Back in her room, Ye Shiyu's laptop was open on her desk, displaying a search engine page.
The search bar clearly read:
"Hypnosis"
Holding her warm milk, Ye Shiyu sat at the desk and lightly pressed Enter, bringing up the definition.
"Hypnosis: A state of consciousness induced by human guidance, resembling sleep yet distinct from it, characterized by a trance-like psychological condition..."
Since successfully hypnotizing Yan Huan the previous day, Ye Shiyu had developed a strong curiosity about this effect in her phone app.
She hadn't known much about hypnosis before, only gleaning bits from the app's description of "absolute obedience to oneself."
But after researching, she realized the hypnosis mentioned here seemed vastly different from the effect in her app.Or perhaps, no technology in this world could possibly achieve such a thing, right?
Ye Shiyu looked at her phone, opened that mysterious app, and amidst the swirling purple vortex, illusory information appeared:
[Remaining uses this week: 1]
"..."
So then, for what purpose did you descend upon me? While thinking this, Ye Shiyu gently scrolled the mouse wheel, pulling the page downward to browse the information displayed.
"Debunking Hypnosis: About the Alienation of Hypnosis Science"
"Hypnosis Therapy Appointments"
"Hypnosis, a Mythologized Term"
The rest were all sorts of bizarre erotic resources, their titles alone making Ye Shiyu lose all interest.
As she scrolled down, one page, two pages later, her eyes were suddenly drawn to a particular title: "Women's Section: After Hypnosis, the Annoying Stepbrother Becomes My Personal..."
The keyword "hypnosis" was highlighted in red.
Ye Shiyu's scrolling motion paused slightly. She blinked, leaning closer to the computer screen, her dark eyes gleaming with immense curiosity.
She dragged the mouse toward the title, the pointer on the screen appearing particularly sluggish due to the low sensitivity.
Ye Shiyu was a complete novice when it came to computers, but at this moment, her movements with the mouse were unusually forceful.
"Click."
Upon clicking the title, the page turned white, and then, dense, colorful advertisements flooded in.
"Bookmark this site: www.XXX.com"
"Royal Casino, quality guaranteed, sign up and receive 888 chips"
"Beautiful dealers, dealing cards live"
Ye Shiyu opened her mouth slightly, her brows furrowing as she painstakingly maneuvered the mouse to close each of these scam ads one by one.
A player began to spin, seemingly loading the resource, with "Line 1" written below.
But as she waited, suddenly, a red browser warning symbol popped up:
"Sensitive page detected. Continuing to browse may expose you to risks such as information leaks and malware."
"To protect your information security, please close the page immediately!"
Below were two options:
"Close Immediately"
"Ignore Risk, Continue Browsing"
A... virus?! Ye Shiyu was startled and was about to click "Close Immediately," but the player behind, after a brief loading period, had already started playing.
First came a monologue, a woman's voice softly speaking:
"My mother remarried, and her new husband brought along a stepbrother slightly younger than me."
"That guy, unlike this gloomy shut-in, was an incredibly handsome, academically brilliant boy with a great personality."
"Just after arriving home, I could feel all of my mom and stepdad's attention being stolen by him."
"Hey, why don't you learn from your brother? You're the older sister, don't give him attitude... If you don't come out, I'll just take your brother out instead."
"Ah, I know, it's normal for a kid like him to be favored by adults."
"But... why do I hate him so much?""With that thought in mind, I used it on him—on that detestable younger brother."
"I was going to turn him into..."
Ye Shiyu's finger paused just as she was about to click the close button. Her eyes flickered as she involuntarily recalled the scene from the shopping center earlier.
When she had descended the stairs, she saw Ye Lan—who had grown tired from accompanying her to search for items—being cheered up by Yan Huan with just a few words. Her mother had patted his head, her tone full of playful scolding, yet the smile on her face simply wouldn't fade.
In comparison, wouldn't her own personality seem strange?
Though her mother had told her it was fine to stay as she was, when Mom saw someone as normal as Yan Huan, wouldn't she inevitably think that way too? And then, shift all her attention onto him? As if... he had stolen her mother away from her.
Ye Shiyu's breathing grew slightly uneven. Her grip on the mouse shifted bit by bit to the right, eventually hovering over another option.
"Ignore risks and continue browsing!"
The warning disappeared as the page reloaded, but small banner ads still hung around the edges, moving along with the scrolling.
The video also seemed to buffer intermittently, the loading circle spinning endlessly.
Could it be that these ads were slowing down the connection?
Ye·Computer Novice·Shiyu thought to herself.
She quickly dragged the clunky mouse toward the ads.
The tiny "X" buttons on the ads came in pairs—one actually closed the ad, while the other was a "trap" meant to lure users into clicking another link.
Fortunately, Ye Shiyu wasn't foolish. Leaning close to the screen, she carefully maneuvered the mouse to accurately click the tiny close buttons.
One... two... three... four. Patiently repeating the process four times, she finally closed all the pesky ads in each corner of the page. Excited, she turned her attention back to the video player—only to find it still buffering.
"Playback lagging? Try switching to another server."
Server?
Ye Shiyu blankly stared at the options below: Server 1, Server 2.
Click. Server 2.
Then, the page seemed to refresh.
And with it, those four annoying ads reappeared.
Watching the ads she had painstakingly closed minutes ago now bouncing cheerfully back onto the screen, Ye Shiyu's pink lips pursed involuntarily.
"My mother remarried, and her new partner brought along a younger stepbrother."
At least, after switching servers, the video finally played smoothly.
Clicking full-screen mode, Ye Shiyu widened her eyes and immersed herself in the story.
The tale unfolded gently on screen—its buildup, its intense battles flowing one after another, captivating Ye Shiyu's gaze.
It was as if... a door to a new world was opening before her.
The moment the on-screen action heated up, her cheeks flushed slightly.
She quickly glanced back at the firmly shut door before grabbing the nearby headphones and plugging them in.
The story continued, and before she knew it, Ye Shiyu was completely absorbed.
Time slipped by unnoticed until the screen gradually darkened, and the female narrator's voice echoed once more in her ears.
"In the end, I used hypnosis to turn him into a useless fool who only knows how to call me 'Big Sister.' My adorable little thing belongs to me now."
"Though it might just be an excuse, deep down, I keep using it to deceive myself over and over again.""The reason hypnosis was born was to fulfill my filthy desires, wasn't it?"
"I know this is despicable and vile, but right now, I'm extremely happy."
"That's enough."
"The End"
Ye Shiyu's eyes widened, unable to recover for a long time.
This was just too shameless and obscene.
All she wanted was to drive him away, nothing more.
Yet the sister in that film did all those things to her younger brother?!
Though admittedly, seeing that usually sunny and handsome younger brother reduced to making such pitiful sounds was—no no, that was just a fictional story in the movie.
Ye Shiyu, you just need to drive him away, you just need to drive him away.
Ye Shiyu leaned back lightly against the chair, breathing softly, her fair face tinged with an unnatural flush. She felt a little thirsty.
She stood up and turned to go downstairs for some water.
After the duration of a movie, the house had long since gone completely dark, presumably with everyone asleep.
Ye Shiyu filled several cups of water from the purifier on the first floor, drinking them before the heat inside her finally subsided somewhat.
Letting out a sigh of relief, she poured another cup and prepared to go back upstairs.
On reaching the second floor, her gaze inevitably drifted toward Yan Huan's room.
The phone in her hand lit up on its own, emitting an eerie purple glow. Unconsciously, ever since she started using that app, she had stopped putting her phone down.
"..."
After hesitating for a moment in the stairwell, she found herself taking quiet steps toward Yan Huan's room.
Facing the closed door, she raised her hand lightly, ready to knock.
But then it occurred to her that he was probably already asleep.
So her hand instead settled on the doorknob.
A strange impulse drove her to do strange things—normally, no matter where she went, she would always knock before entering. It was a habit she had cultivated.
But now, she actually wanted to enter without knocking.
"Click"
The doorknob turned slightly to its limit.
Inside, Yan Huan was fast asleep, while Miao Jiang, held in his arms, suddenly opened her eyes. In the darkness, her emerald-green pupils shone brightly.
"Meow~"
She let out a soft sound, but Yan Huan beside her didn't stir.
However, since Yan Huan had locked the door, when the knob was turned all the way, no matter how much the person outside pushed, there was no response.
"..."
Ye Shiyu, holding the cup of water, stiffened slightly as she realized she had gotten a little too carried away.
How could she do something like this? She pressed her lips together, downed the remaining cold water in one gulp, took a deep breath, and released the doorknob.
Then, slowly, she turned and left, returning to her own room.
"Meow?"
Miao Jiang blinked, watching the doorknob return to its original position before settling back into Yan Huan's embrace.
She didn't close her eyes, just kept staring in the direction of the door.