Chapter 82: The Cage

Return Chapter: My Hell and Heaven
Chapter 82: The Cage

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Qin Lou was frozen in place, unable to react.

The butler, however, was the first to recover. Clearing his throat lightly, he turned his face away as though he had seen nothing and directed his gaze elsewhere.

By the time Qin Lou snapped out of it, Song Shu had already landed back on her heels. She nonchalantly let go of him, circled around him, and started walking forward as if nothing had happened.

Qin Lou, of course, wasn’t about to let her go. Without thinking, he grabbed her. The restrained wolfish intensity that had long simmered within his pitch-black eyes now stripped away its façade. He glowered darkly at the girl who remained expressionless.

Song Shu stood quietly, letting him hold her hand. When Qin Lou lowered his gaze slightly, his eyes grew even darker, and his breathing, slightly heated, edged closer. She blinked slowly and unhurriedly.

“Qin Lou.”

“…” Qin Lou froze.

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“Ebyv yal usw vaukdt vs es?”

“…” Ckd Nsw’p lmralppksd pvkqqldle.

G qlo plnsdep zyvla, bl vssj y pvlr cynj kd qawpvayvksd, yhlavkdt bkp qynl, obknb bye vwadle pzktbvzu ale. Tkp lmralppksd, ayal qsa bkx, blze y vaynl sq vbl qzwpvlale yojoyaedlpp bl’e bye yp y uswdt csu. “…Zsw olal vbl sdl obs plewnle xl qkapv.”

“Mbyv oyp y rwdkpbxldv,” Fsdt Fbw nyzxzu nsaalnvle. “Jlpkelp, usw olal vbkdjkdt y ckv vss xwnb fwpv dso.”

“Xb?” Ckd Nsw iwknjzu altykdle bkp nsxrspwal, bkp lulzkep zkqvkdt pzktbvzu yp bl ypjle okvb qlktdle dsdnbyzydnl, “Zsw jdso obyv R oyp vbkdjkdt fwpv dso?”

Fsdt Fbw alyzkgle pbl’e ewt blaplzq y bszl. Ekvbswv yvvlxrvkdt vs nshla kv wr, pbl xykdvykdle bla nsxrspwal, ralvldekdt pbl byed’v prsjld sa blyae yduvbkdt, yde oyzjle shla vs pvyde clbkde vbl cwvzla.

“Nlv’p jllr xshkdt.”

Mbl cwvzla pxkzle rzlypydvzu, yp vbswtb bkp lyap bye fwpv pvyavle osajkdt. “Ulavykdzu, Ykpp.”

“…”

Qin Lou followed with a dark, brooding look. Seizing a moment when the butler wasn’t paying attention, he sidled up to Song Shu. Leaning in close, he whispered a low, threatening remark into her ear:

“If you push me too hard, the one who’ll suffer in the end will be you, little clam.”

“…” Song Shu acted as though she hadn’t heard a word and continued walking. But from behind, one could see the faint blush spreading over the delicate curve of her pale ear.

After looping around the old mansion’s courtyard, the butler led the pair into the main building.

“The main building was renovated a few years ago. Many of the furnishings and rooms have been updated,” the butler explained as he walked ahead, introducing each section. Behind him, Qin Lou and Song Shu entered through the front door.

The servants in the hall paused their work to greet them. The three walked through the central hall.

Having finished touring most of the first floor, the butler stopped at the staircase. “The second floor is still the study and bedrooms; no major changes were made. As for the third floor…” He glanced at Qin Lou, bowing slightly. “The third floor is arranged exactly as you instructed, sir. No one goes up there on normal days.”

Qin Lou nodded. “We’ll take it from here. You don’t need to follow us.”

“Then I’ll go prepare dinner for the two of you.”

“Mm.”

Once the butler had turned and left, Song Shu raised her eyes to look at Qin Lou. “What did you arrange on the third floor?”

Qin Lou swayed slightly, extending his hand toward her. “I thought you weren’t curious about anything.”

“…”

Song Shu paused at the bottom of the staircase for a couple of seconds before finally placing her hand in his. Then, she stepped forward, following Qin Lou up the stairs.

Qin Lou led her to the second floor.

As they passed each bedroom along the corridor, Song Shu found a sense of familiarity stirring in her memory, a déjà vu of sorts. With each door they walked past, fragments of her past—thought to have long faded—came flooding back.

Unconsciously, Song Shu slowed her steps.

When Qin Lou stopped in front of a door in the middle of the corridor, he turned to her. “This is…” Song Shu sifted through her memories and then hesitated, glancing uncertainly at the intricately carved double doors in front of her. “The study?”

“Mm.”

Qin Lou nodded and pushed the door open.

Inside, the room was dimly lit. Though the curtains were drawn, silvery moonlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, pooling at the far end of the room. The rest of the space was cloaked in shadow.

Qin Lou reached for the touch-sensitive light switch by the door. With a soft click, the darkness was suddenly torn apart by the glow of the overhead lights.

Song Shu froze as her eyes took in the room.

It wasn’t the solemn, imposing study from her memory. Instead, it had been redecorated to resemble a different place—a study in another Qin family home, where she and Qin Lou had once lived together. That room had been their private sanctuary.

One side of the room was lined with towering bookshelves, crammed with thick tomes on mathematics in various languages, both ancient and modern. The other side had been transformed into an art studio. Rolled-up canvases were stacked on easels, some framed and hung on the walls, while others leaned casually against the corners of the room.

Standing at the threshold, Song Shu felt as if she were looking at a perfect replica of the past. She could vividly recall the moments she had spent with Qin Lou in this space:

Sometimes, she would paint while he leaned against the bookshelves, absorbed in a weighty book. The scratching of her pen on paper intertwined with the rustle of pages, creating a gentle, harmonious rhythm.

Other times, he would sit at the desk by the window, legs swinging as he gazed out. Though the view never changed—season after season—it didn’t matter. When he liked it, Song Shu would stay by his side, listening as he shared his thoughts on the latest book on the history of mathematics. Occasionally, he would frown and disdainfully critique a particularly convoluted or flawed argument.

Most often, though, it was her at the drawing board, painting, while Qin Lou stood silently beside her. The family’s wildest troublemaker would become unusually calm during those moments. He wouldn’t say a word, just quietly holding the paper in place or sharpening pencils he always insisted were indistinguishable from one another, no matter their H or B rating.

During those times, the study was utterly silent. Yet, in that tiny room—within the small frame of her drawing board—it felt as if an entire world of beauty and sound was contained.

There was no need to speak. They both heard everything.

Song Shu’s lashes trembled faintly as her gaze dropped. After a long pause, she smiled faintly. “This is all your fault.”

Qin Lou turned to her. “What did I do?”

“I was trying so hard to hold it together,” Song Shu said softly. “Before I even stepped onto the path back here, I told myself I needed to keep my emotions in check today. I didn’t want you to notice anything, because if I felt sad, you’d feel sad. And if you felt sad, I’d feel even worse. That wouldn’t do either of us any good.”

By the time Song Shu finished, Qin Lou’s gaze had already softened, his eyes flickering as he lowered his lids to hide his emotions. “So, did you fail?”

“What do you think?” Song Shu tilted her head, looking at him. “Didn’t I fail before we even entered the courtyard?”

“…”

“Let alone now, when you deliberately staged something like this.”

Hearing the faint trace of grievance in her tone, Qin Lou couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

He reached out, gently hooking her hand in his, and led her toward the art studio side of the room.

“I never dared to come back here before—or to that house. Even if every building and room were torn down and rebuilt, and every trace erased, I’d still be haunted by the memories of what this place looked like when you were still here with me.”

“It wasn’t until you truly came back that I dared to have this room redecorated, exactly as I remembered it.”

Qin Lou stopped in the center of the studio, where an easel stood. On it was a blank canvas, stretched taut and pristine.

Nearby, an easel stood with neatly sharpened pencils arranged by type alongside other art supplies.

Qin Lou released her hand and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, guiding her to the drawing board. He motioned for her to sit in the chair in front of it.

Once she was seated, he withdrew his hands and stood back, his gaze lingering on the scene before him. Watching Song Shu at the easel, he lowered his eyes slightly and smiled faintly.

“I’ve dreamed of this scene so many times. Every time, I’d find myself running desperately toward you, sitting in that chair—but no matter how much I ran, you only got farther away. And on the rare occasion I did manage to reach you, the moment I touched you, you would vanish.”

“…”

Song Shu felt a faint tremor in her chest as she listened. She lifted her eyes to look at the man standing in front of her.

“Qin Lou—”

“I’m not saying this to make you sad,” Qin Lou interjected suddenly.

He leaned down, resting his forehead lightly against hers. His eyes were half-lidded, and his voice was low and raspy, tinged with a soft laugh.

“You know me, little clam. I’ve always been a madman—reckless, ruthless, willing to do anything without caring about the consequences. The reason I brought you here wasn’t complicated. I just wanted to show you how deep my obsession with you runs. I also wanted you to see all of this so you’d understand: now that you’re back, I won’t let you leave again. Ever.

“No matter what happens, even if death comes for one of us someday, I’ll make sure I’m right beside you when it does. There’s no going back to the way things were—when we let ourselves drift apart.”

Song Shu shook her head softly when he finished. Her voice was quiet but steady.

“You know that’s unnecessary. There’s nothing in this world that could make me leave you anymore.”

“No,” Qin Lou replied, his voice hoarse with an edge of bitter laughter. “I don’t know that.

“I thought I did once. But reality slapped me in the face. I’ll never forget the price I paid for my arrogance. Since that day, I’ve been certain of nothing.

“The only thing I know how to do is build a cage around us—a place where I can give you everything, as long as it’s within my reach. I know you want to save me from that cage. Maybe I’m just a lunatic, little clam. But I don’t want to leave.

“All I want is to pull you inside, to lock us in together. Alive, we share the same bed. In death, the same grave. Even a thousand or ten thousand years from now, our ashes would be mixed together, inseparable. That way, no matter how many lifetimes pass, neither of us would ever have to leave the other.

“That’s all I want.”

Song Shu stared at him, stunned into silence.

After a long moment, she nodded slowly. She reached out, wrapping her arms gently around him.

“Alright,” she whispered. “I’ll listen to you.”

She leaned her forehead against his, their breaths intertwining, tangling, and drawing closer until there was no space left between them. In the fleeting gaps between, her soft laughter spilled out.

“If this is what you want, then whatever it is, it’s the best for me too.”

Everyone is a stranger to this world when they first open their eyes.

Life is no more than a hundred or so years, and no one can see what lies beyond. No one has the right to dictate how a person should live their life.

In our world—ours alone—there is no right or wrong, only us.

If this is what you want, then it’s what I want too.

“If you’re afraid,” she murmured, holding him tighter, “then just lock me by your side.”

Qin Lou’s voice was low, trembling as if caught between laughter and tears.

“Alright.”

---

At dinner, two unexpected guests arrived at the old manor.

When the butler informed them, Qin Lou—who had just descended to the first floor with Song Shu—frowned and turned.

“Who is it?”

The butler, noticing that the young master seemed to have gone through something upstairs—his pale complexion tinged with red at the corners of his eyes and a dark, icy glint in his gaze—chose his words carefully.

He sighed inwardly for the two guests and answered truthfully. “It’s Song Ruyu and her brother, Song Shuai. It seems they heard that you moved back to the manor, so they came over. Song Shuai said…”

The butler glanced at Song Shu before continuing. “Ruyu came to apologize for her previous indiscretions toward Miss Song.”

Qin Lou’s expression grew colder. “They sure picked a convenient time.”

“…”

The butler silently agreed. Their timing made it look less like an apology and more like walking into a trap.

But he remained tactfully quiet.

Qin Lou turned to Song Shu. “Do you want to see them? If not, I’ll send them away.”

Song Shu thought for a moment before responding. Instead of answering directly, she turned to the butler standing nearby. “When did they call?”

The butler glanced at his watch and replied, “About half an hour ago. Since neither the young master nor the young lady had come downstairs, we didn’t dare to disturb you.”

“So they should be arriving soon?”

“Judging by the distance, they’re almost here.”

“Then let’s see them,” Song Shu said, turning her gaze back to Qin Lou. “No need to drag this out further.”

Qin Lou let out a sardonic laugh. “Song Ruyu deserves some trouble. If she doesn’t get disciplined a few times, she’ll never learn.”

Despite his words, since Song Shu had agreed, Qin Lou didn’t object and let her have her way.

---

About ten minutes later, Song Shuai and Song Ruyu arrived at the Qin family’s old manor.

The butler received word of their arrival and went to greet them at the entrance. Despite the misdeeds of their mother, he felt some sympathy for the siblings, as they shared the Qin family’s bloodline. Lowering his voice before they entered the main building, he warned them:

“Young Master Qin Lou is in a bad mood tonight. Be careful with your words.”

“…!”

Hearing this, Song Ruyu instantly turned pale. She grabbed Song Shuai’s sleeve in panic. “Maybe… maybe we should come back another day?”

Song Shuai, exasperated with his sister, replied, “Leaving now, especially after making him wait, will only make things worse. Do you really think coming back another day will guarantee he’s in a better mood?”

Song Ruyu’s face turned even more ashen.

Song Shuai sighed, equally frustrated. “If you’re so scared of him and know how dangerous he is, why did you provoke Song Shu in the first place? Don’t you know she’s his treasure? He’d lose his mind if anyone so much as looks at her the wrong way!”

Song Ruyu looked as if she might cry. “How was I supposed to know Qin Qing was actually Song Shu? I thought she was just some assistant being treated as a stand-in, acting all arrogant in front of me. I just wanted to put her in her place!”

“You’ve been trying to teach Song Shu a lesson since we were kids, and it’s always backfired. When are you going to learn?”

“…Song Shuai! Are you even my brother?”

Song Shuai rolled his eyes. “If I weren’t, do you think I’d risk my neck coming here with you? Have you forgotten what our mom did? It’s already a miracle that our cousin hasn’t turned us into fertilizer for the garden. I’m basically throwing myself into the lion’s den for you.”

Song Ruyu knew he was right and couldn’t help but look miserable. “When Cousin punishes me later, make sure to help plead my case…”

“I’ll see how things go. Just don’t do anything stupid to provoke Song Shu again.”

“I wouldn’t dare!” Song Ruyu muttered, her expression despairing. “If I’d known she was Song Shu, I wouldn’t have even bothered coming back to the country.”

“…”

The siblings followed the butler into the main building and eventually into the dining room.

There were only two people seated at the long dining table.

Song Shu sat at the head, while Qin Lou stood beside her, casually toying with something in his hands.

Hearing their arrival, Qin Lou lazily lifted his gaze. His hands stilled, and a cold, mocking smile spread across his face.

“You’re here?”

“—”

When Song Ruyu saw the six-sided Rubik’s Cube in Qin Lou’s hand, her vision went dark, and she nearly fainted on the spot.

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