Being Raised in Captivity by the Former Canary - Chapter 13

At eleven o’clock that night, Quan Ruo’an opened the door to her apartment.

 

The pitch-black, empty space made her freeze in her tracks.

 

A woman stood gracefully in the doorway, her tall, elegant figure silhouetted against the hallway light pouring from behind. A long, dark shadow stretched across the entrance hall.

 

Moments later, as the motion-sensor light outside flickered off, the shadow vanished with it.

 

Quan Ruo’an immediately turned to leave. She couldn’t quite grasp what was going through her mind. Anger? Perhaps a hint of it.

 

The bitter taste of betrayal slowly enveloped her.

 

As she settled into her car, the phone that hadn’t been tucked into her bag like her mainframe began to vibrate.

 

The screen lit up with a blinding white glow in the darkness.

 

Quan Ruo’an calmly switched on the overhead reading light and picked up the phone.

 

The WeChat call displayed the name “Jixue.”

 

Hah, how timely.

 

After a moment’s hesitation, Quan Ruo’an answered.

 

The other end was filled with the sound of wind and hushed chatter among several girls, their voices tinged with urgency and panic.

 

…Hey! It’s connected, it’s connected!

 

Are you Xiao Xue’s girlfriend? Xiao Xue, Jiang Jixue!

 

They even double-checked Jiang Jixue’s full name.

 

Quan Ruo’an’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the steering wheel. A sliver of moonlight pierced through the car window, illuminating half her face in the darkness. After a long pause, she finally murmured, “Mm.”

 

She’s drunk. Can you come pick her up? Qu Fang snatched the phone, her voice much louder and more insistent.

 

“Address.”

 

Quan Ruo’an hadn’t even realized he’d blurted it out.

 

After agreeing, he couldn’t quite explain what he was thinking. But even in a foul mood, he went without hesitation.

 

The streetlights flickered along the night roads as Quan Ruo’an drove his emerald green Bentley. The sleek car sped through the darkness, the trees blurring past in a receding blur.

 

As he approached the address sent via WeChat, he spotted three girls supporting Jiang Jixue from a hundred meters away. They stood under a bus stop sign, looking around anxiously.

 

When the car pulled up in front of them, Qu Fang and the other roommates remained frozen, still propping up Jiang Jixue.

 

It wasn’t until Quan Ruo’an opened the car door and stood before them that their shock turned to disbelief. This woman—their roommate’s girlfriend—wasn’t some old crone or a greasy middle-aged butch. She looked like a movie star, and judging by her attire and the emerald green Bentley behind her, she was clearly wealthy!

 

One had to admit, in terms of looks alone, the two were a perfect match.

 

Qu Fang had never imagined Jiang Jixue would look so natural and even harmonious standing beside another woman.

 

The group stood frozen for a few seconds, unsure how to address the woman whose aura radiated inexplicable power. Finally, Yue Tingqin stepped forward and asked, “…Are you Xiao Xue’s girlfriend?”

 

Quan Ruo’an pressed her lips together, her gaze lingering on Jiang Jixue’s flushed cheeks as she was being supported. An indescribable feeling surged through her heart.

 

Without overthinking it, Quan Ruo’an simply acknowledged with a “Hmm.” Then, composing herself, she deliberately emphasized, “I am her girlfriend. I only just returned from the airport an hour ago, so not picking her up was my fault. Thank you for taking care of Xiao Xue.”

 

With that, Quan Ruo’an stepped forward and gently took the dazed Jiang Jixue from Qu Fang’s arms.

 

After handing Jiang Jixue over, Qu Fang smiled innocently and said, “Xiao Xue has mentioned you before. I never imagined you’d be so beautiful in person! I even asked her if you were coming, but she said you were busy. Did you come back so late to surprise your girlfriend?”

 

Her words were probing, clearly fishing for information.

 

Quan Ruo’an smiled, her gaze warm and approachable. Instead of denying it, she played along, answering smoothly, “Yes, that’s right.”

 

Quan Ruo’an helped Jiang Jixue back into the passenger seat, personally leaned over to buckle her seatbelt, and waved through the car window. “Thank you for taking care of me today. I’ll treat you to dinner another time.”

 

“Drive safe.”

 

After bidding them farewell, the car pulled onto the road, sealing out the surrounding noise.

 

Quan Ruo’an glanced at the passenger seat, where Jiang Jixue sat, her face flushed with intoxication. Feeling restless, he pulled over under the shade of a random roadside tree.

 

Streetlights cast a warm glow through the car windows, bathing the interior in soft light. The surroundings were quiet.

 

Quan Ruo’an’s gaze drifted to the sleeping woman beside him, lingering on her face for a long moment.

 

He rarely saw Jiang Jixue asleep.

 

She had a habit of never sharing a bed with anyone.

 

Apart from the day they confirmed their arrangement, when he found her passed out in front of her easel, this was only the second time he’d seen her like this—both times due to alcohol.

 

Quan Ruo’an couldn’t help but smile. So this is what Xiao Xue looks like when she’s asleep—so endearingly vulnerable. The sharp edge and aloofness she usually carried seemed softened, almost erased.

 

But then…

 

Remembering what had just happened, his smile vanished, his eyes darkening.

 

It seems the Golden Canary has declared them a couple more than once.

 

Quan Ruo’an lowered the car window, letting the cool night breeze brush against his face.

 

He silently repeated the words “girlfriend” between his lips and teeth, still unable to articulate the feeling.

 

This veiled distortion of their relationship struck him as nothing more than “gilding the lily,” a practice that irritated him.

 

He was well aware of the countless men and women who secretly coveted his bed, and he regarded them all with disdainful indifference.

 

What suffocated him most was the suffocating confinement of a romantic relationship.

 

Such a bond only left him feeling nauseatingly sweet, as if his private sanctuary had been invaded and his very soul violated.

 

Quan Ruo’an reached out, his slender, pale fingers circling a strand of the soft, black hair of the person beside him.

 

Time for a punishment, he thought, since I’m not ready to let her go yet.

 

He sincerely hoped that the Golden Canary he had personally chosen wouldn’t be tainted by the world’s corruption.

 

After all, the worldly people were the ones who were truly garish and stained with darkness, while his little Golden Canary was as pure and sacred as moonlight—a creature of ethereal beauty, almost like a fairy.

 

—

 

When Jiang Jixue woke up, she saw a snow-white ceiling. The room was filled with a familiar scent.

 

Hiss…

 

What happened last night?

 

Before she could fully gather her thoughts, she turned her head and saw Quan Ruo’an sitting by the bed, playing with her hair. Quan Ruo’an’s profile was pale and delicate, her nose sharp and elegant. She was propping her cheek with one hand, gazing down at Jiang Jixue with a sidelong glance that accentuated the sharpness of her features.

 

Seeing Jiang Jixue wake up, Quan Ruo’an’s eyes immediately lit up with amusement.

 

Jiang Jixue’s pupils widened in shock when she realized someone was beside her.

 

To be honest, she was startled.

 

But when she recognized who it was, she let out a relieved sigh, as if she had narrowly escaped danger.

 

Regardless of whether she remembered the events of the previous night, Jiang Jixue immediately snuggled closer, her hands gripping the woman’s icy sleeves. Her voice softened, still slightly hoarse, “Elder Sister…”

 

“How are you feeling? Still drunk?” Quan Ruo’an asked casually, her tone light and airy, as if genuinely concerned.

 

Jiang Jixue paused, then recalled fragmented memories from the previous night.

 

“Much better. Did Elder Sister bring me back?” Jiang Jixue asked, still harboring a hint of suspicion.

 

“As Xiao Xue’s girlfriend, how could I not personally pick you up and drop you off?” Quan Ruo’an replied, her features refined and elegant, her eyes curving into a smile. “Next time there’s a gathering, you can tell me.”

 

Jiang Jixue froze completely at the word “girlfriend.”

 

Is this real?

 

How could those three words roll so casually off Elder Sister’s tongue? Doesn’t she care at all that I’ve been making up stories about our relationship?

 

I’m so oblivious, so shameless, so vain and cowardly…

 

Having worked with Quan Ruo’an for so long, Jiang Jixue had a rough understanding of her temperament. The realization sent cold sweat trickling down her back.

 

Forcing herself to remain calm, she explained in a low voice, “Elder Sister… I didn’t mean to twist our relationship.”

 

But after opening her mouth, she couldn’t bring herself to say the rest.

 

How could she possibly admit that she was being falsely rumored to be a kept woman at school?

 

But being someone’s kept woman was a stark reality, one she simply couldn’t bring herself to admit.

 

A faint smile flickered in Quan Ruo’an’s eyes.

 

“Of course I believe Xiao Xue has her own thoughts. But if word gets out that we’re a couple, my girlfriend would be upset.”

 

Girlfriend?

 

Quan Ruo’an’s voice was so light and airy, so nonchalant, as if everything to her was trivial and inconsequential.

 

Was this a hallucination? Or just a drunken nightmare?

 

Jiang Jixue’s heart suddenly felt like it was being pricked with countless tiny needles, leaving her body covered in a dense network of bl00d-red threads.

 

Jiang Jixue didn’t know how strained her smile looked at that moment, probably tinged with a helpless, bitter amusement.

 

The entire day passed in a daze, perhaps a side effect of the excessive alcohol, or perhaps because of that person’s departure and the raw reality piercing her heart like a thorn.

 

Her Elder Sister had left, but this time she didn’t vanish without a word. She claimed to be busy with work, using it as an excuse to escape, as if she couldn’t wait to get away.

 

After Quan Ruo’an left, Jiang Jixue resumed her solitary life. The sudden withdrawal of everything she had possessed left her feeling disillusioned and deeply lost, a knot of melancholy tightening in her heart.

 

Having not heard from Quan Ruo’an for two weeks, Jiang Jixue unilaterally concluded that she had been abandoned. She braced herself for the inevitable termination of their contract with her Gold Master.

 

Thursday was a full day of classes, and with graduation approaching, her classmates were beginning to work on their final projects. Jiang Jixue spent the entire day immersed in the art studio, shuttling between the studio, classrooms, and her small apartment outside campus in a relentless routine.

 

Among the five weekdays, Thursday was Jiang Jixue’s least favorite. True to form, misfortune struck.

 

As she left the art studio to grab a bite at the cafeteria, her hands instinctively reached into her pockets only to find them flat and empty.

 

Already in a foul mood these past few days, Jiang Jixue’s pure, pale brow immediately furrowed with nameless anger upon realizing what had happened.

 

She desperately wanted to unleash a string of curses, but having gone so long without speaking, all that came out was a dry throat and mounting frustration.

 

Jiang Jixue sighed inwardly, resigning herself to the situation. She turned abruptly and unexpectedly collided with Yue Tingqin, who was walking toward her.

 

Jiang Jixue frowned at Yue Tingqin but remained silent.

 

Noticing Jiang Jixue’s stiff and unnatural demeanor, Yue Tingqin’s words of concern came out sounding awkward. “Aren’t you going to eat? Why are you walking back?”

 

“I forgot my phone.”

 

“Huh? But I was the last one to leave, and I don’t remember seeing any phones left behind.”

 

“Is that so?” Jiang Jixue replied, but she still tried to walk back.

 

Yue Tingqin grabbed her arm, hastily saying, “I’ll come with you.”

 

Jiang Jixue stared at Yue Tingqin’s face for a long moment without saying anything.

 

As they slowly climbed the stairs, Jiang Jixue finally asked, “Aren’t you hungry? Why are you helping me find my phone?”

 

“Phones are valuable! Two people searching might be more efficient.”

 

My phone isn’t lost, I just forgot it, Jiang Jixue thought to herself, but you’re acting like it’s gone forever.

 

Despite her inner skepticism, Jiang Jixue was touched by Yue Tingqin’s friendly gesture.