novelraw Chapter 71
Chapter 71
Chapter 71
Buzz.
In a forgotten corner of the bustling shopping street, the shadows clung like thick swamp-water. Moving inside them felt like wading through his own sinking thoughts.
Yan Huan fought the pins-and-needles crawling over his skin and stared at the black-haired girl half a step ahead, her fingers locked around his wrist.
So I still fell for it.
Ye Shiyu's Modifier had evolved again; it had caught him completely off-guard.
Yet the ambush taught him one difference between her device and the others.
When Bai Yi, Spencer, or An Le triggered theirs, Yan Huan never knew the strength or exact effect—he could only piece it together from the wreckage.
Ye Shiyu's was different.
Each time her command took hold and his resistance finally kicked in, a phantom voice floated beside her, crisp and polite, announcing duration, intensity, even the nature of the change.
Either an uncontrollable quirk... or a fatal flaw.
The transparency helped, sure—yet the flip side was that she could fire it without the slightest tell.
Zero-frame activation. How the hell do you dodge that?
He'd been careful, damn it. Who expects to get hypnotised by a street-side TV?
He sighed inside his head while Shiyu towed him toward whatever fate she had scripted, scrambling for a way out.
There wasn't one.
Among all the Modifiers he'd faced, hers left the least room to manoeuvre.
Once the skill locked on, it felt like lifting his hands off the keyboard and resigning himself to the game-over cut-scene.
"Finally—no one around."
Shiyu scanned the hushed dead-end alley, then turned. Her face was still blank, but her eyes burned with something dark and scalding; Yan Huan's skin prickled.
We're not actually going into a cut-scene, right?
Please no, Shiyu sis.
We're still on school grounds—what are you planning?
She studied the dazed boy in front of her and stepped closer, raising the wrist she had trapped in her grip.
"Just now... An Le touched you here, didn't she?"
Buzz~
Yan Huan's throat moved on its own. "Yes."
Shiyu stared at the spot where An Le's fingers had rested as if it were filthy. Expression flooded her face like a dam bursting. She frowned, seized his right hand in both of hers.
Amid the uncontrollable tingles, her touch stood out—cool and smooth as silk.
"Xiao Huan, is that An Le girl really your childhood sweetheart?"
She walked him backward, the pressure of her presence forcing his sluggish body step by step until his shoulders met the cold brick. Only then did those January-ice eyes lift to his.
"Yes."
Only during "Truth" mode could he still play the system; Shiyu assumed anything he said under hypnosis was gospel, so he could spin it. Once it flipped to "Dare," however, he was helpless.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face.
For some reason the moment felt like the aquarium entrance all over again. She had spotted a jellyfish keychain she coveted, reached for it—only for other hands to appear.
Not just one; many.
One girl arrived empty-handed, the weakest on the surface, yet she had held the toy since it left the factory.
Another looked refined, indifferent, but her free hand quietly drew a gun on the rest.
A third radiated brute force—money, muscle, ready to smash anyone who competed.
Of course she knew Xiao Huan wasn't merchandise. He had never belonged to her; a few kind gestures couldn't claim him. One heart must be traded for another—that was what her mother always said, and she had tried.
But—
Her gaze lifted, helpless, meeting the boy whose dazed eyes reflected only her.
But I could simply bypass everyone and possess him, control him. He would move exactly as I wish, never upset again. And I'm no tyrant—he could still have some freedom, couldn't he?
Crack.
The next instant the desire inside her chest burst its banks.
Her face blurred beneath a drifting shadow, unreadable.
She stepped in.
!
Yan Huan's expression stayed frozen, yet every nerve flared in rolling waves.
"When you two were little you even slept at her place. Which parts of you has she touched?"
Her voice drifted up as her left hand began to climb, slow and deliberate.
"Here?"—wrist.
"Here?"—waist.
"Or... here?"—the line of his spine.
With each inch her body pressed closer, opposition turning into an embrace. She was soft and cool as early spring, stealing the heat she craved. A shiver ran down his back—her way of announcing, I'm holding you.
He inhaled; her long black hair smelled of flowers.
Maybe the hypnosis nudged his arms upward—he almost hugged back.
"I really should carve my name into these spots, Xiao Huan."
She was tall enough to reach his ear without rising on tiptoe. The chill in her voice made his arms freeze halfway.
"Then anyone who sees my name will know you're mine. That's how family works. That's how an older sister and her younger brother should be."
What kind of family does that?!
Too weird—
Before he could voice a protest, a sharp sting bloomed where neck met shoulder—she had bitten him through his shirt.
Sss!
Her teeth grazed lightly, breath warm and wet, the shape of the embrace the only thing left in the world.
"This... is a mark, Xiao Huan. My mark. As long as it's here, no one can take you away."
His pupils shrank; gooseflesh prickled down his back.
It wasn't the bite—it was the tremor in her voice when she said "take you away." The word terrified and disgusted her so much it curdled into fury.
!!
The pain on his shoulder flared hotter as her teeth dug deeper.
She bit down even harder.
Yan Huan clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached.
The reason was simple: the spot she was savaging was the exact muscle group he'd trained yesterday. It had already been sore—now it was agony. A curse-doubled wave of pain surged through him, locking his muscles rigid; he almost cried out. Only stubborn willpower and Meow-chan's hypnosis kept him from losing composure.
Ssss.
The Yan Huan of last Sunday was not the Yan Huan of today.
Cheap sophistry, maybe, but he cursed himself again for ever thinking, "A little pain won't kill me."
It freaking hurts!!
The dull ache An Le's Modifier had soothed erupted like a volcano, veins bulging across his skin.
"Sorry, Xiao Huan... I'm sorry..."
Between bites, Ye Shiyu's contrite voice filtered through, lending the pain a strange, bearable sweetness.
Shiyu sis...
Don't apologise while you're hurting me.
The déjà vu was suffocating.
"Yan Huan, I'm coming to save you, meow!!"
Inside his head, Meow-chan sensed his plight.
"Meow-chan?!"
Relief flickered through him. Ever since discovering the cat could manifest within fifteen metres, it had acted as his stand-in, yanking him out of more than one fire.
Surely this time—
From the far end of the alley came a dainty mew.
"Meow~"
Still clamped to his shoulder, Ye Shiyu flicked her dark eyes toward the entrance. A black cat padded in, head tilted, voice syrupy:
"Meow~"
"."
Ye Shiyu released his shoulder and turned to the cat, expression flat.
"Scram."
"Meow?!"
Meow-chan froze, thunderstruck.
Someone—someone resisted the divine cuteness of a goddess-cat?!
Undeterred, it swished its tail and batted big eyes at her, inching closer.
Ye Shiyu raised her foot.
"Meow!"
The cat leapt back and scampered off, tail bottle-brushed, vanishing round the corner.
"Sorry, I can't save you, meow. Good luck."
Meow-chan's resigned voice echoed in his skull.
"You're not even going to try harder?!"
"Well, I'm the Modifier's avatar—normal people can't see or touch me. I can reveal myself, but my nature doesn't change, meow."
The translucent cat popped onto his shoulder, sighing.
"If I get hurt, I'll drop fragments. Our Modifier isn't tied to desire; lose fragments and we lose levels."
Yan Huan's face darkened. He wanted to throttle the chubby cat and demand how something so useless could call itself a goddess.
But Ye Shiyu was still in front of him. He had to survive another twenty—who knew how long—minutes.
Watching the cat disappear, Ye Shiyu slowly retracted her demon-like gaze. In their embrace he couldn't see her face clearly, only the faint flush on her earlobes.
She opened her mouth, and for some reason the sight of those parted pink lips made Meow-chan's fur bristle.
The cat vanished on the spot.
Yan Huan's body tensed; his mind raced.
As Ye Shiyu lowered her mouth to the bite mark again, he—seemingly without control—lifted a hand and lightly hugged her back.
"Mm."
Startled by his voice and the touch, she glanced up.
"Something wrong, Xiao Huan?"
"It... hurts a lot right there."
"Hurts?"
She blinked. "Because I bit too hard?"
"Mm."
He spoke slowly, buying time; the twenty-minute timer was a mystery. "I strained my shoulder at the gym yesterday. It's really tender."
Ye Shiyu remembered their call last night—he had mentioned working out. She knew exercise could leave muscles sore, yet she'd been too busy replaying the sound of other girls flirting with him to ask for details.
I'm obsessed with owning Xiao Huan, but in trying to control him I ignored everything else about him.
The demon of desire loosened its grip. She stared at the boy before her—clothes rumpled, shoulder damp, skin flushed.
"What... what did I just do?"
She covered her face, unable to look at herself, and took a small step back.
Is it working?
Watching her retreat, Yan Huan's hammering heart calmed a notch.
Right now Ye Shiyu's a perfect pentagon warrior—except for the soft spot she reserves for those she loves. That flaw makes her reflect, criticise herself.
So—
"Sorry, Xiao Huan."
Is it finally over?
He swallowed silently, keeping his guard up.
"If I'm the only one who owns Xiao Huan, it's wrong," she murmured, lifting her gaze, cheeks flushing anew.
"But what if Xiao Huan owns me too? 'Siblings' is just a label; in truth we could—"
Huh?
The guilt and logic tangled inside her seemed to unravel. She extended her hand toward him.
"So... Xiao Huan, give me a mark of your own, the same way I marked you, okay?
"That way I'll always have a proper claim..."
Yan Huan's mouth opened; behind his perfect blank stare, panic threatened to crack everything.
Shiyu sis...
Auntie Ye! Look at your daughter! Where are you?! Come save me—I can't take this!
As Ye Shiyu's pale arm drew closer, Yan Huan finally understood.
She instinctively wants to possess others, like her dolls, yet knows people aren't objects. Each attempt fills her with guilt—unless she is possessed in return. Then it's fair.
Just as Ye Lan is her mother and she is Ye Lan's daughter—mutual ownership—she had once tried to drive him away "rightfully."
Now, though she calls him Xiao Huan and tells Sakuramiya Hitomi she is his sister...
But Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu both knew the truth.
After Ye Lan's failed attempt to adopt Yan Huan, their so-called "sibling" relationship was nothing more than empty words on paper. Ye Shiyu desperately needed to find a reason for "Yan Huan to possess her," even if after hypnosis, Yan Huan might not even remember this imprint existed.
Then Ye Shiyu would have her justification: "Xiao Huan already gave me his mark, so whatever I do is reasonable."
It was self-deception, but in a way, conscience was just wrestling with itself. If Ye Shiyu's conscience stopped wrestling, what then? Wouldn't that mean daily CG scenes?
Yan Huan's internal alarm bells blared. He watched Ye Shiyu's hopeful lotus-root arms reaching toward him, his body responding with an uncontrollable urge to bite down and leave his mark.
"Meow-chan."
He wanted to ask Meow-chan to randomly dial someone from his pocket—anyone. Anyone to save him.
But before he could speak, his phone rang on its own.
Ding-ding-ding~
It was a Plane call!
Ye Shiyu paused, looking toward Yan Huan's pocket. After a moment of silence, she reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
The caller ID showed: Bai Yi.
"..."
Ye Shiyu stared at the name—unfamiliar yet somehow recognizable—then fell silent. She extended her finger toward the answer button.
Yan Huan, who'd thought he was saved, felt his heart rate spike like a roller coaster when he saw Bai Yi's name and Ye Shiyu's finger moving to answer.
Right—he had a study group with Bai Yi scheduled for noon!
Ding-ding-ding~
In the quiet, the phone kept ringing.