This was a basement, pitch-dark and eerily silent.
Ji Yuenian was utterly bewildered, wondering how she had inexplicably ended up here.
Suddenly, a pair of iron-like, muscular hands clamped around her slender neck, and the sensation of suffocation overwhelmed her like a raging tide.
“You lied to me! You lied to me! You lied to me!!”
Those usually clear, azure eyes were now filled with intense hatred and complex emotions, turning crimson like blood.
It was him. Jiang Chi.
The Jiang Chi at this moment was nothing like the quiet, introverted boy from before.
He was domineering, unrestrained, nearly deranged -as if all reason and restraint had been stripped away, plunging him into a state of madness.
Yet, Ji Yuenian could do nothing. She couldn’t even utter a single word.
She could only watch helplessly as his grip tightened, her face paling before turning bluish-purple, her body trembling violently from oxygen deprivation, as if it might collapse at any moment…
Only when she was on the verge of death did a faint breath of air barely slip into her mouth, preserving the last flicker of life within her.
The blue-eyed boy coldly stared at the nearly unconscious long-haired beauty on the floor.
He grabbed her silky hair and dragged her up before moving toward something nearby.
It was an extremely strange chair…
No, to be precise, it wasn’t a chair but a restraint device shaped like the Chinese character “” (big), slightly smaller than a bed.
At first glance, it was clearly a terrifying tool meant for bondage and interrogation.
Without mercy, Jiang Chi stripped Ji Yuenian of her clothes one by one.
Her fair skin shimmered faintly in the darkness, exuding an alluring glow.
Then, he roughly placed the naked, long-haired beauty onto the “D”-shaped restraint device.
Her slender legs were lifted high, bent so that her calves pressed tightly against the back of her thighs, the soles of her feet flush against her plump buttocks.
This position perfectly matched the lower strokes of the “Da” shape.
The pose was both humiliating and strangely seductive.
Next were her arms, cruelly folded in the same manner forearms pressed tightly against upper arms, spread apart and locked into place on either side of the restraint.
Finally, her neck was clamped shut by an icy restraint.
Now, the long-haired beauty’s limbs were completely immobilized, her graceful figure twisted into a distorted yet tantalizing display on the restraint device.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuenian, still half-unconscious, jolted awake at the cold sensation around her limbs.
When she saw her own helpless, restrained state and Jiang Chi’s blood-red eyes, panic overtook her, pushing her to the brink of collapse.
“Wait, Jiang Chi, I was wrong! I know I was wrong, I really do!”
“I shouldn’t have lied to you! I’m sorry!”
“I’ll compensate you-anything you want!”
“Our families still have business together! Calm down!!”
“You don’t know you were wrong. You’re just scared.”
The blue-eyed boy shook his head, his voice icy as it echoed through the dark basement-just as Ji Yuenian’s once had…..
Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!!
Ji Yuenian suddenly jolted upright in bed, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. He panted heavily, his eyes still filled with lingering terror.
He looked around, and the familiar surroundings of his dorm room gradually made him realize that it had all just been a terrifying nightmare.
Yet everything in the dream had felt so real―Jiang Chi’s frenzied expression, the suffocating basement, the humiliating restraints—it all still seemed vivid before his eyes.
“Why would I have such a dream?” Ji Yuenian murmured softly, his brow furrowing.
After pondering for a long time, Ji Yuenian still couldn’t make sense of it.
In the end, he could only attribute it to his own conscience.
Perhaps it was because he had toyed with Jiang Chi’s feelings, and his conscience could no longer bear it, which led to this nightmare.
Thinking this way, Ji Yuenian patted his heaving chest to reassure himself—it was just a nightmare, nothing to panic about.
As he climbed out of bed, he realized with a start that his clothes were soaked in cold sweat, and even the bedsheet hadn’t been spared.
After a quick shower, he finally felt somewhat better.
“Why am I losing weight again?”
Staring at the three-digit number on the electronic scale, Ji Yuenian frowned and muttered to himself.
He used to be 183 cm tall and weigh 140 kg—a robust, bull-like figure.
But now, at 180 cm, his weight had dropped to 124 kg, making him almost as thin as a stray dog.
“Am I turning into a twig?”
He touched his waist, feeling helpless.
He had already lost two whole sizes-how much would he have to eat to regain it?
While others dieted every day just to lose weight, he indulged in rich food, alcohol, and cigarettes, yet his weight kept dropping instead of increasing.
What was this? Reverse weight loss?
His gaze inadvertently fell on the double-sided silver coin in the drawer, the male side facing up.
The mysterious patterns etched along the silver edges resembled the roots of some plant, with some even connecting to the male figure.
Had it always been like this?
Ji Yuenian’s curiosity stirred.
He picked up the coin and gently ran his fingers over it.
The texture and weight seemed different now, especially the outlines of the male figure, which had dulled slightly, as if losing their luster.
Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside and glanced at his phone-10:30 a.m.
Looks like he had missed his 8 a.m. class again.
No big deal. His credits were already maxed out, and as the campus ambassador, there was no way he’d fail anyway.
With some time left before lunch, he decided to go pick up his medication.
* * *
“Meow meow~ Teacher, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Wuwu- Be gentle, meow~ Please be gentle~”
“I’ve only been gone a few days, and you’ve grown so bold! Not only did you turn the clinic upside down, but you also gave away my things! Do you even know that book was the S&M Harmony Edition?! And to a high schooler! If they read that, it’d be leading them astray!!”
Just as Ji Yuenian pushed the door open, he witnessed a man in a white lab coat pinching the ears of a young boy in his arms, scolding him furiously with a look of exasperation.
The boy’s face was flushed red, tears welling in his eyes as he whimpered pitifully, pleading with repeated “meows.”
Ji Yuenian’s steps froze.
The surroundings fell silent in that instant.
He stood at the doorway, his hand still on the doorknob, unsure how to react.
Although I knew from the start that the other person didn’t have any priestly attributes, every time we bumped into each other, I felt an overwhelming urge to call the police.
It’s better to learn bondage properly at least? It was very clear on the consent/safe word aspect so it should be fine lol