They walked into the self-built apartment building where the rental unit was located, the cramped and narrow stairs and hallway made Nana’s nerves tighten.
Ning Chu glanced back at Nana. That adorably timid and weak-looking face easily stirred a strong protective instinct in others, but she remained unmoved, even harboring a mischievous urge to scare Nana a little.
She suppressed the impulse though—messing with someone right after meeting them wasn’t a good way to maintain their favorable impression.
“We’re here.”
At the end of the hallway was a window. Ning Chu casually opened it to ventilate the corridor while unlocking the door with a key. She rubbed her heels together to take off her shoes.
“Take your shoes off and put them on the shoe rack by the door.”
She pushed the door open and headed straight for the bathroom. “Have a seat first, I’ll be right out!”
“You...” Nana froze for a second, watching Ning Chu dash into the bathroom. She hesitated, then stepped into the rental unit.
Leaving the door slightly ajar, she put on a pair of slippers and anxiously glanced around the apartment’s furnishings.
A few rather cheap-looking dolls were neatly arranged on the TV stand and the table—not cute at all. The bedding on the bed was a bit messy. There was a litter box, but no cat in sight.Nana felt like she had entered a tiger’s den.
A faint scent of blood came from the direction of the bathroom. She froze. She had been worried that Ning Chu might be a crossdresser, but now she wasn’t concerned anymore.
That familiar period smell was unmistakable.
And quite heavy...
Now she was reassured. She sat cautiously on the sofa, placing her hands on her thighs, looking obedient.
But that hypnosis spray—no matter how she thought about it—it sounded like something she’d seen in hentai.
“You’re back~ Why didn’t you close the door properly?”
Ning Chu walked out of the bathroom in slippers and went straight to shut the door.
She glanced at the expression Nana gave her. The wariness in Nana’s eyes had noticeably eased—probably because she’d smelled it when she changed her pad.
Her face was tinged with red. Even though she knew it was a normal physiological phenomenon and nothing to be ashamed of, she hadn’t been a woman for long after all.
Walking to the bed, Ning Chu pulled out the hypnosis spray she had snatched from Zhang Shaoqing from under the pillow.
She kept it under the pillow in case one night while fooling around with Wen Yang, if he lost control, she’d still have a way to defend herself—rather than being pinned under that 1.9-meter-tall guy, unable to move.
But if she lost control too at that time...
Not taking the initiative to devour Wen Yang would already count as her maintaining reason.
Ning Chu sat at the edge of the bed and showed Nana the small spray bottle in her hand. “It works about how you think it does.”
“!!!”
Nana’s expression immediately tightened, her little face full of tension.
“But I only use it for self-defense! Doing that kind of thing is illegal, okay?” Ning Chu sighed helplessly. “When you’re under hypnosis, you might feel a bit uncomfortable, but don’t panic. We’re both girls—what could I possibly do to you?”
“What... does it feel like?”
Ning Chu recalled the state she was in when Zhang Shaoqing ambushed her with the hypnosis spray, and her expression darkened.
“Your body will be out of your control, but your mind will be very active... It makes you feel very uneasy.”
She pursed her lips and explained, “It’s like being meat on a chopping board, waiting to be butchered...”
Just the phenomenon of sleep paralysis—where only the body is immobilized—can scare people out of their wits. Let alone hypnosis, where not only is the body out of control, but you also have to watch yourself do things against your will.
Nana listened to her description and immediately got even more scared.
“But don’t worry, it only lasts five to ten minutes—not too long.”
Ning Chu picked up the spray. “Wanna try?”
“I...”
She explained, “I don’t even know if it’ll work, but it should be able to hypnotize your subconscious and make you less afraid of men.”
Nana uneasily lowered her head, twisting her fingers together in silence.
It was still their first meeting. Even though Ning Chu had left a good impression, she still didn’t dare to entrust herself to be hypnotized.
“Um... how about let’s not?” she mumbled nervously.
"Giving up already?" Ning Chu nonchalantly set the spray down. "Then stop clinging to Wen Yang!"
That little bottle of stuff is not something that she wants to waste on Nana.
If the reason Nana had approached Wen Yang weren’t to cure her androphobia, but instead like the other female supporting characters who were easier to deal with, Ning Chu wouldn’t have been so enthusiastic.
"Is he really your boyfriend?"
Ning Chu didn’t hesitate and nodded firmly. "Mm!"
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to cling to him..."
Ning Chu rubbed her empty stomach. She hadn’t eaten in half a day and was feeling dizzy from hunger.
Originally, Wen Yang had promised to bring her breakfast from the hospital, but thanks to the girl in front of her, he had come running back in a panic—and empty-handed.
"Think it over again. I’m hungry."
Ning Chu could understand Nana’s hesitation. If it were her, she wouldn’t be too willing to be hypnotized either... Though, if it’s used during sex, it might actually be a bit exciting.
"You want something to eat? How about Shaxian?"
"Mm."
She ordered some food from the Shaxian Snacks place downstairs, then leaned back against the wall, one leg propped up. Turning to Nana, she asked, "Have you ever seen a psychologist?"
"My parents said I’m not sick... they said I’m just being dramatic."
"Oh~"
What kind of era are we living in, such stubborn parents still exist?
Ning Chu suddenly felt grateful her own mom was quite open-minded.
Though, her mom is sometimes a bit too open-minded, to the point where she couldn’t handle it.
"If it’s just being afraid of men, it shouldn’t affect your life too much, right? Why are you in such a rush to get cured?"
With nothing to do while waiting for the food, she asked casually—partly out of curiosity, partly to kill time.
Nana paused, still fiddling with her nails, head lowered. "I want to be more independent, I want to earn some money."
"Hmm?"
"My mom doesn’t dare get divorced—not just because of me, but mostly because she’s not financially independent. She’s always been a housewife."
Ning Chu furrowed her brows, suddenly not wanting to continue the conversation. She gave a simple "mm" and didn’t press further.
Nana had a "toothpaste personality"—if you didn’t squeeze, nothing came out. She didn’t touch her phone, just sat there silently playing with her nails.
The takeout was delivered by the shop owner personally, taking no more than twenty minutes.
Just as Ning Chu took the food and opened the box to eat, she suddenly heard Nana speak.
"Hypnotize me."
"You sure? Not afraid I’ll do something to you?"
"I’m not afraid anymore."
"Alright."
She pulled the spray from her pocket and aimed it at Nana’s face. It was her first time using this stuff on a girl, so she felt a bit nervous too. "Ready?"
"Mm."
She gently pressed the little bottle. As the mist sprayed across Nana’s face, her expression gradually became blank.
Hypnosis successful.
At this point, no matter what she asked Nana to do, the girl would obey without question.
Take off her clothes, bark like a dog, even... arouse herself with just a few words—
Of course, Ning Chu wasn’t some innocent girl—after all, she was the one who wrote Zhang Shaoqing’s hypnosis scenes herself. But those thoughts only flashed briefly through her mind before she shoved them away.
She took a deep breath. Theoretically, the hypnosis spray could solve Nana’s problem.
"Nana, from now on, you won’t be afraid of men anymore."
"You’ll be full of confidence, no longer timid, and you’ll do what you want to do."
"This should work... You should stay like this for another five minutes or so. I’m going to eat."
Ning Chu muttered as she picked up the fried noodles and took a few bites—then her expression gradually blanked as well, her body going limp and immobile.
Oh shit! The hypnosis spray must’ve landed in the food earlier!
Fortunately, Wen Yang was not here.