Yandere is contagious

When Yan Kui returned home, Zhao Shuyi was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine, and a sumptuous meal was laid out on the dining table, all of it still steaming hot.

"Xiao Liu just said you'd be here soon, so I heated it up." Zhao Shuyi put the magazine away and glanced behind her. "Xiuyan still hasn't returned?"

Yan Kui hadn't recovered from the murder case and nodded somewhat dejectedly.

Zhao Shuyi rarely saw her so distraught, so she put her arm around her shoulder and said, "Alright, let's eat first."

Yan Kui was like an emotionless eating machine, doing whatever her mother said without any awareness.

"What did he say when you went to see him today?"

In an attempt to bring her back to her senses, Zhao Shuyi spoke first.

Yan Kui put the rice on her chopsticks into her mouth, looked up at Zhao Shuyi, and then hesitated before saying, "He said he wants to live independently and doesn't want to go home now."

Shen Xiuyan must thank her for shaping a rebellious teenager into a strong and independent good student of the new era.

"Living independently?" Zhao Shuyi couldn't understand what new kind of conflict these two were having, and the reasons they gave were all sorts of strange ones.

Yan Kui didn't know what her mother was thinking, so she nodded and replied, "Yes, it's just to get some practical experience for myself. I'll definitely be back before school starts."

For some reason, Zhao Shuyi's worry became even more pronounced after hearing her words.

“It’s dangerous outside.” Zhao Shuyi was lost in memories, and her tone softened considerably. “I will support whatever he wants to do, but he must come home.”

Her mother was adamant. Yan Kui felt that if she told her the truth, her mother would definitely find a group of people and kidnap Shen Xiuyan.

Yan Kui hadn't thought anything was wrong before, but after experiencing death and other such things, she felt that her mother seemed to have some kind of obsession.

"Mom, can I ask you a question?" She leaned closer to Zhao Shuyi and whispered, "Is Shen Xiuyan really your illegitimate son?"

"Don't call me by my name, call me brother." Zhao Shuyi subconsciously corrected her. Upon hearing this, Yan Kui's expression became even stranger, and her already pale face turned even paler.

"What are you thinking?" Zhao Shuyi poked her forehead, watching her cover the spot with tears in her eyes. "Have you forgotten everything you've learned? You think I can give birth to an illegitimate child the same age as you?"

"Then... what about my dad?" Yan Kui wanted to stop, but couldn't help asking her again, as if she wanted to go through all the answers.

When Zhao Shuyi heard Yan Kui mention Yan Wenzhu, her smile deliberately faded. "How would I know about your father? There are many things he won't tell me."

Yan Kui ignored Zhao Shuyi's words, her eyes filled with curiosity, waiting for her to give the answer.

"Alright." If she kept staring like that, she would really burn a hole through herself. Although Zhao Shuyi didn't know why Yan Kui had changed so much, she still answered her question, "Xiuyan lost his parents when he was young. Don't be as willful as you were when you were a child and always target him."

I was targeting him… Yan Kui’s nose tingled with sadness, feeling somewhat wronged. But seeing Zhao Shuyi’s expression, she suppressed her emotions, finished her meal, and then went upstairs without saying a word.

Hearing her hurried footsteps, Zhao Shuyi shook her head and chuckled, then glanced at the seats of the brother and sister, a thoughtful expression on her face.

It's the same old story. No matter whether Shen Xiuyan is here or not, I can't escape this fate.

Yan Kui recalled the years when she was dominated by other people's children, and quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. When her emotions got the better of her, she wanted to draw. She flipped through the bookshelf, but couldn't find her sketchbook.

She was a little confused. She bent down to rummage through the drawer, but still couldn't find the book. And then she made a new discovery.

Her diary entries were out of order.

Some people have read her diary, but there's nothing wrong with reading it. She used to write diligently when she was young, but as she grew up, she would only write when she was in a good mood. There weren't many shameful records.

However, her sketchbook contained records of her past life. She was so overwhelmed by her rebirth that she drew things that she herself doesn't dare to recall.

The sketchbook was still there when I went on the trip. When was that...? Yan Kui thought carefully, then slapped her forehead and quickly remembered the time when she first met Xie Chi in this life.

She threw down the half-finished sketch and left, and when she returned, she was so shocked and flustered that she didn't check anything.

It's hard to find something you've lost at school, let alone in a foreign country.

Yan Kui regretted her carelessness and turned her attention back to her diary.

Who read her diary?

The housekeeper and the others wouldn't do such a thing. Mom is so busy she doesn't even have time to come home, let alone have the time. Could it be...?

The thought that Shen Xiuyan might see what was written in the diary made Yan Kui worry, so she threw the notebooks back.

Why is it that other people's rebirths are all about having everything under control and going smoothly, while I have to worry about all sorts of messy things?

Yan Kui tried to calm down. Actually, from another perspective, it wouldn't matter much to Shen Xiuyan if he saw these things. Although most of the entries were about his dissatisfaction with him, their conflict had been going on for a long time. Even if she read the diary aloud to his face, it wouldn't lead to a worse outcome than death.

She was startled by her own desperate mentality, shook her head repeatedly, and stood up with amusement.

When she was a child and her health was poor, she didn't remember any of the stories her mother told her about how she survived. Instead, she so easily gave up her life when she grew up.

Her classmates always said she was steady and mature, and her elders praised her for being well-behaved. But only she knew that she was actually very timid and often worried about her tendency to run away from things.

escape……

Yan Kui looked at her room. In her first life, she died in her own room, on her own bed.

She stood up, feeling slightly dizzy, and walked towards the door. Xiaoyu, who was about to go downstairs to clean, looked up and saw this scene—

A long-haired woman in a white dress slowly walked out of the dark corridor. Her skin appeared pale in the dim light of the wall lamps. She walked very lightly and silently, as if she could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

The timid Xiaoyu immediately froze, not daring to disturb the figure.

However, what she feared most came to pass: the woman who was walking slowly stopped abruptly as she passed her.

Her face slowly turned around.

"Ahhhhhh—" Xiaoyu screamed in terror.

Yan Kui tucked the hair that was blocking her vision behind her ear, covered her ears, frowned as she looked at her, but her tone was very gentle, "Xiaoyu, what's wrong?"

"I..." Xiaoyu's mood was like a roller coaster ride. She calmed down when she saw that the person in front of her was Yan Kui, who was usually gentle and kind to them.

"Miss, that was terrifying! I was scared out of my wits!" Xiaoyu wasn't very old, and among the people she employed, she was one of the few she could talk to.

Yan Kui glanced down at her outfit. She had come home thinking about using the restroom, but she hadn't expected this kind of problem.

However, Xiaoyu did give her some inspiration.

If you're afraid of ghosts, then become a ghost.

After all, the best way to overcome fear is to face it.

"It's alright, you can go ahead and get back to work." She smiled, and her usually pretty face had a slightly eerie look in the dim light.

Xiaoyu felt she had to do something to save this bizarre situation.

Watching Yan Kui walk towards Shen Xiuyan's room, she decisively turned on all the corridor lights.

Yan Kui stumbled from the sudden light and opened the door a few seconds faster.

Does she really think she's about to reveal her true colors?

Yan Kui was amused by her own strange behavior, and then turned on the light to look at the room she hadn't entered for more than ten years.

Clean, tidy, and with the layout of the items immediately apparent, the books on the bookshelves are arranged in order, making it look like a room controlled by obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Yan Kui came in hoping to find any clues about Shen Xiuyan's departure. After searching around, she found nothing but his study notes, which were mostly handwritten.

Oh, and novels too. This pervert not only tries to find out the murderer when reading mystery novels, but he also makes analytical notes next to suspicious parts?

Yan Kui looked at the novel with a complicated expression and continued to flip through it. He didn't find anything new, but the structure of his notes was quite good and worth learning from.

She was almost distracted by the strange focus, shook her head helplessly, and got up to rummage through other cabinets.

Upon turning the pages, she discovered something.

He had quite a lot of things, but everything was neat and tidy, even the clothes in his wardrobe.

In other words, he didn't take anything with him.

He didn't bring any of the things his mother bought for him or the gifts from his elders, whether they were expensive or practical.

So the backpack he took with him on the day he left probably contained all his belongings, and he may not have planned to come back at all.

Her long-held suspicions became even more fragile. What he craved was never a life of wealth and comfort. Yan Kui realized that she could see through Shen Xiuyan more and more.

He won't say anything, and she won't ask about the past.

Just like that thing she never wanted to think about, she was actually very curious about what Shen Xiuyan's mindset was during those two nights, why he didn't stop her in the first life, and why he made the same choice in the second life.

She should ask him.

She must find him.

Yan Kui had been pondering for the past few days how she differed from those neurotic female protagonists in TV dramas. Knowing full well that Shen Xiuyan was a troublesome person, she still meddlesome others' business. Today, she finally knew the answer.

Nothing's different, she's just gone mad.

Yan Kui gently stroked the row of clothes in the wardrobe, feeling the different textures of the fabrics under her fingertips, and chuckled softly.