Tsukiyuki Rio gently took Gao Sijin’s hand and, without giving him any choice, led him into the Western-style house. A blissful smile tugged at the corner of her lips, a sign of the forceful love he could not escape.
Gao Sijin stared at her jet-black hair and said nothing. To him, resistance was futile. As they ventured deeper into the Victorian-style building, the blinds sliced the silvery moonlight into scattered beams, reminding Gao Sijin of the bars of a prison cell.
“First, I need to cook for Gao-kun. You must be starving today, right?”
“I’m not a child. There are ingredients in the fridge, and I can cook myself. Besides, there’s a special conveyor belt; the maids can send food down to the basement. You didn’t really need to come back.”
“How could I not? It’s been over twenty-four hours since I last replenished your energy. Without you to cheer me on, I’d be completely listless and unable to pick myself up.”
They didn’t go straight to the kitchen. Tsukiyuki Rio first pulled Gao Sijin into the dressing room. She changed into a black maid dress with a pure white apron, and slipped her slender legs into a pair of glossy stockings.
Every moment, Gao Sijin was acutely aware that he was alone with Tsukiyuki Rio. His heart raced at the thought. She was his abuser, yes, but she was also a rare beauty. Reality wasn’t a game, and affection couldn’t be reduced to a single number. His feelings for Rio couldn’t be expressed in digits.
“Yesterday, when I cooked in a kimono, it felt a bit cumbersome. Changing into this is much better,” Rio said, stretching her arms wide in a big yawn. The soft orange light played on her fair, delicate face. She then tied her hime-cut hair into twin tails, adding a touch of cuteness to her elegant, refined aura.
Her bewitching beauty was like a hand; a single careless moment, and she’d pull you into her carefully spun web.
She walked into the kitchen in her high heels and began chopping vegetables with smooth, practiced movements that didn’t look like a beginner’s. Not even worried about cutting herself, she sliced thin pieces of meat for marinating and started simmering the curry. However, when she chopped onions, even the ever-perfect Tsukiyuki Rio shed tears, which surprised Gao Sijin considerably.
Dinner wasn’t lavish, but this casual, home-style cooking was exactly what made Gao Sijin, accustomed to gourmet delicacies, feel a pang of nostalgia. About thirty minutes later, they sat at the dining table. A vintage gramophone played a Mozart piano piece, and the soothing atmosphere made their emotions complicated.
“Rio, come back home with me. Let’s bring my aunt and cousin over. If you agree, I promise I won’t think about leaving you again.”
“The only person I want to take care of is Gao-kun. Anyone else would just dilute our love,” Tsukiyuki Rio said, propping her chin on her hand and watching Gao Sijin swallow bite after bite of the curry she had so carefully prepared. As always. The corner of Rio’s mouth curled upward, as if mocking Gao Sijin’s overestimation of himself.
The fragrant food was hard to swallow. He hadn’t eaten much before standing up and saying he was full.
“Oh, Gao-kun, barring any accidents, you’ll be able to leave the basement the day after tomorrow.”
“So, that means you’re going to make your move on Uzuki the day after tomorrow, right?”
“How could I do anything to harm Uzuki? She’s my younger cousin.”
“Rio, do you know? I really want to love you, but you never give me the chance.”
“I just don’t want to see Gao-kun get hurt again. Right now, being confined by me is the least of your pain.”
Gao Sijin couldn’t understand what pain awaited him in the original future, but being imprisoned by Tsukiyuki Rio, unable to return home and care for his aunt, was already his greatest sorrow. Truthfully, Gao Sijin believed that Rio’s words weren’t nonsense.
Today, as he wrote, Gao Sijin could never have imagined that someone as mediocre as himself would ever experience a turnaround in life. He tried to make the male lead in his novel happy. Unfortunately, he, who wrote about reality, was destined for unhappiness. He wanted to visit his aunt, but a train ticket costing over three hundred yuan became a cage that trapped him. He wanted to write excellent works, but sadly, those more talented than him worked even harder. In his daze, he realized that a life standing still was actually a form of progress.
“Let’s go back to the bedroom soon, Gao-kun.” Tsukiyuki Rio grabbed his hand with a seductive look. “Today is a rare maid-themed fanservice. Don’t you feel a little anticipation, Gao-kun?”
She lifted the hem of her maid skirt, revealing the womb tattoo on her lower abdomen to Gao Sijin. It seemed to be a sticker made of special material that could glow. Whenever Gao Sijin tried to think deeply, Tsukiyuki Rio would interrupt his thoughts with physical pleasure; he had no way to refuse and was forced to accept.
“I don’t want to today.”
He stood up, trying to shake her off. But his own strength was no match; Tsukiyuki Rio moved like a leopard, quickly getting behind him and locking his joints with her arms.
“Behave, Gao-kun. I promised not to kill Uzuki, but you have to comfort me when I’m feeling down.”
Being forced into this was nothing but humiliation. Who knew what fruit would come from a tree of harm disguised as love?
His struggle was useless; he was pushed onto the bed, his arms firmly cuffed, his legs tightly bound. A cute girl with twin tails walking down the street—no one would ever associate her with being an abuser, yet that was exactly what she was.
An ordinary night, an ordinary routine, and she stole his ordinariness. The virtual projection of the moon was still round, symbolizing reunion and eternity. But an inexplicable unease grew in Tsukiyuki Rio’s heart, especially lately; this unease became stronger, and desire filled her chest. She wanted to fill that hollow emptiness until it overflowed. She held on tightly, afraid of losing.
But that ominous premonition made her fear losing the Gao Sijin she had finally obtained. “I can lose everything, but I don’t want to lose you, Gao-kun…”
Her violent movements made Gao Sijin clench his teeth, refusing to give in easily. The decadent rhythm and writhing showed no mercy; even though Gao Sijin beneath her had turned pale, it could not stop the crazy feast.
“Rio, stop. I really don’t want to continue. Doing this kind of thing won’t make me love you. Don’t you understand?”
“I don’t want to stop. I like this feeling. Holding onto you tightly is the only thing that puts me at ease.”
This unease was absurd, and besides, Gao Sijin had a GPS tracking system inside him, so everything would be fine.
Her slender fingers intertwined with Gao Sijin’s, and their saliva glistened like silver threads. Her crimson eyes were entranced. She tried to convince herself that as long as they were in the basement, they were absolutely safe; in this world, only she could come to this basement. Keeping Gao Sijin here meant no one could steal him away.
Suddenly, she felt as if someone was watching her. She turned around, only to see a full-length mirror placed in the distance, reflecting her intimate movements with Gao Sijin.
