Manipulate My Heart [操纵我心] [GL]

Chapter 9

Zhuo Shixue's loud shout caught the attention of everyone in the tavern. However, this "Isabella" didn't seem to care that they were being watched. She looked at Zhuo Shixue, her eyes strangely soft.

Zhuo Shixue, though, noticed how everyone stared nosily at them.

"Xiao-xue, we haven't seen each other in so long. Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?"

"I-I don't want to know..." Zhuo Shixue grabbed her belongings, about to stand up— when someone pressed a hand down on her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man in a purple suit, holding her down. A shiver traveled up her spine.

Isabella noticed the look on Zhuo Shixue's face and glared at the man. He backed off.

Around them, the whispers in the tavern grew louder and louder.

"Don't worry, I won't force you to do anything this time," Isabella smiled. "I don't want to ruin my pet's memory of me even further."

"D-Don't call me that, I'm begging you..." Zhuo Shixue clutched her head, shaking. She could barely think. "I don't want to ever see you again!"

How had she run into Isabella here? All she'd wanted was to eat dinner and go home.

"Why not?" Isabella asked, confused.

The question enraged Zhuo Shixue. She looked around her and whispered, "Are you insane? I think you're sick up here, y'know?"

Zhuo Shixue angrily pointed at her own head. "First of all, you used me for human experimentation. You monitored every aspect of my life, controlled it, and turned me into a puppet who couldn't think for herself. And you ask me why?!"

Isabella just played with her hair as Zhuo Shixue hissed at her. "But let's not forget... Didn't you agree with my methods in the beginning?"

"What...?! I didn't know you were a freak back then!" Zhuo Shixue was out of breath. Her hands were shaking as she argued with Isabella. "If I hadn't escaped, you would've ruined me. I would've become a robot that followed every one of your orders. Was that what you wanted?"

"What's so bad about that?" Isabella chuckled. "Xiao-xue, you have to admit that you were living a better life when you were with me than you are now. You didn't need to work, you didn't need to interact with people, and you didn't have to do a single thing you didn't feel like doing."

Zhuo Shixue took this in. She thought of everything that'd happened to her recently. It was true — now, she did have to finish tasks that weren't hers without receiving any credit. She earned only three to four thousand a month, lived in a cheap apartment, and was in a two-year relationship with a cheating girlfriend. Her parents were also nagging her to get married.

Just thinking about it made her want to collapse.

"Xiao-xue, I know why you ran away. You want freedom, but you're still not free. Look at all these people here tonight. Do you think they're free? The man sitting next to you with his beer probably still has to go back to work after he's done eating. If he doesn't, he'll be lectured and fired. His wife and kids are probably all relying on the meager scraps he earns."

"I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it! I have a life of my own. I can make my own choices. I know how manipulative you can be. Otherwise, you wouldn't be a psychologist!"

"Well, most importantly..." Isabella tapped her chin, her rosy lips parting and then closing as she smiled."Xiao-xue, you've never really loved yourself, have you?"

"I—"

That effectively silenced Zhuo Shixue. She dazedly stared up at Isabella.

"You're hurting yourself. You don't know what else to do. The relationships you find yourself in... I won't even mention your previous ones." Isabella snapped her fingers. The bodyguard in a suit walked over with a folder and handed it to her.

Isabella opened the folder and took out its contents, spreading them out across the table. They were all pictures of Xia Tong. They were the ones she'd seen on the flash drive.

"You saw how close she was with that man the other night, yet you desperately tried convincing yourself it wasn't real. You didn't break up with her the next day at work." Isabella gently tapped one of the pictures with her finger. "Look, none of these pictures are edited. They're real. You're still running away from the issue even after I mailed you the flash drive."

"You only leave a relationship once you've beaten yourself black and blue over it."

Isabella's words seemed to cut even deeper into the wound Zhuo Shixue already bore. The blood poured out.

"I..."

"If you can't love yourself, then why not let me love you?" Isabella placed her palm on the back of Zhuo Shixue's hand. Zhuo Shixue sensed it coming and tried to pull her hand back, but she couldn't escape Isabella's tight grip.

"Xiao-xue, you've always wanted a lover who'd never betray you, who'd never abandon you, who'd love you with all her heart. Am I not your best option?" Isabella's words felt like the whispers of a nightmare. "You knew what kind of person I was from the moment we first met. I love you. I'm willing to give you the world. Stay with me, and you'll never need to work at that worthless company again. Your parents will never force you to get married. I can make sure they never say a word again.

Am I not the best solution to all of your problems?"

Help me, help me—

Zhuo Shixue's brain was full of flashing red warning lights. How did she still not realise the extent of Isabella's power? Everything she said was true— she really could do all of the things she'd said. It was all so enticing. She... was on the verge of crawling back into Isabella's special cage again.

"N-no..."

Zhuo Shixue attempted to forcibly pull back her hand from Isabella's again, but found that the other woman was much stronger than she was. Zhuo Shixue had to use her other hand to help free herself.

"Why not?" Isabella kept asking. "I can fulfill the promises I just made."

"I don't care about those promises!" Zhuo Shixue finally freed her hand from Isabella's. She stared at Isabella with a look of despair. "Why me? There are so many other people on earth you could choose. Why did it have to be me? I'm not capable of anything. Why have I caught your eye?"

"Would you really like to know why~?" Isabella folded her hands and rested her chin on top of them. Her tone had faded into something ambiguous, dangerous.

"I would."

"Alright, pet. I'm happy to provide a solution to your problems," Isabella chuckled, looking delighted. "I haven't seen you in so long. You're still so adorable."

"Answer me already!" Zhuo Shixue's voice was harsh.

"I just wish you weren't so mean. Don't worry, though, I still enjoy it. Can I think of this as a romantic gesture you're offering me?"

"You—" Zhuo Shixue's hatred was boiling over.

"Alright, alright, baby girl." Isabella spun her hand in the air. "The answer's simple. I thought you'd already have guessed it."

"What?"

"It's because you're so easy to control. I'm simply defenseless against people like you."