In the chaos, through the endless darkness, Alain heard a sentence.
And the answer at the time was...
"Is this really okay?"
The darkness before him gradually receded, revealing a mirror.
In the mirror was the long river of time.
"This is my debt, after all, and you're my girlfriend. I already receive so much care from you as it is—"
"No, Alain. It's no trouble for me at all."
Her dazzling smile cast a large shadow. "Because I'm a genius. For a genius, this little bit of money can be earned back in a moment."
The him in the mirror hesitated for several long minutes. The young girl, meanwhile, coaxed and pestered him from the side.
In the end, he still gave that answer:
"Well... alright."
But he quickly added, "But let's make an agreement first: this is me borrowing money from you. And then we'll write an IOU."
To the him of the present, his past self's serious face seemed particularly laughable.
Because that was a debt that would take a lifetime to repay.
It was also her [eternal] dowry.
"After graduation, I'll definitely work hard to earn money and pay you back. After that..."
That version of him was so green, he even blushed. "Let's get married."
"After that..."
Wanhua chewed on the words, lightly pursing her lips.
Her fingertip slipped between her lips, her sweet smile like she had just tasted a piece of candy. "Ah, sorry, I lost my composure for a moment."
"Uh... it's fine."
"Alain" didn't think much of it; Wanhua's desires in that area had always been strong.
He turned around, packing their meals for the day into a bag. "Well, I have class in a bit, so I'll be—"
A sharp pain in his wrist instantly cut off his words.
He looked at the source of the pain. It was the hand wearing the bracelet.
"What's going on?"
That him wanted to take off the bracelet to investigate, confused.
But faster than his curiosity was a feeling of weakness spreading through his body.
She caressed his cheek, still wearing that same crescent moon-like smile. "Aren't you happy? Alain. You can surely understand me, right?"
His heavy gaze drifted upward to see her face drowned in a pool of shadow. "Sorry, I was just too happy... and I couldn't wait for that so-called 'future' anymore."
"Now, you are mine."
"We don't need an 'after that'."
She laughed softly.
The Alain of that time was puzzled. "You mean, get married now?"
"No. It's something even more eternal than marriage. We can do it right now..."
She left a kiss on "Alain's" face. Deep, and fatal.
Click!
An echo suddenly rang in Alain's ear, as if something had been locked.
When he came to his senses, the mirror from before was gone, as if the memories of the past had never happened.
"Showing me that kind of thing."
Even the current Alain couldn't help but blush at seeing his own dark past.
It was like having the 'accomplishments' of his youth performed right in front of him now...
After collecting his thoughts and barely suppressing the urge to die, he finally calmed down.
As expected, he had been manipulated by that crazy woman again.
That's right, Yang Wanhua was a lunatic—there was no doubt about that.
If 'genius is to the left, and lunatic is to the right,' then she was the one standing in the middle, leaning to the right: the past Alain had already agreed to marry her in the future, but she still felt it wasn't enough, thinking she 'couldn't wait,' and imprisoned him.
Damn it, his past self was such a pure, love-struck fool... It wasn't like Wanhua didn't have her strange behaviors from time to time: things like sharpening knives with glee or preparing strange medicines.
But whenever that love-addled pig of a 'self' asked, he would always be fobbed off with a few words.
Good heavens! Alain really wanted to use the sole of his size 42 shoe to kick that brat "Alain's" ass!
Speaking of which, no matter which option he chose, would it always result in a 'bad end'?
Or perhaps...
Alain considered that maybe the key to breaking the illusion wasn't actually the debt issue he discussed with Yang Wanhua.
Could it be the period of imprisonment?
Or, did he need to escape from that imprisonment?
Alain felt a bit of a headache. If only 2D Mita were here.
"Alain..."
Just then, a series of captivating voices echoed through the empty space, their tone filled with guilt and apology.
And it was Yang Wanhua's voice.
An apology? She would apologize to him? Alain scoffed inwardly, his gaze drifting higher and higher with each apologetic word.
Until he opened his eyes.
"...?"
What met his eyes was a beautiful young girl's face.
"Mph, mph, mm..."
She was insatiably taking from Alain, her eyes hazy, like the falling autumn rain.
"Mmph!"
Their eyes met, and Yang Wanhua immediately closed her lips, moving away from him.
"Hah... I'm sorry, Alain... I'm sorry!"
She stood prettily to the side, her hands behind her back. The flush on her face could have been from the kiss or something else. Her eyes darted to the window.
Alain's expression was calm. He tried to get up, only to find something binding his limbs.
A closer look confirmed it...
His body was tied up with restraints. Forget getting up; even moving was a luxury.
"If you really want to apologize, why don't you try untying me?"
The corner of his mouth twitched. He struggled for two seconds, then gave up.
"Untie you?"
Wanhua looked as if she'd heard a riddle, blinking her eyes in confusion. "Why?"
"Aren't you apologizing for this?"
"No."
She twirled a strand of hair around her fingertip, again and again. "Because... I just stole a kiss from you. I feel very sorry about that..."
"..."
Alain was speechless. He still found it difficult to grasp Yang Wanhua's train of thought.
"But ah—"
Wanhua looked at him, the shy expression instantly vanishing as she sighed. "Seeing you like this, I'm still a little disappointed, Alain."
"How so?"
His calm face was reflected in the girl's eyes.
"Because you're not angry at all."
The girl dreamily tapped her own cheek. "I thought your anger would be my extra reward. But as it turns out..."
Wanhua observed his placid expression and said with disappointment, "So calm, not interesting at all."
"Lunatic."
"Ooh~ That's the one!"
The girl clapped her hands cheerfully.
"Don't you have anything you want to explain to me?"
Alain stared into her eyes. "Like, why you're keeping me locked up here."
"Because you're disobedient."
The girl's eyes widened. "You could have just stayed by my side, but you had to go and say something about finding a job... forcing my hand. It's all your fault...!"
She stared fixedly at Alain's face, her eyes wide with anger as if looking at an enemy.
But the next second, that anger vanished in a flash.
"But forget it, I forgive you. Who could blame you for being Alain?"
"My sincerest thanks to you."
Alain sighed. In the past, he had gotten a bad end because Yang Wanhua had "bought him."
But this time, it was for the ridiculous reason of being "disobedient"...
He finally understood. No matter how he responded to or handled the debt, he would always end up being imprisoned.
Therefore, the key to breaking the illusion must lie within the period of imprisonment.
And right now...
Alain glanced at the layers of restraints on his body. Forget doing anything; even breathing was a bit of a struggle now.
So, the primary objective was to convince Yang Wanhua to undo this blasted thing.
Having determined his objective, Alain looked at the girl's face and found that Wanhua was also looking at him.
Or rather, she was observing his entire body from top to bottom, left to right, leaving no corner unexamined.
Alain forced down the feeling of being watched and managed to speak. "You're not planning to keep me restrained like this forever, are you?"
"Of course not."
"I've also considered the possibility that if you don't move for a long time, your limbs and even your brain might atrophy."
She shook her head understandingly. "At least when I'm here, I have to keep you locked up tight. Otherwise, who knows if you'll hit me?"
"Am I the kind of man who resorts to domestic violence?"
He raised an eyebrow and smiled.
That's right... it was from Yang Wanhua that he had learned how to deal with psychos.
He hadn't learned it actively, but was passively forced to by her possessiveness.
"Domestic violence..."
And her focus was solely on that word.
But unexpectedly, Alain saw her face darken instantly. "Is our relationship still limited to just family?"
...This woman is so difficult.
"Well, I have to eat, right?"
Alain suppressed the urge to curse. "I'm already hungry now."
"Eating?"
That was true. She thought for two seconds, then with a 'click', she left in a hurry.
Leaving Alain alone in the room.
He observed his surroundings. In terms of decor, it wasn't simple and messy like an imprisonment cell in the movies. On the contrary, the lighting was bright and the decoration was exquisite.
Right now, he should be in the bedroom. A TV, a bathroom, everything was there.
The decorating style was familiar. This should be the new house Yang Wanhua had shown him last night.
Last night, Yang Wanhua had told him the house was still under construction, but in reality, he couldn't even smell formaldehyde in the room.
She must have been preparing for a long time.
Observing again, Alain found his phone, the TV remote, a computer, and other components.
Just as Yang Wanhua had said: what she wanted was not imprisonment, but a more lenient form of 'house arrest.'
The situation wasn't as bad as he imagined; he still had a chance.
This hopeful thought was completely erased after Alain saw three things.
The first was the bracelet on his wrist. Yang Wanhua had beautifully named it the 'Couple's Health Bracelet,' claiming she made it herself.
Not only could it monitor vital signs, but it also had anesthetic and sedative functions.
Her 'making it herself' was probably to avoid the eyes and ears of her colleagues in the lab.
The second: the dense array of locks on the bedroom door.
From electronic locks to mechanical locks, it had everything. And they looked very expensive.
At the same time, the door seemed very thick and sturdy; he didn't know if he could kick it open.
The third: the thing that made Alain most wary...
He glanced to the side, in the direction of the closet.
Inside the closet, besides some men's clothing with the tags still on...
There were also, at the bottom of the closet, enough condoms to build a castle.
If calculated by the standard of five per box... there were at least fifty boxes there, over 250...
This crazy woman... was she planning to fuck him dry?
He looked around the room, his gaze moving upward, finally discovering a small, cute... camera in a spot on the ceiling that was almost a blind spot.
Right, she'd already locked him in here, how could there not be a camera?
"Hmm... I'm a little angry just thinking about it. I should give you some punishment."
Her words caught Alain's attention.
Punishment? He frowned slightly, a little curious what kind of punishment this lunatic would give him.
He watched as Wanhua drank a mouthful of soup, then smiled at him and lowered her head.
"Zzz-"
The sound came from the combination lock on the door, and a light, nimble figure slowly walked in.
In her hands, she held a tray of rich food.
"Time to eat~"
She held the tray with one hand, brought a chair over with the other, and sat by Alain's bed.
The girl placed the tray full of food on her lap, carefully scooped up a spoonful of soup for him,
"Mmm..."
The soup passed his teeth, went up to the bridge of his nose, and choked him a little.
"Cough, cough, cough."
He coughed a couple of times. But the girl didn't stop in the slightest, scooping up a spoonful of tofu.
"Heehee..."
She giggled, displaying the food on the tip of her tongue, and once again leaned in close.
But this time, Alain didn't indulge her.
Feeling the invasion, he bit down hard—
"Ow!"
Wanhua cried out in pain but didn't let go.
Instead, she squinted... savoring the blood-red droplets.
A thick thread of blood flowed by his lips, trembled at his neck, and dripped onto the white bedding.
"Come on, ahh~"
...Alain stared with dead-fish eyes, wondering if he should just bite her for the satisfaction.
He still managed a decent smile. "Hehe, actually, I can eat by myself."
"No way~"
She smiled too. "I have to be the one to feed you. This is my little apology to you!"
"Since you feel apologetic, why not trust me a little more?"
Alain continued to struggle.
"No can do."
She smiled even more happily. "Don't think I didn't see you observing the room just now."
She narrowed her eyes. "If you want to get out, just give up that idea."
"..."
Alain's face was fixed in a dry smile.
"Oh..."
She let go, and in the moment she gasped for breath, her gaze on Alain showed not a hint of resentment.
"The way you resist... it's wonderful. Really, it's so wonderful."
Alain looked at her like this, his gaze cold.
The pain hadn't lessened her affection in the slightest; on the contrary, she was falling deeper.
This woman was a lunatic.
In her eyes, there was only him.
But that was the truly terrifying part.
Just as Wanhua was about to scoop up a third spoonful, the phone in her pocket began to vibrate with a 'rumble-rumble.'
"Mmm... good times are always short, aren't they."
She sighed and checked the phone.
Through her screen, Alain saw the name: Professor.
The old woman they often talked about.
He now found even this old woman particularly pleasant to look at.
Alain also realized that his chance might have just arrived.
___
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