Birdsong was clear and far-reaching, the great trees lush and verdant, their emerald leaves trembling and rustling softly. If it weren’t for that madwoman chasing him, it might actually be considered pleasant.
“If this is a dream, wake up already!”
Gao Sijin sprinted with all his might, not daring to slacken in the slightest. The bitterness and despair in his heart were like a pair of hands, squeezing his heart in a death grip.
He knew why he was running.
The woman chasing him was Feng Na, the golden-haired girl in a qipao who called him “Brother Sijin” and possessed a deeply paranoid, twisted personality. Once he fell into her clutches, his entire life would be over. Beneath that beautiful face lurked a terrifying monster.
The mountain path was rugged, gravel biting into his feet. His legs had already reached their absolute physical limit, yet he still gave everything, desperate to run just a little farther. If he were caught again, he’d be like an insect ensnared by a spider, swiftly wrapped into a cocoon.
Come on, legs…
He was panting heavily as he ran, and at times it felt as if these legs no longer belonged to him. Only when he couldn’t take another step did he finally stop.
Gazing at his surroundings, everything felt incredibly familiar, as if he had been here before.
“Where is this place?”
Gao Sijin muttered to himself. Subconsciously, he felt this place was especially important.
As he pondered, the sound of rushing water came from nearby. He staggered to the edge of a sparkling stream. The man reflected in the water looked utterly wretched. Just earlier, he had been forced to do something he loathed from the bottom of his heart. Sweat and some kind of sticky substance were smeared across his face, terribly uncomfortable.
Gao Sijin half-squatted and splashed cool stream water onto his face, washing it clean.
He didn’t want any trace of her scent left on him. Once cleaned up, he would keep fleeing, escaping to a place Feng Na would never find.
Just as he was about to get up, he suddenly caught her graceful reflection in the water.
Straight, waist-length golden hair, exquisitely perfect features beyond reproach, and a red qipao clinging to her voluptuous curves.
Her crimson lips curled up slightly.
She had still come.
“Brother Sijin, why aren’t you running? Hurry, keep going!”
Gao Sijin jolted upright, but the instant he moved, an arm darted out like a venomous snake, coiling tightly around his neck and squeezing ever harder. The girl’s breath, hot as a wave, made him realize that what he saw as a life-or-death chase was only a game in her eyes.
From the very beginning, escape had never been possible.
Feng Na really was a woman with twisted tastes.
The scene shifted. Gao Sijin was lying on a soft bed, surrounded by a nearly suffocating cloud of perfume. He had been placed on the bed just like that. Feng Na didn’t use chains to restrain him, but not out of mercy; she had found an even better substitute.
With a syringe, there was no need to lock him up at all. His muscles were already showing signs of atrophy from prolonged disuse.
And so Feng Na took control of Gao Sijin’s life. Though his body was warm, deep in his heart it felt like an ice cave. From now on, the world would only know one season: bitter cold.
Captured by Feng Na, he would forever be her toy that she never tired of. Only when his bodily functions finally ceased could he truly escape the endless humiliation.
“Please, let me go… let me go home…”
“What nonsense are you saying, Brother Sijin? This is your home.”
And so, Gao Sijin’s future held no hope of peace.
“Heh.”
Tsukiyuki Rio sat on the bed, her dark red gaze fixed on Gao Sijin’s face.
Just moments ago, she had once again used the memory implantation device to tamper with some of his memories. To make him despise Feng Na even more, she had implanted some of her own experiences onto Feng Na, which was why Gao Sijin had dreamed similar scenes from the past.
Although her hatred for Feng Na had reached a tipping point, ready to overflow, when Gao Sijin lay quietly pillowed beside her, all of Tsukiyuki Rio’s hostility melted away, transforming into gentle tenderness.
Her slender fingers lightly traced his cheek. She knew exactly what he had endured after Feng Na abducted him, but that didn’t matter, because Feng Na would pay the price.
Before that, however, there were still a few things to be done.
To be precise, Gao Sijin had yet to properly compensate her for the disappointment she had just felt.
“Gao-kun, you wouldn’t hold back from your most beloved me, would you? Just once. I know you’re exhausted today, but surely you still have enough energy to hold me? After this, I’ll let you rest. After all, you have a date with me tomorrow, so I won’t go overboard.”
Faced with Tsukiyuki Rio’s honeyed whispers, Gao Sijin continued lying beside her in silence.
Thoroughly drugged and brainwashed by the memory implantation device, he would not wake until seven the next morning.
“I’ll take the lead today. But next time, I hope Gao-kun will take up a man’s responsibility. I want to properly experience your masculine vigor too, once in a while.” Tsukiyuki Rio looked down at his face and couldn’t help a small laugh.
With an elegant and dignified posture, she gently interlaced her fingers with his, sitting on his abdomen, and played a tiny prank on Gao-kun, who couldn’t wake up in time to express his love.
Finally, they tangled intimately together, all her weight pressing onto him, and she couldn’t help laughing happily:
“Gao-kun, welcome home.”
The deep night bathed their pale bodies as they continued their passion, tossing and turning.
“I know that when you wake up, you’ll be brooding over what Feng Na did to you. But don’t worry, Gao-kun. I love you. Even if you’ve been defiled by someone else, I’ll accept you as always.”
She nibbled his lips, loving him so fiercely she wanted to draw blood.
Her black kimono, pulled down to her chest, fully exposed her snow-white shoulders. Her ancient-style hime-cut hair swayed with her alluring movements, like a maiko from the Edo period.
In his dreams, it was Feng Na who humiliated him, but in reality, it was Tsukiyuki Rio offering real sensations. Half-pushed, half-led, Gao Sijin was guided along, his face filled with despair and panic.
Seeing the pain in his heart, Tsukiyuki Rio’s thought of going for a second round quickly vanished.
She was not at all satisfied.
“Gao-kun, did you really hate me that much in the past?”
If only he would marry her, he would never have to struggle and be battered by the trivialities of life ever again. But before his memories were erased, he had always fantasized about escaping from her. Now, transferring that disgust onto Feng Na, she could still glimpse the gloom hidden deep in his heart.
Gao Sijin had once deeply feared Tsukiyuki Rio.
“No matter what, I will never let you go again, Gao-kun. Your only home is in my arms.”
Their bodies, which had been one, separated. Tsukiyuki Rio reluctantly kissed his face again. Gao Sijin was sure to have bad dreams tonight, but she still bid him goodnight.
At three in the morning, she stretched. To go on a date with him tomorrow, she needed to head back and rest soon.
“Young Miss, are you finished?”
Yu Qingxue, dressed in a classic maid’s long dress, approached with the utmost deference.
“Yes, I’m done,” Tsukiyuki Rio said listlessly.
“Then I’ll go clean up the Master’s body.”
The exchange was almost identical to every other time. Whenever Tsukiyuki Rio felt lonely at night, she would come to Gao Sijin’s room and force her drugged beloved to spend the night with her. Afterwards, Yu Qingxue, Morgana, and the other maids would bathe him to wash away any traces so nothing would be exposed the next day.
However, Yu Qingxue’s tone this time seemed a little different. Beneath her calm words lurked hints of anger and contempt.
“Qingxue, you seem to have something to say to me.”
“What would I have to say?”
Yu Qingxue turned her head, her brows slightly raised, wearing a composed smile.
“If you have any objections, you can speak plainly. I treat you as a friend.”
“You treat me as a friend, but I treat you as my supreme master, my dear Young Miss. How could I possibly be worthy of calling you a friend?”
“What exactly do you mean?”
Compared to her usual self, Yu Qingxue now seemed rather sarcastic.
“Young Miss, you are noble and admirable. You are always the pure white lotus before the Master, radiating a dazzling light. But, Young Miss, just as gold always shines and a mirror always reflects, your act will eventually be exposed by the Master.”
After saying that, Yu Qingxue walked into Gao Sijin’s room, hoisted his body onto her shoulder, and carried him into the bathroom.
Only Yu Qingxue had the courage to say such things outright.
“Judging by how clean the sheets are, it seems you weren’t very enthusiastic tonight, Young Miss.”
“He’s already been through a lot today. I wanted to let him rest properly.”
“Young Miss, good luck on your date tomorrow.”
“Of course I will. Take care of Gao-kun for me in the meantime. I’m going back to rest.”
“Good night, Young Miss.”
“Mm, good night.”
Tsukiyuki Rio turned away. She could clearly feel the dissatisfaction hidden in Yu Qingxue’s heart. If possible, she truly did not want to become enemies with her someday, but she had a vague premonition that that day was inevitably drawing near.
With her current methods, even if Yu Qingxue rebelled, she had no way to stand against her. She would die a miserable death. Hopefully, she wouldn’t do anything foolish. After all, Tsukiyuki Rio quite liked having Yu Qingxue as her adjutant.
