The next day, sunlight streamed through the curtains, illuminating the room.
Qing Xinxue had woken early, or perhaps it was more accurate to say she hadn’t slept at all.
‘Reward’ spun like a curse in her mind. It mingled with the terror of yesterday’s loss of control and the shiver evoked by Lan Yucheng’s unfamiliar gaze, leaving her to toss and turn throughout the night.
When Lan Yucheng pushed open the bedroom door, she found Qing Xinxue already fully dressed. She sat primly on the edge of the bed, hands resting on her knees, resembling a soldier awaiting inspection.
Her gaze was timid, laced with a hint of longing, yet she fiercely suppressed a wave of unease.
“Awake?” Lan Yucheng asked, her tone flat.
She walked to the wardrobe, casually selecting clothes for going out. “The weather’s nice today; come for a walk with me.”
Go out?
Qing Xinxue’s heart lurched. Since the incident at the convenience store, she hadn’t stepped foot outside, feeling both a yearning for and a dread of the world beyond.
“Yes… yes, of course,” she whispered, not daring to ask more.
Lan Yucheng changed her clothes, then turned, holding something in her hand. It was a small, exquisite silver bell, attached to a soft, black leather collar.
“Come here.” Lan Yucheng beckoned.
Qing Xinxue hesitated before walking over.
Without a word of explanation, Lan Yucheng simply raised her hand and fastened the leather collar around Qing Xinxue’s fair neck. Her movements were practiced, as if she were adorning a pet.
With a soft ‘click,’ the clasp locked.
The icy touch made Qing Xinxue shiver slightly. She looked down at the small bell, which hung below her collarbone and swayed gently with each breath, her face completely drained of color.
‘What… what is this?’
“It’s so you don’t get lost,” Lan Yucheng said, her tone casual but imbued with an undeniable authority, as if she could read Qing Xinxue’s thoughts. “Or perhaps… to keep you from making too much of a fuss and startling others.”
Her gaze swept meaningfully over Qing Xinxue’s hands.
Qing Xinxue’s face flushed crimson, shame burning through her like wildfire. She understood now. This was no mere ornament; it was a shackle, a stark reminder, a warning signal to ensure her ‘obedience’ in public.
“Let’s go.” Lan Yucheng no longer looked at her, instead walking out the door first.
Qing Xinxue touched the cold bell at her neck, bit her lip, and ultimately followed.
The bell jingled with her every step, a delicate, crisp sound that seemed to remind her of her identity and predicament.
Stepping out of the building, the sunlight was somewhat dazzling. The long-awaited fresh air filled her lungs, yet it carried the oppressive weight of a leash.
Lan Yucheng walked quickly, showing no signs of accommodating her.
Qing Xinxue had to jog to keep up, causing the bell around her neck to ring more urgently and clearly, drawing occasional glances from passersby.
Those looks made her feel as though she had daggers in her back, like a strange pet being paraded for display.
“Sister Cheng…” she finally pleaded in a small voice, her breath uneven. “Could… could we walk a little slower? The bell… it’s too loud…”
Lan Yucheng stopped and turned to look at her. The sunlight outlined her figure from behind, obscuring her expression.
“So many demands,” she said blandly, yet her pace did slow slightly.
Qing Xinxue let out a small sigh of relief, cautiously adjusting her steps to minimize the bell’s sound.
However, within a few minutes, Lan Yucheng’s pace imperceptibly quickened once more.
She seemed captivated by the storefronts, occasionally pausing, then briskly moving on to the next attraction.
*Jingle, jingle…*
The bell’s sound again became uncontrollably urgent and loud. Qing Xinxue had to break into a jog once more, her breathing growing ragged, a fine sheen of sweat appearing on her temples.
She watched Lan Yucheng’s back, always a half-step ahead, showing no intention of waiting. A sense of manipulation, of being toyed with, welled up within her, a crushing feeling of helplessness.
She dared not ask to slow down again. She could only struggle to regulate her breathing, desperately keeping pace, while simultaneously trying to control the sway of her body, striving to silence that accursed bell.
It was almost a form of torture.
Just as she was exhausted and highly strung, a familiar voice drifted from nearby.
“Lan Yucheng? What a coincidence!”
It was the same girl from her department whom she had encountered outside the convenience store. She approached with a smile, her gaze curiously settling on Qing Xinxue, and on the conspicuous bell around her neck that ceaselessly emitted faint sounds.
Qing Xinxue’s body instantly stiffened! Her blood felt as though it had frozen in her veins.
She saw Lan Yucheng stop, a natural, almost amiable smile gracing her face. It was a smile she hadn’t seen in a long time, one reserved for outsiders.
“Indeed, what a coincidence,” Lan Yucheng responded, her voice light.
The two girls stood on the street, chatting casually. Their conversation revolved around academics and club activities—topics Qing Xinxue neither cared about nor could contribute to.
Even as Lan Yucheng chatted, the corner of her eye subtly lingered on Qing Xinxue.
She clearly observed how Qing Xinxue’s body had abruptly tensed the moment the classmate appeared, how her fingers instinctively curled, and how a familiar undercurrent of vigilance and jealousy instantly sparked in her eyes.
Due to her body’s rigidity, the bell around her neck had temporarily fallen silent.
She was enduring.
She was observing.
Lan Yucheng sneered inwardly, yet her expression remained unreadable. She even deliberately turned her body slightly, appearing more engrossed in her conversation with the classmate.
Qing Xinxue stared intently at Lan Yucheng’s profile, watching her smile at someone else, watching her seemingly forget Qing Xinxue’s very existence.
The dark impulse to rush forward, to separate the two, to make Sister Cheng look only at her, coiled like a venomous snake, hissing and flicking its tongue once more.
Her fingernails dug deep into her palms, delivering a sharp pang of pain.
The bell seemed poised to make noise again with her slightest tremble.
‘No…
I can’t…
Sister Cheng will be angry…
She’ll never see me again…’
‘Reward’…
The word ‘reward’ acted as a final dam, barely holding back the surging dark tide.
She took a deep, forced breath, compelling herself to lower her head, no longer looking at the jarring scene. She suppressed all emotions deep within, her body trembling slightly from the extreme self-control.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
Every second was an agony.
Finally, the brief pleasantries concluded. The classmate waved goodbye.
Lan Yucheng turned back, her gaze once more falling upon Qing Xinxue, whose lips were almost bitten raw.
Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by that inscrutable calm.
She stepped forward and reached out, not to embrace, but to lightly touch the now-silent bell on Qing Xinxue’s neck with her fingertips.
*Jingle…* A faint, clear chime.
“Just now,” Lan Yucheng began, her voice low but carrying an air of scrutiny, “you behaved rather well.”
Qing Xinxue sharply lifted her head, her eyes filled with disbelief and a twisted, acknowledged joy.
‘She… she praised me? Because I held back?’
“Though your body was stiff as a board,” Lan Yucheng’s tone held a hint of almost imperceptible mockery, but she ultimately nodded. “At least you didn’t lunge forward, and you didn’t cry.”
She withdrew her hand, looking at Qing Xinxue’s eyes, which were unusually moist from suppressed emotion and anticipation.
“It seems ‘obedience’ is something you can manage.”
This statement felt like a pardon, leaving Qing Xinxue utterly drained. Her legs weakened, and she nearly stumbled.
Lan Yucheng opportunely reached out and steadied her arm, her grip neither too light nor too firm.
“Let’s go, we’re heading back,” she said, her voice seemingly softening a little.
This time, her pace was noticeably slower, accommodating Qing Xinxue’s somewhat wobbly legs.
On the way back, the bell’s sound became rhythmic and faint.
Qing Xinxue silently walked beside Lan Yucheng, her emotions a tangled mess.
Shame, grievance, lingering fear, and a subtle, meek sense of satisfaction born from ‘behaving well’ and being ‘supported.’
As they neared the house, Lan Yucheng, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped. She didn’t turn around, simply uttering a chilling statement that sent Qing Xinxue’s heart racing again:
“Remember your ‘good behavior’ today.”
“Tonight,”
“I’ll give you a reward.”
With that, she took out her key and opened the door.
Qing Xinxue stood behind her, watching her back, her hand instinctively rising to the bell at her neck.
‘Reward’…
‘Tonight’s reward’…
Unknown anticipation and a thread of secret dread, like creeping vines, once again tightly entwined themselves around her heart.
And Lan Yucheng, walking ahead, allowed a faint, icy curve to play at the corner of her lips.
The first step of taming,
It seemed,
Had yielded significant results.