“Hongyi…”
“I am your…”
Gu Yebai’s throat tightened.
His voice was so low it was nearly swallowed by the thunder outside.
The first thought that sprang to his mind was not to push away the fragrant, jade-like body and flee.
Nor was it to simply close his eyes and accept her as if resigning to fate.
Instead, it was a sense of self-mockery so absurd it was almost laughable.
His fellow author friend, Bishop Milieai, had kindly warned him while they were gaming this morning that Gao Hongyi had the potential to be a yandere.
At the time, Gu Yebai had not taken it seriously.
He had even claimed that the master of the yandere genre had gone crazy from writing too many novels and saw everyone as one.
If he could, he really wanted to travel back to earlier today and slap himself twice.
Then, he would cling to Bishop Milieai’s leg and ask him sincerely.
“Master, do you think I can still be saved?”
And…
Looking at the heavy rain outside, the lightning and thunder, and the piano playing by itself.
He felt as if his limbs were being wrapped in some kind of red steel wire.
In every note, he seemed to hear Gao Hongyi’s voice.
“You are mine…”
‘You can’t escape.’
‘Let us be together forever.’
“I love you.”
This was no longer a yandere in the ordinary sense, was it?
This was clearly a supernatural power.
It was some kind of rule he could neither understand nor resist.
Gu Yebai took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound calm.
“Hongyi, let me go first… calm down first, alright?”
“Uncle Bai, I am very calm.”
“Uncle Bai should love me too, right?”
“Or is Uncle Bai very afraid of me?”
Her fingertips brushed lightly against Gu Yebai’s Adam’s apple.
It felt as if she were measuring the pulse of her prey.
“I am not afraid of you…”
“I just feel sorry for you.”
“Of course I won’t run. No matter what you become, I won’t run.”
“I’m not afraid of you, even if you can change the weather, or make a piano play such beautiful music on its own!”
He took a deep breath, forcing his gaze away from the Bosendorfer piano that was still resonating.
He looked directly into Gao Hongyi’s eyes.
They had returned to black but still carried a hint of crimson embers.
“Instead of being afraid, I think you’re incredible. So, Hongyi… I love you.”
“What matters most now is breathing.”
“Come, follow me—inhale… and then exhale… inhale… exhale—”
Gu Yebai guided her methodically, like comforting a child who had just woken from a nightmare.
However, his heart was pounding frantically.
‘Why?’
‘Just because Uncle Gao mentioned meeting the neighbors, she reacted so violently?’
‘It is too abnormal, isn’t it?’
‘Just because the other party is beautiful?’
‘Why can’t Hongyi be more confident in herself?’
‘Besides, it was a mere chance encounter. The other person has surely forgotten a mediocre mortal like me completely.’
Gu Yebai decided to try a different angle.
“Hongyi, I’m not bragging.”
“For an ordinary human like me, whose mediocrity is squared, Bai Xialin probably wouldn’t even look at me if we bumped into each other.”
“How could I be so easily liked by Bai Xialin?”
“You’re really exaggerating.”
Gao Hongyi did not answer immediately.
She simply cupped Gu Yebai’s face with both hands.
Her fingers gripped so hard her knuckles turned white.
Yet, she was as gentle as if holding fragile porcelain.
Her deep cherry-colored hair brushed against his cheeks.
It felt like icy silk, lightly entangling him.
“Uncle Bai…”
Her voice was very light and soft, but it carried a near-devout obsession.
“Hiding what one loves is a biological instinct.”
The tune of the piano seemed to soften slightly at this moment.
It was no longer the deafening melody that felt like it was strangling one’s soul.
Instead, it became low and lingering, like a whisper in the ear.
It sounded like it was coaxing a prey about to fall asleep.
Gu Yebai felt a sudden wave of dizziness.
He felt light-headed, and his limbs felt as if their strength had been drained.
Despite being an adult male and having tried to push her away earlier, he now lacked the strength even to lift his hand.
‘Is it psychological?’
‘Or is the melody of that piano itself silently eroding my will?’
“Let go of me first, okay?”
His voice was raspy, carrying a hint of entreaty.
Gao Hongyi blinked and suddenly smiled.
It was a smile tinged with grievance and obsession.
“You kissed me voluntarily just now, and now you want me to let go?”
“If this isn’t a double standard, what is?”
“Uncle Bai really is afraid of me, isn’t he?”
She leaned in closer, her nose almost touching his.
Her breath was hot and carried a faint, sweet fragrance.
“Uncle Bai…”
“I must have all of you today.”
“There is no room for negotiation.”
“The door has already opened for you; you must enter.”
Her fingertips slid slowly across his collarbone.
The movement was slow and dangerous, like measuring a treasure about to be possessed forever.
“You are the best piano in the world.”
“I will use my body to play the most beautiful song in the world…”
Her red hair fell like a waterfall, blocking the last sliver of light between them.
Her fingertips brushed his collarbone, as if testing the first note on a keyboard.
“Come, after today, we will become lovers in the true sense.”
“Now, you only need to… cater to me.”
“Uncle Bai.”
She lowered her head, her lips lightly touching his forehead.
It was a kiss, but it felt more like a goddess descending to the mortal realm to kiss a devout believer.
In an instant, Gu Yebai felt his eyelids become heavy as lead.
‘So heavy…’
His consciousness was being swallowed by a gentle tide, bit by bit.
Every muscle in his body softened and sank, as if turning into liquid.
“Let’s go, Uncle Bai.”
Gao Hongyi’s voice rang in his ear.
It was soft as a mumble, yet it carried an undeniable command.
“Now, pin me down on the sofa.”
“You are a starving beast right now…”
“And I am the only food that can satisfy your hunger.”
“Come, eat me. I will be eaten by you quietly…”
Gu Yebai’s throat tightened.
He wanted to say something, or to push her away.
He wanted to shout that he was not her doll.
But the moment he tried to gather his will, the piano’s tune suddenly changed.
It was no longer lingering or low, but a series of hurried, feverish, almost out-of-control scales.
It was like a racing heartbeat.
It felt like blood boiling in the veins.
It was as if countless red threads were tightening simultaneously, cutting into his limbs and bones.
His will fought back desperately.
‘I am definitely not your puppet!’
But the resistance felt like being wrapped in cotton.
The more he struggled, the weaker he became.
The more he struggled, the deeper he sank.
“Uncle Bai…”
Gao Hongyi gently cupped his face, her thumb stroking his lower lip.
Her eyes were tender to the point of cruelty.
“If you really love me, you shouldn’t continue to resist me at a time like this.”
“Your will is constantly ruining the song I am playing.”
“How sinful, how disobedient, and how endearing.”
“Hurry and accept your well-deserved reward.”
“Once you accept it, everything will get better.”
Her voice grew softer and softer, yet it burrowed into his mind like a curse.
“You will never need to go to school. Not only that, you will never have to leave this house.”
“But why… are you still struggling?”
“Uncle Bai, let me ask you—”
“Do you want to be my husband?”
“Or do you want to be my pet?”
Gu Yebai’s chest heaved violently.
His voice was strained, carrying a tremble he couldn’t even hear himself.
“I…”
“I want to stay by your side properly…”
Gao Hongyi’s pupils constricted slightly.
Then, she smiled.
The laughter was sickly sweet but cold enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
“You refuse to answer directly, don’t you?”
“Forget it.”
She leaned in close.
“From now on, you will be my husband during the day.”
“And my pet at night.”
The scales poured down like a torrential rain.
They were violent, dense, and without pause.
They were like countless crimson threads exploding at once, weaving into a suffocating net in the air.
The net entangled, bound, and merged the two of them completely.
—Accept her!
—Love her, that is an order!
—Otherwise, you are not our son!
In a daze, everything went black before Gu Yebai’s eyes.
It was as if he had returned to that shabby living room in Linchuan County.
His father, Gu Chengfeng, stood there with a livid face.
His gaze was full of disappointment and anger.
It was the exact same look from back then when he had hidden his grades.
It was the look he gave when Gu Yebai insisted on staying at Linchuan Fifth High School instead of going to the provincial key high school.
“Even though we are dead, can’t you let us rest in peace?”
“Are you worthy of us?”
“You ungrateful wolf!”
His mother, Lu Xiaoai, stood to the side, covering her face with her hands.
Her shoulders trembled violently.
Her sobs were intermittent, like pieces of paper scattered by the wind.
“Little Gu… Mom is begging you, please accept her…”
“Mom just wants you to be okay…”
Their voices overlapped and echoed.
They felt like countless needles piercing Gu Yebai’s heart simultaneously.
A sad melody began to erode his brain.
Low, lingering, and with a hypnotic rhythm, it dismantled his will bit by bit.
Gu Yebai really couldn’t understand.
What did obtaining a girl’s body here have to do with filial piety?
‘Are they really my parents?’
‘Or… are they illusions controlled by the piano music?’
“Be with her!”
Gu Chengfeng suddenly roared.
His voice exploded in Gu Yebai’s ears like a thunderclap.
“Little Gu, listen to your mother…”
Lu Xiaoai’s crying became more piercing, as if it would tear his soul apart.
At that moment, Gu Yebai felt anger for the first time.
‘To achieve your goal, you won’t even let them go?’
‘Gao Hongyi… why must it go this far?’
‘Clearly, I’ve been accommodating you and trying to love you!’
‘Why can’t you just wait patiently?’
‘Like a normal couple?’
But despite the anger, his body would not listen.
His vision tore apart.
One moment, it was the dark living room in Linchuan County.
The next, it drifted back to the bright floor-to-ceiling windows of Tomson Riviera in Donghai.
His arms had somehow already gathered Gao Hongyi’s body in a bridal carry.
He held her steadily.
Step by step, he walked toward the bedroom.
“Uncle Bai… so good.”
Her finger hooked lightly in the air, as if pulling invisible threads.
Gu Yebai’s body moved like a puppet controlled by red lines.
He walked mechanically yet gently.
‘A first night like this…’
‘It is unbearable.’
‘Love shouldn’t be like this.’
‘Physical intimacy shouldn’t be a trump card used to settle everything.’
‘This form of love is twisted. It is one-sided plunder, control, and consumption.’
The sound of the piano reached its peak at this moment.
The scales poured out like a storm.
They were layering on top of one another without any room to breathe.
It was like countless crimson threads snapping and exploding simultaneously, tearing the entire living room into pieces.
BOOM!
A blinding flash of lightning tore through the night sky.
Immediately followed by a sharp snap.
The power went out.
The entire home instantly fell into absolute darkness.
Only the dense drumming of raindrops hitting the glass and the two’s rapid, overlapping breaths remained.
Gu Yebai’s heart squeezed tightly.
In the darkness, Gao Hongyi’s body temperature was still pressed against his chest.
It was frighteningly hot.
But her breathing suddenly stalled for a moment.
He instinctively looked up toward the balcony.
BOOM!
In that instant, Gu Yebai saw it.
A blurry, graceful figure stood on the balcony.
Long hair flew wildly in the wind.
The blurred figure outlined a slender yet powerful silhouette.
She was motionless.
The piano music stopped.
Those eyes, however, were like two unquenchable phosphorus fires.
They were clearly imprinted on Gu Yebai’s retina.
Violet.
It was like… somewhere in Linchuan County, he had seen them before.
She seemed to be speaking Korean.
“Sleep.”
“This storm has only paused, but it is not over.”
“One day, you will want to escape. When that time comes, I will become your only support.”
Then, his consciousness and Gao Hongyi’s consciousness snapped like a string at the same time.
Gao Hongyi’s pupils returned to the black color a normal Huaxia person should have.
Both of their bodies collapsed onto the bed.
The mattress sank slightly.
She curled her whole body into Gu Yebai’s embrace.
“I’m sorry…”
“I’m sorry… Uncle Bai…”
“Don’t leave me…”
“I don’t want to go back to being alone again… definitely not… definitely not…”
She seemed to be talking in her sleep.
Her tone was intermittent, carrying a soft sob.