...

After they left, I kept trying to move around. Even though I was away from the air vent, the temperature in the room dropped, and I was still shivering from the cold. At that moment, I really wanted to strangle Yang Sisi. How could she come up with such a vicious method? It seems she's done a lot of harm to people before.

I endured it all, just as I was about to give up and call for help. Then I heard footsteps outside the door, followed by the voices of Yang Sisi and Ye Zhi. It felt like an eternity had passed.

They opened the door, and Yang Sisi came in first. Shivering, she smiled and said to me, who was almost frozen, "When I went out just now, I was worried that if I took the electricity card, the air conditioner would turn off, but I didn't expect that the air conditioner has its own power supply... See, even God couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to punish you, right?"

"Let me go right now... then go get me a glass of hot water. I might be able to talk to you calmly later, otherwise..."

"What else should we do?"

I sneezed loudly and replied, "Or... let's all die here together, none of us should die!"

"Oh, you still have the energy to take us all down with you? Looks like you haven't been tied up enough... I was going to untie you now, but I've changed my mind. I've decided to go eat another popsicle. I love the feeling of watching the villain get their just desserts while eating a popsicle—it's so refreshing!"

After Yang Sisi finished speaking, she went to the refrigerator and took out two popsicles, handing one of them to Ye Zhi. Then the two of them wrapped themselves in blankets, sat on the sofa, and ate and chatted, talking about Harbin, Siberia, and other place names that sounded very cold.

I was furious, but I didn't have the power to transform. In the end, I had no choice but to recognize the situation and plead, "Your Majesties, I have elderly parents and young children to support. Please have mercy on me. I promise I will keep a low profile in front of you from now on and never dare to go against you again."

Yang Sisi was filled with hatred and didn't want to let me go. Ye Zhi was more sensible than her. She said to Yang Sisi, "Don't let him get too cold. You should talk to him about serious matters. After all, those who are against you are your closest family members. The issues between you need to be resolved. Wouldn't it be better if there was a peaceful way that everyone could accept?"

Yang Sisi's momentum immediately deflated, and she seemed troubled by the family relationship that had not improved for so long. She said to me, "You had better bring good news, otherwise you'll suffer more."

"In times of war, envoys are not to be killed. You keep targeting me like this. Aren't I being wronged?"

"You call yourself an envoy? You're just a lackey at best. Who knows how much you've skimmed off of them?"

I felt inexplicably annoyed and replied, "Stop looking down on me. Do you think I'm the kind of person who can be bought off? The reason I did this is because I felt there should be a better way for you two to communicate. After all, we're family, and there's no need to be so hostile."

"Then tell me, why did they send you to see me? Are they still hoping I can study abroad?"

This time, I answered truthfully: "They didn't give me a clear answer, they just said they wanted to talk to you again... but their attitude wasn't as firm as before."

"So do you think there's any point in discussing this?"

“I think there is… Anyway, since you absolutely refuse to go back, they can’t do anything about it! The reason they still want to talk to you is probably because they hope you can give them an answer and convince them that your choice to stay in Dali is no worse than studying abroad.”

Yang Sisi frowned at me, and after a long pause, replied, "I didn't want things to turn out like this either... You started this whole thing, so you're the one who has to come up with the excuse... If you can resolve our family conflict this time, I'll choose to forgive you for all the terrible things you did before."

"If I had that kind of eloquence and ability, would I be tied up and humiliated like this by you?"

My words seemed to remind Yang Sisi, and she actually took out her phone from her pocket, then started taking pictures of me while saying, "It's good that you feel ashamed. I'll take a few pictures of you now to blackmail you later. Just imagine, if your friends in Dali knew that you were tied up by two women for spying late at night, they'd laugh their heads off, wouldn't they?!"

"You might as well just kill me."

"It's not too late to kill you after we've used you to no longer have any value."

...