Chapter 21: A Terrible Game
After staying alone in the alley for a long time, Lu Zhiyin stood up. Lost in thought, she left the alley and walked towards the school.
The sky was still dark, with no stars or moon visible.
Lu Zhiyin navigated back to the dormitory building by memory in the dark.
Standing outside her dorm room, she patted the faint school uniform on her body, brushing off all the dust.
She was excessively mentally fatigued and just wanted to rest immediately, with no intention of washing up or changing clothes.
Pushing open the dorm room door, Lu Zhiyin entered.
In the pitch dark dorm room, a pair of light golden eyes emitted a faint glow.
As soon as she entered, Lu Zhiyin was deathly stared at.
It was Ouyang Qing, surprisingly waiting for her in the dorm room for a long time.
Lu Zhiyin didn’t know why she was waiting for her, nor did she want to know. She just wanted to rest, that’s all.
Moving her legs, Lu Zhiyin was shocked to find that she couldn’t control her body.
A gust of breeze swept through, and with a slight clicking sound, the dorm room door closed.
“…”
Ouyang Qing sat silently on the upper bunk on the right side of the dorm room, swinging her bare legs, holding the turtle doll Lu Zhiyin had given her.
She felt excited about what was about to happen.
Unsatisfied with Lu Zhiyin’s recent attitude towards her, Ouyang Qing prepared to use a game to make Lu Zhiyin re-recognize their status.
“Let’s play a game,” Ouyang Qing said after a moment of thought.
“Get the turtle doll you gave me from my hand.”
She smiled and said so.
“…Is that all?”
It was a bit inexplicable. Was this a game? Lu Zhiyin didn’t want to waste time with Ouyang Qing.
But if she didn’t satisfy Ouyang Qing, she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep.
“Yes, that’s all. It’s very simple, isn’t it?”
“Then, the game begins.”
As Ouyang Qing’s words fell, the world became quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
In the darkness, Ouyang Qing’s eyes were still shining, guiding Lu Zhiyin. She didn’t have to wander around blindly like a headless fly.
Lu Zhiyin gradually regained control of her body, but soon, she found that her body had changed.
The joints of her limbs were stiff and couldn’t turn, but the rest of her was excessively soft, making it difficult to even stand up.
Her whole body felt incredibly out of place.
If she had to describe it with a word, it would probably be… a doll?
“…Heh…”
Looking at the swaying Lu Zhiyin, Ouyang Qing chuckled.
She tugged on the back right leg of the turtle doll in her hand.
“…Uh ah?”
A strange, almost tearing pain shot through her right leg.
Lu Zhiyin cried out.
She fell to the ground, enduring the fear of her limbs being torn apart, trying to get up, but her stiff joints prevented her from doing so.
She couldn’t get up.
“…”
Ouyang Qing returned the doll’s leg to its original position, and Lu Zhiyin was back on her feet.
“Too weak.”
Ouyang Qing shook her head.
“Let me add some rewards to the game. Maybe that will pique your interest.”
“As long as you grab the doll from my hand, I’ll set you free immediately.”
Ouyang Qing lied. She wouldn’t let Lu Zhiyin leave her.
“…”
Lu Zhiyin didn’t speak. She couldn’t discern the truth or falsehood in the deity’s words.
She painstakingly adapted to her doll-like soft body.
There was still a lingering tearing pain in her right leg. Lu Zhiyin exerted all her strength to slide her left leg half a circle, placing it in front of her, and then using her left leg as support to drag her right leg over.
Only then could Lu Zhiyin finally take her first step.
Lu Zhiyin looked up, her gaze fixed on Ouyang Qing’s light golden eyes.
Step by step, she gradually became accustomed to her doll-like body.
“Er wu…”
Ouyang Qing pulled the doll’s right hand, and Lu Zhiyin’s entire body tilted to the right.
Her head collided with the metal frame of the bed, and a crisp ringing sound echoed through the silent dorm room.
Dizziness, and a strange, indescribable pain, violently surged through her.
The metal frame embedded itself into her skull.
There was no bleeding, and her bones didn’t crack, they just sank in, enveloping the metal frame.
It wasn’t just her limbs and joints that had softened.
Lu Zhiyin’s pupils constricted. She felt like a puppet truly being toyed with. If before this was a description of her life, now it was a description of her very being.
Lu Zhiyin could no longer stand. She could only wriggle with difficulty. When she finally pulled away from the metal frame, the area where her head had been embedded returned to its original state.
Dolls had great elasticity, and she was the same now.
Ouyang Qing sat on the upper bunk, leisurely watching Lu Zhiyin, who was sprawled on the ground.
She was certain that Lu Zhiyin would lose this game. She hadn’t given Lu Zhiyin the ability to climb stairs, so she would never be able to reach the upper bunk to take the doll from her hands.
All she could do was writhe and struggle on the ground, entertaining herself.
This game was not only to make Lu Zhiyin understand the difference in status but also a way for Ouyang Qing to remind herself not to get too close to mortals.
She couldn’t maintain an equal relationship with mortals. The experience of being neglected a while ago had left a deep impression on her.
“Er… wu…”
The doll-like transformation of her body worsened. Lu Zhiyin crawled on the ground, unable to get up. She couldn’t even lift her hand, let alone take the doll.
Lu Zhiyin thought about what a pathetic state she was in now. Knowing it was impossible, she still struggled in the mud, only to earn a smile from the superior and be called stupid.
Lu Zhiyin soon gave up struggling.
She thought that Ouyang Qing was just toying with her for amusement.
Lying on the ground, Lu Zhiyin remained motionless.
“…”
Ouyang Qing remained silent. She grabbed the two front legs of the turtle doll and lifted it.
Thus, Lu Zhiyin was also lifted, floating in the air.
The suspension and the pain in her wrists made it impossible for Lu Zhiyin to resign herself to her fate.
“…When are you going to stop playing… cough cough… wu…”
She closed her eyes, but Ouyang Qing interrupted her before she could finish speaking.
Ouyang Qing poked the turtle doll’s stomach with the index finger of her other hand.
Her fingertip slightly sank into the doll, and Lu Zhiyin’s body arched, her back protruding slightly, and her abdomen forming a fist-sized indentation.
The pain and terror pushed Lu Zhiyin to the brink of collapse. She coughed incessantly, her internal organs feeling as if they were dislodging and about to burst under Ouyang Qing’s pressure.
This terror was unlike anything she had ever experienced before, far more frightening than the nothingness of death.
“…You are nothing but a toy.”
Ouyang Qing released the doll, and Lu Zhiyin fell.
“The game is over.”
As she spoke, Ouyang Qing returned to her bunk.
Lu Zhiyin felt a sense of relief. It was less a game and more Ouyang Qing’s one-sided torment of Lu Zhiyin.
Whether it was the tearing sensation in her limbs or the fear of her internal organs shifting and about to burst, it was all unbearable for Lu Zhiyin.
“You are nothing but a toy. Recognize your place and don’t think you can be my equal. Remember, you are not worthy of arguing with me.”
Lying on the bed, Ouyang Qing glanced at Lu Zhiyin, who was slumped on the ground with tears in her eyes.
She noticed the helplessness on Lu Zhiyin’s face. In fact, Lu Zhiyin had been like this since she returned tonight.
“…Yes, I understand…”
With a muffled reply, Lu Zhiyin waited until her body was no longer doll-like before she could barely get up.
She crawled back into her covers, curling into a ball.
She began to fantasize. How good it would be if she had never met this damned evil god. Unfortunately, there were no “what ifs.”
“When… when will you get tired of playing…”
She clutched the bedsheet beneath her.
She was already certain that even completing the task wouldn’t allow her to go home. All she could do was hope that Ouyang Qing would soon grow tired of her, tired of playing with her, this terrible toy.
Hope had vanished completely, leaving only despair.
