Chapter 39: Sunshine
He hadn’t slept well last night. Although the woman seemed to be tired, she had waved her hand, showing her unguarded fatigue, and had let him go. She had turned her back and had fallen into a deep sleep.
But he had stayed up very late before he had closed his eyes. The desire and fatigue that the woman had aroused had combined to make his reason teeter on the brink of collapse. But his hands and feet were tied, and he couldn’t move. He couldn’t even commit the sin of self-pleasure.
There was no day or night in the basement. It was almost as if Gu Zhi were in charge of his time. When she brought breakfast down from upstairs, it was sunrise. When she came back, covered in dust, to make dinner for him, it was sunset.
After a long time, he couldn’t help but have fantasies. He would stare blankly at the cold, white wall, imagining the changing of day and night, the changing of the stars. The bird, which was imprisoned in a cage, was constantly flapping its wings, imagining a life of returning to the white clouds and blue sky.
No one would long for such a life. Even if he lived like this for another year, ten years, or even a lifetime, he couldn’t accept being a well-behaved pet, living on the love that his master gave him.
The desire to escape was growing day by day under the guise of feigned obedience. He wanted to hold the long-lost, gentle sunlight, to see the sunset that he had once thought was ordinary. He didn’t want to be imprisoned in this quiet and cold basement, unable to find a single ray of hope for the future.
Su Yu slowly opened his eyes. A bright light entered his vision. He saw the empty depression on the pillow next to him, with a faint, lingering warmth. He subconsciously thought that Gu Zhi had gone to school early as usual. After he had expressed his disgust, Gu Zhi had always slept upstairs. She would prepare breakfast and instant food for him as lunch before she went to work.
He turned over with some difficulty. His ankle was stuck in the ring of the chain, and he carefully turned it. After he had turned over, he suddenly realized that the bedside lamp was on. A hazy halo shone through the lampshade, illuminating half of the woman’s face.
The other party had been sitting by the bed, quietly watching him. She didn’t make a sound when she saw that he was awake. The woman’s eyes were really beautiful. Her long, narrow, and lively eyes were always stunning. Her hand was frozen in mid-air, and he could clearly see the prominent, thin blue blood vessels on the back of her hand.
“You’re awake?”
Gu Zhi showed a faint smile. She slowly withdrew her hand. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“I…”
Su Yu looked down without speaking, the blood vessels in his heart seeming to be pulled and shaken a few times. The woman seemed to have completely forgotten their argument last night, putting on a gentle and considerate appearance to seduce him. He no longer looked at Gu Zhi’s exquisite and beautiful face and answered perfunctorily, “Whatever you want.”
“I really like Xiao Chan…”
Gu Zhi, hearing the boy’s cold and indifferent appearance, felt a sourness in her nose. She had slept very lightly last night and had woken up early. The boy’s sarcastic words from yesterday were like rusty iron nails, and it was not just painful when they pierced her flesh. The red rust had corroded her heart’s defenses, exposing the fragile emotions that she had carefully hidden. She even lost the strength to be angry.
She clung to him like a lingering ghost, hugging Su Yu from behind, her cheek rubbing against his. Her voice was low. “What do I have to do to make you obedient? Are you disgusted that I don’t give you freedom? If you’re a little more obedient, there’s nothing I won’t listen to you about.”
“Really?”
Su Yu slightly turned his gaze and looked at Gu Zhi. A faint light shone in his gray and dim eyes.
“Really, of course it’s true…” Gu Zhi’s long and slender eyes were upturned, and her light pupils were a natural and calm brown. Joy surged, diluting a bit of the coldness.
She touched Su Yu’s eye, and she really liked this pair of dim and dull but full of her eyes. The love was so deep that it would always give birth to a more extreme hatred, nourishing the ugly monster in her bones.
She hated the other party’s disobedience and disgust. For this, she had resorted to beating, intimidation, and even abuse. She wanted to forcefully correct the other party’s thoughts, to make the other party be able to stay by her side forever, even if he was numb and indifferent, even if it was just a pretense…
“What does Xiao Chan want? I can give you anything.”
Su Yu was suddenly silent. Gu Zhi, like a child, happily used her cool fingertips to trace the gentle contours of his features. The other party couldn’t help but kiss his cheek. She vented her sadistic desire on the wrinkled and messy bedsheet, and the remaining gentleness filled her heart. She raised her head and gently tried to kiss him.
Her kiss was almost without any skill, like a primitive savage who wanted to pick a delicate wildflower that was rooted in a cliff. Her movements were rough, but she tried her best to protect the soft and delicate flower stem.
The kiss landed on his slightly closed eyes, and it lingered along the high and narrow bridge of his nose to his delicate and thin collarbone. The hot breath swept over the snow-white skin that was always hidden under his clothes, and an ambiguous scent penetrated his pores, creating a faint pink.
After a long time, the fiery desire was doused with a basin of cold water by the other party’s silent reaction. She was soaked, and the coldness seeped into her blood, freezing her heart. She suddenly felt bored and tasteless.
Gu Zhi swallowed the saliva that had been produced by desire between her lips and teeth. Her fingertips gently wiped away the charming and watery light that was left on the corners of her lips. She wiped Su Yu’s cheek, her voice full of apology. “I’m sorry… why aren’t you speaking, Xiao Chan? I’m stupid… I can’t guess what Xiao Chan wants.”
Su Yu still pursed his lips, not daring to speak. He was worried that this would be taken as evidence of his transgression by the woman, and that she would inflict those terrifying punishments. Those rules were carved on his heart with a hot branding iron, and they had almost become an instinct. He was afraid of this change, and the thought of escaping was getting stronger and stronger.
“I won’t be angry. You can say whatever you want, Xiao Chan.”
Su Yu’s tightly pursed lips loosened, and a hoarse and low voice came out. “I want to see the sun, the sunset, the rainy days… not to be imprisoned in such a dark room where I can’t see the sky. Are you willing?”
The atmosphere instantly fell into a dead silence. The air seemed to have become viscous, and even a faint breath made Su Yu feel difficult. He stared at the woman’s uncertain face, and his ribs were restraining his frantically beating heart. His palm subconsciously wiped the sticky sweat on the bedsheet.
“Okay. Tomorrow… tomorrow we’ll go up. Since Xiao Chan doesn’t like this basement, we’ll change places. It’s really not good for your health to be in such a dark place. I like Xiao Chan to be healthy and by my side.”
Su Yu’s body suddenly trembled. He stared at the gentle smile on Gu Zhi’s lips. His heart beat faster, providing enough strength to give this depressed and unhappy body a new hope of life.
His voice trembled, as if he were a child who had received a promise from his parents. He could hardly believe that this would become a reality. “Really? You’re not lying to me.”
“It’s true. Tomorrow… we’ll move up. I’ll be done with my work in a few days, and I’ll have a long vacation. I’ll watch the sunrise with you, wait for the sunset…”
Gu Zhi held Su Yu’s cold palm and gently caressed it in her palm. Her fingertips slid over the fine lines of his palm. She looked at the boy’s excited and joyful eyes, and her heart couldn’t help but be happy.
“We’ll live together forever. I love you… Xiao Chan.”
The distance between them was suddenly shortened. They smelled each other’s breath, and their noses touched gently. Lust blurred the focus of their pupils, and they fell into a daze again.
She carefully leaned into the boy’s soft and thin lips, and somewhat clumsily pressed against the corners of his lips, continuing the deep kiss that had not yet been finished.
