lovenovelstory Chapter 29, Dependency
Chapter 29, Dependency
Yan Xi left the company angrily with a stern face and tightly pursed lips.
She didn't know why she was a little angry.
In short, he ignored Cheng Chen for most of the night. After finishing the work arranged by the company, he left without saying goodbye.
Some time had passed since we returned from Longgang, and it was now completely dark.
The city's neon lights filled the sky, obscuring the starlight. A gentle evening breeze carried the distinctive hustle and bustle and dust of a metropolis. A soft breeze brushed past Yan Xi's ear, lifting a few strands of her hair, which swayed gently under the pale white streetlights.
"Would you like me to take you home?"
Cheng Chen was driving Jiang Fei's red Qimingxing X7, with half of his body leaning against the car window.
The moment she saw him, Yan Xi's face tightened, and she walked past the car without stopping.
"don't want."
"It's so late, how are you going to get home alone?"
"subway."
"The last subway train has already departed; you'll have to fly back."
"Then let's fly."
Cheng Chen idled the car and slowly followed behind the girl, watching her ponytail sway left and right with her steps, like the tail of an ugly crow.
He sighed, wondering what he had done to upset her.
Wasn't today's plan going quite smoothly?
He temporarily left, letting Jiang Fei play the bad cop in front of her, and deliberately told Yan Xi the price he paid to make her stay.
Based on his years of experience, he judged that girls who are stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside, and kind and gentle at heart, would never accept someone silently making sacrifices for them behind the scenes for nothing. This series of subtle moves was specifically designed to win her heart; shouldn't Yan Xi feel that he had put in a lot of effort and was incredibly gentle?
Trying to make her happy will only result in a troublesome little princess, but it's different if she can make herself happy.
But... which part of the process went wrong?
Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure it out, Yan Xi suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Cheng Chen glanced in the direction of her gaze and saw an elderly man with a thin figure but a straight back standing under the glow of the streetlights where flying insects swarmed.
"grandmother."
Yan Xi called out and went to greet her, pursing her lips.
"Why are you here?"
The old woman didn't reply, but simply raised her hand and tapped her watch.
Yan Xi knew this meant that she came home too late, so much so that the old man couldn't wait at home and came down to the office building of Yinfu Entertainment.
"The company has been quite busy these past few days."
She avoided her grandmother's scrutinizing gaze, her voice hoarse as she explained.
"He didn't come home last night and only got back this afternoon. Today it's getting later and later again."
The old woman stared at her as she spoke.
Yan Xi lowered her head apologetically, "I should have told you beforehand."
"I'm sorry, Grandma, this was a mistake in the company's work arrangements. Xiaoyan had a last-minute performance today, and she stayed out late in a meeting last night, so she just rested at the company. This afternoon, the project team went to Longgang again for that last-minute performance, which was quite a long journey and took up a lot of time."
A voice interrupted, and Yan Xi's breath hitched, her fingers unconsciously clenching.
The old woman slowly shifted her gaze from her granddaughter's face to examine the man who was slowly approaching.
"And this is...?"
Yan Xi reluctantly accepted, "He's my producer, which means he's my superior in the company."
"Hello, Grandma."
His attitude was impeccable; Cheng Chen has always been very respectful of the elderly and kind to the young.
He quietly observed the old woman; her cold, hard expression bore a striking resemblance to Yan Xi's, suggesting she had been waiting for him at the door for quite some time.
"Um."
Yan Xi looked at him, her hostility subsiding slightly. She carefully chose her words, "Hello, producer."
You can just call me Cheng Chen.
Cheng Chen maintained his smile, "I'm sorry to have worried you. Xiao Yan is an outstanding member of our company, and she often leads by example for other employees. It was my fault for letting her overwork herself, and I assure you that something like this will not happen again."
The old woman didn't respond; she simply turned around and said to her granddaughter, "Let's go home."
"I see."
Yan Xi quickly followed, the two of them one in front and one behind.
Cheng Chen waved: "It's so late, how about I give you a ride?"
The old woman slowly turned her head: "Thank you, no need to trouble yourself."
"Alright, be careful on the road."
Cheng Chen didn't press the matter further and simply returned to the Qimingxing X7, only glancing at Yan Xi through the car window: "Have a good rest this weekend and don't overthink things."
Yan Xi's mind was still not at peace, and she could only respond instinctively:
"Yes, I understand... Producer, you too."
Cheng Chen smiled gently at her and drove away.
After the taillights disappeared around the corner, the old woman asked Yan Xi, "Is he the new producer you mentioned before?"
"Um."
Upon hearing her grandmother's question, Yan Xi instinctively wanted to defend Cheng Chen, "I've told you before, haven't I? The producer is very capable, and he's very kind to me and my other colleagues."
"Was it him who took you home during the day today?"
"What?" Yan Xi was taken aback at first.
Cheng Chen didn't show up during the day, so how did Grandma know that the two of them were together in the afternoon?
The old woman said nothing more, only glanced at her granddaughter, and then continued walking.
"Stay away from him."
"Grandma?" Yan Xi stopped in her tracks.
"Keep your distance from him outside of work," Grandma repeated coldly.
The aged but strong voice seemed to be carried by the wind from a great distance, drifting into Yan Xi's ears.
"He doesn't have good intentions towards you. Don't just look at appearances and get caught up in them—think about your sister."
……
The Qimingxing X7 merges into the city traffic.
As Cheng Chen listened to Song Lan's clean and crisp singing voice coming from the stereo, he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and pondered silently.
He finally understood where Yan Xi had learned that aloof and unapproachable demeanor.
Moreover, Yan Xi seems to be very afraid of her grandmother. It seems that she mentioned before that she and her grandmother depend on each other for survival.
"She seems to be a difficult old lady to deal with."
To further deepen her relationship with Yan Xi, she will inevitably have to deal with the old lady in the future.
Close your eyes and silently recite the system's command.
A system notification sounded in my mind.
[You've shaken the heart of a magical girl, well done! Evil Demon King!]
Her hostility towards you is slowly dissipating, and even a sliver of trust, unnoticed by herself, has begun to emerge deep within her. Try again, to spy on, to enslave, to deceive, to tame, until you reach the root of the problem and personally place the shackles that belong to you.
【Magical Girl・Painted Crow】
Current dependency level: 5%
I'm too lazy to even look at those seductive lines; I suppose they were just some perverse jokes my mentor had while writing the plugin.
but!
The additional 5% dependency was transformed into a tiny, insignificant 'sublimation magic' through the [Magical Girl Dependency Plugin] he and his mentor developed.
The tiny glimmer of magical light, no thicker than a hair, entered Cheng Chen's body, instantly causing a dramatic transformation.
Cheng Chen couldn't help but let out a soft groan and slowly opened his eyes.
The levels in a conventional magic system are like climbing stairs; once you reach the top of the fifth step, there is no way to climb any higher.
This wisp of sublimation magic was like building a new step that didn't exist before. Although it was just a small stone brick that was difficult to step on, it finally allowed him to catch a glimpse of the scenery above the fifth-tier 'Star Calamity'.
The chilling magical fluctuations completely dissipated from inside the car.
He looked exactly the same as before, but in terms of strength, Cheng Chen was completely different from himself just a few seconds ago.
Sublimation progress: 1.6%
[Magic power increase: 661%]
The system plugin popped up an extra prompt: even though his magic power had only increased by less than two percent, his total magic strength was already more than six times that of before!
"Is this... a sixth-tier rank?"
Cheng Chen was deeply shaken.
It seems that the gap between him and his mentor and truly powerful figures like fairies and demonesses is greater than he had imagined.
The momentary somber mood was quickly dispelled by the excitement.
"The supervisor's research is correct; the plugin is effective!"
As expected, the research conclusions with the mentor were completely correct. As long as the magical girl trusts and relies on him from the bottom of her heart, she may be recorded into the system and develop a dependency!
He currently has a million unused experience points on the system panel, and more than a thousand skill points left. Everything is waiting for the ascension progress to reach the maximum value. After the system opens the new level cap, he will add all the points to the limit in one go.
Cheng Chen shut down the system, feeling a sense of melancholy.
Dependency?
That's such a beautiful description, just like the attachment a child has for their parents.
But Cheng Chen prefers to call it dominance.
The mentor once said that perhaps this system is his true nature as the Demon King "Evil Lord," an invisible ability that can manipulate minds, dominate, enslave, and dismantle the will of magical girls.
The dominated person will not feel anything unusual at all, because his domination actually only has three effects.
Sincerity will surely be reciprocated.
Feelings can always be pure and sincere.
Love doesn't fade with time.
Just like Jiang Fei, how long have they spent together after they met?
But even though six years have passed and time has changed her, transforming her from an ordinary girl into the current company president, and her way of thinking has subconsciously become more profit-oriented, she still faces him with the same feelings she had six years ago.
It is not purely a matter of mind control, nor is it related to brainwashing.
To use a more vivid term: strategy guide.
Just like a dating sim for bishoujo girls.
Cheng Chen parked his car and went home.
No matter how kind and friendly he may appear, his true nature remains the greatest calamity that threatens the world.
He is a demon, and that has never changed.
……