Chapter 8: Moonlight

At the end of the year, night fell early.

Just past eight, the streetlights along the snow-laden road lit up.

Crystal snowflakes swirled down against the pitch-black backdrop, as countless discreetly luxurious cars slowly drove toward the outskirts of C City.

As always, deathly silence enveloped the villa.

In the roadside bedroom, the curtains swayed with the wind, illuminated now and then by car headlights.

Shadows stretched across the snow-white wall.

As the vehicles passed, the shifting curtains cast strange shapes, then in the next instant, the light vanished, and everything returned to silence.

Like a shadow play, wordless and abrupt.

Inside, scarlet sparks flickered.

Gu Wanting stood by the window, her delicate features blurred between the faint glow and curling smoke as she gazed toward the direction of the departing cars.

The sweeping winter wind did not chill the fires of the human world.

In another villa farther away, lights blazed, voices buzzed.

From the parked cars, men in suits stepped down, then gracefully turned to take the arms of their female companions.

They exchanged words, smiling true or false, and under the servants’ guidance, walked into the villa.

Their companions, carefully dressed, followed behind.

Faces painted with vivid, garish makeup carried a flush of joy that concealed their pallor, making them appear even redder, more vulgar.

Inside, the piano played a cheerful Voices of Spring Waltz.

The crisp notes scattered into the air like pearls tumbling onto jade, carrying a breath of spring.

Ruan Suhua.

Propping her chin with one hand, Gu Wanting listened to the faint piano melody.

She let out a low, derisive laugh.

Ash fell from her fingers, landing as a stark black speck upon the snow.

Snowflakes drifted down, covering the blemish in an instant.

No longer looking outside, Gu Wanting shut the window, cutting off the heat and noise beyond the villa.

The world would never lack sycophants and flatterers.

Like hyenas, even if a bottomless cliff loomed ahead, they would tear at one another just to rip a mouthful of flesh from prey, never retreating.

Tonight, he hosted guests — and hosts and guests alike were pleased.

But tomorrow, when his tower collapsed, they would not merely strike him while he was down.

And the Ruan family?

“So it is, isn’t it, Zhuzhu?”

Gu Wanting bent down, brushing Yu Zhu’s messy hair behind his ear.

In front of her, the boy curled up inside the cage made no sound.

His eyes remained shut, brows tightly furrowed, his forehead chilled, body trembling now and then as he sank into heavy sleep.

The black strands swept aside revealed a face handsome to perfection.

His lips were thin, pressed into a line as he slept — cold and distant.

His tall, sculpted nose carried the air of someone not to be approached.

Yet his brows and eyes softened the severity, warm and tender, perfectly balancing that hint of chill.

He was a work of art favored by heaven.

The Creator’s most satisfactory masterpiece.

He was—

“My little dog.”

The golden cage confined his body.

Yu Zhu lay curled, pale as if fragile enough to shatter.

Gu Wanting brushed away a damp lock clinging to his cheek, her gaze falling on the whip mark at the end of his brow.

A purpling welt cut across his eyebrow, swelling heavily.

When she fed him apples, he could barely open his eyes.

The boy had to squint at her — expressionless as ever, yet with a faint pride in his bearing.

That trace of arrogance pricked at Gu Wanting like a pile of dry autumn hay, setting her aflame with the urge to tear everything apart.

Neat clothing.

Scalding flesh.

And that numb, detached calm upon his face.

All of it.

All of it.

All of it must be torn to pieces!

Suddenly, Gu Wanting stopped, smiling.

Her dazzling expression masked the bone-deep chill beneath, briefly returning her to that flawless shell of Gu Wanting, dazzling in every gesture.

“Zhuzhu…”

Her smile faded.

Winter had come.

Gu Wanting fastened the collar around Yu Zhu’s neck to the cage, then slowly stood, looking down at the pet she kept.

He was her unspoken, unshareable desire.

Her obedient, submissive little dog, crouched humbly at her feet.

A sunflower, its stem broken, withering away.

A specimen, pierced through by thorns, pinned in place forever.

He was her possession.

Thus, he would always remain locked in this villa, in its secret, damp basement.

Never again to escape.

Never again to return to a normal life.

The Yu Zhu who once smiled at her under the sunset and called her “senior” was already dead.

After being forced to write his suicide note, he had died forever in that warm sea.

“Why can’t you behave, Zhuzhu?”

Murmuring, Gu Wanting turned away, stepping toward the bed.

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence — hoarse, like a dry branch snapping in the snow.

Gu Wanting froze.

Apart from that voice, the darkness was still, as if time had stopped.

Barefoot on the carpet, her mind faltered for a beat.

“Huo Xin…”

“Huo… Xin…”

Unconscious, Yu Zhu whispered.

His long lashes trembled like a butterfly’s wings.

His forehead leaned against the cold cage, voice low and vulnerable, brimming with trust and intimacy.

“It hurts.”

“Huo… Xin, I… it hurts…”

The silver chain clinked faintly with his movement.

Gu Wanting stood still, her gaze like a frozen pool.

Yet fury surged in her chest, burning away reason, her white hands clenching tight enough to creak.

Huo Xin!

Why?

Why?

She would never allow it.

Never allow that when they had dragged Yu Zhu step by step into the abyss, into darkness, someone would dare pose as savior.

Speaking softly to him.

Treating him gently.

Different from them.

Pouring sunlight into the depths.

That he would chase that light.

That he would crave that gentleness.

That he would give what little feeling he had left to her.

That he would look at her with eyes full of reliance and longing.

That he would yield to her touch.

That he would call her name.

That he would bind his heart to her.

She would not allow it!

Never allow it!

Fury roared through her.

Her silk pajamas wrinkled under her grip.

She stormed back to Yu Zhu, sat before him, and smiled through her rage.

“Heh, Huo Xin.”

These past years, Huo Xin’s father had gone to great lengths to cleanse the Huo Group’s tainted rise.

Each year he exhausted himself playing at refinement, attending charity galas.

But he could never conceal his upstart origins.

The stories and ridicule could last a year without end.

Before the true upper circle, the Huo family was nothing but a vulgar nouveau riche, unqualified even to enter.

If Huo Xin hadn’t gone to find Su Zhi that day, stumbling upon them—

Gu Wanting might never have known that C City harbored such a low-class wealthy family.

“You think you can steal away my Zhuzhu?

No matter what…

You cannot.”

Gu Wanting picked up her phone.

The glow lit her face in flickering shadows, revealing the storm behind her calm.

Opening the group chat, she first sent a gentle smiley face.

Then she typed slowly.

“Where is Huo Xin?”

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