Chapter 0046 Tiger Girl
The villa's original two-meter-high wall was raised to three meters overnight, the exit of the back garden was blocked off with bricks, and two burly men stood guard at the front gate like guardian deities. When Ruyi tried to step over the gate, they politely asked her to go back. If she tried to force her way through, the strong men would use their arms, which were as thick as her thighs, to lift her up like a chick and put her back into the villa.
After several attempts, Ruyi gave up and aimlessly wandered through the various rooms of the villa. She found that, just as Chen Yan had said, the villa was fully equipped with entertainment facilities, including a home theater, a karaoke room, books, board games, and even Lego bricks and puzzles for children. All kinds of items were available, and the collection, along with books from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, occupied half of the study.
Ruyi, shrouded in gloom, ignored these interesting trinkets that even adults couldn't resist handling. She ran back to her room and stood in front of the French windows with white gauze curtains, staring blankly at a small yellow and white bird that fluttered down onto a trumpet creeper branch hanging from the wall. The bird nimbly hopped up and down among the branches, occasionally mischievously sticking out its black beak to tentatively peck at the trumpet-shaped orange flowers.
After several attempts, the bird, having found no delicious food, grew bored and flew away over the wall, disappearing from sight in no time.
Even a bird is freer than her... Ruyi couldn't bear the sadness and cried while hugging her pillow.
After crying for a while, she wiped away her tears and ran downstairs, ignoring Aunt Zhou's repeated advice to slow down, and reached out to a bodyguard guarding the villa entrance.
"Give me your phone, I want to talk to Chen Yan."
The bodyguard handed her the phone only after the call was connected.
Hearing that it was Ruyi's voice, Chen Yan was quite surprised. He had thought that she would give him the cold shoulder for a few more days before she would talk to him. He was pleasantly surprised and asked softly what was wrong.
"I agree to give birth to it, then let me go." She has been locked up here for four days, without internet or cell phone access, like a deaf, blind, or stupid person, completely unaware of what is happening outside.
She had many questions: How were her aunt and Hao Jing? They hadn't seen her for so many days; were they frantic with worry? If she called the police, would Chen Yan harm them? Or had he already used some shady methods to prevent them from speaking out…
When Chen Yan heard that she wanted to leave, his joy vanished instantly, and he said in a flat voice, "You'd better give up the idea of leaving as soon as possible. I won't let you go until the child is born."
"But they'll worry..."
"Don't worry, I've arranged everything. You should just focus on your pregnancy and not worry about these unnecessary things. It's not good for your health. Be good."
What does "have explained everything" mean?
Under Ruyi's persistent questioning, Chen Yan confessed that Hao Jing was at a crucial stage of her graduation, and he had threatened her with her studies and her boyfriend's future, keeping her silent. As for He Caiyu, she had been secretly sent abroad three days prior. He didn't mind letting her know, because he hadn't intended to hide it from her anyway. Letting her hear about his methods would stop her from constantly thinking about running away.
After Chen Yan finished speaking, he smiled slightly and reassured her, "Your aunt is doing very well abroad. As long as you behave well, we will bring her back to China for a family reunion after we get our marriage certificate."
Ruyi was stunned upon hearing this, and even forgot to scold him in her haste. She pretended to confirm but actually reminded him, "Didn't you say you would let me leave after I gave birth?"
A cold snort came from the other end of the phone.
"It's making me a little angry because you always treat me this way. You need to be nicer to me, after all, you can't marry anyone else in this life but me."
Ruyi didn't have time to refute, and hurriedly asked, "Then what about my doctoral studies? There are only two weeks left before the start of the semester!"
Chen Yan coaxed, "Don't worry, you can apply for a one to two-year extension. I've already arranged it. Even if I let you go now, it won't be easy for you to return to school normally."
Enraged, Ruyi cursed Chen Yan as a despicable villain in front of her two bodyguards, but the bodyguards, being professionally trained, remained unfazed.
For an afternoon snack, Aunt Zhou brought Ruyi a delicious-looking shrimp and egg stew. Ruyi, wanting to vent her anger, thought, "He wants me to eat properly, but I won't!" Without a second thought, she flipped the stew over.
The pale yellow steamed egg, along with the broken porcelain, made a mess of the carpet. Ruyi watched helplessly as the kind woman, who had a similar plump figure to her aunt, silently squatted down to clean up the mess. Thinking about her aunt's situation in a foreign country, where she was unfamiliar with everyone and everything, she wondered if someone would bully her innocent friend like she had bullied Aunt Zhou.
Thinking of this, she burst into tears, apologized to Aunt Zhou, and despite the latter's attempts to dissuade her, squatted down and helped her tidy up.
From then on, Ruyi ate her meals obediently.
Three weeks later, Chen Yan finished all his work and rushed to the villa, planning to stay there for three days.
In fact, there are surveillance cameras in the public areas such as the lobby and kitchen on the first floor of the villa. Chen Yan can see Ruyi from time to time through his mobile phone. However, the image on the screen is not as vivid as the real person. Especially since she was well nourished during her pregnancy, her complexion was more rosy than before pregnancy. She had more charm on the basis of her pure and gentle beauty, like a peach blossom blooming in the sun, showing a dazzling beauty.
When she saw him arrive, she walked away as if she didn't recognize him, and went to the study. She turned on a vintage record player in the corner, and the Carpenters' lead singer's deep and gentle voice flowed slowly along the track, telling the classic old song "Yesterday Once More" in a gentle and lingering way, as if it were a nostalgic reminiscence from the depths of the past.
To the soothing background music of classic old songs, Ruyi sits at her deep red desk, resting her chin on one hand, intently building her unfinished Lego project.
The largest of these building blocks is no longer than a thumb, and they are incredibly intricate. However, the finished product is a large complex of buildings, including a palace and bustling streets. Ruyi spent three weeks assembling it and only managed to complete less than one-tenth of it. Just the castle and the five guards took her a week to build.
Under Chen Yan's tyranny, she resigned herself to her fate once again, no longer thinking about leaving all the time. She followed the routine every day, doing what she was supposed to do, occasionally studying the villa's entertainment facilities to pass the time, which she considered quite content.
Seeing her having so much fun by herself, Chen Yan felt aggrieved and reached out to the bodyguard, who opened the cage and handed him the little creature inside.
He carried the items in both hands as he entered the study.
Ruyi was completely absorbed in her building block business and didn't even glance at Chen Yan.
Chen Yan strolled leisurely to her side, placed the furry little creature on the table, and the little thing, which had been forced to lie on its back in Chen Yan's hands, immediately flipped over as soon as it touched the table. With its round face, pink nose, and short, chubby body, its bright golden cat eyes were attracted by the colorful building blocks. It curiously swaggered towards Ruyi on its four short legs.
Ruyi glanced at it briefly before quickly looking away. The reason was simple: this little cat, which looked no bigger than her palm, was just too cute. It had a tiger-like head and bright eyes, an irregular tiger skin on its back, and its belly and limbs were all snow-white without a single stray hair. It was a perfectly good American Shorthair Cheesecat, and she was afraid that if she looked at it for too long, she would be unable to resist reaching out to hug it.
She had no intention of accepting Chen Yan's favor. Did he think he could bribe her with just a cat?
Continue building with the blocks.
The kitten was lively and not afraid of people at all. When it came within reach of Ruyi, it was hard for her not to look at it.
With a tilt of its round head, it stretched out its pink paws and rummaged through a pile of scattered parts. A red stick-like object rolled out, and it followed it with its eyes until the stick-like object stopped beside Ruyi's hand. Then it looked at Ruyi with an innocent expression.
Ruyi looked at it, then at the instruction manual, picked up the little red stick, and inserted it into the center of the royal carriage wheel. Unable to contain her affection any longer, she tossed the wheel aside, reached out and gently stroked its little head, praising it repeatedly like a child: "How old are you? How can you be so smart? You're both beautiful and intelligent..."
The little American Shorthair felt very comfortable being touched, making gurgling sounds in its throat. Its round face involuntarily tilted up, its eyes slightly narrowed, looking like it was enjoying itself immensely.
A moment later, it circled around Ruyi's hand again and nuzzled her head against her.
Ruyi is so cute! This lively, affectionate, and adorable kitten is irresistible. Who wouldn't be charmed by it?
Seeing Ruyi petting so enthusiastically, Chen Yan seized the opportunity to make his presence known: "This is from Chengjue's grandma's house. There were four kittens in a litter, and this one is the cutest. It's not even 7 weeks old yet. Chengjue wasn't happy about it at first, but I had to coax him a lot before he finally agreed to give it to me." He deliberately emphasized his painstaking efforts.
Ruyi wanted to mock him a bit, saying that with his domineering nature, even if the other person was unwilling, they would still have to obediently give up their beloved kitten in the end. But considering how cute the kitten was, she decided to consider it a good deed he had done.
She spoke to the kitten again: "Little cutie, are you a boy or a girl?"
Although she likes cats, she lacks practical experience and is not good at distinguishing the sex of kittens. Even if she could, she would not want to pry open the kitten's legs to look in front of Chen Yan.
The kitten was happily jumping and leaping around in the block castle, so it wouldn't answer Ruyi's question. Therefore, although she seemed to be talking to it, she was actually asking Chen Yan.
Chen Yan answered sensibly, "She is a girl."
He then earnestly suggested, "She doesn't have a name yet, why don't you give her one?"
Ruyi had the same idea. She smiled as she watched the kitten's lively figure, pondered for a moment, and said, "You have tiger stripes on your back, and you're a girl, so how about I call you Tiger Girl? Tiger Girl, cute and beautiful Tiger Girl~" She hoped that she would be as majestic as a tiger, and not as useless as herself, imprisoned and powerless to resist. However, she couldn't say this in front of Chen Yan, lest he break down again.
Ruyi held Hu Niu under her arms and picked her up. Hu Niu's feet were dangling in the air, her eyes wide open, looking at her new owner with a bewildered expression. Her tail was tucked between her legs, and her body was a little tense.
To gain Ruyi's attention, Chen Yan had crammed some cat care knowledge beforehand. Some kittens are uncomfortable when held like that, so he stepped forward and corrected Ruyi's posture, saying that he should support her bottom with one hand, and then do this and that...
Ruyi humbly corrected her mistake without noticing anything. Chen Yan took the opportunity to pull her into his arms, getting very close to her, so close that he could see the fine hairs on her cheeks and the faint lines on her lips.
He suppressed his urge to kiss her and said, as if to take credit, "I was afraid you'd get bored if you stayed alone for too long, so I brought Tiger Girl here to keep you entertained. Do you like her?"
The disturbance of the airflow between breaths made Ruyi feel a tingling sensation on the side of her ear. Only then did she realize what was happening. She glared at Chen Yan without any politeness. She didn't want to say that she liked him, but she couldn't bring herself to say that she didn't like him either. So she simply picked up Hu Niu and gestured to him to move aside with her eyes.
Chen Yan stopped there, wisely stepping aside and then slowly following.
Actually, there was a lot more he wanted to tell her. He could talk for an hour just about the precautions for pregnant women raising cats. However, he knew his place and decided to leave those unpleasant things to Mrs. Zhou. He didn't want to invite trouble.
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