Turning the clock back slightly—before An Le had moved to sit next to Yan Huan, she had been sitting near the front, keeping a close eye on him as he boarded the bus.
Of course, she did not possess any clairvoyance or X-ray vision; this was achieved through Little Finger.
"Hiss, even without
around, that old woman Tong Yingying can still launch an offensive? Why is this brat actively asking to see her?"
Little Finger lay in its ethereal form on the seat in front of Yan Huan, muttering quietly to itself.
It was not uncommon to curse a forr associate with whom one had a grudge, much like a forr employer who harshly scolded and then fired you.
After such an event, you would likely wish for that wretched place to go bankrupt and for the boss to be sent flying by a car the mont they stepped outside...
Little Finger was in a very similar state of mind.
Do not forget, Tong Yingying had previously "ungratefully" rejected it, even beating it rcilessly until it begged for rcy on its knees.
Therefore, Little Finger did not hesitate to harbor the greatest malice toward Tong Yingying.
It wished nothing more than for this old woman to never get her hands on Yan Huan and to live her entire life alone!
"Did you see anything, Little Finger?"
Right at that mont, An Le, who was sitting near the front, suddenly spoke, calling it back.
Little Finger instantly appeared on An Le's shoulder and reported to her,
"Hmph, Yan Huan is chatting with that female boss of his! That female boss is also in Sakura Country, and Yan Huan even offered to go see her!"
"Female boss?"
An Le mulled over the term, recalling the rumors she had heard during the girls' idle chatter.
They had heard that Xiao Huan used to work multiple part-ti jobs simultaneously just to make ends et, but shortly after coming to Far Moon Academy, it seed he only needed to work one.
In other words, that female boss must be compensating Xiao Huan very generously.
'...That female boss treats Xiao Huan very well, so she should be a good person, right? Besides, she does not host any of your kind on her either, Little Finger.'
Thinking of this, An Le pursed her lips and turned her head to look at Little Finger,
"So, if Xiao Huan wants to see her, let him. What do you think?"
Little Finger, who had been trying to secretly stoke the flas and make An Le angry enough to teach Tong Yingying a lesson, quietly observed her expression, only to find that she showed no particular emotion.
Hiss...
She wasn't angry at all?
Lately, the thought of 'giving up' had been faintly lingering in An Le's mind, making it impossible for Little Finger to read her other thoughts.
After all, An Le had suffered multiple setbacks recently, causing Little Finger considerable worry.
Being betrayed by Spencer, getting injured after clashing with another Modifier Host, failing to take Yan Huan's first ti, and her parents even planning to have a second child...
If her desire to claim Xiao Huan's first ti wasn't still so resolute, Little Finger would have suspected she had fallen into depression.
To avoid worsening her mood, Little Finger did not even dare to speak harshly now, forcing itself to say sothing against its true feelings,
"Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say..."
Seeing its helpless compromise, An Le could not help but smile faintly.
Then, she raised her head, a hint of calculation stirring in her hollow eyes,
"Xiao Huan joined that Study Group, so after Kyoto, he won't be continuing the School Trip with the main group.
"Therefore, I either need to find an excuse to continue traveling with them later.
"Or, before they separate, I must kill all of your kind on the other Hosts."
An Le's calm ntion of "killing" its kind made Little Finger shudder with fear, nearly breaking out in a cold sweat,
"Don't say such scary things, okay... But we reach Kyoto the day after tomorrow. Isn't that too rushed?"
"Indeed, ti is tight and the task is heavy, so we have to pick the weakest one to strike first..."
Among these few, the weakest one...
The petite figure of Sakuramiya Hitomi faintly surfaced in An Le's mind.
As for the rest, Spencer's Modifier was simply too unreasonable.
Ye Shiyu's Modifier directly attacked Little Finger. Dealing with Ye Shiyu first might result in her superpower misfiring for the next few days.
And Bai Yi was actually perhaps even weaker than Vice President Sakuramiya.
However, not only could she turn invisible, but Little Finger also did not understand her Ability. She could even passively reflect damage back onto them, making her harder to catch than a loach.
Only Sakuramiya Hitomi remained, and her clones had not yet reached the fifth one.
According to Little Finger, her Ability had significant restrictions and could only be used indoors.
However, Little Finger also ntioned that her Ability had strong adaptability.
Since she hadn't succeeded previously, there was a high probability that a clone specifically tailored to deal with her would appear next ti.
So, even though this was the weakest target, it would still likely be a fierce battle.
"..."
At the thought of the bone-deep pain from her severed tentacles earlier, An Le's small face could not help but pale slightly.
But from the corner of her eye, she glanced at Yan Huan behind her, and still couldn't resist standing up and walking toward him.
Imdiately after, Yan Huan saw her reflection in the window as she smoothed out her well-fitting dress and sat down.
He narrowed his eyes, hastily putting down his mobile phone and donning his mask of Expression Managent to avoid showing any flaws.
By the ti he turned his head, the expression on his face had settled into the most natural look of surprise,
"An Le? You're riding our class's bus too?"
Hearing this, An Le nodded and explained,
"Mhm, I didn't look closely when I ca down, so I just got on the first bus. I didn't expect it to be the sa one as you, Xiao Huan."
"I see..."
Just after saying that, An Le lowered her head, remained silent for a second, and then suddenly asked,
"Xiao Huan, you still rember our agreent... right?"
Yan Huan blinked. Even with his mask on, his smile couldn't help but stiffen,
"Ah, of course I rember. On our last night in Sakura Country, right?"
Upon hearing this, An Le's pale face finally gained a little color.
It was as if this sentence had given her courage, allowing her heart to calm down.
The next second, she raised her head, a beautiful smile gracing her face,
"That's... that's good. It's just that during the School Trip, the boys' and girls' rooms are separated quite far apart. I don't know how we'll... how we'll do that..."
"We can just sneak out when the ti cos."
"Eh?"
Yan Huan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, then made up his mind and began his maneuver,
"So, before that day, should we prepare together?
"What should we do on that day? We can't just head straight to the hotel from the start, right?"
An Le's eyes widened, her face flushing bright red.
She hadn't expected Xiao Huan to discuss this matter so openly, which made her feel a bit shy,
"That's... that's true..."
"Also, do we want to pick out so clothes and gifts together? For this kind of thing, how about adding a little sense of ceremony?"
"Okay... I'll listen to whatever Xiao Huan says..."
"You can't just listen to ; you need to think about it carefully too!"
"Yes, yes!"
"Then over the next few days, shall we plan it out properly together?"
"Mhm!"
Seeing An Le agree, Yan Huan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This wasn't so foolish act of washing himself clean and delivering himself straight to her bed. On the contrary, it was...
A desperate gambit for survival!
First of all, since he had chosen a "reprieve" rather than "imdiate execution," there was no point in dodging the issue anymore. It was better to use it to his advantage.
Saying this would not only distract An Le but also create opportunities to spend ti with her, thereby isolating her from the other Modifier Hosts.
That was only one aspect, and it still wasn't foolproof. After all, the boys and girls were housed separately during the School Trip.
As a guy, Yan Huan couldn't possibly sneak into the girls' dormitory at night and lie in An Le's bed just to keep an eye on her and stop her from hunting other Hosts, right?
Therefore, Yan Huan also needed to get the mbers of the Study Group on good terms quickly; at the very least, they couldn't keep infighting.
Yan Huan finally understood. Right now, An Le's strength was solidly Tier 0, the undisputed child of the ta, a terrifying nightmare for any Modifier.
In a one-on-one fight, anyone was guaranteed to be absolutely wrecked by her.
Only by sticking together could they ensure that An Le wouldn't be able to target anyone else when Yan Huan wasn't around.
Whether she was attacking previous Hosts, An Le had always intentionally picked them off one by one.
This proved that while An Le was incredibly strong, fighting multiple opponents at once was still too much for her. The general direction of this strategy was sound.
The problem was...
Could those divine beings in the Study Group really get along harmoniously, as Auntie Sakuramiya had said?
"..."
At this mont, the interior of the bus grew quiet.
Yan Huan gazed at the scenery outside, harboring deep doubts about this.
"Welco, welco everyone from Far Moon Academy! Thank you for traveling all the way from Linn to stay at the Osaka Nikko Hotel!"
"I sincerely wish that all of you have a joyful and thoroughly enjoyable trip in Sakura Country, and specifically here in Osaka!"
That night, in the hotel banquet hall, the hotel manager stood on stage, expressing a warm welco to the students.
After his speech, the dinner party neared its end. Everyone received their room cards, and it was followed by free ti for the students to do as they pleased.
Before eleven o'clock, the teachers in charge of each class would knock on doors for a roll call. As long as they returned before eleven, everything was fine.
In the lobby, Disciplinary Committee Head Ashley was being dragged by Yurianna, looking like she had a massive headache,
"Co on, let's go, Ashley! Our hotel is located right near Shinsai Bridge. It would be such a sha not to go have fun there!"
Ashley rolled her eyes speechlessly, looking at Yurianna in bewildernt,
"Isn't Shinsai Bridge just for shopping? What's so fun about it? You go, check in, take a few photos, and you're done. Why drag
along?"
"Honestly! Ashley, haven't you heard about the legend of the Far Moon Academy School Trip?"
"What the heck is that?"
Seeing that Ashley did not care about it at all, Yurianna puffed out her cheeks, held up her index finger, and explained to her,
"Rumor has it that during the School Trip, as long as you give a locally purchased gift to the opposite sex you fancy every day, a miracle of love will happen on the final day of the trip!"
"Huh?"
Ashley was completely baffled.
anwhile, Yurianna was completely imrsed in her own world, speaking as if she were wandering through a dreamscape,
"Even if you aren't that close yet, you can secretly touch them with the item every day! If you do that, you'll still form a destined bond on the last day!"
Ashley listened, utterly speechless, and pointedly retorted,
"The problem is, other than the President and Baqiao, you don't even know any other guys, do you? If you ask , you just have ADHD and can't sit still."
"Damn it, can't I just give it to you?"
"Sorry, I'm straight. And even if I were a lesbian, there's a high probability I still wouldn't be interested in you." Yurianna blinked. Although she wasn't into girls either, she still subconsciously asked,
"Huh? Wh-why?"
Ashley cast a pitying glance at Yurianna and stated bluntly,
"Even lesbians have academic standards. You're too stupid; no one would want you~"
"Ashley!! You... you... you better stop talking! Let's just go!!"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
From her seat, Ye Shiyu watched Ashley being dragged away by Yurianna and fell into deep thought.
'A legend, huh...'
'Co to think of it, in all the years I've grown up, I've never actually given anyone anything.'
'I've given Xiao Huan clothes before, but in my own mind, that probably doesn't count as truly giving a gift.'
'Because, to , Xiao Huan belongs to . So giving sothing to him is like passing it from my left hand to my right; the item still belongs to .'
'True gifting likely ans:'
'Taking sothing that originally belonged to you and giving it to soone else. After that, the item no longer belongs to you, but to the person you gifted it to.'
Ye Shiyu had never been able to understand such behavior.
In her eyes, gifting was more like a tactful form of "exchange."
'I give you sothing in the hopes of receiving so other kind of return from you.'
'Just like a couple exchanging gifts, hoping to receive the other party's emotions and body in return.'
'Adults give gifts in the hopes that the other party will accomplish a certain task for them...'
'If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to just directly exchange them? Why call it "gifting"?'
'Or does the true aning of gifting refer to "giving" without asking for anything in return?'
'Then why have I never seen a single example of that?'
"..."
Pondering this without finding an answer, Ye Shiyu stood up, took out her room card, and headed toward the elevator to return to her room.
The rooms were shared by two people. Ye Shiyu didn't know who her roommate was, nor did she care much, so she simply pushed the door open.
What t her eyes was a beautiful young woman sitting in front of the vanity mirror, checking to make sure her face mask and sunglasses were worn properly...
Or rather, Bai Yi.
"..."
"Hmm, who is it?"
Ye Shiyu didn't speak. Instead, it was Bai Yi who turned her head to look, only to see the expressionless Ye Shiyu standing at the door.
"Wah!"
This imdiately frightened Bai Yi so much that she jumped up, nearly striking a defensive martial arts pose,
"Ye- Ye Shiyu! Why are you sharing a room with
again?!"
"...Is that a problem?"
Ye Shiyu silently walked into the room. She turned around the suitcase that she had already placed by the bed earlier, revealing the three large characters of "Ye Shiyu" written on it, and calmly asked back,
"Moreover, have you beco so arrogant that you refuse to even spare a single glance at a suitcase?"
This question made Bai Yi freeze, and she hurriedly looked over at Ye Shiyu's suitcase.
She cast her mind back, only then suddenly realizing sothing terrifying.
She had spent the entire day with Spencer and the others from the Study Group, yet she hadn't paid any attention whatsoever to what anyone else was wearing today or what kind of luggage they were carrying...
It seed that today, she had only been focusing on what she herself needed to do.
Thus, even though Ye Shiyu's suitcase had been placed in the room well ahead of ti, she still hadn't noticed at all that her roommate was Ye Shiyu.
"..."
Seeing Bai Yi stunned into silence by her remark, Ye Shiyu sat on the edge of the bed. After a second of silence, she changed the subject,
"Are you heading out?"
"Ah, yeah."
Bai Yi snapped back to reality, her tone softening slightly,
"I'm going out to buy a few things. I'll be back later."
Ye Shiyu didn't ask why Bai Yi was always bundled up so tightly every ti she went out, or why she even wore sunglasses at night.
It was just that, right as the words reached the tip of her tongue, she suddenly recalled what Yurianna and the others had just said,
"Are you going to buy the gift for the School Trip legend?"
"H-how did you know?!"
Bai Yi was genuinely dumbfounded. She looked at Ye Shiyu in disbelief, thinking the other girl could read minds, and hastily covered her chest with her arms.
"...For Xiao Huan?"
Ye Shiyu's sharp gaze swept over her, as if intending to devour her alive.
Bai Yi swallowed a mouthful of saliva, glaring back indignantly,
"What's it to you? Don't forget, you were the one who betrayed our alliance first! Sneaking behind our backs to join Spencer's Study Group!"
"..."
Ye Shiyu couldn't even be bothered to retort. Honestly, she was already beginning to doubt if that alliance was of any use at all.
She had originally planned to use the two of them to get through her Hypnosis APP's refractory period, but it turned out that they were both more useless than the other.
They also frequently said the most absurd things, giving off a bizarre sense of humor.
But Ye Shiyu didn't understand humor.
"Suit yourself. However, if I'm not mistaken, you have absolutely no idea what Xiao Huan likes anyway. Giving him sothing would just be a waste of a gift."
"Even if it's a waste, I'm still giving it! You just shut up, I'm heading out now."
Ye Shiyu took off her coat and hung it on the rack,
"That sounds nice, but I've never seen anyone give a gift just for the sake of wasting it."
"Of course you haven't seen it, because you would never do such a thing yourself."
Bai Yi glared at Ye Shiyu and muttered quietly,
"If you just did it yourself for once, wouldn't you have seen it by now? You don't give gifts yourself, yet you love to complain endlessly when others do..."
"..."
While this remark was undoubtedly fueled by Bai Yi's annoyance toward Ye Shiyu, a streak of contrarianism, and an excess of self-consciousness...
For so unknown reason, upon hearing those words, Ye Shiyu blanked slightly. Even her movent of hanging up the coat paused in midair.
"Alright, alright, I can't be bothered to argue with you. I'm leaving now. I still want to go take photos on Shinsai Bridge..."
"Wait."
Seeing Ye Shiyu fall silent from her retort, Bai Yi thought she had won the argunt. Raising her head proudly, she turned around like a victor, preparing to leave.
However, the next second, Ye Shiyu suddenly spoke, freezing her movents in place.
"Wh-what is it?"
Bai Yi cautiously turned her head back, terrified that Master Ye might launch a sneak attack without regard for martial virtue.
Who would have guessed that all she'd see was Ye Shiyu pulling her coat back over her shoulders.
Then, Ye Shiyu turned to her and stated calmly,
"I'll go with you."
"Huh?"
Seeing Bai Yi's astonishnt, Ye Shiyu tilted her head, her face expressionless,
"Didn't that Sakuramiya Lily tell us not to move around alone?"
"No... Even so, I'd rather find soone else! I don't want to go with you!"
"You don't have a choice."
Too lazy to bicker any further, Ye Shiyu simply bypassed the stunned Bai Yi who was still standing by the door.
She gently pushed the door open, but just as she was about to step out, she caught a glimpse of sothing out of the corner of her eye. Down the adjacent corridor, An Le had just stopped and was knocking on a specific room door.
Knock, knock~
Upon seeing this, Ye Shiyu's pupils shrank. She imdiately took a step back, hiding behind the doorway.
"Hey, I haven't agreed yet—"
Behind her, Bai Yi, still oblivious to what was happening, stepped forward to argue.
But right in front of her, Ye Shiyu abruptly whipped her head around, earnestly raising an index finger to her lips to signal for absolute silence.
"What the heck?"
Although Bai Yi didn't understand the situation, she subconsciously complied.
Then, she too carefully peeked her head out to look into the corridor.
The mont she saw An Le knocking on soone's door, cold sweat instantly poured down her forehead, and she imdiately ducked back into the room,
"It-it-it's... An Le!"
"..."
Watching her reaction, Ye Shiyu couldn't help but recall how Bai Yi had answered her on the airplane earlier today.
When Ye Shiyu had asked her if she also had a superpower, Bai Yi had claid she didn't know what a superpower was.
But this current reaction basically provided solid evidence for two things.
First, Bai Yi absolutely possessed a superpower.
Second, An Le had attacked her before.
Therefore, a logical conclusion could be drawn:
An Le was actively hunting down others who had superpowers, and she seed to know exactly who possessed them.
Extrapolating from that, a fourth conclusion erged:
The person whose door An Le was aggressively knocking on right now must also possess a superpower, just like herself and Bai Yi!
Ye Shiyu's calm and analytical mind instantly grasped the majority of the current situation.
"Guwu, did you forget your room card?"
At that mont, the voice of Sakuramiya Hitomi rang out from inside the room An Le was knocking on.
Along with it ca the sound of the doorknob jiggling, a subconscious motion to open the door.
Click~
In the quiet corridor, the sound was exceptionally crisp.
anwhile, behind their half-open door, Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi's breathing nearly stopped entirely.
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