Restricted Fantasy Invasion

Chapter 14

"Ka-cha ka-cha ka-cha." The sewing machine buzzed on the table, but Ye Shiyu's gaze gradually lost focus.

The originally rhythmic and pleasant sound now only made her more irritable; she suddenly raised her hand to press the sewing machine's switch, stopping it.

"."

Her phone had been playing music beside her the whole time, and only when she turned her head did she realize she'd forgotten to turn off the screen.

She really was a bit distracted tonight.

Ye Shiyu pressed her lips together, took a deep breath, stood up, and reached for the empty water glass nearby, planning to go downstairs for a drink.

Whenever she felt anxious or restless, she would drink a lot of water.

At this time, Mom and he should still be talking, right?

It's fine, let them talk.

Anyway, tonight--

She would go find him for a "talk" as well.

Clutching her phone and water glass tightly, Ye Shiyu expressionlessly pushed open the door and walked downstairs.

However, when she reached the second floor, she saw that Yan Huan's room door was wide open, revealing a dark, unlit space inside.

"Wuwuwu--"

Then, she seemed to hear her mother's sobs coming from downstairs.

She frowned slightly and walked to the living room on the first floor, where she saw Ye Lan sitting on the sofa with the family album on her knees, her head bowed and face covered as she wept.

Aunt Chen sat beside her, patting her back and handing her tissues nonstop, while the coffee table was already littered with crumpled paper.

She glanced around but didn't see any sign of Yan Huan.

She didn't say anything, as if she'd realized something.

He left?

Why?

Even if she couldn't think of a reason right away, a sense of relief and joy bubbled up in her heart before anything else.

Seeing Ye Shiyu come down, Aunt Chen kept patting Ye Lan's back as she looked over and said,

"Shiyu... Xiaohuan has left, but the double-skin milk he made for you is here, you should try it."

"."

Hearing this, Ye Lan looked up, tears staining her face, letting the sorrow overflowing from her heart spill out.

Ye Shiyu couldn't bear to see her mother like this, so she glanced at the double-skin milk on the table and asked,

"He left-why?"

"Wuwu... I don't know either, it was all so sudden... Everything was fine before..."

Ye Lan pouted at Ye Shiyu in front of her, making Shiyu avert her gaze, as if afraid her mother would notice the relief and joy hidden in her own eyes.

But tearful Ye Lan was no emotional detective; she couldn't uncover the dark secret lurking deep in her daughter's heart.

She only lowered her head again and cried,

"Wuwu... Mom came all the way to Linmen to find him, just to bring him home. I promised his godmother that I'd take care of him, Yulu... What should I do?"

Ah, mothers-whenever she loves someone, she gets so emotional, wishing she could pluck the stars from the sky for him.

So rational at work, why couldn't she let him leave just as easily?

"Wuwuwu--"

Yet listening to her mother's heartbroken sobs, Ye Shiyu stood there expressionless, trapped in inner conflict.

To be honest, she wished Yan Huan would never come back, never contact her mother again.

Just seeing him, seeing him talk to her mother, watching her mother smile at him-it all made her restless.

But--

Compared to her own irritation, perhaps she hated seeing her mother like this even more.

Ye Shiyu's teeth clenched bit by bit. After a moment's silence, she suddenly asked,

"When did he leave?"

Aunt Chen chimed in from the side,

"Xiaohuan left about five or six minutes ago. Your mom wanted to drive him, but it's not safe to drive so late, so he wouldn't let her. He's probably taking the bus back to the southern district-the bus stop is pretty far from here."

Ye Shiyu turned to look at her mother, who was crying with her head down, and said,

"I'll go persuade him to come back."

Ye Lan looked up at Ye Shiyu, covering her mouth, a little surprised by her reaction.

Her own Shiyu really was a kind and good child, she just never showed it before--

"Shiyu... I'll go with you," Ye Lan said.

"No need, Mom, let me go. It's easier for people our age to talk."

Ye Shiyu put down her cup and walked toward the door.

Her fair fingers flipped her phone over so the screen faced inward, and a deep purple, sinister light flashed-this was her own "way to communicate with peers."

To make her mother happy, even if she had to use Hypnosis--

As for her own irritation?

Well, she could always use the APP to make him like that, just like in the movies...

When Mom could watch him leave without feeling sad, then she'd--

With these thoughts, Ye Shiyu put on her shoes and walked out the door.

Since Yan Huan had packed his luggage before leaving, it was already almost eight o'clock by now.

The bus stop was outside the neighborhood, and to catch Yan Huan before he boarded the bus, Ye Shiyu unconsciously quickened her pace.

The streetlights in the upscale neighborhood were spaced quite close together, as if afraid the residents would be swallowed by darkness at night.

But outside the neighborhood, there were only landscape lights every ten meters or so.

These lights turned the road into a series of bright, isolated islands.

Between the islands was a sea made of nighttime shadows.

Ye Shiyu repeated the process of "landing on an island" and "leaving an island" until she saw the bus stop by the main road ahead.

The bus stop for the southern district was deserted, with buses coming only every fifteen minutes.

The bus stop had lights, but half of them were broken, leaving one side bright and the other in darkness.

With her excellent eyesight, Ye Shiyu quickly saw the handsome boy with a backpack, wearing Bluetooth earphones, standing alone under the lit part of the stop farther away.

He was draped in the school uniform jacket he'd worn on Friday, with a beige shirt underneath.

He hadn't left yet, just standing there looking at his phone, waiting for the bus.

Watching him, Ye Shiyu sped up a bit, left the island of light, and stepped completely into the darkness.

At the same time, she called out to Yan Huan,

"Yan Huan."

Yan Huan was watching a celebrity speech on a video site, not playing it loudly, so he immediately heard someone calling him.

He was slightly startled and turned his head, seeing Ye Shiyu standing in the shadows outside the stop.

He was a bit surprised; he hadn't expected Ye Shiyu to chase after him.

But soon, Yan Huan composed himself and smiled,

"Sister Shiyu, what brings you here?"

Soon after, he glanced at Ye Shiyu's thin dress and said,

"It's really cold out, Sister Shiyu, you're not dressed warmly enough..."

"Why are you leaving?"

Ye Shiyu cut straight to the point, interrupting him.

As she walked forward, she stepped into the area of the bus stop.

"Mm, I'm just not used to living here. I'm used to the southern district, and suddenly moving to Jinghe District is a bit troublesome..."

Yan Huan explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Ye Shiyu stopped, looked up at Yan Huan under the streetlight, as if studying his expression.

But his smile was as sunny as ever, without a single flaw.

Her gaze slowly withdrew into the darkness, and she said,

"Come back with me. Mom is very sad; she cares about you a lot."

Yan Huan blinked, didn't respond right away, and instead pointed to the bench inside the bus stop,

"...Sit for a bit, Sister Shiyu."

Ye Shiyu didn't move, but Yan Huan sat down first, taking off his Bluetooth earphones and putting them into their case.

Watching his actions, Ye Shiyu hesitated for a moment but still sat down at the edge of the bench.

She sat far from Yan Huan, but the light from his side still illuminated a bit of her stunning face.

Looking at the quiet road ahead, Yan Huan smiled and suddenly asked,

"Sister Shiyu, you actually dislike me a lot, don't you?"

"."

Ye Shiyu's pupils contracted, her fingers unconsciously tightening around her phone, but she didn't speak.

Yan Huan turned to look at Ye Shiyu, meeting her gaze, but he seemed a bit embarrassed, his hands nervously folded together,

"Don't worry, I never mentioned it to Aunt Ye, and she never thought that way either."

".You misunderstood."

On the other side of the platform where there was no light, Ye Shiyu opened her mouth to explain.

"Mm, maybe it's just my imagination, Sister Shiyu."

Yan Huan didn't stubbornly argue, he simply continued calmly,

"It's just that, I've never had a mom or dad since I was little. So many years have passed, and to say I've never wished for a warm family would be unrealistic.

"So when someone as kind and gentle as Aunt Ye came to find me, I was truly happy, really delighted. I genuinely longed to have someone like Aunt Ye by my side, someone who cares for me like a mother."

Even without Hypnosis, his heartfelt voice still made Ye Shiyu take a deep breath.

However, he wasn't trying to talk about how miserable he was; on the contrary, his topic was meant for someone else.

"Sister Shiyu, you also lost your father when you were young and have depended on Aunt Ye ever since. Maybe because our situations are a bit similar, I can really empathize with you, Sister Shiyu.

"If my mother were still around and I depended on her, and if she brought home another child-no matter who that child was or what they were like-just seeing my mother care for them so tenderly, I think I'd feel jealous and sad too."

Hearing this, Ye Shiyu hurriedly looked at the handsome boy in front of her, whose gaze was gradually lowering, and her lips parted unconsciously.

Even though he was talking about something so sad, Yan Huan's smile never changed.

He simply said,

"I know how painful it is to have such precious love taken away. My parents were taken from me by disasters, by fate, when I was little. I couldn't fight it, there was nothing I could do.

"But, it's precisely because I understand this pain that when I might become the source of your pain, Sister Shiyu... how could I bear to do that?"

Ye Shiyu's hand trembled slightly, and the phone she was holding was forced by that trembling, as if it was about to slip.

"."

She couldn't say a word, just stared at Yan Huan's smile, as if she was seeing something incomprehensible.

That incomprehensible thing was tearing at her heart, splitting her open, revealing what was inside.

From within, a faint stirring arose.

"Thump. Thump."

And just as her eyes widened slightly and her lips parted helplessly, Yan Huan suddenly seemed to remember something and brought his backpack to the front,

"Oh right, Sister Shiyu, this is for you."

He opened the backpack and took out a folded gift bag from inside.

Then he opened the gift bag and took out a few items from it.

First, it was the jellyfish keychain she'd been looking for all day yesterday. The keychain still had her name tag on it, proving it wasn't something Yan Huan bought later.

And the other two things were bought later.

One was a resin square model of a jellyfish, as if a real, crystal-clear jellyfish dancing in the water was sealed inside.

Next, it was a cute jellyfish plushie.

"This one."

Ye Shiyu stared blankly at the keychain he placed in her hand, while the other two things Yan Huan just showed for a moment before putting them back in the gift bag.

"Ah, since I saw yesterday that you cared a lot, Sister Shiyu, I went to look for it again this morning. It seemed like you left it at the aquarium, and I found it there. As for the other two, it's just that Auntie said you really like jellyfish, so I bought a couple of things on a whim. If you don't like them, don't mind."

So, he got up so early this morning just to go to the aquarium to help her find the keychain?

And this morning, she actually had wicked thoughts in her heart just because she peeked at him changing his clothes...

"Why... didn't you give it to me earlier?"

If he had given it to her earlier, maybe she wouldn't have put on such a face all day, nor treated him so irritably.

"I was originally planning to give it to you at school, Sister Shiyu."

Yan Huan smiled wryly and said to Ye Shiyu,

"Because if I gave it to you today, I was afraid Auntie would see and be even less willing to let me leave."

"."

Ye Shiyu just looked at Yan Huan in confusion, watching as he handed the gift bag over from the light.

And her hand, reaching out from the shadows to take the gift bag, moved so slowly.

In that slowness, incomprehension and emotion spread recklessly in her heart, almost destroying her.

Only now did she recall that in these past two days, he had always been taking care of her.

The day before yesterday, he politely greeted her when he arrived.

Yesterday, when she was outside fighting with someone over the keychain, he came out to help her and got the keychain; when she lost the keychain, he followed her without complaint and looked for it with her for hours.

This morning, he got up early to help her look for the keychain and bought gifts; at noon he made her dessert, helped her grab classes, noticed she didn't want to watch a movie, so he suggested going to the supermarket instead...

Even when leaving, he made double-skin milk for her and Mom.

She had noticed all of this, so why hadn't she ever shown it in her heart before, and only now just remembered?

Because dislike and anger are like tides.

When the tide rises, the shells representing "good things" on the beach are submerged and can't be seen no matter what.

So whenever you have a heated argument with those close to you, even though there are so many good memories with them, they all disappear at that moment.

And so, only slander and insults are left.

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

That strange stirring grew more and more intense. Ye Shiyu lowered her head slightly, as if she couldn't breathe, feeling a tightness in her chest.

But Yan Huan didn't notice her subtle change at this moment. He, like her mother, seemed used to her silence.

He looked up and glanced at the traffic waiting at the distant traffic light, and said,

"Looks like the bus is coming, Sister Shiyu."

Ye Shiyu's lowered eyes narrowed slightly, and she almost instinctively lifted her head.

Her gaze happened to meet his turning, smiling face.

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

"See you at school, Sister Shiyu."

Looking at that smile, Ye Shiyu's lips trembled slightly. That expressionless face finally became impossible to maintain. Her throat moved, as if she wanted to say something.

Isn't this the time to say something?

But why...

Why can't you say anything, Ye Shiyu?

Is it because of that unprecedented feeling inside? Because of the tightness in your chest? Because you can't breathe?

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

"Wait"

Yan Huan, who was just about to stand up, heard Ye Shiyu's voice. Even if it was just a single word, he stopped for her.

"Wait a moment."

He looked at Ye Shiyu and asked,

"What's wrong?"

"."

Say something.

He's looking at you, he's asking you.

Say it.

What should I say?

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

Ye Shiyu opened her mouth, but her throat was so stiff it felt like it didn't belong to her.

Looking at the handsome boy in front of her, she felt as if she was seeing an item in a store that she had never wanted so much before.

The only one in the world, as if it belonged to her alone...

Even though she should know better than anyone that the boy in front of her was not an object, not a doll.

She should have said something, to respond to his kindness and gentleness.

That is how one heart responds to another, how one person responds to another.

Not like taking down merchandise and going to the counter to pay with her phone.

But...

But she still couldn't say a word.

So she could only clumsily try to possess him in some other way.

So, her right hand holding the phone instinctively lifted, pointing the screen at Yan Huan in front of her.

"?!"

Only after raising her phone did she belatedly realize what she had done.

He was so nice just now, showing his kind, sincere heart to her, and yet she...

Chose to Hypnotize him?

Ye Shiyu's eyes widened, her breath quickened, but her raised hand didn't want to pull back.

Regret, excitement, and that strange stirring inside her mixed together, making her almost lose control, leaving only the fierce sound ringing in her ears.

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

However, after she raised her phone, Yan Huan merely blinked in surprise at the screen, then looked at her in confusion and blinked again.

No...

It didn't work?

Why didn't it work?

In an instant, an overwhelming fear almost consumed her heart.

Her pupils contracted, and invisibly, a terrifying desire seemed to swell up, causing the shadows around her to start churning.

Fortunately, at that moment, Yan Huan suddenly asked,

"Is your phone out of battery, Sister Shiyu?"

"Eh?"

The fear in her heart instantly crumbled away. She looked at her phone screen, where a big "empty battery" icon was glaringly obvious.

She.

Was it because she'd been so distracted while making clothes earlier, kept playing music, and never turned off the phone screen, that the battery died?

Her face flushed instantly, burning hot.

Ye Shiyu's gaze suddenly became evasive, and her face turned away with her dodging eyes, revealing her ear peeking through her black hair.

Her hands trembled as she raised her phone, actually trying to use it as a shield, aiming it at Yan Huan, hoping to block his scorching gaze.

But the phone was so small, it couldn't possibly hide her beautiful profile.

So, a large expanse of her blushing skin was exposed, her eyes tinged with watery color, and a look that wished she could burrow into the ground.

She opened her mouth, her voice trembling, sounding like a small, adorable animal, letting out a faint plea for mercy,

"Um, the phone is... out of battery."

Amid her long black hair, even her earlobes had turned completely pink.

The darkness could no longer conceal her face, putting her shyness and evasiveness on full display.

Seeing Ye Shiyu like this, Yan Huan couldn't help but widen his eyes, momentarily stunned.

Right now, he was a little envious of those social media bloggers with cameras on their heads-maybe then he could capture such a shy and adorable Ye Shiyu.

"Ding ding. Bus arriving, please board in order and sit tight."

Just then, the bus to the southern district arrived.

As Ye Shiyu was about to escape, Yan Huan thought for a moment and stood up.

"Whoosh."

Instead of getting on the bus, he took off his school uniform jacket and draped it over Ye Shiyu's shoulders.

"Eh?"

Someone else's...

No, it was Yan Huan's jacket suddenly on her shoulders.

Ye Shiyu's eyes widened, instantly enveloped in his scent.

But she seemed to forget to resist, just staring blankly at him with her phone raised.

Yan Huan smiled slightly and looked around,

"The road back to the neighborhood from here is too dark. Without your phone's flashlight, it might be a little tricky. There's a convenience store ahead-I'll go borrow a power bank. Sister Shiyu, wait here for a bit. It's cold, so keep the jacket on."

"...Okay."

Ye Shiyu nodded, dazed and docile.

Seeing Yan Huan not getting on, the bus to the southern district closed its doors and drove away.

Yan Huan jogged across the road and headed farther away.

Ye Shiyu lowered her head, feeling Yan Huan's jacket.

There was no name written on it, and it wasn't even hers-

But wearing it, she didn't mind at all; it was so warm.

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

That strange sound by her ear grew more intense, until it suddenly quieted, and she finally realized-

It was actually the sound of her own heartbeat.

She clenched her hands, stopped looking at her phone, and instead pressed the phone's screen against her chest.

She just wholeheartedly savored the warmth brought by the school uniform jacket.

Because of this, she didn't notice that her phone screen lit up at that moment.

A purple, wicked vortex appeared, but it flickered on and off, like a snowy static from a bad signal.

Then, the screen went dark again.

After waiting for quite a while, Ye Shiyu, now warm all over, finally heard Yan Huan calling her,

"Sister Shiyu!"

She looked up, her body standing up almost involuntarily.

Yan Huan walked over and handed her the power bank,

"Here you go, Sister Shiyu."

"Mm."

Hearing him call her "Sister," Ye Shiyu's gaze flickered again.

She plugged in the power bank to charge. Since the bus had already left, she could only sit down and wait for the next one.

Ye Shiyu's mind was blank-she even forgot she'd come here to call Yan Huan back.

She just gently gripped Yan Huan's school uniform jacket, hugging the gift bag he'd given her, listening to his instructions,

"Sister Shiyu, keep the jacket on when you go home. You can just return it to me at school."

"Mm."

"As for the power bank, it might be a bit troublesome. You'll have to bring it out of the neighborhood to return it. But if you forget, it's fine."

"Okay."

With her head down, her black hair falling, the pink skin of her neck would occasionally show with her nodding.

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

Soon, the second bus arrived.

"Ding ding. Bus arriving, please board in order and sit tight."

Yan Huan looked at the bus, then picked up his backpack, turned to Ye Shiyu, and smiled,

"Sister Shiyu, I'm going. See you at school."

"..."

She stood up, opened her mouth, but still couldn't say a word.

But as Yan Huan was finally about to leave, her instinctive reaching motion still hinted at her desire to keep him.

Unfortunately, Yan Huan didn't see it.

He got on the bus, sat by the window, waved at Ye Shiyu, and reminded her,

"Be careful on your way home, Sister Shiyu. Message me when you get home."

"..."

As the bus drove away, Ye Shiyu sat under the dim bus stop for a long time. Only then did she finally get up and head home.

As soon as she reached the door, she saw Ye Lan and Aunt Chen, who were also changing shoes and about to go out to look for her,

"You're finally back... Wuwu, you didn't answer your phone earlier. If I hadn't called Xiaohuan, I wouldn't have known your phone was dead."

"...He brought me a power bank."

Seeing Ye Shiyu wearing the jacket and hugging the gift bag, Ye Lan pouted, then gently pulled her into a hug.

"..."

In the end, she still couldn't call him back.

Ye Lan didn't say anything else, just took Ye Shiyu home.

Yan Huan's school uniform was handed over to Aunt Chen to wash, while Ye Shiyu took the power bank and the rest of the gifts back to her room.

She turned on the light, and the bright, warm glow filled the whole room.

She didn't sit down to make clothes again, but instead collapsed weakly onto the bed.

Picking up her phone, she sent Yan Huan a message,

"I'm home."

Just as she was about to put her phone down, it suddenly rang,

"Ding ding!"

Startled, her hand shook, bumping into the gift bag beside her, causing the round jellyfish plushie to roll out.

There was no name written on it, yet it ended up on her bed like this.

"Alright, rest early, Sister Shiyu. See you at school."

Right after, there was a "Good night" cat emoji.

Blinking her long lashes, she tapped away at her phone's keyboard, pondering how to reply.

She typed, deleted, and typed again...

In the end, she just replied with a simple "Mm."

After all that, Ye Shiyu turned over and lay on her stomach on the bed.

Under the bright light at the head of the bed, her slightly flushed cheeks and moist eyes were revealed.

Maybe the ceiling was too plain, so she turned her gaze to the jellyfish beside her.

She pouted and tentatively reached out a finger.

Bit by bit, she moved closer, closer to that jellyfish doll that had no name written on it, yet carried Yan Huan's scent.

Until finally, she touched it completely, her finger sinking into its soft body.

Looking at the jellyfish's cute appearance, she didn't get up for a long time to fetch a name tag or do anything else-she just gazed at it.

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

After a long silence, she suddenly remembered that she'd actually wanted to hypnotize Yan Huan earlier.

That thought made her quickly bury her head in the crook of her arm.

"Mmph."

How could she have done something like that?

Surrounded by the warm light, amidst the fragrant cascade of black hair, a muffled female voice sounded,

"You're really despicable, Ye Shiyu."

The bus heading shakily toward the southern district hadn't turned on its lights, making the silence inside the vehicle feel especially dark.

Yan Huan was the only passenger on the bus. He sat by the window, his body hidden in the shadows of the carriage, his face expressionless.

Inside the bus, a pair of emerald-green cat eyes suddenly lit up, and the body that blended perfectly with the darkness slowly approached Yan Huan.

"So that's how it is."

In his mind, Meow-chan's voice sounded,

"No wonder you've been acting so unusually with Ye Lan since this morning, showing off your most sensible and considerate side. The more you do that, the more you provoke Ye Shiyu's excessive possessiveness. Yet, just when she's about to reach her breaking point, you choose to leave on your own, letting her anger dissipate into nothing, stimulating her regret."

The lights outside the bus flowed by, casting reflections on the window, so that from the outside, the handsome boy sitting in the dim carriage looked utterly inscrutable.

Listening to Meow-chan's words from behind, Yan Huan sighed and said,

"Because Ye Shiyu is inherently conscientious and moral-at least, for now, the modifier hasn't affected her too deeply. But what I'm doing is basically acting, playing the part of the perfect, kind little brother, using her morals to suppress her desire to use the modifier."

In the darkness, hearing the sigh in Yan Huan's tone, Meow-chan responded with tacit understanding,

"You don't need to feel guilty about deceiving her for the sake of acting, meow. She was just about to use the modifier on you. And besides, a lot of those feelings weren't fake to begin with-you just exaggerated them."

"Yeah, but I really didn't expect her to chase after me. She clearly hates me so much... She really loves Auntie Ye. She'd rather wrong herself than let me go. And me? Even though Auntie Ye is so sincere, I left without even a reasonable excuse."

"Meow~"

Meow-chan jumped onto his body, pressing her plump, warm body against him, trying to comfort him.

Looking out the window, Yan Huan gave a helpless smile, but couldn't help reaching out to rub Meow-chan's warm, chubby head.

He leaned against the window, staring at his own reflection.

Wrapped in the quiet darkness, in front of the neon-lit silhouette on the window, a sigh echoed in his mind.

"You're really despicable, Yan Huan."

(End of this chapter)