Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

Lin Zhiyao hid under the covers, vaguely understanding what had happened these past few nights, and why she felt sticky all over every morning. Lin Zhiyao buried her face in the wall and sobbed softly.

Why is this happening?

The blanket remained over her head, and Lin Zhiyao felt as if she had shrunk into an airtight darkness.

Tears silently seeped into the pillowcase.

Lin Zhiyao didn't know exactly how long she cried.

All she knew was that her eyes started to feel sore and swollen, and her nasal passages were so congested that she had to crawl out of the covers and slightly open her mouth to inhale a little air through her lips.

The unfamiliar sensations in her body hadn't completely subsided, and she tried to suppress them, but they stubbornly clung to her nerve endings, refusing to dissipate.

Why did Shen Jin do this? Clearly, clearly...

Was his gentle and polite demeanor in front of her all a facade? Was she, to him, merely... just a tool...?

The more Lin Zhiyao thought about it, the more upset and devastated she became. The good feelings she had developed for him over the past few days seemed to have turned into poisonous thorns.

It embarrassed and confused her.

If she didn't like Shen Jin, she could have slapped him hard the moment she discovered him sneaking into the room and run away.

But now it's like this...

She couldn't accept Shen Jin's actions, yet she couldn't bring herself to confront him or simply leave.

Lin Zhiyao felt so tired and just wanted to escape, but her heart was clenched so tightly that she couldn't stop crying.

Was everything that happened tonight really not a dream? Or was it a nightmare, not real...?

In the damp sadness.

Lin Zhiyao felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her brain, but what confused her even more was the vast mental void she was in.

Suddenly, a strange thought quietly surfaced, and then grew wildly like weeds in an instant.

Perhaps Shen Jin has some kind of mental health issue?

What's even stranger is that this idea had barely surfaced.

Lin Zhiyao actually felt that her tense nerves relaxed a little, and even her body was not so stiff anymore.

It was a very subtle, almost secret sense of relief, like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood. Regardless of whether the driftwood could carry her to shore, at least for the moment it made her feel less conflicted, pained, and sad.

Lin Zhiyao uncontrollably continued thinking along this line of thought.

Yes, if he has sleepwalking or addiction problems, then all of this tonight wouldn't be entirely considered as Shen Jin's deliberate act.

Perhaps he is out of control; he may not even know what he is doing, or he may not actually want to do it, but he just can't control himself. Maybe he should see a doctor.

These illnesses are inherently difficult to talk about, especially for someone like him who is the owner of a tech company. If it were revealed that he suffers from mental health issues, it could be a fatal blow to the stock price and the company's prospects.

Lin Zhiyao chewed over this reason in her mind several times, and the more she chewed it, the more reasonable it seemed, and she couldn't help but feel a little happy.

Perhaps this is the truth, and then it's not so unacceptable to her. She will accompany him to the hospital...

Lin Zhiyao became increasingly excited as she thought about it, almost believing that this was the truth, but—

Hot tears welled up in her eyes again, running down her soft cheeks, her small, upturned chin, and dripping onto her hand that was resting on her ear.

Lin Zhiyao's oxygen-deprived brain regained a sliver of clarity, but her body stiffened again.

She's going crazy...

Lin Zhiyao's lips twitched slightly as if in spasm, and she buried her face in the blanket again in an attempt to escape.

I have absolutely no idea what to do.

Waaah...

*

Lin Zhiyao slept very poorly that night.

I woke up several times intermittently in the latter half of the night, each time awakened by the lingering dampness or a nameless fear in my heart.

When I woke up for the fourth time, it was already dawn outside, and a gray-blue light was shining through the gaps in the curtains.

Lin Zhiyao glanced at her phone on the bedside table; the time was 6:17.

She propped herself up on her arms and sat up, her whole body aching and weak.

It felt like my bones were filled with lead; my thighs and buttocks were not very responsive, and my lower back was particularly numb and tingling.

She looked down at herself; two buttons on her pajamas had popped open, revealing a small patch of skin below her collarbone, which was clean and without any marks.

My thighs weren't red or swollen; they looked the same as usual.

But the lingering illusion caused by last night's experience remained firmly attached to my skin, impossible to wash off or rub away.

Lin Zhiyao threw off the covers and got out of bed. Her legs went weak, and she had to hold onto the edge of the bed to steady herself.

She walked barefoot to the door, reached out and touched the doorknob, hesitated for two seconds, and then turned it.

The door was locked, and the latch was intact. Once the deadbolt was engaged from the inside, it could not be opened by anyone outside.

She stood there, her fingers on the deadbolt, her fingertips pressing against the cold metal plate, something slowly sinking into her heart.

She didn't know how Shen Jin got in last night.

The door lock was intact and showed no signs of being pried open.

Lin Zhiyao released her grip and sat back down on the edge of the bed.

The phone screen lit up; it was a message from Shen Jin.

"Are you awake? Breakfast is ready and on the table. I have a morning meeting and I have to go now. Remember to eat."

Shen Jin spoke naturally, as if nothing had happened and today was just a normal morning.

Lin Zhiyao stared at that line of text for a long time, the cursor blinking in the input box, but she didn't type a single word. Finally, she locked the screen and put her phone face down under her pillow without replying.

Lin Zhiyao walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and the hot water cascaded down onto her shoulders. She closed her eyes and squeezed out some shower gel.

There was still a lingering foreign sensation between her thighs. She lightly touched the skin with her fingertips. It didn't hurt, wasn't red, and wasn't broken, but she just felt that her body had become very unfamiliar, as if it no longer belonged to her.

Lin Zhiyao's eyes reddened slightly again.

The shower gel foam was rinsed away, she turned off the water, wrapped herself in a towel and came out to dry herself. When she changed her clothes, she didn't wear the pajama bottoms she had worn last night, but instead picked up the underwear that had been pulled down last night.

The dampness has dried, leaving only faint water stains.

Lin Zhiyao stuffed it into the bottom of the laundry basket and covered it with several other clothes.

As Lin Zhiyao went downstairs, she walked very slowly, afraid of bumping into Shen Jin. When she reached the corner of the stairs, she first peeked into the living room. The sofa was empty, and on the coffee table was a sandwich sealed with plastic wrap and a cup of yogurt, with a note next to it.

She walked over and picked it up. It was still Shen Jin's handwriting, neat and tidy, exactly the same as yesterday's: "When you come back tonight, there are ingredients in the refrigerator. You can cook whatever you want."

Lin Zhiyao put the note back on the table.

The sandwich was bacon and egg, and tiny water droplets still clung to the edges of the sealed film, indicating it had just been made.

She didn't eat right away, but stared blankly for a while until a wave of acid reflux rose in her stomach. Instead of touching the breakfast Shen Jin had prepared, she went to the refrigerator and took out the bread she had bought earlier.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

Lin Zhiyao took it out to look at it. Chen Nian tagged her in the lab group chat, asking if she was going to school today, as there was new progress on her advisor's matter.

She had taken the past few days off to rest, but now, if she stayed in the house, she had no idea how to conduct herself.

Moreover, we really need to follow up on the matter of the mentor as soon as possible.

Lin Zhiyao replied with a "go", then quickly finished the rest of the bread, packed her backpack, and went out.

While riding the subway, she leaned against the corner by the carriage door. Her face was reflected in the glass opposite her; her complexion was a little pale, and there were faint dark circles under her eyes.

Lin Zhiyao reached out and pulled her scarf up to cover half of her face.

Laboratory building.

Chen Nian was sitting at the round table drinking coffee. When he saw her, he waved and said, "You've come at the right time. The department just sent an email and arranged for a new professor to take over the project that Harris was leading. The person has been decided. I guess we'll have to hold a meeting to reassign the students later."

Lin Zhiyao sat down and placed her backpack on her lap.

Chen Nian glanced at her: "What's wrong? You don't look well. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"A little."

Lin Zhiyao didn't explain further.

Chen Nian was talking about the new professor's background, but she wasn't really listening. Her mind seemed to be in a state of stagnation, either buzzing or completely blank, like a stuck gear that was difficult to operate.

Not only that, but images from last night kept flashing before my eyes.

Shen Jin's hot breath still seemed to linger on the back of her neck, and that hand slid down her shoulder, her fingertips...

Lin Zhiyao blinked hard and realized that she had been organizing data in the lab without her noticing. She moved the cursor to the next line.

She had to force herself to stay alert, but her dazed state kept recurring until the end of get out of class.

Lin Zhiyao had just reached the entrance of the laboratory building when her phone vibrated.

Shen Jin: "I'm done here, I'll just pick you up on my way. Wait at the East Gate."

Lin Zhiyao stood at the door, holding her phone and looking at it for several seconds.

She hasn't replied to Shen Jin's messages for a whole day.

The wind blew through the gaps in her scarf, making her cheeks feel cold. She tapped the screen with her thumb and typed, "No need, I'll take the subway home myself."

After sending the message, she added, "I'm a little tired today and want to go home and rest early."

Shen Jin replied quickly: "Wait for me, I'll be there soon."

Lin Zhiyao pursed her lips as she read the message he sent, and suddenly felt very tired, and a belated anger welled up inside her.

Why should he do this, completely disregarding her wishes and talking to himself?

Lin Zhiyao replied curtly, "I already said no need."

Then he turned around and left.

But he had only taken two steps.

A piercing horn blared from behind.

A familiar black sedan pulled up beside her, the window rolled down, revealing Shen Jin's face.

He wore that familiar yet unfamiliar gentle smile, and his fingers tapped slowly on the steering wheel, carrying an inexplicable sense of pressure. "Yao Yao, get in the car."

The tone left no room for refusal.