Chapter 5: She Said She Was Here to Exchange Contact Info |
The array of delicious food Aunt Chen brought to the table was a feast for the eyes, and just catching a whiff of the drifting aroma was enough to make one''s mouth water involuntarily.
He swept his gaze over the dishes, then turned his head, only to realize that at the side seat of honor sat Ye Lan. Having gone upstairs to change into a comfortable cotton short-sleeved home shirt and let her long hair down, she was currently resting her chin in her hands, watching him with smiling eyes.
"Are you hungry, Little Glutton? Once Aunt Chen brings the bowls and chopsticks, and Shiyu arrives, we can start eating."
Those curving, smiling eyes and the affectionate nickname stirred a long-forgotten sense of shyness within Yan Huan. Avoiding Ye Lan''s gaze, he prepared to stand up and help Aunt Chen with the tableware.
"Then I will go help Aunt Chen bring them over."
"No need, Little Huan. You just sit; I have already brought them."
Before her voice faded, Aunt Chen had already walked out of the kitchen carrying the bowls and chopsticks, placing them in order in front of Ye Lan, Yan Huan, and the empty seat beside him.
''Only three bowls and three pairs of chopsticks?''
Just as Yan Huan assumed Aunt Chen would not be eating with them, she turned back to the kitchen and returned carrying only a pure black porcelain bowl and a pair of stainless steel chopsticks, setting them directly opposite Yan Huan.
"Ye Shiyu."
On the ends of those stainless steel chopsticks, the same small characters of her name were also written on each stick.
Yan Huan looked questioningly at Ye Lan, but only received a helpless smile in response. It was Aunt Chen, sitting down beside him with a chuckle, who provided the explanation.
"This is a set of porcelain that Shiyu specifically commissioned someone to fire in the porcelain capital back in the Dragon Country. She had some made for us and brought them back too. But she is the only one who likes using black; her Mama and I both felt black didn''t look very nice, so we use regular bowls."
"Were those stainless steel chopsticks specially made too?"
"Oh, those are not. They are just store-bought chopsticks. It is just that Shiyu has a habit; she loves writing her name on her own things. Oh my, she writes it on absolutely everything. Every time she comes back from shopping, she spends a long time doing it."
Aunt Chen scooped rice and poured drinks for the others while continuing to speak.
"Furthermore, as long as something belongs to her, she cannot bear to throw it away. Unless it is completely unusable, she won''t toss it. If she occasionally loses something by accident, she will search relentlessly until she finds it."
''What kind of strange habit is this?''
Yan Huan blinked, thinking to himself.
Ye Lan''s expression grew even more helpless, yet she did not belittle this habit of her daughter''s that could easily be called stubborn. Instead, she said optimistically,
"She has gotten much better since starting university. If it is not something incredibly precious, she will give up if she truly cannot find it. This just shows that your Older Sister Shiyu deeply cherishes everything she receives, which I think is a wonderful quality."
"If I had Older Sister''s habit, I wouldn''t have been scolded by my high school teachers for being so forgetful."
Yan Huan chimed in, causing Ye Lan to cover her mouth and chuckle softly.
A faint, nearly imperceptible sound of footsteps drifted down from the nearby staircase. Ye Lan turned her head to see that Ye Shiyu had already descended. She waved her hand and smiled.
"Shiyu, hurry and come eat."
"Mhm."
Ye Shiyu nodded, her face still devoid of expression. Neither warm nor cold, she simply sat down directly opposite Yan Huan and gently grasped her glass.
In the next second, just as expected, Ye Lan smilingly raised her cup and said to Yan Huan,
"Then let us begin our dinner. Come on, welcome to our home, Little Huan. Cheers."
"Thank you, Auntie."
"Good boy, there is no need to thank your Auntie."
Ye Shiyu also raised her glass, lightly clinking it against Ye Lan''s, Aunt Chen''s, and finally, Yan Huan''s.
However, she only took a tiny sip before sticking out her small tongue to lick her lips.
This served as the signal that the Family Banquet had begun.
Holding the pure black porcelain bowl in her left hand, Ye Shiyu''s pale, pink-tinted fingertips slowly rubbed the name engraved on it as she watched her mother frantically pile food into Yan Huan''s and her own bowls.
Ye Lan''s family did not have a habit of No Talking While Eating. The topics discussed during their Family Banquet were generally simple. Aunt Chen also chimed in frequently, asking about trivial matters, such as the vegetables at the supermarket not being fresh.
Through Ye Lan''s reminder, she learned that Linmen was situated on the sea and essentially had no arable land, meaning all the vegetables were imported from abroad.
Ye Shiyu continued to chew carefully and swallow slowly, eating with elegance while remaining entirely silent.
As for Ye Lan, she spent more time fussing over Yan Huan''s well-being, asking him more about school matters she hadn''t brought up in the car. Whether intentionally or not, she steered the conversation toward topics that would interest people of his age.
"Do you all rely on the school bus for your commute to and from school?"
"Yes, Auntie. There are routes for every district, including the Kyogo Ward, though it seems quite far from here. The students living in this neighborhood probably... well, they probably don''t need to take the campus bus."
"True, driving Shiyu to and from school would be much faster and save on commute time. It is just that I am usually very busy and don''t have much free time, so I can only arrange a separate car to pick her up..."
He wasn''t sure if it was just his imagination, but Yan Huan vaguely felt that Ye Lan was constantly laying the groundwork for something she had yet to say.
As Ye Lan spoke, she put down her chopsticks as if suddenly struck by an idea. With bright eyes, she proposed to Yan Huan,
"That''s right, Little Huan, how about you come and live at Auntie''s house?"
"Huh?"
"You two are classmates at the same school and around the same age. This way, you could commute with Shiyu. With a private car, you wouldn''t have to rush to catch the bus morning and night. Aunt Chen can handle breakfast and dinner at home, and even prepare desserts for you to take to school. How about it, Little Huan?"
Yan Huan''s chopsticks paused mid-meal. He blinked, looking at the deeply hopeful Ye Lan, and suddenly understood why she had told the Principal back at school that she was his "Mama".
Ye Lan seeking out Yan Huan was not merely to catch up or reminisce about his deceased mother. She was here to adopt him.
Did Ye Lan have any ulterior motives?
No, none at all.
If one had to point something out, it would just be exactly what she had stated: hoping he could look after his eccentric Older Sister Ye Shiyu a bit more. That was all.
Moreover, she was the head of Ye International in Linmen, whereas Yan Huan was just a university student. Even if he was the Student Council president or an Outstanding Student, she had no reason to harbor any hidden agenda.
There was only one reason for her actions: she simply viewed Yan Huan, the child of her late best friend, as family and wanted to take care of him.
And realistically speaking, from everything he had seen so far, it was evident that Ye Lan''s net worth was staggering. Anyone with half a brain would have dropped to their knees, accepted her as a mother, and played the part of a loyal son to latch onto her wealth.
''But, Gul''dan, what is the price?''
That trace of an ominous premonition in his heart caused Yan Huan''s heartbeat to quicken involuntarily. A lump formed in his throat as he looked at Ye Shiyu, who was unhurriedly eating her dinner in front of him.
His smile was tinged with hesitation as he asked,
"Auntie, isn''t this a bit too sudden?"
"Can you not, Little Huan? Or does Auntie make you feel like she is too difficult to get along with?"
Sensing the retreat in Yan Huan''s words, the radiant gleam in Ye Lan''s eyes slowly dissolved, bringing out the same glassy moisture he had seen when she first laid eyes on him today.
Her smiling mouth immediately puckered, and the corners of her lips dropped as if weighed down by an anchor.
''Don''t make that kind of expression, Aunt Ye!''
Yan Huan forced himself to look away from Ye Lan to avoid being swayed by her expression, opting to appeal to emotion and reason instead.
"...Auntie, you are so wonderful, how could I ever think that? I just feel it is inappropriate. Look, Auntie, I am a guy, after all, and..."
Before he could finish his reasoning, Ye Lan interjected,
"Little Huan, you are not an outsider, so there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Aunt Chen lives on the first floor, Older Sister and I live on the third floor, so you can just take the second floor. Every room has its own bathroom, the soundproofing is excellent, and we will always knock before entering. We won''t disturb your privacy..."
''Okay, okay, playing the Money Power card, are we?''
However, it was indeed the truth. Turning his head to look around this ultra-spacious garden villa, there wasn''t a hint of confinement. You could practically hold a basketball game in the living room alone, not to mention the second floor, third floor, and the Rooftop Terrace.
Left with no other choice, he had to push the issue to the main bottleneck. He raised his eyes to look at Ye Shiyu, whose eating pace had gradually slowed, and said,
"Besides, a matter like this also requires considering Older Sister Shiyu''s thoughts. There might be some things that Auntie feels are fine, but..."
Without even waiting for him to finish, Ye Lan impatiently turned her head to Ye Shiyu.
"Shiyu, what do you think?"
Ye Shiyu held her bowl, a small clump of rice still pinched between her chopsticks.
Hearing this, she slowly placed the rice into her mouth. Without chewing, she turned to meet her mother''s gaze.
Catching sight of her mother''s slightly puckered lips and feeling the intense anticipation in her eyes, she nodded and spoke softly,
"I have no objections."
Her voice was incredibly pleasant. Despite its low volume, every word was exceptionally crisp and clear.
"That''s wonderful! Although Shiyu speaks very little, she is actually a very gentle and kind-hearted girl. Don''t worry, Little Huan, both your Older Sister and I welcome you."
''Gentle and kind-hearted?''
Yan Huan cast an astonished glance at Ye Shiyu, who had resumed picking up food. She also lifted her eyes to meet his gaze, never once shying away from eye contact.
That direct visual contact managed to slightly dissipate the uneasy feelings in Yan Huan''s heart. He was deep in thought, yet still held back from agreeing immediately.
After mulling it over, Yan Huan had no choice but to utilize the Ability he had just acquired today, adjusting the expression on his face.
"I know that both Older Sister and Auntie are wonderful people, but Auntie, could you give me a little time to think about it?"
Ye Lan pursed her lips, seeing the gratitude etched onto the young man''s face, though there was noticeably more hesitation.
''Right, I just made this mistake this afternoon, so why am I doing it again now...''
Perhaps, she was just being a little too hasty.
At this thought, Ye Lan softened her tone and gently suggested,
"Then Little Huan, since today is Friday, it''s already dark, and this place is very far from the South Ward where you live, why don''t you stay here for now and spend the weekend? Tomorrow and the day after, I will take you and your Older Sister out to have a good time nearby. How does that sound?"
As long as the discussion wasn''t finalized and he wasn''t forced to move in immediately, his goal had actually been achieved.
''At the very least, I need to completely dispel this ominous feeling in my heart first, right?''
He looked at Ye Lan. Naturally, he still harbored reservations, but in the end, the hesitation on his face seemed overpowered by her gentle warmth. He smiled and nodded.
"Okay, Auntie."
Ye Lan breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to Ye Shiyu, she asked the same question.
"And you, Shiyu?"
"Mhm, I have no objections."
It was the exact same reaction and the exact same response as before.
"Fantastic! Then it is settled. Aunt Chen, I''ll have to trouble you to tidy up the second-floor room in a bit."
Ye Lan clapped her hands together. By this point, the meal was also mostly finished.
Aunt Chen, who had spent the entire time listening without interrupting, finally stood up. As she diligently began clearing the bowls and chopsticks, she said to Yan Huan,
"Alrighty, I will show Little Huan up there shortly."
Ye Lan was already immersed in the joy of the Pre-adoption regarding Yan Huan, yet she didn''t forget to turn and instruct Ye Shiyu.
"Shiyu, don''t forget to exchange contact info. If you have any questions in your new school, you can always ask your younger brother. He grew up in Linmen and is the Student Council president. Since you are a newcomer and need someone to look out for you, don''t hesitate to ask him." Ye Shiyu, using a Tissue to wipe her lips, stood up. She glanced briefly at Yan Huan and replied,
"Okay. I didn''t bring my mobile phone; I''ll grab it in a moment and add him then."
"Mhm... I will have Aunt Chen bring some milk up to you later."
"Okay."
Her reply echoed from the staircase as Ye Shiyu turned and went upstairs, swiftly disappearing from sight.
Yan Huan also prepared to stand. "Then I will go see if I can lend Aunt Chen a hand, Auntie."
"No need. Stay here and sit with Auntie for a little while longer. How does that sound, Little Huan?"
But Ye Lan shook her head. Cupping her chin in her hands, she stared intently at Yan Huan, gazing right into his face.
She loved looking at Yan Huan, gazing into his eyes, as though trying to see his entire being through them, or perhaps hoping to find traces of her old friend in his features.
Feeling her fluid, gentle gaze upon him, Yan Huan had no choice but to slowly sit back down.
"Alright."
Ye Lan merely kept looking at him. After a moment of silence, a warm smile bloomed on her face.
"Little Huan, you really have suffered all these years..."
Ye Lan''s tender voice made Yan Huan blink in surprise.
His gradually slowing heartbeat inside his chest felt as if it had lost its strength, failing to push the words out of his mouth and leaving him agape.
Just as he finally mustered the courage to say something, Ye Lan had already stretched her arms and stood up.
"Well then, Auntie is a bit tired, so I''ll be heading upstairs to rest now. I will have Aunt Chen take you to your room shortly. Get some rest early~"
"...You too, Aunt Ye."
Watching her retreating back, Yan Huan responded a second too late.
Ye Lan returned to her bedroom on the third floor to rest. According to Aunt Chen, she had been incredibly busy since early morning, and visiting Far Moon Academy to see Yan Huan was her final stop of the day.
After waiting for Aunt Chen to clean the kitchen, Yan Huan followed her to ready the room. In truth, it mostly involved spreading a bedsheet and grabbing a quilt, pillows, and pillowcases—nothing overly troublesome.
The prepared room on the second floor was exceptionally spacious. It was hard to imagine that this single bedroom was actually larger than the one-bedroom apartment he rented in the South Ward.
Not only did it possess a private bathroom, but it also contained a separate lounge area for a sofa, desk, and bookcase. Only at the end of this area did the bedroom, complete with a private balcony, begin...
After closing the door behind him, Yan Huan stood alone, surveying the tidied room. Raising an eyebrow, he set down his School Bag and took off his School Uniform Jacket.
"This is... way too exaggerated, isn''t it?"
He squeezed the leather sofa resting in the room, then walked over to the bedroom doorway. He cast a glance out onto the balcony, exposed because the curtains were undrawn, revealing the glittering night view outside.
And he, this Tianchao Reincarnated Youth, was soon going to have to request time off from his boss for his weekend shift from the comfort of this luxurious room.
Well, he made up his mind. When he requested his leave of absence, he would omit a period just to make himself seem a bit tougher.
After gazing at the dark night for a long time, Yan Huan finally pulled the curtains closed, flipped on the bright bedside lamp, and lay down on the soft bed.
"Meow~"
Right at that moment, a pleasant cat''s call echoed through the bedroom once again.
Lying on the bed, Yan Huan propped himself up slightly and turned toward the edge of the bed, only to spot a chubby Black Cat squeezing out from under it.
If not for the bedside lamp, it would have practically blended completely into the dark red hardwood floor.
The Black Cat turned its head, revealing its emerald eyes. It was none other than Myau-chan.
"Myau-chan, you are here."
"Meow!"
Yan Huan lay back down on the bed, and Myau-chan bounded up. It rubbed against his side first before planting itself right on his stomach, projecting a voice directly into his mind.
"I originally thought you would be terrified by the whole Modifier business and wouldn''t dare interact with any women for quite a while. To my surprise, not even a single day has passed, and instead of running away, you actually took the initiative to get closer?"
"...Anyone who uses their brain for a second could figure this out, right?"
Looking at the Black Cat perched on his abdomen, Yan Huan couldn''t resist reaching out to tweak its warm ears and stroke its fluffy back.
"You didn''t just fail to tell me who besides Bai Yi possesses a Modifier, but you also never explained what effects the other Modifiers have... That implies you don''t know either, correct?"
"...Correct. My understanding of these powers of Invasion is limited merely to knowing their existence and shared traits, but as for the specifics..."
"Then isn''t that the whole point?"
Yan Huan spread his hands, his gaze perfectly calm.
"The current objective is to Resolve the Modifier. And the first step to Resolve the Modifier is to locate them and their Hosts. Following that, we must understand their properties, so we can finally devise a way to neutralize them."
Working under the assumption that Ye Lan and Ye Shiyu might possess a Modifier: even if he hadn''t come over for dinner today, taken it a step further by refusing her adoption request, or gone to the absolute extreme of cutting off all contact, Ye Shiyu would still be attending Far Moon Academy.
What was meant to come would come regardless, unless he avoided all females—or took even more drastic measures: drop out of school, sever all connections accumulated over the past ten years, disfigure his own face, and find a dark hole to hide in.
Shouting "I reject my humanity!" and resorting to such a mutually assured destructive solution might work, but...
"...I need to Resolve the Modifier, and the purpose behind that is to restore the Worldline to normal so I can continue living my life in peace. I cannot risk Putting the Cart Before the Horse, nor can I resort to Giving Up Eating for Fear of Choking. Taking a step back, although Ye Shiyu''s personality appears somewhat strange, it doesn''t necessarily mean she truly is the Host of a Modifier."
As he spoke, Yan Huan''s eyes gradually glazed over. He rested his left arm over his forehead, and, perhaps recalling something in particular, murmured softly,
"Moreover, Aunt Ye is a very gentle person."
Myau-chan simply stared at Yan Huan, relishing the continuous strokes from his right hand. Without offering a verbal reply, it instead propped itself up slightly and suddenly began gently kneading Yan Huan''s firm pectoral muscles with its two soft, pink paw pads.
Pressing forward, drawing back, pressing forward, drawing back...
"Purr~"
Yan Huan froze slightly, lowering his head to look at Myau-chan purring in its throat, and asked,
"What are you doing?"
Myau-chan kept kneading away, shooting him a look as if regarding an absolute idiot, its expression screaming,
''I am a cat. What else would I be doing besides kneading?''
Yan Huan sucked in a breath. Just as he was about to reach out and grab this fat cat by the scruff of its neck, a sudden knock resounded from outside the bedroom door.
"Knock-knock-knock~"
Yan Huan exchanged a glance with Myau-chan, then immediately sat up and called out,
"Who is it?"
"..."
No response.
However, Yan Huan seemed to already have an answer. He gently set Myau-chan down and whispered to it,
"Hide yourself so no one sees you."
"Meow~"
It nodded and wriggled its way under the bed, subsequently vanishing as if it had entirely ceased to exist.
Meanwhile, Yan Huan straightened the white Shirt he was wearing, slipped on his slippers, and walked to the door.
"Coming."
"Click."
Pushing the door open slightly, a single lamp lit the corridor outside. But since Ye Lan had already retreated to her bedroom to rest, the main lights in the living room had been switched off, leaving the second floor appearing quite dim.
And there, shrouded in that dimness, stood the slender, black-haired girl at his doorway.
It was Ye Shiyu.
She was clad in ink-black from head to toe, leaving only her skin starkly, snow-white in contrast.
Her facial features were exceptionally exquisite, as though she were a proud masterpiece meticulously crafted by genetics.
Looking at the silent girl standing outside his door, Yan Huan''s expression stiffened for a brief moment before he plastered on a smile and opened the door a bit wider.
The bright light from within the room spilled out into the hallway, halting right at the tips of her slippers to forge a distinct boundary between light and shadow.
"Older Sister Shiyu, what''s wrong?"
Yan Huan''s voice stirred Ye Shiyu into action. She held up her mobile phone and said softly to him,
"Mama told us to exchange contact info."
''So she''s just here to add me as a friend.''
''As expected, she doesn''t necessarily have to be the owner of a Modifier. She is probably just a bit reticent.''
Relieved, Yan Huan let out a sigh and pulled his own mobile phone out of his pocket.
"Ah, right, I almost forgot. Give me a moment, Older Sister Shiyu. Should I scan you or will you scan me?"
"You can scan me."
"Alright."
As Ye Shiyu presented her mobile phone, bathed in the room''s lighting, Yan Huan clearly saw her name still written across the back of her Phone Case.
Without overthinking it, Yan Huan opened the scanning interface on Plane, while she unlocked her screen and held the device out to him.
"..."
His phone''s camera aligned with her screen. However, what was displayed on the screen she offered him wasn''t a QR code to add a friend at all. Instead, it was a swirling vortex flashing with a wicked, demonic purple glow, looking like the interface of a bizarre app.
The vortex spun relentlessly, its rotation growing faster and faster, blurring into a dizzying whirl...
''Eh, what is this?''
Yan Huan blanked out for a split second, but he rapidly came to a horrifying realization, his pupils violently contracting.
''Oh no, this is...''
In the very next second, in tandem with the spinning vortex, Ye Shiyu''s eyes seemed to darken ten thousand times over alongside the shadowed corridor, dragging Yan Huan''s consciousness down like a bottomless abyss.
"Beep!"
A notification chime, symbolizing a specific signal, rang out from the app in her hand. Simultaneously, Yan Huan heard a phantom-like voice project from her body.
[App Activated]
[Effect: Individual Hypnosis]
[Duration: 15 Minutes]
[Timer, Initiated.]
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