Waiting for You for a Long Time, But You Haven't Arrived - Chapter 33.1

“Serve me well.”

When Ming Yishu woke up, she suddenly realized her hands and feet felt heavy. She breathed with difficulty, clearing her mind from a dark and chaotic daze.

A fuzzy sensation brushed against her cheek. She opened her eyes and saw the wolf cub, Heyi, quietly licking her.

“I’m fine, Heyi,” Ming Yishu smiled gently. Even though she knew it couldn’t understand human speech, she still liked talking to it. “Who put you on the bed? Your shed fur is all over the blankets.”

Since being brought to the Prime Minister’s manor, Heyi had been in its growing years. As a small wolf cub, it ate heartily. After Ming Yishu learned it was a wolf, she sent for fresh meat every day, feeding the cub until it grew sturdy and extraordinary.

“Awoo, awoo—”

Heyi couldn’t speak; it occasionally howled, but it wasn’t overly wild. When it nudged Ming Yishu with its furry head, it was like a clingy, obedient puppy.

Ming Yishu actually saw a sense of “delicacy” in a wolf cub. Her Heyi was very handsome—a delicate white wolf. Its frame was stretching out as it grew, its silhouette becoming increasingly fluid and elegant. It possessed a bit more refinement than a wild wolf and a bit more defiance than a dog.

Perhaps because the winter was so cold, Heyi’s pure white fur had gained some grey-black coloring, concentrated at the tips of its ears and on its forehead, looking as charming as a beautiful girl wearing hair ornaments.

Ming Yishu thought that when Heyi grew up, it probably wouldn’t be entirely white. It might be like the ones she had seen online: white as a base coat, with grey-black fur overlaying it, looking elegant, sharp, cool, and beautiful.

Heyi didn’t look like a wolf because it hadn’t fully grown; instead, it resembled the long-legged build of a red fox, which was why she found it so delicate.

Ming Yishu cupped the cub’s face, admiring her wolf as seriously as if she were observing a child. She looked forward to seeing Heyi fully grown. If Heyi was already this much to her liking now, it would surely be even more beautiful later…

Heyi gently broke free from her hands and lowered its head to nibble on her finger, lightly sucking to please her.

After playing for a while, Ming Yishu’s mood improved significantly.

She truly loved furry animals. No matter how many sad things happened, as long as a simple animal was by her side, life was much easier to endure.

“Heyi…”

She whispered, burying her face and kissing her favorite wolf cub, wishing she could rub its fur into a messy tangle.

Heyi enjoyed being fussed over and promptly rolled over to expose its belly for her to rub, its four paws dangling in a display of good-tempered submission.

Faced with a puppy—or wolf—actively rolling over, Ming Yishu couldn’t refuse. She reached out and used her familiar petting techniques, making the cub whimper contentedly.

One person and one “dog” alone together were far more harmonious than people being together.

Just as Ming Yishu was about to pull her hand back, a loud bang suddenly came from outside. The cub under her palm jumped in fright and dove into her arms.

“Why are you so timid, Heyi? You’re a wolf, not a puppy,” Ming Yishu teased with a smile, but her movements were incredibly gentle. With a slight lift of her sleeve, she shielded all of Heyi’s fear.

Ming Yishu knew her Heyi was more timid than ordinary cats or dogs. Even though it was a wolf cub, it couldn’t even win a fight against a stray cat; it usually relied on the manor servants to intervene with long poles.

In those moments, Ming Yishu wouldn’t protect Heyi. It was just small animals playing around; a stray cat wandering into the manor wouldn’t truly hurt him. Jiang Qionghua wouldn’t protect him either; she would just stand with Ming Yishu and watch the animals scuffle, sometimes even deliberately preventing the servants from helping.

The servants in the manor valued Heyi highly. Having looked after the cub for these days, they had developed feelings for it. Therefore, as long as Prime Minister Jiang wasn’t around, they would definitely back Heyi up so the stray cats wouldn’t beat him.

Heyi was so timid that Ming Yishu wasn’t worried at all about him eating people when he grew up.

Everyone in the manor could reach out to pet Heyi, and he wouldn’t throw a tantrum; most of the time, he allowed it.

Ming Yishu held him and slowly curled her knees. Her ankles felt heavy, as if they had fallen asleep. But she ignored it, reminiscing about many beautiful things.

The Prime Minister’s manor used to be silent and solemn. The servants walked carefully, whispering and bowing their heads. No one could have imagined that one day, the arrival of a wolf cub would break that oppressive silence.

Because Heyi was at a lively and active age, servants would often find the playful cub clinging to them, occasionally tripping them by snagging their pant legs or jumping out from a corner to startle them.

Because Heyi was in the manor, Jiang Qionghua had specifically ordered everyone that things didn’t have to be so deathly still wherever Heyi was. If Heyi wanted to play with them, they shouldn’t hold back; coaxing a wolf cub was considered necessary work.

Everyone knew that Heyi held a status with the Prime Minister. He was the cub used to please Miss Ming and could not be neglected. And because Heyi provided the staff with small excuses for leisure, everyone liked to play with him.

If they were playing with him, they wouldn’t be punished for delaying their chores.

No one could dislike Heyi.

Heyi, Heyi—just like its name, it made everyone feel satisfied and happy.

Ming Yishu was very satisfied with the name she gave him. While holding Heyi, she felt that her current situation was also a form of happiness.

Until—

The person who made the loud noise earlier walked in.

Ming Yishu looked up and her gaze collided with Jiang Qionghua’s grim expression.

Jiang Qionghua walked closer and, without a word, grabbed her slender ankle and pulled it over to inspect it.

A heavy thud sounded—not a crisp or muffled sound, but one that revealed its weight instantly.

It was at this moment that Ming Yishu realized why her feet felt heavy earlier: her ankles were locked in gold chains. These exquisite gold chains didn’t look very thick, but they were unexpectedly heavy. Ming Yishu slowly lowered her head and tried to move.

She couldn’t break free at all. Although they were chains made of gold, they were crafted very sturdily. Ming Yishu once thought gold was soft and easily broken, but she was wrong. Being locked in this thing, she personally felt the cold hardness unique to precious metals.

She asked softly, “Qionghua, why are you locking me up?”

“I didn’t want to lock you away, but you met someone you shouldn’t have and became soiled. I am very worried, so I can only lock you up to feel at peace.” Jiang Qionghua’s expression was poor. She sat by the bed and used a new gold chain to lock Ming Yishu’s other ankle. “I will lock your hands and feet so you can no longer run away.”

Ming Yishu’s heart gradually sank. “Don’t treat me like this. What am I to you? Livestock you’ve raised?”

Jiang Qionghua sneered. “A bit less than that.”

Ming Yishu had no words.

“Even livestock know loyalty. What about you? When you decisively chose that person, you didn’t consider my feelings. I have never begged anyone…” Jiang Qionghua arranged the gold chain on Ming Yishu’s ankle and casually patted Heyi’s head. She said with a flat tone, “But yesterday, I lowered my posture to persuade you, and yet you remained stubborn. What else can I do? Give me a reason to treat you well.”

Ming Yishu pulled her feet back and said she was sorry.

“Don’t worry. After I resolve some difficult matters in the coming days, I will kill her soon. When that time comes, you will watch with your own eyes as her head is severed, and see how the wolf cub you raised eats her corpse.” Jiang Qionghua’s smile was ice-cold, with a touch of morbid madness. She added, “Or, I will torture her until she is on the verge of death, and you can kill her yourself to experience the feeling of ‘repaying kindness with enmity.’ How about that?”

Ming Yishu broke into a cold sweat at the other woman’s words.

She was telling the truth—she would definitely do it!

“Don’t let Heyi eat human flesh.” Ming Yishu’s face turned pale, her heart exhausted. “He is a wolf. Once he breaks that taboo and eats human flesh, he will never be good again.”

Jiang Qionghua continued to stroke Heyi and said, “Whitey has lost his wildness under your care. In my eyes, he is a waste. I must let him have the dignity of a wolf; otherwise, he is a failure, and the Prime Minister’s manor does not keep failures.”

Ming Yishu didn’t understand. Heyi was just a pet; why must he be forced to be wild? She wasn’t afraid of Heyi being timid; she was more afraid of him being provoked into ferocity and wildness, eventually planning to eat humans.

Just like in her past life, before the ban on keeping them, she had raised a German Shepherd. She was always worried it would lose control and bite someone. The local regulations for dogs that bit were very harsh, especially for restricted breeds. Once a mistake was made, the dog would surely be forcibly slaughtered. And in that situation, she had no power to save her dog…

Powerlessness also tormented her heart, filling her with guilt and self-reproach.

“I beg you, don’t do this to him.” Ming Yishu also never begged people. Before, it was because she was helpless, but now she felt that as long as she spoke kindly with Jiang Qionghua, she could get her to change her mind and retract the decision.

Jiang Qionghua looked down at her. “What right do you have to beg me?”

Ming Yishu frowned slightly. Her face showed no worry, only sorrow. “I have no right, but Heyi didn’t make you angry. Why must you punish him?”

“This isn’t punishment; it’s a reward, a blessing. I brought him back from the freezing snow. Like you, his life belongs to me. I can dispose of him however I wish.” Jiang Qionghua tapped the back of her fingers against Ming Yishu’s turned cheek in a contemptuous, insulting gesture. She said, “I’ve made up my mind.

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