Chapter 4: Hypnosis
Chen Dongyang stood frozen, his mind reeling from what he’d just witnessed.
The dean’s abrupt shift from fury to acceptance was unnatural, like a puppet jerked into a new role.
He glanced at Jiang Yuxin, her serene expression betraying nothing.
But her eyes—those dark, bottomless wells—held a glint of amusement, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.
“You…” His voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper. “What did you do to him?”
Jiang Yuxin tilted her head, her lips curving into a faint, enigmatic smile.
“Do?” she echoed, her tone light but edged with mockery. “I just explained the situation. He understood.”
‘Understood, my ss,’ Chen Dongyang thought, his heart pounding.
He’d seen her twist the dean’s perception like it was nothing.
Metal fatigue? A broken lock from disrepair?
The lie was so blatant it was almost insulting, yet the dean had swallowed it whole.
“You made him believe it,” he said, his voice steadier now, though his hands trembled slightly. “How?”
Jiang Yuxin’s smile faded, replaced by a cold, assessing look.
“You’re asking questions you’re not ready to hear the answers to,” she said, turning toward the rooftop’s edge.
She leaned against the railing, her silhouette framed against the sprawling cityscape of South River City.
The wind tugged at her hair, and for a moment, she looked almost human—vulnerable, even.
But Chen Dongyang knew better.
She wasn’t just a girl.
She was something else entirely.
Back in Class 204, Chen Dongyang slumped into his seat, his shoulder throbbing from the earlier collision with the door.
His classmates’ whispers buzzed around him, but he barely heard them.
[Did he really tackle Jiang Yuxin? What a lunatic.]
[Bet she’s planning to destroy him. Poor guy.]
He stared at his desk, his mind a tangle of fear and fascination.
Jiang Yuxin could control minds.
He’d seen it with the dean, and he suspected it was why he’d blacked out in past loops when he got too close to her.
But why didn’t it work on him now?
Was it because of the time loop?
Or was there something else about him—something even he didn’t understand?
He glanced at her, seated by the window, her profile calm and untouchable.
She was writing in her notebook, her movements precise, as if the chaos on the rooftop had never happened.
But he caught the briefest flicker of her eyes toward him, and his pulse quickened.
She was watching him, too.
At lunch, Chen Dongyang avoided the cafeteria, opting for a quiet corner of the school courtyard.
He needed space to think, to process the impossible reality he was trapped in.
The time loop.
Jiang Yuxin’s death.
Her power.
And now, her suspicion of him.
He bit into his sandwich, barely tasting it.
‘She’s dangerous,’ he thought. ‘But she’s also the key.’
If he could figure out why she was at the center of his loops, maybe he could break free.
Maybe he could save her—and himself.
A shadow fell over him, and he looked up to see Jiang Yuxin standing there, her arms crossed.
“You’re not very good at hiding,” she said, her voice cool but curious.
He choked on his sandwich, coughing as he scrambled to sit up straighter.
“I wasn’t hiding,” he said, his voice muffled. “Just… eating.”
She sat across from him, uninvited, her gaze pinning him in place.
“Tell me something, Chen Dongyang,” she said, leaning forward slightly. “Why do you keep acting like you know something I don’t?”
His heart skipped a beat.
She was too sharp, too perceptive.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, forcing a shrug. “I’m just a guy who made a dumb mistake.”
Her eyes narrowed, and for a moment, he felt that invisible pressure again, like cold fingers brushing against his mind.
But it passed, leaving nothing behind.
“You’re a terrible liar,” she said, standing up. “But I’ll let it slide. For now.”
She walked away, leaving him with a racing pulse and a sinking feeling.
After school, Chen Dongyang headed to the park by the river, his steps heavy.
He hadn’t forgotten his promise to meet her there tomorrow, but he needed to clear his head now.
The river sparkled under the late afternoon sun, its surface calm despite the undercurrents below.
He sat on a bench, staring at the water, trying to piece together the puzzle of Jiang Yuxin.
She wasn’t suicidal.
He was sure of that now.
Her confidence, her control—it didn’t fit the image of someone ready to end it all.
So why had he seen her fall in every loop?
Was it a vision? A trick?
Or was something else at play—something bigger than both of them?
His phone buzzed, and he glanced at it.
A message from an unknown number.
[Don’t think you can hide from me. Tomorrow. 4 p.m. Don’t be late.]
He didn’t need to guess who it was.
Jiang Yuxin.
He typed a quick reply: [I’ll be there.]
Then he leaned back, closing his eyes.
The loops, her power, his immunity—it was all connected.
He just didn’t know how.
But for the first time, he felt a spark of determination.
He wasn’t just a victim of this cycle.
He was a player in it.
And tomorrow, he’d face Jiang Yuxin head-on.
*
That night, Chen Dongyang lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
His shoulder ached, but it was nothing compared to the weight in his chest.
He didn’t know what Jiang Yuxin wanted from him, or what she’d do if she learned the truth about the loops.
But he knew one thing: she wasn’t his enemy.
Not yet.
And maybe, just maybe, she was the only one who could help him escape this nightmare.
He closed his eyes, the image of her standing on the rooftop flashing in his mind.
Not falling.
Not dying.
Just watching him, waiting.
“Tomorrow,” he muttered, his voice barely audible. “I’ll figure you out, Jiang Yuxin.”