The Collar’s Command

‘Could you… could you take this off me?’ Luo Yao pleaded, eyes wide with terror as he faced Mu Yaochen. He instinctively tried to step back, only to collide with Frost, who stood silently behind him.

‘I’m afraid not,’ Mu Yaochen replied, shaking her head gently before slowly rising to her feet.

A sudden, sharp buzz echoed in the air.

Immediately, Luo Yao felt a tingling, then a searing numbness erupt around his neck. Every hair on his body stood on end as if under assault, yet there was no physical impact, only a raw, piercing sensation.

It was pure, unadulterated pain.

‘You must be a good boy and obey,’ Mu Yaochen instructed, her voice soft yet firm, as she held her phone and gazed down at Luo Yao, who was clutching his throbbing neck in agony.

‘Is even the lowest voltage so painful?’ she mused, a faint smile gracing her lips as she observed his suffering.

‘N-no… please, no,’ Luo Yao stammered. This was an electric shock. He tried to cover his neck, or more precisely, touch the bare skin exposed beneath the collar.

As he looked at Mu Yaochen, Luo Yao felt an overwhelming sense of dread, as though he was hurtling towards an irreversible disaster.

‘Do you wish for this to continue?’ Mu Yaochen asked, kneeling before Luo Yao and gently wiping away the tears that had welled in the corners of his eyes.

Only then did Luo Yao realize the faint streaks of tears tracing paths down his cheeks.

His body, reacting instinctively to the recent pain, had cried out on its own.

‘N-no… please, don’t,’ Luo Yao pleaded, shaking his head involuntarily. He had never imagined Mu Yaochen would subject him to something so perverse.

Furthermore, based on his understanding of Mu Yaochen, he was certain that this collar possessed far more sinister functions than mere electric shocks.

A shiver ran down his spine, and he instinctively swallowed hard.

‘You’re a very good boy, my little Yao Yao,’ Mu Yaochen purred, her long, slender fingers gently pinching his nose, a satisfied smile playing on her lips. ‘Is there anything you desire?’

Watching Luo Yao’s bewildered expression, Mu Yaochen’s heart swelled with profound satisfaction.

Ever since their first encounter, Mu Yaochen, who typically maintained perfect control over her emotions, found herself utterly failing to manage her demeanor towards Luo Yao, the boy she had just acquired at auction.

‘Had I truly been seeing him as a person all this time?’

The previous night, Luo Yao had consumed her every thought.

‘A very obedient little dog.’

‘N-no… nothing,’ Luo Yao stammered, shaking his head vigorously as he met Mu Yaochen’s unsettling smile. He was gripped by an unprecedented sense of threat and terror.

‘Oh, but you will,’ Mu Yaochen countered, moving her hand from his nose to rest gently on his head before turning her gaze to Frost, who stood behind them.

‘Take him to purchase some essential daily necessities.’

With that, Mu Yaochen raised her hand and stood up completely.

‘Yes, Miss,’ Frost replied, bowing her head slightly in compliance. At the same time, Mu Yaochen guided Luo Yao closer to Frost.

‘Protect him well,’ Mu Yaochen warned, leaning close to Frost as if delivering a veiled threat, ‘If anything happens to him, your life will be forfeit.’

‘Understood,’ Frost affirmed with a firm nod, then turned to depart.

As Luo Yao watched Frost walk towards the main door, his own body moved mechanically to follow closely behind her.

He let out a shaky breath.

Before long, they stepped out of the room. The moment Luo Yao crossed the threshold, he felt the air become instantly lighter, a stark contrast to the oppressive atmosphere within the room.

That suffocating pressure, he realized, had emanated entirely from Mu Yaochen’s presence.

‘Please,’ Frost said, just as Luo Yao was contemplating his next move—how he might simply survive—and opened the door to a car parked nearby.

Luo Yao had now revised his goal to mere survival; at the very least, he hoped to retain some semblance of humanity under this witch’s thumb.

‘Uh… alright,’ Luo Yao murmured, glancing at Frost before nodding and cautiously settling into the car.

The destination remained unknown to Luo Yao, a feeling that mirrored his own fate. Wearing this collar, he understood, signified that his life would likely be irrevocably bound to Mu Yaochen’s.

His future, too, now stretched before him as an absolute blank.

‘We’ve arrived,’ Frost announced after a considerable drive, bringing the car to a halt within an underground parking garage.

Luo Yao recognized the location immediately: they had reached one of Fanhai City’s most renowned commercial districts.

Yet, this was not the most critical detail; what truly alarmed him was its proximity to his former school. He had recognized the area the moment they drew near.

A lump formed in his throat. Luo Yao yearned to flee, but he knew with the collar around his neck, there was nowhere to run.

‘Please step out,’ Frost instructed, her voice flat, as she opened his car door, pulling Luo Yao from his daze.

The moment Luo Yao exited the vehicle, Mu Yaochen extended a small, dark red notebook, edged with gold filigree, towards him.

‘What… what is this?’ Luo Yao asked, eyeing the small notebook with profound suspicion. He didn’t understand its purpose, but he instinctively knew it couldn’t be anything good.

‘Miss ordered me to give it to you,’ Frost replied, gently pressing the notebook into Luo Yao’s hand. She then pulled out a mobile phone, seemingly preparing to make a call.

With a growing sense of unease, Luo Yao opened the first page of the notebook, just as Frost began speaking into her phone as if on a call.

‘This… what does this mean?’ Luo Yao gasped, his eyes widening in astonishment at the list-like contents within the notebook.

–Hello, can you hear me?– Mu Yaochen’s voice suddenly emanated from Frost’s phone, catching Luo Yao amidst his surprise.

–Little Yao Yao, are you listening?– Hearing Mu Yaochen’s voice, Luo Yao’s head snapped up mechanically. Staring at Mu Yaochen’s face on the phone screen, he couldn’t even fathom what expression he was making.

‘It must be hideous.’

‘Good. Now, follow the instructions precisely. Otherwise…’ Mu Yaochen smiled faintly as she observed Luo Yao on the screen, then raised the phone to her ear.

****

‘Ugh…!’ The searing numbness returned, causing Luo Yao to collapse onto the ground in agony.

‘Do you understand now? Be a good boy, and follow the instructions. And if you persist in being stubborn, Luo Yao, beware of the needles inside the collar,’ Mu Yaochen warned, her smile growing even wider as she watched his reaction.

‘Needles… what needles?’

The mention of needles sent a chilling premonition through Luo Yao.

‘I… I understand,’ Luo Yao responded with a struggle, then slowly, tremblingly pushed himself back to his feet.

Initially, Luo Yao had merely perceived Mu Yaochen as a spoiled rich young lady, never imagining she would evolve into such a formidable executive.

The Mu Yaochen before him was indistinguishable from the ‘CEO’ he had envisioned.

‘Good, very obedient. Frost, keep a close watch on him. Alright, now place the recorder on him,’ Mu Yaochen instructed, her signature smile gracing her face. Yet, seeing her expression, Luo Yao instinctively recoiled.

Frost, meanwhile, retrieved a pen from her pocket—likely a recording pen.

However, the terror rising from deep within Luo Yao was insurmountable.

He desperately wanted to escape; this was the first time he had ever felt such profound panic.

‘Don’t try to run away~’

A low hum reverberated.

A powerful electric current surged through Luo Yao’s neck once more. Despite the excruciating pain, he instinctively staggered backward until his back hit the parked car.

‘Obey, be a good boy and obey, and you won’t be harmed.’