Chapter 2: Is Pretending to Be Pitiful So Entertaining?

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Has she suffered too little?
Does he know what goes on in the compound?
Does he know that every second inside is filled with screams too horrific to imagine?
Has he ever experienced moments where survival was impossible, and death unattainable?
Has he ever felt the despair of leaping from a window, or the agony of forcing his way through electrified fences, flesh torn and bloody?
Su Nuo has endured far more than this.
But she dared not talk back.
She knew Duan Yubai’s anger wasn’t only directed at her personally; it stemmed even more from the negative impact this incident might have on the company.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I truly didn’t mean to, I’m sorry, I’ll never dare again…”
Su Nuo apologized instinctively, her hunched, trembling form shrinking as low as dust. So long as Duan Yubai didn’t throw her back into the compound, she’d apologize until her last breath.
Without realizing, she knelt, head bowed, obedient as a puppy anyone could bully.
Duan Yubai was briefly surprised, then let out a mocking laugh.
“Well, she was right after all. You really have learned to behave.”
Su Nuo didn’t understand what he meant, but knew she had no right to ask.
The car started moving. Duan Yubai adjusted into a more comfortable, arrogant posture, glancing sidelong at Su Nuo.
“Don’t ever play this pathetic act again. The stench is disgusting!”
“Yes, I understand. I won’t dare again…”
Su Nuo replied, trying to curl up even tighter, as if shrinking enough would somehow contain her odor.
Suddenly, a sharp brake sent Su Nuo tumbling forward, unprepared.
Ignoring the pain, she scrambled up, frantically wiping the bloodstains from the carpet.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault! I’ll clean it up, please don’t be angry, I won’t dare again!”
From the front came the driver’s apologetic voice: “Sorry, President, did you or Miss get hurt?”
Su Nuo’s flustered, anxious demeanor earned only a second’s frown from Duan Yubai before his expression relaxed, as he watched her docility with satisfaction.
Staring at the top of her head, Duan Yubai replied to the driver with lazy indifference.
“You did well.”
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His long arm rested along the back of the leather seat, gleaming shoes stopped just ten centimeters from Su Nuo’s nose.
She could even smell the leather of his shoes; as the car jolted, his toe nearly kicked her nose again and again.
It felt like deliberate provocation, yet also as if it were simply his due.
Seeing Su Nuo offer no resistance, Duan Yubai snorted.
“If you’d behaved like this from the start, things wouldn’t be so bad now.”
He poured himself a glass of red wine just as his phone rang.
He answered, but didn’t speak immediately; the caller was clearly seeking a favor, faintly audible with anxious pleas.
Duan Yubai merely responded with an indifferent “oh.”
That sound was identical to the one he’d made three months ago, on the day Su Nuo was abducted, and it sent shivers through her, her hands gripping the carpet in terror.
When she was first taken, she heard the kidnappers call Duan Yubai for ransom.
The sum was astronomical, but for the Duan family, it was trivial; Duan Yubai could have easily rescued her.
Su Nuo, bound hand and foot, gagged, whimpered desperately, begging him to save her.
But the receiver was silent for a long time—so long the kidnappers, furious, kicked her repeatedly, pressing the phone to her mouth so all her screams and pleas were transmitted directly to Duan Yubai’s ears.
Yet all she heard from him was the same indifferent “oh.”
For a moment, Su Nuo thought she’d misheard. She pleaded frantically for him to save her, but in the end, all she heard was the cold tone of a hung-up call.
He ended the call calmly, decisively, without a hint of hesitation.
The kidnappers, denied their ransom, vented their rage on her, beating her that night until she was barely human.
She remembered her retinas swelling with blood, rendering her blind.
Her ears rang so loudly she couldn’t hear, her nose bled, flooding her throat, yet she still believed Duan Yubai was just being stubborn, that he’d come for her.
But three months passed, and it was only by risking everything, escaping with reckless abandon, that she made it back. Otherwise, she would never have returned.
Now, hearing Duan Yubai’s deliberate pause and cold “oh” again, Su Nuo felt herself freeze, trembling uncontrollably.
It felt as if that brutal beating was happening all over her body.
Watching her shake, Duan Yubai frowned, muttered a few words to end the call, then asked impatiently,
“What’s wrong with you now? What are you pretending for?”
“I’m… sorry…” she stammered, apologizing.
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But Duan Yubai seemed tired of hearing it.
“Is that all you know how to say? Does pretending to be pitiful amuse you?”
“I’m sorry… truly sorry, I won’t dare again…”
His expression grew ever more disgusted. “Why are you still on the floor? Get up! Or do you expect me to pull you up?”
“No…”
Su Nuo didn’t dare delay, desperately trying to rise, but the more anxious she became, the slower her movements. Every wound on her body throbbed with every motion.
Especially the tiny wounds on her fingertips—all inflicted by the kidnappers with scalding steel needles.
There were countless such injuries all over her body, the pain so intense she broke out in cold sweat, her heart numb.
But Su Nuo dared not show it; she clenched her teeth, repeating to herself not to anger Duan Yubai again.
Suddenly, with a dull thud, an ornate tissue box landed in front of her.
“Quick, wipe it off! What’s on your face? You used to be clean and fair—why make yourself so revolting now?”
Su Nuo obediently pulled out tissues, wiping blood and sweat from her face.
If it had been before, Duan Yubai would have praised her, handed her tissues, and she would have been moved to tears, even bold enough to lean in and act coy.
But now, she only wanted to clean herself quickly; every second she stayed like this was an affront to Duan Yubai’s eyes.
But her skin was so badly damaged that the harder she wiped, the more blood flowed.
When blood drops fell onto the carpet, Su Nuo shuddered, then frantically began scrubbing at the stains.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, please don’t be angry, I won’t dare again!”
Her hair, already disheveled, now clung in strands to her forehead and neck, swinging wildly as she wiped, making her look like a madwoman in dire straits.
Duan Yubai, used to seeing only the elite, had probably never encountered someone so wretched and repulsive, so in a fit of rage he kicked Su Nuo, forcibly halting her actions.
“Enough with the wiping! If you like cleaning the carpet so much, I’ll let you do it to your heart’s content! Get up, now!”
As Su Nuo staggered to her feet, she caught sight of Chi Ling in the front seat. In the rearview mirror, his deep, sharp gaze was visible.
He must never have seen her so filthy and broken. Su Nuo, in this wretched state, would surely be rejected by everyone.
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