Jiang Siyu's words indeed frightened Wei Yumeng. She tightened her grip on the steamed bun again. "Does that mean I have no choice but to eat it?"
Jiang Siyu leaned against the wall nonchalantly. "If you're not yet at the point where you'll die without food, you can choose not to eat. Perhaps you'll be lucky and someone will come with food soon, and then you can have something softer."
Seeing that she remained silent, Jiang Siyu knew it was hard for her to swallow. She took the steamed bun back. "If you're not eating it, give it back to me. If I hadn't heard your stomach rumbling, I wouldn't have taken out this staple food."
Wei Yumeng finally understood that eating anything here was a luxury. She vaguely grasped the meaning of Jiang Siyu's "staple food," likely meaning she saved some food each time someone brought her meals, just in case she ran out later.
With this thought, Wei Yumeng stopped asking for it. She wasn't so hungry that she couldn't move and could hold on a little longer, considering it as dieting.
The two women sat leaning against the wall. Once, they would meet as mortal enemies, their eyes burning with hatred. Neither of them could have imagined that they would end up sitting together in such a manner.
Wei Yumeng leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and remained still, thinking this might slow down the rumbling of her stomach.
When she was first locked up, she was terrified to learn there was another person here. Now that she knew it was Jiang Siyu, she wasn't as scared or restless. Instead, she felt much safer. After all, Jiang Siyu wouldn't attack her, and her speech was coherent, indicating she was mentally sound.
As they sat there, she heard Jiang Siyu's breathing become more rapid. Soon, her whole body began to twitch, and she collapsed onto the ground, convulsing all over, unable to speak a complete sentence.
Wei Yumeng was terrified. She tried to help her up but was pushed to the ground. Jiang Siyu began to shout wildly, "Give it to me, quickly give it to me!"
"What do you want?"
Wei Yumeng didn't know what was happening to her. She had been fine moments ago, so why had she suddenly become like this?
She couldn't articulate what she wanted, only grasping at Wei Yumeng's clothes and reaching out for it.
Wei Yumeng tried to calm her but didn't know how. A terrible thought flashed through her mind: could Feng Shiming be a drug dealer?
She couldn't get any information out of her now. All she could do was hold down Jiang Siyu's body to prevent her from hurting herself.
However, the withdrawal symptoms were incredibly painful and could easily lead to aggressive behavior, either towards others or self-harm.
After an unknown period, Jiang Siyu seemed to have gotten through this episode. Her breathing was no longer as rapid or as distressed.
Just as Wei Yumeng was about to help her up, the dungeon door was suddenly opened, and light flooded in, blinding her eyes, which had adapted to the darkness.
Feng Shiming strode down the steps, looking at them with disdain, as if they were mere objects.
She walked up to Jiang Siyu, took a syringe filled with a clear liquid from a person behind her, and dangled it in front of Jiang Siyu. "Do you want this?"
Jiang Siyu crawled up, her bloodshot eyes fixed on the liquid in Feng Shiming's hand. She nodded vigorously. "Give it to me, please, give it to me. I'll do anything you want!"
"Anything?" Feng Shiming deliberately raised her arm, dodging Jiang Siyu's outstretched hand reaching for the medicine.
She begged again. "Anything, please give it to me."
Feng Shiming stood up and gave a signal to the people behind her. They handed Jiang Siyu a plate filled with a mix of dishes, but the food was clearly rotten. A foul odor spread through the air, sickening.
"Eat it all, and I'll give you the medicine."
"Feng Shiming, you're going too far!"
Wei Yumeng shouted, unable to bear it any longer. Jiang Siyu had once been a prominent socialite, and now she was reduced to eating rotten food here. Feng Shiming had also been close to her before, even accepting many gifts from her. How could she do something so degrading?
Feng Shiming was unconcerned by her anger and kicked the plate on the ground. "Eat it all, or I won't give it to you."
Seeing her stubbornness, Wei Yumeng tried to stop Jiang Siyu, but in front of that syringe, Jiang Siyu would betray anything. She didn't give Wei Yumeng a chance to stop her. She grovelingly crawled on the ground and licked the rotten food from the plate, a truly pathetic sight.
Wei Yumeng let out a heavy sigh and turned her head away, closing her eyes.
Feng Shiming had come here specifically to humiliate Jiang Siyu in front of her. Now that she had closed her eyes, what was the point?
"Go, make her open her eyes and watch properly."
Immediately, two men grabbed Wei Yumeng by the neck and forcibly pried her eyelids open, forcing her to stare at the utterly humiliating scene before her.
"Ah! Feng Shiming, may you die a horrible death!"
Unable to break free, she could only curse and condemn. Even though she knew she would be beaten severely, she couldn't hold back at this moment.
Feng Shiming did not disappoint her. For every curse, Wei Yumeng received a fierce punch. The men here had no concept of tenderness. With each punch, blood flowed from the corner of Wei Yumeng's mouth.
She coughed up several mouthfuls of blood and could no longer curse. She was thrown to the ground.
Jiang Siyu had also eaten the plate of rotten food clean as Feng Shiming had instructed. Feng Shiming, having had her fill, injected the syringe into her arm and then left with her men.
Wei Yumeng could only watch helplessly. Now she understood why Feng Shiming had locked them together. It was so that she would witness Jiang Siyu being reduced to her plaything, losing all dignity.
Perhaps she wanted to tell her that Jiang Siyu's fate today would be her tomorrow.
Lying on the ground, she shed silent tears, wondering where Zhan Mohan was and if he could find her. She was truly afraid. She wasn't afraid of being beaten, but of humiliation, or even of becoming like Jiang Siyu, addicted to those filthy things.
After a while, she got up from the ground and fumbled to help Jiang Siyu up, leaning her against the wall.
Soon, Jiang Siyu felt less unwell. After a few deep breaths, she spoke again. "Did I want that stuff just now?"
Wei Yumeng let out a faint "Mm," unsure what else to say.
Jiang Siyu gave a bitter laugh. "There's no way around it. That stuff is not ordinary. Once you're addicted, you become like me. You should pray that you can escape quickly, or you'll end up like me."