Chapter 3
"ow~"
The corridor outside the Principal's office glead crimson in the late-afternoon light. A handso boy with a bag slung over one shoulder walked slowly, a black cat padding behind him. Hashimoto had already vanished.
School was over—whatever ca next was no longer Yan Huan's concern. He had thanked Hashimoto in the group chat and told him not to bother seeing him further.
He now stood on the floor that held the Principal's office. The hush was so deep he could already pick out the faint murmur of conversation inside.
He didn't go straight in. Instead, he turned to the window to check his appearance, shifting the satchel onto his back and glancing down at the cat sitting on the floor, licking its paw.
"ow-chan, wait here for . Don't wander off—soone might notice you."
"Relax. I can take care of myself."
The cat clearly disliked the na Yan Huan had given it, yet it couldn't be bothered to argue. Its clear green eyes blinked; a voice sounded in Yan Huan's mind.
"If you want, I can let only you perceive . Don't worry where I'll go—just call in your head and I'll appear."
"That magical? Good to know."
"ow~"
Reassured, Yan Huan nodded and left the black cat behind. He headed for the office he had visited countless tis.
At the door he hesitated; the muffled conversation inside made him uneasy. An orphan suddenly confronted with soone claiming to be "Mother" sounded like either urban horror or another Modifier plot.
He leaned closer.
"—Yes, yes, he's exceptional. He's the student-council president at Yuanyue Academy. Although he has administrative duties, he still qualifies for full tuition waivers, recomndation letters, and guaranteed university placent."
Principal Hers's reedy voice was unmistakable.
"But even with the waiver," a gentle, moist voice replied, "he'd still have to find the remaining third of tuition. How will he manage that?"
The speaker sounded ageless—warm as a spring breeze brushing one's cheek.
"Well... The school allows part-ti jobs, and I'm preparing a scholarship proposal for the board—especially for a student of his calibre."
"That's perfect. I'm here on behalf of Yeshi International to establish a Long-Country Immigrant Grant at Yuanyue. I hope it will support your proposal. Our liaison will contact you regarding donations—"
"You're too generous, Mrs. Ye. Oh dear—he must have switched his phone to airplane mode during exams."
"No matter."
Nothing concrete. Yan Huan squared his shoulders and knocked.
Tap-tap.
"Principal Hers? You wanted to see ?"
"Ah, here he is." The Principal chuckled to the woman, then called louder, "Co in, Yan Huan."
Yan Huan pushed open the door. The lavish office greeted him; Principal Hers sat on the leather sofa opposite, every strand of his salt-and-pepper hair in place, the goat-tee under his lip waxed to a perfect point. Facing him sat a woman whose back was to the door, her black hair coiled in a glossy bun.
Yan Huan's gaze snagged on the jade hairpin holding the knot—its carving so exquisite it seed grown rather than carved. The sa glance caught the subtle curves outlined by her qipao.
A strand of hair tucked behind one ear left the other exposed; the erald earring trembled delicately.
As Yan Huan entered she turned. At the cusp between youth and maturity, her face was striking. Her pupils shrank a fraction.
Beautiful.
She rose, gathering the hem of her dark-green floral qipao, and looked Yan Huan up and down—lingering on his face.
In an instant her eyes reddened; she pressed a hand to her mouth.
"So alike... sob..."
What the—how could anyone look that similar?
Yan Huan stared, wide-eyed, at the elegant woman, then at the beaming Principal, utterly lost.
Once again he felt the sa jolt he'd had when he t Bai Yi.
Who are you? We've never t.
He glanced questioningly at Principal Hers, who bead back.
"Yan Huan, allow to introduce Mrs. Ye Lan, the new regional director for Yeshi International here in Linn City-on-the-Sea."
Linn City-on-the-Sea—ho to Yuanyue Academy, a floating ga-city fad for its modernity, bustling economy, and immigrant communities. A place that had never existed in Yan Huan's previous life.
Yeshi International—one of the top hundred conglorates in Long-Country. And Long-Country, as the na implied, was this world's analogue of his forr holand.
All of which ant the woman before him was no small figure.
Yan Huan understood the facts—but not why she called herself "Mother."
"Um—Mrs. Ye, hello. Have we t before?"
Ye Lan dabbed her eyes with the sa hand that had covered her mouth, then stepped swiftly toward him, words trembling on her tongue.
But whatever she ant to say dissolved into a sob. She couldn't help herself—she pulled Yan Huan into an embrace.
Soft warmth pressed against him. Yan Huan froze, nearly jumping away, wondering if so Modifier required physical contact. Before he could move, Ye Lan's quivering voice reached his ear.
"I'm sorry... sob... you look exactly like your mother... sob..."
"...Mother?"
Yan Huan froze; the tension in his arms slackened a fraction, but he still dared not move.
After a mont Ye Lan mastered herself. Hands on his shoulders, she leaned back, eyes scarlet.
"Yes. Your parents were my dearest friends in Long-Country—especially your mother, Wang Yulu. She was my best friend."
"We attended university together. After graduation they ca to Linn, while I stayed behind. I lost contact... never imagined..."
So she was a friend of this life's parents.
At the ntion of the unfamiliar yet intimate na, a weight slid off Yan Huan's heart.
Honestly, since crossing into this world Yan Huan had paid little attention to the previous generation's affairs.
The reason was simple: he had shared only a handful of months with them. Infant brain developnt had left him dazed; by the ti he regained clarity, the plane crash had already claid them.
An infant, alone in a foreign land, with no imdiate kin—only a flock of distant relatives who swooped into Linn to carve up his parents' estate.
The practice had an ugly na: "asset-stripping an orphan."
By the ti Yan Huan's transmigrated soul fully awakened, the relatives had vanished, leaving him to the orphanage's hard-mode start.
For more than a decade he had grown accustod to solitude—until today, when a true friend of his late parents finally appeared. Why so late? He didn't know.
He shifted at once.
"Auntie Ye."
"Ah—good boy."
Ye Lan withdrew her hands, wiped her tears, and smiled through her sniffles.
"I'm sorry—I shouldn't bring up painful mories. Since arriving in Linn I've been searching for you. I never imagined you'd grown so resilient, so accomplished. Not only taking care of yourself, but entering such a prestigious school. Your mother would be so proud..."
Again she spoke of Yan Huan's mother.
He played along.
"I'm sure Mother would be happy to see Auntie Ye again."
Big mistake. At his words Ye Lan's eyes reddened once more, her lips trembling.
Seeing the near-cry expression, Yan Huan waved his hands.
"Sorry—I said I wouldn't ntion sad things."
"Sob... Xiao Huan—Auntie can call you that, right?"
"Of course."
He glanced past Ye Lan at Principal Hers, whose wrinkles had arranged themselves into a chrysanthemum grin—the man always glowed when donors appeared.
Sensing Yan Huan's gaze, the Principal belatedly plucked tissues from the desk and offered them.
"Mrs. Ye, please."
"Thank you, Principal Hers."
Ye Lan dabbed her eyes, blew her nose, then looked up at Yan Huan, lower lip still quivering.
But one glance at Yan Huan's face—so like the old friend—sent the corners of her mouth downward again.
Fortunately Yan Huan's newly acquired Perfect Expression Managent activated.
He hesitated, pressed his lips together, knitted his brows, let his gaze flit anxiously over her reddened eyes.
"Auntie..."
It looked as though her grief had stirred him, yet the blank in his mory left him adrift—touched, yet unable to share her sorrow. The blend of sympathy and helplessness settled into a perfect show of bewildernt.
Seeing his expression, Ye Lan's heart twisted. Realizing her loss of composure was burdening the child, she composed herself.
"It's all right. Auntie is in Linn now—I'll help with everything. Once we're done here I'll take you ho for dinner. Principal Hers, thank you for this afternoon."
Yan Huan relaxed a little. The elder seed deeply connected to his late parents; no wonder she was emotional.
Though he still wasn't great with elders, the good news was that Ye Lan appeared unrelated to any Modifier—she had simply co to find him.
"It's no trouble at all, Mrs. Ye. Yuanyue Academy is grateful for Yeshi International's support."
Ye Lan composed herself, drew out her phone, and smiled at Yan Huan.
"Perfect timing. Your older sister just arrived in Linn not long ago and doesn't have any friends her age yet. Let Xiao Huan et her tonight—she'll be thrilled. I'll go tell her right now."
"Wait, what?
There's soone else?"
The small relief Yan Huan had just felt vanished. He blinked, zeroing in on a particular word in Ye Lan's sentence.
"Older sister?"
Ye Lan bead and nodded, thinking for a mont.
"That's right—Auntie's daughter. She's a year older than you, Xiao Huan. She finished her second year of high school in Longguo. You'll be going to the sa school, so Auntie will introduce you later."
Looking into Ye Lan's sparkling, expectant eyes, Yan Huan couldn't find a single reasonable excuse to refuse.
Yet, perhaps because of what ow-chan had just told him, a sudden, ominous feeling washed over him.
Still, he kept his polite smile in place.
"All right, Auntie Ye."
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