Chapter 14: The Despicable Me

Chapter 14: The Despicable Me

“Crack, crack, crack.”

The sewing machine buzzed on the table, but Ye Shiyu’s gaze started to lose focus.

The originally rhythmic and pleasant sound was now adding to her annoyance. She abruptly raised her hand and pressed the switch, stopping it.

“.”

Her phone was playing music nearby, and when she turned, she realized she’d forgotten to turn off the screen.

She was indeed a bit absent-minded tonight.

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

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

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

It’s fine, let them chat.

After all, tonight…

She was also going to find him for a good “chat.”

Gripping her phone and the water cup, Ye Shiyu expressionlessly pushed open her room door and headed downstairs.

However, when she got to the second floor, she saw Yan Huan’s door wide open, revealing the unlit space inside.

“Wuwu.”

Then, she thought she heard her mother sobbing downstairs.

Frowning slightly, she walked to the living room on the first floor and found Ye Lan, her mother, crying with her face buried in her hands, with that photo album still resting on her knees.

Aunt Chen was sitting next to her, patting her back and repeatedly handing her tissues. There were already quite a few crumpled tissues piled on the coffee table.

Glancing around, she didn’t see Yan Huan anywhere.

She kept silent, as if realizing something.

He left?

Why?

Even if she couldn’t think of an answer right away, a sense of ease and joy unexpectedly bubbled up in her heart.

Seeing Ye Shiyu come down, Aunt Chen continued patting Ye Lan’s back and said to her,

“Shiyu, Little Huan has left. He made you double skin milk, try it.”

“.”

Ye Lan raised her head at the words, her tear-streaked face revealing the overflowing sadness within her.

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! It just happened suddenly… We were getting along well before!”

Ye Lan pouted at Ye Shiyu, making her awkwardly duck her mother’s gaze, as if afraid of being caught hiding the relief and happiness in her eyes.

However, her tearful mother was not an emotional detective; she couldn’t detect the dark secrets hidden in her daughter’s heart.

Ye Lan simply lowered her head again, crying,

“Wuwu… I came to Linyi Gate to find him for so long just to bring him home! I promised to take care of him and Yu Lu with Auntie! What should I do?”

Mother, whenever it’s someone she likes, she becomes emotional, wishing she could pluck the stars from the sky for him.

Why can she be so rational when working but can’t let him leave so easily?

“Wuwu.”

But hearing her mother’s terribly sorrowful cries, Ye Shiyu stood there, expressionless yet struggling inside.

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

Just seeing him, talking to him, watching her mother smile at him filled her with irritation.

But…

More than her own annoyance, she perhaps, more than anything, didn’t want her mother to show that kind of expression.

Ye Shiyu clenched her teeth, and after a moment of silence, she suddenly asked,

“When did he leave?”

Aunt Chen responded,

“Little Huan left about five or six minutes ago. Your mom wanted to see him off, but it’s not safe to drive this late, so he didn’t let her. He should be taking the bus back to the South District; the bus stop is quite far from here.”

Ye Shiyu turned to her mother, who was still crying, and said,

“I’ll go convince him to come back.”

Ye Lan looked up at Ye Shiyu, covering her mouth, surprised by her daughter’s reaction.

Her Shiyu really is a kind and good child, just doesn’t show it often.

“Shiyu, let me go with you.” Ye Lan said.

“No need, Mom. Let me go. It’s easier to communicate between peers.”

Ye Shiyu set down the cup and walked toward the door.

Her fair fingers flipped her phone around, illuminating a deep purple, a wicked glow specific to her “peer communication method.”

To make her mother happy, even if it meant hypnosis…

As for her own annoyance?

She could always change him into something else using the app afterward, just like in the movies.

Whenever her mother sees him leaving, she wouldn’t be sad anymore, then—

Thinking this, Ye Shiyu slipped on her shoes and stepped out of the house.

Since Yan Huan had packed his things, it was already close to eight.

The bus stop was outside the community, and to catch him before he left, Ye Shiyu unknowingly quickened her pace.

The streetlights in the upscale community were spaced very closely, as if afraid the darkness in between would swallow the owners whole at night.

However, once she exited the community, there was only a decorative light every few meters.

These landscape lights turned the road into bright little islands.

Between the islands was the sea formed by shadows in the night.

Ye Shiyu repeated the process of “arriving on the island” and “leaving the island” until she saw the bus stop by the main road ahead.

This bus stop leading to the South District was quite desolate; a bus only came every fifteen minutes.

There were supposed to be lights at the bus stop, but half were broken, making it half bright and half dark.

With her excellent eyesight, she quickly spotted a handsome boy standing further away at the well-lit stop, wearing Bluetooth earphones and carrying a backpack.

He still hadn’t left, his head bowed, staring at his phone while he waited for the bus.

Watching him, Ye Shiyu sped up a bit, leaving the glowing island and stepping fully into the darkness.

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

“Yan Huan.”

Yan Huan was watching a famous speech on a video site, the volume low enough to hear someone calling him immediately.

He paused, turning his head, surprised to see Ye Shiyu standing in the shadow outside the bus stop.

He was a bit taken aback, not expecting her to chase after him.

But soon, Yan Huan adjusted his expression and smiled,

“Sister Shiyu, what are you doing here?”

Then he glanced at her thin dress and said,

“It’s really cold outside, Sister Shiyu, you’re dressed too lightly.”

“Why are you leaving?”

Ye Shiyu cut straight to the point, interrupting him.

As she moved forward, she entered the range of the bus stop.

“Um, because I’m not used to living here. I usually live in the South District, so suddenly moving to Jinghe District is quite troublesome.”

Yan Huan explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Ye Shiyu stopped in her tracks and looked up at him under the light, seemingly assessing his expression.

But his smile was still the same, bright and sunny, showing no signs of breaking.

With her gaze slowly returning to the darkness, she said,

“Come back with me. Mom is very sad; she cares about you.”

Yan Huan blinked, not responding immediately. Instead, he pointed to the seats inside the stop,

“Let’s sit for a while, Sister Shiyu.”

Ye Shiyu stayed still, while Yan Huan took a seat first, removing his Bluetooth earphones and putting them away.

Seeing his movement, Ye Shiyu hesitated but eventually sat at the edge of the seat.

She was far from Yan Huan, yet the light on his side illuminated her beautiful face slightly.

Yan Huan gazed out at the quiet road, and suddenly asked with a smile,

“Sister Shiyu, you actually hate me, don’t you?”

“.”

Ye Shiyu’s pupils constricted, her fingers instinctively tightening around her phone, but she didn’t respond.

Yan Huan turned to face her, his gaze meeting hers, looking a bit shy, his hands awkwardly together,

“Don’t worry, I didn’t mention this to Aunt Ye, and she has never thought that way.”

“.You’re mistaken.”

On the other side of the dark stop, Ye Shiyu defended herself.

“Yeah, it’s probably just my illusion, Sister Shiyu.”

Yan Huan didn’t insist on debating; he calmly continued,

“It’s just that I’ve never had parents. Even all these years, saying I’ve never thought of having a warm family is unrealistic.

So when a kind-hearted and gentle Aunt Ye came to find me, I was genuinely happy and eager for someone like Aunt Ye to be there, caring for me like a mother.”

Even without hypnosis, his earnest tone still made Ye Shiyu take a deep breath.

However, he didn’t intend to lament about how tragic his life was; rather, his topic was aimed at someone else.

“Sister Shiyu, you’ve also been fatherless since childhood, relying solely on Aunt Ye. Perhaps because our circumstances are somewhat similar, I can empathize deeply with you.

If my mother were still around and we were relying on each other, and she brought another child home, no matter who that child was or how they behaved, just watching her care for him meticulously would probably make me feel jealous and sad.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Shiyu quickly turned to the handsome boy, who was slightly lowering his gaze, her lips moving slightly.

Though he was talking about something sad, Yan Huan’s smile remained unchanged.

He simply said,

“I know that losing such precious love is incredibly painful. My parents were taken from me by natural disasters and fate when I was young, something I couldn’t defeat, something I had no power over.

But because I understand such pain, when I might become the source of your suffering, how could I bring myself to do it?”

Ye Shiyu’s hands trembled slightly, the phone gripped in her hand almost slipping away.

“.”

She couldn’t find her voice, just staring at Yan Huan’s smile as if she were witnessing something incomprehensible.

That incomprehensible feeling was tearing at her heart, splitting her open, revealing a faint beating from within.

“Thud, thud.”

As her eyes widened slightly, her lips parted in confusion, Yan Huan suddenly recalled something, pulling his backpack to the front.

“By the way, Sister Shiyu, this is for you.”

He opened his bag and pulled out a neatly folded gift bag.

After opening it, he took out a few items.

Firstly, it was the jellyfish keychain she had searched for a long time yesterday, which had her name tag on it, proving it wasn’t something Yan Huan bought later.

The other two items were newly purchased.

One was a jellyfish resin square model, as if a real jellyfish was dancing in the water, sealed within.

Then there was a cute jellyfish plush toy.

“This.”

Ye Shiyu stared blankly at the keychain he placed in her hand, while the other two items, Yan Huan only displayed briefly before putting back into the gift bag.

“Ah, because I saw that you cared about this a lot yesterday, I went back and looked for it again this morning. It seems you left it at the ocean mansion, I found it there. As for the other two, Auntie said you really like jellyfish, so I bought a few things based on my own preferences. If you don’t like them, please don’t mind.”

So he got up early this morning just to find the keychain for her?

And here she was, sneaking a peek at him changing clothes and conjuring up nasty thoughts in her mind.

“Why… didn’t you give it to me earlier?”

If he had handed it over sooner, maybe she wouldn’t have frowned today and treated him so irritably.

“Originally, I was planning to give it to you at school again.”

Yan Huan smiled with a hint of frustration and told Ye Shiyu,

“Because if I gave it to you today, I feared Auntie would see and definitely wouldn’t let me leave.”

“.”

Ye Shiyu just stared at Yan Huan, watching him offer the gift bag from the light.

Her hand stretching out from the shadows to accept the gift bag was so slow.

In that sluggishness, confusion and touches spread uncontrollably in her heart, almost destroying her.

Only then did she remember that over the last two days, he had unknowingly been taking care of her.

When he first arrived, he politely greeted her.

Yesterday, when she was competing for the keychain outside, he came out to help her and got it for her. When her keychain was lost, he willingly searched for hours without complaint.

This morning, he woke up early to help her find the keychain and bought her gifts. During lunch, he made desserts for her and suggested going to the supermarket to buy things when he saw she didn’t want to watch a movie.

Even before leaving, he had made double skin milk for her and her mother.

She had indeed noticed all this before. Why had she never allowed herself to acknowledge it in her heart until now?

Because annoyance and anger were like tidal waves.

When that tide surged, the shells that represented “goodness” on the shore would be submerging, completely out of sight.

So whenever she quarreled angrily with someone close, even though there were so many wonderful memories with each other, they would vanish in that moment.

Thus, only slander and insults remained.

“Thud, thud, thud.”

That bizarre heartbeat grew increasingly intense, and Ye Shiyu lowered her head slightly, feeling as if she couldn’t breathe and her chest felt tight.

But Yan Huan didn’t notice the slight changes in her at that moment; he, like her mother, had gotten used to her silence.

He glanced up at the traffic waiting at the red light and said,

“The bus seems to be coming, Sister Shiyu.”

Ye Shiyu’s lowered head caught his attention, and she instinctively raised it.

Her gaze collided exactly with his smile when he turned back to her.

“Thud, thud, thud.”

“See you at school, Sister Shiyu.”

Looking at that smile, Ye Shiyu’s lips trembled, and her blank expression became increasingly difficult to maintain.

In the swell of emotions, she felt like she had something to say.

Is there something she should say at this moment?

But why…

Why couldn’t she say anything, Ye Shiyu?

Was it the unprecedented feeling inside? The tightness in her chest? The inability to breathe?

“Thud, thud, thud.”

“Wait…”

Just as Yan Huan was about to get up, he heard Ye Shiyu’s word, even if it was just one word, he halted his movement for her.

“Hold on.”

He looked at Ye Shiyu and asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“.”

Say something…

He was looking at her, asking her.

Say it.

What am I supposed to say?

“Thud, thud, thud.”

Ye Shiyu opened her mouth, but her throat felt so stiff, as if it didn’t belong to her.

Seeing the handsome youth before her, she felt as if she had stumbled upon something she desperately wanted in a shop for the first time.

Something that seemed uniquely hers.

Even though she knew better than anyone that the boy before her wasn’t an item or a doll.

She should be speaking to reciprocate his kindness and gentleness.

That was the way of humanity, responding to another heart, another person.

Not like buying an item and taking him home to pay the front desk.

But…

But she couldn’t say anything.

So she clumsily resorted to other methods to try to possess him.

Thus, her right hand holding the phone instinctively raised it, aiming the screen at Yan Huan.

“!?”

Only when she raised her phone did she realize what she was doing.

Clearly, he had been so good just now, clearly showing genuine kindness to her, but she—

Opted to hypnotize him?

Ye Shiyu’s eyes widened in shock, gasping for breath, yet she didn’t want to retract her raised hand.

Regret, excitement, and a strange throb inside her mixed together, almost causing her to lose control, leaving only the overwhelming sound in her ears.

“Thud, thud, thud.”

At that moment, when she raised her phone, Yan Huan merely blinked in surprise, staring at the phone screen, then curiously looked back at her and blinked.

No…

It didn’t work?

Why didn’t it succeed?

In an instant, a tremendous fear threatened to consume her heart.

Her pupils constricted; invisibly, a terrifying desire seemed to swell and cause the shadows around her to churn.

Fortunately, at that moment, Yan Huan suddenly asked,

“Is your phone dead, Sister Shiyu?”

“Huh?”

The fear within her instantly collapsed. She looked at her phone screen, where a giant “empty battery” warning was glaring at her.

She…

Had been so absent-minded earlier while sewing, forgetting to turn off the phone screen, leading to the battery dying?

Her face flushed bright red.

Ye Shiyu’s gaze instantly became evasive, her face following her averted gaze as her ear peeked out from her black hair.

Her trembling hands raised the phone, using it as a shield against Yan Huan’s intense gaze.

But the phone was so small it couldn’t conceal her beautiful profile at all.

So it revealed so much of her flushed skin, those water-colored eyes, and a look of wanting to sink into the ground.

She finally spoke, her voice trembling, sounding like a cute little animal making a weak plea,

“Um, my phone is… dead.”

Her long, inky hair completely showcased her ear, now flushed like cherry blossoms.

The darkness no longer concealed her face, revealing her shyness and evasiveness.

Seeing Ye Shiyu like this, Yan Huan couldn’t help but stare, momentarily entranced.

He kind of envied those vloggers with cameras on their heads right now; they could perhaps capture this adorably shy Ye Shiyu.

“Ding ding! The bus to the South District is arriving. Please board in an orderly manner and hold on tight.”

Right at that moment, the bus to the South District arrived.

Just as Ye Shiyu thought to escape, Yan Huan pondered for a moment and stood up.

“Whoosh.”

He didn’t board the bus; instead, he took off his school jacket and draped it over Ye Shiyu.

“Huh?”

Others… no, Yan Huan’s clothes suddenly fell on her.

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

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

Yan Huan smiled slightly, surveying the surroundings,

“The path back to the community is too dark. Without a phone flashlight, it might be troublesome. There seems to be a convenience store ahead; I’ll borrow a power bank. Sister Shiyu, wait here for a bit; it’s cold. Cover yourself with this jacket.”

“.Okay.”

Ye Shiyu nodded, both dazed and obedient.

The bus to the South District, seeing Yan Huan not getting on, shut its doors and drove away.

Meanwhile, Yan Huan jogged across the street and headed further away.

Ye Shiyu lowered her head, feeling the warmth of the jacket Yan Huan had left her.

Even though it didn’t have her name on it and wasn’t even her own thing,

Wearing it didn’t feel bad, it was warm.

“Thud, thud, thud.”

That strange sound grew increasingly intense until, at that moment when it suddenly quieted down, she realized—

This was her own heartbeat.

She clenched her hands, no longer looking at the phone, instead letting the phone screen rest against her chest.

She concentrated solely on the warmth of the school jacket enveloping her.

Thus, she didn’t notice that at that moment, the phone screen lit up.

The purple wicked vortex glowed, flickering as if suffering from poor signal.

Then, the screen faded to black again.

After a while, feeling warm, Ye Shiyu heard Yan Huan calling,

“Shiyu!”

She raised her head, her body involuntarily standing up.

Yan Huan approached, handing her the power bank,

“Here, Sister Shiyu.”

“Uh-huh.”

Hearing him address her with “Sister” again, Ye Shiyu’s gaze flickered for a moment.

After plugging in the power bank for charging, since the bus had already passed, they had to sit and wait for the next one.

Ye Shiyu’s mind went blank, even forgetting that she had come here to call Yan Huan back.

She simply grasped Yan Huan’s school jacket gently, hugging the gift bag he had given her, listening to his instructions,

“Sister Shiyu, wear the jacket back; you can return it when you come back to school.”

“Uh-huh.”

“As for the power bank, it might be troublesome; it needs to leave the community. If you forget it later, it’s okay too.”

“Okay.”

She lowered her head. As her black hair fell, her already rosy skin peeked out with every nod she made.

“Thud, thud, thud.”

Soon, the second bus arrived.

“Ding ding! The bus is arriving. Please board in an orderly manner and hold on tight.”

Yan Huan looked at the bus and then lifted his backpack, turning back to Ye Shiyu with a smile,

“Sister Shiyu, I’m leaving. See you at school later.”

“.”

She stood up, opened her mouth, but still couldn’t speak.

Yet as Yan Huan finally prepared to depart, the motion of her outstretched hand subconsciously suggested her desire to hold him back.

It was a pity Yan Huan didn’t see it.

He got on the bus, sitting down by the window, waving goodbye to Ye Shiyu, saying,

“Be careful on your way back, Sister Shiyu. Send me a message when you get home.”

“.”

The vehicle drove away, and Ye Shiyu sat at the dark bus stop for a long time before finally getting up and turning to walk home.

Just as she reached her doorstep, she spotted Ye Lan and Aunt Chen, who were also changing shoes, preparing to go out to look for her.

“You’re finally back! Wuwu, I was just about to call you. If I hadn’t called Little Huan, I wouldn’t have known your phone died.”

“.He brought me a power bank.”

Looking at the clothes draped over her shoulders and the gift bag she was hugging, Ye Lan’s mouth pouted slightly as she pulled her into an embrace.

“.”

In the end, she still didn’t manage to call him back.

Ye Lan didn’t say anything further, just led Ye Shiyu back home.

Yan Huan’s school jacket was given to Aunt Chen to wash, while Ye Shiyu took the power bank and the remaining gifts back to her room.

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

Instead of sitting back down to sew, she felt weak all over and fell onto her bed.

Picking up her phone, she messaged Yan Huan,

“I’m home.”

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

“Ding ding!”

Startled, she jostled her hand, bumping into the gift bag next to her, causing the round jellyfish plush toy to roll out.

It didn’t have a name tag on it, yet it landed on her bed like that.

“Alright then, rest early, Sister Shiyu. See you at school.”

Following that was a “goodnight” cat emoji.

Blinking her long eyelashes, she began typing a response, contemplating her words carefully.

Deleting and retyping, rethinking once more.

In the end, she returned a simple “uh-huh.”

After completing all this, Ye Shiyu turned over and lay on her bed.

Beneath the bright light from the headboard, her slightly flushed cheeks and glistening eyes became visible.

Seemingly finding the ceiling too plain, she shifted her gaze to the jellyfish beside her.

Pouting, she tentatively extended her finger.

Slowly nearing, touching that jellyfish plushie with no name tag, still carrying Yan Huan’s scent.

Until at last, her finger fully sank into its soft body.

Staring at the jellyfish’s adorable form, she remained unmoving, simply looking at it.

“Thud, thud, thud.”

After a long moment of silence, she suddenly recalled that she had actually thought of hypnotizing Yan Huan earlier.

This made her quickly bury her head in her arms.

“Wuwu.”

How could she think of doing that back then?

Enveloped in warm light, amidst fragrant dark hair, a muffled female voice echoed,

“You’re so despicable, Ye Shiyu.”

The bus heading to the South District rode in darkness, cast in quiet.

Inside the bus sat only Yan Huan, who hid in the shadowed corner by the window, displaying no expression on his face.

In the dim cabin, a pair of green cat eyes suddenly lit up, stealthily approaching Yan Huan, blending perfectly with the darkness.

“Ah, so that’s how it is.”

In his mind, Meow-chan’s voice echoed,

“No wonder you’ve been so unusually interactive with Ye Lan since this morning, showing your most considerate and nurturing side. The more you did this, the more it would infuriate the overly possessive Ye Shiyu. Yet ultimately, just as she was about to explode, you chose to leave, allowing her anger to dissipate in the void, spurring her regret instead.”

The shifting lights outside the window cast reflections across the glass, making the face of the handsome youth in the shadowy bus appear obscure.

Listening to Meow-chan’s observations, Yan Huan sighed, saying,

“Because Ye Shiyu genuinely has a good conscience and morality, at least not deeply affected by the modifier now, she feels that way. What I’m doing is essentially acting, playing the part of a perfect, kind younger brother, using her morality to restrain the desire for using the modifier.”

In the darkness, Meow-chan, sensing the hint of sorrow in Yan Huan’s tone, replied,

“You don’t need to feel guilty for acting to deceive her. After all, just now she was preparing to use a modifier on you, meow. And besides, a great part of those feelings isn’t false; you’ve just exaggerated them.”

“Yeah, but I really didn’t expect her to chase after me. Even though she seems to dislike me so much… She really cares about Aunt Ye, willing to accommodate herself just to hold me back. And what about me? Although Aunt Ye is so sincere, I didn’t even have a reasonable excuse to leave like this.”

“Meow~”

Meow-chan jumped onto him, snuggling up against him, trying to comfort him.

When he glanced out the window, a reluctant smile emerged on Yan Huan’s face, but he couldn’t help but reach out and rub Meow-chan’s warm, plump head.

Leaning against the window, he gazed at his own reflection.

Surrounded by deep darkness, amid the chaotic neon lights outside, a sigh echoed in his mind.

“You’re so despicable, Yan Huan.”