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Join the ServerThree months ago, only a few days after they had finished their first intimate video chat, they had just officially upgraded from in-game couple to an online couple.
He had accidentally said the wrong thing once and made her angry, and she gave him the cold shoulder for an entire month.
But that month of being ignored was completely different in nature from now.
Back then, although she was cold to him and refused to speak to him, he could at least still see her online in his game friends list.
She would still accept his lobby invites and was willing to play games with him; she simply didn’t speak to him.
He had constantly fed her kills in the game, match after match, coaxing her for a whole month before she finally cooled down and was willing to talk to him.
But this time, she had completely vanished.
She didn’t log into the game, nor did she reply to WeChat.
He had checked her in-game activity; her last record was frozen on Monday of last week.
‘Did she… really disappear this time?’
‘Will she ever show up again?’
‘Does she not want him anymore?’
Gao Cheng placed his phone face down on the desk and closed his eyes, feeling utterly exhausted.
In the Shi family dining room.
After Shi Yanzhou left the house, Shi Kezhen didn’t go straight upstairs as she usually did.
She sat motionless, looking at Mother Shi.
“Mother, can you return my phone to me?”
This was the first time she had proactively spoken since their conversation had ended on a sour note that day.
Mother Shi glanced at her, her tone indifferent.
“What do you need a phone for?”
“Is there someone important inside?”
Shi Kezhen’s voice remained flat.
“Didn’t you already inspect it thoroughly?”
“Since there is no one important, why do you still want a phone?”
Shi Kezhen took a deep breath, trying her best to keep her tone steady.
“You won’t let me go out, keeping me locked in my room from morning till night, and you won’t even give me my phone…”
“Aren’t you afraid of suffocating me until I fall ill?”
Mother Shi looked at her, a thin smile playing on her face.
“When did I lock you in your room?”
“I am merely forbidding you from stepping out of the Shi family’s front gates.”
“The Shi residence is so large; if you are bored, you can tend to the plants in the greenhouse, learn to cook in the kitchen, make nourishing soups, or bake some pastries.”
“If all else fails, you can join the servants in cleaning the house.”
“Is there anything you cannot do?”
When all was said and done, she simply wouldn’t return her phone.
Shi Kezhen closed her eyes; if Mother Shi refused to return her phone, she had absolutely no recourse.
Since her very first day stepping into this house at age ten, she had possessed no personal freedom; she should have grown used to it long ago.
She softened her tone, her voice dropping a bit.
“Mother, I only want to use my phone to pass the time.”
The same thin smile remained on Mother Shi’s face.
“Didn’t I just give you suggestions?”
“There are plenty of things you can do to pass the time; why must you play with a phone?”
Shi Kezhen stared at Mother Shi’s well-maintained face for a long while before she stood up, walked out of the dining room, went upstairs, returned to her room, and shut the door.
There was no slamming of doors, no crying, and no tantrum.
***
Day after day.
Another week passed.
On Friday evening, Shi Yanzhou returned to the Shi house alone once again in Uncle Li’s car.
Upon returning to the Shi household this time, there was still no sign of Shi Kezhen in the dining room by dinner time.
Shi Yanzhou picked up a pork rib and placed it in his bowl, asking as if casually.
“Where is she?”
“Why hasn’t she come down to eat?”
Mother Shi smiled elegantly.
“She isn’t hungry.”
Shi Yanzhou frowned, wanting to ask something, but opened his mouth and ultimately said nothing in the end.
What he didn’t know was that Shi Kezhen had already been on a hunger strike for several days.
***
The next day was Saturday.
He didn’t see Shi Kezhen during breakfast.
He still didn’t see Shi Kezhen during lunch.
Shi Yanzhou finally couldn’t hold it back anymore, setting down his chopsticks and raising his voice slightly.
“Mother, what on earth is wrong with her?”
“Did she do something wrong, and you’re punishing her?”
“It’s one thing not to let her go to school, but you aren’t even letting her eat.”
“Isn’t this punishment a bit too harsh?”
Obviously, he assumed Mother Shi was deliberately starving her.
Serving nearby, Butler He explained respectfully.
“Young Master, you misunderstand Madam.”
“It is the young mistress herself who refuses to come down to eat.”
Shi Yanzhou was stunned.
“Is that really true?”
Butler He nodded.
“That is indeed the case.”
Shi Yanzhou said nothing more.
But after finishing his meal, he headed straight up to the third floor, walked to Shi Kezhen’s door, and raised his hand to knock.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
No one answered.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
After knocking for a while longer, it was still quiet inside.
He began shouting from outside the door.
“Shi Kezhen, are you inside?”
“Open up, it’s me.”
After another good while, the door was finally opened from the inside, leaving just a crack.
Shi Kezhen leaned weakly against the doorframe, her face deathly pale as she raised her eyes to look at him.
“Is something the matter?”
Shi Yanzhou was startled by her appearance.
“Just how many days… have you gone without eating?”
“I don’t know,” Shi Kezhen’s voice was very soft.
“I haven’t calculated, and I didn’t keep track.”
“What on earth is going on with you?”
Shi Yanzhou frowned, his tone carrying an urgency that even he himself didn’t notice.
“How did you suddenly get grounded?”
“And going days without food—what are you trying to do?”
Shi Kezhen looked at him for several seconds before lowering her eyes, saying nothing.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak, but rather that speaking would be useless; Shi Yanzhou could not help her.
From childhood to adulthood, he had never once helped her.
“Say something,” Shi Yanzhou’s voice took on a trace of anxiety.
“What is the situation exactly?”
“If you speak up, perhaps I can help you.”
“If you say nothing, even if I want to help, I won’t be able to.”
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