"Is that so, darling... Yes, alright, I understand."
Linn, Kyogo Ward.
Tuesday night, Sakuramiya residence.
By the window, Sakuramiya Lily was on the phone, seemingly having received so news from the other end.
Consequently, the smile on her face gradually faded, ultimately replaced by a grave seriousness.
"Then we'll wait for her to land first. I'll pay a visit and test the waters. If push cos to shove, I'll depart for ho imdiately."
"..."
"Alright, you get so rest early too, darling."
"..."
Wearing her pajamas, Sakuramiya Hitomi watched Sakuramiya Lily hang up the phone, unable to hide her confusion.
"Was that Father calling? Did sothing happen back ho?"
"What could possibly happen? It's lifeless and dull over there. I just heard that the president of the Jinshi Group has already set off for Linn... This is going to be troubleso."
Sakuramiya Lily massaged her temples with a slight headache.
"However, these are matters for us adults to worry about. It has nothing to do with you..."
But as she spoke, she raised an eyebrow, a smile returning to her face.
"Oh, I suppose it's not entirely unrelated! After all, she is the mother of that blonde girl who forcefully kissed President Yan Huan."
"Spencer..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi pursed her lips, but then sothing occurred to her, and her eyes lit up as she analyzed the situation.
"That's right, Mama!
"The Spencer family isn't as flourishing in numbers as ours. She's the only daughter of the Jinshi Group's president, which ans...
"Naturally, her family must be incredibly strict with her upbringing, right?"
Sakuramiya Lily snapped her folding fan open and sighed helplessly.
"My, my, it seems my little daughter has misunderstood sothing~
"You should know that the only reason you have so much freedom now is because your father and I dote on you...
"With your grandfather's personality... well, just look at your aunt and uncle's children to see how things usually go."
Thinking of the stern, old-fashioned man living in the ancestral estate, Sakuramiya Hitomi shivered.
"Ugh..."
Scared in retrospect, she imdiately threw herself into her mother's arms, acting coy.
"Mama, I love you guys~"
Sakuramiya Lily seed immune to her daughter's attempts to act coy. She sighed, lightly tapping her daughter's head with the folding fan as she retorted.
"You only say you love us at tis like this. What a pragmatic child...
"But then again, with such a good hand of cards, I can't believe you managed to play them this badly.
"What exactly went wrong?"
Sakuramiya Lily touched her cheek in distress, looking as if she suspected she had raised the wrong character in a video ga.
"Hitomi, did you perhaps invest in the wrong skill tree? Do you think there's still a chance to reset your stats?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi lifted her head in a huff, her face turning red again.
"Mama, do you think I'm so character you're raising?! That I can just be rebuilt from scratch?!"
However, regarding the accusation of ruining a good hand, she genuinely had nothing to say.
After all, even Nara had evaluated her the sa way.
Feeling a bit ashad, Sakuramiya Hitomi quickly changed the subject.
"I... I an, Spencer's mother definitely won't agree to her being with the president. If she disagrees, no matter how much Spencer wants it, it's absolutely impossible, right?"
"That is indeed true."
"Right?!"
Hope sparked in Sakuramiya Hitomi's eyes, but Sakuramiya Lily just smiled faintly. Pinching her daughter's cheek, she warned her.
"But, what if the exact opposite happens?"
"The exact opposite?"
"Yes~ What if she is just as open-minded as we are and decides to respect her daughter's wishes?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi froze slightly as Sakuramiya Lily pinched her cheek a little harder, shaking her small face.
"You have to realize, if she chooses to help her daughter and take Yan Huan in as a son-in-law...
"Then never mind you, even if your father and I went all out, we wouldn't have a chance of winning.
"You would be utterly, completely dood~"
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi's heart turned cold.
'Is that possible?'
'Yeah... With the capabilities of the Jinshi Group, is it possible that even if Spencer drops out of school, she could still maintain daily contact with the president?'
'Or even worse, what if she makes the president follow Spencer back to Ying Country? Then I wouldn't be able to see him even if I wanted to!'
Sakuramiya Hitomi, who had been smugly thinking this morning that Spencer was already out of the ga, was now completely dumbfounded, frozen like a stone statue.
That stunned expression made Sakuramiya Lily sigh helplessly. She released her daughter's cheek and teased.
"Honestly, if you shifted just a little of the wit you use to battle your relatives over to this, you'd probably already be together with Yan Huan..."
"Ugh..."
"Alright, hurry up and go to sleep. With your constitution, you're probably already feeling tired, right?"
"Okay, Mama. Goodnight."
Sakuramiya Hitomi nodded and dejectedly turned around, heading upstairs toward her bedroom.
Nara hadn't been able to return yet. Even though her mother had agreed, her father still wanted to investigate Nara and the Feather Gang once more for safety's sake.
So for the ti being, Sakuramiya Hitomi had lost her close comrade-in-arms and was fighting a lone battle.
"..."
Walking back to her bedroom, Sakuramiya Hitomi grew angrier the more she thought about it.
Most importantly, she suddenly felt as if Spencer was invincible.
Setting aside her family background and appearance, wasn't her luck a bit too exaggeratedly good?
Even her healthy and robust body was sothing Hitomi couldn't match...
'How am I supposed to fight that?'
Lying on her bed, Sakuramiya Hitomi suddenly felt a wall-facer-like despair.
However, she couldn't even sustain this imnse feeling of pressure for long.
Because her frail body already felt fatigued and needed sleep.
"Crack-crack-crack!"
Gritting her teeth, her anger mounting, Sakuramiya Hitomi lightly slapped a hand onto the mattress and activated her Room Barrier.
In an instant, the night outside the window seed to deepen imasurably.
Above the bright moon, the silhouette of a centipede with seemingly endless legs coiled and lingered, dragging the world into the abyss.
With a re thought from Sakuramiya Hitomi, her originally frail and burdenso body instantly brimd with vigor.
Sweeping away her exhaustion, she sat up and pinched her chin in thought.
"What... what should I do? Why am I always at such a loss whenever it cos to the president and matters of love? Even though with everything else I'm..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi counted on her fingers, calculating the upcoming schedule.
This Thursday and Friday, which were the day after tomorrow and the day after that, were the midterm exams.
The weekend following next Friday, plus the week after, would be the ten-day class School Trip.
The physiology classes had to be wrapped up before the School Trip, aning she would be busy with midterms and physiology during this period.
There was always a ss of things going on. She would need an opportunity to act, sothing like the comic convention or her younger cousin's birthday, right?
'But, how exactly do I...'
She couldn't spy on him right now, she had no information on the president, and Nara was currently banned from helping.
Sakuramiya 'Romance Idiot' Hitomi was currently like a blind person with diarrhea.
Desperate, yet completely unaware of which way to run.
'I...'
She truly didn't know how she could beat that Spencer.
People from Ying Country were very open-minded. Right now, even before anything was officially established between her and the president, she dared to forcefully kiss him in public.
If her trendously resourceful mother helped her out, wouldn't their progress be lightning fast?!
Getting together in less than a few days, then moving in together, sleeping together, and finally...
'Doing that kind of thing!!'
'Damn it, I...'
'I'm the one who should be doing all those things with the president!'
'I want to kiss the president, go on dates with him, and visit his house to see exactly what it's like!'
Currently sprawling on her bed in impotent rage, Sakuramiya Hitomi pounded the mattress furiously, wishing she could eat Spencer alive.
Just as she greedily yearned to do those very sa things with Yan Huan, an energy resembling sustenance—her desire—was flourishing robustly all around her.
"Gurgle-gurgle~"
The entire Room Barrier began to boil over, crazily absorbing the nourishnt.
But Sakuramiya Hitomi remained completely unaware, her mind instead recalling the words her mother had spoken earlier.
"Honestly, if you shifted just a little of the wit you use to battle your relatives over to this, you'd probably already be together with Yan Huan..."
Thinking of this, Sakuramiya Hitomi, who had been as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, paused for a mont.
"That's right. I used to be able to help Father strategize and plan back at ho. Why is it that now I just..."
"Crack-crack-crack-crack~"
The mont this thought surfaced, her back began to squirm, much like it did when she altered her physical appearance previously.
But this ti, her body did not undergo any changes.
Instead, a Noh mask bearing fragnts of maxillipeds actually drilled its way out from within her body.
That fragnt of the Modifier expanded little by little, before incredibly transforming back into an even smaller, middle finger-shaped Modifier.
And the mask continued to expand as well, ultimately manifesting into a human figure...
[The Room Barrier's level has increased!]
[Room Barrier Level: 3 → 4]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new function of the Room Barrier: Persona Mask.]
"Eh?"
The previously chest-beating and foot-stomping Sakuramiya Hitomi paused slightly, her attention drawn by the sudden voice near her ear.
She hastily raised her eyes to look ahead and saw lines of introductory text appear on an illusory interface.
[Now, a portion of the latent personality hidden within your heart has the chance to randomly manifest as a Persona Mask capable of taking human form. This mask possesses the following characteristics:]
[1. It can currently only appear within the Room Barrier.]
[2. Depending on the psychological aspect it represents, it will possess different attributes, appearances, and intellect.]
[3. The Persona Mask is absolutely loyal to you.]
[4. The Persona Mask can independently manipulate the Room Barrier based on its own will, but the Room Barrier will execute your commands with absolute priority.]
[5. When a Persona Mask is left within a specific Room Barrier, that Room Barrier will enter a perpetual state.]
[That is: The Room Barrier will no longer be restricted by the maximum number of Room Barriers that can exist simultaneously. The Room Barrier will exist permanently.]
[Additionally, congratulations! You have unlocked a new function of the Room Barrier: Connection.]
[Currently, all of your Room Barriers are connected.]
[You can freely enter other Room Barriers through the "doors" that exist within the Room Barrier.]
The illusory text before her eyes quickly vanished like smoke and clouds, but the profound shock it delivered to Sakuramiya Hitomi didn't diminish in the slightest.
She hadn't quite grasped what the Persona Mask business from earlier was all about, but she definitely understood the latter two enhancents.
One was an increase in the number of Room Barriers she could deploy. Previously, she could only place two no matter what, which was highly inconvenient.
Often, placing a new one ant the previous one would disappear.
And now, she could traverse between her Room Barriers!
Didn't that an she could just push open a door right now and arrive directly at the Student Council Office at school?!
Sakuramiya Hitomi enthusiastically stood up, eager to test out this new function, but the mont she turned her head, she suddenly noticed a figure standing right in front of her.
"Wah!"
Startled, Sakuramiya Hitomi hastily reached out to manipulate the Room Barrier.
"Crack-crack-crack!"
The walls all around twisted, transforming into concrete vortexes that abruptly locked the figure firmly in the center of the room.
Yet the figure remained motionless, rely staring expressionlessly at Sakuramiya Hitomi.
Then, she clicked her tongue.
"Y-You're alive?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi recovered a bit from her panic, finally having the presence of mind to examine the figure before her... or rather, a petite girl with a Noh mask worn askew on top of her head.
The girl before her looked remarkably similar to herself, except her expression was icy cold, and she had long ombre pinkish-black hair that reached her waist.
That expression was identical to the one she wore back when she was still at the Sakuramiya family estate, before coming to Linn!
'Which ans, this Persona Mask is...'
However, the cold-faced "Sakuramiya Hitomi" before her simply opened her mouth and scolded.
"Idiot!"
"Hah?!"
Struck by this opening volley, Sakuramiya Hitomi's face flushed crimson again.
"You've got so nerve! You're clearly just the past version of , yet you dare insult the present ?!"
The Cold Sakuramiya before her wore a "Chujo" male Noh mask tilted on her head, her posture both frigid and elegant.
"Heh. If I had known earlier that my future self would turn out like this, I'd rather have never co to Linn in my entire life!"
"Hah?! Are you serious? If I hadn't co to Linn, I never would have t the president!"
"..."
At the ntion of this, Cold Sakuramiya's imposing aura suddenly faltered, and she fell silent at once.
Seeing her react this way, Sakuramiya Hitomi stared blankly and pointed out,
"...I have to say, even your fondness for the president is identical to mine. It seems you truly are a part of ."
With a gentle wave of her hand, Sakuramiya Hitomi gradually restored the twisted room to its original state, lowering Cold Sakuramiya back down as well.
Yet the mont she was down, she started speaking insolently again.
"Hmph. We were clearly only one step away from the president. It's all your fault, you piece of trash, for ssing everything up."
"...I'd like to hear what brilliant ideas my past self has."
"It's simple. Utilize all available conditions and use any ans necessary to snatch the president back."
Cold Sakuramiya crossed her legs and stated straightforwardly,
"For the physiology classes, invite our family doctor over, then use Common Sense Modification through the Room Barrier on everyone, and then directly force the matter with the president until the deed is done."
"Isn't that way too fast?!"
"Furthermore, once isn't enough! For the subsequent School Trip, we'll spend money to bribe our classmates, making them vote for the destination the president goes to."
Cold Sakuramiya clenched her fist and abruptly slamd it into her left palm, declaring,
"For ten days and ten nights, we drug the president every evening and do it non-stop. This way, we'll make his body rember—"
"No... Don't say any more..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi, beyond tears, covered Cold Sakuramiya's mouth, feeling intense regret at this mont.
In the past, sequestered deep within the Sakuramiya estate, she had basically zero contact with anyone of the opposite sex outside of her own family.
At that ti, her entire concept of romance was purely based on the indecent doujinshi brought by Takanotsukasa Mitsuki... who was currently the president of the Far Moon Mahjong Club.
One could only imagine the sheer shock the conservative Sakuramiya family felt when she spouted classic lines from those indecent storybooks to her rigid grandfather.
"How could you do such a thing?!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi and the Cold Sakuramiya before her both blinked simultaneously, as that sentence hadn't co from either of them.
Turning her head, Sakuramiya Hitomi suddenly noticed a tiny Sakuramiya, only about thirty centiters tall, standing right on the bed behind her.
"You..."
Similarly, she wore a Noh mask tilted on her head, specifically the "Waka-onna" female mask.
"Before, you used underhanded thods to peep on the president, and what was the result? It exploded in your face!
"After that, you tried to cover it up using the Room Barrier, and ended up causing imasurable consequences for the president!"
The Tiny Sakuramiya placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Sakuramiya Hitomi angrily. She spoke, utterly disappointed in her expectations,
"You obviously know it yourself. Using Common Sense Modification to make the president like you is a wicked path. Do you think forcing the deed until it's done isn't?!
"There's only one genuinely effective thod, and that is to sincerely convey your feelings to the president! Exchange a sincere heart for a sincere heart!"
Even though the Tiny Sakuramiya before her was barely the size of a doll, her imposing aura pushed Sakuramiya Hitomi down lower and lower.
These words were entirely the sa thoughts that used to echo in her heart before she installed the hidden caras or planned to use the Room Barrier...
This Tiny Sakuramiya was Sakuramiya Hitomi's conscience.
Behind them, Cold Sakuramiya scoffed coldly and said dismissively,
"Are you kidding? You could say having money and not using it makes you kind-hearted, but if you have a superpower like the Room Barrier and still refuse to use it, aren't you just wasting it?"
Tiny Sakuramiya strutted to the edge of the bed with her hands on her hips. She tilted her head back to look at Cold Sakuramiya, who was a full five tis taller than her, and said,
"It's not that we aren't allowed to use it at all; it's just that it shouldn't be used in this kind of situation! It's exactly because she relied on it that this idiot ended up ruining such a good hand!"
"I do agree with the point that she is a piece of trash."
Sakuramiya Hitomi's conscience and the previously ruthless version of Sakuramiya Hitomi seed to have reached a consensus in so weird aspect.
This ti, Sakuramiya Hitomi's face turned completely red. Covering her ears, entirely unwilling to listen to their nonsense, she stood up, intending to go test out her newly acquired ability.
She quickly walked to her bedroom door, visualizing the Room Barrier at Far Moon Academy in her mind.
Then, she placed her hand on the doorknob.
"Click~"
Just as she pushed the door open, in a daze, a golden ray of evening sunlight slipped through the crack and fell before her eyes.
She paused slightly and raised a hand to block the sunset glare. Yet, right through the gaps between her fingers, she saw a young man sitting in an office chair, smiling at her.
"Sakuramiya, you're here."
"..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi's pupils constricted slightly. However, in the very next second, everything before her was gradually restored by the Room Barrier into the quiet, nightti Student Council Office.
Behind her, Tiny Sakuramiya retracted her hand, then flew onto her shoulder with a heave-ho, heave-ho.
Looking at the currently stunned Sakuramiya Hitomi, she couldn't help but remind her,
"Actually, that day, Spencer forcefully kissing the president wasn't what truly made you feel conflicted and awful, was it?"
Cold Sakuramiya lowered her eyes, crossing her arms as she spoke.
"What genuinely made you feel awful was the president's reaction that day..."
"You saw it. He didn't get angry about being forcefully kissed. Instead, he took the initiative to hug her back and laughed."
As soon as that sentence was spoken, Sakuramiya Hitomi clenched her jaw, her body beginning to tremble.
The two Persona Masks, exchanging words back and forth, felt entirely as if Sakuramiya Hitomi was speaking to herself.
Because their mories were completely identical.
"This proves that the president has already started developing feelings for Spencer."
"Sakuramiya Hitomi, this is your last chance."
"If you don't strike now and take the initiative for once..."
"In the future, your only role will be watching the two of them be together."
Hearing those final words ring out like a death knell, Sakuramiya Hitomi gritted her teeth. She stared at the nightti Student Council Office before her and slamd her fist into the door.
"Thud!"
Within the Room Barrier, her body was enhanced to the point where she couldn't even feel the slightest bit of pain.
"During midterms and physiology classes, I'll first investigate what exactly is going on between the president and Spencer... And then at the School Trip... At the School Trip, I will absolutely make sure the president learns of my sincere heart..."
Hearing this, Tiny Sakuramiya smiled in relief and flew back to her bedside.
anwhile, Cold Sakuramiya scoffed coldly, not looking back either, but instead walking directly into the Student Council Office.
As the two Persona Masks each walked into their respective Room Barriers, the illusory interface before Sakuramiya Hitomi's eyes shifted once again.
It read:
[Number of Released Room Barriers: 0/2]
"Alright, I understand... Elvira will arrive in Linn very soon. I will convene an internal eting tomorrow."
At that exact sa mont, Kyogo Ward, Ye Residence.
In the middle of the night, Ye Lan was still sitting in the living room wearing her nightgown. She wore a grave expression as she looked at the laptop in front of her, a phone still pressed to her ear.
After conversing for half an hour on the call coming from Tianjing in Dragon Country, she let out a long breath and hung up the phone.
Massaging the space between her eyebrows with a slight headache, she suddenly caught sight out of the corner of her eye of Ye Shiyu handing over a hot cup of banana milk.
"Shiyu..."
"What's wrong, Mama?"
Ye Lan sighed and said,
"It's nothing, just work matters."
Taking a sip of the milk, Ye Lan looked up with worry at Ye Shiyu before her and suddenly spoke.
"Shiyu, I'm going to be very busy for the upcoming period, you..."
"Mama, I have already... turned over a new leaf."
Ye Lan glanced at Ye Shiyu standing in the darkness, rubbing her temples as she sighed.
"You'd better have. I don't have the energy to manage you anyway. But if I catch you for a third ti, you will return to our ho country, understood?"
"Yes, Mama."
"Alright, go get so rest. I still have so things to handle..."
"Mhm, goodnight."
Ye Shiyu nodded and turned to leave.
However, just as she was about to ascend the stairs, her footsteps gradually slowed down. She spoke,
"Oh, right, Mama."
"Hm?"
Ye Lan lifted her gaze to look at Ye Shiyu, only to see her tilt her head and ask with an incredibly innocent expression,
"Mama, can I have my mobile phone back?"
"..."
Ye Lan pondered for a mont, reasoning that it truly was entirely inconvenient for her daughter not to have a phone.
As a modern person, basically no one could live without a mobile phone.
"Fine, go take it."
With that, Ye Lan nodded and agreed.
Ye Shiyu blinked, and finally, looking completely satisfied, she turned and headed upstairs.
"Click~"
It wasn't long before the door to Ye Shiyu's bedroom on the third floor clicked open, revealing a laptop that was still lit up inside.
On the computer screen was the interface of an internal Far Moon Plane group chat.
Displayed on it, incredibly conspicuous, was a picture of Yan Huan and Spencer kissing that was going viral within the group.
"Hey, everyone get ready to start voting! Where overseas should we go for the School Trip?"
"Oh, Class Rep, honestly. We haven't even finished midterms yet and you're already thinking about the School Trip."
Inside the Plane group, her classmates were still exchanging ssages.
anwhile, having retrieved her mobile phone, Ye Shiyu sat down expressionlessly.
Her profound gaze locked onto Spencer's figure.
Then, she silently pressed the power button on her phone.
"Beep-beep~"
Luoqiao District, An Le's ho.
Little Pinky excitedly wrote on a flag and planted it by An Le's bedside. To take a quick glance, it read:
"Down with Spencer!"
Afterward, it chuckled and turned to look at An Le, who was wiping her hair nearby, asking,
"How about it? Got confidence?! Defeat the only daughter of the Jinshi Group's nouveau riche!"
"..."
Hearing Little Pinky's words, An Le's eyes dimd slightly, but she replied,
"I don't want to pay attention to Spencer anymore, and I don't want to defeat her either..."
"Hah? You were so angry clearly because she betrayed you! Don't tell
you can still forgive her?"
"I won't forgive her."
As these words slipped out faintly, even Little Pinky suddenly felt a chill run down its spine.
"Then..."
It blinked, but asked with a face full of innocence,
"You still need to decide on a goal you want, right? You can't just... not want anything, right?"
"..."
Seeing An Le's expression remain listless, Little Pinky instantly flashed onto her shoulder, shifting left and right as it probed,
"What about Yan Huan? Think about Yan Huan. Is there anything you want to do to Yan Huan?"
Little Pinky's pink eyes stared straight at An Le, continuously tempting her deeper like a devilish whisper.
And when Yan Huan was ntioned, An Le's originally dull eyes lit up slightly.
"I... I want to..."
"What do you want to do? Say it..."
'Do you want to hold hands with Yan Huan? Do you want to be together with him?'
'Hehehe...'
But An Le's gaze darted away evasively. Ultimately, she spoke,
"I... I want to take away Xiao Huan's...
"First ti."
Hearing this, the previously excited Little Pinky, who had been constantly bewitching An Le, instantly froze.
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