chapter 5

Chapter 5

I unlocked Xiao Min’s phone and typed “Chen Suiyuan” into the browser’s search bar.

I needed to first figure out what kind of person he was in the eyes of the public, and what sort of power he held.

As soon as I entered the character “Chen,” his full name popped up at the top of the list, which meant Xiao Min had searched for him on this phone before, and the search history was still there.

Search history?

That meant I could find traces of Xiao Min’s online activity on this phone!

Thinking this, my hands trembled as I immediately opened Xiao Min’s bookmarks and history.

Sure enough, scene after shocking scene confirmed my suspicions.

Xiao Min’s bookmarks were filled with all sorts of strange links. I clicked through them-there were domestic and international forums, indecent comics, and videos of men and women half-naked.

There were also Xiao Min’s payment records; she had purchased some aggressive-looking props.

After that, she posted two screenshots of chat records on a forum. In those conversations, she was begging the other person in a degrading manner to use those cruel, even destructive tools on her one by one.

Combined with those photos, combined with Chen Suiyuan’s words, the truth was so clear that I couldn’t deceive myself any longer.

The bookmark folder was named “North Side.” I recalled what Chen Suiyuan had said: “The South Side is for kings, the North Side for subjects.”

This phrase spoke of submission, of taming, of losing equality in a relationship and handing oneself over for the other’s pleasure.

Blankly, I scrolled down. The last webpage she visited was just a string of gibberish; the address gave no clue to its meaning.

But perhaps it was intuition, or maybe curiosity, that string of incomprehensible characters seemed to pull at my hand, and I clicked it almost involuntarily.

The page took a long time to load, and finally, there was only an audio clip-no extra words, as if the page had been deliberately designed. I pressed play.

“Xiao Min, you need to behave.” It was Chen Suiyuan’s voice, that calm control burning and aching like a brand on my heart. “Listen to me…”

“Pa!” Then came the sound of a slap, and Xiao Min’s low moan.

“No, no, please, don’t.” Xiao Min called out to him, those two short words wrapping me in a suffocating grip. “Suiyuan, is it because you’re engaged to her? Don’t worry, I swear, I won’t get in your way. Just… sometimes, sometimes care for me…”

“At the engagement party, she looked so beautiful in that purple dress.” Chen Suiyuan ignored her humble pleas, speaking dreamily as if savoring some long-lasting sweetness. “I want her to kneel, like you do. I’ve never wanted anything so much.”

His engagement party, the purple dress.

Everything connected. My throat tightened, as if I were a shell stranded in the desert, my mouth opening and closing, but all I could feel was the utter lifelessness of despair.

And him, Chen Suiyuan-dry and vast, yet hiding endless secrets and allure.

Yes, just as he said, this was not our first meeting.