“Sip…”
“Stare～”
In a corner of Yuanyue Academy’s cafeteria, Yan Huan sipped his apple juice while across from him, You Anlina stared intently at the paper carton in his hands as it gradually flattened.
Her arms were crossed, lips pouting, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
“Stare～”
Yaqiao Mu, eating nearby, glanced between Yan Huan and You Anlina before asking,
“What’s up with her today? Why does she look so weird?”
Aixi Li, seated across, chuckled without looking up from her al.
“What else? She bombed the exam.”
“Stare～”
You Anlina’s resentful gaze shot over to Yaqiao Mu, making him unconsciously chew more slowly.
“It’s just the start-of-term exam. It doesn’t even count toward GPA, and the Dean said it was just to get us back into the groove.”
Unable to bear You Anlina’s accusing stare, Yaqiao Mu tried to console her.
“Look, the last-place score was 66, like a random placeholder. You scored more than six tis that—pretty impressive!”
“It’s not because I bombed the exam!”
You Anlina sniffled, lightly slamd the table, and looked like she was about to hold everyone accountable. With a pout, she said,
“It’s all your fault! Everyone agreed in the group chat over the holiday—”
Her sharp gaze first landed on Yan Huan.
“President! You first!”
Composed as ever, Yan Huan smiled and said,
“You know , You Anlina. I had to work all break. I even took on an extra temp job. Didn’t you stop by my store for milk tea? When would I have had ti to review?”
You Anlina puffed out her cheeks and turned to Ying Gong Tong.
Ying Gong gracefully dabbed at her lips and replied,
“You know
too. I was busy taking care of the Maine Coon I adopted. You ca over to play with her, rember? She wasn’t in great health, so I spent the whole break looking after her. No ti to review.”
Following Yan Huan’s lead, Ying Gong deftly shifted the conversation.
You Anlina pouted again and turned to Yaqiao Mu.
The accountant raised his hand imdiately, as if answering a quiz question.
“You know , Madam Secretary. I’m an otaku! I spent all my ti grinding gas, spending money, and rolling for waifus in gacha. Every ti you asked
to play, I was online. Didn’t touch my books once!”
Finally, You Anlina looked at Aixi Li beside her, who fixed her with an even scarier stare and replied flatly,
“Are you serious? I’m the one who warned everyone in the group about the start-of-term exam and suggested studying. You ignored
and kept asking everyone to hang out instead.”
“Wahhh! I get it! You’re all super talented, and I’m just dumb and lazy… wahhhh…”
She burst into tears and tried to throw herself into Aixi Li’s arms, but Aixi Li blocked her effortlessly, causing her to rebound into Ying Gong Tong’s lap instead.
“Thunk!”
Ying Gong’s flat chest offered little cushioning, leaving You Anlina rubbing her aching head.
“Ugh…”
Her sobs grew louder.
“No! I don’t want to be the Student Council’s mascot! I want to be a study ace too! President, Ying Gong, Yaqiao, help !”
Ying Gong gently patted her back, letting her squirm in her arms.
anwhile, a vein popped on Aixi Li’s forehead as she forced a smile.
“So, you’re leaving
out of your pleas for help? I’m oddly offended…”
Yaqiao Mu thought for a mont before saying,
“President just ntioned restarting the study group for underperforming students. We’re thinking of co-leading it. Do you want to join, You Anlina?”
Ying Gong’s expression froze slightly as she hugged You Anlina, her grip tightening almost imperceptibly. However, she maintained a neutral tone.
“The President already discussed this with Yaqiao? You don’t need my help?”
Wait a second. Does this an I’d be studying with that Spencer?
What if sparks fly? What if the study group turns into a matchmaking event?!
Ying Gong was already eliminating the other council mbers in her mind, her anxiety growing by the second.
Yan Huan smiled calmly and explained,
“It’s just that this task might be a hassle. Yaqiao and I need the sumr internship opportunity with Golden Lion Group—they’re a big deal.”
Of course, the real reason was Spencer’s Modifier. It was unpredictable and had previously affected Yan Huan’s thoughts. He wasn’t sure if Ying Gong might be similarly influenced.
For her safety, and to make things easier for himself, he decided not to involve her.
“Besides, Ying Gong doesn’t need this sort of opportunity. No point in adding unnecessary trouble…”
“It’s no trouble at all～”
Ying Gong smiled sweetly, causing You Anlina to look up in confusion. She suddenly felt a chill in Ying Gong’s embrace.
“Besides, I’ve thought of so excellent thods to help underperforming students. We could test them out and see how effective they are.”
Ying Gong’s pink lips parted slightly as she spoke, her tone hiding a chilling intent.
“Daily practice tests for all subjects, ten pages of math problems, ten essays, ten reading comprehension exercises, and a thorough review of sociology concepts…”
Spencer might not be deterred, but You Anlina was already pale with fright, struggling to escape Ying Gong’s grasp.
“No… no! I don’t want to be a study ace anymore! I’ll just be the mascot, wahhh…”
She scrambled out of Ying Gong’s arms and threw herself into Aixi Li’s instead. This ti, Aixi Li didn’t block her, only sighed as she pinched You Anlina’s ear.
“Ying Gong was just joking. You really think you’d be doing all that?”
“Hehe…”
Ying Gong covered her mouth with a soft laugh, though her eyes betrayed her seriousness.
Yan Huan propped his chin in his hand and said with a smile,
“You Anlina, there’s no need to stress over one exam. It doesn’t an much. And honestly, you’re the only one who sees yourself as the Student Council mascot.”
“President…”
You Anlina looked at Yan Huan with deep gratitude, only for Aixi Li to pour cold water on her emotions.
“It’s not just you; I think so too.”
“Aixi Li!”
After returning their trays, the group split up at the cafeteria doors. Yan Huan and Ying Gong Tong headed toward the Year 1 building.
Yan Huan stretched and yawned lazily, the breeze tousling his fringe and partially covering his eyes.
Beside him, Ying Gong walked gracefully, her hair faintly tinged with pink at the tips, swaying in the breeze.
Her petite fra didn’t make her appear fragile next to Yan Huan’s 184 cm height, thanks to her unique aura.
Spring was in the air, and the pair walking side by side seed a perfect match.
“President…”
Ying Gong broke the silence as Yan Huan finished a yawn.
“What is it, Ying Gong?”
“About joining the study group… I don’t think you answered
yet.”
Her earlier attempt to bring it up had been interrupted by You Anlina, and Yan Huan hadn’t revisited the topic during lunch.
Yan Huan blinked and smiled wryly. The thought of Spencer’s Modifier made him cautious. Ying Gong’s lack of resistance to its influence posed a risk.
“I get what you’re implying, but…”
“President, you’ve been yawning a lot lately,” she interrupted.
Startled, Yan Huan turned to find Ying Gong looking at him intently.
“President, you’re already so busy—with academics, Student Council work, and a part-ti job. Adding the study group must be exhausting…”
Her gaze was earnest as she continued,
“So, even if it’s just a little, I’d like to help lighten your load. After all, I am the Vice President.”
Yan Huan hesitated but eventually smiled gently.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to ask for your help if I needed it, but this ti, it’s fine. I’ll manage on my own.”
Ying Gong pursed her lips but didn’t press further.
By the ti they reached the teaching building, it was ti to part ways.
“Good afternoon, President.”
“Good afternoon, Ying Gong.”
Yan Huan headed to Class 1A on the first floor, while Ying Gong climbed the stairs.
The quiet building contrasted with the bustling comrcial district outside. Yan Huan planned to grab his books, find a quiet spot to rest, and study before his Mahjong Club session later.
Today’s elective, which he shared with Ye Shiyu, had been canceled. Their craft teacher had arranged an optional trip to buy supplies in the city. Yan Huan, having already stocked up, had the afternoon free.
Humming a tune, Yan Huan cheerfully finalized his plans and headed out of the classroom, only to be stopped by a familiar floral scent.
No way.
Pausing at the doorway, Yan Huan hesitated before peeking out to find a familiar cold-faced figure standing in the hallway.
She wore a white dress that flowed like water, her black hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. Her expressionless but stunning face softened slightly upon spotting Yan Huan.
It was Ye Shiyu.
In her arms, she held a cloth bag that seed to contain sothing.
“…”
Yan Huan froze, a mix of disbelief and resignation creeping in.
He felt like a hardworking employee excited to clock out on Friday evening, only to be told by their boss that a last-minute eting was scheduled.
Despite the situation, he maintained his signature bright smile.
“Sister Shiyu!”
Ye Shiyu approached him silently, her face as blank as ever.
“…”
“What brings you to the first-year building, Sister Shiyu? Is sothing wrong?” Yan Huan asked, still smiling.
She nodded in response, leaving his smile teetering on the edge of collapse.
Then, without a word, she opened her cloth bag and pulled out a black lunchbox.
No explanation was needed—her na was written on it.
Opening the lid, Ye Shiyu revealed rows of neatly arranged cookies.
Yan Huan blinked in surprise before glancing up at her.
“Did Aunt Chen make these for ?”
“…”
Ye Shiyu hesitated, tilting her head slightly before replying softly,
“I made them.”
Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, about to say sothing, when Ye Shiyu spoke again.
“I have a favor to ask.”
Her sudden request seed pushed out by so internal struggle, her voice quiet. Lowering her head, she pulled out a laptop from her bag and explained,
“It’s been running very slowly since last night. Everything takes forever to open, and it keeps popping up ads. I don’t know any repair shops in Linn, and I don’t want to bother my mom, so…”
“I see…” Yan Huan murmured, piecing together her description.
Slow performance, lagging apps, random pop-ups… Could it be a disk issue? Or maybe…
“Did you bring the charger?” he asked.
Ye Shiyu nodded.
Yan Huan glanced at the ti before saying,
“I know a little about computers. Let
take a look. If it’s fixable, you won’t have to visit a repair shop.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s head to my classroom; it’s empty right now.”
“Okay.”
The classroom was silent as Yan Huan set up her laptop at his desk, plugged it in, and turned it on.
Well, it wasn’t exactly off—it had been left in sleep mode.
Apparently, Ye Shiyu thought leaving it overnight might miraculously fix it by the next day. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
As Yan Huan moved the touchpad, he noticed how sluggish the cursor was, almost as if teleporting from one spot to another.
“Have you been doing anything unusual on the computer recently?” he asked.
“…No.”
“Downloaded anything?”
“No.”
Not much to go on. He sighed inwardly and decided to inspect it himself.
“Password, Sister Shiyu?”
“My mom’s birthday and mine: 06270903.”
He glanced at her, typed in the password, and was greeted by a desktop wallpaper featuring a life-sized doll in ornate clothing.
Using the touchpad, he tried moving the cursor, which felt unusually heavy. The desktop was clean—no suspicious software, no adware like “Bird Wallpaper.”
“Doesn’t seem to be any rogue programs…”
“Mm.”
“The disk space is fine—plenty of room on the C and D drives…”
“Mm.”
Yan Huan turned to look at her, only to find her staring back blankly.
For every observation he made, she nodded once, her deanor that of soone clueless about computers watching an expert at work.
It felt oddly satisfying.
Still, if there were no rogue programs or disk space issues, what was causing the problem?
Yan Huan opened Task Manager to check CPU and disk usage.
The result was startling—CPU usage was at 100%, even with no apps running.
Switching to the Processes tab, he discovered the culprit: system processes hogging the CPU. Combined with the pop-up ads, this pointed to a downloader virus.
“I think it’s a virus,” Yan Huan said, glancing at Ye Shiyu. “Downloading antivirus software should fix it. Nothing serious.”
“Mm-hmm…” Ye Shiyu nodded, holding the cookies she had brought.
Inwardly, she thought: Yan Huan is so reliable with computers…
The cookies were ant as a thank-you for helping her with the laptop.
But there was another thank-you she had yet to offer. Yesterday, she had wanted to ask Yan Huan what he liked, but she hadn’t managed to.
Now, with just the two of them here and the atmosphere right, it felt like the perfect mont to ask.
She opened her mouth and lifted her gaze, the words forming in her throat.
“Yan…”
Before she could finish, Yan Huan’s mouse hovered over the browser icon on the taskbar.
It was already highlighted, indicating the browser was open.
Suddenly, she rembered trying to access a strange website that morning. Though it had loaded extrely slowly, she had minimized the browser when Aunt Chen called her for school and shoved the laptop into her bag.
The browser was still open.
And there was sothing in there she absolutely couldn’t let him see!
“Let
download the antivirus software for you—it’ll be quick,” Yan Huan said, moving to click the browser.
Her face turned pale, her phone silently sliding from her grasp as its screen glowed with an eerie violet hue.
Her lips trembled as she softly murmured his na in a way only her mother used,
“Xiao Huan…”
“Huh? Sister Shiyu, what—”
He turned toward her in surprise, only to be greeted by the all-too-familiar sight of a swirling purple vortex on her phone screen.
Effect: Individual Hypnosis
Duration: 15 minutes
Tir: Start
Yan Huan: “???”
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