Chapter 100: I'm Selling Myself to You
When Ye Fuli returned, she brought Ye Zhen a car full of gifts.
She bought street-side barbecue, spicy crayfish from a food stall, a lollipop as big as a washbasin, and bubble tea marketed as "The First Cup of Autumn."
The moment she opened the door, she saw the utter chaos inside the house.
Ye Zhen had smashed many things.
The floor was littered with shards of glass.
She wasn't sitting in the shards, though. Instead, she wore oversized fluffy slippers and sat on a clean plush rug, watching Ye Fuli with an amused expression.
Ye Fuli merely smiled. "Nice work."
Ye Zhen retorted deliberately, "Really? These things aren't cheap. Are you sure you think that's a job well done?"
"If you knew they weren't cheap, you wouldn't have broken so many."
Ye Fuli stepped around the shards and walked slowly toward her.
When she reached Ye Zhen, she tried to pinch her cheek but found no way to get a hold of it. She could only give up with a grudging sigh.
"Ye Zhen, if you like smashing things, go ahead. You can hit me too."
Ye Fuli seized her wrist, clenching her fist for her and positioning it against her own chest.
"Go ahead. If you want to hit me, just do it."
Ye Zhen stared at her expressionlessly.
Perhaps this was her chance…
After all, there was that reckless mission requiring her to knock Ye Fuli down.
So Ye Zhen didn't hold back, delivering a vicious punch.
Unfortunately, Ye Fuli didn't flinch. She merely narrowed her eyes, gazing at her dangerously.
The next second, Ye Zhen was swept up in a horizontal embrace and placed across her lap.
Ye Fuli raised her hand high and smacked her butt hard, as if disciplining a child.
Shame, shock, and a numbing pain left Ye Zhen completely dumbfounded!
She knew Ye Fuli wasn't the type to take a beating lying down, but she never imagined Ye Fuli's retaliation would come so swiftly and so brutally!
Damn it…
You're poisonous, aren't you?
"Want to keep going? I'm a fan of turn-based games. Ye Zhen, if you're up for it, I'll play along till the end."
"I! I'm out!"
Ye Fuli was satisfied with her display of weakness and slowly let her down.
Immediately after, Ye Fuli said calmly, "We don't have any maids here. The hourly cleaners come twice a week, and they just visited yesterday. So, you'll have to clean up this mess you made yourself."
Ye Zhen glared at her.
"And if you don't do it properly, you know I've never made exceptions just because we're dating."
With that, Ye Fuli stroked her head.
Hmm, still using that same technique as if petting a cat.
"Remember, there will be consequences if you don't do it properly."
"But I'm sick right now!"
Ye Zhen thought of the mess scattered everywhere and felt a pang of guilt.
She hadn't felt this uneasy even when she was first brought here against her will, but now she truly was.
"Ye Fuli, are you going to abuse a patient?"
"Aren't your injuries healed?" Ye Fuli leaned closer. "You kept insisting you were fine and wanted to be discharged, so I brought you back."
Ye Zhen: "…"
Fine, you're waiting here for me, right?
Fine, fine, I'll do it. I'll just do it.
Ye Zhen said nothing more, dashing into the storage room to fetch a broom and dustpan.
She wasn't exactly great at cleaning, but she wasn't completely hopeless either.
Ye Fuli sat on the steps, chin resting in her hand, watching her work. Her frown grew deeper and deeper.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she stepped forward and snatched the broom from Ye Zhen's hands.
"Go to the kitchen. Get the lunchbox I packed this morning and heat it up."
Ye Zhen responded with an "Oh" but didn't argue, heading straight into the kitchen.
Heating up a lunchbox in the microwave was certainly easier than cleaning up all that mess on the floor.
If she didn't make her escape now, when would she?
…
Half an hour later.
Ye Fuli had cleaned the living room spotless again.
But Ye Zhen's mess wasn't confined to the living room—it extended to other rooms as well.
She didn't scold her, though, and even complimented her with some amusement on her boundless energy.
Hearing that word, Ye Zhen couldn't help but overthink it just a tiny bit.
"Ye Fuli, I want to sell you something."
At the dining table, Ye Zhen casually made the request.
The dog system perked up instantly upon sensing a task.
Ye Fuli set down her chopsticks and eyed her up and down with the scrutiny of a shopper appraising merchandise. "What exactly are you selling? I haven't even asked you to settle up for the last thing you sold me."
Ye Zhen feigned composure. "This time, I'm selling myself to you."
The moment those words left her mouth.
Feng Aotian, seated across from her, froze for a long moment.
She clearly hadn't expected Ye Zhen to say such a thing.
After a long silence, she looked at Ye Zhen with a skeptical gaze and said, "Are you serious? Don't forget, you already belong to me now. Those two from the Ye family have already given you to me."
"I am a person, not an object. No one can own me."
Ye Zhen lifted her head, her smile sweet.
"You don't want an empty shell, do you? Dear Ye Fuli."
That tone felt strangely familiar to Ye Fuli.
Ah, it was exactly how she herself spoke!
That Ye Zhen…
She picks things up fast.
Ye Fuli raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I believe anything bought with money is unreliable. Unfortunately, I won't pay for something that sounds unreliable from the start."
That said.
But Ye Fuli's eyes betrayed her.
She wasn't truly indifferent.
She was somewhat tempted.
It was always an amusing spectacle when someone who'd fought so long for freedom suddenly became willing to sell themselves.
Of course, she suspected it was mostly a scam and not worth trusting.
She decided to observe for now and make her decision later.
……
……
Late at night.
Ye Fuli was still cleaning up the mess Ye Zhen had left behind.
At that moment, Ye Zhen sat at the dining table in the living room, holding a suspense novel.
She observed Ye Fuli from the corner of her eye.
Clearly, Ye Fuli was also stealing glances at her.
The villa was large and empty.
Yet neither of them spoke, each simply going about their own business.
Ye Zhen couldn't hold back any longer. Yawning repeatedly, she closed the book and rested her head on the table.
At some point, Ye Fuli finally finished cleaning and approached her.
"Ye Zhen, get up. Let's go back to your room."
Seeing Ye Zhen ignore her, she picked her up with one arm and started walking toward the bedroom.
In the pitch-black darkness, just the two of them.
Ye Fuli lowered her head, gazing at the quiet little kitten in her arms, and a strange emotion stirred within her.
What was the point of all her efforts to bind her to her side?
Could it be… just to use her as a pillow to cuddle with while sleeping?
Probably…
But surely, she wanted more than just that.
In both her lives, she had been alone—like a traveler journeying through the night, hoping to glimpse a campfire, to meet a fellow traveler who could help them ward off the cold.
"Wait… wait!"
Ye Zhen suddenly opened her eyes and pushed away Ye Fuli's embrace.
Gasping for breath, her face flushed crimson, she glared angrily at the other's chest.
"You… you're crushing me! I can't breathe!"
Ye Fuli looked down, then gave her a meaningful glance.
She was certain now—Ye Zhen had been pretending to sleep.
Hmph, you little rascal.
"Fine. I've changed my mind. Come on, tell me—what new experiences will I get after buying you?"