Tianhua Residential District, inside the villa.
Under the soft glow of the desk lamp, white gloves held a ballpoint pen, leaving a trail of elegant script on a pristine sheet of paper.
“Aren’t you supposed to lift that love curse in a few days? Why is Xiao Bai still clinging to that Zhao guy lately?”
“I was waiting for her to stand on the same side as me.”
Thinking about Bai Xu Yinsheng’s recent behavior, Hei Xu Yinsheng glanced at the now-empty headboard and let out a long sigh.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t tolerate bickering with herself, but watching her other self jump willingly into the wolf’s mouth like a tender cabbage—especially with all those kisses, hugs, and affectionate gestures—made her irrepressibly angry.
She’d had another huge fight with Xiao Bai a few days ago.
If Zhao Yicheng hadn’t stepped in, the two would have come to blows, putting on a show of “me beating myself.”
Now, Xiao Bai had separated from her and was sleeping in the next room.
Hei Xu Yinsheng had started wearing white gloves lately and avoided any physical contact with her, terrified of sharing any unpleasant memories or sensations.
“No clue. In theory, the curse should break in a few days, but love is the most illogical thing. Even a dog would shake its head at it.”
“Of course, there’s another possibility—maybe Xiao Bai really has fallen for Zhao Yicheng. After all, you know what that fluttering feeling is like.”
“…Yin Sheng.”
She struck the paper with three large characters.
“Impossible.”
Meanwhile, in another villa.
Pale white chalk traced across a blackboard, stroke by stroke, filling every corner with dense regular script characters. Yet the text was neatly split down the middle, as if someone had deliberately formed a barrier.
A picture of a figure was pinned to each side of the blackboard. If Xu Yinsheng were here, she’d be absolutely shocked—the images were of her own twin lotus forms, black and white.
On the left, Hei Xu Yinsheng.
On the right, Bai Xu Yinsheng.
Zhao Yicheng was currently standing before Bai Xu Yinsheng’s portrait, deep in thought and analysis.
As mentioned before, Zhao Yicheng, who had studied finance from a young age, was deeply influenced by his father: plan first, act second.
What did pursuing a girlfriend mean?
Giving gifts, treating her to meals, watching movies, holding hands, taking a stroll—these were the free guidebooks on Qihu.
But for Zhao Yicheng, he’d already completed every step. So what came next?
“What should I do now?” Staring at the personality analysis of Little Yin, black and white, written on the blackboard, Zhao Yicheng muttered to himself.
Romance, flirtation, strategy…
Various thoughts and ideas flashed through his mind.
But every single one of them was wrong. Because he had never been in love.
He was like a blank sheet of paper—able to read the words, but unable to write them.
Zhao Yicheng sat there on the chair, his whole body seeming frozen. Half an hour later, he slowly twisted his neck. The joints cracked from sitting too long, a sound that set his teeth on edge.
“No plan. I have no idea what to do next.” He rubbed his neck with his hand, but it did no good—only ended up hurting himself.
“Ahh… let’s just sleep. I’ll think of a plan tomorrow.”
The exhaustion he had suppressed earlier surged back. His upper and lower eyelids were now fighting each other. Zhao Yicheng struggled to stand up, then staggered to the bed and collapsed onto it.
“Little Yin cat, time to eat.”
“Don’t cry, Little Yin. I’m a good person.”
“See? Compared to humans, cats are the most loyal.”
“My Little Yin, my beloved Little Yin… Xu Yinsheng, you’re mine!!”
The quiet villa, the cold iron cage, the girl curled up inside… endless memories echoed and replayed in his mind.
This is a dream…
But even knowing it was a dream, Zhao Yicheng couldn’t escape this state—like sleep paralysis. His consciousness was clear, but his body was completely out of control.
Blurred images flashed through Zhao Yicheng’s mind.
Not just sweet times with Xu Yinsheng, but more often…
Unrestrained malice spreading outward, forcing a kiss on the fragile girl beneath him, tasting her tears of unwillingness, resistance, and helplessness.
Scene after scene shifted, then froze on another image.
In the pouring rain, a girl gripping a crowbar and a wretched man in the mud. The bitter fruit he had brewed for two years was now swallowed by him.
“Zhao Yicheng, I hate you so much!”
“I hate you so much!!”
“I hate you so much!!!”
The words Xu Yinsheng had once spoken were like knives stabbing into his softest heart. For Zhao Yicheng, guilt, a death wish, and confusion—that day was undoubtedly the worst day of his life.
The entanglement of love and hate, the confrontation between coercion and resistance…
Watching the silhouette receding into the downpour, Zhao Yicheng trembled, cold and shaking, as if plunging back into that despair. He was falling into an endless abyss, his heart nearly dead.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
“Since she doesn’t love me, why don’t I change my approach? If I can’t have all of her, then I’ll take half! I’ve taken care of her for over twenty years—it’s time she paid me back with interest!!”
The next second, Zhao Yicheng’s consciousness violently fluctuated. The nightmare snapped him awake!
“Huff… huff…”
Gasping for breath, cold water splashed onto his face, waking Zhao Yicheng up even more at the sink. Everything from the dream faded and blurred.
Yet one thought from the dream clung stubbornly to his mind.
His mentally ill father, his career-driven mother, the lack of love in his childhood, the good brother who had been with him for over twenty years…
Suddenly, he smiled, looking at the exhausted, vacant man in the mirror—the one who had just woken in panic from a nightmare.
Xiao Bai had already confessed to him. Even if it was due to the love curse, it still meant he was halfway to winning her heart.
According to his calculations, in another month, when Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai fused back into Little Yin, Xu Yinsheng might not forgive everything and spend her life with him, but at least her affection for him would skyrocket.
He pressed his right hand to his chest, listening to the thumping, powerful heartbeat, and his brow relaxed a little.
The foundation was laid. He couldn’t tear down the walls he built. Forced fruit isn’t sweet; forced love can only end in bitter results.
“I’m fine. I’m not sick. I’m really not sick. I’m a normal person now.” Zhao Yicheng stared intently at the face in the mirror, talking to himself, as if in self-hypnosis.
…
Tianlin City, a rented apartment.
On a tidy and cozy double bed, the bedroom light was on, casting a soft glow. A man in white pajamas and gold-rimmed glasses was absorbed in the book in his hands.
“Meow meow~ Teacher, Teacher, what are you reading?” At the bedside, a little cat-eared boy with fluffy ears lazily crawled over, lying in front of him, blinking his big black eyes curiously as he asked.
“21-Day Speed Hypnosis Master,” the white-robed man replied calmly.
“Meow meow, what’s hypnosis?” Little Prince Yanqing tilted his head, continuing to indulge his curiosity, looking at him with an eager expression.
“It’s a special psychological state, similar to sleep but not quite sleep, induced by things like relaxation, monotonous stimulation, focused attention, or imagination. In psychology, hypnosis can be a method for treating mental disorders.”
“Meow meow, I still don’t get it.”
“Not understanding is normal.” A large hand squeezed the cat-eared boy’s furry ears, making the little cat blush. The white-robed man put down the book and looked at Yanqing.
“I’ll teach you this knowledge slowly in the future. Each generation does its own work, and knowledge is never a shortcut.”
“Mm-hmm.” Little Prince Yanqing nodded obediently.
Then, he held up a piece of Xiaoyubing with both hands, his big orange eyes looking at the other, cracking a huge, radiant smile. “Teacher, here. This is the Xiaoyubing Yanqing made.”
Without overthinking, the white-robed man took the cookie, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly. The next moment, he collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
Then, under the little boy’s expectant gaze, his body began to undergo an incredible and wondrous transformation…