The Shackled Academy Life of a White-Haired Loli

"The dormitory conditions at the school are really good," Zhou Nian said, putting down her magazine. "Four people to a room, with an en-suite bathroom, and a communal shower on each floor. Oh, right, you guys just had your measurements taken, didn't you? You'll get your restraints tomorrow. I got mine yesterday and tried them on this morning." Xiao Meng was tidying the bedsheets and turned around at the sound of Zhou Nian's voice. "How did they feel when you tried them on?" Zhou Nian thought for a moment. "Mmm— I was a bit unaccustomed to them at first, being metal and all, they're a bit heavy. But since they're custom-made, the cuffs fit perfectly and don't dig in. I wore them for most of the morning and basically forgot about them." Just then, the door opened again, and a girl with a low ponytail walked in, carrying her newly issued toiletries. She saw the three of them looking at her and nodded slightly. "Shen Mo." Her voice was soft, but she had a polite smile on her face. "Everyone's here!" Lin Xiao jumped off her bed, her feet landing on the floor with a clap. "Dorm 312 is officially established!" The next morning, Xiao Meng was woken by the sunlight. The window faced east, and at 6:30 AM, the sunlight streamed through the light blue curtains, casting golden patches on the floor. She sat up and stretched, but halfway through her stretch, she remembered—today was the day she was supposed to pick up her restraints. The management office was on the third floor, room 305. There were already over a dozen girls queuing in the corridor, all wearing their new school uniforms and chatting in small groups. The line moved quickly; each person who went in came out in about five or six minutes. Xiao Meng noticed that the people emerging had silver metal rings on their wrists and ankles, glinting under the corridor lights. "Qin Xiao Meng—" It was her turn. The management office was twice the size of the measurement room. Along the walls were rows of metal cabinets, each with a number and name on the door. The teacher in charge of distribution was a bespectacled woman. She took a silver-white metal box from a cabinet, a box with Xiao Meng's name on the lid. "Qin Xiao Meng, small custom model, just finished yesterday afternoon," the teacher said, opening the box and placing the items on the workbench one by one. "Try them on. Tell me if anything feels uncomfortable." Xiao Meng sat down on the chair in front of the workbench. The first thing she picked up was a pair of handcuffs. They were completely different from the police-style handcuffs she'd seen online—the cuffs were thick, nearly a centimeter wide by estimation, and the surface was polished to a very smooth finish, giving off a soft, silvery-white sheen under the light. The inside wasn't flat but had a slight outward curve, which "Our school's restraints are a tradition that began when the school was founded thirty years ago. The principal at the time had a simple idea—teenage girls sometimes act impulsively, doing things without considering the consequences. We use restraint to cultivate self-discipline, giving them three years to learn to control themselves within limitations." She paused, then pointed to the shackles on her own feet. "This includes teachers. Every female teacher in the school has to wear shackles from their first day of employment. I've been wearing them for fifteen years. I'm used to it; walking actually feels more grounded with a bit of weight on my feet. So, this rule isn't a punishment directed at you—it's a part of this school, as ordinary as the uniform." A few students in the classroom let out quiet sighs of relief. Teacher Zhang walked to the side of the podium and picked up a pointer. She tapped the projection screen above the blackboard. The screen lit up, displaying clear text and diagrams. "Let's start with the components of the daily restraints. Each person wears three items—" The first diagram appeared on the screen: a pair of silver handcuffs, with thick cuffs and custom-curved inner surfaces. "Handcuffs. Custom-fit cuffs, 8.5 millimeters thick, made of medical-grade stainless steel, with a mirror-polished surface. The inner curvature is individually tailored to each person's wrist size, so they fit snugly without pinching or digging. The short chain connecting the two cuffs is eighteen centimeters long—this length allows for normal arm movement, enough to turn pages, write, hold a bowl, or pick things up, but not for large, sweeping motions." She brought up the second diagram: shackles, with similar silver cuffs, detailed inner curvature markings, and a short connecting chain. "Shackles. The cuffs are nine millimeters thick, also medical stainless steel, mirror-polished. The inner curvature is custom-made to ankle size. The connecting chain is thirty centimeters long—this length reduces the standard stride from seventy centimeters to about thirty centimeters. So, your walking will become a series of small steps, and you won't be able to run, but normal walking is perfectly fine." Someone below lightly swung their foot, and the shackle chain lightly brushed against a desk leg with a soft *ding*. "The connecting chain." Teacher Zhang pointed to the third diagram. "Sixty centimeters long, connecting the handcuffs and shackles. This length has been precisely calculated—it allows you to swing your arms naturally, bend down to pick up objects, and write normally at your desk. However, it will pull when your arm is raised above your shoulder. So, raising your hand to speak is fine, but jumping up is not." She turned off the screen and returned to the center of the podium. "In summary, the design goal of this restraint system is to make you slower. Slower walking, slower movements, slower reactions. When you're slower, you're less likely to act impulsively. When you're slower, you have time to think things through. This is the educational philosophy of this school." She adjusted her glasses, her expression serious but not stern. "Next are the daily management regulations. I will only say this once, so please remember." She picked up chalk and wrote on the blackboard. "First, every morning at seven o'clock, we gather in the classroom. The two discipline committee members—Qin Xiaomeng and Lin Xiao—will inspect each person's restraints individually. Whether the handcuffs are fastened, the shackles are fastened, and the connecting chain is intact. This is not a lack of trust; it's a routine check to ensure safety." Xiaomeng suddenly heard her name and sat up a little straighter. Lin Xiao whispered next to her, "Looks like we have work to do." "Second, classroom discipline. Do not deliberately swing the chains to create noise. I know it's inevitable for the chains to brush against a desk occasionally; that's fine. But if you're bored and start swinging the chains around like a toy—you will be given an additional set of silent chain covers. They don't hurt, they're just inconvenient." "Third, break activity areas. The corridors on each floor are sufficient for your movement. Do not run up and down the stairs; wearing the connecting chain on the stairs can easily lead to tripping. This is for your safety. The connecting chains will be unlocked uniformly before physical education class and re-locked afterward." "Fourth, maintenance. Every night before bed, use the maintenance cloth to wipe the inside of the cuffs. Sweat can make the metal surface feel rough; wiping it will keep it smooth. This is to protect your skin, so don't be lazy." She put down the chalk and clapped her hands. "The homeroom teacher has finished. Now, let's talk about disciplinary measures." She walked to the gray metal cabinet at the back of the classroom. All eyes followed her. The cabinet was not large, half a meter high, with a small brass padlock on top. Teacher Zhang took a key from her pocket, unlocked the cabinet door, revealing two shelves. The upper shelf held several pairs of restraints that looked similar to the daily ones, but the cuffs were noticeably wider, and the chains were shorter. The lower shelf held a thicker silver chain that glinted coldly under the light. "These are the enhanced restraints." Teacher Zhang picked up a pair of shackles from the upper shelf. "Like the ones you're wearing now, these are also custom-made. The difference is that the cuffs are wider—twelve millimeters—and the connecting chain is shortened to fifteen centimeters. Wearing these will further restrict your stride, making it almost impossible to walk except by shuffling. These are for serious disciplinary violations. After the disciplinary period, you will revert to your normal restraints." She put them back and picked up the short, thick connecting chain from the lower shelf. "Heavy-duty connecting chain. Twenty-five centimeters long, significantly shorter than your current connecting chain. Replacing the standard connecting chain with this will almost bind your hands and feet together; standing upright will pull on your wrists, and sitting down will force you to hunch. This is for repeated offenses, to be worn for three to seven days." She paused and pulled open the bottom drawer of the cabinet. Inside lay a pair of dark silver shackles—different from those on the upper shelf, these shackles had thicker chains, and the cuff surfaces were matte rather than polished. "Heavy-duty isolation shackles. These are only used during confinement. The chain length is ten centimeters, essentially locking your ankles together, allowing only shuffling steps. The duration of confinement will depend on the severity of the offense, ranging from a minimum of twenty-four hours to a maximum of seven days." She closed the drawer, closed the cabinet door, and locked the brass padlock. Teacher Zhang turned around, a gentle smile returning to her face. "Those are the disciplinary measures. I can tell you a statistic—in the three years I taught the previous cohort, out of forty students in the class, only two used enhanced restraints, and none were confined. As long as you adhere to basic discipline, these items in the cabinet will remain merely decorative." She walked back to the podium and rested her hands on the edge of the lectern. "Finally, a few words from the heart. This restraint system has been in operation at our school for thirty years and has never been abolished. It hasn't been abolished not out of laziness, but because it is genuinely effective. You will find that after wearing the restraints for half a year, you will become more patient. Your movements will naturally become lighter, your speech slower, and when anger arises, you will naturally pause to think first. These qualities will not be lost even after you remove the restraints upon graduation." She looked at the entire class, her eyes behind her glasses curved in a smile. The next day, Qin Xiaomeng was late. It wasn't intentional, really. She had gotten up quickly when the morning bell rang, hadn't dawdled while washing up, and had even told Zhou Nian as she left the dorm, "I definitely won't be late today." But she had overlooked one problem – the distance from the dorm to the teaching building was much farther than she had imagined. The corridor was packed with people. All students wore ankle shackles, and the short chains between them restricted everyone's stride to within thirty centimeters. Those in front couldn't walk fast, and those behind couldn't overtake, making the entire corridor feel like it was in slow motion. Xiaomeng was stuck in the middle of the crowd, anxious but unable to quicken her pace. The short chain of the shackles pulled taut between her ankles, the silver links jingling, as if urging her on, or perhaps mocking her. She wanted to walk faster and instinctively took a slightly larger step – the short chain of the shackles instantly tightened, yanking her left ankle sharply, nearly sending her sprawling forward. A classmate beside her steadied her. "Don't rush, you can't rush this," the girl said. By the time Xiaomeng, panting, reached the door of Class 1-3, the class bell had already rung twice. The classroom was silent. Everyone was seated, the short chains of their handcuffs resting neatly on their desks. At the podium, Teacher Zhang was writing on the blackboard with chalk. Hearing the commotion at the door, she turned around. Qin Xiaomeng stood at the doorway, her white high ponytail slightly askew from running, a few stray hairs clinging to her forehead. Her face was flushed, her chest still heaving, and the silver cuff on her wrist gleamed in the morning light. The short chain of her ankle shackles dangled by her feet, swaying gently with her breaths. "Late," Teacher Zhang said, putting down her chalk. "Teacher, I—" Xiaomeng took a breath, "It wasn't intentional. I left very early. But the shackles make it hard to walk fast, and everyone in the corridor was slow. I really did my best to hurry..." Teacher Zhang's expression changed. It wasn't anger, but a coldness that said, "How dare you say such a thing." She placed the chalk in the tray, brushed the dust off her hands, and her voice dropped an octave. "Being late is a violation in itself. And after being late, instead of admitting fault, you make excuses – are you trying to say that the lateness is due to unreasonable school regulations?" Xiaomeng froze for a moment and quickly shook her head, "No, that's not what I meant—" "Still talking back." The classroom was so quiet you could hear the hum of the fluorescent lights. Everyone kept their heads down, no one daring to look back at Xiaomeng at the door. Teacher Zhang walked to the side of the podium and opened the gray metal cabinet. She rummaged inside and took out a few items, then walked to the front of the podium, to a spot near the edge where an iron ring was embedded in the floor, usually hidden by the podium and not very noticeable. "Come here." Xiaomeng bit her lip and dragged her feet over, her steps small, the short chain of the shackles scraping softly on the floor. "Kneel here." Xiaomeng knelt on the floor beside the podium. Her knees met the cold tiles, and she let out a soft gasp. Teacher Zhang crouched down, holding a silver metal collar. It was made of the same material as the handcuffs and shackles, its surface smooth as a mirror, with a custom curve on the inside. The collar was small, just enough to encircle Xiaomeng's slender, white neck. Teacher Zhang fastened the collar around her neck with a click. It fit snugly but not tightly, the cool metal against the skin of her throat. Xiaomeng could feel the slight restriction on her swallowing. Then, Teacher Zhang picked up a thin silver chain. One end was clipped to the iron ring on the front of the collar, and the other end was clipped to the iron ring on the floor. The chain was short, about forty centimeters, just enough for Xiaomeng to kneel upright but not stand or lie down. "Late, plus talking back. You will kneel here and reflect for the entire day." Xiaomeng opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again – because Teacher Zhang took another item from the cabinet. It was a gag. Not a large, intimidating rubber ball, but a small, custom-sized one. It had a silver metal frame, with a small, light pink silicone ball in the center, connected to thin leather straps on either side. Teacher Zhang held the gag up to Xiaomeng. "Open your mouth." Xiaomeng looked at the gag, her face instantly flushing red. She instinctively shook her head, her white ponytail swaying. "Since you can't control your mouth, we'll just have to shut it. Open your mouth, don't make me say it a third time." Xiaomeng slowly opened her mouth. The silicone ball was pushed inside, fitting perfectly, parting her teeth but not filling her entire mouth. Teacher Zhang fastened the straps behind her head, securing the gag firmly between her lips. It didn't hurt, but her lips couldn't close, and the ball gently pressed her tongue, rendering her speechless, only able to emit muffled "mmph" sounds. Teacher Zhang stood up, clapped her hands, as if she had just finished a very ordinary task. She walked back to the podium, picked up her chalk, and continued writing on the blackboard, as if there wasn't a chained student kneeling beside the podium. Xiaomeng knelt there. The collar around her neck was connected to the iron ring on the floor. If she leaned forward slightly, the chain would tighten; if she leaned back, it would also tighten. The gag kept her mouth open, and soon a thin stream of saliva began to trickle from the corners of her mouth, down her chin, and onto her school uniform skirt. She made a muffled sound and raised her hand to wipe it, but the short chain of her handcuffs restricted her movement, and the saliva had already dripped down before she could reach for a handkerchief. Her hand was sticky with saliva, and she had no way to get a tissue. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A slight huffing sound came from her nose; because her mouth was gagged, she could only breathe through her nose. The first class was Chinese, taught by Teacher Zhang. Teacher Zhang lectured from the podium, her voice calm and unhurried. Qin Xiaomeng knelt beside the podium, her white high ponytail hanging to one side of her shoulder, the silver collar glinting around her neck. She kept her head down, tears welling in her eyes but not falling. Mid-lecture, Teacher Zhang walked down from the podium to patrol the classroom. She approached Qin Xiaomeng and looked down at her. The gag in her mouth, saliva at the corners, the silver chain dangling from her neck to the floor – kneeling there, with handcuffs and shackles, she was a small, huddled figure. Teacher Zhang said nothing. She reached out and gently stroked Xiaomeng's head. Her palm was warm, resting on Xiaomeng's head for two seconds before sliding down her hair to her ponytail, where she gently squeezed the ends. It was like a comforting gesture, or perhaps an expression of casual affection. Xiaomeng made a muffled sound and looked up, her eyes teary, at Teacher Zhang. Teacher Zhang had already walked away, returning to the blackboard to write. The second class was English. The English teacher was a young, short-haired woman named Ms. Sun, who spoke very quickly and walked with a brisk pace. As soon as she entered the classroom, she noticed Qin Xiaomeng kneeling by the podium. Her steps faltered for a moment, then she smiled. "Oh, whose child is this? Why is she chained up here?" The morning consisted of four classes, with a different teacher for each. Every teacher paused beside the lectern upon entering the classroom. The math teacher, a middle-aged woman with glasses, froze for two seconds upon seeing Xiao Meng. Then, she pushed her glasses up her nose and poked Xiao Meng’s puffed-out cheeks with a fingertip. "Oh, what's this situation? ...Alright, no need to explain. It's quite cute." The history teacher was a plump woman whose eyes crinkled into slits when she smiled. She arrived late, having had some trouble with her presentation, and was in a bad mood. However, the sight of Xiao Meng kneeling there completely brightened her face. She crouched down, observing Xiao Meng like a kitten for a while, then cautiously reached out and gently pinched her ears with two fingers. "Like a little bunny," the history teacher whispered, careful not to disturb the other students, but her affection was palpable. Xiao Meng's ears tingled from the pinch, and she flinched, the chains clinking softly. Her tongue stirred within the gag, producing a muffled "Mmmph," a sound that could be interpreted as protest or perhaps a plea. The history teacher chuckled, stood up, patted Xiao Meng's head, and began the lesson in good spirits. The last class of the morning was physical education, but the PE teacher still came to the classroom to take attendance first. The PE teacher, Mr. Ma, was one of the few male teachers at the school. He was young, with dark skin and a stern demeanor. He entered the classroom, saw Qin Xiao Meng kneeling beside the lectern, and didn't even break stride – he merely tilted his head slightly, his lips twitching. He said nothing, but as he walked past, his palm brushed casually through Xiao Meng's high ponytail, the ends of her hair tickling the back of his hand. Xiao Meng had given up protesting. Her face was flushed to its limit, her ear tips felt as if they were bleeding, and the saliva pooling beneath the gag had soaked the leather strap. Her knees were growing numb from kneeling, so she shifted her position slightly. The short chain of her ankle restraints jingled, and the chain on her collar trembled in response. She watched the PE teacher walk past in silence, thinking, that wasn't exactly a head pat, was it? Maybe he just touched it by accident. But after reaching the lectern, the PE teacher glanced back at her. There was no malice in his gaze; in fact, it was almost gentle, as if he were looking at a fluffy little animal accidentally trapped in a cage. The bell for lunch rang. Teacher Zhang returned to the classroom, first going to the lectern to organize her notes, then walking over to Xiao Meng and crouching down. She first unfastened the chain connecting the collar around Xiao Meng's neck to the iron ring on the floor, then reached behind Xiao Meng's head and unbuckled the gag's strap. As the silicone ball slid out of her mouth, it pulled a glistening trail of saliva with it. Xiao Meng gasped for air, her lips feeling numb, and it took several attempts before she could close them. "Do you know you were wrong?" Teacher Zhang looked at her. Xiao Meng, having knelt all morning, found her knees too weak to stand. She looked up, her eyes still misty, her voice hoarse. "I do." "Will you dare to talk back again next time?" "...No." Teacher Zhang looked at her for two seconds, unfastened the collar from her neck, and put it away in a cabinet. Then, she extended her hand and helped Xiao Meng up from the floor. Xiao Meng was unsteady, and her ankle restraints jingled as Teacher Zhang supported her until she was standing straight. "Eat well at lunch. Normal classes this afternoon." Xiao Meng walked out with her head down. The short chain of her ankle restraints dragged on the corridor floor, and the short chain of her handcuffs swayed on her wrists. There was still a faint ring of drool around her mouth, which she had tried to wipe away with her school uniform sleeve, but it hadn't come off completely. "But Xiao Meng, let me tell you," Lin Xiao said with a serious expression, "the way you looked with that gag in your mouth was really—" "Shut up." "I'm serious, it was super—" "Lin Xiao!" "Super cute!" Lin Xiao finished, then ran ahead, the chains of her own restraints clanking noisily as she dragged them along, as if afraid Xiao Meng would chase and hit her. Xiao Meng stood still, raising her cuffed hands to cover her face. The silver rings of the handcuffs pressed against her burning cheeks, cool to the touch. The cafeteria was a cacophony of noise at noon. Long queues snaked around the serving windows. The silver handcuffs clinked softly against the edges of the trays, a delicate, metallic sound. Everyone moved slowly, the lines inching forward, but no one was impatient – impatience was useless; the ankle restraints dictated everyone's pace. Qin Xiao Meng held her tray, shuffling forward step by tiny step. Her mouth still felt a little sore, and she swirled her tongue around inside, the sensation of the silicone gag seemingly lingering between her teeth. Her knees were weak from kneeling all morning, making walking a little unsteady, but fortunately, the short chain of her ankle restraints didn't allow for large strides, so small steps were actually ideal. "Xiao Meng, there's a seat here!" Lin Xiao had already secured a spot and was waving at her. Zhou Nian and Shen Mo were also sitting nearby, all three waiting for her. Xiao Meng placed her tray on the table and sat down carefully. As she bent over, the connecting chain between her handcuffs and ankle restraints swung near the table legs, making a crisp sound. She used both hands to lift the soup bowl – the short chain of her handcuffs restricted the range of motion for one hand, requiring both to cooperate for such an action. Fortunately, after two days, she had grown accustomed to it. The bowl was steadily brought to her lips, and a mouthful of hot soup warmed her from the inside out. "Does your knee hurt?" Zhou Nian asked. "A little, but it's okay," Xiao Meng rubbed her knee. "Kneeling on tiles must be uncomfortable, but it's fine walking now." "The way you looked this morning—" Shen Mo, unusually proactive, spoke softly, but her eyes held an irrepressible hint of amusement. "The teachers lined up to pat your head; I almost burst out laughing watching from below. When the history teacher pinched your ear, and you made that 'Mmmph' sound, the whole class was trying not to laugh." Xiao Meng buried her face in her soup bowl, her ear tips turning red again. "Don't remind me. With that thing in my mouth, saliva kept dripping, and I couldn't even wipe it. When Teacher Sun wiped my drool, I wanted to disappear into the floor." "But you were indeed cute," Lin Xiao said righteously. "White hair, high ponytail, your little face all round from the gag, a silver collar around your neck, locked by the lectern—do you know what you looked like? Like a doll displayed in a glass case." "Lin Xiao!" Xiao Meng reached out to hit her, the short chain of her handcuffs clinking. Her hand was stopped halfway, and her fist landed limply on Lin Xiao's arm. Lin Xiao exclaimed dramatically, "Ah!" and then collapsed into laughter on her chair, her ankle chains clanging against the table legs. Zhou Nian shook her head with a smile and transferred a chicken leg from her plate to Xiao Meng's. "Eat more to replenish your energy. There are three more classes this afternoon." Shen Mo also quietly pushed her portion of fruit towards Xiao Meng. Xiao Meng looked at the extra food on her plate, her nose stinging slightly. "Thank you," she whispered. "Get down. Hands behind your back." Lin Xiao knelt, placing her hands behind her lower back. Auntie Chen efficiently used an extended connecting chain to link her handcuffs and shackles—the central ring of the handcuffs was secured by a short chain that ran down her spine, then split into two strands to loop around her waist, attaching to the shackle rings on either side. As the chain tightened, Lin Xiao's hands were pulled behind her, while her legs were forced to bend, the shackles pulling her feet upward. Her entire body was folded into an arched position. She instinctively tried to push herself up, but her hands were locked behind her, and her feet were pulled towards her wrists, bending upward. Only her abdomen and hips could touch the bed. She tried to move, and her whole body merely swayed weakly on the mattress, like a fish washed ashore by the waves. "Ehh— Ah— This is too— Mmm—" The rest of her words were muffled by the ball gag. A small pink silicone ball was shoved into her mouth, and a strap was tightened behind her head. Her protests turned into a series of meaningless nasal sounds. Zhou Nian was second. She willingly lay down on the mattress, placing her hands behind her back. As the chain tightened, she let out a soft hum, as if confirming the ball gag was secure. Then she tried to lift her head to look at her position—hands behind her back, feet pulled towards her wrists, her arched body forcing her to rest on her hips, her chin pressed against the bedsheet. She lowered her head, turning her face to rest on the sheet, her breathing steady. Shen Mo made no sound. She lay on the mattress, her face buried in the pillow, only a sliver of her nape exposed between her white and black hair. As the chain tightened, her body tensed for a moment, then slowly relaxed. After the ball gag was inserted, she closed her eyes briefly, then opened them, her gaze calmly fixed on the texture of the bedsheet. Auntie Chen finally walked over to Qin Xiaomeng. Xiaomeng was already lying on the mattress, hands behind her back. Her slender white wrists were crossed there, the handcuff rings gleaming with a soft, silvery-white luster under the moonlight. Auntie Chen's movements were practiced. The chain passed through the handcuff rings, ran down her spine, and split into two strands to attach to the shackle rings. The moment it tightened, Xiaomeng felt her wrists pulled up slightly, while her shackles were pulled down, forcing her legs to bend. Her body became like a gently drawn bow. The force wasn't heavy, but the restraint was very secure. She tried to move her right hand—the handcuffs were firmly fixed behind her back, her wrist could only turn about half a circle. She tried to straighten her legs—as soon as her knees began to press down, the shackles were pulled taut by the chain, unmoving. The only parts of her body that could move were her fingers and toes—her fingers could touch each other behind her back, and her toes could curl and release, that was all. Her entire body lay on the mattress, with only her abdomen and hips bearing her weight. Her chin rested on the pillow, and her chest rose and fell gently on the mattress with each breath. Then came the ball gag. Auntie Chen squatted down and brought the small pink silicone ball to Xiaomeng's lips. Xiaomeng opened her mouth, letting her push the ball in. The silicone surface was slightly cool, pressing down on her tongue and pushing apart the space between her teeth. Her lips naturally closed around the ball, and the strap was fastened behind her head, gently supporting her chin. She let out a hum, testing if she could push the ball out—no, the strap was fastened securely, her lips could only slide over the silicone surface. Auntie Chen stepped back and scanned the four girls lying on the beds. "You were all chatting happily, weren't you? Continue chatting. I'll unlock you at 4:30." She snapped off the light and closed the door. The sound of her footsteps gradually faded down the corridor. Darkness flooded the dormitory again. Moonlight still peeked through the gap in the curtains. The air conditioner hummed. Fifteen seconds of silence. Lin Xiao let out a long string of intense hums. Judging by the tone, she was probably saying, "My god, this is too much, I can't even roll over." Her pitch rose and fell, like an impromptu protest speech, but because of the ball gag, everything came out as the same muffled syllables. Zhou Nian responded with a short hum. Translated, it probably meant, "Stop shouting, save your energy." Lin Xiao hummed for another long stretch. Zhou Nian ignored her. Xiaomeng lay on the bed, her chin buried in the pillow, trying to sense her body's position. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her shackles pulled upward, her calves bent backward, her heels less than twenty centimeters from her handcuffs. Her entire body was folded into a shallow arc. The prone position meant her abdomen bore most of her weight, and she could feel her belly rising and falling slightly on the mattress as she breathed. She couldn't move. This position wasn't just about restricted movement—it was that her entire body, except for her fingers and toes, had no space to move. Her hands couldn't be brought down, her legs couldn't be straightened, her waist couldn't sag. Her neck could turn— she turned her face from the pillow, her white hair sliding past her ear, the ball gag catching a faint glint of light in the moonlight. Shen Mo lay on the adjacent bed. Xiaomeng, turning her head, could see her— black hair spread on the pillow, her cheeks slightly puffed out by the ball gag, her eyes closed peacefully, her breathing so steady it seemed she was already asleep. Sensing Xiaomeng's gaze, Shen Mo opened her eyes and turned to look at her. Both wore ball gags and couldn't speak. Shen Mo simply blinked gently, then closed her eyes again. Xiaomeng understood that blink— It's okay. Xiaomeng turned her face back, burying it in the pillow. A little drool seeped from the corner of her mouth again. She couldn't wipe it, so she let it soak into the pillowcase. Her arms behind her back didn't hurt, but maintaining the same position for so long made the area around her shoulder blades ache. She tried to open and close her fingers, counting one, two, three, four, five behind her back, then counting again. Distracting herself. Lin Xiao finally stopped humming. The dormitory fell silent, with only the low drone of the air conditioner and the occasional soft clink of chains— if someone tried to move slightly, as if to compromise, the chain would respond with a crisp metallic sound, as if to say, "Don't bother." Xiaomeng closed her eyes. Her body couldn't move, but her mind became clearer. She thought of many things— this morning, being late and punished by kneeling beside the podium, the ball gag in her mouth, teachers patting her head and pinching her cheeks. She had felt so embarrassed then. But tonight, Teacher Zhang came to her bed and left a candy without saying anything. That candy was still under her pillow; she hadn't had the heart to eat it. She then thought of what Shen Mo had just said— not being locked, but being embraced. Like being held gently by a pair of slightly heavy hands. She was now held by these hands, lying on the bed, unable to move anything but her fingers. But for some reason, her heart was calm. Perhaps because she couldn't move, she didn't have to worry about what to do. Perhaps because all four of them were lying here, no one was better off than the others. Sleepiness washed over her. Xiaomeng's last conscious thought was: When they unlock me at 4:30, will my arms be too numb to move? The dormitory returned to darkness. The moonlight was still that single sliver, squeezing through the gap in the curtains, drawing a long, thin silver line on the floor. The air conditioner hummed, and a cool breeze brushed over the four bodies lying on the beds. Occasionally, there was a soft clink of chains— not from anyone struggling, but from the chains trembling slightly with the rise and fall of their breathing. Xiaomeng's breathing gradually slowed. She lay with her face turned into the pillow, her white hair spilling from her ear, spreading on the pillowcase like a small patch of moonlight. The silicone ball of the gag pressed on her tongue, her lips slightly pursed around the ball; she no longer felt awkward. Her arms behind her back stopped struggling, the ache in her shoulder blades shifted from sharp to dull, and then was overcome by sleep. Lin Xiao was the second to fall asleep. She had been humming long speeches earlier, her tone shifting from anger to complaint to vague mumbling, finally stopping abruptly— her breathing took over, even and long. Her prone position was rather unceremonious, her face buried deeply, her ponytail askew. Hearing Lin Xiao quiet down, Zhou Nian let out a soft hum. No one responded. She pressed her forehead against the pillow and closed her eyes. Shen Mo had remained silent. At some point, her breathing had shifted to a sleeping rhythm. Her sleeping appearance was almost indistinguishable from her waking one— quiet, restrained, her breathing shallow, as if she didn't want to disturb anyone, even in her dreams. Dormitory 312 finally fell silent. The four girls, secured to their beds by the "four-horse" restraints, each drifted into dreams surrounded by chains. In the middle of the night, Xiaomeng woke up. She wasn't woken by noise, but by a pressing need— her bladder was protesting. She opened her eyes. The moonlight had shifted to the wall, and the dormitory was so dark that only a small green light from the air conditioner display panel was visible. She instinctively tried to roll over and sit up, but her body was pulled back by the chains. Her wrists were fixed behind her, her lower legs pulled backward, and her entire body was still lying flat on the mattress. She tried to move her knee, and the chain on her shackle immediately tightened, pulling her ankle upward. She couldn't move at all. She closed her mouth to call for someone, then remembered the ball gag. She couldn't close her lips, and drool soaked another patch of the pillow. She took a deep breath through her nose and let out the loudest possible "Mmm." No one woke up. "Mmm mmm! Mmm mmm mmm!" She tried again, using all the resonance in her nasal cavity. From the opposite bed, Zhou Nian responded groggily: "Mmm..." meaning "Who's calling?" "Mmm mmm mmm mmm!" Xiaomeng tried to express "I need to go to the bathroom" with her nasal sounds, but the ball gag crushed all syllables into the same sound. Zhou Nian was silent for two seconds. Xiaomeng guessed she was trying to dredge up her comprehension from deep sleep. Then, a clinking of chains came from Zhou Nian's bed— she was also lying prone, equally unable to move. "Mmm." Zhou Nian let out a short sound, which translated roughly to "I can't go either." Then Shen Mo woke up. She let out a soft "Mmm?"— a questioning, rising intonation. "Mmm mmm mmm." Xiaomeng said with her nasal sound. "Mmm..." Shen Mo responded, meaning "Understood, but I can't move either." The three of them fell silent simultaneously. All were tightly locked by the "four-horse" restraints, and none could help the others. Xiaomeng closed her eyes, burying her forehead in the pillow, and decided to endure. Endure until 4:30 when Auntie Chen came to unlock them. She started counting sheep in her mind, one sheep, two sheep, three sheep. The flock scattered across the grassland, and she chased after them, but couldn't run fast enough— because the sheep also had shackles on their legs. She fell asleep again, she didn't know after counting which sheep. *Click.* The sound of a lock releasing was exceptionally crisp in the darkness. Xiaomeng groggily felt someone moving the chains behind her. The connection between her handcuffs and shackles was undone, and her arms were gently placed back at her sides. Then, from behind her head— the strap was loosened, and the ball gag slid out of her mouth, leaving a thin trail of saliva. She instinctively closed her mouth, her inner lips feeling slightly numb from being stretched open for so long. "It's 4:30. Get up and move around," Auntie Chen's voice sounded in the darkness, not harsh, even carrying a hint of sleepiness. "Move your hands and feet before you sleep again. No chatting." She didn't turn on the light and walked to the next bed with her keychain. Zhou Nian, Shen Mo, and Lin Xiao were unlocked in turn. As soon as Lin Xiao's ball gag was removed, she took a deep breath and said, "Thank—," but was cut off by a glare from Auntie Chen, and she quickly swallowed the rest of her word. "Today is the first lesson. I need a student volunteer to demonstrate the most basic full-body Shibari – the 'Kote-kake' or 'Rear Handcuff' bind." The classroom fell silent for two seconds. Then, Lin Xiao's hand shot up. Teacher Su looked at her. "You want to be the model?" "No, no, no, Teacher, I recommend Qin Xiaomeng!" Lin Xiao's voice was clear and loud. "She's our discipline monitor, she's physically fit, and—" She turned and glanced at Xiaomeng, a smile curving her lips. "—she's the cutest." The entire class erupted in laughter. Several people chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, Qin Xiaomeng is perfect." A girl in the front row turned back and winked at Xiaomeng. "Xiaomeng, remember last time you were locked next to the podium all day? The teachers lined up to pat your head. You're totally suited to be a model." Xiaomeng's face flushed from her neck up. She glared at Lin Xiao, mouthing, "You wait." Lin Xiao returned a brilliant smile. Teacher Su also smiled. Her smile was faint, but the wrinkles around her eyes crinkled, making her look approachable. "Qin Xiaomeng, is it? Come, come to the front." Xiaomeng stood up from her seat. The ankle cuffs clinked, and the connecting chain slid out from under the desk leg. She walked to the front of the podium, all eyes in the class fixed on her – her white high ponytail, her petite frame, the silver-white handcuffs and ankle cuffs gleaming softly under the fluorescent lights. She stood before Teacher Su, only reaching her shoulders. Teacher Su looked down at her, a soft light flashing in her eyes. "Don't be nervous. Today is just a demonstration. But before we begin the binding—we need to remove your restraints. Shibari and restraints cannot be used together; it affects the fit of the rope." She took a small key from her pocket and bent down, first unlocking the ankle cuffs. With two clicks, the silver-white rings loosened from her ankles and were placed on the podium by Teacher Su. Xiaomeng looked down at her ankles – the skin beneath the cuffs was a shade paler than the surrounding area, but there were no marks, and it felt smooth to the touch. She instinctively rubbed her ankles, feeling her feet completely free in school for the first time. The cool air brushed against her ankles, feeling light and airy. Then came the handcuffs. Teacher Su unlocked the rings on her wrists, and Xiaomeng's hands were free to separate for the first time at school. She couldn't help but clench her fists, her wrists feeling a little unaccustomed to their flexibility. Finally, the long chain connecting the handcuffs and ankle cuffs. Teacher Su coiled the chain, now warm from Xiaomeng's body heat, and placed it on the podium beside the restraints. Xiaomeng stood at the front of the podium, completely free of restraints. For the first time since enrolling, her wrists and ankles were exposed to the air simultaneously, without the weight of metal or the drag of chains. She moved her wrists, then her ankles – she felt ten pounds lighter, as if she might float away at any moment. "How does it feel?" Teacher Su asked. "A bit... strange," Xiaomeng admitted honestly. "Too light. It's like my hands and feet aren't my own anymore." Laughter rippled through the audience again. Lin Xiao laughed so hard she was slumped over her desk, the chain of her handcuffs clanking against the edge. "Then, we're going to put it back on—in a different way." Teacher Su picked up the first bundle of deep red rope from the podium. "Take off your school blazer; your shirt is fine." Xiaomeng took off her blazer and folded it neatly on a nearby chair. Her white short-sleeved shirt was tucked neatly into her skirt, revealing her slender white arms and legs. She stood beside the dark blue display platform, her white ponytail falling over her shoulder. "Face the class, stand straight, and bring your hands behind your back. Cross your wrists." Teacher Su's voice was steady and clear. Xiaomeng did as she was told – hands behind her waist, right hand gripping her left forearm, left hand gripping her right forearm, wrists crossed in a diagonal 'X'. She could feel her pulse beating on the inside of her wrists. Teacher Su picked up the rope and stood beside Xiaomeng, facing the class. "Lesson one: Kote-kake. This is the most basic bind in all of Shibari, used to secure the hands behind the back without compressing the joints or blood vessels." She unrolled the rope, holding an end in each hand. "Watch my technique carefully." She folded the rope in half, found the midpoint, and began wrapping upwards from Xiaomeng's wrists. The first loop went around the crossed wrists. The rope was tight but not constricting – Xiaomeng felt the texture of the hemp brush against her skin, slightly rough, but mostly warm. Teacher Su's hands were steady; each wrap was perfectly aligned, with no gaps or overlaps between the rope loops. "The tension must be even; each wrap should lie flat against the skin but not create indentations," Teacher Su explained as she worked. "Too loose, and it will slip; too tight, and it will impede circulation. The criterion is—the person being bound feels the restraint, but it doesn't hurt." Her wrists were wrapped five times. Then, Teacher Su threaded the rope between Xiaomeng's arms, looped it around her forearms, and wrapped a few more times around the mid-forearm, securely fixing both arms behind her back. Finally, she tied a neat knot and tucked away the excess rope. "Wrists and forearms secured. Now—try to break free." Xiaomeng moved her arms. Her wrists were bound tightly behind her back, her hands clasped around each other's forearms, the rope's texture gently rubbing against her skin. She put some force into trying to separate her wrists, but the rope didn't budge. Yet, it didn't hurt – unlike handcuffs that applied concentrated pressure above the wrist bones, the rope's restraint was distributed, encompassing, like being held by a pair of delicate hands. "I can't break free," she reported. "Excellent." Teacher Su picked up the second bundle of rope. "Now, upwards—shoulders and chest." She looped the rope over Xiaomeng's shoulders, forming a flat ring above her collarbones, then threaded the rope under her arms and around to her back. The rope crossed behind her back, forming two symmetrical 'X' shapes, and then looped back over her shoulders. Teacher Su's hands moved alternately in front of and behind Xiaomeng, her movements quick and precise. The rope brushed lightly against the fabric of her white shirt, making a faint rustling sound. Xiaomeng felt her upper body being wrapped layer by layer. The rope loops above and below her chest framed her body within a stable structure, with no gaps between the rope and her shirt. Her breathing became a little deeper than before – the rope loops slightly restricted the expansion of her chest, reducing the depth of her inhalations, forcing her to breathe slowly and deliberately. "The order of wrapping the upper body is from top to bottom: first, secure the shoulders and chest, then move down to the waist and hips." Teacher Su walked a couple of steps on the podium, allowing students in the back to see the rope path clearly. "This order is deliberate – securing the core first prevents the body from swaying, making it easier to lay the subsequent rope paths flat." The third and fourth bundles of rope secured Xiaomeng's waist and hips respectively. The waist was wrapped seven times, forming a simple diamond pattern on her sides. Above her hips was a load-bearing knot. Teacher Su explained that this point was the convergence point for the entire upper body rope structure, where all the ropes coming from the shoulders met and were tied off. Xiaomeng looked down at herself – the red hemp rope, from her shoulders to her waist, was densely woven into a symmetrical net. Her white shirt bulged slightly between the rope loops, creating small, boxed squares. She stood very straight, not because she was told to, but because the rope itself prevented slouching or hunching – her shoulders were pulled back slightly, her waist was held firmly, and her entire posture was molded into one of uprightness. The upper body was complete. Teacher Su stepped back, looking at Xiaomeng along with the rest of the class for a moment. Sunlight streamed in from the windows, illuminating Qin Xiaomeng – the deep red rope stood out vividly against her white shirt, the lines perfectly symmetrical and as precise as if drawn with a ruler. Her white ponytail hung down her back, sliding past the arms secured behind her, its tips resting on the knot at her wrists. "This is the aesthetic of Shibari," Teacher Su said, dusting off her hands. "The rope lines must be neat, symmetrical, and well-fitted. It's not just for looks – though it is beautiful – but because only when it's neat is the bound person most comfortable. Crooked ropes will bear weight in the wrong places and become painful if worn for too long. This is why Shibari demands meticulous execution. Anything crude is unsafe." She bent down and picked up the fifth bundle of rope. "Now, the lower body. Sit down." Lin Xiao stood up from her seat, the short chain of her handcuffs clinking softly against the edge of the desk. She tilted her head, thinking for a few seconds, her ponytail swaying behind her. Then, her gaze slowly shifted towards the window seat. Qin Xiaomeng was writing in her notebook, head bowed. She felt someone watching her and looked up, meeting Lin Xiao's bright, sparkling eyes. "I want Qin Xiaomeng to wear a ball gag for three days." The classroom fell silent for a second, then erupted. "Great!" A girl in the front row was the first to slam her hand on the desk, the iron chains of her handcuffs rattling against the surface. "This reward is so creative!" "Lin Xiao, you're a genius!" Someone in the back howled with laughter, slumping over their desk, their ankle chains jingling by the table legs. "Three days! A whole three days! Does she wear it during class and after class too?" someone else asked excitedly. "She can take it off during meals—and Lin Xiao has to feed her when she takes it off!" someone shouted, and the whole class roared with laughter. The clanging of chains mixed with the laughter, turning the classroom into a noisy blacksmith's shop. Xiaomeng put down her pen. She turned and glared at Lin Xiao, her high ponytail of white hair whipping around half a circle. "Lin Xiao, are you my friend?" "Of course, we're friends," Lin Xiao said righteously, a smile brighter than the sun outside gracing her face. "Precisely because we're good friends, I want to see you wear a ball gag. The last time Teacher Zhang punished you with it for half a day, I still remember how you looked—so cute. Three days, and I'll get to see enough." "And," she added, holding up a finger, her expression becoming very serious, "I'll be responsible. She'll take it off for the three meals and put it back on afterward. I'll check every day if her mouth is red from the straps. I'll treat it like my duty as class monitor." Xiaomeng took a deep breath and turned to look at Teacher Zhang on the podium, making a last-ditch effort. "Teacher, is this request reasonable?" Teacher Zhang actually thought about it seriously. She flipped a page of the class evaluation form, tapped her finger on the paper, and then looked up. "It's reasonable. A ball gag is one of the standard restraint devices. If it's not used as a punishment, it's not a penalty. And wearing it for three days is indeed a good test of self-control—Teacher Su also said last time that Qin Xiaomeng has a talent for self-control, so this is a good advanced practice." She paused, then took a new ball gag from her drawer. Unlike the pink silicone ones usually used for punishment, this one had a small silver buckle at the end of the strap, with a delicate bronze key inserted into it. Teacher Zhang placed the ball gag on the podium, the key glinting softly under the fluorescent lights. "This is the locked model. Since Lin Xiao requested three days, we'll use this one—Lin Xiao will keep the key. Qin Xiaomeng cannot open it herself, so Lin Xiao will be responsible for taking it on and off for these three days. Lin Xiao, are you willing to take on this responsibility?" Lin Xiao was taken aback. She looked at the key, her expression shifting from excitement to seriousness. She nodded, her ponytail swaying up and down. "I am willing." Teacher Zhang picked up the key and walked to Lin Xiao, placing it in her palm. The small bronze key lay in Lin Xiao's palm, looking particularly exquisite against the silver-white handcuffs. Lin Xiao closed her fingers, gripping the key tightly, then looked up at Teacher Zhang. "For these three days, Qin Xiaomeng will wear the ball gag at all times except for meals and washing up. You are responsible for taking it off and putting it back on once each day, in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. You are not allowed to give the key to anyone else, nor are you allowed to lose it. If you lose it, you must report it to the office. During the time it takes to get a replacement key, Qin Xiaomeng cannot take off the ball gag—meaning, no one else can take over for you, and losing the key will put her in a difficult situation." "I won't lose it," Lin Xiao said, clutching the key tightly. Teacher Zhang turned to Qin Xiaomeng. "Qin Xiaomeng, do you have anything to say?" Xiaomeng stood up. She glanced at the key in Lin Xiao's hand, then at the locked ball gag on the podium, and then looked at the entire class. Forty pairs of eyes were staring at her, like a crowd watching a kitten. "Does it matter if I say no?" Her voice was calm, but the tips of her ears were bright red. "No," the entire class said in unison, and then burst into laughter again. "Alright," Teacher Zhang clapped her hands. "The reward will begin tonight at the evening roll call. Lin Xiao, come to my office before the evening roll call to learn the operation of taking it on and off." The dismissal bell rang. Teacher Zhang left the classroom with the ball gag, and Lin Xiao followed closely behind to learn the procedure. Zhou Nian walked over from the side, patted Xiaomeng on the shoulder, and said with a suppressed laugh, "Congratulations, you're the first person in our class to be rewarded with a ball gag not for misconduct, but for being too cute—and it's a locked one, no less." Xiaomeng glanced at her. "Did Lin Xiao bribe you?" "No. I'm purely here for the entertainment." Zhou Nian said with a smile. Shen Mo also walked over. She handed Xiaomeng a piece of candy, strawberry flavored, the wrapper reflecting pink light in the sun. "Have one first. You won't be able to eat candy for most of the next three days." Xiaomeng took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. The strawberry flavor melted on her tongue. She thought about how her mouth would be gagged for the next three days, and locked—the key in someone else's hand—and suddenly felt that this piece of candy was exceptionally, exceptionally sweet. At precisely 7:00 PM, the evening roll call. The entire class was seated, but the atmosphere was different from usual. Everyone was secretly looking at Qin Xiaomeng; some had even taken out their phones—although school rules prohibited them, many had brought them secretly—hoping to take a picture. Xiaomeng sat by the window, the locked ball gag placed in front of her. It was a light blue silicone ball, almost the same color as the embroidery on the hem of her school uniform skirt. She poked the small ball with her finger; it was soft, with a slight elasticity. The buckle was at the end of the strap, silver, very small, with a bronze keyhole at the clasp. Teacher Zhang stood on the podium. Lin Xiao stood beside her, a thin silver chain now around her neck, with the bronze key hanging from it. The key rested against Lin Xiao's school uniform shirt, shining in the light. This was Lin Xiao's own idea—hanging the key around her neck, she would absolutely not lose it. "Qin Xiaomeng, come to the front." Xiaomeng stood up, her ankle chains jingling, and walked to the front of the podium, facing the class. She pushed her white high ponytail back, let her hands hang naturally at her sides, the short chains of her handcuffs resting lightly on her skirt. Lin Xiao walked behind her and took the ball gag from Teacher Zhang. She had practiced the movements three times in the office, but her hands still trembled slightly when it was time to perform—not from nervousness, but from excitement. "Open your mouth." Her voice was softer than usual. Xiaomeng opened her mouth. As the small light blue ball was pushed in, her tongue instinctively retracted slightly. The silicone surface felt slightly cool, pressing down on her tongue and widening the space between her teeth. Lin Xiao wrapped the straps around the top of Xiaomeng's ears and fastened them securely at the clasp at the back of her head. Then, she picked up the small silver buckle, aligned it with the keyhole at the end of the strap, and pressed gently. *Click.* The buckle engaged. The sound was not loud, but it was clear in the silent classroom. The entire class let out a hushed "Ooh" simultaneously. That "click" was like a period, officially turning the "request" into "reality." Lin Xiao moved to Xiaomeng's front, examined her carefully, and reached out to straighten a crooked handcuff ring. "Tight?" Xiaomeng tried to push the ball gag with her tongue. It didn't budge. The straps were fastened securely, and the buckle firmly held the two ends of the strap together. She couldn't unfasten it herself—even if she removed her handcuffs and had free hands, she couldn't open the lock at the back of her head without the key. She took a deep breath through her nose, then nodded at Lin Xiao, letting out a soft "Mmm." "So after the key comes off tomorrow night," Xiao Meng said, "you won't be 'Lin Xiao, the key keeper' anymore. Will you be unaccustomed to that?" "...Probably." Lin Xiao's voice was muffled. "Then you can be in charge of other things. Check if my wrist cuffs are polished, check if my knots are tied correctly. You're already in charge of those." "That's different," Lin Xiao said. "Being in charge of the key feels different." Xiao Meng chuckled softly. She was sleepy, her eyes almost closed, but she still managed to say a complete sentence before falling asleep. "Then next time you behave even better, ask Teacher Zhang for another reward. I'll cooperate with you." In the darkness, Lin Xiao flicked the key hanging around her neck. *Clink*. "It's a deal." The third day was Sunday. When Xiao Meng woke up in the morning, the first thing she felt wasn't the ball gag in her mouth—because it was removed while sleeping—but the weight of the cuffs on her wrists. She had completely gotten used to waking up every morning to the cool touch of the cuffs. But today was different. Today was the third day, and the last day. Lin Xiao stood by her bed as usual, holding the ball gag. After Xiao Meng brushed her teeth and washed her face, she proactively opened her mouth, her movements more natural than the previous two days. Lin Xiao pushed the ball in, fastened the strap, locked the buckle, and hung the key back around her neck. The entire process took less than twenty seconds; the two of them cooperated like a pre-programmed routine. Zhou Nian, sitting cross-legged on the opposite bed, watched the scene and shook her head. "You two are so in sync now, you don't even need words." Xiao Meng turned her head to look at her and made a short "mmph" sound with her nose, meaning "yes." "See, I can even translate," Zhou Nian said with a smile. Shen Mo, quietly folding the quilt nearby, translated Xiao Meng's words. "Her 'mmph' just now means 'yes'." Zhou Nian slapped her thigh. "Shen Mo, you can do it too!" In the morning, the four of them went to the library together. Xiao Meng picked a novel and found a seat by the window. The library was quiet, with only the sound of turning pages and the occasional faint jingle of chains. She flipped through the book, the light blue ball gag resting quietly between her lips. Lin Xiao sat beside her, looking up at her every now and then—not to check, just to look. As if confirming she was still there, or confirming the ball gag was still in her mouth; she herself probably couldn't explain it. At noon in the cafeteria, Xiao Meng ate noodles. Lin Xiao unlocked her and sat beside her, holding a tissue. After Xiao Meng ate a few bites, soup dripped onto the corner of her mouth. Lin Xiao reached out and wiped it away, her movements as natural as if she had done it a hundred times. Xiao Meng looked up at her, saying nothing—when her mouth was free, she didn't know what to say. In the afternoon, during the rope art class review session, Xiao Meng helped Lin Xiao practice sailor's knots in the dorm. She sat on the edge of the bed, extending her wrist for Lin Xiao to tie. Lin Xiao's technique had improved a lot since last week—the rope was tight but not constricting, the spacing of the loops was even, and the finishing knot was neat and clean. Xiao Meng looked down at the deep red hemp rope on her wrist, then looked up and made a satisfied "mmph" sound towards Lin Xiao with her nose. Lin Xiao understood, and proudly flicked the key around her neck. At precisely 7 PM, the evening roll call. The entire class's attention wasn't on Teacher Zhang—it was on Qin Xiao Meng. Three days ago, on this very podium, Lin Xiao had put a locked ball gag in her mouth in front of everyone. Now, three days later, that small light blue ball was still in her mouth, and the silver lock buckle still glinted behind her head. Teacher Zhang finished the week's announcements, closed the roster, and nodded at Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao stood up. She walked from her seat to Xiao Meng's desk, the short chain of the handcuffs swaying gently in the aisle. The entire class fell silent, so quiet that one could hear the dripping water from the washroom at the end of the corridor. "Three days are up," Lin Xiao said, her voice very soft. Xiao Meng stood up and faced her. Lin Xiao walked behind her and took the small brass key that had hung around her neck for three full days. Her hands were steady—much steadier than on the first day. She inserted the key into the lock and turned it gently. *Click*. The buckle sprang open. Then she unfastened the strap and slowly removed the ball gag from Xiao Meng's mouth, drawing out a thin, glistening strand of saliva. Xiao Meng closed her mouth, moved her jaw, and licked her lips. Then she turned around and looked at Lin Xiao. "Thank you," she said. Her voice was a little hoarse—she hadn't spoken much for three days, after all. But she smiled, her eyes crinkling. Lin Xiao took the key from around her neck and placed it in Xiao Meng's palm. "This is for you. Teacher Zhang said this ball gag is yours from now on, and you'll keep the key yourself." Xiao Meng looked down at the small brass key in her palm, still warm from Lin Xiao's touch. She looked up at Lin Xiao, then glanced at the entire class. Forty pairs of eyes were watching them. "Teacher Zhang, I have a request." Teacher Zhang pushed his glasses up on the podium. "Speak." "Did I behave well for these three days with the ball gag on?" Xiao Meng held up the key. "If I did, next time I want a reward too—let Lin Xiao wear it for three days. And I'll keep the key to this ball gag." The laughter and cheers from the entire class almost shook the ceiling. Lin Xiao's eyes widened, her ponytail swinging in a large arc. "Qin Xiao Meng, you're waiting for me on this!" Zhou Nian, in the back row, banged her desk like a drum. Shen Mo lowered her head, her shoulders shaking with laughter. Teacher Zhang picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the date on the blackboard, a smile playing on his lips that he couldn't suppress. "Alright. When you perform excellently next time, Lin Xiao will wear it. You'll keep the key." Xiao Meng clenched the key in her fist and turned to look at Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao covered her face with both hands, peeking out with one eye through her fingers, but that eye was curved in a smile. "You wait," Lin Xiao said. "You pay up for these three days first," Xiao Meng put the key around her own neck and patted her chest. "The key is with me now." Teacher Wen began her lecture. She was teaching comprehensive mechanics, drawing a complex force analysis diagram on the blackboard. Halfway through, she noticed that Xiao Meng, though standing, still had a somewhat unfocused gaze. Without hesitation, Teacher Wen reached for the remote control and turned it to the second gear. The shackles on Xiao Meng's ankles suddenly vibrated, emitting a crisp clinking sound of metal. She steadied herself against the desk, the connecting chain swinging violently by her side, its silver links tapping rhythmically against the table legs. She looked up at Teacher Wen, her expression a mixture of embarrassment and surprise. Teacher Wen, holding chalk, looked at her with a serious expression. "Are you awake now?" "I'm awake!" Xiao Meng replied quickly. "Good. This force analysis problem – you answer it. What is the direction of the friction force on this object on the inclined plane?" Xiao Meng took a deep breath, focusing all her attention on the blackboard. "Upwards along the incline." "Very good." Teacher Wen turned the knob back, turned around, and continued writing on the board as if nothing had happened. Fifteen minutes later, Teacher Wen activated the first gear again, this time purely because she found Xiao Meng's diligent studying posture adorable and wanted to see her reaction when suddenly interrupted by a vibration. Xiao Meng's pen paused, and then she wrote a character slightly larger than usual on the paper. She looked up at Teacher Wen with an expression that said, "Teacher, you did that on purpose." Teacher Wen returned an innocent smile. When physics class ended, Teacher Wen walked up to Xiao Meng. She didn't pinch her cheek or pat her head. She simply looked down at Xiao Meng's standing posture and said, "The short chain on your shackles is a bit crooked. The cuff on your left foot has rotated to the back." Xiao Meng looked down; it was indeed crooked. She tried to bend over to adjust it, but the connecting chain restricted her range of motion, and she couldn't reach it after a couple of tries. Teacher Wen crouched down, helped her rotate the cuff of the shackle back to the correct position, and then stood up, dusting off her hands. "There. Keep up the good work next class." The last class of the morning was history. The history teacher, Ms. Liu, was a plump, middle-aged woman whose eyes crinkled into slits when she smiled. As soon as she entered the classroom, she saw the remote control on the podium. She picked it up, looked at the label on the back, and let out a meaningful "Oh—." She walked up to Xiao Meng and pinched her cheek with her plump fingers. Xiao Meng's cheeks were already a bit numb from being pinched all morning, but Ms. Liu's fingers were fleshy, so it didn't hurt. "Teacher Zhang told me you fell asleep in her class. But you didn't sleep in my class last time, when you were kneeling by the podium wearing a gag, and everyone's attention was on you. That class went especially smoothly," Ms. Liu said with a smile. "Today, you've provided the teachers with new entertainment." Xiao Meng sighed. She had given up on making excuses. Halfway through the history class, Xiao Meng was actually quite alert – she cared about her history grades and had been standing up straight, diligently taking notes. But Ms. Liu still activated the remote control, first gear, for five seconds. It was purely because she felt it would be a disservice to the class not to use it on Xiao Meng. When the vibration interrupted her, Xiao Meng was writing a year. The number she wrote was crooked, with a long tail trailing off. She looked up at Ms. Liu, whose face was hidden behind her textbook as she smiled. Xiao Meng silently erased the crooked number and rewrote it. The lunch break bell rang. Ms. Liu tidied up her lesson plans and left the remote control on the podium – it would stay there all day until school was out. The entire class went to the cafeteria. Lin Xiao, Zhou Nian, and Shen Mo gathered around and helped Xiao Meng out of her seat. Xiao Meng's legs were a bit weak from standing all morning, and the short chain of her shackles felt heavier than usual when she walked. But she insisted on walking herself – the connecting chain hung from her wrist to her ankle, the silver links swaying gently in the afternoon hallway. The four of them found a corner table in the cafeteria. Lin Xiao peeled an orange, divided it into segments, and pushed it in front of Xiao Meng. "Eat. Replenish your energy." Shen Mo silently placed two pieces of meat from her own plate into Xiao Meng's bowl. Zhou Nian handed her a bottle of water. "There are two more classes this afternoon. Do you think you can make it?" Xiao Meng drank some water, put an orange segment in her mouth, and after chewing, said, "I can make it. It's already halfway done." Her expression was calm. While they were eating, Teacher Sun walked by their table with her tray and stopped to look at Xiao Meng. Xiao Meng's mouth was full of rice, her cheeks bulging. Seeing Teacher Sun, she immediately widened her eyes in alarm. Teacher Sun smiled, reached out, and ruffled her hair. "No activating during meals." Then she took her tray and left. The first class of the afternoon was biology. The biology teacher, Ms. Zheng, was a tall, thin young woman wearing large, round-framed glasses. After seeing the remote control on the podium, she also looked at the label on the back and then at Xiao Meng, who was sitting at her seat. Ms. Zheng was usually quiet, but she was completely different on the podium. She spoke very quickly when lecturing, her chalk flying across the blackboard as she drew diagrams of cell structures. Halfway through the class, Xiao Meng was actually listening attentively. But Ms. Zheng felt that since she had the remote control, it would be a waste not to use it. She turned it on to the first gear. The mitochondrion's inner membrane in the cell diagram Xiao Meng was drawing was drawn crookedly. She looked up at Ms. Zheng. The light reflected off Ms. Zheng's round glasses, making her expression unreadable, but the corners of her mouth had a very slight curve. Xiao Meng took a deep breath, erased the inner membrane, and redrew it. Ten minutes later, Ms. Zheng activated it again. First gear, five seconds. This time, it was purely because she thought Xiao Meng's diligent redrawing of the cell diagram was particularly focused. Xiao Meng was jolted, and the pen in her hand paused. But this time, she didn't look up. She just closed her eyes for a moment and then continued drawing. Ms. Zheng nodded with satisfaction from the podium. For the last twenty minutes, Ms. Zheng told the students to read their books and review. She walked between the desks twice, stopping at Xiao Meng's desk. She bent down and whispered, "You've been wearing that thing for almost a whole day, haven't you?" Xiao Meng nodded. "One more class. Keep it up. If you listen attentively this afternoon, I won't use the third gear." Xiao Meng nodded vigorously. The last class of the afternoon was physical education. Xiao Meng thought that since PE was on the sports field and involved activity, Teacher Ma probably wouldn't use the remote control. But before PE, Teacher Ma came to the classroom to take attendance. He saw the remote control on the podium, picked it up, looked at the label on the back, and then looked up, finding Qin Xiao Meng in front of the whole class. The corner of his mouth twitched. Xiao Meng closed her eyes in despair. But Teacher Ma just put the remote control back on the podium without touching the knob. After taking attendance, he walked to Xiao Meng's desk and stopped. The entire class held their breath – apart from Teacher Zhang, Teacher Ma was the only teacher who hadn't shown obvious interest in Xiao Meng's punishment. Last time, when Xiao Meng was locked beside the podium, Teacher Ma had only lightly touched her ponytail. This time, he neither pinched her cheek nor patted her head. He simply flicked the end of Xiao Meng's ponytail lightly with his finger. "Run seriously during PE. Run while you're awake." During PE, Xiao Meng, like her classmates, unfastened the connecting chain and jogged on the field wearing only her handcuffs and shackles. Her steps were short – the short chain of the shackles limited her stride to no more than thirty centimeters. Fortunately, the vibrator didn't activate while she was running. The wind blew, and her white hair, tied in a high ponytail, swung behind her. She ran several laps, running off the pent-up frustration of being confined to the classroom all day. The dismissal bell finally rang. Qin Xiao Meng dragged her shackles back to the classroom. She sat down at her seat, stretched her legs out, and the short chain of her shackles dangled beside the desk legs. The connecting chain hung from her wrist to her ankle, resting quietly on her lap. She looked down at her wrists – the cuffs gleamed with a soft luster in the afternoon sun, their inner surfaces still as smooth as a mirror. Teacher Zhang picked up the remote control from the podium, walked to Xiao Meng, took a key from her pocket, crouched down, and asked Xiao Meng to stand up. Then, she retrieved the vibrator from under Xiao Meng's skirt. She carefully wiped the vibrator with a disinfectant wipe, placed it back in its transparent case, and then looked up at Xiao Meng. "Were you awake today?" "Very awake." Xiao Meng replied. This was the truth – she had never remembered the content of every class so clearly in a single day. She could recite the judgments Teacher Zhang taught, repeat the grammar examples Teacher Sun gave, draw force diagrams for the mechanics formulas Teacher Wen explained, and even remember the folds of the mitochondrial inner membrane in the cell structures Ms. Zheng taught. Teacher Zhang picked up the remote control from the podium, walked to Xiao Meng, took a key from her pocket, crouched down, and asked Xiao Meng to stand up. Then, she retrieved the vibrator from under Xiao Meng's skirt. She carefully wiped the vibrator with a disinfectant wipe, placed it back in its transparent case, and then looked up at Xiao Meng. "Were you awake today?" "Very awake." Xiao Meng replied. This was the truth. She had never remembered the content of every class so clearly in a single day – she could recite the judgments Teacher Zhang taught, repeat the grammar examples Teacher Sun gave, draw force diagrams for the mechanics formulas Teacher Wen explained, and even remember the folds of the mitochondrial inner membrane in the cell structures Ms. Zheng taught. "The Bungee Jump wasn't registered, that leg-binding method is too weird, and with the knees tied, you can't jump at all. I've registered you for the Escape event!" Lin Xiao held the registration form high, using her height advantage to keep Xiao Meng from reaching it. "You'll definitely have an advantage in the Escape—you've been locked up so many times, what kind of lock mechanism haven't you studied? Last time, you could even find the keyhole of the cross restraint cuffs with your fingers—" "Didn't Teacher Zhang say we had to go?" Shen Mo's voice cut in from the side, and both of them turned their heads. Shen Mo held another project list and pointed towards the rostrum. "The discipline committee member is going to be an assistant referee. Teacher Zhang said our class is responsible for the commands and timing for the tightrope walking event. Both of you have to go." The fifty-meter tightrope course was set up in the center of the sports field. Qin Xiaomeng stood in the formation of Class 3, Grade 1. Her white ponytail swayed gently in the wind. She looked down at the project list in her hand. The ink smell hadn't dissipated yet, but her attention wasn't on the names of the competition events at all. It was on the accompanying illustration. The diagram for the 50-meter tightrope walk was very clear: a thick hemp rope was stretched between two steel frames, about 1.2 meters off the ground. The rope was evenly spaced with knots—one every forty centimeters or so, each knot the size of a fist. A small figure straddling the rope was moving forward with its hands on the rope, an arrow indicating the direction of travel. "What's this?" Lin Xiao leaned over from the side, her ponytail brushing against Xiao Meng's shoulder. "Tightrope walking? No—how are you supposed to ride this rope?" She leaned closer to look at the diagram, then suddenly looked up, her eyes wide. "The rope fits right underneath. And these knots—they'll roll over you with every step." Lin Xiao lowered her voice, but her speech quickened. She counted on her fingers, "Think about it, fifty meters, a knot every forty centimeters, how many is that in total? Over a hundred knots. From here to there, every knot will roll between your legs." Zhou Nian from the back row poked her head over to look at the diagram. After a few seconds, she slowly exhaled. Shen Mo stood beside them without speaking, but the tips of her ears turned red. Xiao Meng was still looking at the diagram. The figure in the picture was wearing a full set of restraints—handcuffs, shackles, and a connecting chain—straddling the rope, holding on with her hands for balance, and wearing that thirty-centimeter short chain on her feet, forcing her to take tiny steps. She looked up and met Lin Xiao's eyes. Lin Xiao's mouth was already stretched into a grin, and before she could speak, Xiao Meng knew what she was going to say. "Xiao Meng, you should sign up for this." Lin Xiao grabbed her wrist, the chain of the handcuffs clanking between their wrists. "Didn't Teacher Su hang you from a rope in the rope art class? You have experience!" "That was about wrapping around the body, this is about straddling and walking, it's completely different." "It's similar—" "Not at all. That was a demonstration platform in the classroom, this is in the middle of the sports field, with the whole school watching." "So what?" Lin Xiao tilted her head, her ponytail swinging around behind her. Her tone suddenly became serious. "If you don't sign up for this event today, you'll regret it when you get home. Think about it, tightrope walking, fifty meters, knots, straddling—where else outside this school gate can you experience something like this? Once you leave this school, they'll take off your shackles, and you won't even have the chance to walk it." Xiao Meng was silent for a moment. The wind blew her white hair to the corner of her mouth. She used the chain of the handcuffs to brush it away, then looked down at the diagram again. The knots were forty centimeters apart, and her stride was limited to thirty centimeters by the shackles. This meant that with every step, a knot on the rope would roll between her legs—exactly between them with every step. The person who designed this spacing had calculated it precisely. She looked up and found Shen Mo looking at her as well. "You want to try it." Shen Mo said. It wasn't a question. Xiao Meng opened her mouth, wanting to say something, then closed it. She did want to try it. Not as a punishment, but as an experience she actively sought. Like the class on being bound from behind—being restricted while completing a task, finding focus within the restraint. "I'll sign up." She folded the project form and put it in her shirt pocket. "Tell Teacher Zhang for me. If this event requires early check-in, I'll go now." The fifty-meter tightrope course wasn't on the ground. A thick hemp rope was stretched between two old plane trees, 1.2 meters off the ground, taut as a guitar string. The rope was about as thick as a wrist, its strands tightly twisted, its dark brown texture clearly visible in the sunlight. The rope was evenly spaced with knots—one every forty centimeters or so, the size of a fist, bulging prominently above the rope. Gymnastics mats were laid on both sides of the course, and the finish timing post was set up next to the plane tree on the opposite side. The referee was Teacher Su from the rope art class. Teacher Su stood under the plane tree on the starting side, the short chain of her shackles hanging below her skirt hem. She held a stopwatch. Seeing Qin Xiaomeng approach, her gray eyebrows arched slightly. "Qin Xiaomeng, you again." "Teacher, I'm not being punished..." "I know, you signed up for the tightrope walk yourself. You also asked to do the bound-from-behind class yourself last time." Teacher Su pushed up her reading glasses, tucked the stopwatch under her arm, and carefully inspected her restraints—handcuffs tightened, shackles tightened, connecting chain intact. Then she took a dark red silicone gag from a tool kit and offered it to Xiao Meng. "The tightrope walk requires wearing a gag. The purpose is to prevent participants from biting their tongues—if it hurts when the knot rolls over, people instinctively grit their teeth. Biting your tongue would be bad. This isn't a punishment, it's a protective measure. Just like you kept the key last time, I'll give you this key. If you really can't stand it, you can unlock it yourself and come down at any time." Xiao Meng took the gag and opened her mouth, letting Teacher Su push the small ball into her mouth. The silicone felt slightly cool as it pressed against her tongue. The strap went around the back of her head and fastened, the familiar sensation of restraint enveloping her lips again. She took a deep breath through her nose, then grabbed the rope with both hands, stepped onto the starting stool with her left foot, and swung her right leg over, straddling the rope. The moment her feet left the ground, the rope sprang up and settled firmly between her legs. The rough strands of the hemp rope pressed against the thin fabric of her school uniform skirt, their coarse texture clearly transmitted to her skin through the cloth. She moved forward a little, and the first knot was less than a hand's distance in front of her—a bulging hemp knot, a full size larger than her fist. She swallowed, the silicone ball of the gag shifting slightly on her tongue. The short chain of her shackles hung on either side of the rope, its silver links flashing in the sunlight. "Ready—go." Teacher Su's whistle came from behind her. Xiao Meng released one hand from the rope, pushed her body forward, and slid towards the first knot. The instant the knot rolled between her legs, her fingers clenched the rope tightly. The hemp knot, through her skirt and underwear, pressed into her softest spot. The coarse rope strands ground against that most sensitive point, a sensation that exploded from the base of her spine and shot up her back to the back of her head. She let out a muffled hum through her nose, her lips behind the gag unconsciously biting down on the silicone ball. This wasn't over. Her body's weight carried her forward. She had just rolled over the first knot, and the second was already close. The short chain of her shackles limited her to small steps. She pulled on the rope and moved forward one step—only thirty centimeters. The knots were forty centimeters apart, so this step wasn't enough. She watched the second knot waiting for her, ten centimeters in front of her. She took another step, and this time the knot rolled over her. The hemp knot pressed over the softest part of her body, the skirt fabric rubbing back and forth over the knot, the coarse hemp texture grinding directly against her sensitive spot through the thin cotton. Her legs involuntarily clamped onto the rope, and the chain of her shackles tightened between her ankles, the iron links clanking against the rope with a dull thud. "Don't let go of the rope with your hands—lean your body back a little, so the rope is caught in front of you, not behind—" Teacher Su walked alongside her, her voice steady and calm. Xiao Meng took a deep breath, shifted her body's weight back a little, positioning the rope more forward on her front side. When she moved forward again, the angle at which the knot rolled over was less direct—it still had an effect, but it changed from a sharp jolt to a duller, more prolonged pressure. She found her rhythm. With each knot she rolled over, she exhaled, moved her shackles forward thirty centimeters, pulled the rope with her arms to propel her body forward, watched the next knot approach—and then rolled over it. As it rolled over, she learned not to grit her teeth, but to focus on her hands gripping the rope, on the rhythm of the short chain of her shackles swinging on either side of the rope. The rough texture of the hemp rope continuously chafed the inside of her thighs. The knots rolled over every few dozen seconds. She had lost count of how many she had rolled over. Once, the knot rolled over at too direct an angle, hitting a place it absolutely shouldn't have. Her back arched sharply, and a long whimper escaped her throat behind the gag. The short chain of her shackles clanked against the rope. She paused for two seconds, closed her eyes, and let the aching sensation that spread from her pelvis to her temples slowly subside. Teacher Su said from the side, "Don't stop your rhythm, it'll be harder next time if you stop." Xiao Meng bit down on the gag, readjusted her body's center of gravity, and moved forward again. Her fingertips sank into the strands of the hemp rope. Her white ponytail swung behind her, and the iron chain connecting her handcuffs and shackles hung below the rope, swaying gently with each step. She walked the second half faster than the first. The first half took her nearly four minutes, while the second half took just over two. She didn't stop again. The finish line. As the last knot rolled over, she felt something different—not pain, but a lingering tremor in her body after the knot passed, like a plucked string still humming in the air. Her legs trembled slightly, and the short chain of her shackles constantly brushed against the rope below, making a faint metallic sound. She stepped over the finish timing post, slid off the rope, and her whole body went limp in Teacher Su's arms. Her lips trembled slightly from biting the gag, and the dark red silicone ball was glistening with saliva. Lin Xiao tried it. She couldn't move her legs – her ankles were bound together, her knees were bound together, and her legs couldn't spread apart front or back, nor left or right. She bent her knees, then sprang up, hopping about fifteen centimeters. She landed with both feet simultaneously, knees slightly bent, the leg-binding rope trembling slightly from the impact. She hopped again, this time a bit higher – over twenty centimeters. Then she turned her head and grinned at Xiao Meng. "I can hop! I told you!" she said to Xiao Meng, but loud enough for everyone at the check-in area to hear. "See, I'm using a five-centimeter gap. I'm the only one tied this tight right now—" Qiao Wei, a classmate waiting to check in nearby, let out a "Wow." She was the only other person from their class who had signed up for this event, choosing a twenty-centimeter gap, which was about the same stride as regular shackles. Qiao Wei looked at Lin Xiao's tightly bound calves, then down at the bundle of ropes in her own hand that she hadn't opened yet. "Lin Xiao, are you a competitive type? Do you get more excited the tighter you're bound?" Xiao Meng stood up, put the remaining ropes back on the folding table, and then took out Shen Mo's jacket from her pocket, turning it inside out – she had just discovered a zippered pocket on the inside that was perfect for her own gag. She checked the fastenings of Lin Xiao's handcuffs and connecting chain, then bent down and tightened each knot on her ankles and knees again. "You're tightening them even more?" "Checking. Teacher Su said loosening one knot is the same as not binding at all. You can hop with five centimeters, but if the knot loosens, you'll just fall." Teacher Ma blew the whistle for check-in to end. The participants in the bondage jump lined up behind the starting line. Four lanes, four bound legs. Lin Xiao stood in the second lane, barefoot, her calves wrapped in deep red hemp rope like two bundled pen barrels adorned with ribbons. Her high white ponytail swayed in the autumn wind, the chain of her handcuffs hanging loosely around her wrists, the connecting chain dangling from her wrist to the iron ring at the rope loop on her knee. She looked at the first hurdle fifty meters ahead – a white painted bar, thirty centimeters off the ground. This height wasn't much for a student wearing shackles – the short chain of the shackles was thirty centimeters, so she could step over it. But jumping over it was another matter. With her legs together and knees bound, the only way to jump was to lift both feet off the ground simultaneously, using her body's elasticity to pull herself up. The whistle blew. Lin Xiao hopped out. Her first landing was as stable as if nailed to the ground. The second time, she hopped higher – nearly thirty centimeters – landing with both feet simultaneously on the rubber track, without wobbling. The essence of bondage jumping wasn't about jumping high, but about maintaining balance. With her legs bound, any imbalance would make it impossible to stand. Her core strength locked her body with each landing, the chain of her handcuffs swinging in the air but never hitting her. The third jump brought her to the first hurdle – she bent her knees, lowered her body, and exerted force with both legs simultaneously, jumping upwards. The bar wobbled, and her heel grazed the edge of the bar in mid-air, but it didn't fall. As she landed, her knees were pulled by the leg-binding rope – she had bent too far, and the rope loop pressed against her skin at the bend of her knee. She didn't stop, continuing to hop forward. The second hurdle, the third, the fourth – on the fifth hurdle, she landed off-balance. Her left foot slipped forward half a centimeter upon landing – because her knees were bound together, the slip of her left foot dragged her right foot, and both legs slid forward simultaneously, causing her to lean to the right. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd of onlookers by the track, the crisp clinking of chains exploding with the exclamations. Lin Xiao didn't fall. Her core strength yanked her body back just as she was halfway to falling – her abdominal muscles tightened, her arms swung rapidly in the air, and the chain of her handcuffs clanged against her wrist, the connecting chain whipping behind her and making a muffled thud against the rope loop at her knee. After regaining her balance, she took a deep breath and continued hopping. She cleared the remaining seven hurdles without touching a single bar. As she cleared the last hurdle, her eyes narrowed in the sunlight, her teeth gritted, the hemp rope binding her knees and ankles soaked with sweat, deepening the color of the deep red rope by a shade. Lin Xiao was still hopping when she crossed the finish line – she couldn't stop. Her bound legs carried her three or four more hops forward after crossing the line before she could stop, and on the final landing, she lunged forward, bracing herself with her hands on her knees to halt her momentum. The chain of her handcuffs dangled in front of her knees, gently clinking against the iron ring of the knee loop with a crisp, tinkling sound. Qiao Wei walked over from the adjacent lane. Her bound legs took small, shuffling steps – she had chosen the twenty-centimeter gap, allowing her to spread her legs slightly – and she walked to Lin Xiao's side, patting her back. "How did you not fall on that wobbly one?" "Pure luck," Lin Xiao said, panting. She straightened up, blowing away the stray hairs clinging to her forehead. Her bare soles were stained with a ring of red particles from the rubber track. Xiao Meng walked over from the waiting area by the finish line, carrying Lin Xiao's shackles. She squatted down and began to untie the leg-binding ropes – first the knees. As the rope loop loosened, Lin Xiao let out a hiss, a faint red imprint left on the bend of her knee. Then came the ankles. As she untied the last loop of rope, Lin Xiao spread her legs slightly, flexing her ankles. "Next time I'll sign up for five centimeters too. I saw clearly how you didn't fall on that wobble – just lower your center of gravity and tighten your core." Xiao Meng coiled the untied hemp rope and placed it on the pile of ropes nearby, then picked up the shackles and reattached them to Lin Xiao's ankles. The connecting chain was unhooked from the knee loop and reattached to the central iron ring of the shackles. The silver-white chain once again dangled from her wrists to her ankles, and Lin Xiao looked down at Xiao Meng squatting on the ground, fastening the铐环 for her. "Were you watching me the whole time outside the competition area?" Lin Xiao asked. "I also signed up for bondage jumping. Teacher Ma said there was still a spot in the fourth group." Xiao Meng fastened the last铐环 and stood up, brushing off the rubber particles from her knees. Teacher Ma lowered his head and finished writing Lin Xiao's score on the record sheet. The coefficient was 1.5, and with a final score of 137 seconds, her ranking score placed her ninth among all the contestants in the school. Teacher Ma nodded at Xiao Meng, who had already sat down nearby to bind her own legs. The venue for the Four-Horse Restraint Escape was set up in the center of the gymnasium. Four square mats were laid out on the wooden floor of the basketball court, and a set of Four-Horse restraints was placed on each mat. This set was different from the one used for the Four-Horse Crawl – it was more complex. In addition to the connecting chain behind the back, there was an additional horizontal chain that wrapped around the waist, and two short crossed chains between the wrists and ankles, forming an X-shaped fixation. All the buckles were locked. Qin Xiao Meng lay on the mat, her chin resting on the surface. Teacher Ma had just fitted her with the complete set of Four-Horse restraints – her wrists were pulled to the highest point behind her back, her ankles were pulled up to the limit, and the chains between her hands and feet passed through an iron ring behind her waist, forming a four-way fixation. Her body was folded into a compact, inverted arc, her knees bent and tucked beneath her hips, her heels almost touching her buttocks. She tried to move her fingers; her wrists were pulled tightly by the chains, and her fingers could only touch the edge of the铐环 behind her waist. "This set of Four-Horse restraints has a total of six locks," Teacher Ma said, standing beside the mat with the roster and stopwatch in hand, his voice echoing in the gymnasium. "Two for the handcuffs, two for the shackles, one for the waist chain, and one for the connecting buckle between the connecting chain and the waist ring. The time limit is five minutes. Opening all of them within five minutes counts as completion; exceeding the time limit invalidates the score. To withdraw early, tap the mat three times." He paused, looked down at Xiao Meng, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Qin Xiao Meng, you are the only one in the entire school who voluntarily signed up for the escape event." Xiao Meng couldn't answer, her mouth filled with the deep red gag. She grunted through her nose. Teacher Ma pressed the stopwatch. Xiao Meng moved her fingers first. Her wrists were fixed at a height behind her waist, and the first thing she could feel was the keyhole of the handcuff – not the keyhole itself, but the edge of the铐环 around it. The steel铐环 was smooth, but the keyhole had a tiny indentation, and her fingertips could feel the fine serrated texture around it. She had picked handcuffs before. It wasn't a violation – Teacher Su had said that the escape bonus question for the rope art exam used standard handcuffs. She bent her right thumb and index finger to their limit, grasped the edge of the keyhole, and rotated the铐环. The铐环 turned halfway, and the keyhole rotated from facing her feet to facing her head. Then she began to feel for the fixing buckle behind her waist. The fixing buckle was in the center of the waist chain, connecting the main node of the handcuff connecting chain and the shackle connecting chain. Her fingers traced upwards along the connecting chain behind her back – the chain was taut, sliding through her fingertips section by section – until she reached the largest iron ring behind her waist. Four chains were attached to the iron ring: the connecting points for the left handcuff, right handcuff, left shackle, and right shackle. The fixing buckle was directly above the iron ring, a press-type lock. She pressed the spring clips on both sides of the buckle with her thumb and pushed inward with force. *Click*. The fixing buckle sprang open. The instant the main connection between her hands and feet was broken, the chain behind her back loosened by a segment, and the range of motion for her wrists suddenly expanded from behind her waist to above and behind her back. She pulled the loosened connecting chain from the waist ring, and the silver-white chain slid from behind her onto the mat, making a series of crisp clattering sounds. "Fixing buckle unlocked – time taken: one minute and twenty seconds." Teacher Su announced the time from the sidelines, his voice steady, but the surrounding audience was already in an uproar. Lin Xiao was shouting the loudest from the sidelines, the chain of her handcuffs clanging against the railing. Xiao Meng began to unlock the shackles. The keyhole of the shackle was on the outside of her ankle, positioned quite far back – because the Four-Horse posture brought her heels almost to her buttocks, the keyhole was directly under her body weight. She first rolled her body to the right – her arms were fixed behind her, making the rolling motion difficult; she could only coordinate her shoulders and knees, rolling slightly to the side and then using inertia to complete the roll. After rolling to the side, the shackle's keyhole was exposed. She reached her fingers in, feeling for the release point at the bottom of the keyhole. This keyhole's structure was different from the handcuffs – it was a one-way catch that needed to be pushed in from the side to pop open. She used the joint of her index finger to press against the small hole on the side of the keyhole and pushed inward with force. *Click*. The left shackle's铐环 sprang open, and the steel ring loosened from her ankle, falling onto the mat. Then came the right one – this took more time, the keyhole was a bit stiff, and it took three pushes to pop open. With her feet free, her body suddenly relaxed. Her knees could straighten, and her calves were no longer pulled towards her buttocks. But she didn't stop – only two minutes and forty seconds had passed, and there were still three locks to open. The waist chain was a steel chain that wrapped completely around her waist, with the buckle located in the small of her back, just above her navel. Lying down, she arched her body, placing her feet on the mat and pushing her waist upwards, bringing the buckle as far away from the mat surface as possible. Then she reached her fingers around from behind – her wrists were still locked in the handcuffs behind her back, limiting her range of motion, but after unlocking her shackles, she could curl her body up, straighten her legs, and lie on her side to reach the buckle behind her waist with her fingers. She felt the buckle of the waist chain – it was a slide-type buckle, requiring the tab to be slid out of the track. She used her thumbnail to push against the edge of the tab, pushing it out little by little. The tab got stuck halfway through, so she took a breath, readjusted the angle of her fingers, and pushed again. *Click*. The waist chain loosened, and the steel links slid off her waist, spreading out on the mat like a long snake. "Three minutes and forty seconds! Waist chain unlocked! Only the handcuffs left!" Lin Xiao's voice was almost cracking. Handcuffs. The last lock. Xiao Meng sat up, bending her knees to her chest, and brought her wrists from behind her legs, which were cuffed behind her back – this maneuver required curling her body into a ball, using her feet to push against the mat and stack her body, pressing her cuffed hands down from beneath her buttocks, passing them through her legs, and then pulling them upwards. Her abdominal muscles, still recovering from the Four-Horse Crawl, were now being stretched to their limit, every muscle in her abdomen protesting. But she completed the movement. Her hands came from behind to the front. She looked down at the铐环 on her wrists, the two keyholes facing her, reflecting a cold, silver-white light under the gymnasium's overhead lights. It was almost four minutes, and her fingers were trembling from constant exertion, her thumb and index finger spasming intermittently. She bit down hard on the gag in her mouth, using the web of her left hand to steady the right handcuff so it wouldn't jiggle, then grasped the bottom of the keyhole and pushed upwards with her last ounce of strength. *Click*. The right handcuff sprang open. The left handcuff opened almost simultaneously. She pushed all the铐环 off her body and struggled to stand up. Her knees were still a bit shaky, but she was standing. She unbuckled the strap of the gag behind her head, and as the deep red ball slid out of her mouth, it pulled a long strand of saliva with it. She spoke with her last bit of strength, "Finished." Her voice was hoarse but steady. "Three minutes and fifty-eight seconds." Teacher Su pressed the stopwatch. The gymnasium erupted in the loudest cheers of the day, and the shackles' chains pounded against the stands. Lin Xiao vaulted over the railing and rushed in, nearly tripping over her own shackles, and threw her arms around Xiao Meng. The connecting chain swung back and forth between their two bodies, squeezed by their embrace. Teacher Zhang stood at the podium, chalk in hand. She saw Qin Xiaomeng standing at the doorway, her white hair a mess, the top button of her school uniform shirt fastened incorrectly, and the shackle on her right ankle twisted outwards. She didn't ask why, didn't say "Explain yourself." She simply placed the chalk in the blackboard trough, clapped the chalk dust off her hands, and then made a gesture that silenced the entire class – she walked to the back of the classroom and opened the bottom drawer of the gray metal cabinet. The last time that drawer was opened, it had yielded a crucifix restraint. This time, she took out a key. "Qin Xiaomeng, come in. The equipment is in the empty classroom next door." Xiaomeng followed Teacher Zhang into the disused storage room. Only one row of fluorescent lights was on in the classroom, and against the wall stood a metal cage. The cage was about 1.2 meters high, 1 meter wide, and 2 meters long. Each of the iron-gray bars was as thick as a thumb, welded neatly. The bottom of the cage was covered with a thin mattress, on which lay a dark blue bedsheet, with a pillow at one end. There was no quilt – the temperature in the school wasn't low, so no quilt was needed. The cage door was an entire section of bars, fitted with three latches, and a large brass lock hung from the top latch. "This equipment dates back to when the school was built thirty years ago, even before your grandmother's graduating class. Back then, they didn't have custom restraints; punishments were more direct – just locking people in a cage." Teacher Zhang inserted the key into the brass lock, turned it, pushed the cage door to one side, and then squatted down, patting the mattress inside the cage. "You've been late six times, knelt at the podium, been locked to the crucifix, worn a vibrator and a gag. Every time you were punished, you scored first in the grade. I don't think those things are punishments for you anymore – you're most focused when you're being punished." She stood up and turned to look at Qin Xiaomeng. "So, I've decided to try a different approach. You'll stay here today. You'll eat lunch and dinner normally, and attend P.E. class as usual. You won't return to the dormitory tonight; you'll sleep here. I'll come to see you tomorrow morning – if you're not late tomorrow morning, I'll unlock you and you can return to class." Xiaomeng stood in front of the cage, the short chain of her leg shackles swaying gently around her ankles. She looked at the cage – the iron-gray bars glinted coldly under the dim fluorescent light, the dark blue bedsheet was spread neatly, and the pillow was plump. She wasn't afraid. She took the key from Teacher Zhang's hand, weighed it in her palm, then bent down and crawled into the cage. She found the height of the cage was perfect for her – she could sit inside with several centimeters of space above her head. She curled her legs up, the short chain of her leg shackles pressing against the bottom of the cage with a soft clink. She fluffed the pillow and leaned it against her back, resting against one of the bars, then stretched her legs out. The length of the cage was just enough for her to lie down – two meters was more than enough for her 1.56-meter height. She lay down on the mattress, spreading her white hair across the pillow, the short chain of her handcuffs resting on her abdomen, the connecting chain hanging from her wrists to the bottom of the cage, its silver links forming an arc on the dark blue bedsheet. Teacher Zhang pulled the cage door over, fastened the three latches one by one, and inserted the brass lock through the top clasp, locking it with a click. She put the key in her pocket, squatted down, and looked at Qin Xiaomeng in the cage. "How does it feel?" Xiaomeng lay in the cage, turning her head to look at Teacher Zhang through the bars. "It's more spacious than the crucifix," she said honestly. "At least I can lie down." Teacher Zhang's lips twitched. She stood up, walked to the door, and turned off the lights, leaving only the row of fluorescent lights near the cage on. Then she returned to the classroom to continue her lesson. The cage was pushed to the back of Class 1-3. Teacher Zhang didn't push it alone – she called two senior students to loosen the universal wheels under the cage and pushed it from the storage room into the classroom. As the cage passed through the aisle, girls on both sides quickly retracted their legs to make way, the iron chains clanking against the legs of the desks. The cage was finally stopped at the back of the classroom, directly opposite the blackboard, next to the gray metal cabinet. Qin Xiaomeng was curled up in the cage, the short chain of her handcuffs resting on her knees, the chain of her leg shackles hanging out from the bottom of the cage and resting next to the universal wheels. Through the iron-gray bars, she could see the entire classroom – forty desks, forty girls wearing handcuffs and leg shackles. In the upper left corner of the blackboard, Teacher Zhang's writing from last week, "Qin Xiaomeng, 719, First in Grade," remained un-erased. The first class was Chinese, taught by Teacher Zhang. Halfway through, Teacher Zhang asked a multiple-choice question for reading comprehension. No one in the class raised their hand. Teacher Zhang placed the chalk tip in the blackboard trough, turned around, and her gaze swept over the heads of all the students, landing on the iron cage at the back of the classroom. "Qin Xiaomeng. Tap the bars once for A, twice for B, three times for C. Based on the context of '逝者如斯' in the original text, what attitude does Su Shi express towards the passage of time? A. Helplessness, B. Optimism, C. Fear." The sound of knuckles gently tapping on iron bars came from the cage. Once, twice. Clang, clang. The vibration of the iron pipes was particularly clear in the silent classroom. "The correct answer is B, optimism." Teacher Zhang pushed up her glasses and picked up her chalk to continue writing on the blackboard. The entire class turned around. Forty chairs swiveled simultaneously, the sound of iron chains dragging through the aisles creating a rustling noise. The white-haired girl in the cage leaned against a side bar, the short chain of her handcuffs resting on her knees, her fingers just retracting from the iron bars. Seeing everyone looking at her, she blinked towards the front. Lin Xiao spoke the words she wanted to say: "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone answer questions from inside a cage?" The third class was English. Teacher Sun paused at the doorway when she entered the classroom. Seeing Qin Xiaomeng in the cage, her mouth formed an 'O', and then she covered her mouth and started to laugh, her shoulders shaking, nearly dropping her English textbook. "Qin Xiaomeng! What are you in for this time—" "Tardiness. Sixth time." "I'm starting to think you definitely don't not know how to use an alarm clock. You two are definitely the strangest teacher-student pair in the entire school." Teacher Sun walked to the podium, still laughing, and flipped open her English textbook to today's lesson. "Today, we're discussing the subjunctive mood – 'If I had been locked in a cage, I would have studied harder.' – This is a standard subjunctive, note that 'had been' is used instead of 'was' for the subject." The whole class burst into laughter, the clinking of chains making the cage bars tremble slightly. A girl in the front row raised her hand and said, "Teacher, can you use a different example sentence?" Teacher Sun replied, "My examples are drawn from real life; this is a subjunctive in a real context." During lunch break, the entire class went to the cafeteria. Lin Xiao, Zhou Nian, and Shen Mo brought their meals into the classroom, and the four of them ate together through the cage bars. The chicken leg on Lin Xiao's plate was the same size as usual. She took a bite and said, "Without you sitting next to me in class, the classroom discipline might decline again." Qin Xiaomeng, inside the cage, took the yogurt that Shen Mo had passed through the bars, the straw passing through the middle of the bars. She bit down on the straw and took a sip. Zhou Nian next to her chuckled a couple of times. The music class was in the afternoon. The music teacher pushed the piano into the classroom. Xiaomeng listened to the entire class from inside the cage, Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." She thought it was the quietest music class of the semester – she didn't have to look at the sheet music, didn't have to turn pages, she just lay in the cage and listened. In the evening, the sun set. The fluorescent lights in the classroom were turned off, leaving only the white light of the emergency lights filtering in from the corridor. During evening study hall, the entire class quietly did their homework in the classroom. Qin Xiaomeng, inside the cage, also did her homework, lying on the mattress – she reached her hand through the bars to get her textbook and pen, and lay in the cage, using the row of un-turned-off fluorescent lights overhead to complete a math test. At nine o'clock in the evening, evening study hall ended. Teacher Zhang came to the classroom and squatted in front of the cage. Through the bars, she unlocked one of Qin Xiaomeng's handcuffs – according to school rules, full restraints had to be worn while sleeping, giving her time to wash up before bed. After she had tidied herself up and brushed her teeth, kneeling in the cage, Teacher Zhang re-fastened the handcuff and re-attached the connecting chain to the iron ring in the middle of the leg shackles. As Teacher Zhang turned off the last row of lights in the classroom, Qin Xiaomeng in the cage had already curled up on the mattress. She was covered with a thin blanket Teacher Zhang had brought that afternoon, the edge of the blanket tucked under her shoulders. Her white hair spread across the dark blue pillow, the short chain of her handcuffs resting in front of her abdomen, the chain of her leg shackles hanging over the edge of the mattress, occasionally making a soft sound in the darkness as her ankles moved slightly. The cage door, locked with the brass lock, cast a long, thin shadow of iron bars in the light of the corridor's emergency lights. Xiaomeng lay on her side, her eyes open, her nose directly facing a bar. Through the bars, she looked at the empty classroom, at her usual seat next to Lin Xiao's desk. Moonlight seeped through the gap in the curtains, drawing a long, thin silver line on the floor that cut across the center of the classroom, dividing the cage and the outside world in half. The feeling was strange; she wasn't being punished by standing, nor was she chained to a wooden frame, but rather enclosed entirely within a metal cage. She remembered Teacher Zhang's words from earlier that day – you're most focused when you're being punished. She thought about it and realized that perhaps it wasn't the punishment that made her focus, but the restriction itself. When all superfluous choices are removed, the mind naturally quiets down. She closed her eyes. She didn't know what time it was when a very faint sound of iron chains came from the corridor. It wasn't the heavy footsteps of the dorm supervisor – it was light, tiny steps, deliberately hushed, but the sound of metal on tile couldn't be hidden in the night. Xiaomeng opened her eyes and saw a face pressed against the glass of the back door through the bars – Lin Xiao. The door was pushed open a crack, and Lin Xiao's white ponytail poked through the gap first, followed by her entire body – she held the chain of her leg shackles with her hand to prevent it from making noise, the connecting chain wrapped around her wrist twice, and the iron chain between her handcuffs was wrapped with a cloth, making a muffled sound. She was barefoot. "What are you doing?" Xiaomeng sat up in the cage, the blanket sliding off her shoulders, her white hair swaying in the darkness. Lin Xiao didn't answer. She placed the blanket she was holding on the ground, pressed her body against the cage bars, squatted down, and reached her hand through the bars to touch Xiaomeng's forehead. "I was afraid you'd be cold. The temperature at night is lower than during the day." "I'm not cold. Teacher Zhang gave me a blanket. Do you know how far it is from the dormitory to the teaching building with your bare feet? You'll catch a cold without shoes." Xiaomeng also reached out and grasped her fingers through the bars. "The iron cage absorbs heat at night – Teacher Zhang giving you a blanket was right, but she definitely didn't tell you about the temperature inside the cage." Xiaomeng was silent for two seconds. "If Aunt Chen catches you sneaking out in the middle of the night, you know you'll be in a four-point restraint all night, right?" Teacher Zhang stood at the lectern. She didn't sigh, didn't take off her glasses to polish the lenses, didn't say, "Explain yourselves." She simply placed the chalk back in the trough, dusted off her hands, and looked up at the doorway. "Seventh time." "Teacher, I—" "No explanations needed. The hallway was blocked, the alarm clock broke, the shackles slowed me down, I couldn't sleep last night—you've been late six times, and I know all your excuses by heart. They might all be true, but your lateness is also true." Teacher Zhang walked to the back of the classroom. She didn't open the gray metal cabinet, didn't take out a gag, didn't take out a collar, didn't take out a remote for a vibrator, and didn't drag out that iron cage. She took out something else from the storage locker next to the metal cabinet. It was a restraint board. A dark wooden board, about 1.8 meters long and 40 centimeters wide. It had over a dozen widened leather straps arranged at regular intervals—two for the ankles, two for the calves, one above and one below each knee, two for the thighs, two for the waist, one for the chest, two fixed cuffs for the wrists, two for the forearms, two for the upper arms, one for the shoulders, and a metal collar for the neck. Each strap was two fingers wide, lined with a thin layer of soft leather on the inside, and fastened with silver-white steel buckles. There were four metal handles on each side of the board, and casters at the bottom. The entire class fell silent. Lin Xiao's pen dropped onto her textbook, the barrel rolling to the edge of the desk before being stopped by the short chain of her handcuffs. Zhou Nian turned her head from the front row, glanced at the board, and then at Xiao Meng by the door. Shen Mo closed the notebook in her hands. Teacher Zhang pushed the restraint board to the middle of the aisle, secured the casters, and then straightened up. "Come here. Stand in front of the board." Xiao Meng shuffled over, dragging her shackles. She stood before the board, looking down at the arrangement of straps and cuffs. The dark wood grain had been polished smooth, reflecting a dull sheen under the fluorescent lights. The strap buckles were silver-white, the same color as the cuffs on her wrists. "Teacher Zhang," Lin Xiao stood up from her seat, the short chain of her handcuffs clinking against the desk edge, "that board isn't—" "Sit down. This isn't the heavy-duty board from the disciplinary room. This is a standard restraint board, a teaching tool that's been used since the school was built thirty years ago—just like the handcuffs and shackles you use now, it's a tradition of this school. The position of each strap is designed according to ergonomics, so it won't compress joints or blood vessels. I won't have permission to use the heavy-duty board until I become head of the grade." Teacher Zhang turned to Xiao Meng. "Lie down. Back against the board." Xiao Meng took a deep breath and lay down on the restraint board. The wood was cool, and she could feel the texture of the dark grain through her school uniform shirt. Her white hair spread out beyond the top of the board, her high ponytail swaying over the edge. She placed her hands at her sides, and the short chain of her shackles made a dull thud on the board. "First, let's remove the restraints. You can't wear handcuffs or shackles when you're fully restrained; the cuffs will dig into your skin under the straps." Teacher Zhang squatted down, took keys from her pocket, and unlocked Xiao Meng's shackles, then her handcuffs, and finally the connecting chain. The three silver-white restraints were placed on a nearby desk, the cuffs gleaming softly under the fluorescent lights. Xiao Meng flexed her wrists, the empty space on her wrist bones feeling cool under the light, a faint white mark left by the long-term wear of the cuffs. "Ankles first." Teacher Zhang picked up the two lowest straps on the board, brought Xiao Meng's ankles together, wrapped the straps over the top of her ankles, threaded them through the buckles, and tightened them. The soft leather lining pressed against her anklebones, not constricting, but firm. Teacher Zhang tested the tightness with her fingers—not even a finger could be slipped between the strap and her skin. Then came the calves, two straps securing the middle of her lower legs and just below her knees. Once the strap above her knees was fastened, Xiao Meng's legs could no longer bend. The thigh straps were wider, passing under the hem of her skirt to secure her legs together on the board. The two waist straps were positioned one above the other, the upper one just above her navel, the lower one at her hip bones. As Teacher Zhang tightened the buckles at her waist, Xiao Meng's abdomen was gently pressed—her breathing shifted from diaphragmatic to thoracic. "Upper body. Arms at your sides, palms against your outer thighs." Xiao Meng complied. Teacher Zhang picked up the wrist cuffs—these weren't the usual handcuffs, but semi-circular steel cuffs embedded in the board, with a custom curve on the inside. The cuffs fastened above her wrist bones, in the same position as her usual handcuffs, but this time they were secured to the board with short pins. Once her wrists were cuffed, Xiao Meng tried to turn them—they wouldn't budge. Her usual handcuffs had a short chain connecting her wrists, allowing for some movement between her hands. These cuffs were fixed to the board, her wrists secured to her sides, preventing even her fingers from touching each other. The forearm and upper arm straps were fastened in sequence. The forearm straps were two finger-widths below her elbow joint, and the upper arm straps were at the midpoint of her biceps. The shoulder strap pulled diagonally down from above her collarbone, looped around her shoulder socket, and fastened to a metal ring on the side of the board. Xiao Meng tried to shrug her shoulders—the strap didn't budge. Finally, the neck restraint. Teacher Zhang picked up the silver-white metal collar embedded at the top of the board. The inside of the collar had a custom curve, wider than the one used on the crucifix. She fastened the collar around Xiao Meng's neck, adjusting the tightness—it fit snugly around her neck, restricting the downward movement of her head but not choking her. The short chain behind the collar was secured to the top of the board, less than five centimeters long. "How does that feel?" Teacher Zhang squatted beside the board, checking the last strap. Xiao Meng tried to move her body. Her ankles wouldn't move, her calves wouldn't move, her thighs wouldn't move, her waist and abdomen were completely immobilized on the board. Her arms were secured from shoulder to wrist by four straps and two cuffs at her sides; her fingers could open and close but her palms couldn't lift. Her neck was encircled by the collar, her head unable to lower or tilt, forced to look straight up. The fluorescent lights from the ceiling made her squint. The only parts of her body she could move were her fingers and toes—her toes could curl and uncurl at the end of the board, and her fingers could slightly bend against her outer thighs. Her eyeballs could roll, her eyelashes could flutter. "...Completely immobile." Her voice was a little muffled—her chest was pressed by the straps, changing the resonance of her speech. "Open your mouth." Xiao Meng opened her mouth. A deep red silicone gag was placed inside, and a strap was fastened behind her head. Today's gag was slightly larger than usual; the small silicone ball pressed against her tongue, and her lips instinctively tightened around the ball. Her saliva began to secrete slowly, seeping from the corners of her mouth and trickling down her cheeks—because she was lying flat, her saliva couldn't drip onto her chin as usual, but flowed backward into her ears. Then Teacher Zhang took something Xiao Meng hadn't seen before from her pocket. It was an eye mask. Black satin, lined with dark gray cotton, with a strap of moderate width. The inside of the eye mask had two slightly concave curves at the eye sockets, just enough to allow for the movement of her eyeballs. "Depriving you of sight is also part of the punishment. For the entire day today—you can only listen, not see." The moment the eye mask covered her eyes, Xiao Meng's world turned pitch black. The black satin felt cool against her eyelids, the curves of the eye sockets fit perfectly, and her eyelashes brushed against the inner lining of the mask with a faint rustling sound. She could feel her eyeballs rolling unconsciously beneath the mask, but she could see nothing—not even the red glow of the fluorescent lights through her eyelids. Complete darkness. In the darkness, her hearing amplified several times. She heard Teacher Zhang's knees shifting on the floor, heard the light clink of the handcuffs on the desk beside her—perhaps disturbed by the restraints she had just placed there. She heard someone in the back row turning pages of a notebook, the rustling sound at least three times louder than usual. She heard Lin Xiao taking deep breaths, her teeth lightly clenching as she inhaled, and a faint tremor in her nasal passage as she exhaled. She heard her own heartbeat thumping against her eardrums, slightly faster than usual. Teacher Zhang stood up, pushed the restraint board with Qin Xiao Meng secured to it next to the lectern, facing the entire class. Then she picked up chalk and began writing on the blackboard. Today's blackboard writing was quieter than usual, without her explanations, only the sensation of her body swaying slightly with the casters. "Today we're discussing 'Chen Qing Biao.' Qin Xiao Meng, you lie here and listen. After we're done, if you feel your mind is not at peace, hum once through your nose." Her voice sounded as if it were coming through something. She closed her eyes, facing the ceiling, and was silent for a few seconds, then let out a soft sigh through her nose—not a hum, just a normal exhale. Teacher Zhang's chalk-holding hand paused in mid-air, then continued writing on the blackboard. The first class passed like this. No one in the class looked back at the white-haired girl fixed on the board—partly because Teacher Zhang was there, and partly because looking for too long would blur the line between a punished habitual latecomer and a meticulously displayed teaching tool. The "mm" from the darkness still hung in the air as Teacher Zhang's lesson began. "Today we're discussing 'Chen Qing Biao.'" Teacher Zhang's voice came from the direction of the lectern, sounding more distant through the gag and eye mask, but every word was exceptionally clear. "When Li Mi wrote this memorial, Shu Han had just fallen, and Emperor Wu of Jin summoned him to court. He declined the summons, citing his elderly grandmother's need for care. The core of the entire text is four words—'refuse the appointment.'" Xiao Meng lay on the restraint board, her vision a complete black. The black satin of the eye mask was opaque, not even allowing the red glow of the fluorescent lights through her eyelids, only pure, uniform darkness. Her hearing rapidly expanded in this darkness—she could hear the rustling of paper as Teacher Zhang turned her lesson plans on the lectern, the sharp screech of chalk on the blackboard, the light tap of Chen Tang's pen on his textbook as he twirled it (she had never noticed Chen Tang's habit of twirling his pen before), the faint jingle of Lin Xiao's shackle chain against the desk leg as she adjusted her posture in the second row. These sounds were usually lost in the general hum of the classroom, but now each one seemed to be singled out and amplified next to her ear. "The whole class reads the first paragraph: 'I, through misfortune, met with calamity early. When I was six months old, my father passed away; at four years of age, my uncle took my mother's life.' " Forty voices rose simultaneously. Xiao Meng couldn't join in—her mouth was filled with the deep red gag, her lips slightly parted by the pressure, her tongue pinned by the silicone ball, allowing only a muffled nasal sound. She closed her mouth—no, she couldn't close her mouth—she stopped any attempt to vocalize, simply lying in the darkness and listening. The sound of the entire class reading in unison washed over her like a uniform tide from all directions. She found she could distinguish several familiar voices: Lin Xiao's was the loudest, with a somewhat forceful penetration; Zhou Nian's voice was steady, each word precisely on beat; Shen Mo's voice was quiet, but her enunciation was extremely accurate, her pronunciation of "mǐn xiōng" with the rising tone more standard than everyone else's. "Handcuffs are different from shackles," Teacher Zhang explained, crouching down. "Handcuffs allow your wrists to turn; shackles don't. Once these are on, you'll have to rely on your fingers to write or turn pages—your fingers can still move, but your wrist joints are locked." He unfastened the old leg irons from Xiao Meng's feet and replaced them with new, heavy-duty ones. The cuffs were thicker, the chain shorter, and the dull silver metal reflected no light in the dim room. As the cuffs clicked shut, the teeth dug into the skin above her ankle bone. A thin callus had already formed there from the previous heavy leg irons. The new teeth embedded themselves into the old callus, not painful, but the sense of pressure was significantly more intense than with the standard model. The short chain was only ten centimeters long. She tried to take a step, her stride compressed to less than fifteen centimeters, even shorter than the heavy-duty ones in the isolation room. Then came the connecting chain. Teacher Zhang attached the thin chain hanging from the middle of the hand shackles to the middle link of the leg irons' short chain. Now, she looked down at herself—wooden shackles bound her hands, and a chain hung from the shackles to her leg irons. The short chain of the heavy-duty leg irons made it almost impossible to walk. "And this," Teacher Zhang said, picking up the last item from the bed—the silver-white metal collar. Two flat metal contacts on the inside of the collar felt cool against the sides of her carotid arteries. The small black module at the back of the collar was the electric shock controller, waterproof but storing a certain amount of electrical energy. "An electric shock collar. This isn't exclusive to you—a few incorrigible troublemakers at school wear these too. You're the first to get one for being late." Teacher Zhang fastened the collar, adjusted the tightness so the contacts rested precisely beside her carotid arteries. He pressed the black module at the back, and a red light flashed for a second before extinguishing. "The collar is active. The trigger conditions are set by me, designed to make you suddenly realize that if you don't get up, the school will genuinely make you hurt. There's no possibility of accidental activation." Qin Xiao Meng looked down at herself—wooden shackles bound her hands. Her fingertips tapped lightly against the edge of the wooden planks, producing a dull thud. The short chain of the heavy-duty leg irons dangled by her feet, the dull silver cuffs encircling her ankle bones. The connecting chain hung from the center of the shackles to the leg irons. The new links hadn't yet been warmed by her body heat, and the chain swayed gently with each step. The metal contacts of the electric shock collar pressed tightly against her neck. When not discharging, it was just a cool band of metal, but she knew it would suddenly flash red at a moment she couldn't control. As she walked out of the isolation room, all her gear made a sound. Not the usual crisp jingle—handcuffs made a sharp clink of silver-white cuffs colliding, and the short chain of leg irons a fine rustle of tiny links. The sound now was entirely different: the two wooden planks of the shackles met with a dull *thump*, the connecting chain hanging from the middle of the shackles made a finer metallic scraping sound, and the ten-centimeter short chain of the heavy-duty leg irons barely made a sound dragging on the ground, pulled back by the cuffs as soon as it left the floor, each contact a short *clang*. The metal contacts of the electric shock collar occasionally brushed against her collarbone as it shifted on her neck, emitting a faint *hiss*. Wearing the school's heaviest daily restraint, she walked to the door of Class 1-3. Morning sunlight slanted in from the east-facing windows in the corridor. She looked down at herself—wooden shackles, iron chains, heavy leg irons, a collar. Her white hair fell to her shoulders, a few strands pinned down by the collar. Then, she took a deep breath and pushed the classroom door open with her shoulder. Homeroom hadn't started yet; a few early arrivals were at their desks, catching up on homework from the night before. Hearing the door open, a girl in the front row instinctively looked up, dropping her pen. Another girl in the back, mid-sip of water, choked and coughed several times, the chain of her handcuffs rattling against the desk. Some stared at her hand shackles, some at her leg irons, some at the electric shock collar around her neck. Lin Xiao stood up from the third row by the window. As her chair scraped back, the short chain of her leg irons clinked in the aisle. She walked to Qin Xiao Meng, looked down at the wooden shackles on her wrists, then crouched to examine the short chain of her heavy leg irons. Standing up, she took a step back, her gaze fixed on the electric shock collar around her neck. "Wooden hand shackles, heavy short leg irons, electric shock collar. All three are top-tier equipment for incorrigible students. The notorious troublemakers in the upper grades used to cry within a week of wearing them. You, on the other hand—getting them for being late, the first in the entire school." Xiao Meng looked down at the wooden planks on her wrists. The paint at the joint was bright and smooth. She noticed a faint circle of teeth marks on the edge of the wooden plank—bitten by a previous student who had worn these shackles. The outline of canine teeth was slightly indented in the wood grain. "Since I'm wearing them," she said, flexing her fingers, "I have to tell everyone: Qin Xiao Meng is not an incorrigible student. She's just late." "You're not an incorrigible student," Lin Xiao said, reaching through the gap in the wooden shackles to straighten Xiao Meng's crooked school uniform tie. "The only thing you have in common with incorrigible students is your disciplinary record." Zhou Nian sat at her own desk, a math notebook open in front of her, though she wasn't writing. She looked down at the scratches on the floor left by the ten-centimeter chain of Xiao Meng's leg irons as she walked. She remembered the first physics class of the semester, when Teacher Wen was explaining the formula for friction on the blackboard, even using Qin Xiao Meng's leg irons as an example. Back then, she thought leg irons were simply a restriction. Now, staring at the chain pushed to its limit, she suddenly understood that restriction and restraint were different—leg irons restricted stride length, but Xiao Meng was never truly restrained by anything. Qin Xiao Meng walked to her seat and sat down. The width of the wooden shackles was slightly less than the desk. She could rest her hands on the tabletop, but she couldn't separate her hands into two parts to turn pages like she could with handcuffs—she had to use her left hand to hold the page down and her right-hand fingers to flip it. Writing was even slower; her fingers could move, but her wrists were locked, so each stroke required the movement of her entire arm. Lin Xiao, sitting beside her, watched her write a line of text, then pushed her own notebook over, opened to the first page, and wrote a sentence: "I'll take notes for you this semester." Xiao Meng looked down at the words, then used the edge of the wooden shackles to hold down the corner of the page. Beneath Lin Xiao's writing, she drew a simple cat. The cat's ears were askew, its tail curled up, and a small circle was around its neck. She patted the wooden planks of the shackles, placing her wrists side-by-side in the two semi-circular holes within the shackles. News spread faster than last semester. Last semester, when Qin Xiao Meng was locked on the cross, it took a full break between classes for the news to travel from Class 1-3 to the adjacent class. This time, it took less than ten minutes. When the bell rang for the end of the first class, the corridor outside Class 1-3 was already crowded with several layers of people. Some pretended to go to the water dispenser, their cups overflowing unnoticed as they peered through the small window in the door. Others ran specifically from the second-year building, their leg irons dragging a rapid *clang* across the corridor floor, only to pretend they were just passing by the door. Some directly pulled their companions to squat by the small window at the back door, taking turns standing on tiptoe to look inside, the chains of their handcuffs gently tapping on the windowsill. Qin Xiao Meng sat in the third row by the window, her head bowed, turning the Chinese textbook with her shackled hands. She heard the whispers outside growing denser—someone counting the items on her: "Hand shackles, heavy leg irons, electric shock collar, all three are present." Someone whispered to their companion, "Isn't she the top student in her grade? Why is she wearing heavier restraints than the incorrigible students?" Someone corrected them, "She's the 'Late King'—didn't you see her paraded around the school last semester?" Then came a sharp intake of breath: "I saw her during the parade, but she was only wearing the standard model then—aren't these wooden shackles only worn by that girl in the second year who got into a fight and received a major demerit?" Lin Xiao stood up from the adjacent seat, walked to the back door, and opened it a crack. "Don't crowd the doorway; other classes need to get through." Her tone wasn't harsh, but it was enough to make the girls in the front row take half a step back. After the door closed again, she sat down next to Qin Xiao Meng, the short chain of her handcuffs tapping on the edge of the desk. "You've become a spectacle right at the start of the semester. Last semester, with the cross, at least you were being punished and locked on it. This time, you haven't even been punished—you're just attending class normally, and they're coming to look at what you're wearing." Xiao Meng turned the Chinese textbook to the next page. The edge of the wooden shackles pressed against the corner of the page. She used her left-hand fingers to lift the bottom edge of the page and her right-hand fingers to flip it over. The movement was slow, but she was already much more adept than when she first put them on—she realized that with wooden shackles, she couldn't rely on wrist strength like she could with handcuffs. With her wrists locked, she had to rely on finger dexterity. Her shackled hands, in fact, forced her to focus and develop a clumsy but effective new set of finger movements. "Let them look. Last semester, when I was locked on the cross, I had a gag in and couldn't move. My head was fixed by the collar, so I could only look straight at the door. I thought being stared at was the worst thing then—you can't move, you can't hide any expression, everyone's staring at you, and you can't even lower your head." After turning the page, she looked up at the door. Two faces were pressed against the small window in the door: one was a freshman from the first year, the other a second-year senior who had just won a championship in the tightrope walking event at last year's sports meet. "It's different now. I'm sitting, I can move, I can speak, I can write. Let them see clearly if they want—this is the color of the wooden shackles, this is how short the heavy leg iron chain is, and the electric shock collar hasn't even lit up red yet." During the break between the third and fourth classes, the crowd of onlookers hadn't diminished; if anything, it had grown. Some people in the corridor formed a line, taking turns standing on tiptoe to look through the window. Others pointed through the small glass in the front door. Some held their phones up to the gap in the door, trying to take pictures—only to have their phones confiscated by a patrolling teacher. Eventually, security guards had to clear the area, but after the guards left, people gradually returned. Physical education class became the focus of a new round of gawking. Teacher Ma blew the assembly whistle on the sports field. The class hadn't even formed a proper line when students from the adjacent second-year classes, who were engaged in free activities, stopped to look over. Qin Xiao Meng stood in the middle of the line, her shackled hands resting in front of her, the short chain of her heavy leg irons gently swaying against her athletic shoes. The metal contacts of the electric shock collar felt slightly warm from the sun; she pressed it down slightly as she stood in line. When running laps, she ran at the very end of the line—the ten-centimeter short chain made it impossible for her to run fast. Others took one small step while she had to take two or three. The connecting chain hung from the center of the wooden shackles to her leg irons, swinging left and right as she ran, occasionally hitting her calf. But her steps were steady, her breathing even, as she jogged side-by-side with Lin Xiao, her white ponytail swaying gently behind her. Teacher Ma watched her for a lap at the end of the track and then called her to a halt. Qin Xiao Meng stepped out of the line and walked to the side of the track, her hand shackles swaying slightly, the short chain of her heavy leg irons brushing a few blades of grass. Teacher Ma didn't criticize her for running slowly. He simply looked down at the short chain of her leg irons, then at the connecting chain in the middle of her wooden shackles. He then took a sports-specific connecting chain buckle from his pocket. He unfastened the original connecting chain from the wooden shackles and replaced it with a stretchy buckle—shorter than the original chain but more flexible, less likely to hit her leg when running. "I can't change the short chain of the heavy leg irons; that's a custom length. But the connecting chain can be swapped for a sports version. From now on, bring this buckle to physical education class yourself and swap it with me before class." He put his hands back in his tracksuit pockets. "I don't know why you're wearing wooden shackles, but since you are, I can't have you unable to run a lap in PE class." Xiao Meng looked down at the stretchy buckle, then lifted the wooden shackles slightly towards her chest, bending her waist slightly. "Thank you, teacher." Teacher Ma didn't reply, simply blowing his whistle to signal her to rejoin the line. In the cafeteria, the bell for lunch rang. Qin Xiao Meng carried her tray, her wooden shackles resting on either side of the tray. She reached for chopsticks with her hands from the middle of the shackles. Her movements with the chopsticks were slow—with locked wrists, picking up food required moving her entire forearm. She made each attempt to pick up food seem like a physics experiment. Lin Xiao sat opposite her, picked up a chicken drumstick from her own plate, and placed it in Xiao Meng's bowl without a word. Zhou Nian pushed her soup bowl closer to Xiao Meng's hand. Shen Mo had already finished eating and was using a wet wipe to clean a soy sauce stain from the edge of the wooden shackles. But the gazes in the cafeteria were even more intense than in the classroom. Students from all three grades ate in the same space. Every person carrying a tray who passed by glanced at the table in the corner. "That girl with white hair and wooden shackles," some whispered, "that's Qin Xiao Meng." Others said, "Top student." Others said, "Late King." Others said, "All three top-tier restraints." Some stopped mid-way with their trays, pulling their companions from the next table to ask in a low voice, "Is that an electric shock collar around her neck? Don't only incorrigible students who have been officially notified wear those?" Xiao Meng picked up the chicken drumstick, her head never lowering. A grain of sesame was on the corner of her mouth; Lin Xiao reached out and wiped it away for her. In the evening, in the dormitory corridor. The lights-out bell hadn't rung yet. Qin Xiao Meng stood in the washroom, using the wooden shackles to prop herself against the edge of the sink, bending her head to let water run over the back of her neck. The hand shackles rested on the curved edge of the sink, allowing her to bend over. As she cupped water with her fixed hands to wash her face, her fingers couldn't straighten. She looked at herself in the mirror—her wet white hair clung to her cheeks, and the electric shock collar around her neck reflected a cold silver-white light under the mirror lamp, a few water droplets clinging to it. She thought she had been wearing these restraints for a full half-day. She would continue to wear them tomorrow, and the day after, and every day this semester. She didn't know when she would be able to take off the wooden shackles and heavy leg irons, perhaps when she never arrived late again, or perhaps much longer. Returning to the dormitory, Lin Xiao sat on her bed, polishing the inside of her cuffs with a maintenance cloth. Seeing her enter, she looked up and said, "Xiao Meng, do the wooden shackles need maintenance? Old oak can't get too wet, can it?" Qin Xiao Meng extended her hands, letting Lin Xiao feel the surface moisture of the wooden planks. "It's fine; the surface varnish is waterproof. But they need to be oiled from time to time—just like you polish your cuffs." She sat down on the edge of the bed, letting the short chain of her heavy leg irons dangle over the edge. Lin Xiao looked down at the short chain, then at the collar around her neck. Finally, her gaze fell on the circle of teeth marks on the edge of the wooden shackles. She touched it lightly with her finger. "These teeth marks, were they bitten by someone before?... To leave an imprint like that, how much pain must they have been in then?" Xiao Meng looked down at the indented outline of canine teeth. She didn't speak, merely tapped lightly next to the teeth marks with her finger—the sound from the wood was soft, much lighter than tapping on a metal pipe, like knocking on a very, very old wooden door. The alarm clock rang. 6:25 AM. It wasn't fully light yet; the emergency lights in the corridor were still on, and light seeped in from under the door cracks, drawing a long, thin pale white line on the dormitory floor. On the four beds in Dorm 312, Lin Xiao's quilt was pulled over her head. Zhou Nian lay on her side, pressing the short chain of her handcuffs under her pillow. Shen Mo lay flat on her back, her hands resting on her abdomen, breathing evenly. Qin Xiao Meng's bed was empty, the quilt kicked to the foot of the bed, the pillow askew. Her handcuffs—no, she wasn't wearing handcuffs now. Draped over the iron frame at the head of the bed was the old oak hand shackle, its two thick planks emitting a warm, matte sheen in the dim light. She was already sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on her shoes. As Qin Xiaomeng sat up in bed, the sky was not yet fully light. The pre-shock of the electric collar vibrated gently at the side of her neck, reminding her she had one minute left. She turned off the pre-shock with her finger and then felt under her pillow for the dark blue cloth bag. The gag was still inside, the small copper key threaded onto a fine silver chain, coiled at the bottom of the bag. She wouldn't be using the gag today. She would be using something else. Last night, after the dorm's team-building event ended, Lin Xiao had handcuffed her to the headboard and tickled her. Zhou Nian had called her the most defiant person in the dorm, and Shen Mo had drawn a cat with a crooked ear on her notebook. She lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to Lin Xiao's breathing gradually even out. Her fingers curled slightly by her pillow. Tomorrow, she would show them what true defiance meant. She took out an unopened packet of transparent plastic from the bottom of the drawer. The bag was printed with "Mingde Experimental Middle School Cooperative Medical Equipment Factory · Medical Grade Silicone," which she had picked up last week when she went to the infirmary for band-aids – the infirmary teacher, knowing she was the top student, didn't question her taking any equipment. Inside the bag were three items. A semi-transparent medical-grade silicone chastity device, its material as soft as the shell of a vibrator, with fine pores on the inside. Once fastened, it was almost imperceptible against the skin. A new vibrator for today's use, smaller and thinner than the one she usually used for experiments, oval-shaped, with a thumb-sized remote. A white plush cat tail butt plug, with a stainless steel locking ring at the base. The white fur was fluffy and soft, the end curved into a playful arc. She picked up the three items with her hands, secured by the wooden shackles, moving slowly. The edge of the shackle's plank lightly brushed against the drawer's edge. The short chain of the heavy shackles dangled by her feet, the links catching the morning light into a cold gleam. The lights-out whistle was still half an hour away. Lin Xiao turned over on the opposite bed, pulling the blanket over her head. Zhou Nian's breathing was steady as a clock. Shen Mo's blanket was folded neatly at the foot of the bed; she was already in the washroom. Meng first put on the chastity device. The semi-transparent silicone conformed to the curve of her hip bones, wrapping around her waist from both sides, secured at the back with a medical buckle. She tested the tightness with her fingers – just right, not constricting, but completely sealed. Then came the vibrator. She inserted the small oval piece into the specially designed compartment inside the chastity device, pressing it against her body in the most suitable position through the semi-transparent silicone. The remote was only thumb-sized; she secured it to the inside of her thigh with medical tape – a hidden spot, untraceable beneath her skirt. Finally, the cat tail. She stood up, bent over, and slowly inserted the butt plug into her body. The stainless steel locking ring settled firmly at the entrance. The white plush tail dangled from beneath her skirt, falling just above the bend of her knees, its fluffy fur swaying slightly. She straightened up, pulled down her skirt, and looked down. From the outside, there was no trace – the white fur tail was mostly hidden by her skirt, only a small tuft occasionally peeking out when she walked. The short chain of the heavy shackles dragged across her ankles, the white plush tail swaying gently beneath her skirt. She stood in front of the dorm's full-length mirror and looked at herself – her white hair in a high ponytail fell to the side of her shoulders, the wooden shackles secured her hands in front of her, the heavy shackles encircled her ankles, and the electric collar encircled her neck. The chastity device, the vibrator, the cat tail – the three items hidden beneath her skirt. In the mirror, she looked the same as yesterday, but she knew she was different. When Lin Xiao was woken by the wake-up whistle, she saw Qin Xiaomeng already dressed and sitting by the bed, wiping the planks of her hand shackles. She rubbed her eyes and saw Qin Xiaomeng stand up, dragging her leg shackles to the dorm door. Her skirt swayed lightly with her steps above the bend of her knees, revealing a small section of white fluff, tinged pale gold in the morning light. "Meng—your butt—what is that—" Qin Xiaomeng stood at the door and turned around, her white hair falling beside her collarbone from above the collar. Her fingers extended from the gap in the shackle planks, and she gently pressed the remote. Level one. A slight vibration pulsed within her, and the white tail tip twitched at the bend of her knees. "Cat tail. Butt plug. Chastity device. Vibrator. I'm wearing them all day today." Zhou Nian rolled out of bed, her short hair sticking up in a mess, staring at the white plush tail, her mouth agape as if it could fit a whole gag. Shen Mo returned from the washroom, carrying her toothbrush and rinsing cup, and stopped at the dorm door. Her gaze shifted from the cat tail to the wooden shackles, to the electric collar, to the faint white tail tip visible beneath the skirt. Then she looked down at the short chain of handcuffs on her own wrist. She placed her rinsing cup on the bedside table, flipped open her notebook with her still-wet hand, and wrote a line under today's date – Qin Xiaomeng · Tail · White. Zhou Nian drew a question mark after "White." Shen Mo circled the question mark and replaced it with three exclamation marks. The bell for morning self-study hadn't rung yet, and Qin Xiaomeng was already seated in the third row by the window. The wooden shackles rested on the edge of her desk, the short chain of the heavy shackles dangling by the leg of the desk. The metal contacts of the electric collar glinted coldly in the morning light. Her skirt covered her thighs, but when she sat down, the white cat tail was pressed against the seat of the chair, its fluffy tip peeking out from the edge of her skirt, swaying gently above the bend of her knees. The vibrator was in the compartment inside the chastity device, the silicone layer pressing against the softest part of her body. The thumb-sized remote was stuck to the inside of her thigh, and she could feel it slowly heating up through her skin. Lin Xiao sat beside her, the short chain of her handcuffs resting on the edge of the desk, a lollipop in her mouth. Every few seconds, she glanced under Meng's skirt, then took a bite of her lollipop. "Meng, you really brought a cat tail to class." "Didn't you and Zhou Nian and Shen Mo handcuff me to the headboard and tickle me last night? I said I'd deal with you one by one. The way I'll deal with you is by letting you watch me wear a cat tail, but you can't touch it." Lin Xiao pulled the lollipop out of her mouth and pointed at the white fur tail. "When can I touch it?" Meng's fingers extended from the gap in the shackle planks, and she gently pressed the remote. Level one. A vibration pulsed within her, and the white tail tip flicked at the bend of her knees. "After class." The first class was physics. Teacher Wen pushed the experimental cart into the classroom, opened the textbook on the podium, and then looked up to see Qin Xiaomeng. Her gaze paused on the third row by the window – Qin Xiaomeng was still wearing the wooden shackles, heavy shackles, and electric collar as yesterday, but today, a small section of white fluff protruded from beneath her skirt, tinged pale gold in the morning light. Teacher Wen adjusted her glasses, her dimples deepening. She pushed the experimental cart to the center of the podium and picked up a spring scale. "Qin Xiaomeng, the equipment for your experiment today is one more item than the whole class." "It's two. The chastity device and the vibrator. The cat tail is fixed inside by the butt plug." Qin Xiaomeng took the remote from the gap in the shackle planks and placed it on the corner of the desk. Teacher Wen was silent for a second. Then, she gently flicked the tip of the cat tail with the hook of the spring scale. The white fur sprang up and then fell back to the bend of her knees. "Your independent experiment has been upgraded again. The vibrator is inside the chastity device – that position is closer to your body than when you usually clip it inside your skirt. Can you maintain your focus?" "Yes. I could feel it moving at level one just now, and it's more sensitive than yesterday's position. But the more sensitive it is, the clearer my mind becomes." "Then don't turn it off. Today we're discussing Newton's First Law. Inertia – an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." Teacher Wen picked up chalk and drew a small ball and a horizontal line on the blackboard. Qin Xiaomeng held the remote and pressed it to level two. The vibration emanated from the compartment, humming gently deep within her body through the silicone chastity device. The white tail tip swayed gently at the bend of her knees. Her pen moved steadily on the experimental report, each physics term hitting the mark. After class, Shen Mo walked over from the back row, holding Qin Xiaomeng's water cup. She hadn't brought her notebook today – she had left it on her desk, and was just standing there with the water cup. Then she reached out and gently touched the tip of the white cat tail with her fingertips. The white fur was very soft, and it swayed forward when she touched it. She withdrew her hand, looked down at her fingertips, and then looked into Qin Xiaomeng's eyes. "Softer than in the drawing." After she finished speaking, she returned to the back row with the water cup, and added another line to her notebook – White, real fur, softer than in drawing. Zhou Nian leaned over from the adjacent seat, looked at the line on Shen Mo's notebook, then turned and gave Qin Xiaomeng a thumbs-up. At noon, Qin Xiaomeng went to the restroom. She unfastened the side buckle of the chastity device, took out the vibrator with her finger, and wiped it clean with a wet wipe. Then she put it back in the compartment and fastened it again. She stood in the restroom stall for a while, looking at the white cat tail dangling beneath her skirt, swaying fluffily in the dim stall light. There were still three classes in the afternoon. She reset the remote from level one to level two and walked out of the stall, the short chain of the heavy shackles dragging across the tiled floor of the restroom. When she returned to the classroom, Lin Xiao was slumped over her desk, copying her experimental report. The white cat tail was draped over the back of the chair. Lin Xiao reached out and gently flicked the tip of the cat tail. Lin Xiao looked up at her. "Class is over." "Class is over!" Lin Xiao shoved the lollipop into her mouth, her two hands, locked by handcuffs, reached out, and she used all ten fingers to tickle the tip of the white tail. The furry tail bounced between her fingertips. During the afternoon break, Chen Tang and Qiao Wei also came over. Chen Tang gently flicked the tip of the white tail with her finger, and Qiao Wei asked if the tail could move on its own. Qin Xiaomeng quietly pressed the remote, hidden in the gap of the shackle planks, to level three. The tip of the cat tail trembled slightly at the bend of her knees. "It can move, but it doesn't move on its own." After she spoke, she pressed the remote back to level one, and the cat tail slowly quieted down. Chen Tang looked at Qiao Wei, and Qiao Wei looked at Chen Tang. Both of them lowered their heads to take notes simultaneously – although they hadn't figured out what to write, they felt they should record something. Physics class. Teacher Wen was drawing a diagram of electromagnetic induction coils on the blackboard, the chalk tapping out a crisp rhythm. Qin Xiaomeng sat in the third row by the window, the wooden shackles resting on the edge of her desk, the short chain of the heavy shackles dangling by her feet. The vibrator was in the compartment inside the chastity device, and the remote was still stuck to the inside of her left thigh. The white cat tail extended from beneath her skirt, its tip resting on her knees and swaying gently. She had been at level three for nearly an hour, and level three was more concentrated in the confined space of the chastity device, but she hadn't lowered it. She found that the more she was pushed to her limit, the clearer her thoughts became – she could replay every step of the derivation of Lenz's Law frame by frame in her mind. Then Teacher Wen assigned the class a practice problem. The classroom quieted down, with only the sound of paper and pen friction and the occasional light clinking of chains. Qin Xiaomeng took the remote from the inside of her thigh and placed it in the gap of the shackle planks. Level three. She looked down at the circuit diagram in her practice book, her pencil moving steadily between her fingers. Then she thought of last night – when Lin Xiao had handcuffed her to the headboard and tickled her, she had laughed so hard that the short chain of the heavy shackles had banged against the edge of the bed. She had said then that she would deal with them one by one. Now Lin Xiao was sitting next to her, the short chain of her handcuffs resting on the edge of the desk, a lollipop in her mouth, looking down at the practice problem. Meng's fingers moved slightly in the gap of the shackle planks. She pressed the remote. Level four. On Saturday morning, the school gates opened. Students from three grades were dismissed in batches, the sound of chains dragging on the ground echoing from the academic buildings all the way to the school entrance. Qin Xiaomeng stood in the line for Class 3 of the first year, her hands bound in front of her by a wooden cangue, heavy shackles with short chains dangling by her feet. The metal contacts of the electric collar gleamed silver-white in the morning sun. A white cat tail peeked out from beneath her skirt, its tip swaying gently above her knee. Beside the security booth at the school entrance stood an electronic screen, displaying a scrolling list of departing students and their equipment status. Beneath Qin Xiaomeng's name was noted: Handcuffs (Wooden), Heavy Shackles (Serrated Model), Electric Collar (Trigger Record: Principal Accidental Activation Once), Cat Tail Anal Plug (Student Self-Experiment File 054). The security guard glanced at the screen, then up at the fluffy white tip of Qin Xiaomeng's tail, and pressed the release button. The iron gate slid open to the sides, revealing the street outside bathed in morning light. Lin Xiao stood at the school entrance, the short chain of her handcuffs swaying gently on her wrist. Zhou Nian squatted beside her, tying her shoelaces, the short chain of her standard model shackles resting on the pavement tiles. Shen Mo stood in the shade of a tree, carrying a cloth bag containing a notebook, a water cup, and a small bag of cat treats—not for a cat, but for Qin Xiaomeng's comment in the dorm last time: "If my tail gets dirty from the wind someday, I can wipe it with the treat wrapper." Shen Mo had actually brought them. The commercial street was not far from the school. As the four of them dragged their shackles into the pedestrian street, the first to notice them were not the passersby, but the staff at the milk tea shop at the street corner. The employee poked their head out from behind the counter, still holding a shaker cup. Seeing four girls in handcuffs and shackles walking side by side, one of them wearing a wooden cangue with a white cat tail extending from beneath her skirt, they put down the shaker cup and called to a colleague, "Look at that girl with white hair—is she filming something?" Qin Xiaomeng heard them. She didn't turn around, merely lifted the wooden cangue a little higher, letting the connecting chain hang from the center of the plank. The stationery store. Lin Xiao picked out a row of highlighters at the pen stand, opening each one and drawing two lines, the short chain of her handcuffs clinking against the stand. Zhou Nian was examining the quality of loose-leaf paper in the notebook section. Shen Mo stood in front of the postcard rack, picked up a postcard with a white cat printed on it, looked at the back, and then placed it in her shopping basket. Qin Xiaomeng stood in front of the gachapon machine at the store entrance. The machine contained keychains shaped like animal tails—cat tails, fox tails, rabbit tails. She looked down at the white cat tail hanging from beneath her skirt, then gently nudged the transparent cover of the gachapon machine with the edge of her cangue plank. The stationery store owner stood up from behind the cash register and walked over to her, smiling kindly. "Little girl, is your cat tail real?" Qin Xiaomeng nodded, then turned to show her the base of her tail at her lower back—it emerged from a stainless steel fixing ring and disappeared beneath her waistband. The owner reached out and gently flicked the tip of the tail. The white fur sprang back in her fingers. "The craftsmanship is really good. Is it from your school?" "I bought it myself. The school only issues handcuffs and shackles." The owner flicked the cat tail again, then turned and called towards the counter, "Old Li, look at this tail—can we make our store's lucky cat figurine like this?" As Qin Xiaomeng walked out of the stationery store, she held a gachapon capsule in her hand. She didn't twist it open, but simply held it clamped in the gap of the cangue plank, the transparent plastic shell reflecting rainbow-colored halos in the sunlight. The milk tea shop. The four of them sat down in a corner booth. Qin Xiaomeng's seat was against the wall, her wooden cangue resting on the edge of the table, the short chain of her heavy shackles dangling over the edge of the booth. Her white cat tail was pressed beneath the seat cushion, its tip poking through the gap in the chair and dangling below, swaying gently. Lin Xiao held the menu up to her face, lowered her voice, and said, "The employee kept looking at your tail just now. They added an extra portion of pearls to your signature milk tea, I think it's a gift for your tail." Qin Xiaomeng didn't look up. She threaded the straw through the gap in the cangue plank, took a sip of her milk tea, and said, "The table next door is looking too. The girl in the plaid shirt, third seat by the window, she's pretended to go to the restroom twice since we came in." Lin Xiao lowered the menu. "Let them look. They're looking because they've never seen a girl wearing a wooden cangue with a cat tail. You barely see school uniforms around Beicheng Commercial Street." Suddenly, someone walked over. The girl in the plaid shirt stood beside the booth, her phone clutched in her hand. She pursed her lips several times before speaking, "Hello—are you from Mingde Experimental Middle School? I saw your promotional video online, but the props in the video are different from what you're wearing—" "Props?" Lin Xiao poked her head out from behind the menu. "These aren't props. The handcuffs and shackles are custom stainless steel, the wooden cangue is old oak, and the electric collar can actually deliver a shock. Her cat tail is daily disposable—no, she wears it every day." The girl in the plaid shirt looked at the electric collar on Qin Xiaomeng's neck, then at her wooden cangue, and finally her gaze settled on the white cat tail. Qin Xiaomeng put down her milk tea cup, looked up into her eyes, and said, "You can touch the tip of the tail. Just gently." The girl in the plaid shirt reached out and lightly touched the end of the cat tail with her fingertips. The white fur sprang back against her fingertip, and she quietly said, "Thank you," and turned to leave. Shen Mo opened her notebook and ticked the box under "Outside Contact." At the corner. Qin Xiaomeng stood at the intersection waiting for the green light, the short chain of her heavy shackles gently clinking against the edge of the sidewalk. Her cat tail was blown by the wind, its white tip tracing a small arc above her knee. A little girl in a stroller next to her, also waiting for the red light, stared at her tail and reached out to grab it. The girl's mother quickly pulled the stroller back, but Qin Xiaomeng had already gently swayed her tail towards the stroller, allowing the little girl's fingers to touch the white fur at the tip. The little girl giggled. Her mother glanced at Qin Xiaomeng, smiled apologetically, and then said to her daughter, "Sister is role-playing, she's not a real kitty." Lin Xiao leaned close to Xiaomeng's ear. "She said you're role-playing." "You could say that," Qin Xiaomeng said. She gently withdrew her tail from the little girl's hand and then walked across the road with small steps. The bookstore. Qin Xiaomeng stood at the counter, using her fingers to retrieve her student ID from the gap in the cangue plank. The photo on the ID was taken last semester—white hair, high ponytail, silver-white handcuffs, no wooden cangue, no heavy shackles, no electric collar, no cat tail. The employee behind the counter looked down at the photo, then up at her current appearance. "This photo was taken last semester, right? You have an extra cat tail now compared to the photo." "Yes, I started wearing it this semester. The student ID will be updated next month." The employee placed the shopping bag on the counter, but their eyes lingered between her collar and her tail. Qin Xiaomeng lowered her head and used the edge of the cangue plank to press down on the paper handles of the shopping bag, lifting it and hanging it on the connecting chain in the middle of the cangue. As she walked out of the bookstore, the tip of her cat tail brushed against the doorframe, making a very faint rustling sound. On the return journey. The sun was setting, and the shops on the commercial street were gradually lighting up. The four of them dragged their shackles across the stone pavement of the pedestrian street, the sound of chains dragging on the ground half-drowned by the guitar music of a street performer. Qin Xiaomeng walked on the outermost edge, her cat tail swaying gently behind her. She passed a pet supply store, and a row of cat toys hung in the window—feather wands, yarn balls, laser pointers. She stopped to look for a moment, then gently tapped the display window with the edge of her cangue plank. A white toy mouse inside the glass was at the same height as her cat tail, and through the glass, her own tail cast a small, blurry, furry shadow on the window. Lin Xiao caught up from behind and also looked at the display window. "Do you want to buy that toy mouse?" "No. I have my own tail, I don't need a teaser wand. Let's go back to school." The school gate. The electronic screen in the security booth was still scrolling, and Qin Xiaomeng's name was now at the very top of the return list. The security guard looked down to verify her equipment status—wooden cangue, heavy shackles, electric collar, cat tail, consistent with when she left. But he noticed an additional item in the returned items column: an unopened gachapon capsule. Qin Xiaomeng walked through the school gate, the iron gate closing behind her. She took the gachapon capsule out of the gap in the cangue plank and spun it between her fingers, the contents inside the transparent plastic shell reflecting golden light in the setting sun. The electronic screen above had switched back to the school emblem, and rows of disciplinary rules scrolled slowly across the blurry, grayish-white screen—and at the very bottom of these familiar characters, which she had seen for hundreds of days and nights, she had already left her own mark. The dormitory lights were on. Qin Xiaomeng sat on the edge of her bed and placed the gachapon capsule on the bedside table. She used her fingers to grip the lid of the capsule through the gap in the cangue plank and gave it a gentle twist. The plastic shell split into two halves, and a keychain fell out—a cat tail shape, white and fluffy, exactly like the one hanging from beneath her skirt, only much smaller. She held the keychain up to her eyes, the tip of the tail swaying between her fingers. Lin Xiao poked her head over from the opposite bunk, a newly unwrapped lollipop in her mouth. "You spent ten yuan to get a replica of yourself." Qin Xiaomeng hung the keychain on the lock clasp on the side of the wooden cangue, the small white tail swaying gently against the edge of the plank. "It's not a replica. It's a backup." "You wore the head cage for an entire morning during your confinement training. Instructor Duan wrote in the disciplinary record: 'This trainee did not use the key to unlock it themselves at any point.' The head cage has been used in this school for a long time, and you are the first person to wear it from beginning to end without opening it yourself." Teacher Zhang withdrew her pen from the pen holder and placed it beside the application form. "So I want to apply for this for you – the right to wear the head cage for daily use. Not as punishment, not for confinement display, but for you to choose how long and when you wear it. You will keep the key yourself – just like the gag key from before." Qin Xiaomeng's fingers curled slightly in the gaps of the shackles. She lowered her head, looking at the application form, the section for the reason for application still blank. She took the pen from Teacher Zhang, held the pen barrel with the shackles, and wrote in the reason for application column: "The wire mesh head cage can restrict vision, reduce external interference, and improve classroom focus. I apply to wear it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, with the key managed by myself." Teacher Zhang looked at the words and signed in the approval column. Then she took out a velvet storage bag from the drawer, loosened the opening, revealing the gunmetal gray wire mesh head cage inside – the padding of the collar had been replaced with a thicker version, with an absorbent layer on the inside. "The head cage is yours. I've replaced the collar padding with a thicker one, and the absorbent layer is a new material from the infirmary. The edges of the wire mesh have all been smoothed, so they won't snag your hair." She pushed the storage bag across the desk. Qin Xiaomeng hung the bag on the shackle's buckle, her cat tail held high behind her. Friday morning, before the pre-shock of the electric collar even vibrated, Qin Xiaomeng was already awake. She sat up in bed, her fingers reaching out from the inside of the shackles, and picked up the velvet storage bag from the bedside table. The wire mesh of the head cage gleamed a cold gray in the morning light, the solder points fine and neat. She separated the collar and clipped it onto the back of her neck – the leather band pressed exactly on the upper edge of the electric collar, the buckles of the two devices interlocking one above the other without interference. Then she brought the upper part of the collar around her jaw, closing it at her throat, the soft leather padding against her jawline and behind her ears. The buckle clicked shut, and the reinforcing straps passed through from the sides of the collar, under her armpits, and were secured at the back. Then she picked up the cage. The gunmetal gray wire mesh cast a cold light in the morning sun. She placed the cage over her head – the bottom edge of the cage fitting into the groove on the outer edge of the collar. Her fingers adjusted the position of the gag's smiling opening from the inside of the wire mesh, then threaded the brass lock through the hanging ring and the collar's lock hole, clicking it shut. The key hung on the shackle's buckle, clinking against the whistle with a clear metallic sound. She stood up, the short chain of her heavy shackles dragging on the floor, her cat tail peeking out from under the hem of her prison uniform, swaying gently. Pushing open the dormitory door, the morning light in the corridor was cut into countless tiny points of light by the wire mesh. She squinted – the mesh of the head cage turned everything into diamond-shaped fragments, but her steps were steady. Lin Xiao stood at the dormitory door waiting for her. She saw Qin Xiaomeng push the door open wearing the head cage, the wire mesh pressing her white hair against her forehead, the gag gently pressing her lips from the inside, her cat tail swaying behind her. "You really put on the head cage – not as a confinement punishment, but because you applied for daily use yourself." Qin Xiaomeng didn't quicken her pace, but tilted the head cage slightly towards Lin Xiao, looking at her diamond-shaped face through the mesh. Her fingers reached out from the inside of the shackles and gently touched the short chain of Lin Xiao's handcuffs through the wire mesh. Her cat tail brushed lightly against Lin Xiao's handcuffs, and then she walked forward, the wire mesh of the head cage casting constantly shifting grid shadows in the morning light. The first class was Chinese, taught by Teacher Zhang. Qin Xiaomeng sat in the front row, center. The wire mesh of the head cage cut the blackboard writing into rows of small diamond-shaped blocks of text, but each character was clearly visible. Teacher Zhang wrote today's topic on the blackboard – "Ode to the Red Cliff." Then she turned around and looked at the white-haired girl in the front row, center, wearing the head cage. "Qin Xiaomeng, this is the third time you've studied this text this semester. Last semester, you were in a 'Four Horses Tight Binding' position, kneeling on the chair with a gag in your mouth, and I lectured on this text. Last month, you were sitting in the electric chair, your legs restrained, and I lectured on it again. Today, you're wearing the head cage – the wire mesh has narrowed your vision to only what's directly in front of you, but you haven't, as you told me last time, found yourself looking at the corridor and hall, not wanting to push open the door. You don't even have peripheral vision now." Qin Xiaomeng tilted the head cage slightly towards the blackboard. Teacher Zhang saw her fingers reach out from the inside of the shackles and grasp the key, but she didn't turn it – she just held it. Her cat tail swayed gently beside the chair leg. "Today we're discussing the last paragraph. 'The guests were pleased and laughed, and refilled their cups and poured more wine. The food and fruits were all gone, and the cups and plates were in disarray. They rested against each other in the boat, not knowing that the east had already dawned.' Su Shi and his friends were drinking and chatting on the boat, and finally fell asleep, not even knowing that dawn had broken." Teacher Zhang placed the chalk in the blackboard trough. "He was very pained when he was first demoted to Huangzhou, but he adjusted. He didn't find freedom because he wasn't being punished – he learned to find freedom in the river's clear breeze and the mountain's bright moon only after he was demoted to Huangzhou, his movements restricted, and his official position stripped away. Freedom isn't being locked outside of something – it's that even when you are locked, the clear breeze still blows, and the moonlight still shines on your body." Qin Xiaomeng tightened her grip on the key in the shackle's gap, lowered her head, and drew a circle on the side of the gag with her index finger – that was the secret signal she and Lin Xiao had agreed upon, meaning "remembered." She had said before that resisting change is also a form of change. Now, behind the wire mesh, her eyes curved. Yesterday, when she took off the head cage at the confinement summary meeting, she said – she wouldn't be late again this semester. But it wasn't out of fear of punishment. It was because she wanted to be the first to push open the classroom door every morning, using the back door key that Teacher Zhang had given her. Teacher Zhang flipped to the next page of the textbook on the podium. She looked at the blackboard through the wire mesh, her cat tail swaying gently beside the chair leg, the tip of her tail brushing against the short chain of her heavy shackles. The tea-serving walk-through is complete. Tonight's cage confinement subject: advanced tea pouring. Yesterday, you used the four-horse rig to pour yourself half a cup of Longjing. Tonight, we add one more element: a leather hood. The hood will cover your ears and eyes, with only a breathing slit below the bridge of your nose. You will pour tea inside the cage, wearing the hood. No spills. Qin Xiaomeng knelt inside the cage, the leather hood already in place. Soft black leather clung to her cheekbones and brow bone, the sides of her ears muffled by the hood's padding, leaving only a narrow breathing slit below her nose. The gag had been replaced with the standard model—Instructor Wen had said the hood provided its own mouth restraint, eliminating the need for a gag. The four-horse rig was secured, hemp ropes binding her from wrists to knees, her body folded into a compact arc. The cage door was half-open, a low table pushed to the front of the cage, the Zisha teapot and teacups placed at its edge. She could see nothing, hear nothing. The hood blocked all light and sound, leaving only the soft hiss of her own breath echoing within. Instructor Wen had told her the teapot's position before putting on the hood—"The pot is at the front-left corner of the low table, the cup at the front-right. The pot's spout faces north, the cup's handle faces south." Inside the hood, she turned to orient herself to the table. The four-horse rig allowed her only to kneel, adjusting her position with minute shifts of her knees and hips. Her fingers reached behind her to find the knot—the teapot's handle was tied to a cage bar with a thin hemp rope, the end dangling at a height her fingers could just reach. She untied the rope, lifted the pot, and tilted it north with her head—the tea was Longjing, carrying the toasted aroma of pan-fired beans. The hood obscured her vision, but her sense of smell remained. She could smell the rising fragrance of the steam as the tea poured into the cup, the cup's position, the pot's tilt, the spacing of the cage bars—these unseen elements began to form a precise spatial map inside the hood. Tea poured into the cup. Half for herself, half for the instructor. Not a drop spilled. On the morning of the fifth day, Qin Xiaomeng was awakened in the cage by the pre-dawn call. The short chain of the leather cuffs dragged across the mattress. The fine blood spots on her knees from yesterday's abrasions had scabbed over, half of the red marks rubbed off by the white sheets on the linoleum floor. She felt for the key under her pillow and unlocked the cage door, kneeling inside to await Instructor Wen. The exhale valve of the leather gag hissed softly with her steady breaths. The "Ode to the Red Cliff" she had recited in the corner yesterday afternoon still lingered on her tongue—"I know not when the east will turn white." After the east turned white, it would be the final day. Tomorrow, she would leave this training room, returning to the wooden yoke and heavy shackles, her cat tail tucked back beneath her skirt. But today, there were still three more lessons. Instructor Wen pushed open the door, holding a training logbook and a gag Qin Xiaomeng had never seen before. Not a leather gag, not a deep red silicone gag ball, not the standard white gag ball. It was a spider gag—a pure metal frame with soft leather padding on the inside, and a row of fine fixation teeth for each jaw. Once fitted, it forced the upper and lower teeth apart, allowing the tongue to move freely, but locking the jaw in a semi-open state. She could speak, but each word had to be squeezed out of her parted mouth. Instructor Wen pushed the gag into her mouth, the fixation teeth catching on the inside of her upper and lower rows, the strap buckling behind her head. Qin Xiaomeng tried to say "Here," her voice muffled. Her tongue brushed against the metal edge inside the gag, tasting a faint hint of disinfectant. Instructor Wen flipped the training logbook to today's first lesson, continuing the tea-serving training. But today's distraction was not an eye mask, not a hood, not the four-horse rig—it was herself. Qin Xiaomeng knelt before the low table, her hands cuffed behind her back. The Longjing in the Zisha teapot had just been brewed, steam rising from its spout. She held the teapot handle with her lips, pouring the tea into the first cup. Then she lowered her head, held the cup's rim with her lips, straightened her back, and brought the cup to Instructor Wen. Instructor Wen sat in a folding chair opposite the low table, not reaching out to take it. She reached out and gently stroked Qin Xiaomeng's hair, her fingers sliding from root to tip, pausing at her nape. Qin Xiaomeng's lips, holding the teacup, trembled slightly. The tea sloshed at the rim but did not spill. For the second cup, Instructor Wen's hand slid from her nape to her ear, her fingertips gently massaging her earlobe. Qin Xiaomeng closed her eyes, holding the cup even steadier. For the third cup, Instructor Wen's hand slid from her earlobe to her jaw, her fingers gently supporting her chin as she held the cup's rim. Qin Xiaomeng let out a soft hum behind the gag, the tea in the cup rippling slightly before settling. She finished serving all three cups without spilling a drop. Instructor Wen wrote in the training logbook under the tea-serving section: "Spider gag condition, three cups of tea not spilled. Able to quickly restore balance to the tea tray by adjusting breathing when disturbed. Student has mastered adapting a restrained body to external stimuli—not resisting interference, but absorbing it." The afternoon brought the final lesson—kneeling and silence. Qin Xiaomeng knelt within the red circle in the center of the training room. The leather gag was back in her mouth, the eye mask covered her eyes, the hood muffled her ears. The spider gag had been removed; the ache in her jaw lingered at the base of her ears. She could see nothing, hear nothing. Only her own heartbeat and the faint hiss from the gag. Instructor Wen stood before her, making no sound. Qin Xiaomeng knelt for a long time. Then she felt something gently touch the top of her head. Not a finger, not a military boot, not a hemp rope. It was Instructor Wen's palm—her entire palm covering the top of her head, very lightly, very warmly. Then the palm moved away. Qin Xiaomeng tilted her head up slightly, finding the direction of the hand in the darkness of the eye mask. Then she lowered her head and, through the leather gag, lightly touched the tip of Instructor Wen's military boot with her lips. No one had ordered her to do this. It was her own addition. Instructor Wen was silent for a moment. Then she squatted down, unbuckled Qin Xiaomeng's eye mask strap, and then removed the hood and gag. The thin velvet lining of the eye mask took away a trace of moisture from her eyelashes as it was removed. As the small silicone ball of the gag slid out, it pulled with it a thin trail of saliva. Qin Xiaomeng blinked, and the warm yellow light of the training room flooded her vision again. Instructor Wen's face was close, streaks of gray hair peeking from the edge of her military cap, the training logbook in her hands closed. "The final assessment is tomorrow morning. Once you pass, I will sign this." She tapped the words "Female Slave Qualification Certificate" on the cover of the logbook with her finger, then stood up and reached out to pull Qin Xiaomeng up from the kneeling mat. That evening, Qin Xiaomeng made final adjustments to the short chain of her leather cuffs in the cage. She knelt on the mattress. The leather cuffs on her wrists and ankles would be removed tomorrow. The soft leather's interior had already molded to the curve of her wrists from her body heat, lighter and warmer than the wooden yoke. She felt for the key under her pillow, holding it in her palm, and looked at the brass lock on the cage door, inserting the key and turning it. The lock clicked open, and the cage door creaked back half a centimeter. The dim corridor light cast a thin beam onto the floor through the gap. She could have unlocked the door, walked into the corridor, returned to the training room, and practiced her stance in the red circle one last time. But she didn't. She pulled the cage door back, the latch clicking shut, and put the key back under her pillow. Tomorrow, after she walked out of here, the leather cuffs would be stored in the training room's equipment cabinet, replaced by the wooden yoke and heavy shackles. But the faint indentations left by the soft leather would remain on the inside of her wrists, hidden by the wooden yoke, known only to herself. The next morning, Qin Xiaomeng woke up in the cage. She unlocked the brass lock, gently rubbed the faint red marks left by the leather cuffs from their final night with her thumb, and then crawled backward out of the cage. Today, she would not kneel in the cage waiting for Instructor Wen—today, she would walk directly into the training room and stand in the red circle, facing the assessment panel. The assessment was held in the center of the training room. Three chairs were set up for the panel: Instructor Wen in the middle, Teacher Zhang on the left, and Teacher Su on the right. Qin Xiaomeng stood in the red circle, the leather cuffs still on her wrists and ankles. The gag had been changed to purple last night—Teacher Zhang had found it at the bottom of a storage bag in the Class 3, Grade 1 supply closet, the same color as the skirt she had worn when she first stood at the school gate looking up at the sign. Her white hair cascaded from above the collar down to her shoulders. Her stance was straight—feet together, knees touching, buttocks clenched, back straight, shoulders down, chin slightly tucked, eyes looking straight ahead. Instructor Wen opened the assessment manual. First item: transition from standing to kneeling. Qin Xiaomeng knelt from a standing position, core tightened, knees hitting the mat simultaneously without a sound. Then she rose from kneeling, core engaged, leg muscles supporting her entire body steadily without hand support. Second item: tea serving. She held the teapot handle with her purple gag, pouring tea into three cups. Then she lowered her head, held the rim of the first cup with her lips, clasped her hands behind her back, keeping her waist and hips level, and moved her knees alternately forward to deliver the cup to Teacher Zhang. Then to Teacher Su, and finally to Instructor Wen. Third item: whip marks. Instructor Wen took a thin leather whip from the wall and walked up to her. This was the traditional final exam for female slave training—three lashes, the marks falling on the junction of the buttocks and thighs. She had to remain kneeling while being whipped, without making a sound, without dodging. Qin Xiaomeng knelt on the mat, hands clasped behind her back, back straight, chin slightly tucked. When the first whip fell, she closed her eyes for a moment. A burning pain spread from the junction of her buttocks and thighs to the back of her thighs. The hem of her deep red skirt was lightly lifted by the wind from the whip's tip. She made no sound. For the second whip, her fingers curled tightly within the leather cuffs, her lips turned pale around the purple gag ball, her shoulder blades clenched but she did not dodge. For the third whip, she opened her eyes and looked in the direction of Teacher Zhang on the assessment panel, her breathing steady, the gag's exhale valve hissing softly with her even breaths. All three lashes were received. Instructor Wen returned the whip to the wall, walked back to the assessment panel, flipped to the last page of the training logbook, and signed her name in the assessment column of the Female Slave Qualification Certificate. Teacher Zhang took the pen and signed in the witness column. Teacher Su took the pen and signed in the external examiner column. Then it was Qin Xiaomeng's turn—her hands, locked in leather cuffs, received the pen, and she signed "Qin Xiaomeng" in the student signature column. Her handwriting was as neat as when she wrote during her first hand-cuffing class at the beginning of the semester, each character as if measured by a ruler. Instructor Wen placed the certificate in a deep red velvet pouch and handed it to her. She stood up from the assessment panel, the imprint of the kneeling mat still on her knees, the residual heat from the three lashes on her buttocks and thighs pressed lightly by the hem of her short skirt, like a thin towel soaked in hot water. She looked down at the words "Female Slave Qualification Certificate" embossed in gold on the cover of the certificate, and touched the school's seal, now faded to a light gray, beneath the text. So this was the same model Instructor Wen had obtained over thirty years ago. On the last day of the holiday, Qin Xiaomeng stood in the changing room of the female slave training area. She had just received the Female Slave Qualification Certificate from Instructor Wen. The corner of the deep red velvet pouch brushed against the thin callus on her palm, formed by the leather cuffs. Tucked inside the certificate was a neatly folded authorization letter, and beneath it, a set of clothes. Not the deep red training uniform, not the gray-blue prison uniform, not the white cotton lining. It was a maid outfit. Black and white color scheme. The top was a white short-sleeved shirt with a black satin ribbon bow at the collar. The bottom was a black high-waisted knee-length skirt, its hem full, with a white ruffled apron around the waist, the apron ties crossed and tied in a large bow at the back. White stockings and black Mary Jane shoes were worn beneath the skirt hem, the shoes having silver buckles on the vamp, the buckles shaped exactly like the lock on her hand shackles. In the apron pocket was a white cotton headband, the inner label printed with "Maid Outfit · One Size," and next to it, a faded pen inscription: "Qin Xiaomeng · Officially Promoted After Countless Lateness." The Mary Jane shoes were flat-soled, the silver buckles on the vamp perfectly avoiding the rings of her heavy shackles—Instructor Wen said they were custom-made; the academic affairs office had prepared a full set of sizes during the days she was taking her certificate. Qin Xiaomeng stood in front of the mirror, putting on the maid outfit piece by piece. The ruffled cuffs of the shirt covered the faint white marks left by the wooden yoke on her wrists, but not the yoke itself—as she put on the white gloves, the old oak yoke plates peeked out from beneath the cuffs, the ribbon of the bow tied around the yoke's lock. The hem of the high-waisted skirt was full to the bend of her knees, just covering the edge of the heavy shackles' rings, but the ten-centimeter short chains dangled from beneath the skirt hem, each step lightly clinking against the silver buckles of the Mary Jane shoes. The apron was tied at the back, the crossed ties wrapping around the base of her cat tail—she faced the mirror and brought her cat tail out from beneath the apron, its fluffy white tip particularly conspicuous against the black skirt. The headband was worn on her head, her white hair in a high ponytail cascading from behind the headband down to her shoulders. The electric collar still encircled her neck, the metal contacts gleaming with a cold silver light beneath the bow of the ruffled collar. Instructor Wen pushed open the changing room door and paused when she saw Qin Xiaomeng standing in front of the mirror in the maid outfit. She walked behind Qin Xiaomeng, untied the crooked bow at the back of the apron, and retied it, then stepped back to look at the girl in the mirror—her hands cuffed in front of her by the wooden yoke, white gloves peeking out from inside the yoke plates; heavy shackles dangling beside the Mary Jane shoe buckles, the black skirt hem full and neat; her cat tail protruding from beneath the apron, its white tip swaying gently in the folds of the skirt. She said that every student who received their female slave certificate since the school's founding wore this maid outfit when leaving the changing room. But Qin Xiaomeng was the first certified maid to wear the maid outfit while also wearing the wooden yoke and heavy shackles. Because those who had received their certificates before had changed their restraints to the standard model before leaving the changing room, and only she had requested to keep her full set of equipment.