In the tender embrace of dawn, sunlight filtered through pale pink curtains, casting a dreamy glow over the room, as if everything had been dipped in a soft, ethereal hue.
Mu Xi stirred from her slumber, a strange, tingling sensation radiating from her backside, prompting a delicate frown to crease her brow.
Ye Lan had already slipped away, leaving Mu Xi alone in the quiet room.
With a soft sigh, Mu Xi sat up, her legs tucked beneath her in a duck-like pose, her gaze settling on the pristine white pillow before her.
As if it were a stand-in for her frustrations, she suddenly raised her small fists, pummeling the pillow with a flurry of blows, her delicate, rosy palms slapping against it.
“You spanked me! You ‘spanked’ me!” she muttered fiercely, her voice a mix of indignation and defiance.
“Just wait, I’ll make you pay a hundred—no, a thousand times over!”
The pillow absorbed her onslaught with muffled thuds, but her fervor quickly waned.
After only a few swings, Mu Xi was breathless, tiny beads of sweat glistening on her forehead.
She couldn’t help but inwardly curse the frailty of her body, her resentment toward the pillow—now a proxy for Ye Lan—deepening with every passing second.
No longer satisfied with mere punches, she clambered to her feet, her pale, tender toes kicking the pillow with all the force she could muster.
“Psycho! Freak! Crazy woman! You’re nothing but a deranged lunatic!” she spat, each kick paired with a venomous insult, as if the words could exorcise the anger burning in her chest.
Just then, a familiar voice sliced through the air behind her: “What are you doing?”
Mu Xi froze, as if a spell had rooted her in place, her body rigid with dread.
Slowly, she turned to find Ye Lan standing in the doorway, a silver tray balanced in her hands, laden with an array of tantalizing pastries and cakes, their vibrant colors and sweet aromas filling the air.
Nestled among the confections was a single white capsule and a glass of clear water, sparkling like crystal in the sunlight.
Ye Lan set the tray down and approached, her eyes glinting with a chilling, predatory edge.
“It seems you hate me quite a bit, don’t you?”
Mu Xi dropped to her knees on the bed, her face breaking into an awkward, placating smile, her voice softening to a syrupy lilt.
“H-hate you? No way! I’d never! I was just… you know, indulging in a little fantasy, playing it out in my head. I’d never actually do anything! See? I’m being good now, aren’t I?”
She stole glances at Ye Lan’s expression, praying her words would smooth things over.
“Oh? Is that so?” Ye Lan’s lips curled into a playful, almost mocking arc.
“So this is your fantasy time is it?”
“Yes, yes, exactly! Just my silly little daydreams!” Mu Xi nodded vigorously, clinging to the excuse like a lifeline.
“I just like to imagine things, you know? Please don’t be mad, okay…?”
Her voice trembled, laced with a barely concealed plea.
Ye Lan let out a cold laugh and stepped toward the tray, gesturing to the food and the capsule.
“Eat everything. Then take the pill.”
“What’s the pill for?” Mu Xi asked, her curiosity tinged with wariness.
“A medicine to make you even more adorably clueless,” Ye Lan replied, her tone icy and unyielding.
“A pet doesn’t need intelligence—just a pretty face, a docile nature, and enough charm to be cute.”
A shiver raced up Mu Xi’s spine, cold sweat prickling her skin.
She understood instantly: Ye Lan intended to drug her into a mindless doll, a pliant toy whose only purpose was to please.
The pastries, though exquisitely tempting with their sweet fragrance, held no allure for her now.
Her mind was consumed with strategies to evade that ominous white capsule.
Refusing wasn’t an option—Ye Lan’s piercing gaze left no room for defiance.
As she nibbled absentmindedly at the sweets, a spark of an idea ignited in her mind, and a sly smile tugged at her lips.
When she finished the pastries, Ye Lan instructed her to open her mouth.
Obediently, Mu Xi took the capsule, then lifted the glass of water to her lips, downing it in one swift gulp.
Under the cover of the water’s flow, her nimble tongue deftly tucked the capsule beneath it, unnoticed.
The act was seamless, flawless.
“Done,” she said, swallowing the water and opening her mouth wide for inspection.
Ye Lan’s sharp, phoenix-like eyes scanned her mouth, and with a satisfied nod, a faint smile curved her lips.
To Mu Xi, though, that smile carried a dangerous edge.
Just as she began to congratulate herself on her cleverness, Ye Lan leaned in without warning, her lips capturing Mu Xi’s in a sudden, domineering kiss.
Caught off guard, Mu Xi’s tongue was forced upward, exposing the hidden capsule.
With a deft flick, Ye Lan’s tongue claimed the pill, pulling back to hold it between her fingers, now glistening with Mu Xi’s saliva.
Her eyes gleamed with menace, her voice low and magnetic.
“Still so disobedient. It seems you will be taking this pill after all.”
Mu Xi’s face drained of color, her back slick with cold sweat.
She was caught, utterly and completely.
“I’m sorry…” she whimpered, her voice soft and teetering on tears, like a chastised child.
Closing her eyes, she parted her lips slightly, resigned.
“Please… feed it to me.”
Ye Lan placed the capsule back in her mouth, watching as Mu Xi swallowed it obediently before turning to leave, her figure vanishing through the doorway.
“Stay put,” she called over her shoulder.
The moment Ye Lan was gone, Mu Xi bolted to the bathroom, fingers clawing at her throat in a desperate attempt to expel the capsule.
She gagged, her stomach roiling, but nothing came up—just waves of nausea and despair.
Slumping to the floor, she felt hopelessness settle over her like a shroud.
She had to find a foolproof plan before the next dose—she couldn’t keep playing this dangerous game.
By noon, Ye Lan hadn’t returned.
Instead, a woman in a sleek black suit and dark sunglasses entered, carrying another tray of food and a pill.
Her expression was blank, her voice as cold as a machine.
“The boss’s orders: I’m to watch you eat everything.”
Mu Xi complied without protest, devouring the cakes under the woman’s unyielding gaze before picking up the pill and water.
This time, she didn’t hide the capsule under her tongue.
Instead, she used its stickiness to press it discreetly against the roof of her mouth, near her front teeth—a spot nearly impossible to detect without a thorough inspection.
The woman ordered her to open her mouth and lift her tongue.
After a meticulous check, she nodded, satisfied, and left to report to Ye Lan.
Mu Xi exhaled in relief.
Carefully, she pried the capsule from her palate and hurried to the window, tossing it into the dense forest below.
From the window, an endless sea of green stretched out, the thick canopy swallowing the sunlight, leaving no trace of the ground beneath.
The tiny capsule plummeted into the verdant abyss, vanishing like a single drop in an ocean, lost forever in the wild.
Tftc!