"..."
Hearing Luciana say these words from the eaves, Yan Huan frowned.
"So what?"
"So... why don't you take a guess?"
Yan Huan was left speechless. However, upon hearing this, An Le, who stood behind him, seed to have a severe stress response.
Her previously shy and moved eyes gradually returned to a terrifying emptiness as she shot a chilling glare at Luciana.
An unclean pink aura washed over the scattered cherry blossoms, causing the sea of pink and white petals on the ground to faintly reveal a sinister crimson hue.
Clearly, An Le was far from pleased.
Luciana's words carried a remarkably strong implication, hinting that she might use this information to their detrint.
At this mont, An Le was ready to ruthlessly destroy anything that might hinder the fulfillnt of their promise.
"Thrum..."
An Le glanced at Luciana. In that split second, Luciana's pupils contracted, and her entire body stiffened.
"Ngh!"
It was Pleasure Manipulation!
Luciana's face instantly flushed slightly red. In the very next second, her body went limp, and she uncontrollably tumbled off the eaves.
"Thud!"
This sent Luciana crashing directly into the courtyard just outside the corridor. Subconsciously, she reached out to clutch her bathrobe tightly, panting heavily.
Yet a mont later, that sensation of being struck by electricity vanished without a trace, as if it had been nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
Having witnessed An Le's Modifier effect activate, Yan Huan, who was supposed to be resolving Modifiers, reacted by...
Pretending he saw absolutely nothing!!
Sotis, even Yan Huan, who had suffered deeply because of these Modifiers, had to admit that if he were a Modifier Host, he would never give it up in a million years.
Because for certain problems, simply using a Modifier was incredibly convenient.
Take right now, for instance. Watching An Le unleash an utterly unreasonable attack on Luciana genuinely brought him a sense of relief.
This was how it should be!
Shouldn't this kind of suffering be reserved for chaos-seekers who stirred up trouble for no reason?
Why should an exemplary youth like him have to bear the brunt of it?
On the surface, however, he looked down at Luciana sitting on the courtyard ground with a bewildered expression, offering a forced smile as he mocked her.
"President Luciana, I haven't even started guessing yet. Why did you fall?"
"...A slight misstep. It has nothing to do with you."
Hearing Yan Huan's sarcasm, Luciana rely cast a confused glance at her dirt-covered palms, entirely clueless as to why her body had reacted that way.
'Could it be that starving for a day yesterday made
this weak and sensitive?'
Pondering this, Luciana clapped the dirt from her hands and stood up. She raised her eyes to look at Yan Huan with a smile.
"Forget it, there is no point in guessing. Rest assured, I will pretend I never heard anything...
"After all... she must just be a girl from an ordinary family, right? The Sakuramiya family and the Spencer family wouldn't even consider her a threat."
Resting her chin on her hand, Luciana scoffed playfully. She looked at An Le and chuckled.
"But privately, I think this girl is far better than those two useless pieces of trash who only know how to rely on their family's protection. She seems much more compatible with you, wouldn't you say?"
"Eh?"
Upon hearing this, the previously gloomy An Le stood stunned, her face becoming slightly flushed.
This was the first ti anyone had ever said she and Xiao Huan were a good match.
An Le pursed her lips, her killing intent fading slightly, while Yan Huan was completely dumbfounded.
'Wait a minute, sister?'
Yan Huan was starting to realize that the Ying Country truly bred so extraordinary individuals.
Both the people from the Ying Country he had encountered possessed unique, overwhelming talents—or rather, relied entirely on brute forcing their way through things.
It was all wild execution without an ounce of conventional reasoning.
Spencer had her Modifier acting as a fully automated AI combat bot, and now Luciana apparently possessed passive killing intent detection?
Speechless, Yan Huan stared at Luciana and let out a cold laugh.
"Oh, so now I know. The President of Shuurei Academy actually cares about the aning behind her actions.
"Otherwise, considering we have no grudges, and this is our first ti eting, yet you repeatedly go out of your way to cause trouble... I was honestly starting to think there was sothing wrong with your head, acting like a troll just looking for chaos everywhere."
Truth be told, Luciana's skin was incredibly thick.
Taking the hit from the Modifier and tumbling off the roof was humiliating enough, but even after being mocked directly to her face by Yan Huan, she showed not a hint of anger.
"Chaos, huh? I suppose you could call it that... After all, I am very curious to see how you will choose and what you will do."
Luciana rely spread her hands, admitting it frankly.
"At first, when I found out that useless Sakuramiya Hitomi was canvassing votes from so many Inner Court Students at your school, I actually thought that gloomy little mouse had a change of heart and wanted to step into the spotlight as the Student Council President.
"I didn't expect her to be rallying votes for you. Then again, she is such a failure that she probably wouldn't have been elected anyway... Still, this proves that your relationship with her is anything but ordinary, right?
"The strange thing is, when I went to observe your Club War, you actually kissed that idiot from the Spencer family. And now, you have even caught the discerning eye of her mother for a thorough evaluation.
"That is exactly why I am so curious."
Speaking up to this point, Luciana's interest peaked. She shot Yan Huan a sinister smile and asked with burning curiosity,
"Right now, on one side, that useless Sakuramiya Hitomi is being used as a bargaining chip in a power struggle between her father and her grandfather; on the other side, Aria's mother is testing you.
"So, how will you choose?"
'Hm?'
Upon hearing these words, both Yan Huan and An Le were taken aback.
Yan Huan narrowed his eyes, chewing over her statent.
"Bargaining chip... what do you an? What exactly did you say to the Sakuramiya Family Head to make him change his mind about letting Sakuramiya stay in Linn?"
"..."
Hearing Yan Huan's confusion, Luciana paused briefly before quickly correcting him.
"Yes, he changed his mind, but not because of !"
Luciana stared at Yan Huan, enunciating every word clearly,
"It was because of his dear son, Sakuramiya Hitomi's father. He intends to separate his branch from the main family.
"It is no secret that they have been at odds with each other for quite so ti, especially between Hitomi's family and her paternal aunt's family.
"Why else would Hitomi's mother travel thousands of miles all the way to Linn? Did you honestly think she was just there to watch a high school Club War?
"She went there to discuss investnts, partnerships, and asset transfers with Ye Lan from Ye International.
"The Sakuramiya Family Head ordered Hitomi to return from Linn and stay by his side because he knows just how much they treasure this daughter of theirs. He is using her as a bargaining chip, or perhaps collateral.
"Furthermore, let
make this clear. I was not brought here by the Family Head. Her eldest brother, Sakura Lan, invited !
"He knows there is no valid reason to let Hitomi stay in Linn anymore, but he also cannot simply hand this bargaining chip over to the Family Head. Thus, he ca up with a compromise.
"He wants Hitomi to go to the Ying Country and study at the school my family runs. My family would act as a neutral middleman, keeping an eye on this bargaining chip. Do you understand now?"
Hearing this, Yan Huan's expression shifted completely.
At that mont, a minor detail from his mories suddenly magnified in his mind.
Even as guests—outsiders—Luciana and her people were housed in the Family Head's inner courtyard.
Yet the three Sakura brothers and Sakuramiya Hitomi, actual mbers of the Sakuramiya family, were staying in the guest quarters.
Moreover, ever since they arrived, the Family Head hadn't even bothered to see Hitomi.
Perhaps he didn't have an issue with Hitomi herself, but rather with her entire branch of the family, and she was rely caught in the crossfire.
And yesterday, Sakura Jing hadn't revealed a single word of this to him.
This didn't an Sakura Jing had deliberately deceived him. Most likely, being the least scheming of the brothers, he had been kept in the dark by his two older siblings as well.
Yan Huan had said it before—he deeply disliked Sakura Lan and Sakura Fei.
Those two were the most cunning of them all.
Now, the depths of their deceit were laid bare.
Yan Huan suspected that Sakura Lan, Sakura Fei, and even their father probably never wanted him to co here in the first place.
"..."
Beside him, An Le widened her eyes, glancing at Yan Huan before whispering softly,
"But Vice President Sakuramiya doesn't know about any of this..."
Luciana cast a glance at An Le and explained,
"To the Family Head, Sakuramiya Hitomi is a bargaining chip. To her father and brothers, this is their way of protecting her.
"After all, she developed a psychological illness when she was young specifically because of the Family Head. If she were to learn the truth, she would likely suffer a relapse.
"All I can say is, trash will always be trash. She has been like this since she was a child, constantly needing others to rescue her..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan shot a freezing glare at Luciana and spoke in a deep, warning tone.
"Shut your mouth."
"What, are you unhappy with the truth?"
Luciana stared at Yan Huan with a sinister smile before turning to leave.
"I initially thought you knew the inside story and had specifically co all the way from Linn to the Sakuramiya Main Residence to help Hitomi solve her problem.
"That actually sparked my interest. I waited for you to show up just to see what you planned to do, but as it turns out..."
"You truly disappointed ." "..."
Standing beneath the cherry blossoms, Yan Huan didn't even bother to watch her back view as she walked away.
The situation, which he originally thought would take a lot of effort to pry out, was now crystal clear. However, this clarity made Yan Huan feel that things were even more complicated than before.
Right now, he genuinely wished that the Sakuramiya Grandfather had simply gone senile and blindly listened to Luciana's slander about what Hitomi had been doing in Linn.
But since this involved an internal power struggle within a major family, what could an outsider like him possibly do to fix it?
"Xiao Huan, that Luciana just said that Vice President Sakuramiya has no reason to stay in Linn...
"Perhaps, we could think of so compelling benefit for her to remain in Linn, so she can stay?"
'A reason?'
Yan Huan, whose head was throbbing from overthinking, nodded helplessly at the sound of An Le's soft and sweet voice.
It wasn't that he couldn't grasp this logic.
Since she lacked a reason, he just needed to provide one—a completely justifiable reason with enough weight behind it.
A reason that would secure Sakuramiya Hitomi's place in Linn, both now and in the future.
The problem was, what could that reason possibly be?
Her academic status at Far Moon Academy?
Not enough.
Her position as Vice President of the Far Moon Academy Student Council?
Still not enough.
Yan Huan stared blankly at An Le's black eyes. Right now, his reflection was mirrored perfectly in her bright and sparkling gaze.
It seed as though the path to salvation lay precisely there.
"..."
'But, if I do that, I...'
'I will die.'
'I will literally die.'
'In every sense of the word, I will be dead at.'
First, there were the Modifier Hosts to consider.
Ye Shiyu had just started to get a little better recently, and Bai Yi hadn't used her Modifier again.
Perhaps An Le played a part in that stability, but at the very least, the current situation was manageable.
But the mont Yan Huan went through with this plan, he could guarantee...
It would trigger an unprecedented, apocalyptic romantic crossfire.
An explosive catastrophe of epic proportions.
It would be even more explosive than the ti Spencer forcefully kissed him.
Because back then, Yan Huan could at least defend himself by saying: Spencer kissed him by force.
Although Yan Huan himself knew that was a lie, considering that in private, he had been the one to initiate their intimate monts.
But this ti, if he actively did this and tried to brush it off as a temporary expedient...
It likely wouldn't be enough to stop the slaughtering blades of the Modifiers.
Moreover, taking a massive step back, even if he ignored the Modifiers entirely...
What about Spencer?
As Luciana had pointed out, if he wanted to progress further with her, proving his character and capabilities to her mother was absolutely crucial.
After all, her family was not so ordinary household, especially with Spencer's unique circumstances.
How could they possibly just accept anyone into their family, particularly when his race, nationality, and ordinary family background were stacked against him?
"..."
As he continued to think, Yan Huan honestly felt the urge to slap himself across the face.
Not because of the predicant, but because he truly blad himself—blad his own inability to let go.
From the bottom of his heart, Yan Huan genuinely wanted to resolve the Modifiers and then have a proper, exclusive romantic relationship with Spencer.
The problem was...
Was the past really that easy to cast aside?
Sakuramiya's voyeurism had deeply hurt him. He could have easily cut ties and washed his hands of her affairs.
Yet, during the election, she had secretly helped him. Even when he gave her the cold shoulder and judged her for relying on connections, she hadn't complained, patiently explaining herself instead.
Yet, she was the only one who rembered the past-life birthday he had casually ntioned, going so far as to gift him that folding fan.
Yet, the majority of his high school Student Council life was spent in her daily companionship.
Yet, across both his past and present lives, she was the first woman to ever make him feel a sense of romance...
That was why he felt so conflicted, unable to fully embrace her, yet unwilling to let her go.
Fine, even if his hesitance with Sakuramiya was just to prevent her Modifier from going berserk.
What about Tong Yingying then?
She certainly didn't have a Modifier, did she?
He was fully aware that Tong Yingying had secretly kissed him, yet he pretended not to know.
When Tong Yingying forcibly kissed him earlier, he could have easily pierced that paper-thin window and outright rejected her.
But in the past, when he was working multiple part-ti jobs, it was Tong Yingying who had paid him such a generous salary to ease his burden.
But the Lullaby Tavern was designed by him; it could essentially be considered half his store.
But when he was hurt and felt wronged, the very first person he thought of going to was Tong Yingying, because he knew she would stand up for him.
At those monts, what exactly was he thinking?
Yan Huan's mind was a tangled ss. Clinging to a glimr of luck, he tried to think of alternative thods to escape this contradiction he had constantly been running from.
Perhaps he should have just selected the Fertility Fragnt every ti the Modifier refreshed. At least then, he would have had sothing to bla.
If only he could just say, "It's all Myau-chan's fault," that would be wonderful.
"..."
It was only at this mont that Yan Huan finally understood just how deep Sakuramiya Lily's scheming went.
She clearly knew the inside story, yet she pretended to be ignorant, deliberately arranging for Yan Huan to bring his Study Group over.
And as luck would have it, every single mber of this Study Group was intimately connected to Yan Huan.
In other words, if Yan Huan chose to help, he would inevitably detonate a massive crisis with the other girls, including Spencer. This would be tantamount to helping Sakuramiya Hitomi secure her status by his side.
If he chose not to help, revealing the truth to Sakuramiya Hitomi afterward would force her to re-evaluate the kind of person Yan Huan was. It would break her heart, making her obediently leave for the Ying Country.
'Aunt Sakuramiya, you truly are...'
'Endlessly cunning.'
Yan Huan had noticed a pattern. The young Modifier Hosts were incredibly straightforward, always ready to fight and leave rivers of blood at the drop of a hat.
But these elders—Spencer's mother, Aunt Sakuramiya, Zuo Jiangqin—each one was more insidious than the last!
Zuo Jiangqin's flavor of insidious was straight out of the underworld.
The incomparably holy, gentle, and loving Auntie Ye Lan, of course, was exempt from this list.
"Phew..."
'However, since you want to play this ga, Aunt Sakuramiya... then don't bla
for blowing things out of proportion.'
"Xiao Huan, however you decide to help Vice President Sakuramiya, I will assist you..."
Although Yan Huan had been pondering for a long ti, An Le seed to possess the gift of foresight, perfectly understanding the choice he would ultimately make.
Thus, she didn't ask if he was going to help, but rather how he planned to do so.
This gave Yan Huan a strange illusion: as if An Le had never been a volatile Modifier Host prone to exploding, but rather a reliable helper sent by Myau-chan.
Looking at An Le, who pursed her lips and supported him silently, Yan Huan suddenly rembered that fan-support website.
Sakuramiya had never told him about her private conversations with the Inner Court Students, but Yan Huan actually knew a thing or two about it.
After all, back when he had been quite critical of Sakuramiya, she had subtly hinted at those actions.
However, regarding everything An Le had done, Yan Huan had been entirely in the dark.
Because she had never once ntioned her own efforts.
Therefore, it had seed as though she had done nothing at all, rely waiting in silence.
"..."
Yan Huan took a deep breath, making up his mind to sit down and have a proper talk with her about all of this later.
But right now, he had to seize the ti and resolve the urgent crisis at hand.
"...First, we need to go find a very important helper."
"A helper? Do you an Senior Student Ye and Bai Yi?"
Seeing An Le's confused expression, Yan Huan smiled faintly and shook his head.
"No. It's Sakura Jing."
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