The Little Succubus's Hypnosis Manual - Chapter 20
Chapter 20: The Cake
“But I did it for your own good, gege!”
Zhou Qiyue never truly meant to stay mad at Xie Nanxing—he only wanted him to reflect. One day of cold treatment was already enough.
When he got home and saw Xie Nanxing waiting at the door, his expression softened visibly.
“Did you reflect properly while at home?” Zhou Qiyue asked as he took off his coat. Xie Nanxing quickly scampered over to take it and nodded enthusiastically.
“Then do you still want to leave?” Zhou Qiyue asked again.
Xie Nanxing nodded once more. Zhou Qiyue snatched his coat back in frustration and hung it on the entryway rack himself.
Xie Nanxing froze in place, totally confused.
He did want to leave. Zhou Qiyue was nice to him, but he still wanted to return to where he belonged.
Zhou Qiyue’s expression was darker than a burnt wok. Even Aunt Wu was startled and secretly asked Xie Nanxing what he’d done to provoke him.
After a rushed dinner, Zhou Qiyue set down his chopsticks. “You get a break today—no need to come to the study.”
Xie Nanxing’s hand trembled. The food he’d just picked up with his chopsticks all fell back into the plate. Ever since he learned how to use them, he’d never dropped a single bite.
He picked up more food and mumbled, “Okay.”
Aunt Wu was anxious just watching this. Once Zhou Qiyue left the dining room, she leaned over and whispered, “So just because he said not to go, you really won’t? Listen to Auntie—go in later and soften him up a bit. He’ll give in right away.”
“But…” Xie Nanxing said, chewing his food like sawdust. He and Aunt Wu had spent the whole afternoon cooking, and he’d finally made a dish good enough to serve at dinner. Zhou Qiyue had barely touched it before leaving.
Aunt Wu pulled out a small cake from the fridge that Xie Nanxing had made and gestured for him to bring it to Zhou Qiyue.
“He… doesn’t like it,” Xie Nanxing said, dragging his feet with the plate in hand.
Aunt Wu patted his shoulder. “That’s not important. Just tell him you made it yourself.”
“But…”
“No buts.” Aunt Wu knocked on the study door. “Mr. Zhou, Xiaoxing made a little cake. He saw you didn’t eat much earlier and brought it over for you.”
There was no response. She knocked again.
Xie Nanxing clutched the enamel plate, chilled from the fridge, the cold seeping into his fingers and up to his chest.
“Gege,” he called softly. The door finally opened a crack.
Zhou Qiyue stood in the doorway, only wide enough for his body, clearly not intending to let him in.
Xie Nanxing held up the plate. “Gege, low sugar. Eat.”
Aunt Wu added, “He insisted on making something for you today. The cake’s simple, but Xiaoxing only just learned how to make it. He ruined several batches before getting it right. I told him it was fine, but he wouldn’t stop until he was satisfied. Spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen.”
The plate held neatly shaped little star cakes. The one holding the plate looked timid and wouldn’t say a word more.
Zhou Qiyue sighed and opened the door. “Come in.”
Xie Nanxing beamed and quickly entered. Aunt Wu peeked through the gap in the door and left the rest to him.
Zhou Qiyue sat in his chair and picked up a cake. It was egg-based, without sugary cream, and had a soft, fluffy flavor.
“Gege, are you still mad?” Xie Nanxing waited until he took a bite before daring to ask.
Zhou Qiyue gave a cold “hmph,” clearly still angry.
Xie Nanxing was racking his brain trying to figure out why he was mad. He suddenly reached out and cupped Zhou Qiyue’s face, looking into his eyes. His round, clear eyes briefly flashed red.
“From now on, you’ll answer all my questions truthfully.”
Zhou Qiyue nodded under hypnosis.
“Are you still mad at me?”
“Yes,” he said—no emotion on his face, but the single word practically fumed with anger.
Xie Nanxing frowned. He really was mad.
“Why?”
“Because you said you wanted to go back to the orphanage. You wanted to leave me.”
“But I did it for your own good!”
“I just want you by my side.” Zhou Qiyue suddenly looked up, his empty gaze somehow firm. Xie Nanxing started to wonder if his hypnosis had been broken.
“You said you’d let me go when I got better, then when I could live on my own. You clearly think I’m a burden and want me gone.”
Xie Nanxing poked Zhou Qiyue’s chest with each accusation, venting all the frustration he had held in since he arrived.
Zhou Qiyue frowned deeply.
“No, that’s just how I felt in the beginning. Now I only want you here with me.”
Seeing that his magic was almost drained, Xie Nanxing snapped his fingers and ended the hypnosis.
Zhou Qiyue slowly came to.
“I’ll stay, gege… I’ll stay with you. I won’t leave,” Xie Nanxing said immediately.
“Hmph.” Zhou Qiyue looked away. He remembered how Xie Nanxing had so confidently said he wanted to leave earlier. Now he was just trying to suck up by bringing cake. Obviously scheming.
But still, after all the effort Xie Nanxing put in, what harm was there in humoring him?
With a cold face, Zhou Qiyue said, “You were so eager to come into the study—let’s start studying.”
“…” Xie Nanxing wanted to bolt.
Still, seeing Zhou Qiyue willing to teach him again, he thought maybe he wasn’t angry anymore. But that night, Zhou Qiyue still took his blanket to the guest room.
Xie Nanxing didn’t understand at all. He grabbed his own blanket and followed. Luckily, the guest room wasn’t locked.
Inside, the lights were off. Xie Nanxing threw his blanket aside and crawled under Zhou Qiyue’s covers.
Zhou Qiyue had his back to him. Xie Nanxing hugged his waist and buried his face in his back.
“Gege,” he mumbled.
“What are you doing here?” Zhou Qiyue didn’t turn, but he was clearly wide awake.
“I’m here to keep you company.”
Most of Zhou Qiyue’s anger melted away with that one sentence. He turned and hugged Xie Nanxing.
“Sleep. Everything’s handled. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the Public Security Bureau.”
“Okay,” Xie Nanxing whispered.
This time, the staff had changed. A composed, kind-looking person reviewed Xie Nanxing’s documents, signed and stamped everything, then took him to get his photo taken.
“Come back in two business days to pick it up,” they said.
Zhou Qiyue finally felt at ease.
“Let’s buy a cake to celebrate. You’re finally not an undocumented citizen anymore.” He ruffled Xie Nanxing’s hair.
Xie Nanxing rubbed his head against Zhou Qiyue’s hand. Zhou Qiyue’s eyes darkened slightly, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
He used to feed stray cats and try to pet them, but they’d often hiss or bite. Rarely did they let him touch them. But Xie Nanxing—other than the first time when he fussed about his hair—was always obedient. Now he even rubbed into his hand.
So sweet. So adorable.
Xie Nanxing was still confused about what “undocumented” meant, but seeing Zhou Qiyue happy made him happy too.
But when Zhou Qiyue mentioned buying a cake, Xie Nanxing tugged his sleeve. “Gege, let’s make one together!”
Zhou Qiyue blinked. “You mean… bake one together?”
Xie Nanxing nodded. “Aunt Wu knows! She’ll teach.”
“…Alright.” Zhou Qiyue, who was notorious for blowing up the kitchen while cooking, figured baking should be safer.
He told Aunt Wu in advance, and she went out to buy ingredients.
All three of them returned home around the same time.
Xie Nanxing excitedly dragged Zhou Qiyue into the kitchen. Aunt Wu, thrilled about Xie Nanxing finally getting registered, helped prep the cake base. Zhou Qiyue and Xie Nanxing took charge of cream and decorating.
They each grabbed a spatula and smoothed the frosting. Xie Nanxing clumsily tried piping flowers with a bag Aunt Wu prepared, but the cream came out in a huge glob.
“Ugh, so hard,” he pouted.
Zhou Qiyue gave it a try—only to burst the bag.
The cake was now a mess. Zhou Qiyue suddenly dabbed some cream and smeared it on Xie Nanxing’s face.
Before the age of five, maybe he had moments this lighthearted—but those memories were fragmented, unreachable. After five, there hadn’t even been anyone to celebrate his birthday, let alone cake fights.
Xie Nanxing retaliated with a glob of cream to Zhou Qiyue’s face.
Aunt Wu laughed so hard she nearly fell over—and wasn’t spared from the frosting war either.
Thankfully, she managed to salvage the cake. “There’s a bit of space left. Want to write something?”
“I… can’t write,” Xie Nanxing said, disappointed.
“I’ll help you,” Zhou Qiyue said, holding a red jam piping bag. He wrapped his hand over Xie Nanxing’s and guided him, stroke by stroke, writing:
“Congratulations to Xie Nanxing on getting his ID card.”
Xie Nanxing pointed to the first three characters. “That’s my name…”
Zhou Qiyue moved his hand to those characters. “It’s your name.”
“Thank you, gege.” Xie Nanxing hugged him.
Zhou Qiyue tried to pry him off. “Why are you so clingy?”
But he couldn’t hide his smile.
Knock knock knock—a series of urgent knocks interrupted their warm moment.
Aunt Wu wiped her hands and went to open the door.
When she returned, she was holding a small box. “No one was outside… but this was left on the ground.”
Zhou Qiyue took the box and opened it.
Inside lay a single ring.