Chapter 51: Canary

Xia Qingyi arrived at Tianxing Villa promptly at one in the afternoon.

Pushing open the study door, a faint breeze carrying a subtle fragrance brushed against her face. Yu Zhu sat alone beneath the tree shadows by the floor-to-ceiling window, quietly watching the leaves sway outside.

Ruan Suhua was not there.

A hint of surprise flickered across Xia Qingyi’s otherwise unremarkable face. “Xihe, Miss Ruan isn’t here today?”

Normally, at this time, Ruan Suhua would be by Yu Zhu’s side, endlessly reminding him of instructions he had long grown tired of hearing:

Don’t bring up the past. Don’t behave excessively. Avoid unnecessary communication. Don’t exceed limits. Stop immediately if anything happens…

And when leaving the study, she would cast a sharp glance, a silent warning.

Yu Zhu nodded at Xia Qingyi and picked up a fresh sheet of pure white stationery, writing: “Sister has something to attend to today.”

“I see. Then let’s begin.”

Xia Qingyi sat opposite him. Her long, wine-red hair was tied into a neat high ponytail, and she held her pen poised. “Xihe, the maid said Miss Ruan took you out of the villa yesterday. How did it feel being outside?”

“Fine.” Yu Zhu wrote, his tone neutral.

“Did anything interesting happen while you were out?”

Xia Qingyi leaned slightly forward.

Over the past few months, her makeup had become increasingly refined. Now, her eyeliner swept outward, her lips a vivid red, and her skin even more porcelain-like. She wore a light gray blazer and a matching knee-length skirt. Black stockings ran from her heels up under the skirt, leaving just a few inches at the knees exposed.

She looked less like a patient, kind psychologist and more like a commanding, unyielding superior.

“Nothing.” Yu Zhu wrote.

“I see, nothing interesting happened, then.”

She had just sat down but stood again, removing her blazer and draping it over the chair back. Beneath, she wore a pure white long-sleeved shirt, slightly translucent, revealing hints of color beneath.

Suddenly she asked, “Xihe, do you think a canary would ever willingly stay inside a cage?”

Yu Zhu looked up at her at the right moment.

“At first, it would struggle, resist, try to break out and return to its old world.”

“But over time, when it realizes it no longer has to scavenge day and night for food, that as long as it behaves inside the cage, it has a soft, luxurious resting place and carefully prepared high-end feed…”

“Tell me, when it becomes accustomed to this life, if one day the cage door opens, will it choose to stay inside or fly away?”

Xia Qingyi walked to the corner of the study, away from the bright sunlight by the window.

She sat on the smooth, dark red desk, leaning back on her hands, crossing her legs, one atop the other, her posture teasing.

The skirt of her uniform rode up with this movement, revealing the black stockings hugging her calves, ending just above the knees, leaving a narrow mark. Her thighs pressed together, white and tender, smooth as peeled bamboo shoots.

Her toes pointed, tapping the tip of her heels, swaying slightly in the quiet study.

“This canary will obviously choose to stay inside the cage,” she said, watching Yu Zhu’s calm gaze, suddenly letting out a mocking smile.

“One day, it might soar to the branches and become a phoenix, dazzled by the lavish lifestyle of the rich, intoxicated by luxury and indulgence. Will it even think about losing freedom? When you open the cage, it would hide in the deepest corner, afraid of being abandoned.”

“Am I right, Ruan Xihe?”

“Thump—”

A heel slipped, hitting the carpet with a dull thud. Xia Qingyi straightened, her eyes burning with tangible emotion.

“Even if it could fly out of the cage, a canary accustomed to a life of luxury would never willingly return to a life of scarcity. So even if abandoned by its master, it would kneel without dignity, begging desperately to return to the cage.”

“But since its master no longer wants it, no matter how much it cries or tries to die, it will never receive another glance.”

She seemed lost in her own memories, continuing,

“But she does nothing, wants nothing. Time and again, she drags her daughter into other people’s homes, only to be shooed out in embarrassment, clinging to past memories, indulging in self-pity, submitting herself beneath different people.”

“Covering her eyes doesn’t help. If her voice is too loud, they will still hear. Neighbors, classmates, teachers—everyone points and whispers behind her back. She is the daughter of that madwoman. Don’t speak to her, or you’ll go mad too…”

Her words twisted and chaotic, her mocking smile suddenly turning feral. She stepped deliberately onto the floor, approaching Yu Zhu.

“Ruan Xihe, you’re a canary locked in a cage too, aren’t you?”

“Whether Ruan Suhua has a younger brother isn’t hard to find out. After all, she’s the only child of this generation of the Ruan family. Even if her father suddenly had an illegitimate son, she would crush him in the cradle rather than…”

“Rather than keep him confined in this villa, doing absurd things, without even hiding it from outsiders.”

“Ruan Xihe, you are her caged canary.”

Xia Qingyi moved in closer. Her conclusion, spoken aloud, made her body tremble with excitement.

“If this cage were opened, would you fly away?”

She was uncomfortably close. Yu Zhu took a step back against the wall, refusing to answer.

“You wouldn’t.”

“You’ve grown accustomed to this extravagant life, accustomed to her special attention. Money has gradually corrupted you; you don’t wish to fly out and seek hardship.”

She stepped closer again.

“You think that Ruan Suhua hasn’t treated you like a toy to play with at her leisure? Or have you deluded yourself into believing you’re in a relationship with her? That she will eventually marry you?”

“Stop being naive, Ruan Xihe. You’re just a plaything. As long as you stay in the cage long enough, you’ll fear being discarded. Why would you think she’d abandon everything to truly be with you?”

“She only cares about your appearance, not your thoughts. As the future head of the Ruan family, she will only marry someone of equal standing.”

“At that time, in what capacity will you remain by her side?”

Step by step, Xia Qingyi cornered him. Yu Zhu pressed against the cold wall, lips tightly sealed, staring into her furious gaze.

“You have hands and feet, yet you willingly stay here, a rich person’s plaything.”

“Hah.”

She let out a cold laugh, suddenly grabbing his left hand, pressing his wrist against the wall.

Pain shot through his wrist, his left hand went limp. Yu Zhu’s eyelashes trembled. She moved closer, her body brushing his neck, a few strands of wine-red hair falling across his collarbone.

“Why insist on being a rich person’s plaything? Are you happy just being toyed with?”

Her warm lips brushed against his earlobe, the words sharp and biting.

“**.”

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