Chapter 27: There Is a Kind of Pain Called Other People''s Children

Restricted Fantasy Invasion

"Thump... Thump... Thump..."

The sounds outside the classroom gradually faded away, like an invisible giant hand choking Ye Shiyu''s heart slowly pulling away.

Her panting gradually stopped. She raised her eyes to look at the lifeless-eyed Yan Huan in front of her. It was as if rationality had only just reclaimed the high ground of her brain, making her realize what had just happened.

Looking at her wrist, which had previously been grabbed by Yan Huan, she saw a ring of red marks formed by his grip on her fair, delicate skin, showing no signs of fading away anytime soon.

Perhaps due to the surging blood beneath her skin, the area felt numb and tingly, transmitting a slight itch.

Ye Shiyu had the kind of physique that easily bruised and left marks.

Especially with her fair and tender skin, it showed colors as easily as a pristine canvas.

This kind of action, symbolizing others expanding into her territory, was originally something she detested the most.

Physical contact from outsiders was just as unforgivable as someone taking her belongings.

Perhaps it was because of the kindness he showed that night, or perhaps it was the smile on his face that made Ye Shiyu willingly put away her stinginess, wanting to give something in return.

She had clearly just wanted to ask him for help today and casually inquire about what he liked, but in the end...

She had still used hypnosis on him.

''I am sorry, Xiao Huan...''

''Next time, I definitely will not use hypnosis on you.''

Ye Shiyu thought to herself, filled with guilt.

Although being called older sister by Yan Huan was fantastic, and it would have been even better if he had been gentler when told to act coy...

However, next time she would absolutely not use hypnosis on Xiao Huan.

Ye Shiyu promised herself this, acting as wise and holy as half a sage...

As for why she was only half a sage?

Because she had not been completely satisfied when she asked Yan Huan to act coy earlier, so it only counted as half.

"Xiao Huan, after I count down from three, the hypnosis will be lifted... Three, two, one."

She projected her desire to deactivate the App in her mind, feeling a bit nervous at the same time.

Since she had left the room early during the last hypnosis, she did not know what it looked like to lift the hypnosis face-to-face.

And with her command, that feeling of memories peeling away like a receding tide returned once more.

Whether it was Sakuramiya Hitomi or Ye Shiyu''s Modifier, both produced this sensation. First, all the memories of what just happened would leave the brain, and then a new set of memories would be formed.

The forged memories were flawless. Without a Modifier or a reminder from a third party, the person subjected to it would absolutely never realize what had transpired.

"..."

Yan Huan''s vacant eyes slowly closed. When they opened again, his gaze showed no awareness of anything unusual.

"Older Sister Shiyu?"

"Let us continue fixing the laptop."

Seeing that Yan Huan had not noticed anything strange, Ye Shiyu breathed a sigh of relief and reverted to her doll-like demeanor.

However, her gaze swept up and down Yan Huan''s body, much like a culprit touring the scene of their crime.

Yan Huan smiled and turned his head away, continuing to help her fix the laptop while his mind raced with thoughts.

When a person obtained a similar Modifier, their desire to use it actually progressed step by step.

The idea of going all the way from the very start mostly came from those dozens-of-pages-long adult comics.

Before evolving into an absolutely ruthless phase, they would definitely first pass through a cautious exploratory phase.

Especially since the current duration of Ye Shiyu''s Modifier was only a brief fifteen minutes, which invisibly restricted the execution of many of her ideas.

But this gradual progression was still much faster than Yan Huan had imagined.

Just this past Sunday night, he had launched an aggressive series of maneuvers, trying to stimulate Ye Shiyu''s sense of guilt to suppress her desire to use the Modifier.

Myau-chan had also mentioned at the time that Ye Shiyu dropped a fragment, so the operation should have been effective.

In the end, it hadn''t even been peaceful for a few days before her secret deeds came to light again this Tuesday noon...

Although the trigger for her using the Modifier was to prevent her own social death, making it an accidental usage.

But what about after that?

She still couldn''t withstand the temptation of the Modifier''s effects and had issued a series of commands to him.

These commands weren''t considered too excessive, but they symbolized that the desire to use the Modifier was rekindling from dead ashes.

It wasn''t that Yan Huan''s previous attempts to stimulate her conscience were completely useless; this was evident from Ye Shiyu''s repeated hesitations and apologies.

The only problem was...

The intensity was not enough.

Facing a patient like Ye Shiyu, he still needed to increase the dosage.

Yan—Fake Psychiatrist—Huan thought to himself.

"Older Sister Shiyu, just download Zhoujiao Security Guard. If you don''t understand computers well, it''s pretty easy to use, and security basically won''t be an issue."

"Mhm..."

Ye Shiyu did not understand either, so she simply nodded, letting him have free rein over her laptop.

She didn''t mind at all that he was holding the mouse with her name written on it, nor did she mind him tapping his fingers on her laptop''s keyboard.

For a moment, Yan Huan also forgot about Ye Shiyu''s peculiar habit.

After all, his mind was busy calculating future strategies, and he had to act the part of an absolutely normal sworn younger brother who had just been hypnotized...

These two tasks were like the downloader virus in Ye Shiyu''s laptop, hogging all the operational memory in his brain.

Furthermore, hadn''t the group of guys outside shouted Bai Yi''s name earlier?

The name of the idol who possessed the Indifference Modifier.

"Tick-tock..."

"Tick-tock..."

In the teaching building during the afternoon, an illusory clock operation sound, ticking like water droplets, rang out from the void.

But the many students coming and going seemed not to hear a thing, walking past with normal expressions.

In the middle of the crowd, a beautiful girl wearing sunglasses, a milky-white long-sleeved shirt, and a black linen knee-length skirt stood with her arms crossed at the bustling school gate.

It was exactly the famous idol of Far Moon Academy, Bai Yi.

Her beauty could not be concealed even by sunglasses. An aura of confidence, fashion, and beauty burst from her youthful body, declaring the wonders of youth to anyone who laid eyes on her.

She was chewing a piece of strawberry-flavored bubblegum, occasionally blowing air into the candy in her mouth, making it expand and swell until it popped like a balloon.

"Pop."

It made a crisp sound.

She wore light makeup, and a layer of high-quality pink lip gloss coated half her lips, shimmering with a delectable, crystalline glow.

Her lips looked as sweet as that strawberry-scented bubblegum.

"I really don''t want to go to class this afternoon... I might as well sneak out for a walk. I can use that thing anyway."

Thinking this, she pulled an object resembling a pocket watch from her pocket.

Although the pocket watch had a rustic style, its intricate inner craftsmanship rivaled that of an invaluable artifact.

Illusory text floated in the center of the dial, adding an element of fantasy.

[Unnamed]

There were three hands on the dial, but they completely failed to correspond to real time.

Even though it was nearly one o''clock in the afternoon, the hour hand made of ice pointed straight up to twelve o''clock, looking as if it hadn''t moved in ages.

The minute hand full of rust rested at the nine o''clock position. Above the rusted minute hand floated a line of illusory text:

[Accumulated Usage Time: 30 minutes]

The second hand seemed entirely non-existent. One could only guess from the rotating base that there was an unseen hand ticking away on the dial.

When Bai Yi''s consciousness touched the rotating second hand, illusory information surged forth:

[Welcome to the Unnamed Pocket Watch]

[Pocket Watch Level: 1]

[Current Effect: Indifference]

[Grants 10 minutes per day. Upon use, enters a state where you will remain unnoticed no matter what you do. If the effect is not used on a given day, the time can be accumulated for future use, up to a maximum of 60 minutes.]

[While the effect is active, all your actions will only produce immediate consequences for yourself: for others, the consequences of all your actions will manifest the instant the effect ends.]

It sounded a bit convoluted, but just one attempt was enough to quickly understand its meaning.

While in the Indifference mode, if Bai Yi touched someone, she would feel the contact immediately.

But what about the other person?

If she touched them, they wouldn''t feel it right away; instead, the sensation would strike them all at once the moment the effect ended.

No matter how many different sensations there were, they would all descend in a single instant.

There was actually an effect on objects as well, but the Modifier seemed to have forgotten to explain it...

Or perhaps it simply wanted Bai Yi to do whatever she pleased to people while the effect was active?

Coming back to objects.

The pocket watch would automatically correct any unreasonable physical alterations to items.

For example, that marker pen used to prank Zhou Bin. After Bai Yi used it, it automatically returned to its original place—no fingerprints, and no loss of ink...

However, the illegible scribbles drawn on Zhou Bin''s face remained.

Just hearing this description was enough to realize how miraculous this power truly was.

Therefore, ever since this pocket watch inexplicably appeared in Bai Yi''s bag last Friday, it had quickly become her most beloved toy.

With this item, she could do many things she previously wouldn''t have even dared to imagine.

For example, Zhou Bin was victim number one, all because he had made numerous phone calls to her mother last semester to complain about her.

When she arrived at noon today, she even saw him draped in all sorts of bizarre theological trinkets.

He was probably still living in fear right now, wasn''t he?

Bai Yi revealed a cheerful smile. Then, under the veil of Indifference, she turned and walked off campus.

She planned to skip classes entirely this afternoon.

"Tick. Tock."

The surrounding world seemed to be partitioned by the rhythmic, water-droplet-like ticking of a clock: Bai Yi on one side, and the entire rest of the world on the other.

Then, the worlds overlapped, forming everything she saw. Strolling to the commercial street inside the park outside the school gates, she casually grabbed a skewer of candied hawthorn from a dessert shop and brazenly enjoyed it.

That agent of hers monitored her eating habits every single day, terrified she would eat high-calorie foods, gain weight, or break out in acne. The woman practically wished she could shove salads and light meals into Bai Yi''s brain and turn them into common sense.

Meanwhile, her agent stuffed her own face with meat and delicacies in private, even posting pictures of eating hotpot on her social media, leaving Bai Yi all alone to drink green juice and eat salad, right?

At this thought, Bai Yi''s bites into the candied hawthorn skewers grew fierce, as if she were biting off her agent''s head.

"Hahaha, the President already said I am not a mascot, okay?"

"Oh, President Yan actually says things like that to you?"

"Of course! But to forge iron, one must be strong oneself! I think it is because I am just too smart that the President thinks so."

"Hahaha..."

''President?''

''Yan Huan...''

Eating her candied hawthorn skewer, Bai Yi''s beautiful eyes glanced toward the source of the voice from behind her sunglasses. She spotted Yurianna chatting with several senior female students in front of a milk tea shop.

''That annoying person...''

Bai Yi silently withdrew her gaze, preparing to leave the area before today''s ten-minute effect expired.

After all, if she used it any longer, she would deplete the time she had hoarded over the weekend and Monday.

Bai Yi had a bit of a hoarding rat tendency.

However, her peripheral vision was inevitably drawn to a notice board at the school gate. She saw the Student Council logo on it, with introductions to the Student Council members displayed above.

"Yan Huan, Student Council President, won the favor of the students in the autumn semester with his absolutely outstanding grades and absolute affability, earning a total of..."

Bai Yi paused slightly as she ate her candied hawthorn. Just looking at Yan Huan''s photo on the notice board made a look of unstoppable disgust surface on her face.

"Tsk."

The candied hawthorn in her mouth gradually lost its taste, but she couldn''t bear to throw it away, so she carried it with her as she departed from Far Moon Academy during its lunch break.

By evening, on the first floor of a high-end villa in the Kyogo Ward.

Bai Yi scanned her fingerprint and walked into the house. The sound of an extractor hood came from the kitchen, indicating her mother was likely cooking.

She glanced toward the kitchen, changed her shoes at the entryway, and casually took off her bucket hat, sunglasses, and face mask, tossing them all into a basket nearby.

"I''m back."

"How was school today?"

However, the voice that responded came from the living room, not the kitchen.

Bai Yi froze for a moment, then smoothed out her silky black hair, which had been slightly messed up by the bucket hat.

She walked casually into the living room and said,

"How else could it be? Just the same as always. It was just an elective class."

A middle-aged woman in gray loungewear sat on the living room sofa, scrutinizing her.

It was Bai Yi''s mother, Zuo Jiangqin.

Hearing Bai Yi''s words, Zuo Jiangqin frowned and exposed her lie.

"I had Xiao Ji go to the school to pick you up this afternoon. She said she didn''t see you come out."

Xiao Ji, full name Ji Lin, was Bai Yi''s agent.

Bai Yi''s motion to enter her room paused slightly. Frowning, she looked at her mother sitting in the living room and shot back,

"Didn''t I tell you I''d come back by myself this afternoon?"

"You didn''t even go to school at all, did you?"

"...So what?"

Bai Yi took a deep breath. In the end, she didn''t retreat to her room but stepped further into the living room and said to Zuo Jiangqin,

"It''s just an elective class. What does it matter if I attend it or not?"

"What does it matter?! Take a good look at this."

The older woman''s anger flared up upon hearing Bai Yi''s dismissive tone.

She pulled out her mobile phone, opened her email, and showed Bai Yi an information sheet.

"Your school''s Student Council sent me an email this morning, notifying me of your placement test results... Out of 500 points, you only scored 292! Out of 178 students in the entire grade level, you rank 152nd! Aren''t you ashamed? Hmm? If your fans find out your grades are this atrocious, who knows what they''ll say online."

"Why do you care what they say? I have activities scheduled every single day. I''ve barely attended any classes, so how am I supposed to pass?"

"Barely attended any classes... Then what about this afternoon? We sent you there, and you still didn''t attend! You''re just slacking off, you''re lazy!"

"Mom, if you don''t understand, can you stop pretending you do? You can''t even tell the difference between a required course and an elective, so what are you lecturing me about?"

They were completely talking past each other. Bai Yi waved her hand in irritation and said,

"I am tired. I''m going back to my room to rest."

Bai Yi was annoyed by the nagging, but her attempt to leave was halted by the older woman''s sharp voice behind her.

"Stop right there! You''re completely out of line every day! Xiao Ji told me everything. You participate in activities reluctantly, and you slack off when you go to school. What exactly are you trying to do?"

"..."

''Activities, activities...''

''Those damn activities were all arranged by you anyway.''

''They refuse to let me write songs, claiming it builds exposure too slowly and that we need to capture the face fans market, which is why I''m forced to eat grass every day now...''

''My mother is the same, so eager to cash in. Whenever the agent mentions a commercial gig, she gets all excited. Yet I''m the one who ends up exhausted, running around everywhere.''

But even with a thousand words she wanted to say in her heart, Bai Yi took a deep breath and decided to avoid the argument.

Her pretty face merely fell. Too lazy to waste any more breath on her mother, she turned her head again and tried to head back to her room.

"Wait a minute, child! Eat the salad on the table!"

"..."

Bai Yi ignored the mother behind her entirely, her hand already gripping the doorknob.

However, behind her, her mother was no longer looking at her either. It seemed they were both deeply familiar with this routine.

Except today, perhaps because of that email notifying her of the test results, Zuo Jiangqin spoke with profound emotion,

"Look at that Yan Huan from your Student Council. His grades are so spectacular, he''s the Student Council President, and he scores first in every single exam. And don''t forget, when we took you to the Child Star Audition back then, he was there too."

Hearing her mother''s words, Bai Yi pushed the door open, but her feet, just about to step into the room, froze in place.

Her mother didn''t notice at all that the delicate feminine fists hidden within Bai Yi''s sleeves had already clenched tightly.

"He just smiled and was immediately favored by the station executives, who desperately wanted to sign him... He just had to show his face, and the station begged him to join, but he still refused! Meanwhile, we exerted massive effort, writing songs and practicing instruments, just to secure a spot."

As soon as she brought this up, Zuo Jiangqin was filled with irritation.

"What right do you have to not work hard? Hmm? People like him who barely put in any effort still have choices, but we don''t have any choices! That means we have to seize every opportunity even more.

"We helped you enter the entertainment industry, and you need to cherish the fame you''ve built. Be more proactive when attending activities! We spent money to get you into Far Moon Academy, so you must work hard and improve your grades so Xiao Ji has an easier time building your persona! Did you hear me? Hmm?"

Bai Yi''s mother raised her head, only to find that at some point, her daughter was already staring back at her with a chillingly cold expression.

She was looking at her with an unprecedented gaze.

In the darkness, a certain desire seemed ready to freeze the air itself.

Even though soup was still boiling in the kitchen, the heat couldn''t dispel that icy chill.

Bai Yi just stared at her mother like that. After a moment of silence, she offered a mocking smile and said,

"Since you like him so much, Mama, you might as well just make him your son."

"You—"

"Bang!"

Before Zuo Jiangqin could say another word, Bai Yi pulled the door open, stepped inside, and slammed it shut behind her.

"This child..."

Zuo Jiangqin frowned, still sporting a look of exasperation over her daughter''s failure to meet expectations.

She crossed her arms and sat stiffly on the sofa for quite a while. Inside Bai Yi''s room, the usual sound of a guitar playing did not ring out.

The dead silence permeating the villa finally forced Zuo Jiangqin to begrudgingly admit...

Her words might indeed have been a bit too harsh.

But wasn''t it all because Bai Yi didn''t take her work seriously day after day, and was unbelievably lazy with her studies?

How could things continue like this?

Zuo Jiangqin felt her intentions were right, but her methods were flawed.

She had often brought up that child named "Yan Huan" in front of Bai Yi before.

After all, during the company''s Child Star Audition back then, that exceptionally handsome boy had simply been too impressive.

And even more so at Far Moon Academy, where he was highly popular and had explosively good grades...

Zuo Jiangqin merely thought that setting up a rival for Bai Yi would ignite her fighting spirit, which was why she emphasized it tirelessly.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

At that moment, the timer in the kitchen suddenly went off.

Her soup was ready.

Zuo Jiangqin sighed, walked into the kitchen, turned off the stove, grabbed a bowl, and ladled out a bowl of pork rib soup.

Walking back to the living room, she picked up the salad from the table and headed toward Bai Yi''s bedroom door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Come out and eat."

This was Zuo Jiangqin''s way of signaling a truce.

However, a long time passed without any response from inside the room.

Seeing this, the anger that Zuo Jiangqin had just convinced herself to calm down flared up slightly once more.

She placed the soup and salad on the table and returned, prepared to open Bai Yi''s door directly.

"I said it is time to eat, did you hear me..."

However, upon pushing the door open, the girl''s bedroom—filled with a guitar, sheet music, a computer, and a game console—was entirely empty.

"Yiyi?"

Zuo Jiangqin froze for a second, then called out Bai Yi''s nickname in sudden alarm.

Yet the room was dead silent. The only response was the wind blowing across the first floor of the villa outside, causing the curtains by the open window to flutter and dance.