The Yandere’s Embrace

Before going to bed, Mingqian was still chatting with Su Wanwan.

Su Wanwan: “Well, you still don’t believe me?”

Mingqian said, “What’s this talk of belief? I won’t believe it unless you show me your face.”

Anyone could find attractive pictures online; this hardly qualified as a selfie.

Su Wanwan chirped, “Xiaoqian, you big dummy! I can’t just show my face willy-nilly, especially since I haven’t even put on makeup.”

Mingqian countered, “If that picture truly is you, I imagine you’d look beautiful even without makeup.”

Su Wanwan giggled, “Oh, beautiful! Hehe.”

“Xiaoqian, why don’t you believe me?” Su Wanwan asked, a hint of playful exasperation in her voice. “I’m right here; how could it be fake?”

“Yet you refuse to show your face,” Mingqian retorted, his skepticism evident. “It’s hard for me to believe you. If that picture truly is you, I’ll eat my phone right here and now.”

“No, no, Xiaoqian, you’ll get a tummy ache!” Su Wanwan exclaimed. “Besides, it really is me!”

Mingqian simply responded, “Heh heh! (sweatdrop emoji)”

Mingqian felt certain these people were going to great lengths to deceive him, but he was far too shrewd to fall for their tricks.

That night, however, Mingqian found himself uncharacteristically plagued by insomnia.

The graceful figure from the daytime photo had invaded his thoughts, and he couldn’t help but fantasize about the sheer bliss of having such a gentle girl as his actual girlfriend.

Mingqian had consumed countless novels, where some protagonists began by embracing a feminine role, living a life of ‘grinding tofu’ (TL Note: A euphemism for lesbian sexual activity) with their heroines. Others, meanwhile, transmigrated into different worlds as ‘blondes’ (TL Note: ‘Huangmao’ or ‘yellow hair,’ a derogatory term in Chinese web novels for a character who steals another’s girlfriend or wife, often associated with a promiscuous or villainous role), embarking on lives of building harems.

Yet, what he yearned for above all else was the life of being captured by obsessive, yandere girls.

He firmly believed that with a girl who loved only him, everything else in the world could be cast aside.

Could even he, a man who felt he was capable of nothing, truly possess such a love?

How wonderful it would be. Though he was merely a ‘loser’ (TL Note: ‘Diaosi,’ a self-deprecating term for a young, often single, male with limited prospects) whiling away his days playing games in a rented room, could he too experience such pure and flawless affection?

He didn’t know if yandere truly existed in this world, but tonight, it seemed, he was destined for a sweet dream.

To accumulate enough attendance credits, he would still have to attend school tomorrow.

****

During training class.

Fireballs arced gracefully through the air, while wind blades sliced precisely through fallen leaves.

Mingqian hurried past, head bowed, only to have an ice shard, deliberately aimed off course, graze his cheek, instantly drawing blood.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” the boy who’d thrown the ice shard retorted, preemptively striking. “Don’t just wander aimlessly in the training zone!”

Mingqian clenched his fists, feeling the warm trickle of blood drip from his jaw onto his collar. A crowd had gathered, yet no one dared to speak up.

In this new world, he didn’t even possess the right to argue.

“The one who needs to apologize is you, isn’t it?”

A clear, resonant voice suddenly cut through the air. The crowd parted instinctively, forming a path as Su Wanqing stepped forward.

Not only was she among the first to awaken, but she also wielded a rare Light Affinity ability, making her the universally acknowledged campus belle.

The boy instantly fell silent:

“Senior Su, he…”

“It’s understandable for training to get out of hand,” Su Wanqing stated, “but to injure someone and then adopt such an attitude? That brings shame upon all awakened individuals.”

Su Wanqing’s voice was calm, ethereal, and melodious, yet it carried an inherent authority that commanded respect without a hint of anger.

Her tall, graceful figure moved with an air of dignified authority, yet simultaneously exuded a delicate feminine allure.

Turning, she gazed at Mingqian, her eyes softening instantly. “Are you alright?”

Mingqian, stunned, could only shake his head mechanically.

If such a woman — one with both a stunning figure and an exquisite face — truly existed, Mingqian felt certain it could only be her.

Were Mingqian a writer, he would undoubtedly immortalize Su Wanqing as his first love.

It would be set on a dreary, rainy night, with her pulling up in a sports car to whisk him away, much like Cinderella ascending into her pumpkin carriage.

In reality, such individuals were akin to goddesses, their merest kindness capable of making the earth tremble. Mingqian knew, however, that her words were likely just pleasantries; she probably didn’t truly care for a man like him.

From her pocket, she produced a small, kitten-emblazoned bandage and gently pressed it onto Mingqian’s wound.

The tenderness of her touch sent Mingqian’s heart racing.

“Thank you,” Mingqian said, his voice dry.

He suddenly longed to flee; Su Wanqing and he were simply too disparate. Compared to her, he felt like a mere frog at the bottom of a well, ignorant of the vast world beyond.

She smiled, her eyes curving into delicate crescents. “You’re Mingqian, aren’t you? I’ve heard about you.”

“Allow me to introduce myself,” she continued. “My name is Su Wanqing.”

Mingqian froze.

Before Mingqian could even formulate a reply, she had already turned back to the offending boy. “Be more careful next time,” she instructed, her voice firm. “Don’t let me catch you harming Xiao… Mingqian again.” With that, she departed gracefully, leaving behind a faint trace of gardenia perfume and a bewildered crowd.

From that day forward, Su Wanqing seemed to gravitate into Mingqian’s life, whether by intention or mere coincidence.

Initially, Mingqian had harbored no belief in love, but Su Wanqing had irrevocably changed his perspective.

In the cafeteria, she would approach, tray in hand, and inquire if the seat beside him was taken.

In the corridors, she would greet him proactively. On one occasion, she even sought him out specifically to borrow some of his personal belongings.

“You’re quite good at ‘Phantom Realm,’ aren’t you?” she asked him one day.

“Just occasionally,” Mingqian replied, striving to maintain an air of calm. “The real world is already quite magical enough as it is.”

Su Wanqing laughed, her smile so radiant it almost stung Mingqian’s eyes. “I believe the real world needs people like you even more, you know.”

“People like me?”

Mingqian chuckled self-deprecatingly. “A good-for-nothing?”

“Not everyone needs to rely on supernatural abilities to be strong,” she countered softly.

Mingqian’s heart suddenly quickened. This was the first time since the Red Tide (TL Note: A significant, world-altering event) that anyone had affirmed his worth.

Slowly, the invisible distance between them began to shrink.

She would seek out Mingqian to discuss game strategies, and in turn, he would help her catch up on the academic subjects she’d fallen behind in due to her ability training.

Under the astonished gazes of their peers, they gradually became friends.

What left Mingqian utterly incredulous was the night, bathed in the soft glow of the moon, when they sat together by the edge of the sports field, gazing at the stars. She gently rested her head upon his shoulder.

“Xiaoqian, do you know something?”

Her voice was a mere whisper, like a dream. “It’s only when I’m with you that I feel truly real, not just that girl burdened with so many expectations.”

Mingqian’s body stiffened, utterly motionless, terrified of shattering the exquisite dream he found himself in.

“Those awakened ones,” she continued, “they spend all their days competing, obsessed with whose abilities are stronger, whose rank is higher.”

“But you’re different,” she murmured. “Your perspective on the world, your way of thinking… it’s truly special.”

In that moment, Mingqian could almost hear the thunderous pounding of his own heart.

From that day onward, he noticed Su Wanwan’s messages grew infrequent, a sudden absence that filled him with a pang of loss.

Even though she had tried to deceive him, he had still come to consider Su Wanwan a friend. It was truly a pity.

****

“So, you two are really together?” Bai Wanting gasped, her eyes wide with disbelief, the lollipop in her mouth nearly tumbling out.

Mingqian nodded, attempting to maintain his composure, yet the corners of his lips betrayed him, curving upward in an uncontrollable smile.

“What did you say? What did you say? Huh? Tell me you’re dreaming, you have to be dreaming!”

Bai Wanting violently shook his body, and he couldn’t help but feel that the girl was perhaps a little *too* excited.

This marked the third week since Su Wanqing had become Mingqian’s girlfriend, and he still felt as though he were living in a dream.

The most popular girl in the entire school, a uniquely talented awakened individual, had actually chosen Mingqian, a man who seemed capable of nothing. It was utterly dreamlike.

“You rascal…”

Bai Wanting lightly punched Mingqian’s arm. “How did you manage it?”

Mingqian found himself unable to articulate the how or why.

Perhaps, he mused, this was simply love.

“Indeed, this is love.”

Bai Wanting just hummed softly.

He paid no mind to Bai Wanting’s teasing gaze, nor did he notice her tightly clenched fists, or the dark, shadowed look in her eyes. For he was a boy utterly consumed by the throes of first love.

Bai Wanting’s shoulders slumped, the hem of her clothes clutched so tightly in her hand that the fabric wrinkled. She was clearly struggling to suppress a powerful emotion.

“Is that that so?”

Bai Wanting let out a soft huff. She leaned against Mingqian for a brief second, imprinting the scent of ‘that woman’ into her memory, then ceased speaking to him.

“Then you had better pray she doesn’t dump you,” she finally said, her voice laced with an unsettling undertone.

That day, on his way home, he couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that someone was following him.

Yet each time he glanced over his shoulder, not a soul was in sight.

The sensation of being watched was unnerving, a palpable presence that felt as though it were licking at his very skin.

‘Was it merely a trick of his mind?’

As he walked through campus, he constantly felt the hostile gazes of other awakened individuals.

Especially those who had once harbored overt or secret affections for Su Wanqing — their eyes now seemed to practically spit fire whenever they looked at Mingqian.

They were, by all appearances, a perfect couple. When strolling across the sports field, their hands would subtly seek each other out, and if their fingers brushed by accident, they would exchange knowing smiles beneath the dazzling sun.

On their way home from school, they would sometimes encounter Bai Wanting, and they would still jest and laugh with her as they always had.

One day, Su Wanqing uttered a statement laden with hidden meaning:

“Xiaoqian,” she said, “if anyone tries to get too close to you, I’ll definitely help you chase them away.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing at all,” she chuckled. “I just meant I want to cook a meal for Xiaoqian myself!”

He genuinely believed there was no girl in the entire world more wonderful than her.

She was like the little yellow flower in a cherished story, drifting gracefully since the year of its birth.

Everything was so exquisitely beautiful that he felt as if his entire past life had been nothing more than a hazy dream.

This idyllic existence continued until that fateful Friday afternoon.

Su Wanqing had informed him that she had an important engagement that day and couldn’t accompany him to the movies.

These days, he had even gradually distanced himself from his games.

However, as he passed the school gymnasium, an inexplicable impulse urged him to catch a glimpse of her.

The large training ground behind the gymnasium was an Awakened-only zone, strictly off-limits to the Silent. (TL Note: ‘Silent’ refers to those who have not awakened supernatural abilities.)

But Mingqian remembered a second-floor corridor window that overlooked the entire arena. He quietly slipped upstairs and peered through the window, searching for Su Wanqing’s figure.

He found her. She stood at the center of the field, enveloped in a soft, luminous aura that rendered her breathtakingly beautiful.

Su Wanqing was being held in someone’s embrace, thoroughly ‘bullied’.

But that person wasn’t a man… it was a woman.

Bai Wanting, completely disregarding the possibility of anyone arriving, was fiercely ‘bullying’ Su Wanqing.

And Su Wanqing, like a doll, allowed herself to be manipulated…

Her hands, which had never intertwined with his, were now entwined with Bai Wanting’s.

She, who had never embraced him tightly, was now embracing Bai Wanting.

‘Perhaps,’ he thought, ‘she wasn’t doing it willingly.’

Yet, even his last shred of fantasy was about to be shattered. Bai Wanting spoke loudly, as if addressing someone.

“Do you want it?”

Su Wanqing’s body trembled. She covered her flushed cheeks and shyly murmured,

“Yes… I do… I want to be thoroughly ‘bullied’ by you…”

Her voice was fervent, her eyes hazy — a sound Mingqian had never heard from her before.

Heartbroken, he turned and fled.

Bai Wanting’s gaze, filled with satisfaction, followed Mingqian’s retreating form. The real show, she knew, had only just begun.

Following that incident, Su Wanqing began to frequently decline Mingqian’s invitations, always evasive with her words, citing various commitments.

Even more unsettling, while on the phone with him, she once cried out in surprise, explaining that she had encountered a bug.

He could feel his place in her life shrinking, almost to the point of vanishing entirely.

‘Life is but a dream, a cup of wine poured to the river’s moon.’

Not only had his girlfriend been ‘stolen’, but she had been ‘stolen’ by another girl!

In this world, he had no one left, and no one cared for him.

“Damn it!”

He cursed, ‘I should never have believed in this ‘three-dimensional world,’ or in senior girls coming to save some pathetic kid. Those stories are all fake!’

There would be no awakening of S-rank powers, nor would there be a girl calling him ‘Sakura’!

He resolved never to trust the ‘three-dimensional world’ again.

And so, with a heavy heart, he arranged to meet Su Wanqing on the rooftop.

It was there, on that very rooftop, that he had successfully confessed his feelings to Su Wanqing. Now, he intended to try and reclaim her affection in the same place.

She arrived, her expression apologetic as she looked at Mingqian.

“Is something wrong? I’ve been quite busy lately…”

Mingqian knew she was busy, but he suspected she was busy ‘making tofu’.

Before he could even speak, Su Wanqing suddenly gasped, her body trembling slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing… I-I just feel a little unwell.”

Her face was crimson, and her body leaned against Mingqian, yet soft sounds of pleasure occasionally escaped her lips.

Her face was flushed, and her legs trembled uncontrollably, yet she claimed to feel unwell.

She coughed lightly, then looked at Mingqian.

“I’m sorry!”

With that, she fled.

From then on, Mingqian retreated into what could only be described as a hermit-like existence.

It wasn’t until a knock sounded at his door once more that he felt a flicker of being alive.

“Who’s there?”

“Me.”

Bai Wanting’s voice drifted from outside the door.

“Go away…”

He had no desire to speak with the person who had stolen his girlfriend.

“Oh, come on… just hear me out, okay?”

He opened the door, a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

Bai Wanting smiled, leaning close to him, and in that instant, his consciousness faded.

“You shouldn’t have betrayed me… but it’s alright, I’ll forgive you.”

The girl whispered gently into his ear.