The Little Succubus's Hypnosis Manual - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Hypnosis

“We’re friends, and friends can touch…”

Without thinking, Xie Nanxing activated his hypnosis ability with those words, his eyes locked tightly onto Zhou Qiyue.

“We’re friends, and friends can touch each other.”

His hypnosis ability was innate, but he had never successfully used it before. The hypnotic suggestion was implanted directly into Zhou Qiyue’s mind, bypassing any language barrier—even if he didn’t know how to speak human languages properly, he could still issue commands.

He stared nervously at Zhou Qiyue. The effectiveness of hypnosis was influenced by the closeness between the subject and the target, and some commands simply wouldn’t work if the connection wasn’t strong enough.

Xie Nanxing’s eyes shimmered. Zhou Qiyue stared back, only to gradually feel dizzy. When his gaze turned vacant, Xie Nanxing knew he was halfway to success.

All he needed now was for Zhou Qiyue to repeat his words. That would mean the hypnosis had worked.

But very quickly, Zhou Qiyue’s eyes began to regain clarity, and moments later, he shook off the hypnotic state.

He removed Xie Nanxing’s hand from his clothes and said, “Don’t be so clingy. Be good and go study.”

Then Zhou Qiyue took out a tablet, found a video teaching preschoolers how to pronounce Chinese initials and finals, and played it for Xie Nanxing.

The people on the call went completely silent the moment Zhou Qiyue spoke, all turning up the volume to eavesdrop. Everyone wanted to hear the CEO gossip unfold.

Xie Nanxing begrudgingly took the tablet and sat beside Zhou Qiyue to listen to the pronunciation lesson. Zhou Qiyue even added, “Follow along and say it out loud. That’s the only way to learn.”

“…Oh.” Xie Nanxing sighed dramatically. He hadn’t expected to have to study even after coming to the human world. But if it made Zhou Qiyue happy, he’d do anything.

He clumsily repeated the sounds from the video. Zhou Qiyue had at some point ended the meeting and now sat correcting his pronunciation.

“Tired…” Xie Nanxing pouted, frowning unhappily.

Zhou Qiyue turned his chair to face him and pinched his cheek. “You’re tired already? You’ve barely practiced a few sounds.”

Xie Nanxing’s head swayed from the pinch, and he whimpered a few times.

His gaze darted between the tablet and Zhou Qiyue. Learning from the video wasn’t nearly as good as learning from Zhou Qiyue directly. So he tugged at Zhou Qiyue’s sleeve, eyes bright. “You… teach.”

“Hmph. Bold of you to ask me to teach you.” Zhou Qiyue said that, but there wasn’t a trace of irritation on his face.

Xie Nanxing grabbed Zhou Qiyue’s arm and gave it a little shake. “Want you… to teach.”

His voice was sweet and soft, like a little brush tickling Zhou Qiyue’s heart.

“I’ll teach you, but only after I get off work,” Zhou Qiyue relented.

Just the promise made Xie Nanxing overjoyed. He stared at Zhou Qiyue with a wide grin. The little mole on the tip of his nose seemed to smile too—it suddenly came alive.

“Is it really that exciting?” Zhou Qiyue reached out and ruffled his hair. The soft texture felt good in his palm, and he couldn’t help but smile himself.

Xie Nanxing nodded vigorously. “Yes!”

Zhou Qiyue’s smile grew even warmer. His gaze toward Xie Nanxing was full of doting affection. Just one look and Xie Nanxing couldn’t help but melt into it.

He restrained his urge to hug Zhou Qiyue and instead placed his hand on Zhou Qiyue’s face, gently pinching his lips. In a dazed, sincere tone, he said just one word: “Pretty.”

Zhou Qiyue’s smile instantly fell, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. Even he hadn’t realized how much he’d been smiling—so much so that this little fool had called him “pretty.”

When he saw Zhou Qiyue’s smile drop, Xie Nanxing pouted and tried to lift the corners of his mouth again with his fingers. “Smile… more.”

Zhou Qiyue grabbed his hand and narrowed his eyes, warning him, “Don’t push your luck.”

“I… I didn’t push your… nose.” Zhou Qiyue’s grip was strong, and the bones in his hand dug into Xie Nanxing’s wrist. It hurt, and Xie Nanxing sucked in a sharp breath, muttering with grievance.

Besides, he hadn’t climbed onto Zhou Qiyue’s face—he just wanted to touch it more.

Zhou Qiyue’s lips parted slightly, as if he had a lot to say, but in the end, he didn’t say a word. Instead, he placed the tablet back into Xie Nanxing’s hands. “Just read more.”

Xie Nanxing felt the lovely atmosphere crumble, Zhou Qiyue’s words echoing bitterly in his ears.

He stared angrily at the tablet, consoling himself in his heart:
I’m a succubus. I don’t need to read human books.

That evening, Aunt Wu came over to cook and even brought a pair of child-friendly chopsticks for Xie Nanxing. He was full of curiosity and followed her around the kitchen, watching her slice vegetables into thin strips, stir-fry with flair, and breathe in the delicious aroma rising from the wok.

He was practically drooling from hunger, but he hadn’t forgotten his real goal in sticking to her side.

Glancing toward the living room, he saw Zhou Qiyue still working. He lowered his voice and asked the aunt, “You… here… how long?”

The aunt didn’t quite catch his meaning. Xie Nanxing pointed to the wok and tried again.

This time, she understood. “You’re asking how long I’ve worked here? Hmm… Let me think. I started back when Mr. Zhou was in his fourth year of university. It’s been four or five years now.”

Four or five years. Xie Nanxing stared at her in shock. That was way longer than he expected.

“I… stay one year… okay?” Xie Nanxing asked, his words jumbled. Fortunately, the aunt was patient and figured out what he meant.

“You’re Mr. Zhou’s little brother, aren’t you? Stay as long as you like,” she said naturally.

But Xie Nanxing visibly drooped. He shook his head. “No… he picked me up.”

Her expression changed subtly as she looked at Xie Nanxing, then at Zhou Qiyue. The boy could barely speak clearly—who knew how hard his life had been before?

She felt a wave of sympathy. “Mr. Zhou may act gruff, but he has a soft heart. Just stick to him and help out more—eventually he’ll be moved.”

Xie Nanxing processed her words.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qiyue in the living room was getting restless.

Xie Nanxing had stuck to him like glue all afternoon. Now that he wasn’t around, Zhou Qiyue felt unsettled. The document on his screen had been open forever, and he hadn’t even read the first page. Eventually, he gave up and walked toward the kitchen to see what the little guy was up to.

Xie Nanxing was clumsily helping the aunt, learning how to cook and getting to know the kitchenware.

Seeing how seriously he was learning, Zhou Qiyue didn’t say anything and silently returned to the living room.

At dinner, the aunt handed Xie Nanxing the children’s chopsticks she bought. His eyes lit up, holding them like treasure, unwilling to even open the packaging.

“Chopsticks are for eating. If you don’t open them, how will you eat?” Zhou Qiyue said, reaching over to help. But Xie Nanxing clutched them tightly and refused to let go.

“First… gift to me.” Xie Nanxing hugged the chopsticks to his chest.

“Just eat. I’ll buy you more later.” Zhou Qiyue’s tone was cool and indifferent, but Xie Nanxing’s eyes sparkled. Zhou Qiyue had said “later,” meaning there would be a future between them.

Only then did Xie Nanxing willingly open the chopsticks.

With the help of the training chopsticks, he could finally pick up food—albeit slowly, and he still dropped pieces now and then. When frustrated, he couldn’t get a grip on anything.

“Mm…” Xie Nanxing pouted and set his chopsticks down. His gaze slid toward Zhou Qiyue. Would Zhou Qiyue be willing to feed him?

With that thought, he suddenly wanted to test his hypnosis again.

“Feed me.”

Xie Nanxing looked at him with hopeful eyes. Zhou Qiyue set down his chopsticks, picked up the communal ones, and began feeding him, just like he had at lunch—calmly and patiently.

Xie Nanxing was overjoyed.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qiyue was beginning to feel something was off. His mind was a bit foggy. Something about this didn’t feel right…

But his brain was trying to rationalize it: Xie Nanxing couldn’t eat properly—of course he should feed him.

The aunt saw this and came over. “Why don’t I feed the young master? You can eat first.”

Xie Nanxing frowned. Although he liked the aunt, he wanted Zhou Qiyue to feed him.

Zhou Qiyue replied, “No need, Auntie. He’s my younger brother—I’ll do it.”

He didn’t know that, with those few clumsy words, Xie Nanxing had completely misrepresented their relationship.

The aunt heard the subtle warning in his tone. She wasn’t trying to steal his little brother! But since the employer insisted, she returned to the kitchen to eat.

Xie Nanxing chewed contentedly. Food really was tastier when someone else fed it to you.

After the meal, Zhou Qiyue put down his chopsticks. The hypnosis had worn off. He stared at Xie Nanxing, his mind full of jumbled, unspoken thoughts he couldn’t quite untangle.

Later, he found the aunt and asked her to stay during the day to accompany Xie Nanxing and cook his meals. He even tripled her salary. The aunt beamed and agreed.

Meanwhile, Xie Nanxing peeked from the doorway, quietly watching them. When Zhou Qiyue came out, Xie Nanxing stuck to him like a shadow again.

This time, learning from experience, Zhou Qiyue blocked him at the door and pointed to the room across the hall. “That’s your room.”

Xie Nanxing puffed up his cheeks and whined, clearly unwilling.

Zhou Qiyue leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, waiting to hear what excuse he’d come up with this time.

“I… scared… alone,” Xie Nanxing stammered, eyes fixed on Zhou Qiyue. But Zhou Qiyue obviously didn’t buy it.

“If you’re scared of sleeping alone, then how did you sleep before I found you?” he asked.

Xie Nanxing racked his brain—but he couldn’t think of anything. According to the Succubus Handbook, when in doubt: cry.

He pinched his thigh hard. Tears welled up with the pain and spilled silently down his cheeks.

Big, glistening eyes full of tears stared straight at Zhou Qiyue. His skin was so pale that when he cried, his nose and eyes turned red—it looked like Zhou Qiyue had committed some unforgivable sin.

Zhou Qiyue groaned internally. He couldn’t yell at him, couldn’t scold him. It was like picking up a deity instead of a stray.

“You can stay in my room, but only if you sleep on the floor. Don’t touch my bed,” he said, hoping that would deter him—after all, who would choose the floor over a bed?

But Xie Nanxing didn’t hesitate. He agreed immediately.

Being in the same room as Zhou Qiyue was already a huge win. As for the rest?

He could work on that later.