The Little Succubus's Hypnosis Manual - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Video
“At home it’s not allowed. You can already see me…”
“Monitoring… what’s that?” Xie Nanxing tilted his head and looked at Zhou Qiyue.
Zhou Qiyue explained, “It’s like a remote camera, installed at home. I can see what you’re doing on my phone.”
Afraid Xie Nanxing wouldn’t understand, Zhou Qiyue searched online and pulled up a surveillance video to show him. Home cameras were usually for one of two things: pets or kids.
Xie Nanxing was neither, but he simply stared curiously at the footage.
In the video, a toddler stumbled toward the camera, heard his father’s voice from the device, and shouted joyfully, “Daddy!”
Xie Nanxing pointed at the camera. “It… talks.”
The video automatically switched to the next one. This time, a cat was drinking water and, upon hearing its owner’s voice from the monitor, trotted over to the camera.
Zhou Qiyue cleared his throat, feeling vaguely guilty.
But Xie Nanxing was clearly excited. “I can… hear gege’s (older brother’s) voice.”
Zhou Qiyue nodded and tried to downplay it. “The camera’s just for safety, in case something happens to you. I won’t be watching you all the time.”
Xie Nanxing half-understood, but what he really wanted to know was, “Then… can I see… gege?”
“Nanxing!” Aunt Wu called softly, reminding him that he wasn’t really Zhou Qiyue’s brother. Zhou Qiyue had only let him stay here out of sympathy. It wasn’t right for Xie Nanxing to cross boundaries.
Before she could finish, Zhou Qiyue cut her off.
“The camera in my office belongs to the company, so I can’t show it to you. But you can video call me,” Zhou Qiyue said.
Aunt Wu was stunned. Clearly, Zhou Qiyue was far more indulgent with Xie Nanxing than she had expected.
Xie Nanxing looked up, aggrieved. “I… don’t know how.”
“It’s okay. I’ll teach you later,” Zhou Qiyue said patiently, ruffling his hair. Then he turned to both Xie Nanxing and Aunt Wu. “Let’s install a camera in the living room first.”
Xie Nanxing’s round eyes lit up as he looked at him, nodding enthusiastically.
Aunt Wu had no objections.
Zhou Qiyue’s gaze darkened slightly as he wet his lips with his tongue, suppressing more complicated urges. In truth, he wanted to install cameras in every corner of the house—but he worried it would scare Xie Nanxing.
So one was enough for now.
After dinner, Xie Nanxing opened the box containing the small cake Zhou Qiyue had bought for him. It was a popular Black Forest cake—sweet with a hint of chocolate bitterness that exploded on the tongue.
Xie Nanxing ate like a kitten lapping water, extending his tongue to clean the cake off the fork.
Zhou Qiyue watched him closely. It was the first time he realized just how satisfying it could be to watch someone eat.
But Xie Nanxing felt a little self-conscious. Zhou Qiyue had only brought back one cake—it was clearly meant just for him. Eating alone made him feel a bit uneasy.
So he scooped up a large piece with his fork and held it out to Zhou Qiyue.
Aunt Wu, who was cleaning the dishes, panicked. “Xingxing, Mr. Zhou doesn’t like sweets!”
“Huh?” Xie Nanxing turned to her, remembering that he had fed Zhou Qiyue just a few days ago. His expression froze.
He looked sadly at Zhou Qiyue. “Sorry…”
“I just don’t usually eat them,” Zhou Qiyue said, holding Xie Nanxing’s hand and guiding the fork to his own mouth.
The bitterness of the chocolate balanced the sweetness nicely—it actually tasted better than the one he’d tried a few days ago.
“It’s good,” Zhou Qiyue said after swallowing.
Xie Nanxing watched his face closely. Seeing no hint of dislike, he finally retracted his hand.
His face lit up with a smile. “Yummy!”
“Mhm. But use a different fork,” Zhou Qiyue said, eyeing the utensil in Xie Nanxing’s hand. He’d been so concerned about not upsetting him earlier that he hadn’t thought of it.
But now that he saw Xie Nanxing preparing to eat off the same fork, something felt… off.
“Why?” Xie Nanxing paused mid-bite.
Zhou Qiyue cleared his throat. “Don’t share utensils with others.” Not to mention the closeness—it was also a health risk. What if he caught Helicobacter pylori? But Zhou Qiyue didn’t explain all that. Xie Nanxing wouldn’t understand. He’d just listen anyway.
But Xie Nanxing blinked his big, innocent eyes and said, “But gege isn’t… ‘others’.”
Zhou Qiyue resisted the urge to smile and scolded him instead, “Even with me, you shouldn’t. Let alone with anyone else. Got it?”
“Okaay~” Xie Nanxing didn’t understand but obeyed.
Aunt Wu brought over a fresh fork. Xie Nanxing happily went back to eating his cake.
“Come to the study when you’re done. It’s time to teach you Pinyin,” Zhou Qiyue said.
Before the lesson, Zhou Qiyue opened a tablet and registered a new WeChat account, adding only one contact.
Xie Nanxing leaned on the armrest of Zhou Qiyue’s chair, watching him work.
Zhou Qiyue approved the friend request from his own phone and explained, “This is me. If you want to call me, press here. This is a voice call—just sound.”
He tapped the screen to initiate a voice call, and his phone immediately rang.
Answering the call, the devices echoed with their voices.
Xie Nanxing was amazed. Then Zhou Qiyue ended the call and started a video call. Their two faces appeared side by side on the screen.
“Wow!” Xie Nanxing beamed, holding the tablet. Zhou Qiyue said, “You can try it out from the living room.”
Hugging the tablet, Xie Nanxing walked into the living room. The video showed not just his face, but also Zhou Qiyue’s.
“Gege,” he said, eyes sparkling with delight.
Zhou Qiyue looked at the easily pleased Xie Nanxing and couldn’t help but soften his voice. “Mhm.”
“Hehe, I can… see gege.”
“And I can see you.”
“Even when gege’s working…”
“Yep.”
“And at home too…”
“No video calls at home—you can already see me, what’s the point? Now come back and study.”
Xie Nanxing returned to the study, and the tablet was immediately confiscated. He could only have it back after finishing his lesson.
He was upset but said nothing.
His motivation to study was low. Forming syllables was much harder than recognizing initials or finals. Plus, whenever Zhou Qiyue entered “teacher mode,” he turned extra strict, which made Xie Nanxing feel intimidated.
If he zoned out even a little, Zhou Qiyue’s piercing stare would pin him in place like ice.
“Ugh~” Xie Nanxing twisted his fingers. Ever since the last time, he hadn’t used hypnosis on Zhou Qiyue. His energy wasn’t building up, and the thermometer hadn’t made any progress either.
But his heart hadn’t acted up in days—maybe it had just been that one intense episode.
Still… being in Zhou Qiyue’s arms helped him focus.
Thinking that, he activated his hypnosis again. “Gege, I can only learn well when I’m in your arms.”
Zhou Qiyue’s gaze darkened. “Are you an idiot?”
“I…” Xie Nanxing pouted. Gege was so mean—always calling him stupid.
He turned his back, refusing to talk to Zhou Qiyue. But then a hand wrapped around his waist.
“Gege?” Xie Nanxing looked over. The hand gripped him firmly through his clothes, its warmth pressing into his skin.
Zhou Qiyue pulled him up and plopped him onto his own lap. “If you really learn best in my arms, then why do you always sit in your own chair first?”
Their backs touched. As they spoke, Zhou Qiyue’s breath heated the back of Xie Nanxing’s neck, making him freeze.
Zhou Qiyue resumed teaching him Pinyin. Sure enough, held like this, Xie Nanxing focused intensely and picked up the sounds after just a few tries.
Before the hypnosis wore off, Xie Nanxing quickly escaped from his lap and sat properly in his own chair. Aside from the faint blush on his face, no one would’ve guessed what had just happened.
Zhou Qiyue, now out of the trance, looked a bit dazed. Half an hour had passed without him realizing.
“Can you read it now?” he asked.
Xie Nanxing nodded and recited everything for him. Zhou Qiyue rubbed his head, unable to recall teaching any of it.
Thanks to their increasingly frequent physical contact during lessons, Xie Nanxing had gathered enough energy to go about his day. Worried that Zhou Qiyue might kick him out of the room, he didn’t dare crawl into bed with him anymore.
But Zhou Qiyue, in turn, began sleeping in a worse mood.
The next day, Zhou Qiyue went to work as usual. Xie Nanxing learned several breakfast recipes from Aunt Wu and proudly presented them in rotation.
“Be good at home,” Zhou Qiyue said before leaving, ruffling Xie Nanxing’s hair again.
Once Zhou Qiyue left, Xie Nanxing hugged the tablet, itching to call him—but he held back, not wanting to seem clingy.
Only after two or three hours did he finally give in and initiate a video call.
At that moment, Zhou Qiyue was touring a lab with research staff. When he saw the call, he paused the presentation.
The video connected. Xie Nanxing waved. “Gege!”
“I’m busy right now. Can I call you at lunch?”
Xie Nanxing’s face visibly fell. But hearing the second half, he perked up again and nodded sweetly. “Okay~!”
Zhou Qiyue smiled. How can someone’s voice sound like it has tilde marks?
Xia Wenyuan, his junior and one of the equipment R&D team leaders at the company, saw the smile on his face and couldn’t help but shiver.
“Senior, did you actually hide a lover in a golden house? Or were you possessed?”
“…Read less fantasy novels,” Zhou Qiyue said, his smile vanishing. He signaled for Xia Wenyuan to continue.
Xia Wenyuan knew better than to joke too much. After all, Zhou Qiyue was always serious about work.
Just then, Zhou Qiyue’s phone rang again. Thinking it was Xie Nanxing calling back, he answered—only to hear an unfamiliar voice.
“Qiyue, I’m back in the country. Aren’t you going to treat me to a meal?”
At the airport, Wei Shuyun was dragging her suitcase, her phone still displaying a photo sent by Shen Anchen.
It was a picture of Zhou Qiyue and Xie Nanxing’s backs taken just the other day.