The Rebirth of a Diva

Episode 36's

"Xiao Ling" he said. "Everything you get will be bestowed upon me, be it pleasure or pain."

He hit her with a whip in his hand.

A shrill sound split the air, a sharp pain and the smell of blood filled the narrow space. Yet she is grateful and greedily embraces it all, as she moans and begs him to give her more. This pain reminded him that he was still truly alive. . .

He threw the whip aside, released the ball in his mouth, and leaned over to kiss it, his strong grasp almost suffocating him. "Xiao Ling, my beautiful butterfly .." She touched her lips to her quivering lashes, whispering. "You're mine and mine."

Always has. He would first leave it in a dark and empty room, where it would be so quiet, so quiet that he could barely sense its existence. Once he was on the verge of insanity, a heavenly-like figure would appear, whipping him brutally, torturing him, and then politely, feeding him his food and water and clearing the stains from his lips before finally leaving.

The narrow space once again regained its state of loneliness and darkness until he reached the breaking point, where Pei Ziheng would reappear and repeat the process throughout.

Every time Pei Ziheng left, Xia Ling would tell herself that she couldn't go down her cowardly path, that she wouldn't give up next time. Yet the reaction of her body was honest and frightening – no matter how hard she was, she could not escape the fear and madness in the darkness, she said, nor could he escape the gratitude he had towards her and the violence inflicted on her.

Furthermore, when he saw that she was tamed, he let her out.

Although he did not dare to attack her like before, leaving the dead silence and darkness allowed him to regain consciousness and clarity, and he remained hostile towards her. When he came in, he did everything he could to fight him.

He has another step.

He dislikes pain, and always struggles in resistance, yet he submits to it under oppression. . . And then next time it will be the same, resistance, repression, surrender. . .

Repeated cycle.

Xia Yu came to see him.

She was wearing a simple dress, her hair was messy, and white gauze fused her thin body together. But Xia Yu looked at him in an envious tone, and asked coldly, "Brother, why does Brother Ziheng care so much about you, and put in so much effort for you!"

Xia Ling just looked at him, hostile. "What are you here for?"

Xia Yu smiled. "Sister, let me tell you a story."

He spoke slowly and tirelessly.

Therefore, Xia Ling learned the new term – Stockholm Syndrome.

"Sister," Xia Yu said. "This is Brother Ziheng's plan and the doctors. You will suffer from Stockholm Syndrome under their conscious guidance to achieve ideal conditions. No matter how Brother Ziheng treats you, either with love or through torture, you will always be loyal to him, and will return to him voluntarily even if he lets you go. "

"You'll lose yourself forever."

"Brother Ziheng doesn't even love you, all he wants is a obedient toy."

Xia Ling took a long time to digest what Xia Yu said, not believing it was the truth. But all of Pei Ziheng's recent actions were in line with what he said.

Xia Ling once thought that Pei Ziheng really loved her, just as he loved her wholeheartedly. Even when she is held captive by him, she continues to believe that she loves him, but perhaps a little less, and not as wholeheartedly as she thought. Now, however, Xia Ling realized that Xia Yu might be right, Pei Ziheng had never loved her in the first place, all he needed was a toy that he was satisfied with – whether it was Xia Ling or someone else, he did not care.

“Sister, consider my words seriously,” Xia Yu picked up her beautiful handbag and left gracefully.

Xia Ling continued to remember Xia Yu's words.

He realized that he had indeed become dependent on Pei Ziheng. Although he was afraid and afraid of the cruelty, the overwhelming gratitude and admiration he had for the man when the man was lenient towards him was irrational and out of his control.

He is afraid of the person who is himself. Looking at the skinny person in the mirror who had a very careful and frightened expression, he could not recognize himself.

Perhaps one day Pei Ziheng would succeed, and the real Xia Ling would be completely destroyed and leave for good. And in its place will be a corpse walking tame and obedient.

He was afraid of living pitifully.

"If life means having no voice in my life, my soul is destroyed to the void, and becomes a corpse, a walking corpse, I would rather die" he murmured.

When he jerked back to himself, what appeared were the wards, the gloomy sky outside the full-size windows, and the hostile Pei Ziheng on the sofa. Xia Ling looked at him. "I'm not threatened, Director Pei. If Feifei is conscious, he'll agree to what I'm doing."

“Ye Xingling, you're too out of control.” Pei Ziheng's voice was low, filled with anger and coercion.

But Xia Ling was no longer afraid. Since he was on the note, he continued. "I'm sorry, but I can never belong to anyone. Director Pei, please ask your men to open the door, it's time for me to leave."

"You think you can go?" He pushed the button.

The thick and sturdy door opened without a sound, and two muscular bodyguards entered.

Pei Ziheng got up and walked towards the door, saying his words. "Bring him in."

The two bodyguards took orders and raised him to the side, following behind him.

Xia Ling originally thought that she wanted it, that even if she was rejected by someone like her, the worst thing that could happen was to teach her a lesson before she put it away for someone else. He was prepared for his anger and revenge in the coming days, but he never expected such stubbornness, nor was he willing to kidnap him.

An inexplicable fear surfaced within him as he was reminded of the terrors of the past. He never wanted to relive the days where he was treated like land. Xia Ling struggled with strength, shouting. "Pei Ziheng! Tell them to let me go! What you're doing is illegal!"

He continued forward, not the slightest bit distracted.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Xia Ling looked up and saw that the vast corridor before was now filled with crowds. In the distance, a group of about 10 burly men flowed out of the ward, chatting and laughing noisily as they walked towards the elevator, blocking their way.

Xia Ling recognizes the man in front of –

She was wearing casual white clothes, the soft cloth revealing a thin line of her tight muscles. His tan skin was sparkling healthy and his facial features were handsome and well sculpted – in his eyes he saw a charming expression.

Wherever he is, he always looks amazing.

Xia Ling was filled with gratitude at this moment. Panicking, he screamed. "Li Lei!"