Lin Xinyan’s head was heavy. It seemed bumpy and she felt like she was lying in a car.
She gradually opened her eyes and her vision turned from blurry to clear. She saw where she was.
She was in a seven-seater car. The back seats had been placed down and it had become a large space, much like a bed that she was lying on top of. The windows had a layer of black film, so she could not see whether it was day or night. However, she felt that it should be the day because there were no flickering street lights.
She wanted to move but realized that her head was pounding and her hands could not move. She looked down to find out that her hands and legs were tied up.
He Ruize, who was driving, saw that she had woken up through the rearview mirror. “You woke up. Are you hungry?”
Lin Xinyan recalled what had happened and she did not want to talk to him. She closed her eyes again.
“Do you hate me?” He Ruize could see her expressions clearly through the rearview mirror.
Did she no longer want to talk to him?
“Yan, we’re lovers. We’ll eventually make love to each other. Why should you be like that? I feel upset that you’re hurt.” He did feel upset, but his want for her was stronger.
“Are you hungry?” He Ruize repeated his question.
Whatever He Ruize said, Lin Xinyan pretended that she could not hear him and did not answer him. She hated this man with a vengeance. She now knew what he was made of.
He Ruize knew that she was angry so he did not continue to say anything else. He only said, “Tell me when you’re hungry.”
He focused back on his driving.
Lin Xinyan’s head was throbbing, as if there was someone drilling in her head. She did not know where He Ruize was driving to, but the road was bumpy and the wound on her head kept pounding along with each bump. Yet she never cried; she just suffered quietly.
To distract herself from the pain, she forced herself to space out and fall asleep. That way, she would not feel the pain.
The sun set and the sky darkened.
When she woke again, she did not know what time it was. She was no longer in the car. She was at a motel. The place was not spacious and the furnishing was simple. It looked like the kind of motel that did not need any identification, because Lin Xinyan realized the motel should be originally a house. The room was originally a part of the living room.
There was a mocking smile on her pale face.
He Ruize must have had it hard. To avoid detection, he was now living in these kinds of places.
As a member of the He family, he was born with a golden spoon. He had never experienced difficulties like this.
Her throat was dry and she wanted to drink some water. However, her hands and legs were still tied up. He Ruize was not around; he must have been afraid that she would escape.
Kacha. The door was pushed open and He Ruize walked in with things in his hands.
When he saw her awake, he asked, “You’re awake. Are you hungry yet?”
He closed the door behind it and locked it. As if he was worried that the lock would not work properly, he turned the handle to make sure that the door was locked before he turned to place the things on the table.
“I’m thirsty.” Her voice broke.
She did not know how long she had not spoken or how long she had not drunk anything. Right now, she was thirsty.
He Ruize untied the rope around her hands. He touched her thin, fair wrists that had been scratched red by the rope. “Is it painful?”
Lin Xinyan did not answer him. She just felt that he was a hypocrite. If he really did feel upset for her, he would not have treated her like this.
He Ruize untied the rope on her legs and supported her into a sitting position. “I’ll get some water for you.”
Lin Xinyan moved her sore wrist and looked at the bottle of water that He Ruize brought over. He was about to twist the cap open when Lin Xinyan said, “I’ll open it myself.”
He Ruize replied, “Doesn’t your hand hurt?”
“No. I saw that you’ve bought food. Are you hungry? You should eat first.”
He Ruize looked at her for a second before handing her the unopened bottle. When Lin Xinyan took the bottle, she made sure that the bottle had not been opened before she twisted the cap. She was fearful of He Ruize; she was afraid that he would try to drug her.
And so, she had to be extremely careful.
He Ruize stuffed two mouthfuls of food then handed Lin Xinyan hers. “Eat something.”
Lin Xinyan was indeed hungry, but she did not reach out to take it.
He Ruize thought that she did not like the food, so he said, “This place is too remote, and there are no proper restaurants around. One more day, and we’ll look for a better restaurant for better food. We’ll rest for another night.”
Lin Xinyan did not answer him. She reached out for the food and ate a few mouths to stop her hunger. She did not eat much. It was not because the food was terrible. Back when she was living with her mother and they were scraping by in life, she had tasted all kinds of food and went through all kinds of difficulties.
She did not dare to each more, because this was given to her by He Ruize.
He had traumatized her. She was constantly afraid of him trying to hurt her.
She was afraid that he would drug him through the food.
“When you’re done, lie down. I’ll apply some medication for your wound.”
Lin Xinyan placed down the food container and drank a sip of water. “I want to go to the bathroom.”
She stood up after she had gotten He Ruize’s permission. Only when she stood up, she realized that her legs were numb and her ankle was sore.
She bent down to massage her numb legs. He Ruize reached out, wanting to help her massage, but she instinctively moved backwards. Her leg knocked onto the side of the bed and she sat on it. She said hurriedly, “It’s okay. It’s not numb anymore.”
Now that her legs had a little feeling, she stood up and went into the bathroom. She closed the door and locked it from her side. She breathed a sigh of relief after making sure that it was locked. She did not actually want to use the bathroom; she wanted to avoid He Ruize applying medication for her. After applying medication, He Ruize would definitely tie her up again and it was uncomfortable.
She sat on the toilet bowl and rested while she massaged her numb and sore legs.
Only after when she felt more rested then did she stand up to flush the toilet bowl. It was to make sure that He Ruize thought she was actually using the bathroom. She washed her hands and walked out.
He Ruize was looking down at his phone. Lin Xinyan glanced at it; he was looking at the roads. When he heard her, he locked the screen and looked up at her. “Lie down.”
Lin Xinyan sat at the side with fearful eyes.
“I won’t do anything to you before you have recovered.” He Ruize could sense her worries.
However, Lin Xinyan felt a chill run up her spine. That meant that when she recovered, he was going to treat her like how he did the last time.
She trembled and she wished that she could escape from him.
She slowly laid down and He Ruize pulled off the bandage on her head. There was a small wound on her forehead and she had been treated in the hospital for it. The doctor had said that head wounds bleed a lot, but her injury was minor.
However, it was still a head wound, so the doctor had advised her to rest more.
Lin Xinyan kept quiet despite that it was painful when He Ruize was applying medication on the wound. The only sign of her pain was the beads of sweat on her forehead.
“You can make sounds if it’s painful.”
“It’s not.”
Lin Xinyan closed her eyes.
A few minutes later, He Ruize had finished applying the medication for her. “I drive in the day, so I’d need to rest well at night…”
“Tie then.” Lin Xinyan knew what he was going to say next.
He Ruize bent down to tie her legs first. “I’ll tie it loose, so you’ll be more comfortable.”
How comfortable could it be to be tied up?
Lin Xinyan closed her eyes without saying anything as he tied her hands. She could only convince him to be less wary of her now, then she could get an opportunity to escape.
Knock knock.
There was a sudden knocking on the door.
He Ruize’s expression changed as he stared at the door.
The door was knocked again and a man’s voice accompanied it. “Hurry and open the door.”
