While speaking, he held a remote control in his hand and pointed it at the television.
The screen cut to her sleeping at night.
Lying on the bed.
The footage was fast-forwarded.
She thrashed about violently on the bed, often inexplicably stretching out her arms, waking up with a start, then taking a pill, or hugging her head and sobbing. But she would act as if everything were normal when she went out during the day…
Her body trembled even more violently.
"This is the restlessness and fear you exhibit at night while seeming calm during the day ever since you moved into the apartment. What, did you wake up because you had nightmares about me?"
Was it… night terrors about him?
He… was terrifying.
After the vile act he had committed was discovered by Uncle Gong, Uncle Gong banished him abroad in a rage, setting three clear prohibitions: He could not return to the country before Uncle Gong's death, he could not return before Mu Mian was married, and he could not return within ten years.
Separating her and him with the Atlantic Ocean in between.
However, the Atlantic couldn't stop his evil and cruelty. She only enjoyed a few days of peace before she started receiving parcels every day. The parcels contained her nude photos, all kinds of unbearable nude images, as well as videos of their intense moments of intimacy. He chose those luxurious scenes where she was forced to beg him, uttering those filthy and indecent words…
She was tormented to the verge of mental breakdown.
Fearful that Uncle Gong would see these parcels and feel even more remorseful, she lived her days in constant dread.
Until half a month later, when the parcel he sent no longer contained nude photos or videos, only a piece of paper with three words written on it.
Move out!
At that time, she felt relieved. If moving out could put an end to all this, she would do it without a second thought.
Uncle Gong, feeling that his son owed her for the vile act he committed, opposed her suggestion to move out but was helpless to stop her. In the end, he could only find someone to renovate a house for her, allowing her to move out.
The video now playing on the TV showed the days in her apartment after she moved out.
Little did she know, he had installed surveillance cameras in every corner of her apartment, watching her all the time?
The screen switched again.
This time, she wasn't alone in the apartment; there was another pretty girl accompanying her. She lay on the bed, pale and frail, tears streaming down her face, while the girl beside her kept gently comforting her, coaxing her…
Seeing this, her heart turned utterly cold.
Gong Heng suddenly cradled her face, planting a gentle kiss on her icy lips with eyes narrowed as if a chill swept through them, making her spine tremble…
"This day is August 22, the day you aborted our child!"
"Slap!"
It echoed through the hall.
Mu Mian trembled all over, her delicate face filled with anger, humiliation, and unwillingness. Looking at the deep handprint on his face, she broke down in tears, "What do you want from me, why are you doing this to me, I hate you, I hate you!"
Her fists kept falling on his shoulders as she sobbed loudly.
Gong Heng let her fists land on him, listening to her wails of despair without a trace of pity on his indifferent face, letting her vent. Even when his face got slapped, he didn't get angry.
When Mu Mian became tired, she just collapsed onto his shoulder and wept bitterly.
PS: For the readers who are finding this chapter confusing, the gist is that Gong Heng, even during the two years he was abroad, was still controlling Mianmian by installing surveillance cameras where she lived. The video now on the TV is the footage of him monitoring her daily life. Mianmian was unaware of this for the two years.