Forbidden but Unattainable Breeds Trouble

Su Cheng emerged from the dim alley. The long-unrepaired, yellowish streetlights on the road flickered erratically.

He took a closer look, and sure enough, there was a luxury car parked ahead. The car lights were especially eye - catching in the night.

He was covered in sweat and smelled of post - exercise. So, he didn't plan to go back by car.

Su Cheng decided to ask for directions and then jog home on his own.

He walked towards the car. Just as he was about to ask the driver in the driver's seat how to get home, unexpectedly, the back door of the car suddenly opened. Then, Liu Qingyue stepped out of the car, holding a towel and a bottle of water in her hands.

"Senior sister, why are you here?"

Su Cheng looked at her in surprise, but Liu Qingyue didn't say a word. Instead, she threw the towel at him and said, "Wipe yourself off first."

"Okay." Su Cheng nodded, took the towel, and wiped his face and then his neck. At this time, Liu Qingyue handed him a bottle of water. "Have some water."

Su Cheng took the water she offered and drank it. After finishing, he asked, "Senior sister, why did you come?"

"Someone is extremely good at causing trouble. I was afraid that if I didn't come quickly, he'd be sold without even knowing it," Liu Qingyue said in a light - hearted and somewhat joking tone.

"Do you mean me?"

Su Cheng pointed at himself and smiled helplessly.

"Right. At least you're self - aware."

"But I don't want such things to happen either..."

Su Cheng sighed. He originally wanted to say that this time it wasn't his fault; it was others who came to extort him.

But as soon as he started to speak, he was interrupted by Liu Qingyue's look, and he had to stop.

"Do you want to say that trouble came to you?"

Liu Qingyue seemed to know what he was going to say.

"Yes, it was a robber who tried to rob me..."

Su Cheng nodded in agreement very much, and then explained excitedly, "Just think about it. If it were you, running outside the city and enjoying the scenery, and suddenly being robbed by a robber, where could you go to reason?"

"But unfortunately, that's not what I'm talking about," Liu Qingyue said, shaking her head with a smile as she listened to his exaggerated description. Then she said to him, "I was called by the young lady to help clean up the mess. By the way, she asked me to remind you of your current situation."

"The young lady?" Hearing this, Su Cheng immediately looked at her nervously. "Remind me of what?"

"Seeing that you're not planning to go back by car," Liu Qingyue turned around, put her hands behind her back, and walked along the roadside with a brisk pace. "Since that's the case, let's talk on the way home. We can also enjoy the scenery. If there are robbers, you have to protect me."

"Uh... okay."

Su Cheng nodded. Although he was eager to know the result, seeing Liu Qingyue's relaxed look, he couldn't bear to break the mood. Finally, he gave up asking directly and just followed her. Then the two walked side by side along the street.

After walking for a while, Liu Qingyue still didn't say a word. Instead, she hummed a song and hopped along looking at the road markings on the ground.

Finally, Su Cheng couldn't help but ask, "What on earth is it?"

"The journey is long," Liu Qingyue said, a bit annoyed at being interrupted. "It'll take us more than an hour to walk back, so there's no hurry."

Seeing this, Su Cheng didn't ask any more questions. He thought that Liu Qingyue was deliberately keeping him in suspense.

It wasn't until more than ten minutes later that the two reached a crossroads.

At the crossroads, there was an old woman sitting there. She had gray hair on her head and was wearing shabby clothes, but she looked energetic. There was also a stall beside her, with signs that read mung bean soup, jelly, and pearl milk tea.

Liu Qingyue suddenly stopped and pointed at the old woman's stall, saying cheerfully to Su Cheng, "I want milk tea."

Seeing this, Su Cheng felt extremely embarrassed. To relieve the awkwardness, he felt in his pockets and explained, "Well... I didn't bring anything when I went out for a run. How about I treat you next time?"

"It's okay. Put it on the young lady's account," Liu Qingyue said with a carefree smile. Then she said to the old woman, "I want chocolate - flavored milk tea with pearls and coconut jelly."

"Miss, this is a small - scale business. No credit is given," the old woman said seriously to Liu Qingyue. "The young lady you mentioned doesn't have an account here."

Hearing this, Liu Qingyue pouted in disappointment. She hooked her finger at the luxury car that was slowly moving behind them.

Soon, the car stopped, and the driver got out, holding a wallet in his hand.

"Come on, what would you like to drink, junior?" Liu Qingyue asked Su Cheng, who was trying hard not to laugh beside her.

Su Cheng shook his head. "I just drank water. I'm not thirsty."

"If you don't drink, I won't tell you," Liu Qingyue put her hands on her hips and deliberately acted like a spoiled girl.

Su Cheng had no choice but to step forward. He took a look at the stall.

He found that the so - called pearl milk tea at this stall was the old - fashioned kind made from essence milk tea powder that had long been out of fashion in the milk tea industry. All the flavors were in colorful powder jars.

"I'll have mung bean soup," Su Cheng said. Although this kind of milk tea was very popular when he was a child, as he was working out, he chose a healthier and lighter drink.

At this time, the butler handed over the money.

"Sure thing!" The old woman took the money and replied with a beaming smile. She rummaged through the bottles and jars and picked out a green powder jar and a gray one.

Sure enough, they were mung bean powder and chocolate powder.

But...

Where was the promised mung bean soup?

Mung bean - flavored milk tea?!

Seeing this, Su Cheng's face turned green. He leaned closer to his senior sister and whispered, "Senior sister, do you really want to drink this kind of fraudulently advertised and unhealthy drink?"

"I'm not going to drink it," Liu Qingyue looked at him strangely.

"Then why are you buying it?"

Su Cheng asked in confusion.

"I'm going to collect it," Liu Qingyue explained seriously.

Hearing this, Su Cheng was shocked. "What's there to collect about this? It'll go bad in a few days."

"Oh, I'm going to make it into a specimen as a souvenir," Liu Qingyue said quite seriously.

"Is it necessary?" Hearing this explanation, Su Cheng couldn't believe it. He couldn't help but ask doubtfully, "But what's so special about it to collect?"

"Okay, here are your mung bean and milk tea!"

While they were talking, the old woman handed the two cups of milk tea to Su Cheng and Liu Qingyue and then greeted them warmly.

"Thank you."

The two took the milk tea. Su Cheng said to Liu Qingyue, "Senior sister, please make this cup of mung bean milk tea into a specimen for me too. I'm exercising recently and shouldn't drink this high - calorie drink."

Liu Qingyue glanced at him, and a playful look flashed in her eyes. "Because it's from my junior, I want to make it into a specimen as a souvenir. How about you?"

"Me too," Su Cheng immediately explained. "This can be a witness to our friendship. What do you think, senior sister?"

Suddenly, Liu Qingyue stopped, turned around, and stared directly at Su Cheng. "No. You drink it!" Her tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

"..."

Su Cheng was speechless. He didn't know where he had offended her again, so he could only resign himself to his fate, insert the straw, and take a sip.

"How does it taste?"

After watching Su Cheng take a sip, Liu Qingyue asked, her expression betraying a hint of worry that he might not like it.

"It tastes like childhood, nothing special."

"Oh... So, do you think it's good or not?"

"Well... I'm not really good at telling flavors apart," Su Cheng replied uncertainly, choosing to brush it off since they were in front of the elderly vendor. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

"Alright, if you don’t like it, no need to force yourself."

Liu Qingyue reached out her hand.

Su Cheng handed her the drink, assuming she was going to throw it away for him.

The two continued walking along the roadside. Spotting a trash bin ahead, Su Cheng quickly pointed it out. "Senior, there’s a trash can up ahead."

But when he turned to look, he froze in surprise. Liu Qingyue was sipping from his mung bean tea.

That in itself wasn’t the issue.

The real problem was the straw—the same one he had just used.

"Uh…" Su Cheng hesitated before mustering the courage to say, "That straw… I already used it."

"I switched to the other end," Liu Qingyue replied nonchalantly before casually tossing the drink into the trash bin as they passed it. "Pretty terrible, honestly."

Su Cheng didn’t know how to respond.

They resumed their walk in silence, the atmosphere between them growing subtly awkward.

Su Cheng glanced around, searching for something to talk about, but their eyes accidentally met.

Instantly, both looked away, flustered.

At a traffic light, Su Cheng finally broke the silence. "Senior, shouldn’t you tell me now?"

"And what exactly should I tell you?" Liu Qingyue stopped walking, her tone light and playful. She held a chocolate-flavored milk tea in her hand, tapping the plastic cup with her slender fingers, producing crisp, rhythmic sounds.

Tap, tap—

Each tap seemed to resonate in Su Cheng’s chest, especially with the teasing, knowing lilt in her voice, which only made him more nervous.

"Didn’t President Ji ask you to remind me of something?"

Su Cheng averted his gaze, his reply coming out a little stiff.

Hearing this, Liu Qingyue chuckled softly. "Didn’t I say we had time? You’re the one who refused to take a ride. If you want to know now, we’ll have to take a shortcut back."

"Then let’s take the shortcut. It’s getting late."

Su Cheng quickly agreed.

"Let’s go, then."

With that, Liu Qingyue strode ahead, leaving Su Cheng to follow closely beside her.

Night deepened around them.

They turned into a narrow alley, dimly lit by flickering yellow lamps.

The ground was paved with old cobblestones that creaked softly under their footsteps.

The buildings on either side looked aged and worn, their walls peeling from years of neglect. Overhead, tangled wires and cables stretched between them, while external air conditioning units jutted out awkwardly from the walls.

Despite the shabby surroundings, Su Cheng felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if he had returned to his hometown.

As they walked, their arms accidentally brushed against each other, and even through their clothes, he could feel the warmth of her presence.

Su Cheng turned to her. "Can you tell me now?"

"Mhm." Liu Qingyue tucked a loose strand of her short hair behind her ear before looking up at him.

Her delicate features, illuminated by the faint light, carried a faint blush. With her mixed heritage, her eyes seemed especially bright, almost as if they could speak.

For a moment, Su Cheng held his breath.

But then, the shy tint on her cheeks vanished, replaced by her usual composed smile.

"The young miss asked me to remind you not to glare at people—especially girls—when you’re in a bad mood."

"Huh?"

Su Cheng blinked, completely lost.

"You still don’t get it?"

"Get what?"

Liu Qingyue grinned, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. "You’ve awakened a special ability."

"Special ability?"

Su Cheng’s confusion only deepened.

"Then, let’s watch the replay."

Sighing, Liu Qingyue pulled out her phone and held it up for him to see.

Su Cheng leaned in and saw footage of himself practicing archery earlier that afternoon.

Liu Qingyue explained, "This coach just happened to look into your focused eyes—and immediately collapsed from exhaustion."

"How is that my fault?"

Su Cheng gaped, unable to process what he was hearing.

"Alright, let’s move to the next clip."

The video changed, showing a confrontation he had with two thugs in an alley earlier.

The footage was crystal clear, as if it had been filmed in broad daylight. It zoomed in on the exact moment the two men locked eyes with him—complete with slow-motion replay and close-ups.

Su Cheng’s expression shifted to shock.

"H-How is this possible?"

His hands flew to his face as he frantically touched his own eyes, searching for something different. But to him, they felt completely normal.

"Simply put," Liu Qingyue pocketed her phone and explained softly, "you’ve awakened a unique ocular ability. When used on men with weaker willpower than yours, it induces sheer terror. For women, it causes… infatuation."

"Wait—" Su Cheng couldn’t believe his ears. "Didn’t you say all these abilities have scientific explanations? Mine makes no sense!"

"There’s a saying: the eyes are the windows to the soul."

Liu Qingyue smiled knowingly, as if she had anticipated his reaction. "The retina is the innermost neural tissue of the eye, directly connected to the diencephalon via the optic nerve."

"When someone looks into your eyes, they’re essentially peering into your central nervous system."

She paused, watching Su Cheng’s bewildered expression before continuing. "From what we can tell, your CNS has undergone a mutation—an evolution, if you will. It can now link with the CNS of anyone who meets your gaze and transmit negative emotions, inducing a debilitating state."

Su Cheng fell silent, his emotions a tangled mess.

He had never imagined possessing such an ability. What did it mean for his life? How would he handle it? A string of questions swirled in his mind.

Liu Qingyue watched him, a flicker of amusement in her eyes. "I know this might be hard for you to accept, but you must learn to control this power—otherwise, it could bring you nothing but trouble."