkness.

Only the lingering sting on her chest and those waves of embarrassing aftertaste, along with the cold air, reminded Mu Xi of what had just happened.

She leaned against the cold wall, her body trembling from anger and humiliation.

This time, Ye Lan was gone for a long time, so long that the smell of mold and rust in the storage room almost soaked into Mu Xi’s skin.

The cold touch of the walls and the heavy restraints became like part of her body, merging with her breath and heartbeat.

The people who brought food changed again and again, all silent women from the escort team. Their purple uniforms were like a persistent shadow, each time bringing brief light and food, then quickly disappearing into the darkness, leaving Mu Xi alone.

Mu Xi began to get used to this sunless life. Or rather, the initial anger, fear, and unwillingness were slowly worn away in the day-after-day darkness and hunger.

She started learning to empty her mind, not thinking about Ye Lan, not thinking about Li Xin and Little An, not even thinking about her own situation.

She told herself over and over in her heart: live on, must adapt, must endure. Like wild grass—even in a crevice, it must desperately take root and absorb every drop of water to seek a chance of survival in despair.

She even began counting the cracks on the wall and calculating the time intervals between meals, trying to find some order and pattern in this almost stagnant environment.

This numb self-consolation, like a thin cocoon, wrapped around her fragile heart, allowing her to barely maintain a thread of clarity in the abyss of despair.

Until one day, the metal door of the storage room again made a heavy sound, breaking the suffocating silence.

Mu Xi’s heart suddenly leaped, a instinctive vigilance flooding her mind.

She raised her head, looking through her disheveled hair at the slowly opening door.

Outside the door, Ye Lan’s figure appeared in the light.

She was still wearing that sleek black uniform, her black hair tied up high, her deep phoenix eyes especially sharp in the dim light, carrying a suffocating pressure.

Ye Lan carried an exquisite wooden box in her hand and walked in slowly.

In the air, the faint smell of disinfectant was replaced by an even colder aura—the aura belonging to Ye Lan, domineering and aggressive.

“Little Xi.”

Ye Lan’s voice was low and slow, with a trace of barely noticeable hoarseness, like a whisper, yet it clearly reached Mu Xi’s ears, each word carrying a terrifying power.

Mu Xi bit her lower lip tightly, not responding, only staring fixedly at Ye Lan with her reddened eyes. She didn’t know what trick Ye Lan was about to play, but intuition told her it would be nothing good.

Ye Lan walked to Mu Xi, stopped, and looked down at her from above.

Her gaze was cold and calm, as if appraising an object, not a living person.

“I brought you a gift,” Ye Lan said, placing the wooden box on the ground in front of Mu Xi.

The surface of the box was smooth and delicate, with a faint sandalwood fragrance, totally out of place with the dirty atmosphere of the storage room, appearing abnormally conspicuous.

Mu Xi looked at the box, a strong unease rising in her heart. A gift? Ye Lan would give her a gift? This was sheer fantasy. Moreover, with Ye Lan’s personality, the so-called gift would likely be some kind of torment.

Ye Lan seemed very satisfied with Mu Xi’s reaction. The corner of her mouth curled into a cold curve, and she slowly opened the wooden box.

The lid opened, and a pungent cold air instantly surged out, accompanied by a faint smell of blood.

Mu Xi’s pupils suddenly contracted, and her breathing became rapid.

She saw that a human arm lay quietly inside the box.

It was a human arm—pale skin, long fingers, nails trimmed neatly.

At the cut of the arm, flesh and blood were blurred, covered with frost, presenting a strange bluish-white color.

Mu Xi’s mind went blank, as if struck by lightning. She sat stiffly, motionless.

“Look, do you recognize whose hand this is?” Ye Lan’s voice was still calm, as if talking about something trivial.

Mu Xi’s gaze was fixed on the arm, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably. She felt her blood freeze, a chill shooting from her feet to her head, making her entire body ice-cold.

“No… impossible…” Mu Xi’s voice was hoarse and trembling. She didn’t believe it. She absolutely didn’t believe that Ye Lan would do such a thing.