However, after opening her mouth to agree, Ye Shiyu seed to belatedly catch on as she looked at Yan Huan and suddenly asked,
"But, Xiao Huan, why would you... suddenly think of inviting ?"
eting Ye Shiyu's deep black eyes, Yan Huan could easily sense the profound desire in her heart to confirm the answer.
After all, Ye Shiyu had just heard the smokescreen he had deliberately let out under the guise of muttering to himself, and now he was inviting her to go out alone, just the two of them.
With two positive signals in a row, it seed that the affirmative answer was already on the verge of being revealed.
"Lately, it feels like everyone has been acting strange, including you, Sister Shiyu, and even
just now.
"Maybe it is because the matters concerning the Sakuramiya family and Spencer's Study Group have made this School Trip, which was supposed to be relaxing, so tense.
"Look, I was only away for a short while, and you ended up like this, Sister Shiyu. How could I possibly not worry?"
However, Yan Huan rely offered a faint smile, looking at Ye Shiyu as he explained.
"Besides, Sister Shiyu, you ca to Sakura Country just for . If I were to completely ignore you, Aunt Ye would definitely bla ."
Hearing Yan Huan's words, Ye Shiyu, who had desperately wanted a definitive answer, grew even more confused.
Upon hearing the first half of his sentence, Ye Shiyu's heart had nearly pounded out of her chest.
The tone Yan Huan used to speak those words clearly carried a hint of ambiguity.
'Xiao Huan wants to go on a date alone with
because he likes .'
This was the answer Ye Shiyu had been hoping for.
The first half of his sentence, although not explicitly stated, already carried that implication.
But what about the second half?
Xiao Huan suddenly changed the subject, unnecessarily ntioning her mother.
It made it seem as though he was only reluctantly indulging her out of obligation to her mother, rather than out of genuine affection.
But was the real reason the forr or the latter?
She did not know.
She had absolutely no idea!
The forr made sense, and the implication was a bit more obvious.
But the latter was also clear and impossible to ignore...
'What should I do?'
'What exactly does Xiao Huan an?'
'Should I use Hypnosis to ask him?'
'No...'
'I cannot do that.'
'As things stand, using mory Correction after Hypnosis has its disadvantages. There is no guarantee that using it will not cause Xiao Huan's mory to beco chaotic like it just did.'
'If Xiao Huan already likes
without the need for Hypnosis, would not that be a total waste?'
"..."
On the hospital bed, Ye Shiyu did not reply imdiately; her mind had already spiraled into a vortex of uncertainty.
anwhile, watching Ye Shiyu hesitate out of fear of the consequences as she let her imagination run wild, a calculated smile had long since blood beneath Yan Huan's Mask.
This was exactly the effect he wanted!
Sure enough, as long as he could be ruthless, Ye Shiyu was the type to bite even a straight hook!
Through his long-term interactions with Ye Shiyu, Yan Huan had discovered that she possessed the characteristic of "Ghost-ghost duality."
The so-called "Ghost-ghost duality" ant:
You could not treat her too poorly, or she would hamr you with Hypnosis.
Because once you ignored her, she would grow dissatisfied, and at so point, she would secretly pull a major stunt on you.
Case in point: when he was hypnotized by her at the shrine previously.
But you could not treat her too well either, or she would also hamr you with Hypnosis.
Because if you treated her too nicely, it would make her feel like you were her possession.
And if you were her possession, she could do whatever she wanted with you.
Case in point: the first ti he voluntarily left the Ye family.
Therefore, Yan Huan understood.
He had to be ambiguous, he had to play tug-of-war, and he had to keep her dangling.
This way, Ye Shiyu would be caught in a dilemma, which would paradoxically keep her a bit more stable.
Although she was still quite far from acting like a normal human, it at least created a clear boundary preventing her from acting out like a god or a ghost.
"Then it is settled, Sister Shiyu. It is just that when we go out, we might have to co up with an excuse to report to Sakuramiya and the others, to avoid..."
"Report? Why do we need to report to them?"
Ye Shiyu strongly disliked that word.
'Xiao Huan is going out with . Why on earth should we report to them?'
'It makes it sound like Xiao Huan is their possession...'
"I was just joking. It is just that we are part of the sa Study Group, after all. We agreed to act together, so if they found out, it would be hard for the two of us to go out alone."
"We just have to keep it a secret from them, right?"
Ye Shiyu narrowed her eyes and imdiately offered the suggestion.
'Good, good, good, she took the bait again.'
'You said it yourself, Ye Shiyu!'
Today, Ye Shiyu seed exceptionally greedy; she snapped up every single piece of bait Yan Huan tossed out.
"Well... alright then, we will just sneak out together when the ti cos."
"Mhm... Xiao Huan, do you have anywhere you want to go?"
"I have not thought about it yet. Let
go back and look up so interesting places, then I will let you know, Sister Shiyu."
'Let
go back and communicate with the other Hosts first, and incidentally figure out where it would be most convenient to operate before I tell you.'
"Okay."
Ye Shiyu nodded. With everything settled, a joyful smile appeared on her lips for the first ti ever.
Actually, Yan Huan had always felt that if she did not constantly maintain an expressionless face, she would be exceptionally beautiful.
Especially when she showed that exact sa pout as Ye Lan.
Unfortunately, ever since she acquired Hypnosis, the sense of oppression she gave Yan Huan far outweighed any appreciation he had for her beauty.
'I can only say, they should really introduce an anti-addiction setting for the Hypnosis APP.'
'Or maybe they could create a teenager mode for the Hypnosis APP?'
'The kind where you can only hypnotize soone into explaining knowledge points and exercises to you, and absolutely nothing else...'
"Speaking of which, Sister Shiyu, could I borrow your mobile phone? I need to send a ssage to Sakuramiya and the others."
Yan Huan figured the groundwork here was pretty much laid out. He glanced back at the quiet hospital ward, but seeing no sign of An Le or Sakuramiya Hitomi, he spoke up.
Ye Shiyu shook her head and replied,
"My mobile phone... is still back at the hotel. I don't know where I dropped it."
In truth, Yan Huan already knew this; he was rely looking for an excuse to leave.
"I see... My mobile phone is missing too, so I was actually planning to go buy a new one. In that case, Sister Shiyu, I will first—"
However, just as Yan Huan intended to use this as an opportunity to stand up and take his leave, Ye Shiyu on the bed suddenly pulled a credit card from in her arms and handed it to him.
"..."
Yan Huan blinked as he looked at Ye Shiyu, but she only held the card out, not uttering a single word.
It was as if everything was understood without needing to be said.
Yan Huan glanced at the credit card, remaining silent for a second before reaching out to accept it. He then smiled warmly.
"Thank you, Sister Shiyu. I will go pay the hospital fees first, and then contact Sakuramiya and the others."
"Mhm, okay."
Seeing Yan Huan take the card, Ye Shiyu finally nodded, showing a slight change in her deanor.
Yan Huan offered a faint smile, turned around, and walked away.
Click.
The mont the door closed, Myau-chan materialized on Yan Huan's shoulder, its eyes sparkling brightly as it held a cluster of spider silk in its mouth.
"Yan Huan, look! I found a fragnt, ow!"
"Heh..."
Yan Huan chuckled softly but ignored Myau-chan, rely lowering his gaze to the credit card in his hand.
Unsurprisingly, three large characters were written in beautiful calligraphy on the back of the card:
"Ye Shiyu."
Staring at that pitch-black na, Yan Huan's gaze grew deep and profound.
"President!"
"Xiao Huan!"
Right at that mont, voices calling out suddenly echoed from the distant corridor.
Before Yan Huan could even fully register what was happening, his body reacted instinctively.
He imdiately pulled his hand back, gripping the credit card tightly and hiding it behind his back.
It was only when he turned his head and saw Sakuramiya Hitomi and An Le hurrying toward him that he paused in slight surprise and took off his Mask.
"Sakuramiya, An Le!"
"Hah... Hon-honestly, the President does not have his mobile phone... hah... We could not contact you and had to search for so long... hah... hah..."
'Sakuramiya, please don't drop dead from panting right here.'
'Good thing this place is already a hospital.'
An Le looked at Sakuramiya Hitomi in exasperation, but from the corner of her eye, she sharply caught sight of Yan Huan's right hand partially hidden behind his back.
"..."
Imdiately after, she glanced in the direction of the hospital ward.
She could not shake the feeling that sothing had happened between Xiao Huan and Ye Shiyu before they arrived.
It was all Sakuramiya Hitomi's fault; her stamina was just too terrible.
They had known which hospital ward it was and could have rushed over quickly, but she had to rest after every short distance they walked, forcing An Le to constantly wait for her.
"Slow down, Sakuramiya..."
"Here, President."
Sakuramiya Hitomi wiped her sweat and handed a box over to Yan Huan. Looking down, he realized it was an unopened mobile phone.
"I had my family buy one on the way when they dropped
off. You can make do with this for now, President, otherwise it would be too inconvenient..."
"Ah, thank you."
Yan Huan subconsciously reached out with his right hand, but realizing he was still holding Ye Shiyu's credit card, he accepted it with his left hand instead.
Sakuramiya Hitomi, busy wiping her sweat and catching her breath, failed to notice anything amiss. However, An Le beside her blinked, her gaze growing increasingly focused on Yan Huan's right hand.
But when Yan Huan looked over, she quickly averted her eyes, pretending that nothing had happened.
"..."
"So, President, where is Ye Shiyu? How is she?"
"She is fine. The doctor said she was mainly just starved."
Sakuramiya Hitomi parted her lips and pushed the hospital ward door open.
Looking at the expressionless Ye Shiyu lying on the bed, for so inexplicable reason, Sakuramiya Hitomi felt that...
'Is she in a good mood?'
"Are you alright?"
"Mhm."
"Are you going to return to the apartnt to stay?"
Ye Shiyu shook her head, politely declining,
"No need, I will just stay at the hospital for today."
"...Alright then."
Sakuramiya Hitomi had no idea what she was thinking, so she simply closed the door and turned back to Yan Huan.
"So President, should we head back to the apartnt first? Spencer will only be back tomorrow, and Bai Yi is still at the apartnt..."
"I think I had better find a hotel near the apartnt to stay in."
Hearing this, Yan Huan smiled faintly and said,
"After all, there are only girls living in the apartnt. It would not be very appropriate for
to go there."
"I will do the sa."
Just as he finished speaking, An Le chid in.
Sakuramiya Hitomi glanced at An Le, pondered for a mont, and then nodded in agreent.
However, the very next second, she offered a slight smile and added,
"Alright then. As it happens, I am familiar with the area. I will book the hotels."
"Ah... okay."
Yan Huan blinked, looking at the radiantly smiling Sakuramiya Hitomi in front of him, and nodded.
"I did not expect Sakuramiya to be of such great help."
That night, looking at the luxurious single suite in front of him, Yan Huan breathed a sigh of relief. He put away his luggage, then took out his new mobile phone, identification docunts, and Ye Shiyu's credit card from in his arms one by one.
The three of them had casually grabbed a al for dinner before temporarily parting ways.
Bai Yi had not shown up yet; Sakuramiya Hitomi had called her, but she still seed to be asleep.
Yan Huan was initially puzzled as to why Bai Yi was still sleeping in bed when it was already evening. However, Sakuramiya Hitomi had quickly offered an explanation:
"When Ye Shiyu refused to eat or drink at ho previously, Bai Yi was the one who took care of her. Furthermore, because of the President's disappearance, she hardly got any rest and only finally went to sleep this morning."
This could not help but make Yan Huan look at Bai Yi with new eyes, thoroughly impressed.
In particular, he had never expected that Bai Yi would actually take care of Ye Shiyu...
But regardless, that was the situation.
Everyone was quite exhausted today, so they simply agreed to wait until the mbers of the Study Group were all gathered tomorrow before discussing anything else.
Upon arriving at his hotel room and surveying his surroundings, Yan Huan finally understood why Sakuramiya Hitomi had smiled earlier.
Although he and An Le were staying in the sa hotel, Yan Huan was on the 22nd floor, facing Sakuramiya Hitomi's apartnt directly. An Le, on the other hand, was placed on the fourth floor, on the complete opposite side of the building.
Moreover, as soon as he walked in, Yan Huan felt that the atmosphere in the room was a bit peculiar...
Crack-crack-crack.
"It is a Reality Barrier, ow, Yan Huan."
Taking in their surroundings, Myau-chan suddenly materialized on his shoulder to remind him.
Yan Huan nodded, having realized this as well.
It seed Sakuramiya really had made ample preparations.
She did not let An Le stay in the apartnt out of fear that a fight would break out; and out of concern that An Le might ambush Yan Huan outside, she even arranged a Reality Barrier for him.
This way, the mont anyone made a move, Sakuramiya Hitomi could instantly bring Bai Yi over...
However, there were both advantages and disadvantages to this.
It was possible that Sakuramiya could see everything he was doing through the Reality Barrier, so he had to be cautious with his actions here.
Especially since...
He was about to send "date" invitations to all the Hosts except for An Le.
'I should pick a location first, sowhere suitable.'
'Then I will ssage Sakuramiya while inside the room, and head outside before ssaging Spencer and Bai Yi...'
Having just formulated this plan, Yan Huan, who was about to grab his mobile phone to search for a suitable location, could not help but freeze.
Because his eyes landed once again on Ye Shiyu's credit card resting on the desk.
Staring at Ye Shiyu's na, a wave of apprehension washed over him.
If he was still able to use sches to play tug-of-war and manipulate Ye Shiyu now, what about after that kiss required by the Crab dicine?
If he really did kiss Ye Shiyu...
He was afraid things would genuinely spiral completely out of control.
"..."
But as he kept thinking about it, he inevitably recalled An Le's utterly paralyzed limbs.
Thus, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, lowering his head to continue searching the app for a suitable date location within the Tokyo tropolis.
'Forget it, I will secure the Crab dicine first and worry about the rest later!'
'As for what cos after...'
'I have to trust in the wisdom of my future self.'
'I have to believe that the future Yan Huan will resolve everything...'
'Probably.'
As Yan Huan continued scrolling, his gaze suddenly paused on a particular post.
"Akihabara?"
Looking at the billboards plastered with Two-Dinsional Style art, the densely packed crowds, and the intricate maze of comrcial streets and buildings, Yan Huan felt a stir of inspiration.
'This place... is quite interesting.'
'This area happens to be one of the few places Far Moon Academy prohibits its students from visiting. They are probably afraid that students will buy adult-related rchandise here.'
'This takes care of the right ti.'
'Moreover, this place boasts massive foot traffic, a bustling comrcial sector, and a complex layout.'
'This takes care of the right place.'
'And there is one more thing—the most crucial factor—the right people...'
Yan Huan stroked his chin, and the face of Yabashi Ki suddenly floated into his mind.
'Did he not ask
to help him buy rchandise from so... specific publisher earlier?'
'This is the perfect excuse to slip away!!'
'Let us not forget, the only two people I actually need to transition between are Sakuramiya and Bai Yi.'
'After all, Spencer is very obedient. She would not understand even if I tried to explain these things to her, so there is a high probability I can just seamlessly transition to my date with her.'
'As for Ye Shiyu, she is the very last one, so there will be no need for any transition.'
'And as it so happens, both Sakuramiya Hitomi and Bai Yi know Yabashi Ki. They are fully aware of his renowned reputation!'
'Yabashi Ki is the Student Council Accountant, and he is also Bai Yi's classmate from Class B.'
'Using him as an excuse...'
'It is absolutely perfect!!'
"Achoo!!"
For so unknown reason, out on the streets of the Tokyo tropolis, Yabashi Ki, who was trailing behind his classmates, suddenly sneezed.
He could not shake the feeling that sothing terrible was about to happen.
"Did I catch a cold...?"
He muttered to himself as he rubbed his nose.
Back in the hotel room, the smile on Yan Huan's face grew increasingly radiant as he solidified his plan.
"This is the place, Myau-chan!"
"ow?"
Myau-chan blinked. Staring at the streets filled with beautiful Two-Dinsional girls on the screen, the black cat could not help but tilt its head.
anwhile, Yan Huan opened the Plane app on his new mobile phone, planning to ssage Sakuramiya Hitomi first.
He started things off by sending a black cat emoji to clear the way!
However, just as Yan Huan was typing out a ssage to get the conversation going, a notification chi suddenly rang out from Plane.
Ding~
'Hmm?'
A ssage had co in.
Yan Huan blinked and temporarily exited Sakuramiya's chat interface.
Taking a quick glance, he was shocked to find that it was actually a ssage from Spencer:
"Yan Huan, I am back, awoo! I am standing right outside your hotel room door, so hurry up and open it!"
Upon reading these words, the smile that had graced Yan Huan's face from receiving Spencer's ssage stiffened ever so slightly.
He slowly turned his head to look at the Reality Barrier encompassing the room, completely unable to stop himself from swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
Bang-bang-bang!
The very next second, the sound of forceful knocking truly erupted from the door.
'She actually ca?!'
'Wait a minute, how did Spencer know I was staying here?'
'Logically speaking, Sakuramiya Hitomi and An Le would absolutely never tell her. Bai Yi is still asleep, and Ye Shiyu has not even co back at all...'
Yan Huan was still bewildered when his mobile phone rang once again.
Ding~
It was another ssage on Plane.
With a faint bead of sweat forming on his forehead, Yan Huan looked down.
Sure enough, it was from Sakuramiya Hitomi.
After all, he had just sent an emoji her way monts prior.
At this mont, Sakuramiya's kitten avatar stood out glaringly on the screen.
Her ssage on Plane read,
"What is the matter, President?"
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