“Please take your drinks. Thank you for your patronage.”
Carrying three drinks in his left hand, Yan Huan entered the souvenir shop through its side entrance. The shop’s semi-open design let him spot Ye Shiyu from a distance, standing face-to-face with the golden-haired girl who was smirking at her.
Uh-oh.
Raising an eyebrow, Yan Huan quickly realized that Ye Shiyu was locked in so kind of dispute. He paused and set the other two drinks on a nearby shelf, keeping one for himself.
Poking his straw into the blue lemonade, he took a sip and casually observed the scene.
Drama unfolding: Contestant One, Ye Shiyu, versus the unknown golden-haired Contestant Two. The issue? Ownership of so random item. Contestant Two appears stronger physically and more verbally aggressive. Contestant One? Silent as a rock but clearly on the defensive.
The golden-haired girl sneered down at Ye Shiyu, her voice dripping with disdain.
“What do you an, ‘no’? Do you have any way to stop
if I take it?”
“...”
Ye Shiyu remained unmoved, her silence unyielding. Whether it was stoicism or simply an inability to respond, her lack of reaction seed to frustrate her opponent further.
Watching from a distance, Yan Huan sipped his drink with the air of a gleeful spectator. Serves her right. Didn’t she try to hypnotize
last night?
His petty satisfaction grew as he noticed Ye Shiyu’s grip tightening on the keychain. Her pale fingers were beginning to blanch from the golden-haired girl’s increasing pressure.
Looks like it’s slipping away, Sister Shiyu.
The golden-haired girl’s smirk widened with a strange glint of excitent in her eyes. Yan Huan furrowed his brows. What kind of weirdo gets this worked up over a keychain?
He glanced at Ye Shiyu’s phone and noticed it light up briefly in her left hand.
Oh no... Don’t tell
she’s thinking about using that thing.
With a resigned sigh, Yan Huan picked up the drinks and walked toward the brewing storm.
Here’s the thing:
Modifiers enable their hosts to achieve their desires by bypassing obstacles, giving them a taste of effortless success. This encourages over-reliance, creating a feedback loop where the Modifier grows stronger with repeated use, altering reality more profoundly.
To break the cycle, there are two key strategies:
Minimize usage frequency. This limits the Modifier’s power and prevents hosts from becoming wholly dependent on it.
Ensure failure even with the Modifier’s use. This forces the host to recognize that relying on the Modifier isn’t a guaranteed solution, encouraging them to seek normal thods instead.
Neither option is easy, but at least for now, Yan Huan could stop Ye Shiyu from using her Modifier to resolve this dispute.
After all, he was a model youth, particularly in character.
Suppressing his annoyance, Yan Huan used his Perfect Expression Control to adopt a neutral, calm deanor. As he approached, the golden-haired girl noticed him and faltered slightly, loosening her grip in surprise.
This gave Ye Shiyu an unintentional reprieve, though her slight retreat caused her to bump into Yan Huan, who had positioned himself behind her.
Startled by the warmth of his chest, she froze, but Yan Huan wasted no ti. Placing a steady hand on her shoulder, he gently moved her behind him, keeping her separated from the golden-haired girl.
This maneuver wasn’t entirely altruistic. Yan Huan had overheard the specifics of Ye Shiyu’s Modifier the previous night—Individual Hypnosis required one-on-one conditions to work. By introducing himself as a third party, he effectively neutralized her ability.
Ye Shiyu blinked, her dark eyes fixed on the back of Yan Huan’s head. He turned slightly, adopting an air of concern and confusion, as though he’d just arrived and was trying to assess the situation.
“What’s going on, Sister Shiyu?”
“...Nothing.”
Still holding the keychain, Ye Shiyu’s reply was curt.
The golden-haired girl, however, wasn’t as restrained. Her voice sharpened as she pointed at Ye Shiyu.
“What do you an ‘nothing’? That keychain was mine first!”
Yan Huan turned his blank gaze to her. “Yours first? Really?”
Caught off guard, the girl hesitated before scoffing.
“Okay, fine! We grabbed it at the sa ti. But I offered to buy her another item of the sa price as compensation. She can pick whatever she wants!”
Her tone suggested she thought this was a generous and reasonable compromise. Yan Huan glanced at the keychain’s price tag—nearly a hundred yuan. It was expensive for its size, likely due to the quality and the premium of being sold at a tourist spot.
From behind him, Ye Shiyu’s voice chid in, cold and asured.
“I’ll pay double for it. You can pick anything else, and I’ll cover it.”
It was impossible to tell whether her statent was a proposal or a provocation. Judging by the golden-haired girl’s reaction, she interpreted it as the latter.
“Ha! Don’t think having your boyfriend back you up gives you the right to act so smug!”
Ye Shiyu tilted her head slightly, seeming unfazed by the remark. Her expression indicated she was still waiting for an answer.
“Snap!”
The sound of fingers snapping drew both their attention back to Yan Huan, who interrupted before the tension could escalate further.
“What are you doing?!” The golden-haired girl’s voice was sharp, but Yan Huan ignored her completely. Turning to Ye Shiyu, he offered her a small, apologetic smile.
That smile—calm yet gentle—made the golden-haired girl pause, her irritation montarily replaced by curiosity. Yan Huan casually raised his voice to address the shop employees.
“Excuse , we need so help over here!”
A staff mber promptly approached. “How can I assist you?”
Pointing to the keychain in Ye Shiyu’s hand, Yan Huan explained,
“This keychain seems to be the last one on display, and we both want it. Do you have more in stock?”
“Yes, we do. Please head to the register to purchase it, and I’ll grab another for the other custor.”
Turning back to the golden-haired girl, Yan Huan’s expression shifted into one of resigned disbelief, reminiscent of a certain -worthy gesture. All this drama over nothing.
He refrained from saying what was truly on his mind—sothing along the lines of "What an idiot." Concerned about collateral damage to Shiyu, he bit his tongue and stayed silent.
Without another glance at the girl, he smiled at Ye Shiyu.
“Let’s go, Sister Shiyu.”
Her gaze lingered on him for a mont, rare hesitation flickering in her dark eyes. She eventually nodded.
“Mm.”
Shielding her from any further contact with the golden-haired girl, Yan Huan escorted Ye Shiyu to the counter, leaving the latter standing dumbfounded.
At the register, the staff scanned the keychain’s price and prepared its packaging with surprising care. Watching the process, Yan Huan noticed Ye Shiyu check her phone, revealing a notification from Ye Lan.
“What’s it say?” he asked.
“Mom says she’ll be a while longer. We should find sowhere to rest.”
Yan Huan nodded but couldn’t help wondering if the earlier phone screen light was unrelated to the Modifier.
“Sothing wrong?”
“Nothing at all.”
Reassured, Yan Huan relaxed slightly, grateful she hadn’t resorted to hypnosis.
With the transaction complete, Ye Shiyu stepped outside with the packaged keychain. Finding a bench nearby, they sat down.
The mont she settled, Ye Shiyu eagerly unwrapped her purchase. From her bag, she retrieved a small sheet of na tags, each printed with her na: Ye Shiyu.
She ticulously placed a sticker on the side of the keychain, pressing firmly to ensure it adhered. Her movents were fluid and precise, a testant to the habit’s long-standing importance.
Satisfied, she admired her handiwork briefly before carefully returning everything to her bag.
As she raised her head, her eyes t Yan Huan’s gaze.
“...”
Neither looked away, but it was Yan Huan who broke the silence first. He handed her one of the drinks he’d bought.
“Sister Shiyu, I didn’t know what you liked, so I grabbed sothing random.”
“Thanks.”
She reached for the drink without hesitation, choosing the Big Banana Sweetie.
That was for Aunt Ye...
Yan Huan blinked, but any protest died on his lips. If Shiyu liked banana-flavored drinks too, it wasn’t worth arguing over.
Yet, instead of drinking, Ye Shiyu simply traced the cup’s surface with her fingers, her gaze distant. She seed lost in thought, as if debating sothing internally.
Finally, after a long pause, her hesitation resolved itself.
Ye Shiyu raised her head slightly, glancing at Yan Huan before murmuring,
“Thanks for earlier...”
“No problem, Sister Shiyu. It’s the least I could do.”
Yan Huan’s faint smile matched the warmth of his na, a gentle reassurance that dissolved the lingering tension.
Was he soone who smiled often? Just now, his expression for that golden-haired girl had been anything but friendly.
“...”
Without comnting further, Ye Shiyu turned away and began unwrapping the straw for her drink.
Though Yan Huan had misunderstood the situation with her Modifier, at least things had turned out well. Ye Shiyu got what she wanted, the Modifier wasn’t used, and a pointless conflict was avoided.
A win-win situation.
Oh wait, the golden-haired girl got her jellyfish keychain too.
A win-win-win.
Drinking his blue lemonade, Yan Huan chuckled inwardly at the thought. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Ye Shiyu taking a sip of her Big Banana Sweetie.
Her eyes lit up, her lips softly curling as if savoring the sweetness, forming an unconscious smile.
As it turned out, like Ye Lan, Ye Shiyu loved banana milk.
anwhile, at the souvenir shop’s other exit, the golden-haired girl, Spence, erged with her newly retrieved jellyfish keychain. Walking toward the aquarium’s plaza, she held the trinket up to the sunlight, scrutinizing it with a faintly critical eye.
After a mont of silence, she curled her lip and muttered,
“Ugly.”
Without hesitation, she turned toward a nearby trash can, intending to toss it away.
As she approached, a young girl in a school uniform darted past, twirling a cheap plastic pinwheel in her hand and giggling joyfully.
The sight caught Spence’s attention, and her expression shifted from boredom to a mischievous smirk.
“Hey, kid!”
The girl stopped, blinking in confusion. “Huh? What is it, big sister?”
Crouching slightly to et her eye level, Spence’s smile grew wider as she asked,
“What’s your na?”
“...Mommy said not to tell strangers my na.”
“Aria Spence. You can call
Spence.”
“...I’m Wenwen.”
The introduction seed to montarily disarm the girl, as if exchanging nas was a ritual of trust.
Spence gestured to the pinwheel in Wenwen’s hand.
“I like your pinwheel. Want to trade it for this beautiful jellyfish keychain?”
“Uh...”
Pulling out the glittering crystal keychain, Spence held it up for the girl to admire. Its polished design sparkled in the sunlight, srizing Wenwen.
Even a young child could tell it was worth far more than her flimsy pinwheel.
Yet, she hesitated, glancing down at the toy that had accompanied her all morning.
Growing impatient, Spence smirked, thrust the jellyfish into the girl’s hand, and snatched the pinwheel in one swift motion.
“The pinwheel’s mine now. Hold on to the jellyfish and enjoy it.”
Wenwen looked down at the keychain, confused and intimidated, before clutching it tightly and scurrying away.
Satisfied, Spence stood up, giving the pinwheel a casual puff.
The poorly made toy remained stubbornly still, its cheap plastic blades refusing to budge. Clearly, it required vigorous running to make it spin properly.
Trading an expensive keychain for a trinket worth no more than five yuan might seem like a terrible deal. Yet Spence seed pleased with herself, her earlier smirk lingering as she walked.
Her thoughts drifted back to the scene in the souvenir shop.
In truth, she hadn’t cared about the jellyfish keychain initially. She’d only taken an interest after noticing how much Ye Shiyu had wanted it. Spence’s impulse to compete had led to their brief tug-of-war.
Now, with the keychain in hand, her satisfaction was fleeting. It wasn’t about the object itself—it was about the person who wanted it.
“Didn’t expect that weird girl to have such a doting boyfriend...” Spence muttered, the image of Yan Huan flashing in her mind.
He seed familiar... Where have I seen him before?
Tapping her chin, she pondered for a mont before giving up with a shrug.
“Whatever. It’s not worth the headache.”
What annoyed her most wasn’t failing to claim the keychain—it was seeing Ye Shiyu get what she wanted.
“Didn’t that voice say I’d get everything I wanted to take?”
She shook her head.
Oh, right... there’s so ‘mode’ I have to activate. And side effects, or sothing?
Unable to recall the specifics, Spence dismissed it until a familiar interface appeared in her vision.
[Activate Plunder Mode?]
“Ah, so this is it.”
Spence hesitated, the mory of Ye Shiyu’s expression briefly flashing in her mind. Then, her smirk returned, mirroring the one she wore earlier when taking the pinwheel.
“Let’s give it a try.”
Closing her eyes, she ntally affird, Yes.
In an instant, faint yellow projections resembling horns or antennae appeared above her head, glowing brightly before emitting an invisible wave of energy into the distance.
Unaware of the phenonon, Spence glanced around skeptically.
“Did anything even happen?”
[Effect Activated.]
“...”
Shrugging, she decided to believe it for now. Approaching a trash can, she looked at the pinwheel in her hand, its appeal already fading.
“h. This thing’s boring anyway.”
Just as she was about to toss it away, a shrill cry interrupted her.
“Mommy! Waaah! She stole my pinwheel! I didn’t want to trade, but she forced
to—waaah!”
Startled, Spence turned to see Wenwen sobbing uncontrollably as she clung to a furious woman.
The woman’s face was red with anger, her voice booming as she shouted,
“You robbed a child of her toy? Get over here!”
“What?”
Spence froze, caught off guard by the accusation. Her mind scrambled for an excuse, but then she recalled Wenwen’s lack of verbal agreent during the trade.
Not that it mattered—beside the woman stood two security guards, their expressions stern.
Panic set in as Spence clutched the pinwheel tighter. She made a split-second decision, bolting in the opposite direction.
“Hey! Stop running! Co back here!”
Hearing the woman’s furious cries, Spence quickened her pace, muttering under her breath.
“Didn’t the effect activate? Why couldn’t I even keep a kid’s pinwheel?!”
[Effect Activated.]
“Liar! What did it even do? Cancel it now!”
[Effect Deactivated.]
“Now you’re responsive?!”
[Effect Deactivated.]
“Aaagh!”
Frustrated and bewildered, Spence shoved the Modifier’s mysterious voice into the “hallucination” category and resolved to see a psychologist. For now, though, her focus was on escaping.
With the pinwheel in hand, she sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her.
“Whirr~”
The pinwheel, previously motionless, finally began to spin as the wind rushed past it.
“Still running? You shaless brat! Give
back my daughter’s toy, or so help —!”
The woman’s angry shouts faded as Spence widened the gap between them, the spinning pinwheel whistling mockingly in her hand.
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