Shen Ruoxi turned her head away, dodging the kiss.
His kiss now disgusted her immensely.
"Ye Mubei, what exactly do you want? When you're with your fiancée, you're so sweet, so why must you drag me into this?"
She couldn't see herself as a third party in their relationship.
She found herself repulsive for even thinking it.
Ye Mubei, however, took her expression as self-disgust and could not help but sneer.
"Shen Ruoxi, are you disgusted with me now? After six years together, what right do you have to be disgusted with me?"
His heart felt like it was missing a piece, and while everyone else could despise him and find him repulsive, Shen Ruoxi could not.
He held Shen Ruoxi tightly, as if only by doing so could he feel her still in his arms.
Shen Ruoxi's gaze became hazy, as she couldn't clearly define what lay between her and Ye Mubei.
"Ye Mubei, I just want to visit my mom, can I please go?"
Eventually, Shen Ruoxi's tone softened, hoping that this could make Ye Mubei understand she really just wanted to go to the hospital.
But how could Ye Mubei possibly let go of something he was set on?
"Xixi, don't make things difficult for me."
Shen Ruoxi's tears broke through completely, not understanding why her visiting her mother would cause him any difficulty.
Her mother fell ill because of her and Ye Mubei; she just wanted to visit, what was wrong with that?
Her tears fell drop by drop onto Ye Mubei's hand, but they made no sound.
Ye Mubei knew she was crying, but he did not comfort her, knowing that once she spoke, she would beg him to let her go.
Neither of them slept well that night.
Shen Ruoxi thought she could go out the next day, but when she got up, she found her phone was gone.
There were also two bodyguards at the door, and at that moment, she became acutely aware that she was imprisoned by Ye Mubei.
"I want to see Ye Mubei."
Her eyes were red and swollen, but her tone was calm.
"I'm sorry, Miss Shen, but Mr. Ye said to wait until he comes back for any requests you have."
But he never would accede to her requests.
Shen Ruoxi wanted to question him, wanted to break with Ye Mubei, but when she thought of what had happened before, she felt hesitant.
She was always so weak. If she had been stronger last night and refused Ye Mubei, would today be different?
She couldn't understand why Ye Mubei felt such intense possessiveness towards her when she was clearly just a toy for him to pass the time.
"By the way, Miss Shen, Mr. Ye specifically instructed that your medication is on the bedside table."
What medication it was, need not be said out loud; Shen Ruoxi, with a numb expression, swallowed the familiar pill.
"Are we done now?"
She was like a soulless doll, encased in an exquisite box, stripped of everything.
The current Shen Ruoxi didn't dare think about her mother's condition, fearing she would go mad.
Ye Mubei in the office kept checking his phone from time to time but suddenly remembered that Shen Ruoxi's phone was also in his possession.
He had turned it off because it kept receiving calls.
"Send some people to the hospital to look after Zhao Yiru, and remember they must take good care of her."
If Zhao Yiru died, then Shen Ruoxi surely would have a reason to completely break away from him.
But how could the debt her family owed him ever be repaid? Shen Ruoxi belonged to him for life; no one could take her away, not even her own mother.
Bai Feifei had heard that Ye Mubei was in a bad mood and wanted to come over to see what was happening.
Unexpectedly, I heard some things that I didn't want to hear, but it also seemed like an opportunity.
A girl like Shen Ruoxi should care a lot about her family.
"Miss Bai, are you looking for President Ye?"
"I just wanted to stop by and see if Mubei is too busy to join me for a meal."
The assistant was in a difficult position, knowing that Ye Mubei had an appointment today and had specifically cleared all his engagements just to get back early.
"You might be disappointed, but President Ye has an appointment tonight."
Bai Feifei raised her eyebrows with some suspicion, wondering if Shen Ruoxi was the person Ye Mubei had an appointment with.
Shen Ruoxi hadn't come to the company all day, which made her suspect whether Ye Mubei had taken her away.
But she had her own plans and wasn't going to openly demand that Ye Mubei change his schedule for her.
"Well then, I'll head back first and we can make an arrangement next time."
That evening, Ye Mubei returned very early, curious about what expression Shen Ruoxi would have upon finding out she was imprisoned.
"Did she make any trouble today?"
Of course, "she" could only be Shen Ruoxi.
The two bodyguards were in a bind, unsure of how to describe Shen Ruoxi's condition.
Ye Mubei, however, mistakenly thought that Shen Ruoxi had caused a scene for a long time.
"If she creates a fuss, just let her be."
"It's not that, President Ye, Miss Shen was very obedient today and didn't leave the room at all."
"She didn't eat lunch?"
The bodyguard shook his head, and Ye Mubei immediately frowned.
He could disregard Shen Ruoxi making a fuss, but he couldn't ignore her not eating or drinking.
Pushing open the door, the window was not shut, allowing some moonlight to spill inside.
Shen Ruoxi sat on the bed, staring blankly at the moon outside, as if she might ride the wind away at any moment.
Ye Mubei disliked this sensation and seized her shoulders, making her look at him.
"Shen Ruoxi, you've grown bolder, haven't you? Are you starting to play the hunger strike game with me now?"
Feeling a sharp pain on her shoulder, Shen Ruoxi's voice was as small as a kitten's meow, "I'm not, I just don't have an appetite."
She felt like her shoulder was about to break, but he showed no sign of letting her go.
"No appetite? Is it that you have no appetite or that seeing me makes you nauseous?"
Ye Mubei couldn't forget the look in Shen Ruoxi's eyes from the night before. How could she loathe him?
Her eyes should always hold love for him; that way, he could truly hurt her, couldn't he?
"I really can't eat, Ye Mubei, can you stop bothering me, please? Even if you want revenge, can it wait for another day?"
The light had vanished from Shen Ruoxi's eyes, her body feeling incredibly tired, even her nerves were exhausted.
Sensing something wrong with Shen Ruoxi's state, Ye Mubei immediately called for a doctor.
The doctor conducted a full examination on Shen Ruoxi but couldn't find anything wrong.
"Perhaps the miss is just tired?"
Ye Mubei sneered coldly. She was really getting ahead of herself, now pretending to be sick to deceive him.
What infuriated him most was that had it not been for the doctor, he would have actually believed Shen Ruoxi's tall tales.
After the talk, when Ye Mubei returned to the room, Shen Ruoxi was already asleep, seemingly uncomfortable even in her dreams.
She curled up into a ball, entirely in a self-protective posture.
As if guarding against someone's approach.