Afterword: Chapter of Fear |
Afterword: Chapter of Fear
Hello everyone, I am Yi Weixie.
As you can see, Part Four of "Restricted Fantasy Invasion", or rather the "Love Purification Agreement", has now concluded.
As always, this afterword will cover a few things regarding the creative process behind this volume, along with a preview of the next one.
Actually, when I first restarted this book and rewrote the outline, I debated whether Ye Shiyu's modifier should retain its original lighter design or use a mobile phone.
Coincidentally, around that time, I was heavily browsing the internet, reading a lot of relationship-related content in an attempt to gain some experience.
As a result, the more I read, the more anxious and fearful I became, almost to the point of getting completely overheated.
Although, after calming down and thinking about it later, I realized those situations had a high probability of never happening.
But at the time of reading, I genuinely felt a sense of paranoia, like "everyone is out to get me." After finishing, I was simultaneously suspicious while also feeling like a "sigma" who had "seen through everything" and had everything "under control."
Coincidentally, Ye Shiyu's character flaws left her with absolutely no resistance to such magic.
And having someone who can hypnotize others ironically end up having her own heart manipulated by the modifier is both ironic and fascinating.
Fundamentally, Ye Shiyu is an extremely insecure person with a strong sense of territory and a deep fear of loss.
Truthfully, if Yan Huan hadn't used his Perfect Expression Management Mask from the very beginning to speak sweet words, Ye Shiyu would most likely have just slowly worn away Ye Lan's affection for him and then driven him away.
But, should I call it a twist of fate, or what?
Yan Huan, who was still "inexperienced with the modifiers," had to get close to her to resolve the modifier, yet he was frightened by her, so he directly chose the method that was "most alarming to the witch."
A series of despicable maneuvers touched Ye Shiyu's heart, causing her to leave her fiercely guarded territory like a wild beast released from its cage, which ironically made Yan Huan experience the true meaning of "gravity."
Unlike An Le and Sakuramiya Hitomi—two introverted mice, one who stays silent when facing problems and the other who hides—Ye Shiyu has a stress response when faced with issues and immediately starts displaying aggressiveness.
Looking back at every instance of her hypnosis, apart from that night raid, her hypnosis was a foundational logic triggered only when she felt uneasy and scared.
She desperately wanted to obtain Yan Huan, but didn't know what to do, leaving her to fumble in the dark.
Either erroneously using hypnosis, or intimidating other girls.
This was the case in the first two volumes.
Correctly trying to turn over a new leaf and wanting to take the right path to attract Yan Huan...
This was the case in the third volume.
This contradiction and these attempts all stemmed from the fear and suspicion of the romantic unknown at the bottom of her heart.
And with the Index Finger adding fuel to the fire, the impressions Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu held of each other became increasingly extreme, which deepened the rift between them in reality.
The only goal for this volume was to try to eliminate this rift and allow them to take a step further.
However, the effectiveness of this can only be judged by the readers.
After all, the impressions built up over several volumes are deeply ingrained like three feet of ice, and Ye Shiyu's personality genuinely has flaws rather than being completely innocent; turning that around is certainly no easy task.
For a similar character in my previous book, such as Elizabeth, I chose to walk a dark path to the very end, crafting a tragedy.
Writing tragedies actually falls quite nicely into my strike zone, so the previous book went fairly smoothly for me.
I didn't want to repeat a tragedy in this book, which is why I decided to make this corresponding attempt.
In my opinion, the biggest factor that might have affected the outcome was the lack of build-up in the daily life segments.
At the beginning of this volume in the workplace, after Yan Huan broke Ye Shiyu's Battle Defeat CG and was imprisoned, and in these future time nodes—there were actually opportunities to create a daily life atmosphere with Ye Shiyu to improve things.
But...
How should I put this? Writing daily life scenes is the easiest way to get accused of adding filler. Whenever we reach the daily life segments, those complaints inevitably pop up.
And without a doubt, this is related to my insufficient update volume caused by me working a part-time job.
With only so much time to write after getting off work every day, the daily update amount is roughly fixed, inevitably forcing me into a dilemma.
Should I push the plot forward, or slow down the pacing to write some daily life?
Moreover, compared to the main plot that has long been structured, daily life actually consumes more time.
So sometimes I can't help but think: rather than putting in a thankless effort, it might be better to just quickly push the main plot.
Take this volume, for example. At only 53 chapters, it is entirely occupied by the main plot, without a single shred of pacing relief or daily life.
Of course, the ups and downs make the plot extremely thrilling.
But what comes with that is an overheated pacing, leading to the regret of finding out at the very end that the final push falls short and feels incomplete.
Since I've written up to this point, perhaps I should also look at everyone's opinions and make some corresponding adjustments.
Maybe, it is time to add some daily life?
However, there is no need to feel regret over Ye Shiyu's persona, because this book still has two volumes left.
Just as I promised in the afterword of the previous volume, I will flesh out Sakuramiya Hitomi's different persona from the last volume.
For Ye Shiyu, I still hold to this promise.
She will definitely take another step forward, please rest assured.
But for the next volume, Bai Yi's volume, I absolutely must finish writing and do justice to Bai Yi's character, because there will be no more opportunities by the final volume.
I am extremely confident about this.
As the Nameless Finger, which serves to wrap up the five modifiers, its character and modifier complexity and intrigue were what I felt were the absolute best from the very beginning, which is why she is making her grand finale appearance.
The story of the next volume will clearly revolve around Bai Yi.
Right now, although Ye Shiyu and Yan Huan have reconciled, their romantic relationship has only just begun.
How will they progress further with each other?
The other modifier hosts still resent Ye Shiyu and obviously won't easily accept this Hypnosis Master.
Furthermore, several parents, including Ye Lan, might already know a thing or two about Yan Huan's actions...
On Bai Yi's side...
She is gradually being forgotten by the world, which seems to be related to something she did in the past with that "modifier incarnation," Yan Yeh.
With the Nameless Finger and Bai Yi disappearing like this, did they really skip a stage?
Perhaps the abilities of the Nameless Finger go far beyond what Yan Huan has discovered.
Alright, the above is everything I wanted to tell you all at the end of this volume.
The next volume will feature a multitude of solo interactions between Yan Huan and Bai Yi, and the worldview will also become slightly more complex.
The remaining female leads will naturally all make an appearance, whether they are the real ones or the fake ones in the "what if" worldlines...
I will take a one-day break today to organize the outline for the next volume.
Tomorrow, we will enter the next volume, concerning Bai Yi's worldline.
"Summer Vacation: Chapter of Regret"
(End of Chapter)