Chapter 51: Escaped
Late at night, only a single small nightlight was lit in the bedroom.
Ruan Zhimian curled up in a corner of the bed against the wall, his entire body tucked inside the quilt, refusing to reveal even a fraction of himself. His constitution was already poor to begin with, and now he felt even more uncomfortable.
With his eyes closed, he hugged the small rabbit plushie tightly on the bed, shedding tears all by himself in extreme grievance.
I need to run. I have to run right now.
Shi He is the worst. Ruan Zhimian is good.
If I had known, I wouldn’t have pulled him. A certain party who wished to remain anonymous felt deeply regretful now; he had thought… it would be as quick as a temporary marking.
From just outside the bedroom door, a set of footsteps approached.
The Alpha, wearing a black silk bathrobe, turned the key to unlock the door. In his left hand, he carried a bowl of porridge emitting a sweet aroma, along with a freshly heated matcha croissant on a small plate, while his right hand held a pack of tasteless nutrient fluid.
He walked over, gently lifting a small corner of the quilt.
“Mianmian, eat dinner.”
Hearing this, Ruan Zhimian gripped the quilt even tighter. His trembling voice drifted out from beneath the covers, still sounding delicate and sweet. “I hate you.”
It only made one want to bully him further.
“When I said I wouldn’t run, I didn’t mean that kind of not running.”
“You’re a bad person.”
Everything hurt, and his tears pitter-pattered down.
What time is it now? Am I going to fail the task and die? Wuwuwu.
—His scolding had improved, but not by much.
Shi He lowered his cold, deep eyes, placing the tray on the bedside cabinet. He pulled back the corner of the quilt bit by bit, gathering the Beta—who was wearing the white nightdress with his cheeks flushed from crying—into his arms, remembering to place the small rabbit plushie into his embrace as well.
“Baby, I’m sorry.”
In just an instant, the dark gloom floating around his body shifted into a gentle expression. Feather-light kisses fell one after another onto the boy’s forehead, between his brows, and against the side of his ear, meticulously erasing the tear stains from his face.
Just then, the spiritual body, the little black snake, which had been locked away by its master for a long time, finally got a chance to come out. It hissed as it coiled around Ruan Zhimian’s ankle.
Shi He shifted his gaze, his handsome, dark face lowering as an unhurried sentence landed near the boy’s ear. “My hearing aid fell out just now. I didn’t hear you.”
The little black snake: “Hiss, hiss.”
Ruan Zhimian lifted his head with red eyes, his two hands tightly clutching the rabbit plushie in his arms, looking even more like a little rabbit himself. “Really?”
The little black snake coiled tighter, as if trying to warn Ruan Zhimian not to believe Shi He.
“Hiss, hiss.”
Sadly, Ruan Zhimian couldn’t hear it, completely hoodwinked by the gentle front put on by the Alpha before him. Placing his soft fingers near the Alpha’s ear, he said softly, “Does it hurt?”
Shi He had never been a good person; he had recognized the ugliness of human nature since childhood, pretending to be ignorant while coldly observing his parents’ profligate lives.
At one point, he hated everyone in the world, and he hated all forms of love.
Love was merely a concept displayed by humans—hypocritical, ethereal, and utterly non-existent.
Most of the time, love was nothing more than a rope of self-restraint, a moral constraint.
Because of love, parents were supposed to be responsible for their children; yet because of a lack of love, they could raise a child with complete negligence.
Love drove his parents to marry and give birth to him, yet once that love vanished, they could subject him to torment, watching other children of his age in the Shi family bully him, and even giving those children gifts.
Shi He was precocious; he had known from a very early age that he was growing up in an abnormal environment, so naturally, he wasn’t a normal person either.
Therefore, Shi He never practiced endurance. If someone tore his test paper, he would track down that child directly and pin them down in the elaborately constructed pond on the Shi estate.
Others would bring gifts to flaunt in front of him, attempting to tell him that no matter how excellent his grades were, they wouldn’t win the favor of the Shi family elders.
You are a freak.
That very night, the storage room holding those gifts suffered an accidental fire.
Every pointer indicated Shi He, but they had no evidence. Several children wept as they sought justice from the elders.
Shi He was forced to kneel as a punishment and pinned to the ground to apologize.
He was like an emotionless robot, coldly observing the entire farce.
Only occasionally would he ask someone outside the Shi family, like his private tutor.
“Teacher, why are they still alive? Why am I still alive?”
The foreign-educated tutor hired by his parents with a high salary naturally wouldn’t answer such a sharp question, but on the next day of class, the tutor handed him a book.
“Shi He, some answers must be found by yourself.”
“Every single one of us is trapped within our own lives.”
It wasn’t until he turned ten that a car accident brought an end to all the wretched hypocrisy. He was completely cast aside—first dumped in a sanatorium, then discarded abroad.
To this day, he still didn’t know why his grandfather believed he was the true culprit behind his mother’s death.
Growing up alone for over a decade, never receiving an ounce of warmth from any family member, he merely lived his life in numbness day after day.
Ruan Zhimian was a bright, warm existence.
Existing as he did, he was now stubbornly determined to possess Ruan Zhimian’s love.
Ruan Zhimian’s soft voice landed near his ear. “Shi He.”
Shi He raised his arm, taking Ruan Zhimian’s hand. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
With just a few words, the boy’s heart softened by a fraction.
Ruan Zhimian kept his small face stern, holding back from asking whether Shi He’s ear hurt anymore—usually, he would ask several times in a row.
However, he was finally willing to open his mouth to eat, his small cheeks puffing out as he chewed on the sliced pieces of bread.
The croissant had just been heated, its crust perfectly crispy, and the bird’s nest, white fungus, and red date porridge was stewed until it melted in the mouth. Before he knew it, he had finished eating while being held.
Very obedient.
This was Shi He’s first time feeding someone. He was extremely careful, cutting the bread into small pieces and waiting until the porridge reached the perfect temperature before bringing it in.
Once dinner was finished, Shi He quickly drank his nutrient fluid and carried the dishes out.
Clutching the rabbit plushie, Ruan Zhimian finally noticed that this one was exactly identical to the ones he kept in his dormitory and at home. His aunt had brought it back for him from abroad, and he liked it very much.
Extending his snowy-white fingers, he gently tugged at the rabbit ears.
Secretly buying the exact same plushie as mine.
In the apartment living room, the Alpha’s phone screen displayed a real-time synchronized surveillance feed from the bedroom ceiling. Ruan Zhimian was currently pulling open the bedside drawer, looking for his phone.
He poured a glass of warm water, added honey, and stirred it with a spoon.
Shi He stepped back into the bedroom. “Do you want to drink water?”
“My phone.”
“It’s charging.”
Unable to see his phone, Ruan Zhimian ignored him.
Shi He went to the study to retrieve it. After the phone powered on, there weren’t many messages, because Ruan Zhimian had already told his parents and friends in advance that he would be going out to clear his mind for a period of time once this matter concluded.
He had truly shot himself in the foot.
Ruan Zhimian looked at the clock; only one hour remained before the task would fail. Putting away his phone, he tugged at the quilt and tightly hugged the rabbit plushie in his arms.
“Shi He…”
Ruan Zhimian lifted his small face, his fingers gripping Shi He’s wrist as he said in a muffled voice, “I… don’t feel well…”
I must send Shi He away.
Ruan Zhimian racked his brain for tropes from CEO television dramas he had watched, striving to find a plausible reason. His pinkish small face lowered immediately after, his entire presence practically flushing red.
Pressing his forehead against Shi He’s chest, he drew close to the Alpha’s ear and whispered a few words.
To escape, I’m risking it all.
Shi He checked his wristwatch. “I’ll go buy medicine.”
The obedient kitten snuggled into the bed, hiding himself back inside. His voice drifted out through the quilt. “I’ll wait for you.”
Shi He closed the door and headed downstairs. Ruan Zhimian didn’t move for a long while.
He didn’t get up until Qiuqiu’s voice surfaced, picking up the water glass nearby to naturally converse with the system.
[There is surveillance here. I’ve blocked it.]
[Let’s leave first.]
After blocking the surveillance feed, Ruan Zhimian supported himself against the wall, stepping out of the apartment entryway one step at a time. He stepped into the elevator on the right, allowing Qiuqiu to scan the card for him to go upward first.
[Mianmian, your task progress bar has reached the end, but for some reason, it hasn’t displayed as completed.]
[Let’s wait for a bit first.]
Ruan Zhimian lacked the strength to walk out of the residential complex. He sat down under the eaves in a corner of the building’s rooftop, carrying neither his phone nor any belongings, wearing only his daytime coat.
Qiuqiu was merely a small system; it could only provide minor assistance and couldn’t teleport him out.
“Okay.”
The elevator required a card scan, and the pharmacy was within the complex; Shi He would return very soon.
It turned out it was still raining outside. Holding Qiuqiu, Ruan Zhimian extended his hand, watching the rainwater pool in his palm.
Shi He, I hope you can forget me very quickly. I hope you won’t hate the rain anymore in the future.
He had originally intended to leave on a sunny day; he hadn’t expected the rainy season in Huajiang to be this long.
The system’s reward was to allow Ruan Zhimian, who had passed away from illness, to continue living in this world. Due to role and plot constraints, Ruan Zhimian would be taken away from here by Qiuqiu, never to appear before Shi He again.
The rainwater pitter-pattered down. Holding an umbrella and carrying the medicine bag, Shi He walked back to the apartment building.
He used his key to unlock the door and strode into the bedroom.
The bedroom and bathroom were completely empty. Only a single rabbit plushie remained inside the quilt. His coat was gone, and his phone was left abandoned on the bed.
Ruan Zhimian didn’t want anything anymore—and he didn’t want him either.
Is that so?
The medicine bag dropped to the floor, and Shi He strode out with large steps.
He picked up his phone.
11:59:50 PM.
11:59:55 PM.
Accompanied by thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour, a line of text suddenly surfaced in the sky along with a mechanical voice, reminding Ruan Zhimian that the task had ended.
——【System: Congratulations, Host, on completing the task. The task has upgraded. Activating the rookie host benefit, the upgraded task duration has been extended to one week. Please complete it meticulously.】
——【System: Upgraded Task: Break up with the protagonist, Shi He.】
——【System: Task Requirement: The protagonist, Shi He, must personally utter words that carry the meaning of a breakup. A unilateral breakup will be deemed a failure.]
What does this mean… I didn’t succeed…
Simultaneously, the rooftop door was pushed open. The black-haired, black-eyed Alpha walked toward Ruan Zhimian step by step, his entire frame drenched and dripping with water.
“Why did you run again?”
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