James Grind sat on a chair on the balcony on the third floor. He was staring with his empty eyes at the beautiful lake view. He wanted to swim there or walked run around the lakeside. But he was confined in this golden cage by a crazy mafia lord.

"Enjoying the view?" Long Zhen asked. He sat beside James Grind and gazed at the lake scenery in solemn. "It is indeed a beautiful view. No wonder you are here for so long," Long Zhen commented.

James Grind gave him a glance and continued ignoring him. Long Zhen sighed. He pinched James Grind's cheek and asked, "Tell me, what do you want? Do you want some games? Or some luxury goods? I can buy you anything."

"I want to buy my freedom," James Grind replied sharply. He stared at the lake, but his gaze was staring at nothing, just like his life for a while. It was like a routine of nothing.

Long Zhen shook his head, "I cannot do that. You know that I need you to stay here obediently," he said as he patted James Grind's head.

"Be a good boy and obey me, okay?" Long Zhen said.

James Grind glared at him and brushed Long Zhen's hand. He got up from the chair and walked towards the railing. He leaned on the railing, which was made out of thin and fragile glass. "What if I don't want to be a good boy?"

"What do you mean?" Long Zhen asked suspiciously. He got up from his chair and walked towards James Grind. James Grind warned Long Zhen to stay back, "One more step, and I will jump."

Long Zhen thought it was just an empty threat. But James Grind was not joking when he said that he wanted to jump. When Long Zhen advanced with only one step, James Grind already climbed the railing.

Long Zhen got alerted immediately, "J—Jamie, step down."

"Don't call me Jamie. My name is James Grind! Nobody is allowed to call me Jamie except my close friends or lover!" James Grind yelled at Long Zhen. Long Zhen's heart was pinched because of that, but he shook his head. This was not the best time to be grieving over his heart.

Because James Grind seemed to be serious now. James Grind often did this kind of threat, but he never actually did it. Maybe because he was also scared of death itself. But fright now, James Grind didn't seem to have hesitation in his eyes.

James Grind looked down on the rocky cliff. It was a calm lake, but he should die immediately if he fell head first from this height. James Grind commented, "Long Zhen, it's very rocky down below. I think I will be dead immediately if I jump from this height."

"DON'T!" Long Zhen yelled. "J—Jamie… No, James Grind, please listen to me and step down, okay? We can talk about this. I will give everything you want, I promise!" Long Zhen tried to persuade James Grind.

James Grind finally glanced at Long Zhen. He scoffed and said, "I told you before, the more you tried to please me with your money, the more you will lose me."

"Long Zhen, you locked me here with all your money, your luxury, and everything that you think I will need. But you don't want to hear what I truly want," James Grind said. His eyes started to get teary because of the emotion that he kept for so long.

"Long Zhen, tell me now, do you think of me as a pet that you can please with only money? I am not an animal that you can use to fill your empty house!" James Grind finally let out his tears streamed down his cheek. He was already fed up with Long Zhen and his craziness.

He had been locked in this place for five months already, and there was no sign of Long Zhen to develop trust for him. "Do you think of me as a human or an animal? If you only want to torture me, then I think you should've tortured my body until I die, not torturing my soul like this."

"Do you really think of me as an animal? A pet?"

…

Long Zhen was silenced with James Grind's sudden burst of emotion. He must've been enduring this for so long.

"LONG ZHEN, ANSWER ME!" James Grind shouted.

Long Zhen gulped. "I… I… don't know…"

True, Long Zhen finally realized that he was also unsure about it. He locked James Grind here because he was angry at James Grind for betraying him. But at the same time, he was also uncertain about his own feeling.

He wanted to torture James Grind in a literal way, but he kept on hesitating, and this was what happened. He locked James Grind and acted like they were an old married couple. Long Zhen knew that it was just a façade for his own insecurity and loneliness.

Indeed, he used James Grind to fill that empty gap in his heart. Maybe he never actually liked James Grind. Perhaps he did like him, just a bit.

But one thing for sure, he treated James Grind like a pet.

[Pupa: Ding! Fatemeter increases to 0%.]

[Pupa: Ding! Breakmeter increases to 0%]

FINALLY!]

[Pupa: After five months, you finally increase his Fatemeter and Breakmeter to 0%. That is pitiful progress, you know.]

[Pupa, I literally did everything I could to increase those stupid meters! Don't you remember my last attempt?]

[Pupa: Oh, you mean the starving attempt?]

[Yes, I tried starving myself to make him pity me.]

[Pupa: You only last for one day before begging Long Zhen to give you food.]

[Well, you need the energy to be a drama queen.]

Yunyu looked down at the cliff below. He was absolutely terrified that he clenched on the railing as hard as he could. Who would've thought that he needed to be this extreme to finally incited some feeling inside Long Zhen's dead heart?

[Okay, what now? Do I need to jump? But I don't want to restart this gruelling world!]

[Pupa: Just jump.]

[What? Will something happen if I jump? Is there a giant trampoline down below?]

[Pupa: Not really. I just want to see you died a horrible death.]

[Why are you so vicious to me! We are partners! I am your host. We are bound for life!]

[Pupa: My partner is only this sweet restart button.]

Long Zhen saw some hesitation in James Grind's eyes. He slowly advances to approach James grind.

"I said, step back!" James Grind warned again.

Long Zhen halted his step and stared anxiously at James Grind. "I… I will release you after this, I promise. I will give you a new identity, and you can start a new life as a random person, okay?"

James Grind's gloomy face finally brightened slightly. "You are not lying, right?"

Long Zhen's heart was pinched when he saw James Grind's bright face again.

'You truly hate me, huh? I am the one who hates you first, but how could it turn like this…' Long Zhen pondered. Like a maggot in his heart, James Grind's smile only applied deeper wound inside his heart.

"I'm not lying…" Long Zhen replied. But he knew that he was definitely lying right now.

Because he already planned to lock James Grind to an actual cage if he could catch James Grind right now.

'I can't let him try this dangerous stuff again in the future. Maybe a giant steel cage should do the trick...' Long Zhen thought

James Grind stared at Long Zhen for a moment, and he finally nodded. He signed in relief. "You must keep your promise, Long Zhen."

James Grind climbed the railing again. But the moment he yanked himself towards Long Zhen, James Grind found that his hand was sweating a lot.

James Grind lost his grip on the glass railing and slipped.

"JAMIE!"