Crybaby vs. Yandere - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Time passed especially quickly after that.

After returning to school, my brother originally intended for me to apply for a seat change. However, he soon had an urgent business trip to attend to. Taking advantage of his absence, I feigned compliance while secretly remaining Jiang Yilin’s seatmate.

I managed to maintain a precarious balance between my brother and Jiang Yilin.

The fight Jiang Yilin had gotten into seemed to have solidified the rumors about our relationship. When I returned to class, fewer classmates stared at me or mocked me for trying to curry favor with him.

The tension of the college entrance exams arrived.

The plot seemed to have stabilized for the time being. At the very least, Jiang Yilin stayed right where I could see him every day, so I devoted most of my energy to my studies.

We spent our final month together in what could be described as peace.

On the afternoon before the exams, the classroom was bathed in the glow of the setting sun. Even our usually strict homeroom teacher was at the podium, speaking sentimental words of farewell.

Under the desk, Jiang Yilin suddenly took my hand. His skin was slightly cool, and he interlaced his fingers tightly with mine, pad to pad. Suppressing the urge to pull away, I turned my head to look at him.

I met his gaze, which was fixed on me with intense scrutiny.

He said to me, “I’ll see you after the exams.”

His expression was a bit strange. Under his watchful eye, I nodded slowly and gave a soft “Okay.”

That was my last memory of the exams. Because the moment I stepped out of the testing center on the final day, I lost consciousness.

I had been imprisoned by Jiang Yilin.

He really was insane.

The peace before the exams had been an illusion; his true objective was likely this all along.

I stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling and windows that had been welded shut. A finger slid gently across my chin. “Why aren’t you happy?”

Jiang Yilin asked as he leaned in beside me. He seemed genuinely puzzled. “Everyone said you wanted to be with me-to be together forever.”

He tilted my face up, forcing me to look him in the eye. “Now we can be together every day. Why are you still unhappy?”

I looked up at him and asked once more, “Why?”

The high-grade steel chain around my ankle rattled softly with my movement. I looked at Jiang Yilin. “I never said I was happy to be treated like this.”

In the dim light and shadows, Jiang Yilin stared at me for a long time. Then, the smile slowly faded from his face. “Because I don’t like it.”

He spoke in a slow, measured tone. “I don’t like other people being around you. I don’t like the smiles you only show when you see others. And I especially don’t like others acting as obstacles between us.”

His implication was far too obvious. I couldn’t help but frown. “…That’s my brother. My own flesh and blood.”

There wasn’t a flicker of emotion in Jiang Yilin’s eyes. He said, “So what?”

“You like me, and now I like you too,” he said, gently rubbing his forehead against mine. “Isn’t it enough just to have each other?”

His mindset was too extreme. I finally understood why the bullet comments were so wary of him.

“How long are you going to keep me here?”

Jiang Yilin slowly tightened his grip on my hand. He interlaced our fingers and closed his eyes. “…Until your brother disappears.”

A remarkably obedient, beautiful smile appeared on his face-a smile I was seeing for the first time.

He said, “Then I’ll only have you, and you’ll only have me. Won’t that be wonderful?”

If my hands hadn’t been pinned by his, I would have already lunged for his throat. A tear escaped the corner of my eye. I felt a profound sense of failure.

I had worked so hard for years just to ensure my brother’s safety. But it seemed I had failed after all. I hadn’t been able to help him avoid the fate of being targeted by Jiang Yilin.

I turned my head away, unwilling to look at Jiang Yilin’s face. I spoke in a low voice, “If you dare harm my brother in the slightest… I will kill you.”

Jiang Yilin laughed. He wasn’t afraid at all. He simply leaned in and kissed the corner of my eye.