Chapter 42: Superconductor Loser |
"An Le, be a good girl and run downstairs to buy a bunch of green onions for your dad. Pick up a bag of salt and some soy sauce while you''re at it, otherwise we won''t have anything to eat tomorrow."
The voice of her father, An Bang, drifted over from the kitchen where he was washing dishes after dinner. An Le, who was staring at her wardrobe in her room, quickly turned her head and replied.
"Okay, Dad!"
Resting on her shoulder, a white snake flicked its tongue. It glanced at the clothes in the wardrobe and rolled its eyes.
"Just look at you. What the heck are these clothes? They''re so tacky. No matter how hard you try to pick an outfit to see that Yan Huan next week, it''ll still just be the best of the worst."
"..."
An Le looked at Little Finger sheepishly, not knowing what to say. She could only murmur softly,
"Then I''ll use my pocket money to pick one out this weekend. It''s been a long time since I bought new clothes anyway."
"Right? You wear that school uniform every single day. It''s dreadfully outdated."
And the few outfits she did like, she didn''t dare wear to school.
They were cheap, nowhere near the branded, expensive designer clothes her classmates flaunted.
More importantly, she was afraid of being targeted because of her figure.
The boys would always steal lecherous glances at her before whispering among themselves.
Even though she couldn''t hear them, it was easy to guess what they were talking about.
The girls also frequently mocked her body. Park Seomun and her clique, for example, constantly insulted her by calling her a dairy cow.
An Le hated that nickname.
Consequently, she could only wear her highly conservative school uniform to class, just like she did back when she went to school in Dragon Country.
But here, that conservative dress code actually turned her into an outcast.
Now back at home, An Le had changed into a comfortable white dress. She was in the middle of picking out an outfit for her meeting with Yan Huan next week.
After facing continuous harsh truths from both Little Finger and reality, An Le had finally made up her mind. She would no longer pass letters through Yabashi Ki; she was going to seek him out directly.
Of course, given her deeply rooted inferiority complex, she absolutely refused to make a move without being fully prepared.
How should she style her hair that day?
Should she wear makeup?
Which dress should she wear?
These were all critical details that needed careful consideration.
Although, according to Little Finger''s logic, all she had to do was activate her pleasure manipulation, rush in, and secure an easy victory. There was no need to overcomplicate things.
But An Le stubbornly refused, and Little Finger couldn''t force her. After all, she was the host.
Having promised her father, An Le prepared to leave. On her way out, she called out to her mother, who was watching TV in the living room.
"Mom, I''m heading downstairs."
"Oh, grab me a milk tea while you''re at it! Less sugar."
"Okay!"
An Le put on her shoes, stepped out into the hallway of the old residential building, and pressed the button for the elevator.
"Why don''t we just go buy clothes while we''re out getting groceries?"
Little Finger suddenly suggested as it watched the floor numbers on the elevator panel tick down.
An Le immediately shook her head. She raised her mobile phone and opened an online shopping app.
"Eh? I-I plan to buy them online."
"Online? Why not go to a physical store?"
An Le nodded, explaining nervously,
"Because... um... clothes at the mall are very expensive. They''re a bit cheaper online..."
Little Finger narrowed its eyes at her, then suddenly exploded in frustration.
"I think you just have social anxiety! You''re too embarrassed to even go to a real store, aren''t you?! I saw your wardrobe earlier! So many ill-fitting clothes, including your underwear, all bought online!!"
Little Finger had seen right through her. This girl would spend days picking something out online, wait days for shipping, and then spend several more days hesitating once it arrived.
Ugh!
By the time she was ready, she''d get shy again and chicken out!
Always procrastinating, just dragging her feet!
If you drag this out until the day is done, the other modifiers will swoop in and get a chicken dinner, and you''ll be left with nothing! Are you happy then?!
Furious, Little Finger lightly smacked An Le''s cheek with its tail. She let out a series of whines, raising her hands to try and block it.
"Your figure is already oversized as it is. If you don''t go to a physical store to try them on, how will you ever find a fit?! And when the clothes you buy online don''t fit, you don''t even return them! You just keep them?!"
"Because... because returning clothes would be such a bother for the sellers... They finally managed to sell it..."
"Give me a break!! Damn it, don''t think I didn''t see you. It''s one thing not to return them, but you even leave five-star reviews for clothes you haven''t even worn?! Why on earth would you do that?!"
"Because the customer service rep... spoke very kindly. They seemed like a good person and begged me for a good review, so I just..."
"Are you a pig-headed idiot?! Their scripts are uniformly trained! You actually thought they were nice to you out of the goodness of their hearts?!"
"I-I know that, but..."
An Le bit her lip. In reality, she knew those customer service reps were just using standard corporate scripts, but she just found it incredibly hard to refuse anyone''s request.
Especially when the other party kept begging her repeatedly, claiming they were only a few good reviews short of meeting their monthly quota.
''It only takes a few taps of my fingers to help someone out with their job, so why not?''
An Le thought to herself.
Seeing her act so spineless, Little Finger almost overheated with rage for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Useless! Go downstairs, right this second, and buy a new outfit! No more online shopping!"
It wished it could drill into this silly girl''s skull to see what exactly was in there, causing her to have such a bizarre thought process every single day.
''A tumor?''
"And get your hair cut while you''re at it! You look like a female ghost every day. Don''t you scare yourself when you get up in the middle of the night? Plus, washing it is a huge pain. I''m sick to death of watching you agonize over whether or not to wash your hair every single night."
"O-Okay..."
An Le touched her long hair and nodded. This was one of the few things she and Little Finger actually agreed on.
Washing hair was a hassle for girls. If they didn''t wash it, it got greasy; if they did, it took forever, and drying it strand by strand was a tedious chore.
Let alone a thick mane of long hair like An Le''s.
"Ding-dong~"
The elevator had arrived.
Smoothing down her hair, An Le stepped inside and pressed the button for the first floor.
The elevator was plastered with numerous small advertisements. Much like the dilapidated hallway outside, it looked like it had seen years of battle.
Real estate in Linmen was notoriously expensive. Parts of Luoqiao District and most of the South Ward made up Linmen''s old town, where housing prices were relatively affordable.
Back when An Le''s father, An Bang, returned from Dragon Country after a failed business venture, he had used his entire life savings to buy a secondhand, sixty-square-meter apartment in Luoqiao District. That was how they had barely managed to settle down.
While they couldn''t be called wealthy, they at least owned a home in Linmen, making them a comfortable middle-class family.
After passing through the somewhat narrow and dim corridor on the ground floor and emerging from the alleyway, she finally stepped back onto the bright and glamorous streets of Linmen.
Little Finger glanced around and pointed in a specific direction.
"Go over there first. Haircut time!"
"Oh, right..."
An Le nodded. She walked for a bit before pushing open the door to a hair salon. As she entered, she kept her head down and mumbled softly,
"E-Excuse me."
"Excuse my foot! You''re a paying customer, you are God! Straighten your back!"
"Oh."
An Le foolishly straightened her posture, but the moment the hairdresser looked her way, she shyly lowered her head again, almost making Little Finger pass out from exasperation.
"Welcome. Head to the back for a wash first, okay?"
"Mhm."
She went to the back and let an apprentice wash her hair. When she sat back up, her wet, un-blow-dried hair draped over her face, making her look genuinely indistinguishable from a female ghost.
She looked like a perfect recreation of Sadako. The customer in the adjacent chair who was getting a buzz cut stared at her, wide-eyed.
"How do you want it cut today, miss?"
"J-Just trim it a bit shorter... thank you."
"You got it. I''ll give you a more normal-looking style, alright?"
"Mhm... thank you."
An Le nodded. Even bundled beneath the salon cape, the dramatic curves of her chest were still glaringly obvious.
Snip, snip, snip...
The freshly cut bangs tumbled down, only to be caught by the towering peaks of her chest, resting right on top.
"Miss, would you like to open a membership card? Top up now and get a twenty percent discount. It''s a fantastic deal!"
"A-Ah?"
An Le blinked her large, watery eyes and turned to look at the smiling hairdresser behind her.
She stammered, just about to speak, when Little Finger''s deadpan snake face shoved itself right in front of her eyes.
Its scarlet eyes suddenly widened, practically touching her own pupils.
It gave her a look that plainly said, I will stare at you until the end of time.
"An Le, if you dare agree, do you believe I''ll murder you right here and now?!"
An Le''s little face turned deathly pale with fright. She pressed her lips together, quickly turned her head away, and said to the hairdresser with a trembling voice,
"I-I think I''ll pass... thank you."
"No problem."
Eh?
An Le watched the hairdresser through the mirror. He simply continued snipping away with his usual expression. She cautiously retracted her gaze.
''It turns out...''
''Nothing terrible happens even if you refuse.''
This thought suddenly popped into her mind.
It was the most normal concept in the world, yet when the realization hit her, it felt as though a heavy stone had finally been lifted from her heart, leaving her with mixed emotions.
For a customer like An Le, the results of a haircut were incredibly dramatic. When the hairdresser stepped back and said, "Take a look, how is it?", An Le saw what looked like a complete stranger in the mirror.
The freshly trimmed black bangs no longer obscured her fair, adorable face. Her heavy, long hair had finally become light, making her head feel weightless, as if several heavy weights had been removed.
She had large, limpid eyes that seemed a bit lacking in vivacity, which ironically gave her an endearingly dorky and cute aura.
Her pink lips parted slightly in surprise. Devoid of makeup, they naturally shimmered with a moist gloss that would make anyone who saw her want to cry out in awe.
"Who wouldn''t want to kiss those?!"
An Le blinked, and the beauty in the mirror blinked back.
It was as if only after performing this action did she realize that the person in the mirror was actually her.
"T-This is perfect... thank you."
"Alright, let''s give it one more wash."
"Mhm... thank you."
One more wash, followed by a blow-dry.
After paying the bill, a vastly more refreshed and beautiful girl finally walked out of the salon with a sigh of relief.
Having escaped a situation that required social interaction, she patted her chest and breathed out a sigh of relief.
However, the Little Finger on her shoulder was acting unbearably bossy. Flicking its tongue, it immediately pointed in another direction.
"Next stop! Clothes shopping!!"
An Le blinked and obediently followed Little Finger''s instructions, stopping in front of a clothing boutique.
Little Finger''s critical gaze swept across the mannequins in the display window, before apparently zeroing in on an outfit that deeply satisfied it.
Turning back to An Le, it commanded, "Hurry! Into this one! That dress is absolutely gorgeous; it will definitely suit you perfectly!"
Yet An Le simply parted her lips, looking as though she wanted to say something but was holding herself back.
Seeing her act like this, Little Finger was instantly infuriated. It puffed up and started screeching,
"Stop being such a coward! Do you want to live your life or not?! Too scared to even try on clothes in a store? The staff inside are all women—what the heck are you afraid of? Get in there!!"
"O-Okay."
An Le gulped, finally mustering the courage to walk inside.
"Welcome! Please take a look around. If you see anything you like, feel free to take it down and try it on."
"Not this one! That one! Yes, that skirt—have her take it down for you to try."
Under Little Finger''s relentless urging, An Le shakily pointed to a hanging high-waisted floral dress. She asked the saleswoman for a suitable size and retreated into the fitting room.
When she stepped back out, the saleswoman waiting by the door couldn''t help but cover her mouth in utter astonishment.
The incredibly form-fitting high-waisted dress showcased An Le''s slender waist to perfection. The curves of her proud bosom cascaded down the silhouette of the fabric, gracefully resolving into the lightly ruffled hem of the little princess dress.
Her voluptuous figure didn''t look the least bit bulky. Instead, she radiated a youthful, pure, and breathtaking beauty.
But despite looking so exquisitely put-together from head to toe, the young girl''s face was flushed with embarrassment, her gaze constantly darting away...
She was like a bright cherry resting atop a cream cake—a tantalizing splash of red against a backdrop of snowy white, enough to make anyone''s mouth water.
"Oh my, young lady, you have excellent taste. With a bust as large as yours, it''s usually hard to find clothes that fit right, but this dress is an absolute perfect match..."
"I-Is it?"
Standing in front of the mirror, An Le gave the hem of the dress a slight twirl. On her shoulder, Little Finger''s invisible nose was tilted so high it almost pointed to the sky.
"Are you kidding me? I''m the smartest Little Finger there is. My taste and my brains are totally top-tier. How about it, little An Le? Are you convinced now?"
"Ah?"
An Le blinked, still looking as though she had something to say but couldn''t quite spit it out.
But seeing its smug expression, she kindly chose not to interrupt. Playing along, she nodded cooperatively.
"Mhm."
"Alright, buy it quickly! This is your official outfit to meet Yan Huan next week. I guarantee he''ll be completely smitten!"
''Completely smitten...''
''Xiao Huan?''
''By a version of me that looks like this?''
An Le''s face grew even redder. She scarcely dared to look at her reflection in the mirror, yet she couldn''t hide her excitement at the rosy picture Little Finger was painting.
She always got like this whenever Yan Huan was brought up.
"Oh, stop overthinking! We''re gonna win! Hurry up and pay so we can head to the next stop! Your underwear, too—we need to change it right now! We have to carefully consider the victory lingerie for when you do that kind of stuff..."
"That... that kind of stuff?!?"
An Le''s face instantly exploded into an atomic blush, practically steaming like a boiling kettle, completely startling the saleswoman next to her.
"Is everything alright, miss?"
"N-Nothing''s wrong!"
An Le replied in a panic. She then glared at the Little Finger on her shoulder, mentally shouting,
''Little Finger, y-y-you... are you already thinking that far ahead? I... I''m going to see Xiao Huan, not to...''
"Huh?"
Little Finger merely shot her a sidelong glance, asking calmly,
"Don''t tell me you''ve never thought about doing that kind of stuff with Yan Huan."
"I—"
That single sentence completely shut An Le down.
Her face flushed crimson, her lips trembling like leaves in the wind, but she couldn''t squeeze out a single word for half a minute.
"Or perhaps, you''re only looking for a purely platonic romance with him."
"O-Of course not!"
''Alright, alright, alright. Now you finally admit you want to date Yan Huan, huh?''
''Before, you were acting all tough, claiming you merely wanted to reunite with him.''
''My, my, my, what a good girl~''
Little Finger transformed into an iron-blooded judge looking down from the bench. Delivering a fatal blow to the defendant An Le, it asked point-blank,
"Be direct. Have you or have you not used Yan Huan as your private bedtime fantasy material since you started university?"
"..."
After stammering helplessly for an eternity under Little Finger''s scrutinizing gaze, An Le finally flushed bright red and uttered an impossibly quiet "Mhm" in her mind.
An Le was an honest child.
"Heh."
Little Finger sneered contemptuously and flicked its tongue.
"That settles it, then. Hurry up and pay! We''re off to the next stop!!"
"B-But..."
"But what?! How much more mental prep do you need me to do?!"
Just as Little Finger was about to blow a fuse again, An Le glanced around nervously and whispered,
"I can''t afford... this dress."
"Ah?"
The overexcited Little Finger suddenly froze in its tracks. Dumbfounded, it slowly turned its head to look at An Le.
Then, it snaked its slender head into An Le''s black hair to peek at the price tag resting near the nape of her neck.
A second later, it pulled its head back as if it had instantly achieved Nirvana.
"..."
"..."
One girl and one snake exchanged a long look.
An Le was breaking out in a nervous sweat, and Little Finger guiltily broke out in...
Oh, wait. It was a snake. It couldn''t sweat.
"Why didn''t you tell me this store was so expensive!?"
"I-I wanted to tell you! Back at the entrance, but you kept interrupting me, so..."
"..."
Little Finger blinked guiltily. Helplessly, it let out a deep sigh and muttered under its breath,
"This ability was supposed to be unlocked later, but I guess her desire right now is just barely enough to pull it off..."
"Ah, Little Finger... were you saying something?"
Little Finger turned back to her, sighing heavily.
"I''m going to teach you a new way to use your ability. It will let us take this dress for free, and later on, it will effortlessly make your Xiao Huan fall for you. Want to hear it?"
"G-Go ahead."
"Later on, when your ability evolves, you''ll have to choose between manipulating pleasure or pain to unlock subsequent powers. Tell me right now: do you want to keep the pleasure manipulation or the pain sensation manipulation?"
An Le opened her mouth, almost subconsciously replying,
"...Pleasure."
Little Finger flashed a ''I knew it'' expression and simply continued.
"Exactly. Think about the pleasure you pumped into Yan Huan''s body before. That sensation hit him out of nowhere, making it incredibly easy for people to notice something was off, right?"
"Right. That''s exactly what I was worried about earlier..."
"So now, you can, to a certain extent, designate yourself as the explicit source of that pleasure."
"Myself?"
Little Finger blinked, pronouncing each word clearly,
"People often say, ''It feels so good to spend time with this person.'' In reality, it''s because interacting with that person constantly generates positive feedback based on their actions.
"And you can use the ability I bestowed upon you to bypass that entire process. You can directly feed people that positive feedback—which is pleasure."
An Le wasn''t stupid. She understood Little Finger''s meaning almost instantly.
"So you''re saying... I can use this ability to make myself popular?"
Little Finger chuckled ominously, stating with profound meaning,
"More than just popular. Anyway, just try it out and you''ll see."
As soon as it finished speaking, a line of ethereal text materialized in front of An Le''s eyes.
[Do you choose the Pleasure Evolution Route?]
Yes.
An Le made her choice.
Immediately, the ethereal text shifted.
[Congratulations, you may now activate "Superconductor Mode"!]
[In this mode, you may designate a target within fifteen meters. As long as you are nearby, they will feel a continuous stream of pleasure. Furthermore, their consciousness will automatically be corrected, subconsciously treating you as the source of this pleasure.]
[Duration: 15 minutes. Once the effect concludes, their memory will automatically rationalize any illogical phenomena. However, please be cautious of the risk of exposure caused by uncontrollable factors, such as a third party.]
[Activate "Superconductor Mode"?]
An Le blinked, then immediately clicked confirm.
Little Finger shot a look over its shoulder at the saleswoman and instructed,
"Target her."
"Eh?"
An invisible dome with a fifteen-meter radius unfurled abruptly. The moment she targeted the saleswoman behind her, a stream of white mist formed a bridge between An Le and the woman, swirling in a continuous flow...
"!!"
The saleswoman jolted slightly. Her face quickly turned a rosy hue, and the gaze she directed at An Le instantly grew fervent.
An Le blinked, seemingly oblivious to what was happening, but Little Finger was already speaking up beside her.
"Now''s the time! Ask her if you can leave with the dress you''re wearing!"
An Le subconsciously followed Little Finger''s command,
"May I take this dress with me?"
"Of course you can!"
Flushing heavily, the saleswoman subtly stretched her fingers out, wanting to draw closer to An Le. It was as if An Le emitted a magnetic field that made people feel incredibly good simply by being near her.
"Ah... just take it. You don''t need to pay! I''ll cover the cost for you... ah... ah..."
An Le opened her mouth in shock, while Little Finger swung its snake head with a wicked grin and hissed,
"What are you staring at? Let''s go!"
An Le blinked, looking down at her old clothes draped over her arm.
She cast a glance back at the red-faced, glassy-eyed saleswoman. Subconsciously, she wanted to obey Little Finger''s command and walk right out of the store.
''Getting a four-figure designer dress completely for free—no matter how you sliced it, it was an incredibly huge bargain, wasn''t it?''
Breathing heavily, An Le walked toward the door. But the moment her outstretched hand grasped the freezing cold doorknob, she abruptly stopped in her tracks.
That icy sensation seemed to travel from her fingertips, creeping bit by bit into her body.
"What are you doing? Go!!"
Little Finger snapped its head to look at her, shouting impatiently.
But An Le''s eyes were wide, and she was still panting softly.
Her long eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly, and her pink lips were pressed tightly together. Her gaze was locked onto a recruitment poster taped to the door.
"Hiring Sales Associates. Monthly Salary: 4000–6000."
''The dress I''m wearing right now... would cost that saleswoman more than a quarter of her entire monthly salary.''
An Le''s small hand slowly relaxed its grip on the doorknob, while the Little Finger beside her was slowly beginning to explode in anger.
Even so, An Le hesitantly turned her head. Her gaze shifted upward, locking onto Little Finger with a steadily growing resolve.
After a moment of silence, she stared into Little Finger''s momentarily stunned, scarlet eyes. Then, in a voice that was both timid and entirely indisputable, she spoke.
"I
"I can''t do this, Little Finger."
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