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Join the ServerSu Yutao was placed under the covers, curled up, clutching Qiansui, afraid to move.
Lin Qingxue lay down beside her and turned off the light.
In the darkness, that gentle voice said, “Good night, Little Tao.”
Su Yutao didn’t respond.
She waited for the breathing beside her to even out.
She waited a long time.
Finally, the breathing became soft and steady.
She fell asleep.
The breathing changed.
Su Yutao’s whole body stiffened, but she didn’t tremble.
She didn’t dare to tremble.
She remembered Qiansui’s words: ‘Just endure a few more days.’
She remembered the doctor saying, ‘Your shoulder will be ruined.’
She couldn’t take another beating.
She had to endure, to obey, to make this person happy.
The person beside her sat up, moving quietly.
Su Yutao could feel that gaze on her, cold as a knife.
She waited for that person to speak, to say ‘Get up,’ to hit her.
But it didn’t come.
There was a long silence.
Then that person moved, reaching out to pull back the covers.
Su Yutao felt the hand come closer, stopping near her face.
She didn’t dodge, didn’t curl up, didn’t tremble. She just lay there, eyes closed, waiting.
The hand grabbed her chin, turning her face. That voice sounded in the darkness, light and faint: “Didn’t run today?”
Su Yutao shook her head.
Her chin was held, so she shook slightly.
Lin Qingxue watched her reaction, her eyes flickering slightly.
‘This little blind girl isn’t trembling today?’
She let go, and Su Yutao’s chin dropped.
Lin Qingxue looked down at her. The little blind girl was curled up in the blankets, hugging Qiansui, her whole body soft. Not the soft of being scared stiff, but the soft of submission.
She hadn’t curled into the corner, hadn’t wrapped herself up, hadn’t trembled.
She just lay there, like a cat tucking in its claws.
Lin Qingxue reached out and touched Su Yutao’s hair.
Su Yutao didn’t flinch.
The hand slid from her hair to her ear, touching the gauze.
Lin Qingxue’s fingers paused, then continued downward, sliding to her shoulder, touching the bandage.
Su Yutao still didn’t flinch.
Lin Qingxue pressed lightly on her shoulder.
Su Yutao winced in pain, but didn’t shrink back.
She just bit her lip and endured.
Lin Qingxue looked at her and let out a soft laugh. It was light, faint, but carried a hint of satisfaction.
“Very well-behaved today.”
Su Yutao heard the words ‘well-behaved,’ and it felt like a prick in her heart.
‘Well-behaved.’
She was well-behaved.
She was obedient.
She couldn’t resist, couldn’t run, couldn’t tremble.
She had to comply, to make this person happy.
‘Just endure a few more days, just a few more days, just a few days.’
She slowly shifted her body, moving closer to Lin Qingxue.
Inch by inch, like a small animal cautiously approaching a fire.
Her shoulder touched Lin Qingxue’s arm, and she didn’t pull back.
Her hair brushed against Lin Qingxue’s chin, and she didn’t dodge.
Her fingers hooked onto Lin Qingxue’s hem, and she didn’t let go.
Lin Qingxue looked down at this little creature. She was approaching, rubbing against her, like a cat seeking warmth.
Not fear, not avoidance. It was proactive, cautious, with an indescribable fawning.
Lin Qingxue’s lips curved into a smile, and she reached out, pulling Su Yutao into her arms.
Su Yutao leaned against her chest, listening to her heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thump.
It was the same as during the day, but different.
During the day, her heartbeat was warm. At night, this person’s heartbeat was cold.
She leaned in this person’s arms, feeling like she was leaning against a block of ice.
But she couldn’t avoid it; she had to comply.
She buried her face in Lin Qingxue’s shoulder, just like during the day.
Her nose touched that person’s collarbone, cool, with a smell of blood.
She endured, didn’t shrink back.
Her hand gently rubbed against Lin Qingxue’s chest, like a caress, like a plea.
Lin Qingxue’s body tensed slightly, then her hand tightened, holding Su Yutao closer.
That voice sounded above her, with a hint of satisfaction,
“What’s wrong today? A change of heart? So proactive?”
Su Yutao’s body trembled, then returned to normal.
She just kept rubbing, pressing her face against that person’s neck, brushing her hair against that person’s chin, hooking her fingers on that person’s collar.
She was pleasing her.
She knew she was pleasing her.
She disgusted herself, but she had to live.
She couldn’t get beaten anymore.
Lin Qingxue was tickled by her rubbing and let out a soft laugh.
It wasn’t a sneer; it was the kind of laugh that came from being amused.
She reached out, grasping Su Yutao’s nape like holding a cat, her voice lazy,
“Alright, stop rubbing.”
“I won’t hit you today.”
Su Yutao stopped moving, but she didn’t leave. She continued leaning in Lin Qingxue’s arms, still hooking her fingers on her hem.
She didn’t dare leave, afraid that if she did, this person would change her mind.
Lin Qingxue looked down at her. This little blind girl curled up in her arms, like a small animal that had finally learned to fawn.
She remembered the events of the day: the hospital, the doctor, the liability form, buying clothes, the stares of passersby.
Those memories were vague in her daytime self’s mind, but in her now, they were clear.
She knew how Su Yutao’s shoulder injury came about. She had squeezed it. She knew how the ear injury came about. She had bitten it.
She knew how the bruises came about. She had kicked them.
But she didn’t care.
What she cared about was that this little thing was well-behaved today, hadn’t run, hadn’t trembled, hadn’t bitten.
What she cared about was that she had proactively leaned in, rubbed against her, pleased her.
Lin Qingxue’s fingers lightly traced Su Yutao’s nape, her voice faint:
“Keep it up from now on, and I won’t hit you.”
Su Yutao nodded in her arms.
She didn’t dare not nod.
The room was so quiet that the ticking of the clock on the wall could be heard.
Su Yutao curled up in Lin Qingxue’s arms, face buried in her shoulder, fingers hooked on her collar, like a small animal that had finally learned to please.
She didn’t dare stop, didn’t dare let go, didn’t dare let this person feel the slightest hint of insincerity.
She was pleasing her, pleading with her, using the only pitiful things she had left to buy safety for tonight.
Then there was a knock at the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Three knocks, a pause, then three more.
Not a bang, but a rhythmic, unhurried knock with a certain ceremonial feel.
Lin Qingxue’s body tensed.
She looked down at Su Yutao rubbing in her arms. Su Yutao tensed all over. She felt that cold gaze on her. Su Yutao thought she was going to be hit again.
She didn’t know what she had done wrong. She had been so well-behaved, hadn’t run, hadn’t trembled, hadn’t bitten, had been rubbing against her, pleasing her, wooing her all along.
She flinched, no longer daring to rub.
Lin Qingxue reached out, grabbed the back of her neck, and lifted her out of her arms.
Su Yutao was lifted, suspended in midair, like a cat held by the scruff.
Her heart sank.
It’s over.
She’s going to get hit again.
Lin Qingxue placed her on the bed, tossing her into the covers, her voice flat, without warmth:
“Don’t move.”
“If you dare make a single sound, yesterday’s punishment continues.”
“I’ve thought of something more fun.”
Su Yutao shuddered, immediately curling into a ball, hugging Qiansui, finding the most comfortable position to wrap herself up.
She didn’t dare move, didn’t dare make a sound, even lightened her breathing.
She curled into a tiny ball, hiding under the covers, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
Lin Qingxue saw how obedient she was, and the corner of her mouth lifted briefly.
She turned, closed the bedroom door, and walked out.
The living room lights were off, only the streetlight outside filtered in, casting long shadows of the furniture.
Lin Qingxue walked to the door, pulled it open, and leaned against the doorframe, her posture lazy like a cat basking in the sun, but her eyes were cold.
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