“Good morning.”
An Hexi waited in the classroom for a long time before she could say that. It was very unusual, so she asked with concern.
“Didn’t sleep well?”
Su Nian shook his head, suppressed his exhaustion, and continued with today’s tasks—he even had to catch up on yesterday’s.
An Hexi frowned slightly, not at Su Nian’s perfunctory reply. She knew the boy well behind the scenes. Suddenly waking up late must have had a special reason.
Her intuition blamed that senior girl. She had recklessly linked arms with Su Nian before, making An Hexi, usually such a gentle girl, now detest her.
Su Nian wouldn’t appear this tired just from difficulties. It must be that woman bothering him.
Life is hard. They had to keep studying.
—
“You’re really eating just that?”
Xiali was snacking and asked Su Nian with concern.
This lunch break, he casually gnawed on a piece of bread. He felt like he was holding his breath underwater, having been busy all morning, even taking up lunch break. Now only he and one cat were in the classroom.
Su Nian rubbed his temples. Although he had reduced the focus on his studies again, he still found it somewhat strenuous to complete. So he decided to write an English test to relax.
“Let’s do a stage summary. It’ll help you understand the current situation a bit, and also encourage me.”
He said as he started working on the reading comprehension.
Xiali couldn’t help but reduce the sound of her munching. Facing Su Nian like this, she inevitably felt a bit guilty.
“Initially, what was my plan?”
This stumped Xiali. She knew Su Nian worked hard every day, but she didn’t know how to summarize.
“Actually, the current situation isn’t my ideal one.”
Xiali remembered Yun Buran’s increasingly heavy demonic energy and said anxiously, “Huh? Didn’t you say it was all going according to plan?”
“I’m not a god. I’m just an ordinary high school student.”
Su Nian rolled his eyes.
“Initially, the maximum information I could get was some of her basic psychological states. For example, I knew her androphobia was definitely related to her father, but I couldn’t understand deeper, right?”
“So you approached her to increase favorability and find out the detailed reason?”
Xiali asked, though with confidence.
“No, I don’t care about the specific cause of her psychological shadow.”
“I just need to know she’s sensitive, hates me, and what her current source of pain is. For instance, the biggest pain in her life right now comes from studying.”
“But do I really care how many points she improves?”
“I’ve always been clear about my goal. I want her mind to become strong and independent. I want her to save herself.”
“So naturally, I started with studying. Haven’t you noticed? I’ve been subtly influencing her thinking patterns and ways of handling things. I want her to become a strong person herself.”
“So actually, I’ve already succeeded halfway. She’s started to gain confidence and is willing to strive upward. In the future, she’ll have a very positive attitude toward life. I never just wanted to change her academic performance.”
Su Nian said this and flipped the test paper over.
“But there’s still half left. She doesn’t hate herself as much as before, but she hasn’t yet come to love her life—for example, her social state.”
“So, between the two problems of studying and androphobia, you’re still stuck on androphobia?”
Xiali had stopped eating and asked seriously.
“The important thing is the underlying root. Her internal self has improved, but her external life hasn’t. Self-love doesn’t just mean loving oneself, but also loving one’s life.”
At that, Su Nian paused, whether because of the question or because he was tired.
“And I made a big mistake.”
“I underestimated my own charm.”
“Huh?”
Xiali exhaled in slight speechlessness.
“I hoped her motivation would be herself, but instead I became her psychological pillar. The premise for her to love herself now is based on loving me. That’s twisted.”
“I bet she’s holding onto the idea that having me is enough.”
Xiali didn’t respond. She hadn’t expected this man to see it so clearly.
“So her current strength is fake. I want her to truly want to become better for herself, to make friends, and to manage her own life well.”
“Then what do we do? Isn’t it over now? I feel like she’s become a yandere.”
Xiali thought of the abnormally growing demonic energy and felt doomed.
“That’s why you shouldn’t blindly think I’ll definitely succeed. Human emotions can’t be controlled that easily. I initially only wanted to influence her as an outsider, but I couldn’t do it after all.”
Looking at the worried kitten, Su Nian couldn’t help but smile slightly.
“But don’t worry. Everyone has their own approach. Since it’s twisted, let it burst on its own.”
“I want to make her reborn, force her to grow through pain.”
Su Nian said each word slowly and stopped writing.
Xiali was completely confused. She still didn’t understand what Su Nian was going to do, but she felt it would be cruel.
“Alright, just continue at your pace.”
Su Nian knew she hadn’t understood, so he explained further.
“Next, I’ll solve her social state problem and continue to raise my status in her heart. Finally, I’ll blow it up with her.”
“Huh? What if it backfires?”
“Is this your first day knowing I’m a very confident person?”
Su Nian had already corrected the answers. Still all correct. He hung a proud smile.
Over the next two days, Yun Buran felt like she was at the peak of her life. Su Nian was very indulgent with her; she could act spoiled all she wanted.
Her classmates didn’t notice any change in her, only that she was working harder at school. But Yun Buran knew she smiled much more often than before.
During the day, she studied hard at school, always feeling a growing sense of achievement. At night, she could make small sweet progress with Su Nian, forming a positive cycle.
She took many small physical liberties, which made her both happy about Su Nian’s softening toward her and a bit uneasy.
She used her mind reading many times to confirm that Su Nian still didn’t like her at all and still didn’t understand him.
But she only knew that as long as she worked hard, Su Nian would be good to her. So as long as Su Nian was willing to continue like this, she wouldn’t bother about what he truly wanted.
This was a beauty she had never experienced before. No matter what lay behind it, she was willing.
Leaning by the window, she confirmed that Su Nian’s figure was completely out of sight, then went to the wardrobe.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t succeeded in keeping Su Nian overnight again, but compared to before, she saw hope. She believed that if she persisted in soft persistence, the boy would eventually fall for her.
She worked hard, obeyed, was pretty, and was slowly becoming better. At the very least, she could make him get used to having her in his life. That was definitely no problem.
Yun Buran encouraged herself and changed into the T-shirt that Su Nian had worn that night. It had become her new pajamas.
It was soon the long-awaited weekend. Yun Buran had never imagined she would live a life looking forward to tomorrow.
Because tomorrow, she had a “date.”