Chapter 78
"Sis Tong, I hate you."
Wednesday, early morning, Yuanyue Academy Student-Council Office.
From the "President's Throne," Yan Huan sat bolt upright, cramming another mini-bun into his mouth, afraid to lean back even an inch. The slightest brush against the chair sent daggers through his spine.
All because Sis Tong had gone full drill-sergeant last night. She'd corrected every stance, tid every beat—yet never once considered his new, double-pain debuff. It was as though his agony only sharpened her mood. A true evil boss who squeezed every last drop from her employees.
Worse, as the workload ramped up, the second side-effect of the "Naturalist" buff kicked in: hunger. Muscles now rebuilt at double speed, but the calories they demanded were monstrous—like a bottomless pit yawning in his gut.
He'd woken ravenous at five a.m. The convenience store near the public-rent flats only had lukewarm Dragon-Country buns. By the ti the school bus rolled onto campus, he was starving again and nearly gnawed on Hashimoto's arm.
Because the group chat said to et in the office first thing and divide post-expo duties, Yan had dashed into the supermarket and bought a sack of mini-buns. The three girls hadn't arrived yet, and the bag was already almost empty.
Creak—
"Morning!! President!! Hashimoto!!"
The doors burst open and Yua Lina bounded in, striking an idol-worthy pose.
"Yuanyue's shining idol—Yua Lina, now appearing desu!"
Yan swallowed a mouthful of bread and greeted her. "Morning, Yua Lina."
Hashimoto, eyes glued to a brutal raid on his phone, didn't even look up. Fingers blurred over the screen as he fired off a casual insult.
"Which kindergarten let you out? No gold stars here—shoo."
"Hashimoto!!"
Yua Lina puffed her cheeks. Behind her, Ashley strolled in wearing a smirk, while Sakuramiya Hitomi followed with a helpless smile.
Ashley stepped past the fuming girl. "The President booked Bai Yi for the opening, not you. By the way, President, are these all confession snacks? That's a lot of carbs."
Exactly. Yesterday Yan had announced in chat that Bai Yi would perform at Club-Wars. Clearly, he and Bai Yi had talked plenty in private. When they'd t alone, the girl had spilled her heart in minutes. Fan A—almost certainly the President—had left footprints all over her thoughts.
Even as her mind raced, Sakuramiya drifted to the desk, eyeing the shrinking pile of buns.
"Ah! Snacks! President, I want so!"
Yua Lina, drooling, lunged forward. On any other day, Yan—ever the pushover—would have let her pilfer like a plump mouse. But today's Yan wasn't yesterday's Yan.
Today's Yan was starving.
Slap!
A warm hand locked around her wrist mid-snatch. When she looked up, Yan's smile carried a ravenous shadow that made her squeak.
"Yua Lina, I'm not even feeding myself. Hand over whatever goodies you brought."
"Eh?! The President's gone territorial! Don't let the starving ghost devour !"
Hashimoto watched the final boss on his screen collapse. He exhaled and glanced over. "President's been lifting. Appetite's up. He ate breakfast, then still bought all these buns."
Ashley slid onto the sofa beside him, shoving the hapless gar aside. Ignoring his glare, she tapped her chin.
"Working out, huh? Got a crush?"
Sakuramiya's eyes snapped toward them. Hashimoto gave her a side-eye and scoffed.
"Love-brain."
Ashley's smile turned brittle. "When I steal your account and all your digital wives disappear, we'll see who's love-brained."
Hashimoto shivered and yanked his phone away.
"Violent woman—hands off my waifus."
"Hah. Basent troll."
"Hah. Violent—hey! A gentleman uses words, not fists!"
While the two bickered, Sakuramiya appeared at the table, voice sweet and eerie.
"President, let Yua Lina go. I brought snacks."
Yua Lina's face lit up like a rescue beacon. "Sakuramiya, you're my hero—save !"
Sakuramiya rely smiled, gaze drifting to where Yan's fingers circled Yua Lina's wrist. If you struggled just a bit harder, Secretary Yua, I'd understand. But you're motionless—almost enjoying the President's grip. How indecent... just like your chest.
She pulled a small box from a drawer beneath the bookshelf. Inside sat neat rows of sakura mochi.
"President, please help yourself."
"Thanks, Sakuramiya. Don't mind if I do."
Yan released Yua Lina and studied the sweets—delicate, obviously handmade. A faint red-bean scent teased his tongue, but manners first. He glanced up—and found Sakuramiya's eyes locked on his own hungry stare.
For a heartbeat it felt as though the thing he craved wasn't mochi at all, but the girl standing before him.
Sakuramiya's cheeks flushed sakura-pink. She looked away, voice trembling.
"I-I'll get chopsticks, President."
"Ah, thanks."
Yan drew a steadying breath and, before devouring the treats, turned to business. He lifted a stack of printouts and handed them to Yua Lina.
"Take a look. I finished the master plan for Club-Wars—venue assignnts, schedules, prep lists, all the details. Make copies for everyone."
"Wha—?! President, you're insane! Already?!"
Yua Lina accepted the pages, flipping through them in disbelief. Two days after the convention and he'd written the whole thing solo.
"I didn't start from scratch," Yan said. "Borrowed templates from past councils; most of the frawork was already there. But don't relax—there's plenty left. Listen up."
He took the chopsticks Sakuramiya offered, reflexively checking for hidden nas—thanks, Ye-Shiyu PTSD. The chopsticks were brand-new; she'd rinsed them at the tea table first.
"Hashimoto," Yan continued, "the budget's in. Every item that needs money is flagged. Build a spreadsheet for the Board's approval. Cross-check what the school already owns, tally shortages or quality issues—sa process as last sports day."
Hashimoto gave a thumbs-up. "On it, President."
Yan bit into a mochi and turned to Ashley.
"Ashley, Discipline Committee handles referees and rule enforcent during the battles. Your crew's up."
Ashley gave a cheerful "OK" sign and flashed a bright smile. "Leave it to us."
Yan Huan shifted his attention to the ever-bubbly but scatterbrained Yua Lina and handed her a folder. "Yua Lina, these are all the events from last year's Club Wars. Every club gets one thed event, plus an 'open pool' of challenges. So of them drew quite a bit of criticism last ti—I think they need revising. You're the best at coming up with quirky little gas, and everyone likes you, so I'm counting on you to gather ideas and opinions and overhaul the lineup."
Yua Lina's eyes sparkled with excitent. She was practically panting, rubbing her hands together as she reached for the folder. "Hehe, President, just leave this kind of task to ~ Hehe, when I handle it, you can rest easy—"
Just as her fingers brushed the folder, Yan Huan flicked his wrist away, leaving her grasping at air.
Yua Lina blinked in confusion, then saw the smile drain from his face.
"If you pull another stunt like you did at the last sports festival, the Board will expel you."
"!!"
Yua Lina's excitent deflated like a punctured balloon. She wilted as she took the folder. "Don't say sothing so terrifying with that gentle smile, President..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi stood to the side, watching Yan Huan orchestrate everything with quiet efficiency, and couldn't help but smile wryly. Under his leadership, this year's student-council work was probably the smoothest in Yuanyue's history.
But the mont that thought crossed her mind, she felt the urge to step forward and share the load.
"Pres—"
Before she could speak, Yua Lina shouldered her way in front, cutting her off mid-word. Sakuramiya's expression darkened—her frail fra was no match for Yua Lina's enthusiasm.
Yua Lina, I've already picked out a preschool for you to repeat kindergarten. This weekend—
"Wait, President! Wh-what kind of club is this?! The Doujin Club?!"
Doujin Club?
Sakuramiya, who'd been about to smile, froze. The two bickering nearby also turned their attention to the commotion.
"How am I supposed to design thed events for them?! Are we going to quiz everyone on who's read the most of... this stuff?!"
Yan Huan gave a helpless chuckle and pointed to the hand-written lines at the bottom of the registration form. "This club hasn't been approved yet. Don't worry about it for now—let them figure it out themselves."
Ashley rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Who even started this club? Would the Principal really approve sothing like this?"
Bang!
Just as Hashimoto, who'd been scrolling on his phone, was about to speak, the council office door burst open.
Before anyone could look toward the entrance, a voice even more energetic than Yua Lina's rang out.
"Yan Huan!!"
Everyone turned to see a girl with bandaged hands, radiating the sa fierce energy as a golden-maned lioness. She wore casual clothes and a baseball cap, her athletic leggings dusted with dirt for so reason.
Hashimoto's jaw dropped. He leaped off the sofa and hid behind Ashley, stamring, "Y-you-you-you—"
Yua Lina clapped a hand over her mouth. "Golden Lioness! Don't tell you're that Aria Spencer?!"
"Huh?"
Spencer paused at the door, then grinned wickedly and jabbed a thumb at herself. "That's ! Wow, just like Yan Huan said—I'm already this famous?"
Hashimoto muttered under his breath, "Infamous is more like it."
Spencer shot him a murderous glare, but it was absorbed completely by the solid wall of Ashley in front of him.
"Ah... h-hello, sorry to interrupt..."
A breathless voice followed from behind Spencer. Monts later, a girl clutching her chest—so tightly it was clearly deford—appeared at Spencer's side.
Sakuramiya recognized her instantly.
An Le.
"We're from... from..."
Yua Lina's mouth opened and closed. "The Doujin Club?"
"Eep!"
An Le's face flad red as she buried her head in her hands. Only soone with Spencer's ironclad shalessness could face such social death without flinching.
She was certain that with Spencer's personality, the girl would probably broadcast her browser history without batting an eye. Though knowing her, it was probably all age-appropriate stuff anyway.
Spencer glanced back at the mortified An Le, then stepped forward and confronted Yan Huan. "Yan Huan! Why did you only ssage An Le yesterday and not ?! Just because she's your childhood friend? Because you two have been sleeping together since you were kids, you can play favorites?!"
Childhood friends?!
Sleeping together since they were kids?!
Yan Huan and Sakuramiya's faces turned the sa shade of charcoal.
But the others—
Hashimoto and Ashley's jaws dropped as they stared at Yan Huan.
And Yua Lina—
She'd already grabbed a microphone from the shelf and put on a pair of fake glasses, looking every bit the "on-the-scene reporter."
"Good morning, Yuanyue students! I'm Yua Lina, a reporter from Class 1-E. I'm currently broadcasting live from the student-council office, where the atmosphere has turned absolutely toxic. Our usually composed President Yan Huan has been confronted by a mysterious woman and his long-lost childhood friend, who's accusing him of... let's say, very unfair sleeping arrangents since childhood..."
Veins bulged on Sakuramiya's forehead as she clenched her fists, barely resisting the urge to smack the drama-loving Yua Lina. If only she could reach...
The girl had clearly mastered sensational journalism!
And with Yua Lina's big mouth, An Le's identity would be all over school within a day.
An Le's face was now the color of a ripe apple, steam practically wafting from her head as she tried to stop Spencer.
"Sp-Spencer... please... stop talking..."
But perched on her shoulder, Xiao Muzi clicked his tongue in admiration, looking at Spencer with newfound respect.
"Damn, was I wrong about you? You're really helping her pursue Yan Huan? The direction's right, but the thods..."
Spencer was already in full battle mode, fuming. Last night she'd stubbornly sent Yan Huan a barrage of ssages—only to be blocked. It was the first red exclamation mark she'd ever seen on Plane.
Her temper was already short, and Yan Huan's casual actions felt like bombs going off inside her. She'd stord in ready for war, but as she entered the room, she felt goosebumps rise on her skin.
She paused, puzzled, but didn't dwell on it. Instead, she kept her eyes on Yan Huan and pressed on.
"Why do you reply to An Le's ssages but not mine? I'm the president of the Doujin Club!"
Sakuramiya frowned, her expression cooling as she stepped forward to confront Spencer.
But Yan Huan spoke first, addressing Spencer calmly.
"Are you going to co in and sit down like a civilized person, or keep barking like this?"
Spencer blinked, then frowned. "Barking? Are you calling a dog?"
Everyone except Yua Lina wore expressions of pure exasperation.
Yan Huan pulled out his phone but didn't seem angry—just matter-of-fact. "As I recall, you're currently on leave from school, aren't you?"
"Huh? So what if I am—"
"Security? Yes, this is Yan Huan."
He lifted the phone to his ear, speaking just one sentence before glancing back at the doorway.
Spencer was already sitting properly on the sofa, arms crossed, occasionally shooting Yan Huan dirty looks.
An Le finally let out the breath she'd been holding.
But as she relaxed, a realization seed to dawn on her...
How on earth did that lawless Spencer always get reined in the mont Xiao Huan showed up?
A faint, almost imperceptible unease flickered inside her, but it was quickly drowned by the business at hand—and by the fact that Spencer had just brazenly reminded everyone of their childhood-sweetheart history.
She pasted on a sheepish little smile and stepped into the student-council office.
The instant Xiao Muzi crossed the threshold, her body gave a tiny shiver. "What's going on? Why is it so cold in here? Did soone switch on the air-con? In early spring? Seriously?"
Inside, the council mbers looked up with varied expressions at the two Doujin Club "delegates." Everyone else managed to keep their faces neutral—except Sakuramiya Hitomi, who stood behind Yan Huan.
Her eyes narrowed at Spencer and An Le as they settled onto the sofa, and without thinking she rubbed her middle finger. Their re presence grated on her nerves, even though both won had already walked into her Boundary.
She pushed the feeling down, slipped on the familiar mask of a gracious host, and smiled.
Catching Yan Huan's eye for a fleeting second of silent understanding, she turned to her guests.
"You're here; let brew so tea. We can take our ti discussing the Doujin Club's entry into the Club Wars."
An Le, intimidated by the dazzling figure who looked every inch the perfect hostess, ducked her head and murmured, "Th-thank you, Vice-President Sakuramiya."
Spencer, however, t Sakuramiya's equally radiant smile with one of her own—dark and wicked. She traced a tongue over a sharp canine, glanced at Yan Huan's blank face, and purred, "Sounds good, Vice-President Sakuramiya~"
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