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Seven looked as though she was about to cry.

“Don’t cry, Seven.” White felt that she had been shedding far too many tears lately and hurried to comfort her. “It didn’t work this time, but there’ll always be a next time. Besides, that Lin Yichen…”

A sudden sizzling sound came from both of Seven’s hands, followed by wisps of white smoke.

“What’s happening? Why does it feel as though my superpower is out of control again?”

Seven immediately rushed to the bathroom and held her smoking hands beneath running water, but it did no good.

White ran after her. “Seven, wasn’t your power already under control? Why is it acting up again?”

“You just mentioned that awful bastard.” Seven stared at her hands, which crackled with lightning and continued to smoke. “Why does my power go haywire whenever he’s mentioned?”

“It isn’t your power that’s malfunctioning.” White had finally figured it out. “It’s him. He can control you, and that’s what makes your power go haywire.”

“How could that be? He’s only a human from Earth. How could he possibly control an extraterrestrial with superpowers?”

White analyzed the situation carefully. “Seven, weren’t you puzzled before because you couldn’t use your powers whenever you were near Lin Yichen? Now that I think about it, your signal device must be on him, which is why you can’t use your powers in his presence. And now that you’ve fallen for him, he’s making you lose control of yourself because you care about him more and more.”

“I don’t want to care about him! I don’t want to lose control of myself!”

Seven immediately teleported away.

“Seven, where are you going?” White shouted.

But she was already gone.

#

Yiyang had a document that needed his brother’s signature. Fang Li told him that President Lin would not be coming to the office today and would return tomorrow.

It was rare indeed for his brother not to come to work.

As Yiyang entered the office, his phone rang. It was his mother.

“Yiyang, I made the soup you like. Come home for lunch—”

“Mom, I’m afraid I can’t today.” Yiyang spoke while studying the data on his computer, his fingers still tapping away at the keyboard. “Xiyang hasn’t been at the company these past few days, so there’s no one to help me. I’m rather busy.”

Seven teleported back just then. Seeing her return, White immediately began talking about what she had been thinking.

“Seven, didn’t you say that sometimes, when you’re near Lin—”

She stopped herself. That name could not be mentioned.

“—near that human from Earth, you can occasionally use your powers?”

Only then did White notice what Seven was holding.

It was an enormous picture frame, with photographs of two people attached to it.

They were none other than Yichen and Anna.

“Seven, have you lost your mind? Why did you bring back pictures of two people you hate?”

“Didn’t you say that I care about him?” Seven placed the frame in the most conspicuous spot in the room. “I specially looked up desensitization therapy. If I stare at him every day, I’ll develop resistance. Then I won’t lose control anymore.”

“And what about Joanna? Why did you bring her picture too?”

“She’s for reinforcement therapy. Whenever I look at her, I’ll remind myself that he already has a girlfriend, and that she’s the one he loves. I can’t keep thinking about him. Given enough time, I’ll be able to break the habit.”

Seven thought her plan was perfectly appropriate—flawless, even.

She sat cross-legged on the bed, picked up a document from the bedside table, read it for one minute, then turned her head and stared at the picture frame for five.

White was baffled. “Seven, why do you only look at the document for such a short time, but stare at the two of them for so long?”

“Because I’m thinking…” Seven spoke sheepishly. “When he gets hungry, she carries takeout to him and feeds him. They hold hands while they go shopping. He buys delicious food for her and beautiful clothes for her, and then makes her pay him back. She owes him a huge amount of money, but she’s still happy. In the end, she hugs him and they share a sweet kiss.”

As she spoke, Seven wore an expression of bliss.

White was speechless. “Everything you just described is something he did with you, isn’t it? Look at you—you’re thinking about him again without even realizing it!”

“I’m not thinking about him. I’m restraining myself. I’m calming down.” Seven put down the document and took a deep breath. “I’m an extraterrestrial. How could I possibly be influenced by an Earth creature? That is absolutely unacceptable.”

“Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out…”

White rolled her eyes.

In the end, she could not be bothered to watch any longer and simply dozed off.

She had completely forgotten the question she had just asked Seven.

Meanwhile, Seven fell asleep on the bed while staring at the picture frame and continuing her breathing exercises.

Then she dreamed again.

She dreamed that she was walking along a narrow path between the trees. Small, quaint lamps stood on either side, lighting the way. Yet even in the dream, Seven could not make out the place clearly.

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Through the shadows, she saw a tall figure in the distance. It drew closer and closer, until she could finally see him clearly: a striking man standing straight and proud.

Seven immediately ran toward him.

There was laughter in his eyes. When he saw her running toward him, the smile in his eyes deepened.

Seeing this, Seven ran even faster.

But before she could reach him, the tall figure suddenly vanished.

Seven abruptly opened her eyes and sat up, her chest still heaving violently.

What kind of ridiculous dream had that been?

Damn it. Had she used up all her pleasant dreams at night, leaving only nightmares for the daytime?

Well, it could not really be called a nightmare. The man had simply disappeared in the blink of an eye.

But she herself had gone somewhere else in the blink of an eye, hadn’t she?

Even so, Seven’s heart refused to settle.

No, no. She had to go outside and get some air.

She teleported and arrived in an unfamiliar place. Before her stood an enormous dining table, its entire color scheme cold and austere.

Seven was bewildered. What was this place? How had she ended up here?

She glanced toward the living room. Everything was either gray or black, giving the whole place an inexplicably chilly atmosphere.

Good heavens, she had to get out of here. This house was far too cold.

She teleported again and arrived in the bathroom.

Seven looked at her hands. They were not smoking, nor were they making any electrical sounds. Yet why did it feel as though she could no longer use her powers freely?

How had she ended up in the bathroom?

Still, it was fortunate that both places had been empty. If she had teleported into a crowded street, humans from Earth would probably have dragged her away for experiments on the spot!

The very thought made Seven shudder. She had suddenly realized that being unable to control her powers was truly dangerous.

It seemed she could no longer use them carelessly.

This time, Seven obediently walked out of the bathroom, only to discover that she was in a large shopping mall.

When she stepped outside, dark clouds pressed low overhead.

Was it about to rain?

She had to hurry home. Seven looked around. This was the road she always took after work.

Since she was familiar with the area, she should be able to get home quickly.

She had only just lifted her leg when a familiar car stopped in the distance. Then the person inside stepped out.

Yichen was wearing a dark gray sweater, the thin fabric stretched over his broad, muscular chest.

It was the first time Seven had seen him without a suit.

As though sensing someone’s gaze, Yichen turned his head.

The moment his eyes met hers, his first thought was: Was she following him?

Yichen stood beside the car and stared at her.

Under President Lin’s unwavering gaze, Seven felt awkward and quickly looked away.

Good heavens, she had been mooning over him again.

She had been warning herself all along not to lose control because of him.

She had better leave at once.

But then—

She suddenly sensed someone approaching. She raised her eyes and saw a handsome face, the brows carrying a hint of frivolous amusement.

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What was that expression supposed to mean?

The corners of Yichen’s lips lifted with a teasing curve, and he gave a low laugh.

“This morning, you said you never wanted me to see you again and that you would stay far away from me. Yet only a short while later, here you are in front of me. Are you following me?”

“…”

Seven touched her nose, then realized that something was wrong.

It was not as though she had deliberately appeared in front of him.

She lowered her hand, gave a small snort, and replied with proud, girlish playfulness, “A beautiful girl like me has no desire to appear in front of an arrogant man like you!”

Yichen merely smiled faintly. “I’m arrogant?”

Seven noticed that his thin lips always held the faintest hint of a smile.

A fake smile, was it? As if she could not do the same.

Seven raised her brows calmly and imitated him, letting a barely perceptible smile curl her lips.

“You accuse me of trying to seduce you all the time, and now you’re saying I’m following you. You’re not only arrogant, you’re narcissistic too.”

The smile at the corners of Yichen’s lips deepened. To Seven, it suddenly seemed to carry an almost wicked allure.

Good grief. Why did this capitalist become even more captivating when he was cold?

Then she suddenly realized that she was mooning over him again.

She had only just come back to her senses when the man, apparently unwilling to say anything more, turned and walked toward the shopping mall.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning tore across the sky. White light flashed before her eyes, followed immediately by a deafening boom of thunder.

“Ah!”

Seven screamed in fright and instinctively threw her arms around the person in front of her.

Her slender arms clung tightly to him, her cheek pressed against his chest, her eyes squeezed shut. Her body trembled faintly beneath the force of her embrace.

“Lin Yichen, cover my ears!”

Yichen’s surprise was rare and unmistakable. The soft body of the girl in his arms was pressed tightly against him—warm and sweet, like an inextinguishable flame. It flared up in an instant, setting his heart pounding fiercely.

He lowered his eyes to her pale face, her lashes trembling with fear and her tender lips tightly pursed. His hands seemed to move of their own accord, rising to cover her small ears.

Thunder continued to roll across the sky. Soon, rain came crashing down in a sudden deluge.

“Ah, it’s raining.”

Yichen frowned, then swept her up around the waist and carried her toward the car.

Only after they were inside did Seven come back to herself.

Had she just hugged him?

And he had covered her ears?

He had even carried her into the car?

Wasn’t he supposed to hate her? Then why had he—

“Storms arrive violently and leave just as violently. The moment the rain stops, get out of my car.”

His voice was low, but to Seven it seemed to carry an icy chill that penetrated straight to the bone.

Damn it. Just moments ago, she had been wondering whether he might not hate her anymore.

Just listen to the way he spoke.

Hmph. He was always snapping at her.

Seven turned to him coldly. “Do you think your car is the only one I can ride in? Let me tell you, I’m beautiful enough to make anyone stop for me. All I have to do is bat my eyelashes, and there’ll be plenty of people willing to let me into their cars.”

At that, a cold, wicked smile tugged at Yichen’s lips.

“Plenty of people willing to let you into their cars?”

“That’s right.” Seven exaggerated shamelessly. “Not only have plenty of people let me into their cars, I’ve ridden in plenty of cars too!”