The Broken Cage and the Runaway in the Rain

The atmosphere froze instantly. Chu Ci and Ji Yanli stood in a stalemate, staring at each other. It took a long while before Ji Yanli seemed to admit defeat, letting out a resigned sigh.

“Fine, I’ll tell you the truth,” the youth spoke softly, his long lashes lowering to hide the turbulent emotions in his eyes. “Before… I lied to you.”

Chu Ci was slightly stunned, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Lied to me?”

Ji Yanli nodded. He looked up at Chu Ci as the sky outside gradually darkened, the orange glow of late summer being swallowed inch by inch by the long night.

The lights in the room weren’t on. A faint, blueish gloom filtered in from the window, partially veiling Ji Yanli’s face. His thin silhouette stood in the darkness, looking profoundly lonely and desolate.

“Last time, you asked me if I was being watched…” Ji Yanli paused, his voice dropping to a whisper as he met Chu Ci’s gaze with a pursed lip. “—Yes. The cameras in my house were all installed by my parents.”

“But I didn’t know at first. I only discovered them later by accident.”

Ji Yanli took a deep breath, as if peeling back years of repressed inner turmoil to show Chu Ci.

“Because of an accident that happened when I was a child. That accident… I almost left them forever.”

The surroundings were eerily quiet. When Ji Yanli spoke, he carried a strange magnetic pull. Chu Ci listened in silence.

His pace was slow, his thin lips parting to utter a single sentence: “…I was kidnapped.”

Those few words hit Chu Ci’s ears hard. Even though the other’s tone was exceptionally calm—as if narrating someone else’s experience—it still caused a ripple of shock in Chu Ci’s heart.

His eyes widened involuntarily.

Chu Ci remembered the plot of the original novel. The story mainly focused on the romance between Ji Yanli and Song Qichen, and Ji Yanli’s kidnapping was a crucial turning point for their bond. Because Ji Yanli’s family was wealthy and powerful, he had been targeted by ill-intentioned people since he was very young.

That experience was the worst memory of Ji Yanli’s life. The young master, who had grown up in a greenhouse with a silver spoon, was locked in a pitch-black, enclosed cage for the first time. He was starved for three days and nights, his body covered in bruises. By the time the police found him, he was completely exhausted.

The one who deserved the most credit for finding him was the male lead, Song Qichen. He was the first to realize Ji Yanli was missing and provided the police with the exact time and place he was last seen.

From that point on, the bond between the two leads deepened, and Ji Yanli naturally fell for his childhood friend.

The story unfolded from there.

What Ji Yanli was saying now was no different from the plot Chu Ci knew. However, after mentioning the name “Song Qichen,” the youth’s expression softened for a moment. Then, he suddenly asked Chu Ci: “Do you know Song Qichen?”

Caught off guard, Chu Ci’s eyes darted around erratically as he stammered, “N-never heard of him.”

Ji Yanli tilted his head slightly, staring at Chu Ci for a long time without speaking. Those dark pupils lingered on him as if trying to peer through his body to glimpse his soul, making Chu Ci squirm.

Just as Chu Ci guiltily wondered if Ji Yanli had noticed something, Ji Yanli finally looked away. “It’s normal that you don’t know him. He’s my childhood friend; he went abroad to study a long time ago.”

Hearing this, Chu Ci’s heart finally settled back into place. He let out a secret sigh of relief.

‘Scared me to death… I thought he figured it out.’

‘If Ji Yanli realized I not only know Song Qichen but also know they end up together, would that count as a character gaining foreknowledge? Would I be punished?’

‘Help… I don’t want to die a gruesome death with my seven orifices bleeding!’

At the thought, a strange fear gripped Chu Ci. He lowered his head, his fingers twisting together tightly.

“Sorry, I got sidetracked,” Ji Yanli said, looking at the crown of Chu Ci’s head. “After the accident, my parents were constantly on edge. They felt that the moment I left their sight, I’d encounter another disaster. So after that, I had to give them real-time reports no matter where I was.”

“It got worse over time. My parents even put a miniature GPS tracker on me. They even installed dozens of cameras all over the house.”

“I understand their good intentions, but I have to admit… they are sick.”

“Their protective instinct is morbid. It makes me feel like I can’t breathe.”

The youth’s voice trembled slightly, his composure finally breaking. He knit his brows in pain.

Chu Ci looked up at him in disbelief.

This wasn’t mentioned in the original novel. The author described Ji Yanli as a golden child raised in a loving home. How could…

“I’ve always wanted to tell them how difficult they’re making it for me, but whenever I’m in front of them, I don’t know how to speak.”

Chu Ci bit his lip, trying to see Ji Yanli’s expression through the gloom. He couldn’t see much, but he could hear the other catch his breath, as if trying to mask a sudden surge of vulnerability.

“I can only run away.”

“Chu Ci.” The youth’s voice was low and raspy, yet still beautiful as he called his name. His lips quivered. “I’ve never told anyone this. You’re the first to know.”

The underlying meaning was clear:

—I need you to save me.

Chu Ci felt his heart trembling.

He lowered his eyes, deliberately avoiding Ji Yanli’s gaze, his hands wrinkling the hem of his shirt.

The main character was asking him for help, but he didn’t know if he should help him—or rather, what role he should even play to help.

Song Qichen would appear later. Once he showed up, all of Ji Yanli’s problems would be solved easily.

He shouldn’t interfere.

He just needed to finish his tasks and remain a bystander who didn’t ruin the plot.

So why am I feeling so uneasy right now?

Chu Ci pursed his lips and remained silent.

“Sorry for telling you such unpleasant things.” Ji Yanli turned on the lights. The darkness surrounding them was instantly dispelled. Chu Ci looked up and saw that the loneliness in Ji Yanli’s eyes had vanished; he had returned to his usual self.

Ji Yanli curled his lips into a light, forced smile. “It’s late. I should go home.”

“Chu Ci.”

He called his name again.

This time, as if possessed, Chu Ci wanted to answer him.

As the words tumbled in his throat, Ji Yanli waved at him, leaving him with one final sentence: “See you tomorrow.”

With that, he opened the door and walked out into the suddenly intensifying wind.

The door clicked shut, blocking out the gale. The room returned to silence.

Chu Ci stared at the door where Ji Yanli had left. When he finally snapped out of it, heavy raindrops began to fall, drumming against the window sill with a “patter-patter” sound.

He slowly turned his head to look at the blurred window. The scent of rain-soaked earth drifted through the half-open window, bringing his chaotic thoughts back to the present.

Suddenly, Chu Ci stood up, strode to the door, turned the handle, and rushed downstairs.

The rain was coming down hard and fast. The students who had been playing on the field had vanished instantly. The area beneath the dorm was empty. Splashes of rain hit Chu Ci’s bare ankles. He looked up at the sky, which seemed to be hanging a curtain of water. The glow of the streetlights was shattered by the rain, and the cold wind bit into his lungs.

Ji Yanli hadn’t been gone long before the rain started. He didn’t know where Ji Yanli was—if he had made it to a car or found shelter.

Logically, Ji Yanli didn’t lack money. His driver was always on call. No matter what, he wouldn’t let himself get soaked.

So, Chu Ci’s worry was clearly redundant.

Yet he had chased after him anyway, wandering aimlessly through the rain like a fool, searching for Ji Yanli’s silhouette.

The cold rain hitting his body was uncomfortable. Droplets slid down his brow into his eyes, leaving a stinging pain. Chu Ci wandered like a headless fly until he reached the school gate. He looked out at the empty street, and the heavy feeling in his heart suddenly lightened for a second.

Perhaps Ji Yanli had already gone home, just as he had thought.

Chu Ci turned around, wiped the rain from his face, and began to walk slowly back toward the boys’ dorm. His shadow was hidden in the flickering puddles.

As he neared the dorm building, Chu Ci looked up. In his blurred vision, he suddenly saw a tall figure duck into the dormitory stairwell.

His heart accelerated. A name instinctively popped into his mind. He broke into a run, chasing after the figure without caring about the mud splashing onto his pants.

“Ji—Ji Yanli!”

Chu Ci leaned against the frame of the dorm’s security door, bent over and gasping for air. The youth standing in the stairwell with his back to him froze. He turned around, and upon seeing Chu Ci, his pupils constricted in visible shock.

He had clearly been in the rain for a while; there wasn’t a dry spot on him. Water dripped from the tips of his hair, and transparent droplets clung to his long eyelashes.

“You…”

Ji Yanli opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words.

The cold wind followed Chu Ci inside. The two youths stood facing each other with hunched shoulders, their wet clothes clinging to their skin. They looked both pathetic and comical.

“I—” Perhaps sensing the strange atmosphere, Ji Yanli scanned Chu Ci up and down before finally speaking. “I got delayed for a bit. I hadn’t left the school when it started to…”

“Come back.”

Chu Ci spoke unexpectedly, cutting Ji Yanli off.

Ji Yanli blinked blankly. “What?”

Chu Ci lifted his head, his clear eyes fixed on the youth before him.

“I said…”

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Come back with me.”