"Mhm."
Looking at the extraordinarily beautiful Bai Yi in front of him, Yan Huan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but in the next second, he imdiately and unnaturally averted his gaze.
At this mont, he could not help but ask himself:
'Do I find Bai Yi beautiful just because I appreciate her looks?'
'I am afraid it is just the biological urge for fertility acting up after kissing her.'
'Yan Huan, oh Yan Huan, you...'
"Um, the student who just reported a lost mobile phone, are you here?"
"Yes, over here!"
"Alright, please co over and check the surveillance caras."
However, before Yan Huan could issue a self-condemning edict in his heart, a police officer walked out of the office and called Bai Yi over.
Bai Yi pursed her lips and turned her eyes to Yan Huan.
Her beautiful eyes conveyed a clear ssage:
'Co with , please?'
Young girls indulging in romance were always like this, wishing they could stick to their crush every single second, wanting company for everything, reluctant to part for even a mont.
It was not that Yan Huan could not read her emotions, nor did he have any objections.
But right now, he still had a major boss to fight, so he could only pretend to be oblivious.
"You go ahead, Bai Yi. I will wait for you outside."
"...Hmph, alright."
Hearing this, Bai Yi could not help but pout.
Even though she felt slightly dissatisfied, she did not force the issue. She turned around and went with the police officer to check the surveillance caras.
'It will be a miracle if they actually find anything.'
'However, this should stall for so ti.'
'I need to hurry and take advantage of this opportunity...'
Watching Bai Yi leave, Yan Huan imdiately stood up and rushed outside, unwilling to waste a single second.
His hurried posture made him look busier than an A-list celebrity with a packed schedule.
"Swish."
The automatic sensor doors slid open, and sunlight poured into his field of vision.
In the shaded area outside the police station, Ye Shiyu stood completely alone with an expressionless face.
The shaded area was quite spacious, and given the scorching afternoon heat, there should logically be quite a few people taking shelter there.
Yet, perhaps because Ye Shiyu was standing there, the intimidating aura implicitly radiating from her made people subconsciously afraid to approach.
By a strange twist of fate, that shaded spot had beco her exclusive kingdom.
Within this kingdom paved with shadows, the tall Ye Shiyu wore a simple JK uniform, standing perfectly straight and rigid like a doll.
A dark butterfly bow tie rested at the collar of her white short-sleeved shirt.
Beneath her black checkered skirt was a pair of perfectly slender, long legs.
Paired with snug black calf socks and high-end small leather shoes...
They accentuated her simple yet profound, cool beauty.
From her ink-black long hair to her fair skin, from the milky-white short-sleeved shirt to the black checkered skirt...
Ye Shiyu's entire being was clad only in black and white, just like the foundational colors of her world.
"Sister Shiyu!"
Staring at the motionless Ye Shiyu standing in the shadows, Yan Huan watched her for a few seconds before putting on his mask of expression managent.
Yan Huan's call drifted out, weaving thread by thread into her cold, dead kingdom, bringing with it a rare trace of vitality.
Consequently, the doll-like girl finally made a movent.
"..."
Hearing his voice, Ye Shiyu seed to co alive. She turned her head to look at Yan Huan, though she did not speak in response.
Yan Huan was not surprised by this. He rely smiled and walked briskly forward, squeezing into the shaded area where she was hiding.
Ye Shiyu stared intently at Yan Huan, seemingly waiting for him to explain why Bai Yi was here.
But Yan Huan acted completely oblivious, simply sighing as he explained.
"Sister Shiyu, you have no idea. Bai Yi checked the surveillance caras all along our route just now, but she couldn't see where her mobile phone fell..."
"..."
"She said her handbag is perfectly intact and she hadn't opened it, so she has no clue where it went. I really didn't expect Bai Yi to be so forgetful."
"..."
Ye Shiyu listened with an expressionless face, seemingly unbothered.
However, as Yan Huan continued to talk about Bai Yi, the toes of her small leather shoes began to tap against the ground with increasing frequency.
"Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap..."
Those subtle tapping sounds seed to symbolize Ye Shiyu's growing annoyance.
"Have you thought about where we should go with Bai Yi later, Sister Shiyu?"
"Enou—"
Amidst the increasingly rapid tapping of her toes, the sense of oppression radiating from Ye Shiyu seed to materialize into sothing physical, causing the very shadows of their shelter to feel thicker.
"ow!"
On his shoulder, Myau-chan was terrified, looking at Yan Huan in disbelief.
'Ye Shiyu is about to hiss, ow!!'
'Could it be...'
'Yan Huan has been driven dizzy by these successive ergencies and lost his mind, ow!'
'To provoke Ye Shiyu like this here and now—does he want to be hypnotized?!'
Yet, Yan Huan, who had been staring closely at Ye Shiyu the entire ti, seed completely oblivious to her anomaly. Ignoring Myau-chan's protests, he continued.
"It is fine. We can decide when Bai Yi cos out..."
'Bai Yi, Bai Yi, Bai Yi, Bai Yi, Bai Yi.'
'Why must he constantly bring up Bai Yi?'
At this mont, every utterance of Bai Yi's na from Yan Huan's mouth felt like an exceptionally sharp awl.
And every sentence he spoke was like a vicious hamr blow to Ye Shiyu's heart.
"Crack, crack..."
"Enou—"
Under the repeated, relentless hamring, her icy, expressionless face finally began to form terrifying cracks.
"Enough, Xiao Huan!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Ye Shiyu gritted her teeth and suddenly let out a low growl.
Hearing this, Yan Huan imdiately fell silent.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Ye Shiyu, who seed to have exhausted all her strength with that emotional outburst, leaving her panting and trembling all over.
"ow!"
The furry pendant known as Myau-chan quickly scrambled behind Yan Huan's neck, clinging on with all four paws and peeking out with only half its head, seemingly terrified that Ye Shiyu might suddenly lash out and attack.
"Haha... ha..."
But looking at the deeply agitated Ye Shiyu, Yan Huan did not retreat in the slightest.
Instead, he stepped even closer, asking softly, as if completely unafraid of death.
"...Are you angry, Sister Shiyu?"
These provocative words triggered Ye Shiyu's stress response instantly, prompting her to blurt out.
"Of course I am! Xiao Huan, you clearly said earlier that it would only be the two of us—"
Panting and frowning, Ye Shiyu lifted her gaze, only to freeze slightly in the very next second.
For no other reason than the fact that as she looked at Yan Huan, Ye Shiyu suddenly realized...
'Xiao Huan... is smiling?'
'Why?'
'Does seeing my angry and anxious predicant make him this happy?'
"..."
There was no answer.
eting Ye Shiyu's bewildered gaze, the mask of expression managent on Yan Huan's face maintained its smiling facade.
"So, you actually know how to express your emotions, Sister Shiyu..."
"Eh?"
Yan Huan blinked and sighed, helplessly explaining.
"When you were in the hospital earlier, Sister Shiyu, didn't you say that you couldn't feel any emotions at all?"
"I have been wanting to tell you this for a while, and Aunt Ye has ntioned it many tis too..."
"You basically don't have a single close friend at school, and you have absolutely no interest in anything other than your dolls. It would be weirder if you actually felt any emotions."
"So I thought, since Bai Yi was taking care of you when you were in a bad state earlier, wouldn't this be a great opportunity for the two of you to beco friends?"
Ye Shiyu's eyes widened as she seed to realize Yan Huan's well-intentioned efforts.
'So, Xiao Huan actually wanted
to build a good relationship with Bai Yi and make a new friend?'
'Be friends with Bai Yi?'
Ye Shiyu subconsciously touched the tip of her nose, as if terrified that it might turn red.
She shook her head frantically in her heart, but on the surface, she couldn't just reject Xiao Huan's good intentions. All she could do was dryly change the subject.
"Then... then Xiao Huan shouldn't have used this kind of thod to provoke ."
Yan Huan smiled helplessly and continued.
"I honestly didn't plan on making you angry at first, Sister Shiyu. I just wanted to help you make a new friend and rediscover your emotions."
"But you kept maintaining that expressionless face. It was pretty creepy, so on a whim, I decided to annoy you..."
As he spoke, Yan Huan raised his gaze again, eting Ye Shiyu's deep, dark eyes.
"Besides, Sister Shiyu, tell
honestly: if I hadn't provoked you and forced you to speak your true feelings, what would you have done?"
'What would I have done?'
'I definitely would have used hypnosis on Bai Yi to teach her a harsh lesson.'
'And then, I probably...'
'Wouldn't hypnotize Xiao Huan... right?'
At this mont, Ye Shiyu couldn't help but ask herself this question.
The more she questioned herself, the more she began to repeat it like a self-suggestion.
'Right, I would never hypnotize Xiao Huan.'
'I have already turned over a new leaf!'
Fortunately, Yan Huan never expected her to voice her answer.
Or rather, even if she did, Yan Huan had no intention of believing her.
'Ye Shiyu's words were full of nothing but lies!'
'Mhm...'
'But I suppose wearing a mask and manipulating Ye Shiyu with my rhetoric right now makes
no different, huh?'
Thinking this, Yan Huan didn't wait for Ye Shiyu's reply before speaking up again to capture her attention.
"Sister Shiyu, you would have definitely just suppressed your displeasure and digested it yourself. Over ti, that only leads to numbness, or... resorting to far more extre thods to solve problems."
Ye Shiyu froze slightly and looked up at Yan Huan.
She noticed that as he spoke, his eyes suddenly beca sowhat vacant.
It was as if his body had recalled so terrifying mory he wished to forget, causing him to tremble faintly.
'Oh no!'
Seeing this, Ye Shiyu hastily interrupted.
"I... I understand now."
Sure enough, after she spoke, Xiao Huan's eyes instantly refocused, as if he had pulled himself out of the quagmire of that mory correction.
He gave a dazed smile, then looked at Ye Shiyu, stating seriously.
"Sister Shiyu, from now on, I hope you can use your words more often to describe your feelings, instead of bottling them up and letting them fester."
"If you feel too shy to talk to others, then talk to Aunt Ye... talk to . Let
understand what is going on in your head."
"In short, just like Aunt Ye, I care about you deeply and want to see you beco a better person."
Hearing this, Ye Shiyu was taken aback, subconsciously nodding in agreent.
"Mhm."
But in reality, her heart was still plagued by anxiety and insecurity.
Co to think of it, Xiao Huan never explicitly stated that this was a date.
He rely said that he wanted to hang out with her.
'Does Xiao Huan view
as family because of my mother, extending his affection to
out of familial duty, or...'
'Are his feelings for
exactly like mine for him—based on romantic love between a man and a woman?'
'I don't know...'
'I have absolutely no idea...'
'Xiao Huan's mind feels so incredibly complex; I can't read him at all.'
'What is he thinking? Why did he do all of this?'
'I just don't understand.'
"..."
Seeing Ye Shiyu quiet down, Yan Huan breathed a small sigh of relief.
Only now was this particular bomb fully defused.
At the very least, he had managed to create a plausible explanation for both sides on the surface.
But one must rember, Yan Huan wasn't just here to defuse a bomb.
"...Are you still angry, Sister Shiyu?"
Xiao Huan's voice echoed in front of her, slightly dispersing the fog clouding Ye Shiyu's heart.
She slowly raised her head and looked at the helplessly smiling Xiao Huan.
Accustod to silence, she suddenly recalled his words from just monts ago.
'Xiao Huan hopes I use my words to express my feelings. So right now...'
'Should I just open my mouth and ask him?'
'Xiao Huan, how exactly do you feel about ?'
But at this mont, Ye Shiyu—who had always been swift and decisive in the past, highly skilled at zero-fra activation—felt as though her mouth had been sealed shut, far too embarrassed to voice the words.
"..."
Seeing this, Yan Huan wasn't surprised in the slightest. He rely took a deep breath, as if making so sort of ntal preparation.
This ntal preparation wasn't an act; it was completely genuine.
Because just thinking about what he was going to do next made his legs feel a little weak.
But the arrow was already nocked on the bowstring; he had no choice but to loose it.
'Bring it on!'
Following that, having steeled his resolve, Yan Huan abruptly stepped forward.
Under Ye Shiyu's stunned gaze, like a dragonfly skimming the water, he lightly pecked her lips.
"Smooch."
He didn't deepen the kiss; they parted as soon as their lips touched.
In fact, before Ye Shiyu could even register the sensation, the sudden proximity of Yan Huan had entirely receded.
She was like a fish spotting a hook, staring blankly as the alluring bait rippled in the water, unable to resist the urge to chase after it.
The stunned Ye Shiyu hurriedly chased after him with her eyes. However, she saw Xiao Huan stepping back, looking thoroughly embarrassed as he raised the back of his hand to cover his lips.
It appeared that it had been a completely impulsive act on his part, an unthinking attempt to win her back and coax her out of her anger.
But precisely because it was so immature, it had produced a backfiring effect, harming himself far more than his intended target.
That was why he averted his gaze in a panic, speaking in a highly embarrassed tone.
"With this... can you forgive
now, Sister Shiyu?"
Ye Shiyu stared blankly at Yan Huan, absolutely speechless.
"..."
Seeing no response from her, Xiao Huan nervously shifted his gaze back slightly. He still didn't dare to look her directly in the eyes, acting as though he believed he had done sothing wrong, and murmured softly.
"Sister Shiyu, this matter... please don't tell Aunt Ye about this... alright?"
For so inexplicable reason, that single sentence felt like the final straw that broke the cal's back.
Thoroughly.
Igniting absolutely everything within Ye Shiyu.
She stared at Yan Huan with wide eyes, a highly visible, rosy pink hue slowly spreading across her originally fair skin.
This was imdiately followed by trembling lips, then long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and cold, clear eyes that began to mist over with moisture...
Yes.
This simple, fleeting kiss, like a dragonfly skimming the water...
This intermittent request, sounding like a child who had made a mistake...
It directly and utterly sank Ye Shiyu.
Ye Shiyu raised a trembling hand and gently touched her own lips. Yet, the instant her fingers made contact, she yanked her hand back as if startled by her own touch.
Because her lips were far too hot, far too sensitive—so much so that she herself couldn't bear it.
"Alright... Xiao Huan, I... I promise you."
The current Ye Shiyu wouldn't just promise Yan Huan this one request; even if he asked for sothing completely different, she would probably agree without the slightest hesitation!
'What? You want
to stop using hypnosis and give up the Modifier?'
One could only say, that was an entirely separate matter.
Seeing her reaction, Yan Huan knew that Ye Shiyu, this big fish, was thoroughly hooked.
'It's...'
'It's done!'
'The final boss!'
'The Crab dicine is finally mine!'
Yan Huan forcibly suppressed the imnse excitent in his heart behind his mask, while on the surface, he rely acted as though he was heaving a sigh of relief.
However, to his complete surprise, before Yan Huan could even bring it up himself, the Ye Shiyu standing in front of him swallowed a mouthful of saliva and spoke up with apparent impatience.
"But, as a reward, Xiao Huan... could you please kiss
one more ti?"
"..."
Yes, out of the four Modifier Hosts, Ye Shiyu was the only one to actively demand a kiss.
This even made Yan Huan begin to doubt whether he actually needed to devise such a complex sche in the first place.
He was starting to feel that when it ca to Ye Shiyu, it was literally just an "ask and you shall receive" situation.
"Ah, okay..."
At this mont, the shy pink flush on Ye Shiyu's face was actually quite faint, yet her cheeks were burning hot.
Compared to the blush of the other timid Hosts, her flush was more like an unripe lotus flower in early sumr.
The pink was exceptionally light; it remained mostly a pure, untainted white, rising unsullied from the mud.
But was it truly "unsullied by the mud"?
"And... not the kind from just now... an adult's kiss."
Apparently not.
Looking at the slightly panting Ye Shiyu as she nervously made this request, Yan Huan was briefly left speechless.
This gave Yan Huan a bizarre illusion:
He kissed the other Hosts to complete a mission.
And Ye Shiyu was kissing him to complete her mission.
"..."
As it turned out, that was exactly what was happening.
[Ergency Task: Actively invite Yan Huan for a two-minute French kiss.]
[Reward: Your eyes will temporarily gain the ability to share the feed of any surveillance caras within a 15-ter radius, and periodically, you may cast a hypnosis effect through the shared vision of those caras.]
Nevertheless, the current Ye Shiyu genuinely wanted to kiss Yan Huan, not just complete so ridiculous task.
Hearing her request, Yan Huan initially considered teasing Ye Shiyu the sa way he teased Spencer.
For example, feigning innocence and asking her what an "adult's kiss" was.
But upon careful consideration, he decided against it.
Playing those gas with Spencer felt highly amusing, almost like flirting.
But trying that with Ye Shiyu...
He would probably only feel pure, unadulterated terror.
'Enough said. Let's just get it over with!'
'I need to get my hands on the Crab dicine first.'
"Then, Sister Shiyu, you really won't tell Aunt Ye about this, right?"
"Mhm... Mama... she will never know."
"Okay."
With this, the final mission would be complete!
Yan Huan heaved a massive sigh of relief in his heart. Finally, he took a step forward, actively closing the distance to Ye Shiyu.
To actively kiss Ye Shiyu.
He wouldn't have dared to even imagine such a thing in the past.
A scene like that belonged strictly in the bizarre or horror section.
'Myau-chan, go keep an eye on things inside the police station. Tell
imdiately when Bai Yi is about to co out!'
"ow!"
Myau-chan instantly vanished to carry out the mission.
In front of him, Ye Shiyu was even more eager than Yan Huan.
"Pat!"
She gently pinched Yan Huan's chin. Her gaze continuously wandered across his face, as if searching for the perfect spot to stamp her na.
Yet at this mont, no place was more perfect than Yan Huan's lips.
"Xiao Huan..."
"Smooch."
Amidst her soft murmurs, Yan Huan instantly felt as though his lips were being bitten by a poisonous snake.
He was already starting to develop a bit of PTSD toward this sensation.
Because he had been subjected to hypnosis every single ti; he knew the procedure inside out.
But this ti, it felt completely different from all the previous occasions.
First, the numbness and tingling sensation of being hypnotized was gone, making everything feel incredibly real.
Secondly...
Ye Shiyu's kiss this ti was actually... exceptionally restrained.
It truly felt like a shy young girl exploring an unknown treasure land for the very first ti.
This immature, unrefined feeling caused the previous sensation of a poisonous snake's bite to lt away like butter.
Ultimately, it transford into sothing akin to an iceberg snow lotus—a light, airy sensation that felt almost like being anesthetized.
"..."
'Is this an illusion?'
'It's actually...'
'Quite comfortable?'
The mont this thought arose, Yan Huan almost slapped himself across the face.
'Yan Huan, oh Yan Huan, do you have Stockholm syndro now?'
'Ye Shiyu holds back her ferocity just once, and you are already enjoying it, huh?'
'You've forgotten the pain the mont the scar heals, haven't you?'
Yan Huan learned from his past suffering, choosing to view this feeling rely as the sugar-coated bullet of Ye Shiyu's "turning over a new leaf"—sothing he had to firmly reject.
However, he was also secretly puzzled.
'Isn't this sugar-coated bullet lasting a bit too long?'
'It's been a minute already, right?'
'Hey, Ye Shiyu, stop kissing!'
'Ye Shiyu!'
Yan Huan blinked and hurriedly patted Ye Shiyu's shoulder.
But right now, she seed completely unhinged, thoroughly lost in the passion, clinging tightly to Yan Huan and desperately demanding more as if her life depended on it.
And then, Yan Huan realized sothing far more terrifying...
'We've been French kissing for over a minute now!'
'I've secured the kisses of all four Modifier Hosts, which ans I've already completed the mission!'
'Why...'
'Why hasn't the Crab dicine dropped yet?'
"..."
Just as Yan Huan was feeling baffled, a line of golden text suddenly materialized before his eyes.
'It's here!'
'The Crab dicine is here!'
Yan Huan's eyes lit up slightly. Just as he prepared to joyously receive the Crab dicine...
However, what appeared before him was not the crucial other half of the Crab dicine, but a line of blood-red text.
[Modifier Hosts kissed so far: Spencer, Sakuramiya Hitomi, Bai Yi, Ye Shiyu]
[Modifier Hosts not yet kissed: Tong Yingying]
[Ti remaining: 15 minutes]
'Tong...'
'Sister Tong?!'
Staring at the blood-red text, Yan Huan initially thought his mory had failed him.
But after double-checking, he realized he hadn't misread it at all!
'It's actually fucking Sister Tong!!'
'Wait, she...'
'She counts as a Modifier Host too?!'
Yan Huan's pupils quaked violently as he instantly recognized the wordplay this system mission had employed.
It had explicitly stated:
"All Modifier Hosts except An Le."
Rather than:
"The four Modifier Hosts except An Le."
'So...'
'Now I have to track down Tong Yingying too?'
'But... there are only fifteen minutes left!'
'We are in Akihabara right now! Sister Tong's whereabouts are unknown, so where am I...'
'Where the hell am I supposed to find Sister Tong!!'
At this mont, with his efforts on the brink of complete ruin, Yan Huan was utterly dumbfounded.
Though it appeared he was still deeply kissing Ye Shiyu, it was rely his empty physical shell going through the motions.
As for his soul?
One could only say that it had departed from his body quite a while ago.
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