Chapter 27: A Pain Called Other People’s Children

Chapter 27: A Pain Called Other People’s Children

“Thud. Thud. Thud.”

The sounds outside the classroom gradually faded, like an invisible hand slowly releasing its grip on Ye Shiyu’s heart.

Her breath steadied as she lifted her gaze to meet Yan Huan, whose blank stare seemed to signify that rationality had finally reclaimed its territory in her mind, making her realize what had just happened.

Looking at her wrist, which Yan Huan had held tightly earlier, she saw a circle of red marks on her fair, delicate skin, a lingering reminder that showed no signs of fading.

It seemed the surging blood beneath her skin caused a tingling, slightly itchy sensation.

Ye Shiyu had a physique that easily bore marks.

Especially with her porcelain-like skin, colors stood out as easily as on a pristine canvas.

This action, symbolizing the encroachment of “others” into her domain, had always been something she despised.

Touch from outsiders was as unforgivable as someone taking her belongings.

Yet ever since Yan Huan arrived, it seemed there was an exception.

Perhaps it was the kindness he had shown that night or the smile on his face that compelled Ye Shiyu to reluctantly drop her stinginess and want to reciprocate.

She had only wanted to ask him for help today, along with finding out what he liked, and instead—

She ended up using hypnosis on him.

“I’m sorry, Little Huan.”

Next time, I definitely won’t use hypnosis on you.

Ye Shiyu felt a pang of guilt in her heart.

Although being called “sister” by Yan Huan was really nice, it would have been even better if he had been a bit gentler while being adorable.

But next time, she absolutely wouldn’t use hypnosis on Little Huan.

She promised herself, feeling as wise and pure as a sage.

And why only half a sage?

Because she had felt a bit unsatisfied when Yan Huan’s cuteness didn’t fully reach her expectations just now, so that counted as half.

“Little Huan, once I count down from three to one, you’ll wake from hypnosis. Three, two, one.”

She envisioned her wish to break the hypnosis in her mind, though she was also a bit nervous.

The last time she had hypnotized him, she left the room early, so she didn’t know what it was like to undo it face-to-face.

As she declared with authority, the sensation of memories peeling away like an ebbing tide returned once again.

Both Sakura Kyoko and Ye Shiyu experienced this feeling from their modifiers, first having all previous memories evacuated from their brains, followed by the formation of new memories.

The fabricated memories were so convincing that unless the subject had a modifier or someone else to remind them, they would almost certainly not realize what had happened.

“…”

Yan Huan’s dazed expression gradually softened until he opened his eyes, unaware of any oddity.

“Sister Shiyu?”

“Let’s continue fixing the computer.”

Seeing that Yan Huan sensed nothing amiss, Ye Shiyu felt a wave of relief wash over her, returning to her doll-like demeanor.

Yet her gaze flickered over Yan Huan as if she were a villain surveying a crime scene.

With a smile, Yan Huan turned to help her fix the computer, while thoughts swirled in his head.

When someone acquires a similar modifier, their desire to use it generally progresses gradually.

That instantaneous revelation likely stemmed from volumes of completed pages.

Before evolving into the “I won’t eat beef phase,” they would certainly first enter the “careful Superman” phase.

Especially since Ye Shiyu’s modifier only had a short duration of 15 minutes, it limited her implementation of many ideas.

However, that gradual pace was still faster than Yan Huan had imagined.

Just last Sunday night, he attempted to trigger Ye Shiyu’s guilt to curb her desire to use the modifier.

Meow-chan had mentioned then that Ye Shiyu had dropped pieces of herself, indicating his approach should have been effective.

Yet only a few days later, on Tuesday afternoon, the situation had erupted again.

Although she had used the modifier accidentally to prevent social death, what about afterwards?

She couldn’t resist the temptation of the modifier’s effects and issued a lengthy series of commands to herself.

Those commands weren’t too excessive, but they symbolized a rekindling desire to use the modifier.

It wasn’t that Yan Huan’s earlier stimulation of her conscience had gone without effect; Ye Shiyu’s repeated hesitations and apologies were evidence enough of that.

The only problem was…

The intensity wasn’t sufficient.

When facing a patient like Ye Shiyu, the dosage needed to be increased.

“Shiyu, your next scheduled safety guard is fine. If you don’t understand computers, this one works quite well; it should keep you safe.”

“Mm-mm.”

Ye Shiyu didn’t understand and simply nodded, allowing him to work on her computer.

She paid no mind to him holding the mouse labeled with her name or his fingers tapping on the keyboard.

At that moment, Yan Huan had forgotten about Ye Shiyu’s unique habits.

After all, his mind was preoccupied with strategizing the next steps and acting perfectly normal after being hypnotized just moments ago…

Those two thoughts occupied his brain’s processing memory like a virus downloading into Ye Shiyu’s computer.

Plus, didn’t that group outside just mention Bai Yi’s name?

The name of the idol armed with the “Indifference” modifier.

“Tick-tock.”

“Tick-tock.”

In the afternoon teaching building, the ethereal ticking of a clock echoed from nowhere.

But none of the students passing by seemed to hear it, walking by with expressions as usual.

Meanwhile, among the crowd, a beautiful girl wearing sunglasses and a light cream long-sleeve shirt beneath a black linen knee skirt stood with her arms crossed at the bustling school entrance.

It was Bai Yi, a well-known idol at Far Moon Academy.

Her beauty was undeniable, even behind sunglasses, radiating confidence, style, and allure, exuding youth’s vibrancy to all who laid eyes on her.

She chewed on a piece of strawberry-flavored bubblegum, occasionally puffing air into it, causing it to expand until it popped like a balloon.

“Pop.”

The sound echoed.

She wore a hint of light makeup, and one half of her lips was painted with a layer of high-quality pink gloss, shimmering enticingly.

Her lips were as sweet as the bubblegum flavored with strawberries.

“I don’t feel like going to class at all this afternoon. Maybe I should sneak out for a bit, since I can use that…”

Thinking so, she pulled out something that resembled a pocket watch from her pocket.

Although the watch had a simple design, it looked exquisitely crafted inside and was as impressive as a priceless artifact.

Floating in the middle of the watch face were illusory texts, adding a touch of mystique.

【Nameless】

The watch had three hands but completely mismatched the real time.

It was nearly afternoon, yet the hand made of what appeared to be ice pointed at the 12 o’clock position, as if it hadn’t moved for ages.

The minute hand was rusted and had dropped to the 9 o’clock position, a line of illusory text floating above it,

【Accumulated Usage Time: 30 minutes】

The second hand seemed to be non-existent; it could only be inferred from the rotating base that there must be an invisible hand in motion.

When Bai Yi’s awareness brushed against that rotating second hand, virtual information surged forth,

【Welcome to use, Nameless Pocket Watch】

【Pocket Watch Level: 1】

【Current Effect: Indifference】

【Usage Time: 10 minutes per day; if not used that day, the time can be accumulated for the next use, with a maximum of 60 minutes.】

【During the effect, all actions will only have immediate consequences for oneself; the consequences for others will only be felt the moment the effect ends.】

It sounded convoluted, but trying it once would quickly clarify its meaning.

When entering a state of Indifference, if Bai Yi touched someone, she’d feel it immediately.

But what about those others?

If she touched them, they wouldn’t feel it right away—it would strike them instantaneously once the effect wore off.

Regardless of how many sensations there were, they would all arrive in an instant.

In reality, there were also effects regarding objects, but it seemed the modifier had forgotten to mention that…

Or perhaps it wished for Bai Yi to wreak havoc during the effect?

Speaking of objects…

The pocket watch automatically corrected unreasonable changes to items.

For instance, the marker used to mock Zhou Bin would return to its original position, leaving no fingerprints and the ink wouldn’t lessen after Bai Yi used it…

But the chaotic doodles on Zhou Bin’s face would still remain.

Just by listening to this description, one could tell how impressive this power was.

Thus, since the pocket watch inexplicably appeared in Bai Yi’s bag last Friday, it had almost become her most treasured toy.

With this, she could do many things she had never dared to think about before.

For instance, Zhou Bin became the prime victim because last semester he had called his mother multiple times to complain.

When he arrived today, he was hung with all sorts of chaotic theological items.

He must still be quaking in his boots right now, huh?

Bai Yi wore a gleeful smile, then veiled by Indifference, turned to walk outside the school.

She planned to skip class entirely this afternoon.

“Tick-tock. Tick-tock.”

The surrounding world seemed divided by the rhythmic ticking of the clock, one side being Bai Yi, the other the rest of the world.

Then the world overlapped, forming everything she could see.

Walking into a commercial street in the park just outside the school gate, she casually grabbed a skewer of candied haws from a dessert shop and began to indulge herself.

That agent of hers monitored her eating habits daily, afraid that she would gain weight from high-calorie foods and break out, wanting nothing more than to cram salads and light dishes into Bai Yi’s brain instead of making them common sense.

Clearly, she feasted on meat and fish in secret, posting photos of herself eating hot pot, while she sat alone drinking green juice and eating salad, right?

With this thought, Bai Yi’s movements of eating the candied haws became fierce, as if she were biting the brain of her manager.

“Haha, the president even said I’m not a mascot, you know.”

“Eh, does Yan, the president, really say stuff like that to you?”

“Of course. But being strong and tough is essential! I think it’s because I’m so smart that the president thinks so.”

“Hahaha…”

The president?

Yan Huan…

As she munched on her candied haws, Bai Yi’s beautiful eyes behind her sunglasses were drawn to the source of the voice, spotting You Anli Na chatting with several senior students from grade three at the entrance of a milk tea shop.

That annoying girl…

Bai Yi silently retracted her gaze, intending to leave before the ten minutes of effect ended today.

After all, if she used it again, she would have to forfeit all the accumulated time over the weekend plus Monday.

Bai Yi had a bit of a hoarder mentality.

Yet her peripheral vision was inevitably drawn to a notice board at the school gate, which displayed the student council’s logo along with introductions to its members.

“Yan Huan, the student council president, captured the admiration of his classmates in the autumn semester with outstanding grades and absolute amiability, achieving a total of…”

As Bai Yi’s actions with the candied haws momentarily halted, just seeing Yan Huan’s photo on the bulletin board left a look of disgust plastered on her face.

“Tsk.”

The sweetness of the candied haws dwindled, yet she couldn’t bear to throw it away, so she left with it as she departed from Far Moon Academy during noon break.

In the evening, on the first floor of a prestigious villa in Jinghe District.

Bai Yi scanned her fingerprint to enter the room; sounds of a range hood floated from the kitchen, likely her mother was cooking.

She glanced towards the kitchen direction while changing her shoes at the door, casually tossing aside her fisherman’s hat, sunglasses, and mask into a nearby basket.

“I’m back.”

“How was school today?”

However, the voice responding to her came from the living room, not the kitchen.

Bai Yi paused slightly, fixing her slightly disheveled hair caused by the fisherman’s hat.

Unbothered, she strolled into the living room and replied,

“Well, what else could it be? Just an elective class.”

On the sofa sat a middle-aged woman in grey loungewear, scrutinizing her intently.

It was Bai Yi’s mother, Zuo Jiangqin.

Listening to Bai Yi’s words, Zuo Jiangqin furrowed her brows, exposing her lies.

“I had Xiao Ji go pick you up from school this afternoon; she said she didn’t see you come out.”

Xiao Ji, full name Ji Lin, Bai Yi’s manager.

Bai Yi paused her motion of entering the room, frowning as she turned to look at her mother in the living room, retorting,

“I told you I’d come back by myself this afternoon, didn’t I?”

“You didn’t even go to school, right?”

“…So?”

Bai Yi took a deep breath, and finally didn’t retreat to her room; instead, she moved to the living room and said to Zuo Jiangqin,

“It’s just an elective class; what does it matter whether I attend or not?”

“What do you mean, what does it matter? You better take a good look at this.”

The woman was even more furious after hearing Bai Yi’s nonchalant words.

She took out her phone, opened her email, and displayed a document to Bai Yi,

“The student council of your school emailed me this morning, reporting your entrance exam scores. You scored 292 out of a full 500! Out of 178 students in your grade, you ranked 152nd. How embarrassing is that? If your fans know your grades are so terrible, I can’t imagine what they’ll say online.”

“What do I care what they say? I have activities scheduled every day and hardly attend classes; how am I supposed to do well?”

“Hardly attend class? But today you had someone to take you, and yet you didn’t show up? Isn’t that just sloth and laziness?”

“Mom, if you don’t understand something, don’t pretend to know, alright? You can’t even tell the difference between mandatory and elective courses; what are you trying to instruct me on?”

It was like the classic case of chickens talking to ducks—Bai Yi was frustrated and waved her hand.

“I’m tired; I’m going back to rest.”

Bai Yi was already fed up but was stopped by her mother’s sharp voice from behind.

“You stop right there! You’ve got no semblance of responsibility! Xiao Ji told me you seem disinterested in your activities; you’re lazy about going to school; what do you want to do?”

“…”

Activities, activities…

Those ridiculous activities are all arranged by you.

Not allowing me to write songs and insisting I capture the Yan fans’ market, it’s forced me to eat grass every day…

Her mother was too hasty to cash in; every time there was a commercial deal, she’d get excited while Bai Yi bore the burden and ran about.

Even though she wanted to express a thousand grievances, Bai Yi inhaled deeply and chose to avoid it.

She merely sulked her pretty face, too lazy to converse with her mother, and turned to head back to her room once more.

“Wait, you’re supposed to eat the salad on the table!”

“…”

Bai Yi paid no attention to her mother behind her, her hand already resting on the doorknob.

But her mother wasn’t looking at her, as if they had grown accustomed to this process.

Yet today, it seemed that because of that email reporting her grades, Zuo Jiangqin sighed and exclaimed,

“Just look at Yan Huan from your student council; he has such excellent grades and is the president. He always ranks first in every exam. And let’s not forget, he was there when I took you for the child star auditions back then.”

Upon hearing her mother’s words, Bai Yi pressed the door open, about to step inside, yet her foot held still in place.

Her mother didn’t notice, but her clenched fists hidden in her sleeves were tightening.

“Someone smiles at him, and he’s immediately spotted by leaders from companies, who insist on signing him. He shows his face a little, and they’re begging him to join. Despite our efforts with writing songs and learning instruments, we can only get in.”

Whenever this topic arose, Zuo Jiangqin would become infuriated, “What right do you have not to try hard? Huh? If they have a chance, then we must seize ours even more.

“We helped you get into the entertainment industry, and now that you’ve gained fame, you should cherish it. Join your activities with more enthusiasm; if we spend money to get you into Far Moon, you need to work hard and raise your grades! Xiao Ji needs to create a decent image for you, got it?”

Zuo Jiangqin lifted her head only to find Bai Yi, for some reason, had turned to look at her with a chilled expression.

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

Even with the kitchen still cooking soup, the heat of anger couldn’t dissipate the chill.

Bai Yi stared at her mother, and after a moment of silence, she smirked and said,

“Since you like him so much, you might as well let him be your son.”

“You…”

“Bang!”

Before Zuo Jiangqin could speak again, Bai Yi had already yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind her.

“This child…”

Zuo Jiangqin frowned, still exuding a sense of relentless disappointment.

She sat on the sofa in a standoff for a while, while inside Bai Yi’s room, the familiar sound of a guitar was missing.

The villa was enveloped in a gloomy atmosphere that finally prompted Zuo Jiangqin to reluctantly admit…

Her words might have been a bit too harsh.

But wasn’t it because Bai Yi hadn’t put in enough effort for the day-to-day work, and she was lazy about her studies?

How could that continue?

Zuo Jiangqin believed her intentions were correct; only her methods had been flawed.

Previously, she often brought up that “Yan Huan” kid in front of Bai Yi.

After all, during the child star auditions back then, that outstanding boy had definitely left a deep impression.

At Far Moon, he was well-liked and had explosive results…

Zuo Jiangqin thought that by establishing a rival in Bai Yi’s mind, it would spark her competitive spirit; that’s why she emphasized it so persistently.

“Ding, ding, ding.”

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

Her soup was ready.

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

Returning to the living room, she carried the soup along with the salad towards Bai Yi’s door.

“Knock knock knock.”

“Come out for dinner.”

This was Zuo Jiangqin’s signal of reconciliation.

Yet after a long while, she received no response from inside the room.

Seeing this, her recently calmed heart stirred a little with renewed annoyance.

She placed the soup and salad on the table, turned around, and prepared to open Bai Yi’s door directly.

“I told you to come eat! Did you hear me?”

However, upon pushing the door open, the room, filled with a guitar, sheet music, computer, and game console, was completely empty.

“Yi Yi?”

Zuo Jiangqin was slightly stunned, calling out Bai Yi’s nickname in surprise.

But the room remained silent, save for the wind blowing through the open window, causing the curtains to dance as a reply.