Bai Yi looked at An Le's mobile phone in disbelief, only to see that there were absolutely no new ssages on the Plane chat page with Yan Huan.
"..."
With just that single glance, Bai Yi finally realized that An Le had tricked her.
"You..."
Bai Yi instantly overheated, her anger flaring up as she prepared to settle the score with An Le.
But when she raised her eyes, she found An Le simply smiling shyly, speaking to her in a soft and sweet voice.
"I was just joking, classmate Bai. However, since you were the one who invited Xiao Huan, he should logically contact you first."
That single sentence instantly cooled Bai Yi's temperature, causing her anger to be choked in her throat.
An Le's gentle and kind appearance even made Bai Yi begin to doubt herself, wondering if she had just been overthinking things.
'Could it be that she just acted unintentionally and hadn't considered any of this at all?'
While Bai Yi was still lost in thought, An Le took the initiative to open Plane and sent Yan Huan a ssage.
"Classmate Bai, I told Xiao Huan that you and I have already t up, and that he can just co straight into the hospital to find us."
This action completely severed any chance for Bai Yi to see who Yan Huan would ssage first.
If they had done nothing and Yan Huan ssaged Bai Yi first, it would have played right into Bai Yi's hands.
If he had ssaged An Le first instead of Bai Yi, then Bai Yi would have truly been made out to be a clown, and the atmosphere would likely have beco rather awkward.
Thus, by framing it as a joke, An Le managed to issue a warning to Bai Yi without making the atmosphere too uncomfortable.
"...Y-yes, that's good then."
Bai Yi let out a sigh of relief. Looking at An Le's bashful smile right in front of her, she couldn't figure out the girl's true intentions at all, so she had no choice but to take the way out that had been offered.
anwhile, Jiang Xion, who was driving in the front, glanced at the rearview mirror, observing the seemingly harmless An Le with unreadable thoughts.
At that mont, the vehicle happened to pull into the underground garage. It was ti for them to get out.
'Could classmate Bai really be a host?'
The inpatient departnt of the hospital featured a spacious courtyard, from the bottom of which one could directly see the corridors of the hospital wards on the upper floors.
The courtyard was originally intended for patients to move around in, but it had now been transford into a workspace for the upcoming Charity Concert, with nurous staff mbers from Golden Lion Entertainnt walking back and forth.
Sitting outside a makeup booth, An Le watched Bai Yi sitting in front of the mirror inside and couldn't help but ponder this.
Whether it was Spencer or Ye Shiyu, both gave An Le an incredibly dangerous feeling.
Bai Yi, however, was the exact opposite. Sotis she was so unnoticeable that An Le barely paid attention to her, and other tis she seed almost comical...
In short, she just seed entirely out of place compared to the other two hosts.
"Beep-beep..."
Just as An Le was lost in thought, the ringing of her mobile phone pulled her attention back to reality.
It was a ssage from Xiao Huan!
"Ah, they seem to have temporarily sealed off this area and aren't allowing outsiders in. I'll have to go pick Xiao Huan up..."
Clutching her mobile phone, An Le stood up. She originally intended to let Bai Yi know, but seeing that she was still busy over there, An Le decided to just go fetch Yan Huan first.
"Excuse , coming through! Equipnt coming through!"
Stepping out of the courtyard led to a narrow and long hospital ward corridor.
Just then, a cart carrying large equipnt entered the corridor, heading straight toward her.
An Le and a nurse in front of her subconsciously stood against the wall to make way for the equipnt. The equipnt on the moving cart barely brushed past the nurse's body as it went by.
But when it was An Le's turn, her impressive bust size visibly obstructed the path of the equipnt.
"..."
The nurse nearby turned her head and finally noticed that pair of colossal objects.
Instantly, the nurse's eyes went wide, and she looked up at An Le in utter disbelief.
That stare made An Le feel shy, so she quickly covered her chest. With a slightly flushed face, she turned her head to check behind her.
Behind her was a hospital ward door that opened inward.
Left with no other choice, An Le had to push open the ward door and slip inside to hide, planning to wait for the large equipnt to pass before coming back out.
"Click~"
"Son... I want to go ho."
"Mom, can you please stop saying things like that?! I'm begging you! Just hold on a little longer. Once the genetic test results co back, maybe we can use targeted therapy... The doctor said there's hope."
The mont she pushed the door open, the sound of a conversation drifted from within the ward.
To her surprise, this hospital ward was a single room, and the accommodations looked quite nice.
As soon as she entered, An Le spotted an old lady lying in the hospital bed. She was wearing a hospital gown, her face had an ashen pallor, and her body was thin and emaciated.
A thick headscarf covered her hairless scalp, and prominent dark circles rested heavily beneath her eyes.
The old lady turned her head and saw An Le trespassing into the room, but she didn't say a word.
However, a middle-aged man wearing a suit, who was sitting beside the bed, imdiately turned around and glared angrily at An Le.
"Who are you? Who the hell let you in?!"
"I... um... I'm sorry, I didn't an to."
An Le quickly waved her hands and apologized. The middle-aged man was about to continue scolding her, but the old lady on the bed reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
The middle-aged man froze for a mont, while the old lady waved her hand at An Le, gesturing for her to leave.
An Le pursed her lips, nodding in gratitude. Hearing the sound of the equipnt being dragged away outside, she hurriedly turned and left.
Before she frantically shut the door, the conversation inside continued to filter through.
"This hospital is insane. Why are they organizing so Charity Concert in a place like this?"
"I heard... the doctor say... it was originally arranged for the people... in the hospice ward..."
"They might be dying, but we're still trying to live! Disturbing your rest like this... I'm going to file a complaint against them later!"
"..."
An Le gently closed the door inch by inch. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned and walked toward the outer periter of the courtyard.
At that mont, on the outer periter of the courtyard, Yan Huan had changed his clothes and was looking at his mobile phone.
Looking up to scan the passing crowd, Yan Huan imdiately caught sight of An Le in the distance, glancing around the corridor from behind a railing.
He hurriedly called out,
"An Le!"
"Y-yes!"
The sudden shout made An Le stand up perfectly straight.
She blinked, pausing for a second before locating the source of the voice.
After spotting the smiling Yan Huan in the distance, she blushed and slowly walked toward him.
"X-Xiao Huan, I ca to get you."
Hearing her soft and sweet voice, Yan Huan looked her up and down. He still couldn't connect her to the peerless master who had single-handedly defeated Ye Shiyu the day before.
No matter how he looked at it, she didn't seem any different from before...
Seeing her familiar deanor, the vigilance Yan Huan had been harboring slowly lessened.
After she spoke with the staff mbers, they recognized that she had co from the inside, so they finally allowed her and Yan Huan to pass.
"So it turns out Bai Yi isn't the only singer participating in the Charity Concert. A lot of celebrities showed up today."
Initially, he thought this was a performance specifically tailored by Golden Lion Entertainnt for Bai Yi. However, after taking a look at the promotional posters above, he realized her star status was actually the lowest among all the attendees today.
"But shouldn't an event like this have a stage or sothing? I don't think I saw one outside."
"...It seems it was because... they received complaints from so patient family mbers. They're still arguing about it even now..."
Perhaps recalling the fierce-looking middle-aged man from earlier, An Le spoke in a rather hushed tone.
"No wonder they blocked the entrance. They were afraid of being mobbed by the families outside, right?"
Yan Huan smiled helplessly and said to An Le,
"You should have waited for
so we could co in together. I had already arrived and was planning to ssage you to ask where you were, but then you coincidentally told
that you and Bai Yi had already gone inside."
"..."
Hearing this, An Le froze slightly.
She suddenly recalled that when she ssaged Xiao Huan, Bai Yi hadn't received any ssages at all. And Xiao Huan had just said that he was planning to ssage her at that ti to ask where she was...
'Does that an... Xiao Huan really was planning to ssage
first?'
Realizing this, An Le's forward steps slowed down, and her face began to beco rosy.
'Co to think of it, I went to the South Ward previously to scope out the area because I planned to take Xiao Huan's first ti, but Spencer ruined my good deed.'
'Today is the weekend, and we happen to be out together. Xiao Huan even ntioned before that he wanted to treat
to dinner.'
'If that's the case, maybe tonight I'll...'
With these thoughts in mind, An Le turned her head to glance at Yan Huan's side profile and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Up ahead, the walking Yan Huan suddenly felt a shudder of fear creep up his spine.
He subconsciously wanted to turn back and look at An Le, but Jiang Xion's voice abruptly rang out from behind him.
"Yan Huan, you're here."
"Uncle Jiang."
Yan Huan turned his head and saw Jiang Xion walking over with a smile on his face.
He cast a glance at An Le, who was standing behind Yan Huan and looking at him with a flushed face, and couldn't help but inwardly raise an eyebrow.
Sensing the subtle atmosphere between the two of them, Jiang Xion pointed behind him and said,
"Bai Yi went to the changing room to swap out her clothes. She isn't in the venue right now, so you guys might need to wait there for a bit."
"Alright, no problem."
"Yeah, I'm going out for a smoke. Once Bai Yi gets back, you guys can chat with her."
"T-thank you, Uncle..."
Jiang Xion smiled and nodded. Watching Yan Huan and An Le gradually walk away, he blinked, lowered his head to pull out his mobile phone, and opened Plane.
"Yi Yi, ho in danger, return quickly!"
"Huh? What's wrong? I just got to the changing room!"
"Didn't you tell
earlier that Yan Huan liked you?"
"Uh-huh."
"I suddenly feel like he might actually like soone else."
Jiang Xion didn't even consider the possibility of Yan Huan two-timing and liking both of them at once.
Because in his eyes, the contrast in Yan Huan's attitude was just too obvious.
Bai Yi paused for a mont on her end, her status remaining on "Typing...".
It wasn't until a good while later that she finally sent a ssage back.
"Absolutely impossible!"
"Xiao Huan, here, water."
Sitting near the inner edge of the courtyard, Yan Huan looked up at An Le, who was handing him a bottle of water, while calculating in his mind what to do next.
Originally, after Ye Shiyu's disastrous defeat yesterday, he had co to see An Le with the mindset of fighting a boss.
Who would have known that upon eting her, she would be exactly the sa as always.
Right before his eyes, this reserved An Le, blushing and smiling shyly, slowly overlapped with the An Le from his childhood.
"Husband Xiao Huan, please drink so water..."
The cicada chirping sounds in the South Ward filled the air, prompting the young Yan Huan, sitting on a park bench, to turn his head and look at An Le beside him.
"An Le, have you ever thought about playing so other gas? We can't just keep playing house forever, can we?"
Initially, Yan Huan had only stepped in to help because he saw that group of mischievous children constantly picking on this timid and cowardly little girl.
But after that, she stuck to him like glue, following him everywhere he went.
Although she was indeed very cute, playing house every single day made even Yan Huan feel a bit bored of it.
"But I'm not playing house with Xiao Huan right now."
"Huh? But you just called
that."
An Le pouted uneasily. Sitting down next to Yan Huan, she whispered,
"But Xiao Huan and I already beca husband and wife before."
"That was just sothing we said while playing house, okay?"
"Wuu..."
As he spoke, Yan Huan watched An Le's cheeks puff out little by little, her expression revealing obvious disappointnt.
Seeing her like this, Yan Huan's heart softened once more, and he had no choice but to try and make ands,
"Alright, alright. I'm just telling you that becoming a real married couple isn't that simple, that's all."
"Then what do I have to do to beco a real married couple with Xiao Huan?"
The question made Yan Huan pause. Rubbing his chin, he replied hesitantly,
"Umm, well... First of all, a married couple has to..."
"..."
"..."
The cicada chirping sound grew louder bit by bit, gradually devouring their entire past.
The words slowly blurred away as Yan Huan lowered his head to look at the mineral water bottle in his hands.
In his eyes, An Le didn't seem to have changed at all.
She was still just like before, that younger sister who needed to be taken care of.
But if that was the case, what exactly was the deal with Spencer and Ye Shiyu before?
'Could it be that it wasn't her, but the incarnation of the Modifier inside her body acting on her behalf?'
"Speaking of which, Xiao Huan... why did you suddenly invite
out together today?"
At that mont, An Le, sitting beside him, spoke up sowhat shyly, pulling Yan Huan's attention back.
He considered his words for a mont, then smiled and said,
"Well, I've been really busy with the Student Council lately, so I haven't had the chance to co and chat with you alone."
"I-is that so..."
An Le happily pursed her lips, but before even a few seconds had passed, Yan Huan tentatively steered the conversation toward the main topic.
"...An Le, I heard from Senior Jiang Yun that you quit the Doujinshi Society?"
At the ntion of this, An Le's eyes grew slightly vacant.
She pondered for a mont before nodding her head and replying,
"Yeah."
Sensing the slight shift in her aura as she admitted it frankly, Yan Huan took a deep breath and began to press further into the issue.
However, considering that An Le possessed a Modifier, Yan Huan decided it was best to proceed from shallow to deep.
"An Le, I still rember that when you were being bullied by Park Seo-moon before, she was the one who stepped in to help you.
"And it was precisely because of that that I decided to lend her a hand and establish the Doujinshi Society."
Hearing this, An Le turned her head to look at Yan Huan. With an awkward smile, she said,
"Xiao Huan, let's talk about sothing else, okay?"
"..."
Faced with her clear refusal, Yan Huan found himself montarily tongue-tied.
After a second of silence, Yan Huan didn't force the topic any further. Instead, he smiled and said,
"Alright... After all, Spencer was also your friend before. I was just worried that this might affect you..."
"It won't, Xiao Huan. I... I'm still the sa as when we were little... I always have been."
These words made Yan Huan freeze. An Le pursed her lips, the expression on her face suddenly brightening a bit.
Just as she was about to lighten the atmosphere, an ethereal, water-drop-like clock ticking sound suddenly echoed beside their ears.
"Tick... tock..."
An Le's expression subtly changed as she looked around in confusion.
Yan Huan, on the other hand, instantly realized what was happening. Enduring the urge to react, he controlled his expression, not allowing it to shift in the slightest.
"How strange... Xiao Huan, did you hear a strange sound just now?"
"A strange sound?"
Yan Huan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, pretending to turn his head and scan their surroundings.
In reality, he was searching for the source of that ethereal clock sound.
'There's no mistake. That direction... it seems to be coming from the changing room.'
"I didn't hear anything."
But on the surface, he could only deny it.
Behind Yan Huan's back, the previously harmless-looking An Le glanced at all the oblivious people around them, and her expression slowly began to fade into indifference.
"Little Finger..."
"Hiss... this sound... Although I don't know exactly what it is, generally speaking, a supernatural phenonon like this that only you can hear... is highly likely to be one of my kind."
On her shoulder, Little Finger's figure abruptly materialized. Flicking its tongue, it looked at An Le and said,
"So what do you say, should we go take a look?"
"Mhm."
With that thought in mind, An Le imdiately stood up and gave Yan Huan a bashful smile.
"Umm, Xiao Huan, I... I'm going to run to the restroom really quick. I'll be right back!"
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