In the morning, when he opened his eyes, the woman next to him had already gotten up.
Mu Xiaoxiao stretched out his arms. The warm blanket was empty, but the young woman's body fragrance and warmth still remained. The pleasant scent was intoxicating.
Mu Xiaoxiao turned over like this, sniffing the rich floral fragrance on the pillow and squinting his eyes.
Today was Monday — time to go to school — but he was too lazy to get up.
Creak——
"Xiaoxiao, it's time to get up." The door pushed open, and Obata Natsumi, wrapped in an apron, stood at the entrance. "Aren't you going to school today?"
"Well... let me sleep a little longer." Mu Xiaoxiao smacked his lips without opening his eyes.
"You'll be late if you sleep any longer."
"If I'm late, then I'm late. Mm, I'm not going to school today. Call in sick for me, Natsumi——"
"..."
Mrs. Natsumi felt helpless hearing this. She walked in and stared at Mu Xiaoxiao's sleeping face. "Really, just like a child..."
When he was sleeping, she didn't notice it at all — he was just an ordinary boy. Thinking of this, she pinched Mu Xiaoxiao's nose. "Why won't you go to school? Be good. I prepared breakfast for you — made it specially, very elaborate."
"Woo——"
Forced awake by suffocation, Mu Xiaoxiao opened his eyes to see Obata Natsumi already standing by the door, covering her mouth with an amused smile. "Wash up quickly, then come down for breakfast."
"..."
This weekend, Mu Xiaoxiao stayed with Mrs. Natsumi at the Obata house and didn't leave. He didn't know if the wife had no choice but to accept the current situation, or if she had completely surrendered — in short, this wife no longer resisted Mu Xiaoxiao.
It was like returning to the time when she was controlled by hypnosis at the beginning.
Whether it was sex in bed, sex elsewhere, or daily life, she was very proactive with Mu Xiaoxiao, as if she had decided to give him her body and mind. Mu Xiaoxiao could feel this through the incubus pattern.
She no longer rejected him.
To be honest, even Mu Xiaoxiao hadn't expected this. He'd thought Yui would accept reality quickly and Natsumi would be more resistant. Reality was completely reversed — Yui was the one avoiding him now.
After Mu Xiaoxiao got out of bed, he looked around the bedroom. The group photo that was originally placed by the bed was gone, and the wedding photo that once hung on the wall had also disappeared.
'Did Natsumi take them down?'
Even during the time she was hypnotized, those things remained untouched — and Mu Xiaoxiao hadn't cared. But now they were gone... The room had originally looked like Mrs. Natsumi and her husband's bedroom, but now——
This bedroom felt more like his and Mrs. Natsumi's.
This might hint at the wife's psychological changes. Mu Xiaoxiao's lips curled upward. Not bad.
He washed up and went downstairs——
"Yui already left for school? I feel like she's been avoiding me these past two days."
Mu Xiaoxiao asked while sitting at the table, eating the rice Mrs. Natsumi had prepared.
"You got up too late, Xiao." Obata Natsumi showed a gentle smile, just like a Yamato Nadeshiko. She knew her daughter was still upset, but she didn't say anything. "Yui got up very early today."
"...I'm leaving."
"Wait a moment." Following Mu Xiaoxiao to the entrance, Obata Natsumi stopped the boy who was carrying his schoolbag and about to go out. She stepped forward to help him straighten his collar buttons. "Time to fasten your buttons... there."
"Natsumi really is a Yamato Nadeshiko." Mu Xiaoxiao joked, earning a blank look from the woman.
"Be careful on the road~"
After seeing Mu Xiaoxiao out, Obata Natsumi watched his retreating back and sighed quietly. She never thought she'd end up like this... Anyway, because of Xiaoxiao's appearance, although daily life remained unchanged on the surface, earth-shaking changes had already occurred.
'It's just that I don't know what Yui is thinking... Sigh.'
"Natsumi..."
Just as Mrs. Natsumi was about to go back inside, a hoarse voice made her startle. Turning around, she saw a familiar face standing at the yard gate. His tired face and bloodshot eyes made him look much older.
"You..."
It was her husband. Obata Natsumi wasn't surprised to see him. "So you've recovered too."
Not only herself and her daughter had been hypnotized, but also her husband. The hypnotic effect on him should have disappeared as well. When it did, Mr. Obata immediately understood what he had done.
Judging by his haggard appearance, he'd clearly been suffering inside.
"Why won't you answer my calls?" Obata Natsumi had hung up on him without hesitation Saturday night. Of course, it wasn't just that one time — there were subsequent calls, including yesterday, Sunday, but not once had he gotten through.
This made him even more pained. "And yesterday — I called you yesterday too! Natsumi, why didn't you answer my calls!!"
"..."
"Are you still with that person? What exactly did you two do yesterday... Since you're back to normal, you should know what he did to us. Why are you still with him——"
The thought of his wife with that man made him extremely angry.
"In that case, why didn't you come back yesterday?" Natsumi was very calm.
"What?"
The roaring, crazed screams suddenly stopped. The man was startled.
"You should have come back earlier, right? Since you called me, why didn't you just come back directly? Why didn't you show up all day yesterday?"
"I..."
He froze.
"You're afraid of him. You didn't even dare to come out this morning. You could only wait for Xiaoxiao to leave before appearing in front of me." Obata Natsumi said expressionlessly. "Isn't that right?"
He was speechless.
She was right. After he recovered, he rushed back — but not immediately. Mu Xiaoxiao was always at home, making him afraid to enter. He'd stayed outside for two nights, not daring to show himself until the boy left.
He was angry and afraid of that person's methods.
"I don't blame you. After all, Xiaoxiao does... have terrifying power." Obata Natsumi paused for a long moment. "But since you don't dare to come home, don't ask me such questions."
The man was stunned, then fell silent. "I'm sorry... Natsumi, it's my fault. But now that person is gone — let's run away somewhere he can't find us. Natsumi, let's get out of here together!"
"Is this what you came to say to me?" Obata Natsumi shook her head, facing her husband's astonished eyes with a cold expression. "If you could have come back yesterday and faced Xiaoxiao at all costs, maybe I would have left with you."
"But now... I'm sorry. I can't leave with you. I can't abandon Yui, and I can't leave my daughter with you."
The man's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
When he saw his wife handing him the wedding photo and ring, he grew even more frighteningly pale. He stared at Obata Natsumi in disbelief, his lips trembling, his body shaking.
"Natsumi, you——"
"I'm sorry. I'm already Xiaoxiao's woman." After saying this, Obata Natsumi turned back into the house and closed the door, leaving the man standing there blankly, speechless for a long time.
It was his home, but this place no longer belonged to him...
That figure suddenly seemed to stagger, aged and broken.