Restricted Fantasy I Chapter 121: This Is My Final Ripple, Miss!

"President…"

At that mont, what did Ying Gong Tong look like in Yan Huan’s eyes?

She knelt on the floor, her long bangs disheveled, gazing up at him with teary eyes. The dried streaks of tears on her face shimred faintly under the light seeping in from behind.

There was a flicker of hope in her empty gaze as it reflected his silhouette—but in the next second, sothing seed to cross her mind, and she lowered her head slightly.

"Ugh…"

Seeing this, the smile on Yan Huan’s face faltered slightly, like a mask cracking under pressure.

To be honest, he wasn’t so heartless playboy.

He couldn’t just emotionally explode one day and act completely unaffected the next.

So, he chose to wear a mask of perfect composure.

But now, seeing the once-elegant Ying Gong Tong break down in front of him, crying so vulnerably, even his mask felt like it was slipping off.

He quickly touched his face, turning away.

Looking toward the doorway, he called out,

"Spencer?"

"Uh… uh, well…"

Spencer scratched the back of her head guiltily, but after a second, she folded her arms and puffed out her chest, putting on a tough front.

"What—what do you want, huh?!"

Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.

Turning back, he saw Ying Gong Tong’s small hand grasping his cuff.

Her voice was quiet.

"President… this has nothing to do with Spencer. It was …"

"……"

Yan Huan withdrew his gaze from her and looked at Spencer again.

That golden-haired lioness, upon hearing Ying Gong Tong’s defeated tone, smugly lifted her nose higher in the air.

She was practically basking in the glow of victory, just short of cackling out loud.

Yan Huan sighed internally, too tired to comnt on her ability to inflate her ego with the smallest win.

Instead, he decided to send her off.

"…Since it’s got nothing to do with you, you should head out. The Club Competition is about to start. Don’t you need to strategize with your club mbers?"

Spencer had already been thinking about leaving after completely breaking Ying Gong Tong’s spirit.

It was like when you make a friend cry and suddenly feel a little awkward about it.

But earlier, sothing had possessed her—when she had to say those things in front of Ying Gong Tong, it felt like divine inspiration was guiding her.

Looking back on it now—maybe she had gotten smarter lately!

"Then… then I’m off."

"Mm."

With the door half-open, Spencer took one last glance inside.

She looked at the broken-down Ying Gong Tong.

Then she looked at Yan Huan—who seed a little different from usual.

Sohow, she felt lighthearted, as if she had just pulled off the perfect move in Angry Little Pigs—like launching a golden bomb pig straight into the enemy base, obliterating everything and securing victory.

A rush of indescribable exhilaration surged through her.

Her golden locks glowed even brighter, her entire body felt lighter, and an overwhelming strength coursed through her veins.

She had definitely leveled up.

Click.

The mont she shut the door behind her, she clenched her fist in pure satisfaction.

"HELL YEAH!"

Humming the Angry Little Pigs the song, she practically bounced down the stairs.

Once she stepped out of the building, she suddenly paused, rubbing her chin in thought.

"Wait a sec… why did I even co to the Student Council Office in the first place?"

After a beat—

"Eh, whatever! I feel great!~"

Shrugging it off, she happily skipped toward the shopping district.

Inside the Student Council Office, the room remained eerily silent.

Shhh… The faint sound of rustling papers.

Ying Gong Tong was still kneeling on the floor, staring blankly at Yan Huan.

Spencer’s words echoed in her mind, replaying over and over like a haunting refrain.

anwhile, Yan Huan bent down and picked up a crumpled paper—the club allocation notice for the Hentai Club.

After glancing over the contents, his gaze returned to Ying Gong Tong.

At his look, she instinctively shrank back, lowering her head again.

But the next second, Yan Huan didn’t say a word.

Instead, he simply placed the docunt back onto the coffee table.

Then, without another word, he crouched down and began picking up the scattered papers and objects from the floor.

"……"

If the President had questioned her—if he had done anything—

Maybe she would have felt a little better.

But he didn’t.

He didn’t even lift the taphorical rock covering the rat’s hiding place.

And sohow, that made her feel worse.

She clutched her arms tightly around herself, feeling suffocated.

Her lips trembled. Her voice was hoarse.

"President…"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"About… what happened before…"

Yan Huan, still holding a stack of papers, straightened up.

After a mont of silence, he set them aside.

Then, he turned to her with a gentle smile and extended his hand.

"Hmm… before we get into that, how about standing up first? No need to stay on the floor like this."

"……"

But Ying Gong Tong remained motionless, still kneeling on the ground in front of the desk.

Yan Huan hesitated, then let out a quiet sigh.

Without pressing further, he sat down beside her.

Creak…

The wooden desk behind them let out a soft creak under his weight.

Ying Gong Tong blinked, glancing up at him.

Between their shoulders, the midday sunlight filtered through the window, casting a wide, canyon-like shadow on the wooden floor.

She stared at the bright divide between them, her left hand trembling slightly as she placed it on the ground.

But unlike before, when she had reached toward Yan Huan, there was now no hand within reach.

Yan Huan turned to her and asked,

"About before… what about it?"

"…President… the… the caras… I was wrong…"

Under the light, the rat that had been cowering in the gutter finally, hesitantly, stretched out its paw—trying to crawl toward the noise of the bustling world.

Yan Huan gazed at her.

After a mont, he smiled and said,

"What are you even talking about, Ying Gong?"

"Eh?"

"That’s just normal, isn’t it?"

"……"

Ying Gong Tong’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Yan Huan.

Yan Huan blinked and turned his head slightly as he explained,

"You misunderstood. That day, I wasn’t giving you the cold shoulder because of you, Ying Gong. It was just because Spencer suddenly barged in, so…"

Before him, a phantom image of ow-chan appeared, sitting primly on the floor, gazing at him.

Hearing this, Ying Gong Tong’s pupils trembled slightly.

She realized sothing.

Her barrier’s common sense modification had instinctively taken effect again…

Which ant—

The thing she had been terrified of never actually happened?!

She had assud that the barrier’s effect had been interrupted again, that her relationship with Yan Huan had reset.

But if that wasn’t the case…

Her lips parted slightly, her expression struggling between emotions.

If everything was still intact…

Couldn’t she just pretend nothing had ever happened?

That way, she could maintain the sa relationship with the President as before…

That way, his common sense had already been altered, so even if she continued monitoring him, it wouldn’t be a problem…

The rat that had barely crawled out of the sewer pipe now shrank back, repelled by the harsh light above.

"……"

Seeing the flicker of relief and hesitation in her eyes, ow-chan let out a sigh.

Ying Gong Tong, are you really going to make the wrong choice again?

"……"

Yan Huan silently studied her, watching as she bit her lip and fell into deep thought.

A long silence stretched between them.

And then—

He seed to understand her answer.

Lowering his gaze, he rubbed his face with his hands, as if trying to press the remnants of his smile deeper into his soul.

Letting out a long breath, Yan Huan decided to move on from the subject.

Bracing himself against his knee, he prepared to stand up and continue cleaning up the ss.

"Ying—"

"No… it’s not like that!!"

Before he could finish, Ying Gong Tong suddenly raised her voice.

"……"

Yan Huan turned his head toward her—

And in that instant, space itself twisted.

The room darkened, only to suddenly snap back into brightness.

A surge of contradictory logic exploded outward, completely shattering the common sense modification Ying Gong Tong had placed on Yan Huan.

Her forced reality rewrite—revoked.

As the horrifying realization settled in, Yan Huan stood there in stunned silence.

anwhile, Ying Gong Tong clenched her fists tightly and spoke with trembling resolve.

"This was… an awful thing to do… I know I was wrong… So, even if you want to dismiss

as Vice President, even if you want to call the police… I-I will accept it all…"

Her pale cheeks were streaked with fresh tears.

Spencer’s mocking words still echoed in her mind—sharp as blades, stabbing deep into her heart.

But as much as it hurt, Spencer had been right.

She had never believed that Yan Huan would love her true self.

That was why she had always masked herself, polished herself into sothing worthy of his attention.

She was despicable. She had done so many underhanded things.

It was only natural for him to hate her and abandon her.

But even so…

Even if she was like this…

She didn’t want to use the barrier to alter his perception, to force him to say things he never truly would have.

Yesterday…

She hadn’t done it to manipulate him.

She had just…

She had just wanted him not to hate her.

She deeply regretted what she had done.

"Click click click!!"

At that mont, ow-chan suddenly lit up, exclaiming,

"Fragnts detected, ow! Ying Gong Tong’s Modifier just dropped fragnts!"

But Yan Huan had no ti to pay attention to ow-chan celebrating like it was New Year's.

His focus remained solely on the girl before him.

The atmosphere in the Student Council Office grew heavy.

The two of them sat there on the floor, beneath the warm sunlight filtering through the window.

Ying Gong Tong sobbed softly.

For the first ti, it was as if she had finally begun peeling off the mask she had always worn—

Even if it was only a tiny fragnt of it.

Tears streaming down her face, she choked out,

"I’m sorry, President… The real … is nothing like the person you’ve always seen…"

Yan Huan’s carefully maintained composure began to lt away.

After a mont of silence, he asked,

"Then… what is the real Ying Gong?"

"……"

Ying Gong Tong shook her head, curling in on herself.

Her small fra shrank deeper into the shadow cast by the towering wooden desk behind her.

She couldn’t say it.

She had already exhausted every ounce of courage just to say what she did.

But at least—

At least this ti, she didn’t run away.

She sat there quietly, waiting for his judgnt.

For today—Ying Gong Tong had been brave enough.

"…I see. Though it’s hard to just let this go, at the very least, you’ve removed all the caras, right?"

"Eh?"

Ying Gong Tong blinked, lifting her teary eyes to look at him.

Wait…

That was Nara’s job.

How did the President know about it?

"…You’re still the Vice President of Yuanyue Academy’s Student Council. If word of this got out, it wouldn’t just be the Student Council’s reputation at stake—Yuanyue Academy as a whole would suffer."

"I… I’m sorry…"

She bowed her head, deeply ashad.

If this did spread, it would definitely disgrace her family as well.

"So, the best course of action is to keep you in your position temporarily—to monitor your behavior while ensuring all the surveillance data is erased."

Ying Gong Tong looked up in surprise.

She had already prepared herself to resign from the Student Council.

But now, she found herself staring at Yan Huan, utterly puzzled by his serious expression.

"That’s… that’s it? President, why?"

Seeing her bewildernt, Yan Huan was suddenly reminded of the first ti she had joined the Student Council.

When he had asked her why she had wanted to join.

"So, what’s your reason?"

"You can interpret it however you like."

"And your real reason?"

"That’s… classified."

A small smile crept onto his lips.

Now, looking at her, he simply mirrored her past response.

"Why? That’s… classified."

"Eh?"

Ying Gong Tong’s face slowly turned red.

Her lips pursed tightly, her mind flashing back to Spencer’s words—

"The President liked you this whole ti."

Could it be—

Did he still…?

Even after everything she had just admitted?

Even after knowing the kind of person she really was?!

No, no…

That was way too optimistic.

But—

What did the President an by this?!

"Ugh… geez…"

The suffocating tension that had gripped Ying Gong Tong finally began to ease, leaving her body weak and trembling. She no longer had the strength to question Yan Huan further.

In front of them, ow-chan trotted back, carrying a glowing red centipede pincer in its mouth, its translucent form pulsating like a phantom. Shaking its head helplessly, it muttered to itself,

"What else could it be? Isn’t it obvious? It’s because you’re the Modifier’s host."

But the next second, Yan Huan pressed against his knee and stood up, addressing Ying Gong Tong,

"Alright then, Vice President Ying Gong. Since you’re staying on for a probationary period, make sure to perform well in the upcoming Club Competition."

"Eh? O-Okay."

Ying Gong Tong pressed her lips together, watching the side of Yan Huan’s face as he spoke.

…Was it really just because of the Modifier?

Yan Huan bent down, patiently picking up the scattered docunts from the floor, and his mind drifted back to sothing he had witnessed earlier that morning.

That morning.

"There's no sign of caras here. Could it be that soone removed them in advance?"

"Co on, soone like Sister Tong is hyper-alert, especially when it cos to a young guy like him. She probably suspects him of fooling around the second anything seems off—it’s totally normal."

"Sister Tong must be a water sign."

"Seriously? You believe in horoscopes? Wait a sec—who’s that dismantling sothing over there?"

"Look at her feet! That’s a cara!"

"Wait, there were caras?! Who… who are you?!"

"That face… Jiu De Minai!! It’s you?!"

BANG!

CRASH!!

Ding ding… clang clang…

Back to that morning, Yan Huan had been at ho, casually packing his school bag when he overheard a commotion outside his door.

Pausing, he frowned slightly and crept toward the entrance. Pressing his eye against the peephole, he peeked outside—

Just in ti to see a sultry woman in a black leather jacket casually lighting a cigarette before knocking on his door.

Knock knock~

"Yan Huan, you ho? I saw you co back just now."

This woman—wasn’t she the bodyguard that followed Ying Gong Tong around? Nara?

Yan Huan imdiately stepped back, his thoughts racing.

Had he been caught?

Had the Ying family sent soone to silence him for discovering the caras?!

But the next second, Nara’s voice sounded again from outside,

"Relax. Strictly speaking, I don’t belong to the Ying family. I only listen to the Miss. I ca here on my own… because there are so things about her that I wanted to tell you. It’s fine if you don’t open the door."

"……"

"I know you found out about the caras she installed to monitor you. That was wrong of her—I’ve tried talking her out of it multiple tis. I’m not here to defend her actions."

"……"

"I just want to tell you—she’s incredibly insecure when she’s around you."

Outside, Nara exhaled a puff of smoke, leaning against the door as she cast a tired glance at the hallway, where several gangsters lay sprawled out from a previous scuffle.

"She’s so insecure that she doesn’t believe the real her could ever be loved by you.

"So instead, she studies your preferences, decorates herself accordingly, and molds her every action into sothing you’d like.

"She wants to know your whereabouts but is too afraid to ask, worried that revealing her eagerness would make you suspicious. She’s completely obsessed with you, yet she constantly keeps up appearances, twisting everything around…"

Behind the door, Yan Huan didn’t look through the peephole again.

Instead, he looked down at ow-chan, who had wandered over, tail flicking curiously.

"She grew up in an environnt where deception and facades were second nature. She’s a master at putting on a front.

"But ever since she t you and joined the Student Council, she’s started to change, Yan Huan.

"She’s fake in every way—but the one thing that’s real… is how much she likes you."

Downstairs, one of the lookouts must have sensed sothing was off because they suddenly bolted up the stairwell, heading in Nara’s direction.

But Nara wasn’t finished.

Glancing nervously around, she quickly mapped out her escape route, speaking even faster,

"So, Yan Huan—no matter what happens, give the Miss a chance.

"If she refuses to be honest with you even a little, then fine—consider her beyond saving, and forget I ever said anything. Do whatever you want.

"But if she does open up to you, even just a little—please, at least believe that she can change. Even if you don’t end up with her in the end, at least this way, neither of you will have regrets."

Inside the apartnt, ow-chan tilted its head, looking up at Yan Huan.

"ow~"

And then—

More commotion erupted outside.

"Sh*t!! It’s Jiu De Minai! Alert the gang—we found her!"

"Catch her! Don’t let her escape!"

"Soone call Sister Tong!!"

"……"

Sister Tong?

Had he misheard?

Yan Huan suddenly recalled seeing a familiar tattoo on Nara’s back the last ti he had run into her.

Frowning, he quickly pressed his eye back against the peephole, scanning the situation outside.

The mont Nara heard the na "Sister Tong," her sultry expression twisted into one of sheer despair.

She sucked in a sharp breath—

Then imdiately knocked out a thug with a swift kick—

But she didn’t even hesitate to run because soone in the distance had already pulled out their phone to make a call.

Before taking off, she turned to Yan Huan’s peephole and winked.

Then she bolted toward the ergency exit.

The early morning air was ice-cold, biting painfully at her skin as she ran.

Damn it—if not for this stupid ss with Ying Gong Tong, she wouldn’t have been caught like this!

Now she was completely exposed.

And if that red-haired demon woman caught her—

A violent shudder ran through her body.

Face filled with sheer regret, she picked up speed, her inner voice screaming,

Miss, this is your last chance with Yan Huan!

DON’T SS IT UP!

THIS IS MY FINAL RIPPLE, AAAAAHHHHH!!!