"Sob... sob..."
Saturday, the second day of the Club War. The Club War was in full swing.
Noon, at the Student Council Office.
Bai Yi sat on the sofa, covering her face and sobbing, looking extrely upset.
"Bai Yi, have so tea first."
Sakuramiya Hitomi initially thought Bai Yi had stord in to pick a fight and had already entered a state of high alert.
But seeing Bai Yi burst into tears the mont she walked in, Sakuramiya Hitomi was forced to swallow all the sharp words she had prepared.
Thus, she had no choice but to serve a cup of tea first to test the waters. Only upon inquiring did she find out that Bai Yi had been bullied by another heavyweight figure that morning.
Beside her, Yurianna blinked, looking quite worried.
"Did Spencer really do that?"
"It is true! I did not even do anything to provoke her. She just ca over early in the morning and snatched my things!"
Yabashi Ki stroked his chin and asked,
"Could it be that there was sothing in your bag that caught her eye? So she forced a sale... Yesterday, she snatched Senior Ouyang's cara from the news agency, but the money she compensated with could buy two brand new ones."
"No! My bag was packed at ho! She definitely did not know what was inside... Moreover, she just snatched it away directly without giving
any money!"
Hearing this, Bai Yi felt incredibly wronged. Raising her tear-filled eyes, she said indignantly to Yabashi Ki,
"What was inside was not anything valuable at all! It just contained the music video for my new song, along with so rchandise from my work, which I planned to give to President Yan Huan."
"Oh~~"
"Oh~~"
Seeing this, Yabashi Ki and Yurianna simultaneously let out a aningful "Oh," covering their mouths to snicker as they glanced at Yan Huan, who was sitting in his office chair resting his chin on his hand.
Only Sakuramiya Hitomi's face instantly darkened.
Even Bai Yi, who had been heartbroken just a mont ago, was slightly taken aback by this reaction.
She had co knocking genuinely seeking help, not to put on a miserable act. Who would have expected it to accidentally create such an ambiguous atmosphere?
Well...
Anyway, giving the new song to Yan Huan to listen to was originally intended to replicate the move he and Ye Shiyu pulled by sharing earphones. She had even brought wired earphones specifically for this purpose.
So it was not a complete waste of effort now, was it?
"..."
Thinking this, the lingering anger in her heart unknowingly dissipated quite a bit, yet her weeping appearance grew even more pitiful and touching.
"Sob... sob..."
"...Then should I take the Disciplinary Committee to catch her and bring her back?"
Seeing this, Ashley, who was standing to the side, sighed and looked at Yan Huan as she asked.
Yan Huan thought for a second, his fingers tapping on the desk as so thoughts flashed through his mind.
He had seen Ye Shiyu once when he went ho yesterday. He did not know if it was just his imagination, but he felt that ever since he defeated Spencer, the spine-chilling aura around Ye Shiyu had grown increasingly intense.
He had spent half the day thinking about how to continue suppressing Ye Shiyu, only to receive another surprise early the next morning.
"..."
Day after day after day, they never cald down for a single mont.
Yan Huan sighed inwardly, but he had already made a decision in his heart.
Just a second before he was about to speak, the door to the Student Council Office was suddenly thrown open again, revealing several students with miserable faces standing outside.
"President!!"
"President, you have to stand up for us!"
"Yeah, boohoo!"
Yurianna turned pale with fright, covering her mouth as she stood up. Pointing at the nearly ten students outside the door, she said,
"Wh-what is wrong? Why are there so many people?!"
Hearing this, the crowd, so crying and so furious, squeezed their way in and started speaking to Yan Huan one after another.
"It is all that Spencer!"
"Yeah! She just walked right up and snatched our things indiscriminately!"
Yabashi Ki was frightened into imdiate silence. Only Ashley looked puzzled and asked them,
"Wait a minute, what exactly are these things she snatched? Are they valuable, or..."
One or two people nodded, while the rest exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"Although they are not worth much money, they are all very important things!"
"Yeah, the pendant my girlfriend gave
was taken by her... My girlfriend and I only get to see each other once a month, and yet she..."
Tears streaming down her face, Bai Yi looked at the large number of victims at the door and grew even more perplexed.
"...Is she crazy? What is the point of snatching these things?"
Everyone was utterly confused. Only Sakuramiya Hitomi revealed a thoughtful expression.
She already had a vague guess.
Perhaps it was related to her superpower?
Was it an activation condition, or...
Yan Huan instantly understood her motive. Frowning, he asked Yabashi Ki,
"Yabashi, please check the backend of the Club War leaderboard and see the current points situation for the Doujinshi Society."
"OK, President."
Yabashi Ki opened his tablet, glanced at the backend, and exclaid in astonishnt,
"Holy crap! The Doujinshi Society is this fierce this morning? They won over a dozen matches completely? Is that Spencer an iron woman? Does she not get tired?"
Yan Huan withdrew his gaze, the thought 'Just as I expected' surfacing in his mind.
At the sa ti, he had no choice but to address the people present first.
"I understand. You all head back first, I am going to find her now."
"President, we will go together..."
Those righteous and indignant students all wanted to follow along to teach her a lesson, but Yan Huan waved his hand and asked,
"If you go and escalate the conflict later, are you not afraid of getting beaten up by her?"
"..."
Thinking back to the way Spencer had thrown a punch to scare them, the victims all turned pale and forced a smile as they said,
"Then we will leave it to you, President."
"..."
Yan Huan nodded, picked up his sun protection jacket draped over the back of his executive chair, and walked toward the door.
Sakuramiya Hitomi subconsciously stood up and said to Yan Huan,
"President, let
go with you."
Yan Huan glanced at Sakuramiya Hitomi and smiled warmly at her.
"The others will have to return to their respective posts later, so we still need you here to help register the situation, Sakuramiya... It will be fine."
Sakuramiya Hitomi paused slightly, but Yan Huan did not wait for her response. He put on his jacket and said to the rest of the group,
"Rest assured, I will help you get your things back."
"President~"
"President, I love you!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Yan Huan waved his hand and slowly walked toward the door.
The mont he stepped out of the door, the smile on his face gradually faded, ultimately turning completely expressionless.
Having eaten lunch, Spencer lay by the lake in the forest park, stretching her fingers with a hint of excitent.
From those slender fingers, a continuous stream of power surged forth, a power that even she found terrifying.
"It really works like this. I just need to seize things from others without paying any price, and this boost becos absurdly strong..."
Her eyes shining brightly, she placed her hands behind the back of her head again, crossed her legs, and looked up at the azure sky, muttering to herself,
"If I just hold on through tomorrow, the Club War should easily advance to the top eight, right?"
"..."
"This way, I will not be expelled either..."
Thinking of this, she could not help but let her imagination run wild.
She wondered if winning the Club War and avoiding expulsion would make her Mama look at her in a new light.
At the very least, she might give her a phone call...
Or, perhaps directly co to Linn to see her and say she was taking her back to their ho country?
But just as she was comfortably gazing at the blue sky and enjoying the spring breeze, a shadow suddenly covered her face.
She blinked. What entered her vision was Yan Huan's expressionless, handso face, along with the words that spilled from his mouth like a biting, bone-chilling wind.
"Not be expelled? Do you believe I can have you expelled this very afternoon?"
"Waaah!!"
Spencer was startled. She hurriedly sprang up from the ground and backed away a good distance in a flash.
Shielding herself with her hands, she asked Yan Huan loudly,
"Yan Huan?! When did you get here? Why is there no sound when you walk?!"
"..."
Yan Huan, however, could not even be bothered to explain. He rely glanced in the direction of the Doujinshi Society's base and got straight to the point.
"Where are the things you seized?"
Spencer blinked, curled her lips, and said,
"Why should I tell you?"
"No matter where they are, hurry up and return them."
Spencer rubbed her shoulders and scrutinized the expression on his face. After thinking for a mont, she suddenly laughed.
"...Oh, I know now. Actually, what you really want to get back is that Bai Yi's stuff, right?"
"..."
Yan Huan's expression turned speechless. Bai Yi? He did not even have the energy to retort.
He rubbed the space between his eyebrows and said,
"Return all the things you snatched, and then apologize to them one by one."
"Hah? On what grou—"
But the next second, Yan Huan's movent of rubbing his brow instantly stopped.
He suddenly raised his eyes, looked at Spencer before him, and enunciated each word clearly.
"If you cannot do it, do you believe I can get the signatures of every student this afternoon and force the Principal to expel you?"
"..."
Hearing this, Spencer froze and gritted her teeth.
But Yan Huan did not pause at all. He simply turned around while saying,
"Co with
right now to return the things and apologize. And from now on, you had better watch your step. If I catch you seizing other people's things for any reason again, you will be expelled imdiately."
As she listened, Spencer's breathing grew heavier and more rapid.
The next second, she raised her head indignantly, quickly walked up to Yan Huan's side, and yelled at him,
"Why should I apologize to them?!"
"Why should you not apologize to them?"
Yan Huan was too lazy to entertain her nonsense, continuing his steady stride toward the school.
anwhile, Spencer followed beside him indignantly, glaring at him viciously while screaming,
"Because they are all so hypocritical and disgusting! And you too, Yan Huan! Cut the self-righteous act! You are clearly targeting !"
"Do you think your eyes are so sort of magic mirror that reveals true forms? That people are whatever you say they are?"
Yan Huan did not even spare her a glance, rely stating,
"Let
tell you, no matter how much you degrade them as worthless today, it cannot prove that your actions are justified. Moreover, stop putting labels on people."
"I am just asking you, do you admit it or not? You have been unhappy with
for a long ti, right?!"
Spencer pointed her finger at Yan Huan, her azure eyes as fierce as a lion's.
For so reason, the thought of the hypocritical, nauseating smile Yan Huan had shown Sakuramiya Hitomi in the infirmary yesterday afternoon made her want to throw up.
Consequently, her temper instantly flared, bringing with it the assumption that she had found the reason Yan Huan was targeting her.
"Is it because I shattered the perfection of Sakuramiya Hitomi in your eyes? Or do you think it is because of my interference that you and she ended up like this today?!"
"..."
Yan Huan took a deep breath and ignored her.
But Spencer was not going to give up the leverage to attack Yan Huan, relentlessly pressing the issue.
She sneered, stood in place, and mocked Yan Huan's back.
"Actually, there is absolutely no need for you to feel sad, because fundantally, you and she are the sa kind of person! Equally hypocritical, equally disgusting!"
"..."
"Clearly your body reacted, yet you still pretend to be morally upright, acting as if you are so pure and noble, keeping yourself untainted just for her!"
"..."
"Clearly you have seen through her true colors and no longer feel the sa way about her, yet you still force yourself to smile in front of her like before, pretending that the relationship has not changed..."
Spencer sneered as she spoke.
But the mont these words left her mouth, Yan Huan, who had been too lazy to pay her any mind, suddenly ca to a halt.
"ow."
On his shoulder, Myau-chan materialized, looking at him with concern.
But the very next second, it suddenly sensed sothing and, terrified, hurriedly leaped down from his body.
Seeing Yan Huan remain motionless, Spencer assud her words had pierced his hidden darkness and clicked her tongue disdainfully.
"What, was I—"
But in the next split second, Yan Huan suddenly turned his head and looked straight at her.
That single glance instantly frightened her, causing her expression to shift slightly.
Even his previous expressionless deanor had been nothing more than an appearance covered by his Mask of Perfect Poise.
At this mont, his mask was crumbling piece by piece, and his true expression, just as Spencer had claid, finally pierced through the hypocrisy and revealed itself before her.
Yet, this very glance completely terrified her.
Because Yan Huan's expression right now was incredibly horrifying.
There was not the slightest trace of a smile etched on his face; he looked at her as if she were a mortal enemy, wishing he could swallow her alive and flay her.
Yan Huan turned around completely, taking slow, deliberate steps toward Spencer.
"Do you think I am willing to watch all of you turn my life into a complete ss, forcing
to endure a pile of utter nonsense and then pretend it never happened?
"Do you think I have nothing better to do all day than to manage you perverts who either lack a brain or have absolutely no bottom line?"
His words were spoken calmly, seemingly without any disgust, as if he were rely stating a fact.
But for so reason, this terrifying tone, so entirely different from his usual deanor, was sothing Spencer was hearing for the first ti.
That disgust which could not be faked, that fury erupting from the bottom of his heart, that bone-piercing sorrow...
All these emotions burst forth all at once.
In Spencer's azure eyes, Yan Huan's shadow crept closer and closer to her, causing her to freeze slightly and subconsciously take a step back.
"Yes, you people always have an excuse. Nobody cares for you at ho, you are ntally twisted, you are easily manipulated by your desires...
"You always have to find a self-justifying reason to feel at ease, because only then can you unscrupulously vent your desires, dump all the consequences onto others, and make others clean up your sses?!"
Spencer's eyes widened as she watched him walk right up to her, looking down at her from above.
"Just like you, Spencer. Harping on about hypocrisy and disgust all day long, as if doing so proves how noble and superior your undisguised malice and foolishness are...
"In reality, aside from proving how immature, how detestable, and how useless you are, you prove absolutely nothing!"
Spencer bit her lip tightly, squeezing out a feeble retort from her throat, "I... I am not..."
"And do not tell
I am targeting you. Let
tell you, if it were not for the fact that you helped An Le at the start of the sester, I would not even spare a glance at a disgusting bastard like you."
"Ugh..."
But certain emotions had been brewing as deep-seated resentnt at the bottom of Yan Huan's heart for a long ti. He had kept them bottled up, never intending to reveal them.
Even that day in Tong Yingying's shop, when he had gotten drunk and fallen asleep in her arms, he had painstakingly maintained his restraint and kept silent.
It was just that today, Spencer's remarks had thoroughly enraged him.
She made it sound as if Yan Huan enjoyed pretending in front of Sakuramiya Hitomi, as if he were begging this group of hosts, voluntarily insisting on helping them resolve these Modifiers.
For so long, he had faced the daily risk of his life collapsing and triggering a Battle Defeat CG. Was this selfless dedication all just to grant them salvation?
What a joke?!
"...At the end of the day, Spencer, you just want to seize other people's things, finding pleasure in it, and never tiring of it!"
"You are spouting nonsense!! I am not!!"
Yan Huan stared intensely into Spencer's trembling azure eyes that desperately wanted to refute him, as if aiming to see right through her completely.
Imdiately after, he locked his gaze on Spencer, whose legs were growing increasingly weak, and declared word by word,
"Only One Who Has Nothing loves to snatch things from others!"
"!!"
Spencer's pupils shrank slightly. The next second, as she looked at Yan Huan, the rims of her eyes actually began to turn red.
"The most ironic part is that soone like you, even if you managed to seize sothing precious, you would not be able to keep it, not even for a single mont.
"Because you have never created anything beautiful yourself, you have never understood what it ans to possess sothing. You only know how to blindly seize and blindly lose!
"By smashing, looting, and burning the beautiful things of others, you naively and maliciously assu that you can drag others down into the mud, making them just as pitiful and pathetic as you are..."
Her eyes red, Spencer stared intently at Yan Huan's extrely disdainful gaze, watching as he finally turned his head away and said faintly,
"In truth, from the very beginning to the very end, the only pitiful and pathetic person here is you, Spencer."
"..."
Spencer's palms began to tremble. She tried to clench her fists tightly to alleviate the panic welling up in her heart, but her body only shook more violently.
She wanted to open her mouth and argue back, to say sothing to prove she did not actually think that way.
But she was too foolish to discern whether her actions truly had, as he said, brought massive trouble to others.
Especially, to Yan Huan.
Watching his retreating back, Yan Huan's utterly terrifying expression from monts ago remained vivid in her mind.
Her instinctually and intensely sensitive ability to pick up on emotions had captured every single genuine feeling on Yan Huan's face.
Aside from the profound disgust and furious anger directed at her...
There was also a weariness and sorrow that she could not comprehend?
"..."
Panting, Spencer watched Yan Huan walk further and further away, before disappointingly raising her hand to wipe the corners of her eyes.
She seed to want to find soone to vent her emotions to, to pour out her grievances.
But upon turning her head to look, there was absolutely no one by her side.
Even though she had already secured a whole morning's worth of victories for the Doujinshi Society.
Then, maybe just find sothing at random to look at, or even just to wipe away her tears?
But as she looked down at her own palms, she only then managed to realize.
There was still nothing there.
"Sob..."
Afternoon, the Club War, at the Doujinshi Society's competition venue.
Yan Huan sat expressionless in his sun protection jacket, holding the points record book. He seed to have regained his usual calm.
"The two sides competing on the court now are the Doujinshi Society and the Swimming Club!! Will both sides please send their respective players onto the court. The match will begin in five minutes!!"
Listening to the broadcast ringing in his ears, Yan Huan narrowed his eyes. He locked the mobile phone on which he had been watching a video, raised his eyes toward the court, and prepared to start working.
On the sidelines, two mbers of the Swimming Club picked up their rackets, cheering each other on as they ward up.
On the Doujinshi Society's side, Spencer and Jiang Yun finally stepped onto the court after a delay.
The mont she entered the venue, Spencer's wandering gaze abruptly collided with Yan Huan, who was sitting on the sidelines.
"..."
As if burned, she hurriedly lowered her head and retracted her gaze.
Even her grip on the racket beca timid and hesitant.
"..."
Yan Huan did not even look at her. He rely took a deep breath, lowered his head again, and continued scrolling on his phone.
"Tap, tap..."
Footsteps sounded from the sidelines.
Hearing the sound, Yan Huan tipped his baseball cap up slightly and cast his gaze toward the court.
On one side of the net, Spencer was leaning on her racket, acting as if she were admiring the clouds on the horizon.
It was unclear whether it was an illusion, but it seed she had moved a bit closer to his direction?
"..."
Yan Huan narrowed his eyes, stayed silent for a mont, then lowered his head again and unlocked his phone.
"Tap."
The next second, when the sound of footsteps rang out, Yan Huan imdiately raised his head and looked at Spencer.
He ended up catching exactly the mont she stopped in her tracks and whipped her head away.
"..."
She was standing on the sidelines, pretending nothing had happened as she started chatting with Jiang Yun, seemingly discussing tactics.
Except, with her brain, she probably could not co up with any tactics at all, right?
Sure enough, within just two or three sentences, Jiang Yun was left utterly baffled.
"..."
Yan Huan poked his tongue against the inside of his cheek, and simultaneously, lowered his head once more.
"..."
It remained quiet over there for quite a while, as if she were observing whether he would raise his head again imdiately.
Seeing that he had not moved for a long ti, the footsteps finally sounded again, little by little,
"Tap-tap... tap..."
Yan Huan kept his head down, no longer looking at his phone, but staring at the ground, asuring how far the encroaching shadow was from the tips of his toes.
On the ground, Spencer's shadow shifted slightly. It looked like she was reaching out her hand, hovering it right in front of the brim of his baseball cap.
Just as it was about to touch, she hurriedly pulled it back.
"..."
The shadow revealed that Spencer was looking around nervously again, glancing this way and that.
Only after that did she shift her gaze back to him.
Yan Huan had no idea what she was trying to do, but all this dawdling was starting to make him impatient.
Therefore, in the next second, he abruptly raised his head, locking eyes directly with Spencer who had been secretly observing him.
"!!"
"..."
Watching Spencer instantly avert her eyes with a suprely guilty conscience, Yan Huan did not say a word. He rely stared at her expressionlessly.
"..."
Spencer, on the other hand, had her head turned toward the court, yet her azure eyes kept shifting toward him inch by inch. She strained her peripheral vision to the absolute limit, insisting on peeking at him from the very corner of her eyes.
It just made her look...
Incredibly sneaky.
So sneaky, in fact, that just looking at her made one's hands itch to steal sothing just to satisfy the vibe.
"..."
Regardless, Yan Huan had no intention of saying a single word. He just wanted to see what she was trying to do today.
Spencer waited for half the day but failed to get a reaction from Yan Huan. After all, normally by this point, he would have already spoken up.
Even if it was out of impatience, even if he were mocking her...
Even if he was angry this noon, should he not at least show a little anger or disgust?
But he was just...
Not saying anything at all.
"..."
This could not help but make Spencer a bit anxious, and her head began to tilt uncontrollably in Yan Huan's direction.
However, every ti she was just about to face Yan Huan directly, she would hurriedly snap her head back, as if installed with a spring that bounced back the mont it bottod out.
"..."
Yan Huan gradually lost his curiosity. He raised his whistle and, without even looking at her, blew it loudly,
"The match is about to begin. All players, take your positions!"
"Alright, President!"
"The Swimming Club is ready!!"
Spencer was startled by the whistle. Seeing that Yan Huan did not spare her a single glance after blowing it, she pouted and looked back at Jiang Yun.
Jiang Yun had a look of utter confusion on her face and beckoned her to hurry back.
"..."
An obvious look of internal struggle appeared on Spencer's face. The next second, she suddenly squeezed her eyes shut, spun her head around, and faced Yan Huan.
"Ah... that... ugh..."
She was speaking what sounded like the language of cows, pigs, or alien creatures. Either way, Yan Huan could not understand a word of it.
Seeing her face turn red little by little, it was clear she could not hold back much longer.
But the very next second, she suddenly thrust her hand into her pocket, pulled sothing out, and slamd it down onto the armrest of Yan Huan's referee chair.
Having done all this, she turned around and bolted back to her side of the court without uttering another sound.
"..."
Yan Huan glanced at the armrest beside him, only to see a small, clear-packaged cookie resting there.
It was a cartoon-shaped cookie. It was probably cream-flavored; at any rate, it was baked to a perfect golden brown.
That cartoon figure happened to be the Golden Bomb Pig with a wicked grin from Angry Little Pigs.
"..."
Sowhat speechless, Yan Huan withdrew his gaze. He did not reach for the cookie, but rely announced,
"The match officially begins! Based on the coin toss, the Swimming Club will serve first!"
The match officially comnced.
But both sides knew how to play, so they did not really need the referee monitoring their every move. Because of this, Yan Huan appeared sowhat absent-minded.
"...President, thank you."
That was until a boy, accompanied by several friends behind the referee's chair, quietly thanked him.
Yan Huan glanced back at the boys and recognized them as the ones whose belongings had been snatched by Spencer that morning.
"..."
Yan Huan was slightly taken aback but did not reply.
Another boy gave Yan Huan a thumbs up and said,
"As expected of the President! You actually got that Spencer to co over, apologize, and return our things."
"Hehe, President, we will treat you to a al later."
Looking at them, Yan Huan smiled warmly and said,
"There is no need. It is my duty. You guys go on ahead, there is still a match happening here."
"Alright, we will head off then. We have another match later."
"Mhm."
Yan Huan waved his hand and withdrew his gaze.
"Whoosh~"
Right at that mont, the wind along the sidelines suddenly picked up.
Amidst the whistling wind, the voices of the group walking further away drifted back to him.
"Hey, Yasaka, didn't that Spencer say she accidentally lost the pendant your girlfriend gave you? How did that get resolved?"
"Ah, it's fine. Didn't she compensate
with cash?"
"Oh, oh..."
"Hehe, that was a lot of money. Enough to buy who knows how many of the gifts my girlfriend bought. Why would I still care about that trinket? I will just tell my girlfriend I accidentally lost it and it will be fine."
The boy's voice grew distant, seemingly as the wind gradually died down,
"Anyway, I am tired of this girlfriend now. Next ti she realizes the thing she gave
is gone, it will be the perfect excuse to break up."
"Not bad, Yasaka bro, quite the casanova..."
"Damn, why didn't she lose my stuff? I could have gotten a huge payout! That rich brat has too much money anyway..."
"Just bad luck, what else?"
"..."
Yan Huan did not look in their direction. He appeared to be entirely focused on the intense match between the two teams on the court.
Except, perhaps because he suddenly felt a bit hungry, he gently reached out and picked up the Bomb Pig cookie from the armrest beside him.
"Riiiip~"
Tearing open the packaging, he held the thick cookie in his palm.
To take a quick glance, the wickedly grinning Golden Bomb Pig was staring right back at him.
"..."
He let out a speechless smile, then tossed the Bomb Pig cookie into his mouth, chewing it with relish.
It was sweet.
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