Lin Mo’s body stiffened instantly.
On his back was the unconscious Shen Qingyue.
In front of him was the door, the exit to escape this absurd scene.
Behind him was Su Qing.
She was his childhood friend, the girl he had grown up with — a bit willful and a bit obsessive. She was the girl who would blush and kiss him when he pretended to be hypnotized, who would get jealous if he spoke even a few extra words to other girls, and who would clumsily pretend to sprain her ankle just to get close to him.
As expected… it had finally come to this.
As that familiar energy tried to burrow into his mind, the last flickering flame of “understanding” and “trust” based on his awareness died out. It was replaced by a kind of self-deprecating realization.
Earlier, he had actually tried to stand in her shoes, trying to “understand” her extreme behavior that might have been caused by a misunderstanding.
But now, her target was no longer an “outsider” like Shen Qingyue. It was him, the person she called the “most important.”
In her spiraling logic and broken emotions, when verbal explanations failed and trust cracked, her first reaction was not to try and communicate or handle things calmly. Instead, it was to use her Special Ability to directly modify his cognition.
She wanted to use a “cleaner” way to erase this accident, her loss of control, and all her inexplicable obsessions and hurts.
In her world, was her Special Ability a tool to control the situation, a bargaining chip to maintain relationships, or even… a distorted way of expressing “love”?
This realization filled Lin Mo with such immense disappointment that he felt physically sick.
Today, she could use it on Shen Qingyue. Today, she could also use it on him.
Then what about tomorrow? What about the future?
When his behavior failed to meet her expectations again, or when she simply developed new, baseless suspicions… would she choose to “correct” him this way every single time?
Would she turn him into a submissive “character” in the meticulously woven “plot” that suited her desires?
‘Never.’
‘We both need some space and time. Before things get worse. Before she… truly leaves a deeper mark on me in a way I can’t be immune to.’
But at this moment, resisting openly was not a wise move. Shen Qingyue needed medical attention, and Su Qing’s state was clearly extremely unstable. He needed evidence, he needed time, and more importantly, he needed a… safe way to exit.
‘So… we’re acting, right? Let’s keep acting. Just like the countless times in the past.’
Lin Mo forced himself to suppress all his churning emotions. He relaxed his tense shoulders and let his eyes gradually lose focus, becoming vacant and glazed.
“Very good…” Su Qing’s voice came from behind, carrying a sense of exhausted relief and an almost imperceptible tremble. “Lin Mo, listen to me. Shen Qingyue fell down on her own and hit the bookshelf. When you came in, you only saw me trying to help her up. Do you understand?”
Lin Mo remained wooden and nodded. His movements were perfect.
“You didn’t hear any strange recordings, nor did you hear any of my previous explanations. You just came to hand in some forms, happened to see a classmate injured, and came over to help.”
Lin Mo nodded again.
“You don’t have any doubts about me. You still trust me just like before. The conversation just now… never happened.”
After Su Qing finished speaking, she stared intently at Lin Mo’s profile, waiting for the reaction he should have after being “modified.”
Lin Mo’s heart sank further into despair, but his facial muscles were under perfect control. He nodded for the third time, his rhythm slightly sluggish.
Su Qing let out a long, nearly silent sigh of relief. In that breath, there was relief, lingering fear, and perhaps a trace of guilt that she didn’t want to examine too deeply.
【’See, how simple.’】 Demon Su Qing whispered triumphantly. 【’He is always yours. As long as you want it, you can make everything return to the “right” track.’】
Su Qing had no time to deal with the voice in her head. She looked at Lin Mo’s “obedient” back, but that hollow sense of panic did not disappear.
“Now,” she said, her voice dry as she continued the Hypnosis “procedure,” “you will slowly wake up. When you wake, you will remember the “facts” I just told you. Now… wake up.”
She snapped her fingers.
Lin Mo blinked cooperatively, his eyelashes fluttering as his eyes “gradually” regained their clarity. First, he looked around “blankly.” When his gaze fell on the blood on Shen Qingyue’s clothes, he “timely” showed anxiety and confusion. “She… what happened to her? Did she fall? Quick! To the infirmary!”
The performance was flawless.
the anxiety was real — for Shen Qingyue’s injury.
The confusion was also real — because Su Qing had actually gone this far.
Seeing Lin Mo’s “back to normal” reaction, the heavy stone hanging in Su Qing’s heart seemed to hit the ground. Yet, for some reason, she still felt a faint sense of unease.
She nodded hastily, her voice still a bit airy. “Yes, yes! She accidentally fell! Quick, let’s get her to the infirmary!”
The two of them said nothing more. Lin Mo secured Shen Qingyue on his back and rushed out the door, running toward the infirmary.
The corridor was dyed orange-red by the setting sun, empty and silent.
Su Qing followed behind Lin Mo, watching his running figure and Shen Qingyue on his back.
She had just… used Hypnosis on Lin Mo. Again.
It wasn’t a “game,” it wasn’t “tutoring,” and it wasn’t to ask for a spoiled kiss. It was to cover up the truth. It was to make him “forget” what she had done, what she had said, and how she had lost control. It was so he would continue to look at her with those old eyes — gentle, helpless, and a little indulgent.
Not like those eyes from just now… the eyes that looked at a stranger.
Su Qing suddenly felt her throat tighten and her eyes sting.
She had succeeded, hadn’t she? Lin Mo had already “woken up,” hadn’t he?
His anxiety, his confusion, his hesitation-free movement as he picked up Shen Qingyue — everything had returned to the “script” she had set.
But why…
She looked at the familiar back just a few steps away. He was so close. He had his back to her, and he didn’t look back even once.
(；一_一) ‘I succeeded. But I’m so scared.’
She wasn’t afraid of what he might remember if he woke up. She was afraid that even if he “forgot,” his body, his instincts, and his heart had already remembered that fear. She was afraid that the Brother who would smile and rub her hair, who would play along with her childish Hypnosis games, and who would get all nervous because she pretended to sprain her ankle… had actually been lost a little bit by her own hands.
And just now, she had pushed him one step further away.
【’It’s fine.’】 Demon Su Qing’s voice was unusually soft, as if coaxing her. 【’He forgot. Everything will be just like before.’】
Su Qing did not answer.
It seemed like just another day of world peace.
‘Sigh.’
Lin Mo sighed softly in his heart.
‘My heart is so tired.’
He continued to run. The girl on his back was breathing steadily, and the door to the infirmary was right ahead.
The setting sun sank completely behind him.
He did not look back.
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