Mu Xi raised her head, looking at her through disheveled strands of hair.
Ye Lan’s face showed no extra expression, her phoenix eyes betraying no emotion, calm as a deep pool.
“Okay.” Mu Xi replied softly, her voice a little hoarse.
She threw off the covers and got out of bed, her bare feet landing on the cold floor, sending a slight shiver through her.
Ye Lan didn’t urge her, just stood there watching as she entered the bathroom to wash up.
The metal sink, the cold running water, and in the mirror, her own pale, delicate face.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Those once clear eyes were now filled with exhaustion and wariness.
After quickly washing up and changing into clean casual clothes, she followed Ye Lan out of the bedroom.
The stairs of the Silent Language Building were made of metal, producing a soft “clank, clank” sound with each step, echoing through the overly quiet building.
The dining hall on the first floor was simply and starkly decorated. Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows was the gray-yellow sky of Stone City, without a trace of cloud.
On the rectangular metal dining table, food had already been laid out. Two simple set meals: meat, vegetables, and a cup of warm milk. For the apocalypse, it was considered sumptuous.
The two sat facing each other.
Ye Lan picked up her knife and fork and began to eat gracefully.
Mu Xi, however, had no appetite. She only picked up the milk cup and took small sips.
A suffocating silence filled the air.
Mu Xi knew there were things she had to ask.
“Li Xin… and Little An, they…”
She put down the cup, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes, her voice trembling.
“Where exactly are they?”
Ye Lan’s hand, which was cutting the steak, paused for a moment but quickly returned to normal. She looked up at Mu Xi, her face still showing no emotion.
“Yes.”
Mu Xi met her gaze, trying to appear calm.
“You want to see them?”
Ye Lan wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
“Actually, that arm I showed you last time was fake.”
Mu Xi’s heart sank.
‘Fake?’
“Used to test your reaction.” Ye Lan’s voice was calm to the point of cruelty.
“It was just a prop.”
‘Test? In such a bloody way?’
Mu Xi felt a chill rising from her spine.
“Then where are they?”
She pressed on, a hint of urgency in her voice.
“They’re still alive, right? Where did you hide them?”
Ye Lan put down her knife and fork, folded her hands on the table, and leaned forward slightly, looking directly into Mu Xi’s eyes.
“Little Xi,” she said slowly, her tone unclear whether it was regret or indifference.
“I don’t know where they are.”
“What do you mean?”
Mu Xi frowned.
“It means they have disappeared,” Ye Lan said.
“Since we parted, they have completely vanished. I sent many people to look for them, mobilizing almost all of Stone City’s intelligence network, but found nothing.”
“I have no reason to lie to you,” she said.
“If they were in my hands, they would be useful to you, to me, and to our plans. But I truly cannot find them.”
She paused, her tone softening slightly, carrying a strange placating quality.
“Of course, maybe they got lucky and found a safe corner to hide. If that’s the case, I’d like to see them again as well. After all, Li Xin was once my most capable subordinate.”
Mu Xi looked at Ye Lan, trying to find any trace of a lie on her face. But Ye Lan’s expression was too calm—too calm, making her heart race with anxiety.
She didn’t believe it.
She couldn’t believe it.
‘If Li Xin and Little An are really dead… then what has all my endurance and persistence been for?’
‘Everything I’ve done, the humiliation, the compromises—what were they all for?’
Overwhelming sadness and anger surged up, clogging her throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
The food before her became repulsive, her stomach churning.
She pushed the plate away and abruptly stood up.
“I’m not eating.”
Ye Lan didn’t move, only looked up at her.
“Sit down.”
Her voice was not loud, but carried an overwhelming pressure.
Mu Xi stood frozen, her body trembling slightly from anger and sorrow.
Ye Lan picked up the table knife and tapped it lightly against the tabletop with her fingertips, producing a regular, cold clinking sound. Once, then again, each tap striking Mu Xi’s tense nerves.
“I said, sit down,” Ye Lan repeated, her voice turning cold.
“Little Xi, don’t make me angry.”
“This won’t do you any good.” Ye Lan’s voice was low, without any warmth.
Mu Xi looked at her, at those deep, unfathomable phoenix eyes, which held the familiar, unyielding desire for control. She knew Ye Lan wasn’t joking. Resistance would only bring harsher punishment and control.
Hatred churned in her chest, but was crushed down by a deeper sense of powerlessness.
Slowly, bit by bit, she sat back down in her chair.
Ye Lan pushed the plate back in front of her.
“Eat.”
Mu Xi picked up the knife and fork, but her fingers were trembling. She lowered her head, looking at the food on the plate, her eyes stinging.
She didn’t want to eat.
She couldn’t eat.
Ye Lan seemed to lose patience.
She stood up, walked over to Mu Xi, picked up her fork, speared a small piece of cut meat, and brought it to Mu Xi’s lips.
Mu Xi clamped her lips shut and turned her head away.
“Open your mouth.”
Ye Lan’s hand stopped in midair, silent for a few seconds.
Then she put down the fork, reached out, and grabbed Mu Xi’s chin, forcing her to turn her head. The force was strong, carrying a hint of punishment.
“I told you to open your mouth.” Ye Lan’s voice was cold as ice.
Mu Xi was forced to meet her gaze, and in those eyes she saw the familiar, unyielding desire to control.
She knew she couldn’t escape.
Humiliated, she slightly opened her mouth.
Ye Lan picked up the fork again and pushed the piece of meat into her mouth. The cold metal touched her lips, then the temperature and texture of the meat.
Ye Lan stood right beside her, feeding her bite by bite, like feeding a pet.
Mu Xi numbly chewed—tasteless. She forced herself to swallow, tears welling up in her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall.
‘Is what Ye Lan said true? Are Li Xin and Little An really dead?’
She ate mechanically, thinking chaotically.
‘This world is too cruel, full of betrayal, killing, and despair.’
‘Being toyed with in Ye Lan’s palm, I can see no hope.’
‘Living means enduring endless pain and torment.’
‘Just like me, trapped in this cage called the Silent Language Building.’
‘If they really are dead, isn’t that also a release? Dead, and you don’t have to face anything anymore.’
‘Perhaps death is the best destination.’
Ye Lan finished feeding the last bite, then wiped the corner of Mu Xi’s mouth with a napkin, her movements soft as if with pity.
“There, that’s a good girl,” she said softly, a hint of satisfied sigh in her voice.
Mu Xi lowered her head, not looking at her, not speaking.
Ye Lan straightened up and looked down at her for a moment.
“Get some rest.” She dropped these words and turned to leave the dining hall.
The sound of footsteps faded away at the stairway.
In the dining hall, only Mu Xi was left, along with the messy tableware.
She sat there, motionless.
After a long time, she slowly raised her hand and covered her face.
There was no crying, only suppressed, faint trembling.
‘Li Xin, Little An… are you really gone?’
No one could answer that question for her.
Outside the window, the sky of Stone City was still that dull gray-yellow, without a trace of life.