Chapter 38: A Stray Dog
"Su Xin-jie, look, the stray dog is over there."
While Su Xin was chatting happily with the others, a maid suddenly pointed toward Liang Xiaoluo, who was working with her head down. She looked dispirited and lost in thought, her movements sluggish.
"She's such bad luck. Su Xin-jie, we should drive her somewhere else," one maid suggested.
Su Xin stepped in front of the maid, her eyes gleaming as she glanced toward Liang Xiaoluo.
"We're all sisters here. We shouldn't be so harsh," Su Xin said with feigned benevolence.
The other maids chimed in with flattery. "You're the best, Su Xin-jie. So kindhearted—no wonder Shao Ye dotes on you so much."
"All right, get back to work before Liu Jie sees you gossiping. You don't want another scolding," Su Xin said with a benevolent tone, pretending to look out for them.
The maids quickly dispersed.
With a mocking smile on her face, Su Xin walked toward Liang Xiaoluo. It wasn't until her shadow fell across Liang Xiaoluo that the latter looked up to see Su Xin's feet in her field of vision. Startled, she slowly raised her head.
"Su Xin?" Liang Xiaoluo murmured hoarsely. Her expression shifted from surprise to cold indifference.
The sting of betrayal from her best friend made her heart ache. She turned to leave, but Su Xin called out casually, "Xiaoluo, are you still mad?"
Liang Xiaoluo paused for a moment but chose to remain silent.
Su Xin continued relentlessly, "You can't blame me. That night, Lin said he wanted to place a bet—to test how strong our friendship was. He wanted to see if you'd sacrifice your body for me…"
Hearing this, Liang Xiaoluo's heart trembled. Friendship—was that something to gamble with?
Su Xin sneered and added, "Lin said he misses your body, so I had no choice but to play along with his game. To my surprise, I actually won the bet…"
Liang Xiaoluo spun around, her eyes blazing with fury at this woman who was once her closest confidante but now felt like a stranger. Her hand twitched as if she wanted to slap Su Xin, to snap her out of her delusion.
But she restrained herself. Violence was meaningless now.
At that moment, Liang Xiaoluo felt like a beaten dog, lowering her gaze as she turned to leave. But Su Xin wasn't finished. "Wait. Did I say you could go?"
Liang Xiaoluo stopped in her tracks, glancing back at Su Xin with confusion.
Su Xin smirked, grabbing a handful of soil and pebbles from a flowerpot. She scattered it onto the ground at Liang Xiaoluo's feet. "This area is dirty now. Clean it up."
She deliberately emphasized the word "clean," like a slap across Liang Xiaoluo's face.
Liang Xiaoluo remained motionless.
"What's wrong? Don't want to listen to me?" Su Xin sneered. "Don't forget, Lin loves me now. If I wanted, I could ruin you and your family."
Su Xin knew everything about Liang Xiaoluo—especially her deepest vulnerability: her love for her family.
Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, Liang Xiaoluo finally squatted down and began picking up the pebbles and soil, one by one.
She thought that would be the end of it. But Su Xin soon returned, this time dumping a mix of red beans and green beans onto the ground. "And these. Make sure they're all sorted before sunset."
With a mocking laugh, Su Xin left, her spirits lifted by her cruelty.
Left alone, Liang Xiaoluo knelt on the ground, painstakingly separating the tiny beans one by one. She worked the entire afternoon, not once straightening her back.
When she finally finished, her body ached as if it were about to break. She barely managed to stand, swaying on her feet from the pain in her waist.
Skipping dinner, she returned to her shabby little room. Despite its dilapidated state, it at least had a bed—something she now considered a luxury.
Lying on the bed, Liang Xiaoluo prayed silently. With Su Xin now by Ye Tianlin's side, she wished only for the day when he would release her. She longed to reunite with her father and leave this cursed place forever.
Exhausted from the day's labor, Liang Xiaoluo quickly drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep. She didn't even notice when a man quietly entered her room in the dead of night.
The door creaked open, and Ye Tianlin stepped inside. He gazed down at Liang Xiaoluo as she slept soundly, then bent down and scooped her into his arms.
"Master," Left Wheel said nervously, following closely behind. This was the first time he'd felt like a thief, his heart pounding wildly.
Ye Tianlin carried Liang Xiaoluo with unhurried steps toward his own bedroom. The door was already open, warm light spilling out into the hallway.
Once inside, Ye Tianlin gently laid Liang Xiaoluo on the bed while Left Wheel stood guard outside, closing the door behind him.
The bright lights illuminated the room, a stark contrast to the dingy one Liang Xiaoluo had been sleeping in. Yet, despite the brightness, she remained completely unconscious.
Ye Tianlin wasn't surprised. He carried her into the bathroom, where a hot bath was already prepared. Steam filled the room, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere.
"Xiaoluo…" he murmured, his gaze softening as he looked at her.
With deliberate care, Ye Tianlin began unbuttoning her clothes, his mind replaying the footage Left Wheel had shown him earlier—scenes from the surveillance cameras that captured Liang Xiaoluo's day.
His fingers brushed the cheek where she'd been slapped by the burly woman, his voice barely a whisper. "Why are you so stubborn? If you'd just ask, I'd let you go."
That slap had stirred something unexpected in his chest—an ache he didn't want to acknowledge.
No one else was allowed to hurt her. Only he could torment her.
Of course, that burly woman was no longer part of this world.
"But it doesn't matter," Ye Tianlin said softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "I know you'll come to me eventually…"
He was determined to break her, to make her submit willingly to his control. Only then would he tire of her and set her free.
For now, his patience was boundless.
Carefully, Ye Tianlin lowered Liang Xiaoluo into the warm bath, tenderly washing away the day's grime. His hands were gentle as he cleaned her wounds, applying medicine to her bruises before drying her off and carrying her back to the bed.
Dimming the lights, he stared at her sleeping form with an intensity that bordered on obsession.
Lowering himself onto the bed, he whispered, "Are you truly just ordinary Liang Xiaoluo?"
There was no response.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.
A faint knock at the door broke the silence. "Master?" Left Wheel called softly.
Ye Tianlin opened the door slightly, his expression unreadable. "Take her back to her room later."