"Um, Xiao Huan, I... I need to go to the restroom. I'll be right back!"
Watching An Le smile and stand up, Yan Huan's heart instantly skipped a beat.
Combined with the illusory ticking of the clock echoing in his ears like dripping water, it was possible that An Le was genuinely going to the restroom, but it was also highly unlikely that she was solely going to the restroom.
Yan Huan had no idea that An Le was hunting other hosts. After all, from his perspective, her actions against the previous two individuals had been justifiable.
Spencer had kissed him in public, and Ye Shiyu had gone looking for trouble with An Le only to be counter-killed.
Right now, An Le and Bai Yi didn't have any major grudges between them, but considering An Le's current power level, Yan Huan felt it was best to follow her and keep an eye on things.
As for Bai Yi, even though she might use her Modifier, Yan Huan believed her destructive capability was nowhere near as exaggerated as An Le's.
Therefore, his first priority was to prevent An Le from getting close to Bai Yi, and then figure out what Bai Yi was doing with her Modifier.
"Pat."
Thus, just as An Le turned to leave, Yan Huan hesitated briefly before also standing up.
"I need to go too. Let's go together."
"..."
An Le blinked, then, to Yan Huan's surprise, she smiled faintly and nodded.
"Sure, let's go together, Xiao Huan."
Seeing her open and composed deanor, Yan Huan nodded and followed her toward the restroom.
'Myau-chan, when I enter the restroom, keep an eye on her at the door. If she sneaks away, tell
imdiately.'
'Got it, ow~'
Yan Huan spoke in his mind to the Myau-chan materialized on his shoulder, quietly setting up a plan.
Little did he know, right before his eyes, a white snake that he couldn't see was coiled around An Le's shoulder.
'Little Finger, once I enter the restroom later, I need your help to distract Xiao Huan.'
'Heh heh, leave it to .'
One in front, one behind; two people, two Modifier Avatars, each with their respective missions.
Watching An Le step into the restroom, Yan Huan shrugged his shoulder, dropping Myau-chan.
The black cat raised its tail, standing at the restroom entrance like a sentry.
Yan Huan then walked into the n's restroom, waiting for Myau-chan's report.
"Hiss~"
The mont they entered the restroom, An Le lowered her arm, and an enormous white cobra slid down her hand to gently land on the floor.
Little Finger flicked its tongue and gave an evil laugh, manifesting its form as it muttered out loud,
"Alright, what should I do?"
"..."
At the doorway, Myau-chan sat elegantly on the floor, having just opened its mouth to yawn.
The next second, it watched helplessly as a white cobra with a head larger than its own slithered out of the won's restroom.
"ow?!"
This gave Myau-chan a terrible fright. It looked vigilantly at the white snake with pink scales on its back, increasingly certain that it was a Modifier Avatar.
"Hiss~"
Little Finger flicked its tongue and turned to look at a nurse standing not far away with her back turned. Its eyes darted around as malicious intent arose in its heart.
'An Le, how about I use Superconductor on a nurse and make her do so... hehe, things in public? That will definitely attract everyone's attention.'
'No!'
An Le's imdiate negation echoed in its mind, causing Little Finger to scoff.
'Fine, fine, you're the boss.'
Unfortunately, although it could act as An Le's dium to activate the Modifier, it couldn't trigger the power on its own.
It could only use its abilities if the host herself had the will to activate the Modifier.
In that case, simply scaring this nurse would have to do.
"Hiss~"
Thinking this, Little Finger slithered toward the nurse inch by inch, opening its cavernous maw.
"Hiss!!"
Just as it was about to resort to violence, a piercing hiss suddenly ca from behind, making Little Finger freeze in surprise.
It turned its head and saw a plump black cat glaring at it from behind, hissing fiercely.
"Where did this Hachimi co from? Shoo, shoo, shoo, get lost!"
"ow!"
Little Finger flicked its tail at it, but Myau-chan t the swinging tail by violently raising its claws, unleashing a flurry of slaps like a buzzing little bee.
"Smack-smack-smack-smack!!"
Those paw pads struck so fast they left behind an afterimage.
"Ah, fuck! Why is this damn cat so vicious?!"
The violent storm of slaps inflicted so much pain that Little Finger hastily retracted its tail, looking up in sheer disbelief.
Before it, the plump black cat had airplane ears, its entire head looking like a round and plump black-faced stead bun.
It was ruffled and hissing, raising its pink paw pads and waving them left and right, adopting a stance that clearly scread it was no pushover either.
That sight imdiately caused Little Finger to beco overheated, its entire face twisting into a ferocious expression.
"Alright, you damn cat, it looks like you need to be taught a lesson! Roar!!"
Subsequently, Little Finger's body suddenly expanded, its head alone swelling to beco larger than Myau-chan.
The next second, watching the white snake that had instantly grown several tis its size lunge at it, the previously full of fighting spirit Myau-chan completely wilted.
"ow!!"
It let out a terrified shriek and ran away imdiately.
The sound of its panicked fleeing in disarray instantly drew the nurse's attention, and she blanked for a mont.
Turning her head, she only caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of a massive white snake tail slithering in a certain direction.
"Ahhhhhhh!! A snake!!"
"W-What snake?!"
The nurse's face instantly drained of color as she collapsed to the floor, pointing in that direction and screaming.
The outside area imdiately beca bustling, as people instantly crowded around.
Although An Le didn't know what Little Finger had done, seeing the gradually gathering crowd outside told her that the ti was ripe.
She silently said a quick sorry to Xiao Huan, then ran toward the direction the illusory clock sound was coming from.
"Tick... Tock..."
Yan Huan was still waiting in the restroom for Myau-chan's report, only for chaos to erupt outside first.
His expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly asked Myau-chan in his mind,
'Myau-chan, what's going on outside? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye out?'
As a result, Myau-chan's crying voice imdiately echoed in his ears,
'Yan Huan!! Co save , ow!! There's a snake chasing , ow!! I'm going to die!!'
'Then just use teleportation and co back!'
'I can't, ow! If I disappear right in front of it, it will realize I'm not a normal cat!'
On the other end, Myau-chan explained to Yan Huan, panting and entirely panicked and helpless,
'If I let it discover that I have a stand-in ability just like it does, it will definitely get suspicious, which will eventually expose us, ow!!'
Hearing this, Yan Huan's face darkened instantly, and he turned to sprint toward the restroom entrance.
'You useless Hachimi!'
'ow?!'
Yan Huan pushed the n's restroom door open with great difficulty, as the sheer number of people outside had temporarily blocked it.
"Excuse , coming through!"
Nurous staff mbers had surrounded the pale-faced nurse, asking her what exactly had happened.
Pointing in a specific direction, she mumbled haltingly,
"It's right over there. I saw it with my own eyes just now, there was a massive white snake tail..."
"Hiss... I think I just saw it too, but I wasn't entirely sure..."
"What the hell? There's a snake in a place like this?!"
"..."
The surroundings imdiately dissolved into chaos, getting so noisy that it slowed down Yan Huan's progress in squeezing through the crowd.
In the distance, a hospital ward door was pushed open, and the middle-aged man wearing a suit walked out with an ugly expression.
"What the hell, it's so damn loud!"
He surveyed his surroundings. Even though he had no clue what was happening, just seeing that group of staff mbers outside filled him with annoyance.
Thus, the very next second, he turned his head to glance at his mother lying on the bed inside the room and instructed,
"Mom, I'm going to find the person in charge of the hospital and have them kick these people out imdiately. You lie in bed and rest well. If you have any problems, just press the nurse call bell."
"..."
The old lady wearing a headscarf was too weak to reply, but as she watched her son leave, she hesitated for a mont before struggling to turn and hold onto the edge of the bed.
She wanted to get out of bed.
"Rustle..."
The sound of her hospital gown rubbing against the white bedsheets echoed softly. Soon, the hospital ward returned to silence.
"Click."
Following that ca the sound of the door opening and closing.
As the door slowly swung shut, it revealed the nurses' dical records attached to the back of the door.
On an uncovered section, so text could faintly be seen:
"Stage IV Pancreatic Body-Tail Junction Cancer"
Dialing the ti back slightly, inside the won's changing room.
Bai Yi pushed the door open, holding the clothes she needed to change into. The room featured nurous cubicles, with three or four shared vanity mirrors in the middle.
When she arrived, a lady with pink long hair was already seated inside, holding a hair dryer and tending to her own hair.
"Creak~"
At the sound of the door opening, the pink-haired lady turned her head and glanced at Bai Yi.
With that single glance, Bai Yi recognized her. This was the incredibly famous pop star senior from Ying Country, Luxi'na.
She was also an artist signed with Golden Lion Entertainnt, but she was an absolute big shot among big shots, boasting trendous value that a newly initiated rookie like Bai Yi couldn't even compare to.
Luxi'na taking a single business trip to Linn could scoop away an unfathomable amount of banknotes.
"Ms. Luxi'na!"
Bai Yi's eyes lit up slightly. She had listened to many of this woman's songs, and Bai Yi was quite fond of her distinct pop style.
"Hello."
Hearing Bai Yi's greeting, Luxi'na nodded in response.
Watching Bai Yi sit down beside her with evident joy, Luxi'na cast a glance at her side profile and spoke,
"I rember you..."
"Y-You do?"
Bai Yi blinked, feeling profoundly overwheld by favor.
Luxi'na looked her up and down, then asked,
"You're that actor, the female lead of 'Love After Dusk' and the winner of the Rainbow Film Award?"
"...Ah, yes."
Bai Yi blanked montarily at the question, but she forced herself to confirm it anyway.
Without any further conversation for the mont, the two sat before their respective vanity mirrors and began preparing.
"Ding~"
That was until Jiang Xion sent a ssage to Bai Yi's phone.
"Yi-Yi, ho in danger, return quickly!"
"Huh?"
Confused, Bai Yi picked up her phone and replied with a few sentences, but Jiang Xion's subsequent ssage made her involuntarily speak aloud,
"Yan Huan... has soone else he likes?"
In that instant, Bai Yi almost naturally thought of An Le.
Previously, An Le had spoken to her about many intimate details regarding her past with Yan Huan, and now Yan Huan had even proactively invited her to watch this performance.
This atmosphere...
It really did feel a bit like a date!
In her mind, Bai Yi rationally analyzed the relationship between An Le and Yan Huan.
The more she analyzed, the more her brain told her that Jiang Xion was making a lot of sense.
Consequently, her small face grew pale as she stared blankly at the input thod editor on her phone.
"..."
Right then, hearing Bai Yi's muttering, Luxi'na cast a glance at her, catching sight of her absent-minded state.
After a mont of thought, Luxi'na decided to speak up and remind Bai Yi,
"Aren't you going to seize the ti? You're about to go on stage."
"Ah..."
Seeing Bai Yi acting in a daze, Luxi'na sighed and offered so advice.
"It's not a problem for young people to have a lot on their minds, but it's best to focus your energy more on proper matters.
"Especially right now, while your skills are still immature. You need to grasp opportunities to properly develop yourself."
Truthfully, Luxi'na was coming from a place of good intention. Given that they were senior and junior within the sa company, she had felt a slight inclination to ntor her.
It was because of this that she spoke a bit more about matters outside of work.
However, other people's goodwill didn't always align with one's desires. Sotis, it could be unpleasant to hear, or even entirely useless.
Hence the saying, "Honest advice is hard to hear."
Yet for so reason, these few words of honest advice, coupled with the previous warning Jiang Xion had sent her, suddenly felt incredibly sharp and hostile in Bai Yi's eyes.
The hair ends of Bai Yi's hair were once again tinged with a stroke of illusory transparency, but this ti, she didn't even realize it.
It was just that deep within her, the self-doubt that normally would have prompted introspection suddenly shrank to insignificance, and the sa happened to her perception of Luxi'na, who was offering the advice.
'To hell with An Le, the person Yan Huan liked was clearly myself.'
'To hell with Luxi'na, my singing skills are exceptional; they rely need a little ti to refine.'
'What right do you have to lecture , just because you entered the industry earlier?'
"Tick... Tock..."
Within Bai Yi's embrace, the hands of the pocket watch slowly rotated, emitting that illusory clock sound akin to dripping water.
At this mont, every ounce of hesitation faded from Bai Yi's face, replaced entirely by a confident disdain.
"Hmph~"
Bai Yi lightly tossed her black hair. While typing out an "Absolutely impossible" to Jiang Xion, she simultaneously turned to Luxi'na and stated,
"I won't trouble Senior to worry about my affairs... Furthermore, I'm not an actor. I'm a singer now."
"..."
That retort left Luxi'na stunned. Soon after, her expression cooled.
"I hope that's the case."
Having said her piece, Luxi'na stood up, turned around, and left the changing room.
On the other end of Plane, Jiang Xion had also been left speechless by Bai Yi's abrupt response, putting an end to his incoming ssages.
Watching Luxi'na leave with an ugly expression on her face, Bai Yi scoffed and muttered to herself,
"Hmph, what are you so proud about? We'll see who's better when we perform on the sa stage later. My skills won't lose to yours."
She spoke indignantly while heading to a cubicle in the changing room to change her clothes.
By the ti she ca out and had just put away her changed clothes, a sudden cat's ow echoed from outside the door.
"ow, ow, ow!"
Bai Yi turned her head in confusion, only to see a panicked and disoriented black cat rampage headlong into the changing room.
"A cat?"
Bai Yi stood up, and the black cat subconsciously chose to leap up, aiming straight for her shoulder.
However, because Bai Yi's shoulders weren't nearly as spacious as Yan Huan's, the feline couldn't find its footing at all and slid right into Bai Yi's arms.
"You..."
Bai Yi hastily caught the black cat. The mont it landed in her grasp, she couldn't help but marvel,
"What a plump cat!"
"ow?!"
Hearing this, the black cat was just about to get angry, but upon seeing that the person holding it was Bai Yi, its pair of jade green eyes widened into perfect circles.
"ow!!"
It hurriedly waved its pink paw pads at Bai Yi, frantically gesturing sothing, so anxious that it almost started speaking human words.
But Bai Yi completely failed to understand what it was trying to express. She asked in confusion,
"You look so plump, you must be raised by soone... But why would there be a cat in a hospital?"
"ow, ow, ow!!"
"You keep owing. What are you trying to say?"
"..."
'What else could it possibly be expressing?!'
'Run away, Bai Yi!!!'
At this mont, prompted by Myau-chan's continuous owing, Bai Yi gradually began to realize that the atmosphere was wrong.
She looked around the room, noting that the originally warm-colored lighting was slowly becoming tainted with an impure, ambiguous hue.
Pink crept across the floor, making the already dimly lit changing room appear even gloomier.
"Tick... Tock..."
Within Bai Yi's embrace, the pocket watch's hands began rotating faster, as if sensing the danger.
"Click~"
This ominous sound made Bai Yi think for a single second, before making a choice that completely surrendered to instinct...
She directly tossed Myau-chan out of her arms onto the floor!
"ow?!"
The abandoned Myau-chan looked back at Bai Yi in pure disbelief, but upon turning around, her figure had already vanished without a trace.
"Tick... Tock..."
'Crap, Bai Yi had activated Indifference and hidden herself!!'
Myau-chan was left dumbfounded on the spot, then began owing angrily,
"ow, ow, ow!"
It had been chased the entire way by Little Finger, and after seeing An Le rushing in this direction, it had sprinted all the way here in advance to warn Bai Yi to run for her life.
Who could have known that after warning her, she would abandon it like this!?
'No... I have to hurry back to Yan Huan's side!'
Myau-chan was just about to use teleportation to return to Yan Huan, but the very mont the thought arose, the changing room door swung open.
Outside the door stood the seemingly harmless An Le, holding the doorknob and looking inside.
Coiled around her shoulder was an incredibly terrifying illusory cobra.
It flicked its tongue, gazing at the wide-eyed Myau-chan standing right in the middle of the room.
"Damn cat! So this is where you ran off to..."
"..."
Upon seeing An Le, Myau-chan's plump body instantly stiffened as the pressure skyrocketed.
'...'
' fighting a Modifier?'
Seeing that there was no way to escape for the ti being, after a brief mont of thought, Myau-chan also instantly made a choice that surrendered to instinct.
"ow~"
It blinked, raised its tail, and adorably padded over to An Le. It rubbed its chubby body against her pant leg, attempting to act cute and bluff its way through.
An Le glanced down at Myau-chan and picked it up, embracing it in her arms.
On her shoulder, the illusory Little Finger flicked its tongue, glaring fiercely at the black-faced stead bun in her arms.
"Hmph, this stinky cat is the one that hit
just now! I'm going to eat it!"
"That's enough, Little Finger..."
An Le cradled Myau-chan in her arms and lifted her gaze to look around the empty changing room.
The strange thing was, right before Bai Yi activated Indifference, An Le could still hear the illusory ticking of the clock, yet now, there was absolutely nothing.
She cast a confused glance around before stepping toward the vanity mirror that Bai Yi had previously used.
Resting on the table were the clothes Bai Yi had just taken off.
An Le smoothly reached out to touch them...
They were warm.
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