Chapter 36: Calm
The darkness, like a thick and viscous tide, gradually rose in the enclosed space, passing over his ankles, neck, and pupils…
He was drowning in the darkness, but he couldn’t find a single thin piece of driftwood to save himself. His dark pupils couldn’t hold a single bit of light. He was curled up in a corner of the sofa, staring at the slender light that was projected on the screen, changing second by second.
Familiar faces flashed past his eyes on the screen. He had tried to hold on to the irreversible fact with his hands, but he could only intercept a small piece of meaningless light. His fingertips touched the inorganic screen, and a cold temperature was transmitted to him.
A crisp, clicking sound came from behind his ear. It was the echo of thin-soled high heels hitting the white porcelain tiles. The melodious and crisp sound was a little harsh in his mind.
He subconsciously wanted to turn off the projector. His body, which was hidden in the shadows, moved, and the chain that was shackling his ankle rattled, like a hunter and his prey in a forest. The sound of his struggle also exposed his position in the darkness.
The hunter quickly found him. She pushed open the half-open… door, which only had a small gap. She saw the prey that was curled up in a corner of the sofa at a glance. She curled her lips slightly, and her narrow-soled, thin-heeled high heels were silent on the felt carpet. She approached silently, deliberately lengthening the distance under her feet, as if a predator were playing with its prey before finishing it off.
Su Yu’s breathing quickened slightly, and his shoulders trembled uncontrollably. He didn’t know when the warmth behind him would come, but he could only wait in apprehension.
“Xiao Chan…”
A hot breath was suddenly poured into his ear canal. Su Yu subconsciously struggled for a moment, but he quickly suppressed his restless body and let the other party lock his neck with her arms. The curled and soft ends of her hair fell on both sides of his cheeks, and the rich neroli fragrance pulled at his sense of smell, which was a little intoxicating.
The woman’s movements were gentle and meticulous. She buried her head in the deep hollow of his neck, and her hot breath brushed against his skin. A little bit of softness spread along the side of his neck, leaving a wet and warm touch…
Licking was not enough to satisfy the gap of a single day. It soon became kissing and biting, and a chaotic and charming sound of water was born in the silent darkness.
She bit his slender neck, and her sharp teeth gently scraped against his skin. Her bright red lips, which were painted with lipstick, held the fair and tender soft flesh and sucked obsessively, leaving a bright red kiss mark on his skin.
“I miss you so much. I miss you so much.”
Gu Zhi smelled the rich rose fragrance that was left on the boy’s body from the shampoo.
Her fingertips gently caressed the back of his neck. The teeth marks she had left on his soft, white skin yesterday were slowly fading.
She felt a surge of unwillingness and annoyance. She wanted to carve the teeth marks deeply into his fair skin, just like engraving a name on a nameplate, like the snow-white clouds and the sunset reflecting each other in the evening, a vibrant red flowing in the snow-white.
This scene made her so excited that she wanted to tremble. An indescribable pleasure shot through her lower body, along her fragile spine, and straight into her cranial cavity.
Her breathing quickened. She really wanted to… tear off this hypocritical and gentle skin on her face. The desire in her gutter was like a hook, luring the evil factors in her blood.
“What do you want to eat tonight? If you’re still not feeling well, you can just have some porridge. I just bought some fresh shrimp…”
Suddenly, the light spilled outward, driving the darkness into a corner, curling up and retreating. Their faces, hidden until now, were revealed.
Su Yu looked up at the woman’s exquisite and beautiful features. She was squinting her eyes, and the dark eyeshadow was dragged up at the corners of her eyes, creating a charming and gentle smile.
Her soft and dark hair fell down on both sides of her cheeks like a waterfall. He saw a glimpse of her earlobe, and the sinful blush had stained her fair skin.
“I… I just got back. I’m probably just hot. It’s almost summer…”
Gu Zhi showed a rare timidity. She avoided Su Yu’s gaze, hiding her unsightly loss of composure. Awkwardly, she muttered excuses she herself found laughable, deluding herself into thinking the boy would not see through her shameful thoughts.
Su Yu couldn’t verify Gu Zhi’s excuse. The temperature in the basement almost never changed. He couldn’t tell day from night. The light from the ceiling cast a dim and yellow light. He clearly couldn’t touch the warm, fresh sunlight, yet he was still imprisoned here, being someone else’s sun.
He bypassed this little interlude and fell completely into the deepest abyss of despair. He actually didn’t feel much fear. He numbly and weakly accepted the fact.
His voice was hoarse and low, as if he had been screaming without regard for the damage. He, he replied briefly, “I’m fine with anything…”
“Alright then. I’ll go up for a while. It will be quick…”
Gu Zhi left a wet and intimate kiss on his forehead. She packed up the leftovers from Su Yu’s lunch and carried them on a plate to the upstairs to prepare dinner.
This was their unremarkable way of getting along, almost a microcosm of their time in elementary school. After that naked threat, Gu Zhi had not used his compromise to do anything. This plain and uninteresting life seemed to be enough to make her feel particularly satisfied.
As long as he put on a submissive and obedient appearance, the violent and tyrannical personality would be tightly suppressed in the woman’s bones, leaving only the one he was familiar with… the gentle and intellectual older sister.
…
“Be careful, it’s hot…”
Gu Zhi brought the cooked fresh shrimp porridge to Su Yu. The porcelain spoon was resting on the edge of the wooden bowl. She considerately blew on it for Su Yu. The steaming hot air was still unstoppable.
“Thank you.”
Su Yu paused for a moment, then slowly held the porcelain spoon and gently stirred the light white porridge. The spoon hit the side of the bowl with a crisp sound. There was almost nothing in the entire basement that could be used to escape. This long-planned imprisonment had mercilessly killed all possibilities.
“By the way, Xiao Chan said the discs were almost finished last time. I bought some new ones, and a few books.”
Gu Zhi carefully stacked the things on the table and pushed them in front of Su Yu. She looked up at the boy’s still-indifferent expression, and her heart seemed to have been lightly bitten by something. It was not fatal… but the pain was incredibly clear.
She stirred the sweet and delicious thick porridge in her own bowl. Her nose was sour, and the heat in her heart was so strong that she had no appetite.
Gu Zhi shifted her gaze back to the boy, watching as he drank the white porridge from the porcelain spoon. His slender Adam’s apple rolled, and he swallowed all the porridge she had made. A happy arc appeared at the corners of her long, narrow eyes, and she looked at Su Yu’s face with some anticipation.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah, it’s very fresh… and very sweet.”
Su Yu pursed his lips, the light and sweet taste lingering between them. He nodded gently. He paused for a few seconds. He stared at the woman who was looking down and drinking porridge with a happy expression, and he couldn’t help but ask, “What time is it now? Is it almost the gaokao?”
There was no response. The smile in Gu Zhi’s eyes suddenly dimmed, and her thick and curled eyelashes trembled slightly. She let go of the porcelain spoon that was at her lips, and her appetite was completely gone. “Why are you asking this, Xiao Chan? Is there someone you’re still thinking about? Do you need me to go and visit them for you?”
“Nothing… just asking casually.”
Su Yu extinguished the little bit of hope in his heart and silently continued to eat his porridge.
“Hah…”
Gu Zhi squinted her eyes and smiled, a few sarcastic words escaping from between her red lips and white teeth. “You really haven’t changed. You said the collar was choking you… I took it off for you. You said the chain was inconvenient… I also untied it for you. I’ve given you everything you wanted, just to have you stay by my side. What more do you want?”
The woman propped herself up with her arms and pounced in front of Su Yu. Her hot breath brushed against his face, and his eyelashes trembled uncontrollably. His palm trembled, and the porcelain spoon fell from his control, hitting the ground hard and shattering into small pieces. The milky white, hot porridge spilled out, flowing along the lines of the floor.
