"President, please have so tea."
Wednesday, early morning, the Student Council Office.
A cup of black tea, radiating heat, was gently placed on the table by fair hands, its surface rippling outward in gentle rings.
When the ripples finally settled, Yan Huan's refreshed and invigorated face was reflected on the translucent surface of the tea.
"Ah, thank you, Sakuramiya."
Stepping back, Sakuramiya Hitomi carefully studied Yan Huan.
She watched as he held his teacup in his left hand while continuing to write with his right, a constant smile playing on his lips and a bright, spirited gleam in his eyes...
Tilting her head slightly, she could not help but ask,
"You seem to be in great spirits today, President. Did sothing good happen last night?"
"..."
Yan Huan's hand stiffened slightly as he prepared to take a sip, his mind involuntarily flashing back to the events of last night and this morning.
Yes, ladies and gentlen, he had been at it this morning too.
Because of that, he had to take an extra shower and nearly missed the school bus.
It truly was not a lack of self-control on Yan Huan's part; it was just that An Le was entirely too skilled.
Despite her innocent and adorable appearance, she was always so enticing, making it impossible to resist the urge to bully her a little...
Anyone with even slightly less self-control would probably have forgotten their own na by now.
All he could say was that An Le was a pure succubus.
"Cough, you could say that..."
Yan Huan awkwardly steered clear of the topic, and Sakuramiya Hitomi did not press the issue.
She simply offered an elegant smile, glancing at the stack of docunts in front of him with a soft sigh.
"I didn't expect so many docunts to pile up after being away for just a short while. When I ca in this morning, the docunt box was practically overflowing."
Taking a sip of the black tea, Yan Huan nodded helplessly.
"Yeah, official docunts from the Linn Education Departnt and school docunts all ca flooding in at the exact sa ti..."
As he spoke, however, his eyes lit up slightly. He glanced down at the half-empty teacup in his hand with a look of surprise.
"This is delicious... Sakuramiya, did your tea-brewing skills get even better?"
Yan Huan was not exactly a tea connoisseur; given his background, he hardly seed like soone who would cultivate an appreciation for tea culture.
Although Sakuramiya Hitomi had brewed tea for them before, it was sowhat a case of a wild boar being unable to appreciate fine bran. Everyone just gulped it down like water, unable to truly taste the quality.
But today was different. With just one sip of the black tea, even a layman like Yan Huan could not help but exclaim how delicious it was.
"Really? Perhaps the new variety of black tea I brought from ho is just of better quality,"
Sakuramiya Hitomi chuckled, covering her mouth in a perfectly modest manner.
"Regardless, as long as you like it, President."
"Yes, I like it a lot."
"Wait, President..."
Yan Huan nodded and was just about to lower his head to continue working on the docunts when he suddenly felt a fragrant breeze draw near.
A faint shadow fell over his face. Blinking in surprise, he looked up to find Sakuramiya Hitomi's face re inches from his own.
Her small face was devoid of makeup, yet it was already exquisitely beautiful.
Focusing intently on a stray lock of hair on Yan Huan's forehead, Sakuramiya Hitomi raised her hand, her breath slling like orchids as she spoke.
"President, don't move..."
"..."
For so reason, Yan Huan genuinely did not dare to move, almost as if he feared there was so biting insect perched on his forehead.
Sakuramiya Hitomi's fair hand moved gently, her fingertips lightly grazing his temples as they trailed upward.
The contact between her fingertips and his stray hairs sent a jolt like electricity through him. In an instant, Yan Huan felt a tingling sensation spread across most of his face, and he could not help but narrow his eyes.
The very next second, Sakuramiya Hitomi delicately pinched a tiny piece of lint from his forehead.
Then, looking at Yan Huan's suppressed expression, she let out a soft laugh.
"Pfft."
Without pulling away, she gazed into his eyes and murmured with a smile,
"President, you're quite ticklish, aren't you?"
In the past, when he was still in his little innocent boy phase, Yan Huan would not have been able to handle such teasing at all.
But having survived the intense cannon fire of the battlefield, Yan Huan was no longer the private he once was...
Standing here now was General Yan Huan, the man who had decisively defeated the pure succubus, An Le!
He leaned back slightly, his expression completely natural, though he sounded a bit uncertain.
"Ah, really?"
Seeing that her teasing had zero effect, Sakuramiya Hitomi blinked, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes.
"Bang!"
Just as she was about to speak, the door suddenly swung open, revealing a beaming Yurianna and a stoic Ashley.
"Good morning, President! Vice President!"
"Good morning, Yurianna."
Yan Huan smiled and greeted them back.
Yurianna closed the door and skipped over, dropping onto the sofa like a depth charge before asking curiously,
"By the way, what was that girl in the stairwell doing at the Student Council? Was she looking for you, President?"
"What girl? No one ca looking for us."
"Oh... okay."
Assuming the girl was just wandering around with nothing to do, Yurianna dismissed the thought and imdiately perked up again, eager to share sothing with Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi.
But before her excitent could last even a second, Yan Huan picked up a neatly organized stack of docunts and handed them over to her with a beaming smile.
"Here, these are the duties you're responsible for as Secretary. I've already prepared everything for you. I need them done by the end of the week."
"..."
Staring at the thick stack of paperwork, Yurianna's sunny expression instantly froze.
Puffing her cheeks, she clenched her fists and protested,
"Why is there so much?! I... I was planning to go gather intel on the other classes' Culture Festival events!"
Taking a seat nearby, Ashley shot her a deadpan look and could not help but interject,
"Shouldn't you be studying hard for the final exams and raising your GPA?"
At that, the teary-eyed Yurianna suddenly realized sothing, and her bright smile returned.
"Ah, I know!"
The very next second, she clasped her hands together, pouted her lips in what she believed was her most adorable expression, and leaned over Yan Huan's desk, speaking in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Hey, hey, President, I know you're the best. So, please give
a little extension, please, please?"
Yan Huan rested his chin on his hand and looked at her, his smile just as bright and his voice incredibly pleasant.
"If you don't finish it by next week, you'll have to make up for it during the Culture Festival. That ans you won't be able to wander around and play with anyone."
"Ugh! Damn it!"
Seeing that Yan Huan was completely immune to her charm and had even accurately struck her weak spot, Yurianna's pout could have reached the heavens. She started making noises like a boiling kettle.
Imdiately after, she turned to Sakuramiya Hitomi, desperately seeking an ally.
"Hey, hey, Sakuramiya, save ... I'll give you these two movie tickets I got for this weekend!"
With that, she pulled out two decorative movie tickets she had been clutching and thrust them toward Sakuramiya Hitomi.
Beside them, Yan Huan's face darkened.
"Wait a minute. Why didn't you bring out the movie tickets when you were begging ?"
"Blehh, you wouldn't like this kind of movie anyway, President! It's sothing only girls enjoy watching!"
"Ara ara, this is..."
Staring at the tickets, Sakuramiya Hitomi, unprecedentedly, showed a spark of interest.
Taking them from Yurianna's hand, her eyes flickered slightly as she saw the title for the re-screening of Flipped.
"Hehe, what do you think? I got them from a blind box!"
Yurianna had a habit of blindly purchasing bizarre things.
It was not just rchandise blind boxes for various ani characters, but even flight ticket blind boxes and the like.
Last ti, she bragged endlessly to everyone about how she had scored incredibly cheap tickets to Europe.
In the end, the little fool had forgotten to read the blind box's fine print. The departure city was not even in Linn; it was in Dragon Country.
A regular flight from here to Dragon Country cost far more than her stupid blind box, which had Yabashi Ki laughing so hard he nearly passed out.
"Hmm... but if I'm not mistaken, you're actually busy this weekend and were planning to give these to us anyway, right?"
Knowing her nature all too well, Sakuramiya Hitomi tapped her chin and chuckled.
"Ugh! Damn it, I've been found out!"
Seeing Sakuramiya Hitomi indirectly refuse, Yurianna ran pitifully over to Ashley.
But before she could even open her mouth, Ashley turned her head away in utter disgust.
"Don't look at . I can't help you."
"Waaah!!"
"Click."
Right at that mont, the door opened once again, revealing Yabashi Ki outside as he pulled off his headphones.
"Morning, everyone. By the way, what's the deal with that girl at the stairwell entrance..."
"Yabashi, you're here!"
Before he could finish, Yurianna rushed toward him excitedly.
She subconsciously opened her mouth to ask for help, but then she took in his haggard face. He looked like he had spent the entire night intensely playing the galga Yan Huan had given him.
A second later, she turned her head away in disgust, looking as if she had given up all resistance as she muttered,
"Ugh... forget it. It's nothing."
"If you're not going to say anything, don't call out to
in the first place!!"
With that, Yurianna being forced to complete her work on ti beca a foregone conclusion.
However, the fact that two separate groups had arrived at different tis and ntioned a girl loitering at the stairwell entrance caught Yan Huan's attention.
"Wait, Yabashi, what's this about a girl at the stairwell entrance?"
"Ah... wasn't she looking for the President or Vice President?"
Yabashi Ki walked over, taking a seat across from Ashley, and set his school bag down.
"When I ca upstairs, I saw her pacing around the stairwell entrance. As soon as she saw , she headed downstairs."
"Ah, she was doing the exact sa thing when we ca up!"
Both groups had seen the exact sa behavior?
Yan Huan stroked his chin thoughtfully, while Sakuramiya Hitomi offered a guess,
"That student was likely coming to the Student Council Office to look for soone, but she's probably too hesitant to actually co in. That's why she keeps pacing around."
"That sounds about right..."
Yan Huan nodded, capping his pen and standing up.
"Let's go take a look and see what she needs."
"Oh, right!"
Pushing the door open, the group followed Yan Huan, quietly making their way toward the stairwell.
Before they even turned the corner, they could faintly hear footsteps coming from the stairwell, along with a quiet, anxious mumbling. "Hina, you... you can do this... Co on, just go knock on the door!"
Following that was the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.
"N-No, I still can't do it..."
Then, the footsteps retreated back down.
"..."
Listening to the sounds from the stairwell, Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi exchanged a glance before stepping forward to the entrance.
What caught their eyes was a cute girl with a delicate face, dressed in a black-and-white JK skirt and sporting twin black pigtails.
When Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi saw her, she was clenching her fists, muttering to herself as she walked back down the stairs.
"Hey there... Excuse ,"
Yan Huan called out to her twice, but she seed completely imrsed in her own world.
Left with no other choice, he raised his voice a little.
"Stop doing stair laps, can you hear ?"
"E-Eh?!"
The girl who had called herself 'Hina' finally realized soone was talking to her.
She jumped in fright, her whole body trembling. Turning around, she saw an incredibly striking pair—a handso young man and a beautiful young woman—standing at the stairwell entrance, backlit by the light.
And peeking out from beside them were three more heads, all studying her curiously.
"P-President Yan? W-Why are you out here? I was just about to look for you..."
Seeing them, the cute girl quickly adjusted her posture. Coughing lightly, she spoke with a slightly flushed face.
"You were looking for ?"
"Yes!"
Her earnest deanor made Yan Huan raise an eyebrow, while the three heads peeking out beside him cast highly suggestive looks his way.
'Oh my, it seems the President has a little fangirl.'
That was undoubtedly what their expressions ant.
Sakuramiya Hitomi, on the other hand, rely looked the girl up and down, maintaining her proper smile without saying a word.
Since she was already here, they might as well hear what she had to say.
"Then... why don't you co inside and have a seat?"
"Um, I'm a first-year student from Class D, and a mber of the Sewing Club, Mao Li Hina. Please take care of ."
Inside the Student Council Office, Yan Huan sat on the sofa, facing the cute girl across from him.
Standing like stone guardians behind him were three dedicated gossips.
Sakuramiya Hitomi elegantly served a cup of black tea to both Yan Huan and the girl before smoothly taking a seat right beside Yan Huan.
She carried herself as if she were naturally the mistress of the Student Council Office, holding absolute authority.
"Hello, Mao Li."
Yan Huan nodded and picked up his teacup, blowing gently on the hot surface as he asked,
"So, what did you want to see
about?"
"Um..."
Hearing his question, Hina pursed her lips, and her hands, resting on her lap, clenched a little tighter.
The next second, she gritted her teeth. Looking as if she were risking it all, she squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out,
"Actually, I... I deeply admire your sworn older sister, Senior Student Ye Shiyu from Class 2-A!! I hope... I hope you can help
beco friends with Senior Student Ye!!"
"Pfft!"
This revelation shocked Yan Huan so much that he nearly spat out his tea.
He imdiately set his cup down, covering his mouth as he coughed violently.
"Cough, cough... Cough, cough, cough!"
Seeing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi imdiately reached out with a worried expression, gently patting his back to help him catch his breath.
anwhile, the gossiping trio behind him, who had previously been full of anticipation, now showed visible disappointnt. Waving their hands dismissively, they dispersed to mind their own business.
"Break it up, break it up. Nothing to see here..."
Yan Huan continued coughing into his hand for quite a while, his face turning a shade redder.
Even so, he stared at the completely serious girl in front of him with pure disbelief.
After confirming she was not joking, he finally managed to ask shakily,
"Why on earth do you admire Sister Shiyu and want to be friends with her? What triggered this?"
At the ntion of this, the girl could not help but purse her lips and lower her head.
After a mont of hesitation, she began to recount her story in earnest.
"It's like this... Senior Student Ye and I are both mbers of the Sewing Club. Even though she joined later... her sewing skills are really amazing. No, they're incredibly, extrely amazing!"
Speaking of this, the girl's face lit up with excitent. It was clear she genuinely idolized Ye Shiyu.
However, Yan Huan still could not understand.
"Uh, so... just because Sister Shiyu's sewing skills are amazing, you..."
"Of course it's not just that!"
The girl clutched her chest, speaking rapidly in Ye Shiyu's defense.
"It's not just because Senior Student Ye is a capable upperclassman worthy of learning from. More importantly, she's actually cold on the outside, warm on the inside. She's incredibly kind and soft-hearted."
"...Care to elaborate?"
"Well, my sewing skills are actually terrible, so no one really pays attention to . Only the president would occasionally help , letting
practice on Senior Student Ye's equipnt..."
Bringing this up, a smile tugged at the corners of Hina's lips, as if she were recalling sothing heartwarming.
"While everyone else ignored , Senior Student Ye was secretly watching
all along, observing my constant practice...
"At first, I thought I was just imagining things, so I went and asked her about it. And then...
"She patiently taught
the techniques, and after a while, she... she even bought
my own set of sewing equipnt!"
'No, no, no. I'm pretty sure Ye Shiyu was just annoyed that you kept using her stuff, so she wanted to teach you quickly so you'd stop touching her things.'
'And when you still couldn't learn after so long, she had no choice but to buy you a new set so you'd stop ruining hers.'
However, listening to the girl's deeply moving narrative, Yan Huan could not help but judge a gentleman with a villain's heart, cynically piecing together what had actually happened.
'Well, at least she didn't just use hypnosis on you. That's practically a highlight for Ye Shiyu.'
"And then what?"
"Of course there's more! The more I secretly learned about her, the more I realized how multi-talented she is! Not only is she great at studying and sewing, but she's an all-rounder in sports too!"
But as she spoke, Hina stuck her tongue out playfully. Fearing she might sound like she was just envious of her talents, she quickly added,
"And it also feels like Senior Student Ye is the type of person who deeply values family.
"President Yan, when she's quiet, I often see her secretly looking at you, watching over you...
"It's like she's a super reliable big sister who worries, 'Is my younger brother getting bullied?' or 'Is he having a good day?'...
"This just proves that Senior Student Ye's heart is completely different from her outward appearance. She's actually very soft!"
Yan Huan opened his mouth, visibly shaken to his core.
After a long, stunned silence, he finally gave a completely barren appraisal,
"...Incredible."
"Eh?"
"Cough, cough..."
Yan Huan snapped back to reality, clearing his throat as he composed his expression.
Inside, however, he was still reeling from shock.
'Ye Shiyu, you really are getting better...'
'You actually have a fangirl?!'
'No, seriously, little sister, you better think carefully about what kind of trap you're walking into.'
'It's rare to see an idol's reputation collapse before you've even officially joined the fandom.'
"Hmm, you're absolutely right. Senior Student Ye's heart is indeed very soft,"
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi also chuckled from the side and offered her own appraisal.
'Sakuramiya, are you crazy too?'
Yan Huan struggled to maintain his composure but decided not to dwell on it, hurriedly getting back to the main topic.
"So, if you want to be friends with Sister Shiyu, couldn't you just tell her directly?"
"I-I don't dare. I don't know why, but whenever I'm in front of her, I can never manage to speak..."
'It's a good thing you don't.'
'Otherwise, considering you ssed with her equipnt before, you'd be lucky if she didn't just use hypnosis on you and knock you out.'
But Sakuramiya Hitomi suddenly interjected with a question.
"Even so, you still want to beco friends with her?"
Hina blinked in surprise, then gave a firm nod, looking at Yan Huan pleadingly.
"Yes, because... I really want to beco an amazing person like Senior Student Ye!"
'Thank goodness you used the word "amazing". If you just said you wanted to be exactly like Ye Shiyu...'
'I would have thrown a handful of sticky rice at you right now to exorcise you.'
Yan Huan sighed, resting his chin on his hand as he looked at the girl.
"While that may be true, making friends is ultimately between the two of you. Even if I help introduce you, if you don't even have the courage to speak in front of Sister Shiyu, how will it last?"
"Aww... that's true..."
Seeing the girl's crestfallen expression, Yan Huan pondered for a mont before asking,
"However, this might just be because you haven't spoken to her much and haven't spent enough ti together. If I could create an opportunity for you two to make friends, it might be worth a try."
"Eh? An opportunity..."
The girl rubbed her chin and thought for a while before suddenly recalling sothing.
"Our club is planning to weave a piece of Dragon Country brocade recently. The club president has already decided that Senior Student Ye will be in charge, but the assistant hasn't been chosen yet...
"Maybe... if you could talk to Senior Student Ye, President Yan, you could see if she'd be willing... to let
be her assistant?"
'Brocade?'
'Isn't that stuff incredibly complicated?'
'Hey...'
'This might actually work.'
'As long as I keep an eye on Ye Shiyu to make sure she doesn't use hypnosis on her, I can kill three birds with one stone.'
'First, it gives Ye Shiyu sothing to do, so she won't be constantly out for blood.'
'Even if weaving brocade isn't difficult for her, tossing this unskilled junior at her will definitely create plenty of extra trouble.'
'Second, it gives Ye Shiyu a chance to learn how to interact with friends like a normal person.'
'That girl practically has zero normal social interactions. Besides Gongzi from her class, the person closest to her is actually Bai Yi, who hates her guts.'
'Helping her make a few more friends might genuinely improve her situation.'
'Third, it will fulfill this girl's dream of chasing her idol...'
'Though I have no idea if her dreams will be shattered once she discovers Ye Shiyu's true nature.'
"Hmm... Alright, leave it to . I'll go talk to Sister Shiyu this afternoon."
With that, Yan Huan smiled and reassured the girl.
"That's wonderful! Thank you, President Yan!"
Hearing his promise, the girl's eyes lit up as she expressed her gratitude.
'But speaking of clubs...'
'The the of the Doujinshi Society still needs to be changed, and right now there are only three mbers. If we don't find a fourth, it'll likely be disbanded before long.'
'If I can't get Spencer and An Le to make up quickly, I'll have to find soone else who hasn't joined a club yet.'
'The problem is, resolving the conflict between An Le and Spencer right now is a bit difficult.'
'But if I go with the latter option, where am I supposed to find soone?'
'Hm?'
As Yan Huan pondered, he suddenly caught sight of the elegantly smiling girl sitting beside him out of the corner of his eye.
It was Sakuramiya Hitomi.
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