Being Raised in Captivity by the Former Canary - Chapter 5

Jiang Jixue and Quan Ruo’an formalized their arrangement as a kept woman half a month after the painting was completed.

Jiang Jixue moved back from the suburban villa to her school dorm. She used most of Quan Ruo’an’s payment to repay part of her debts, saving the rest for the following year’s tuition.

But her relief was short-lived. News soon arrived from the cemetery.

When Jiang Jixue received the call from the cemetery, she was helping out at a bar. Seeing the caller ID, she deliberately moved to a secluded spot.

On that same bench again.

This time, however, the woman wasn’t there. Jiang Jixue sat alone, braving the cold winter night wind as she watched the colorful lights of passing cars stream by.

The only sound on the quiet street was the wind whistling past. The words from the phone seemed particularly clear and heavy.

“You only paid for one year initially. The remaining balance of 268,000 yuan must be settled. Otherwise, we will be forced to remove your mother’s tombstone.”

Faced with the staff member’s words, Jiang Jixue fell silent.

“However, there’s another option: we can convert the standing tombstone into a regular wall tomb, which would significantly reduce the cost.”

After hanging up, Jiang Jixue sat on the bench for a long time.

As she returned to the bar to collect her clothes and go home, Sister Han stopped her.

“What did you tell Assistant Ruo Shui about that matter?” Sister Han asked, handing her a glass of wine.

“What… what matter?” Jiang Jixue glanced at her indifferently.

“You know… the thing she mentioned before.”

Jiang Jixue: “It’s already done.”

“Huh? Didn’t you say she wanted to keep you?” Sister Han mouthed the word “keep” with a suggestive smirk.

Jiang Jixue was taken aback.

That woman too?

She approached me with such vulgar intentions?

Jiang Jixue’s first thought was: Does she really think I’m worth that much money?

A sense of unworthiness preceded shame, occupying the largest part of her heart.

Jiang Jixue had signed a contract with Ruo Shui.

On a clear weekend morning, they met in the company’s conference room. After signing the two copies of the contract, Ruo Shui adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, adopting a businesslike demeanor, and slid a keycard across the table.

“Sister Quan will be out of R City this week. This is the access card for Tianju Apartments outside your school. You’ll be staying there from now on. We’ll have your belongings moved over.”

“Assistant Ruo Shui, may I ask you a question?”

“Yes, please do.”

Jiang Jixue hesitated inwardly before finally addressing her by name. “Sister Quan’s full name… is it Quan Ruo’an?”

Surprised by her casual use of the name, Ruo Shui clearly hadn’t anticipated this question, but she nodded nonetheless.

Quan Ruo’an, R City’s notorious playboy, was rumored to have a penchant for women and a vast repertoire of romantic games. He changed girlfriends monthly, but to his credit, he reportedly spoiled his partners to the heavens during their brief relationships.

Jiang Jixue felt somewhat dazed.

Jiang Jixue didn’t voice her questions: Was Quan Ruo’an’s relationship with her merely a paid arrangement? Would there be another girlfriend in the picture during their arrangement?

She obediently followed Assistant Ruo Shui’s instructions.

After completing the necessary paperwork, Jiang Jixue moved out of her dormitory over the weekend.

Quan Ruo’an had found her an apartment less than a kilometer from campus, about a fifteen-minute walk away. The need to cross several streets ensured a degree of privacy.

Here, she wouldn’t have to worry about being seen by fellow students.

A week after moving in, nothing eventful occurred. Many of her worries gradually faded from her life. The dreamlike unreality occasionally brought her a sense of peace, yet also a sudden feeling of weightlessness.

She had become the very stereotype she once despised: a once-privileged heiress fallen from grace, forced to submit to another’s will.

Quan Ruo’an was the only one among those who sought to keep her who had succeeded.

Because she was a woman, young and beautiful, and even wealthier.

Most importantly, Quan Ruo’an had given her ample room to breathe.

Upon receiving news that Quan Ruo’an would be returning from Z City tonight, Jiang Jixue made a special trip to the supermarket to buy some fruit. Following the list Ruo Shui had provided, she selected Quan Ruo’an’s favorite varieties.

Then she went into the bathroom.

The bathroom was filled with steamy mist and a pleasant aroma. Jiang Jixue watched her snow-white body step into the bathtub through the mirror, closing her eyes in a moment of blissful surrender.

After a while, she slowly opened her eyes again, immediately noticing a delicate piece of lingerie hanging from a rack on the bathroom wall.

On the marble countertop of the vanity sat a small gift box, both items nestled within a plain kraft paper bag.

Assistant Ruo Shui had personally presented these to Jiang Jixue after the contract signing. When Jiang Jixue opened the box, she found a pair of fluffy cat-ear headbands.

The sight of the contents felt like a sudden constriction around her throat, suffocating her. At that moment, Ruo Shui’s gaze, piercing through her gold-rimmed glasses, shattered Jiang Jixue’s final defenses.

Through Ruo Shui’s ever-polite smile, Jiang Jixue thought she glimpsed a hint of mockery.

Snapping out of her reverie, Jiang Jixue composed herself and slipped into the pre-selected outfit after her bath.

When she caught sight of herself in the mirror, her heart couldn’t help but pound. The dress Quan Ruo’an had prepared was shockingly short, barely covering the upper thighs.

I should have had a drink to steel my nerves, Jiang Jixue thought, biting her lip, suddenly regretting her hesitation.

After agonizing over it, she finally pulled open the door.

A wave of steamy heat billowed out from behind her.

But the sudden appearance of a figure in the room startled her.

A soft, warm glow rippled across the dark brown floor.

Under the solitary warm light, a woman sat. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her deep burgundy coat appeared almost black in the dim light.

Her snow-white profile was sharp as a cold blade.

She held a glass of amber-colored liquid. Hearing the sound, she slowly turned her head.

Jiang Jixue had expected her to scrutinize her from head to toe, her gaze as critical as when selecting merchandise.

But she didn’t.

Quan Ruo’an’s gaze remained fixed on Jiang Jixue’s face.

The woman, who had been as still as an inanimate object, suddenly spoke, raising her wine glass. “I just noticed you have a mole at the corner of your eye.”

Her voice was clear and crisp, like the gentle, slow melting of fresh snow. Jiang Jixue was slightly disoriented; the first words were different from what she had imagined. Flustered, she replied, “Um… it appeared later in life.”

“It’s very beautiful,” Quan Ruo’an said, taking a sip of wine. She lifted her bright, smiling eyes to meet the girl’s gaze from a short distance away.

The smile in her eyes deepened, becoming almost maternal.

It was the kind of look an elder might give a younger relative, asking with genuine concern, “Have you eaten? How have you been lately?”

But Jiang Jixue waited in vain for her to speak again.

In the warm lamplight, Quan Ruo’an’s jade-like face glowed with a soft, silken smoothness. She patted her leg and looked at Jiang Jixue with keen interest.

Jiang Jixue bit her lip, her eyes instinctively darting away.

Under Quan Ruo’an’s unwavering gaze, Jiang Jixue felt as if she had forgotten how to walk. Unable to stand frozen before her, she moved past Quan Ruo’an and sat down directly.

She instinctively reached out to steady Quan Ruo’an’s icy-cool hair.

Quan Ruo’an’s gaze lingered on the mole at the corner of Jiang Jixue’s eye, her palm gently caressing the side of her thigh.

“So obedient. You knew to wrap your arms around my neck on your first try,” Quan Ruo’an murmured, her eyes fixed on Jiang Jixue. Before Jiang Jixue could react, a soft, moist, and fragrant sensation pressed against her lips.

The woman’s lips enveloped hers, sucking and nipping. In the quiet room, the sound of waves crashing against each other filled the air.

Jiang Jixue sat on Quan Ruo’an’s lap, her cheeks flushed crimson. Her long, trembling eyelashes fluttered wildly across Quan Ruo’an’s cheek as she stiffly returned the kiss.

Quan Ruo’an’s hand, resting on Jiang Jixue’s waist, felt like the icy tail of a snake—constricting, suffocating, yet stirring a deeper desire to surrender completely, as if one wrong move would send her tumbling into the abyss.

“You’re wet…”

Jiang Jixue’s cheeks burned hotter as she shifted uneasily on Quan Ruo’an’s bare thigh.

“Should I help you take it off, hmm?” Quan Ruo’an continued to tease, her palm sliding down Jiang Jixue’s spine.

Jiang Jixue clung tighter, her entire body trembling uncontrollably. She pressed her lips to Quan Ruo’an’s ear, murmuring involuntarily, “Sister…”

Quan Ruo’an chuckled softly, then, right before her eyes, retrieved a collar-like object from a gift box on the floor. A small ball was attached at the center.

Jiang Jixue stared at it, momentarily stunned.

“Our little Xue’s mouth is so small… do you think it can fit this toy?” Quan Ruo’an asked, twirling the collar between his translucent, jade-like fingers under the lamplight. His gaze settled on her face, his tone both teasing and demanding.

Jiang Jixue’s eyes flickered with confusion. She knew this was the Gold Master testing her obedience.

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke, “I won’t wear it myself… Sister, please put it on for me…” Though it was her own voice, it sounded strangely unfamiliar to her ears.

Quan Ruo’an cupped the back of her head, his smooth, icy fingers caressing her jawline. As the rich scent of his perfume filled the air, Jiang Jixue’s mouth was forced open, and the small, round object was inserted.

Quan Ruo’an’s voice, like that of a succubus, echoed in her ear, followed by a soft, amused chuckle.

“It’s your size. I chose correctly.”

Fortunately, Quan Ruo’an helped her remove it after a while.

It had indeed been just a test of her obedience.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Quan Ruo’an placed the small device on the round table and clicked her tongue. “Look at all this drool from our little Jixue.”

Jiang Jixue didn’t know how to respond.

Quan Ruo’an turned back, now wearing a thin finger sheath.

Jiang Jixue met her gaze and instinctively leaned forward in a submissive posture.

Quan Ruo’an’s movements were gentle, her foreplay thorough, teasing and seducing her to the brink. Then, pressing close to Jiang Jixue’s flushed cheek, she whispered, “I didn’t realize this was your first time, little Jixue. Beg me to be gentle, okay?”

Jiang Jixue’s fingers clenched the sheets beneath her, her soft moans filling the bedroom.

Quan Ruo’an deliberately paused at the crucial moment, savoring Jiang Jixue’s pleas and watching her feeble attempts to wrap her arms around her neck, only for her limp limbs to fall back down.

Quan Ruo’an was truly wicked.

Wicked in a way that roused all her desires, then mercifully fulfilled them, plunging them both into shared oblivion.

After their sweaty climax, Quan Ruo’an cleaned Jiang Jixue’s lower body before leaving in her robe.

The warmth of the spot where Jiang Jixue had lain gradually dissipated.

Half-asleep, Jiang Jixue touched the cold patch and drifted off.

Since their first night together, she had secretly grieved over Quan Ruo’an’s refusal to stay the night.

Sister, when will I ever receive your aftercare?