She tried to lift his arm and move his leg, but he tensed, pressing her down until she was exhausted and gasping. After finally moving his leg, he flipped over and pressed down heavily again.
Ruan Ning gritted her teeth and made a throat-cutting gesture at his feigned sleeping face.
But he suddenly grabbed her hand, his voice laced with amusement: “Sister, I have a bad temper when I don’t sleep well.”
“You’re crushing me and I can’t breathe,” Ruan Ning protested softly.
Meng Chi laughed, pressing down on her until she let out a soft cry, then finally moved away. Though his eyes were closed, her delicate cry lingered in his ears, stirring his imagination.
Ruan Ning bit her teeth and cursed softly, forcing herself to open the door and walk past him, collapsing onto the bed with despair, pulling the blanket over her head. The embarrassment of the day far exceeded all her previous humiliations combined.
Meng Chi lay down too, laughing at the bundle under the blanket. As his laughter faded, he unknowingly fell asleep.
When Ruan Ning woke up in the morning, Meng Chi had already left. She discovered her ankle was locked with a silver chain, though her hands were free.
The shorter chain lay shimmering on the table, seemingly mocking Ruan Ning’s helplessness. She took a deep breath, confident that these locks could be opened with a simple stick, just like in TV shows.
“Jiaojiao, do you have any lock-picking assistance?”
The transparent panel appeared with glowing text: “Lock-picking Master Guide (Video Version): 20 Overlord Tickets.”
Ruan Ning checked her reward pool – she had just enough to exchange. Imagining Meng Chi’s furious reaction when he couldn’t find her, she smiled: “Jiaojiao, exchange this for me.”
The standard female voice responded cheerfully: “No problem, but real-name authentication must be completed first. Please upload front and back scans of your ID, and provide a photo holding the ID, ensuring all characters and numbers are legible.”
Ruan Ning was exasperated: “I’m here; where am I supposed to get an ID?”
The voice replied: “Lock-picking personnel must be registered, so real-name authentication is mandatory.”
Ruan Ning thought, what a pompous load of nonsense!
“The host should be grateful,” the voice added. “If you exchange it and I tell you this afterward, your Overlord Tickets would be wasted.”
So I should be thankful?
Ruan Ning gritted her teeth. “Jiaojiao, you’re truly something. Disappear quickly. I’ve barely survived Meng Chi’s anger; don’t let you kill me with frustration.”
The female voice hesitated before cheerfully responding, “Okay, host, fighting! Turn this abusive story sweet soon!”
After the system disappeared, Ruan Ning crouched on the bed, utterly miserable. What had led her to this abusive story? This was not a livable life.
The candle illuminated the room as Meng Chi noticed a deep mark on his sister’s neck, swollen from a vicious act. Although he felt something was off, he couldn’t investigate further. Meng Yao was right; they had relied on each other since childhood. Even if she was lying, he couldn’t risk losing her.
“Don’t do this again,” Meng Chi said slowly. “I won’t always be able to come back in time.”
“If you can’t come back, just let me die,” Meng Yao replied stubbornly. “I’d rather die than watch you protect that little bitch.”
“Yao Yao,” Meng Chi said with determination, “Think carefully. If you die, I’ll remember you, but even the most cherished memories fade over time.”
“No, you can’t forget me, even if I die!” Meng Yao cried, throwing herself into his arms.
“Even as a ghost, I’ll haunt you!”
Meng Chi held her down and gently placed her back on the bed, stepping back a few steps. “Yao Yao, I once hated Wang’s bitch so much, but now I can’t even remember her face. It’s the same principle. People must live; once dead, you can’t think of anything.”
Meng Yao wept in despair. She had known when she saw Ruan Ning chained that the little bitch had stolen her brother’s heart. Her brother was like this – whatever he liked, he had to control. When she was young and active, she once nearly drowned. Afterward, Meng Chi tied a rope to her wrist, taking her everywhere. Back then, she felt constrained, but now, she longed to be tied to him forever.
Tears traced light paths on her face. Meng Yao silently pulled a rope from her sleeve and bound her own hand, holding the other end out to Meng Chi: “Brother, tie me up, like when we were young.”
Meng Chi’s expression changed. “Did you go find Yuan Ning?”
Meng Yao, still holding the rope and teary-eyed, said, “Brother, you can’t do to others what we did, especially not to that little bitch. Otherwise, I’ll die right in front of you.”
Meng Chi looked at the wound on her neck, knowing it must hurt. Her lips were bloodless, her voice hoarse. He remembered that even the fiercest individuals would lose their spirit after nearing death.
Meng Yao had gone mad. In chaotic times, harsh measures were necessary.
Meng Chi took the rope, looked at it, then handed it back to Meng Yao. “You have your way, I have mine. What I do with Yuan Ning is my business. If you really want to die, I can’t stop you.”
The narrative continues with intense psychological and emotional interactions, exploring themes of obsession, control, and complex sibling relationships.
Sun Jiacong smiled slightly, despite being humiliated by Meng Yao. Although he was a concubine son, the Sun family’s status was far higher than the Meng family’s. It was one thing for Meng Chi to suppress him in the Xiaoyun Guard, but for his sister to look down on him was an insult he couldn’t swallow.
He shook his head and said, “You’re not marrying me, so why should I care so much?”
As he turned to leave, Meng Yao blocked his path, urgently saying, “Help me kill Yuan Ning, and I’ll definitely repay you.”
“How will you repay me?”
“I’ll have my brother promote you,” Meng Yao said. “Just help me kill that little bitch!”
Sun Jiacong coldly replied, looking directly at her: “Yuan Ning is your sister. Why are you always at odds with her?”
“Her mother owes me, and she must repay me!”
Sun Jiacong’s voice turned cold: “Sister Ah Yao, I feel like you’re not telling the truth. Is it because you can’t let go of Brother Meng?”
He saw her fear of being exposed and felt satisfied: “Brother Meng has a house outside for Yuan Ning. Sister Ah Yao, you can’t control who your brother marries, right?”
Meng Yao would not admit her feelings. She forced herself to say, “Why can’t I manage my brother’s affairs? Will you help or not?”
“How would I explain to Brother Meng if I killed her?” Sun Jiacong said, observing her expression. “But I can help find Zheng Yu.”
“What for?” Meng Yao asked, puzzled.
“With Brother Meng protecting her, you can’t kill Yuan Ning. Even if you killed Brother Meng, he wouldn’t forgive you. Having Zheng Yu marry Yuan Ning will cut off Brother Meng’s thoughts,” Sun Jiacong proposed, hoping to confirm his guess.
Meng Yao felt it was too easy. But the most important thing was to remove Yuan Ning from her brother’s life. She nodded reluctantly: “Fine, go find Zheng Yu and get that bitch away.”
Sun Jiacong’s heart grew cold. How had he been blind to her nature? He gave a cold laugh, realizing he had leverage over the Meng siblings and could settle this score by adding fuel to the fire.
“Sister Ah Yao, I’ll go find Zheng Yu. You should also think of a way,” Sun Jiacong said. “Keep Brother Meng; don’t let him go to Yuan Ning. Otherwise, even if Zheng Yu comes, he won’t be able to take her from Brother Meng’s hands.”
Keep him? Meng Yao fell into a trance.
Later, one of Sun Jiacong’s trusted subordinates quietly left the capital, riding hard to Zheng Yu’s home.
