Mature Fantasy Power Invasion

Chapter 8

"Please take this. Thank you for your purchase."

Yan Huan carried the three freshly made drinks in his left hand as he walked into the gift shop. Since the shop was semi-open, he entered through a side entrance.

Even from a distance, Yan Huan could see Ye Shiyu and a golden-haired girl standing ahead. The girl had her head raised, wearing a cold, mocking sneer.

Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, quickly realizing that Ye Shiyu was in some sort of conflict.

He stopped in his tracks and placed the other two drinks on a nearby shelf.

Inserting a straw into his Lemon Blue Blend, he took a sip while sneakily observing the increasingly tense situation from afar.

*Eats melon.jpg*

(*) Note: "Eating melon" (吃瓜) is a Chinese internet slang term meaning to watch drama or gossip as a bystander.

'Oh-ho! It looks like Contestant No.1, Ye Shiyu, and the unknown golden-haired Contestant No.2 are battling it out over the ownership of an item!'

'Judging by physical presence alone, Contestant No.2 clearly has the upper hand. And her words—more numerous and more forceful?'

"What's that supposed to mean? You just say no, and that's it? What are you going to do if I take it?"

"..."

Faced with the aggressive golden-haired lioness, Ye Shiyu stood firm like an iceberg—or rather, she had no idea how to respond.

'Oh no, Contestant No.1, who's socially awkward, is really in a bind. She's falling behind!'

'Can you win against this opponent, Shiyu-sis?'

Yan Huan continued his mental commentary, sipping his drink happily.

'What a joke—just last night, Ye Shiyu hypnotized me and gave me nightmares all night.'

He had already saved her face in front of Ye Lan. Now that he had the chance to watch her suffer a little, he certainly wasn't going to interfere.

But in terms of sheer strength, Ye Shiyu was no match for the girl in front of her. The hand gripping the keychain was turning increasingly pale.

'Looks like the keychain is about to be snatched away...'

"..."

The golden-haired girl's cold sneer deepened, her eyes tinged with a strange excitement.

Watching this unfold, Yan Huan bit his straw, somewhat speechless.

'Seriously? A fight over a keychain?'

'Well, it makes sense that Ye Shiyu's this obsessive. She labels everything she owns. No wonder she can't let go of something she likes.'

'But what’s the deal with this other girl?'

'She’s not normal… and neither are you?'

Yan Huan marveled at this flawless compatibility, when suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the phone in Ye Shiyu’s left hand light up.

"..."

'Unable to win, so Contestant No.1 decides to cheat?'

'So, what’s Coach Yan Huan’s response?'

'Coach is warming up!!'

Yan Huan picked up the drink he had placed aside and walked toward the battlefield with a sigh.

The theory was simple:

The modifier helps the Host achieve their desires by cheating. Once the Host gets a taste of success, they become increasingly reliant on it.

This, in turn, strengthens the modifier, allowing it to grant more wishes and exert greater influence on reality.

In short, it creates a vicious cycle that drags everyday life straight into chaos.

Yan Huan believed there were two key steps to breaking the cycle:

First, avoid overuse. The more one uses the modifier, the more likely it is to cause a qualitative change. Limiting usage is essential.

Second, if the modifier is used, it must not lead to success. The user must realize that the modifier is ineffective and learn to resolve issues through normal means.

Honestly, both steps were as difficult as reaching the heavens. But for now, Yan Huan could at least stop Ye Shiyu from using the modifier in this situation.

After all, he was a model youth, especially noble in character.

Any trace of resentment on Yan Huan’s face was expertly hidden by his Perfect Expression Control, leaving only a neutral expression—just like Ye Shiyu’s.

He quickly approached, and it wasn’t until he got close that the golden-haired girl, still caught up in her argument, noticed him.

She looked up and saw a handsome young man—somehow vaguely familiar—walking toward them.

She instinctively loosened her grip. Ye Shiyu, who had still been pulling, stumbled backward.

That stumble sent Ye Shiyu crashing straight into Yan Huan’s arms.

Feeling his body heat, Ye Shiyu froze. But before she could even linger for a second, a hand firmly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her behind him, separating her from the other girl.

It looked like he was protecting her, but in truth, Yan Huan was preventing her from using Hypnosis on others.

Last night, he had heard a faint sound coming from her—the effect labeled [Individual Hypnosis], meaning it only worked when she was alone with someone.

With a third person present, her current modifier was useless.

Ye Shiyu blinked, her beautiful eyes quietly gazing at the back now shielding her.

At the same time, Yan Huan slightly turned his head, as though he had just bought drinks and knew nothing about what was going on. With concern and confusion, he asked,

"What happened, Shiyu-sis?"

"...Nothing."

Ye Shiyu replied as she firmly held onto the keychain.

Yan Huan’s expression remained calm, but the golden-haired girl behind him flared up and shouted,

"What do you mean nothing?! I got that keychain first!"

Yan Huan turned to her, expressionless, and asked,

"You got it first? Really?"

The golden-haired girl froze. Whether it was because he looked familiar or something else, she didn’t continue the lie. Instead, she sneered,

"Even if we got it at the same time, I offered compensation. I told her she could pick anything else of equal value and I’d pay for it."

Yan Huan glanced at the price tag on the shelf. This tiny keychain was nearly a hundred yuan—more expensive than many other items in the shop.

The tourist trap pricing, combined with decent craftsmanship, made this lone jellyfish keychain surprisingly expensive.

"I’ll pay double. You can pick anything else, and I’ll cover it. Will you accept?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Shiyu slowly spoke, her tone making it unclear whether she was suggesting or provoking.

Either way, the golden-haired girl took it as provocation.

The sneer on her face deepened. "Heh. I’m warning you. Don’t think you can act all high and mighty just because you brought your boyfriend."

Ye Shiyu simply shook her head and looked at her, as if she didn’t understand what that meant, still waiting for her answer.

*Snap!*

Yan Huan expressionlessly snapped his fingers in front of the golden-haired girl’s face, grabbing her attention—and lighting the fuse of her fury.

"What’s your problem?!"

The golden-haired girl was about to explode in anger, but Yan Huan didn’t even glance at her. Instead, he turned to Ye Shiyu with a helpless smile.

That small, patient smile directed at the black-haired girl made the golden-haired girl pause.

Her outburst was interrupted, and she simply stared as Yan Huan raised his hand and loudly called toward the door,

"Hello, we need some help here!"

"Coming. What seems to be the matter?"

The shop assistant rushed over. Yan Huan pointed at the jellyfish keychain in Ye Shiyu’s hand and said,

"There’s only one of these on the shelf. We both want it. Do you have any more in stock?"

"Yes, yes. Please come to the register. I’ll get another one right away for the other customer."

Yan Huan turned to the golden-haired girl whose tantrum had been abruptly halted. His face was as speechless as that meme of the shrugging Black streamer from a past life.

'All this drama over a keychain?'

He almost muttered “idiot,” but reconsidered, fearing it might offend the girl he had just protected.

Without another word or glance at the golden-haired girl, Yan Huan picked up his drink and smiled at Ye Shiyu.

"Shiyu-sis, let’s go."

Ye Shiyu looked at him. This time, she uncharacteristically avoided his gaze, as if even she realized how silly her actions had been.

"Mm."

Yan Huan stood behind her, maintaining distance between her and the golden-haired girl, as the two walked to the counter together.

The golden-haired girl didn’t chase after them. She simply stood there, silently watching their backs as they walked away.

At the counter, the jellyfish keychain was scanned for its price. The service, honestly, was quite attentive. Even for a small item like this, they insisted on full packaging—felt a bit excessive.

Ye Shiyu picked up her phone, and only then did Yan Huan notice the message notification—it had arrived a few minutes ago and was from Ye Lan.

Noticing Yan Huan’s gaze, Ye Shiyu opened the message and glanced at it. Then she turned to him and said,

"It was a message from Mom. She said we’ll have to wait a bit longer and suggested we find somewhere to sit and rest."

'Wait a second... Could it be that the phone lighting up earlier was because of—'

"..."

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing."

Realizing that Ye Shiyu might not have been trying to use the Hypnosis app earlier, Yan Huan nearly cracked from trying to suppress his smile.

*Ding!*

[Plane payment received: 99 yuan.]

(*) Note: "Plane" is likely a mistranslation or in-universe reference to a digital transaction system.

"Thank you for your purchase. Please come again."

Ye Shiyu (yè shī yǔ) carried the bag and walked out the door. She and Yan Huan (yán huān) found a bench and sat down to rest.

As soon as she sat, she eagerly tore open the packaging and pulled out a small sheet of label stickers from her handbag.

Yan Huan caught a glimpse—each sticker had her name printed on it:

"Ye Shiyu."

She picked one, peeled off the backing, stuck it on the side of the jellyfish keychain, and pressed it firmly with her finger to make sure it wouldn’t fall off.

Just like that, it officially became hers.

Yan Huan quietly watched her, observing how she applied the name sticker with ease, toyed with it fondly for a moment, then placed everything back into her bag.

After she was done, Ye Shiyu finally looked up—right as her eyes met Yan Huan's.

"..."

They locked eyes, unmoving. Her pupils contracted slightly—barely noticeable.

Still smiling, Yan Huan handed her the drink he had just bought and said,

"Shiyu-sis, I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I picked one at random."

"Thanks."

Ye Shiyu nodded, glanced at the drink, and without hesitation reached into the bag for the Big Banana Sweet Sweet.

That drink was meant for Aunt Ye.

Yan Huan blinked, about to speak, but then paused. 'Wait... could it be that Ye Shiyu actually likes banana-flavored drinks too?'

Yet, after taking the drink, Ye Shiyu didn’t sip it right away. Her gaze drifted forward, unfocused.

Her pale fingers gently rubbed the cup’s surface, tracing patterns that seemed to reflect a quiet inner hesitation.

A moment later, that hesitation solidified—like a full stop.

She looked up at Yan Huan and said suddenly,

"Thanks for what happened earlier."

"No problem. It's what I should do, Shiyu-sis."

Yan Huan smiled gently, just as his name suggested.

(*) Note: "Yan Huan" (yán huān) can be translated as "smiling warmth" or "gentle joy."

He was the kind of person who smiled easily. But back at the shop, he hadn’t shown any kindness to that girl.

"..."

Ye Shiyu showed no expression as she turned her head and began unwrapping the straw.

'Well, even if he misunderstood me about using the app, he didn’t really do anything wrong.'

'I got what I wanted, the modifier wasn't used, and we avoided a dumb conflict—a win-win.'

'Oh, wait... Didn’t that girl also get a jellyfish keychain?'

'A triple win, then. Triple win.'

Yan Huan sipped his drink, thinking just that.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ye Shiyu gently bring the straw to her lips and take a sip of the Big Banana Sweet Sweet.

Her eyes gradually lit up, and her lips curved slightly as she savored the sweetness—unconsciously smiling.

'As expected. Just like Ye Lan (yè lán), Ye Shiyu loves banana milk too.'

*Ding!*

[Plane payment received: 99 yuan.]

"Thank you for your purchase. Please take care."

After paying, the golden-haired girl took the jellyfish keychain the store clerk had finally brought out from the back and left the souvenir shop through another exit.

That exit led directly to the square outside the aquarium, so she didn’t run into Ye Shiyu and Yan Huan.

As she walked, she held the jellyfish keychain up to the sunlight and examined it closely.

After a moment of silence, she curled her lips and muttered,

"So ugly."

With that, she headed toward a nearby trash can, ready to throw it away.

But halfway there, a little girl in a primary school uniform ran past her, happily playing with a cheap plastic pinwheel.

The girl's carefree joy caught her attention, and the boredom on the golden-haired girl's face was replaced by a mischievous smirk.

"Heh~"

She immediately walked toward the little girl.

"Hey, kid."

"Hm?" The little girl stopped and looked at her, confused. "What is it, big sis?"

The golden-haired girl squatted down with a smile and asked,

"Little one, what’s your name?"

"...Mom said I shouldn’t tell strangers my name."

"Aruiya Spencer. You can call me Spencer."

"...I—I’m Wenwen."

'Is exchanging names some kind of kid ritual?'

"I really like the pinwheel you’re holding. How about I trade you this pretty jellyfish keychain for it?"

"Huh?"

Spencer presented the exquisitely crafted jellyfish. The sparkling crystal texture immediately caught the little girl’s eyes.

Even as a fourth or fifth grader, she could tell that it must be expensive.

But she glanced down at her spinning pinwheel and hesitated.

Spencer snorted and shoved the jellyfish into the girl's hand, then snatched the pinwheel she’d been playing with all morning.

"The pinwheel’s mine now. You can keep the jellyfish—go have fun."

The little girl looked timidly at Spencer, then quickly ran off with the keychain clutched tightly in her arms.

Spencer stood up, satisfied, and casually blew on the pinwheel in her hand.

But since it was so cheaply made, the plastic pinwheel didn’t move at all—it probably needed a good run to get spinning.

Objectively speaking, trading a nearly 100-yuan jellyfish keychain for a toy worth less than five yuan was a huge loss.

But Spencer didn’t seem upset. In fact, she looked quite pleased.

Holding the pinwheel, she suddenly recalled what had happened earlier in the souvenir shop.

She hadn’t been particularly interested in the jellyfish keychain.

She only noticed the black-haired girl staring at it like she really wanted it.

That piqued her curiosity—just like how she now used the keychain to snatch the pinwheel the little girl liked.

That was how the earlier conflict with Ye Shiyu over the keychain started.

Now it was settled—the keychain was hers. But it wasn’t really what she wanted. What she truly wanted was the one Ye Shiyu had.

But unexpectedly, that strange girl had such a protective boyfriend.

Come to think of it… didn’t that handsome guy look kind of familiar?

Where had she seen him before?

Spencer rubbed her chin, trying hard to recall—but in the end, gave up. 'Too much effort.'

'Meh, forget it if I can’t remember.'

Still, not being able to take it from that girl was frustrating—especially since the girl got what she wanted.

'Tsk... Didn’t that voice say everything I wanted to snatch would become mine? Was it all just a hallucination?'

'Oh, right—'

'I had to activate some kind of mode myself, didn’t I? And it was supposed to have side effects while active?'

'Can’t remember.'

Just as Spencer was blowing on the pinwheel and thinking, a familiar virtual interface suddenly appeared before her eyes:

[Activate Loot Mode?]

(*) Note: "Loot Mode" appears to be a system feature within the story's universe that enables a character to forcibly claim possession over desired items.

'Ah, right, right, right—this mode.'

But as she stared at the prompt, Spencer hesitated. She remembered Ye Shiyu’s blank, emotionless expression earlier.

A moment later, that same mischievous smirk returned to her face—just like when she took the pinwheel from the little girl.

'Well then, let’s give it a try?'

Immediately, she silently muttered in her heart:

"Yes."

In a split second, her stunning beauty was hidden beneath the shadow of her baseball cap. Only her golden hair still gleamed.

Then, two yellow phantom shapes appeared above her head—like antennae, or perhaps horns.

The phantoms glowed brightly, releasing an invisible, strange ripple into the distance.

Some kind of effect was clearly being activated.

Yet Spencer remained unaware. She even looked around suspiciously.

"Seriously? Feels like nothing happened, huh?"

[Effect has been activated.]

"..."

Spencer could only choose to believe it—for now.

As she walked up to a trash bin, staring at the pinwheel in her hand, she suddenly felt bored with it.

'Besides, the pinwheel wasn’t even that fun to begin with. If it hadn’t been for that brat looking so happy while playing with it, I wouldn’t have bothered to snatch it.'

'Boring. I’ll just toss it.'

Spencer wore a bored expression and was about to throw the little pinwheel into the trash bin.

"Mommy, wuwuwuwu! It’s her! She stole my pinwheel! I didn’t want to trade at all, but she forced me! Wuwuwuwu!"

Just then, a little girl’s loud, crying voice erupted behind her, freezing Spencer mid-motion.

She stiffened and turned her head slowly. The elementary school girl from earlier stood there with teary eyes, next to an Aunt whose face was red with fury as she glared daggers at Spencer.

"You bitch—you're stealing from a little girl now? Get over here!"

"Huh?"

Spencer was so overwhelmed by the woman’s intense presence that her body locked up. She wanted to say, "I clearly traded your daughter for it with a jellyfish keychain," but as she thought about it, she realized she had never actually heard the girl agree.

'And anyway, what’s the point of taking it if the other person doesn’t agree?'

But now, several security guards stood beside the furious aunt, and Spencer instantly panicked.

'What the hell?'

'What exactly did that little girl tell her mom? And why are there security guards?!'

Her body trembled slightly in fear. Without daring to respond, she clutched the pinwheel tightly and bolted.

As she ran, she cursed wildly in her heart.

'Didn’t it say the effect was activated? Why can’t I even steal a brat’s pinwheel?!'

[Effect has been activated]

"You liar! What the hell did you activate?! I want to cancel it!"

[Effect has been deactivated]

"Damn it, this is the only time you actually respond?!"

[Effect has been deactivated]

"Ahhhhh!"

Spencer now fully categorized the mysterious voice in her mind as a hallucination and resolved to see a therapist.

Of course, none of this slowed her legs down in the slightest.

*Huff huff~*

The little pinwheel spun with *creaks* and *groans*.

As she sprinted hysterically, the pinwheel that wouldn’t spin earlier finally began to turn—it was oddly magical.

"Still running, huh?! You shameless brat, bullying my daughter! I’ll beat your turtle grandson ass to death!"

(*) "Turtle grandson" is a Chinese insult implying cowardice or worthlessness, often used in heated outbursts.

Spencer ran at an incredible speed, leaving the furious Aunt behind, panting and screaming at her disappearing figure.

Hearing the threat, Spencer ran even faster.

(End of Chapter)