"Wu..."
'Is... is this a dream?'
Yan Huan's eyes widened. That was the very first thought that popped into his mind.
To think that Ye Shiyu hadn't used her hypnosis on him, but instead said such things. Yan Huan was so utterly shocked that he even began to worry this was nothing more than a dying hallucination before being played to death under her hypnosis.
But at this mont, Ye Shiyu's real breathing in his ear, her trembling voice, and the cool softness of her body all reminded Yan Huan:
Everything was real.
'Or perhaps, has Ye Shiyu's Modifier awakened so new ability?'
'Or maybe the Ye Shiyu in front of
is Sakuramiya Hitomi in disguise, just like when she tried to seduce
inside the Barrier...'
Thinking this, Yan Huan felt as though he had discovered the correct answer. With his mind blank, he gently grasped her shoulders, attempting to extricate himself from her tight embrace.
Her hug was firm, but when Yan Huan resisted and wanted to pull away, she did not force him to stay. She simply followed his lead and stepped back a little.
"Shiyu, you..."
Yan Huan stared with wide eyes, focusing intently on finding her flaws, attempting to replicate how he had exposed Perfect Sakuramiya within the Barrier.
But as he looked up, he saw that the expressionless Ye Shiyu before him slightly contracted her pupils after hearing his words...
Imdiately after, a faint blush, like the delicate pink of a lotus petal, actually flushed across her snow-white cheeks.
"Xiao Huan, you... you called
Shiyu."
She averted her gaze slightly, speaking in a soft whisper.
Only then did Yan Huan recover from his shock, belatedly realizing that he had dropped the word "Sister" from his usual form of address.
"Ah, I..."
"You do not have to correct it, Xiao Huan. Calling
Shiyu makes
very happy too... However, in front of my mother, you still need to act like before."
Seeing that Yan Huan intended to correct himself, Ye Shiyu's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
She pursed her lips almost imperceptibly, looking at him in a panic, and spoke up first.
It was as if she were terrified that Yan Huan would backpedal and feel discouraged.
"..."
Yan Huan had ntioned before that the expressions on Ye Shiyu's face were extrely faint. Like an iceberg, she maintained a constant, expressionless face all year round.
Therefore, having fought the Great Demon King of hypnosis multiple tis, Yan Huan had developed a brilliant skill of observing her mood through the tiniest details.
Whenever Ye Shiyu experienced emotions, only two places on her face would change:
First, her eyes. Second, her mouth.
Usually, it was just her eyes. Only when her emotions were extrely obvious would they show on her mouth.
For example, Yan Huan had previously noticed that Ye Shiyu could make the exact sa cute pouting expression as Aunt Ye.
The sa was true at this mont.
Her lips pursed slightly. To anyone else, it might have seed like a habitual movent, or perhaps she was simply thirsty.
But for Ye Shiyu, that hint of hesitation and panic seed to Yan Huan as if it were practically bursting out.
This allowed Yan Huan to finally confirm:
The person in front of him was truly Ye Shiyu!
She actually had not hypnotized him, and...
She was actually genuinely worried about his safety after his disappearance?!
"Xiao Huan, yesterday, did you really go ho because you felt unwell?"
Ye Shiyu had good reasons for completely distrusting Sakuramiya Hitomi's explanation.
She knew that Sakuramiya Hitomi, like herself, possessed a Modifier, and could completely perform mory Correction on Xiao Huan after using her abilities on him.
After all, the incident yesterday had been far too sudden and left behind far too many logical holes.
What kind of strange illness was cured just by sleeping, especially sleeping straight from the afternoon to the next morning?
Even if he were sick, with the distance from Kyogo Ward back to the South Ward being so far, Xiao Huan should have at least sent a ssage to the others in the Student Council.
Yesterday, Ye Shiyu had not only sought out Yurianna, but had also rushed to all the venues coordinated by the Student Council.
At every venue, Yabashi Ki, Ashley, and the others were basically searching everywhere for him because of his absence. It was only when they were out of options that they went to look for Sakuramiya Hitomi.
All these factors made Ye Shiyu highly suspicious of Sakuramiya Hitomi.
'Is it possible that Sakuramiya Hitomi used her Barrier to do sothing to Xiao Huan yesterday?'
Ye Shiyu had originally thought so, but seeing Sakuramiya Hitomi's behavior this morning, it didn't seem quite like it...
Because, judging from Ye Shiyu's own experience, if she had used her Modifier to do sothing to Xiao Huan, there would definitely be a sense of satiety.
But Sakuramiya Hitomi wasn't like that. Instead, she gave off a sense of...
Well, the emptiness of failure.
So, Ye Shiyu couldn't make up her mind for a while, and could only run out to confirm it again.
"I really just wasn't feeling well yesterday, Sister Shiyu. What else could it be? The Student Council affairs have kept
extrely busy lately, staying up late every day."
Of course, Yan Huan couldn't possibly expose the truth about the Modifier to Ye Shiyu, so he started to ramble and change the subject.
"Even so, Principal Hers just said that he wants our Student Council to handle this year's High Table Dinner."
Hearing Yan Huan still address her as "Sister Shiyu" instead of "Shiyu," a hint of regret appeared in her eyes, but her attention was quickly drawn away by the content of his words.
"Principal Hers?"
Ye Shiyu blinked and looked up at the Student Council Office behind Yan Huan. Her gaze instantly changed, gradually losing its humanity and growing ruthless.
But for so unknown reason, that gaze, which should have been terrifyingly sinister, had sohow taken on a different flavor in Yan Huan's eyes.
It was as if she were fiercely protective, silently saying,
'How dare you bully my Xiao Huan? It seems I really need to properly control you, you wretched old man.'
It wasn't terrifying at all; instead, it felt a little...
Thrilling?
'Ah, this... could it really be the suspension bridge effect?'
'Yan Huan, oh Yan Huan, you are truly starving for affection if you actually find even Ye Shiyu to be sweet...'
"It's fine, Sister Shiyu. The High Table Dinner is a small matter. After all, the end of term exams will be over by then. Besides, it's also the final event for my term in the Student Council."
Hearing Yan Huan's voice, Ye Shiyu withdrew her gaze and looked back at him.
When Yan Huan's face entered her field of vision, her black eyes, originally dark as an abyss, rippled with specks of brightness.
"Mhm."
Seeing her docile, slight nod, Yan Huan felt that strange excitent in his heart growing even more pronounced.
He forcibly suppressed the feeling, waved the materials in his hand, and said to Ye Shiyu,
"Perfect timing. I've got all the materials. Let's head back."
"Mhm."
Ye Shiyu gave another expressionless nod, but even as she nodded, her eyes remained tightly locked onto Yan Huan.
They turned around from the entrance of the Principal's Office to head back to the First-Year Departnt's Student Council Office, which was quite a distance away.
Along the way, silence was inevitable.
But to Yan Huan's surprise, this ti, it was the inarticulate Ye Shiyu who broke the icy atmosphere.
"Xiao Huan, do you still want to be the Student Council President next year?"
Hearing this, Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, glancing at Ye Shiyu who kept her eyes on him even while walking.
She gave off an aura of 'As long as you say the word, I will conquer the world for you,' leaving Yan Huan feeling sowhat helpless.
'Is this girl planning to go door-to-door and hypnotize every student who votes against ?'
'You can only vote for Xiao Huan... you can only vote for Xiao Huan... you can only vote for Xiao Huan...'
Imagining Ye Shiyu holding up her mobile phone, muttering to the other students, Yan Huan couldn't stop his mouth from curving into a slight smile.
But a second later, he wanted nothing more than to slap himself.
'Yan Huan, you've really lost it. Since when did you start putting a cute filter over Ye Shiyu's terrifying hypnosis?'
"Well... let's talk about it when the ti cos. After all, I've already been elected once and reaped the benefits. There's no need to exhaust myself like this again next year."
"Mhm."
Ye Shiyu nodded again and stopped speaking.
"Sister Shiyu, you sent
so many ssages this morning. I was scared to death when I saw them."
"Why?"
"Just sending that many is terrifying on its own, sis."
"But, when I sent that many to Mori earlier, she didn't seem to have any objections."
"...She's not normal."
"Mhm... she's not normal."
Yan Huan facepald. Looking at the expressionless Ye Shiyu repeating his words, he was afraid she might misunderstand and hastily explained,
"Only in this regard, Sister Shiyu. Because she admires you so much, even if she cared, she would pretend not to."
"So that's how it is..."
Ye Shiyu seed to half-understand. After a second of silence, she added,
"Because... I was very worried about Xiao Huan. I won't do it next ti."
"..."
For the first ti ever, faced with her expressionless face and direct stare, Yan Huan actually looked away.
However, there seed to be far too many "first tis ever" for Yan Huan today.
For example, this stretch of road from the Principal's Office back to the Student Council Office, which he had walked countless tis and always considered short, suddenly felt like it took ages to traverse.
For example, it was the first ti he had engaged in a back-and-forth conversation with Ye Shiyu, chatting at length about the Brocade project, the Culture Festival, and their internships.
For example, it was the first ti he felt that being alone with Ye Shiyu wasn't terrifying, but rather just...
Normal.
As if he were just walking alongside any one of his friends.
"Ah, we're here, Sister Shiyu."
Passing the corner of a stairwell, Yan Huan looked at the door from which the faint sound of conversation could be heard. He reminded Ye Shiyu while stepping forward to open it.
His hand was already gripping the doorknob, but behind him, Ye Shiyu pursed her lips, struggling for a brief second before suddenly accelerating and pressing close to him.
Before Yan Huan could react, he felt her gently slip her hand into his jacket pocket and quickly pull it back out.
'Did she put sothing inside?'
"..." Yan Huan glanced at Ye Shiyu. She remained expressionless, simply taking the opportunity to push the door open for him.
"Ah, they're back. Perfect, since the internship matters are all settled and you two have signed, how about we go out for a stroll?"
From inside, Sakuramiya Lily's gentle voice drifted over.
Sakuramiya Lily was the most talkative of the three mothers. She was excellent at reading the atmosphere; she never stole the spotlight, yet always seamlessly kept the conversation flowing to prevent awkward silences.
Taking advantage of Ye Shiyu stepping into the room first, Yan Huan, who was still outside, quickly felt inside his pocket to see exactly what she had slipped in.
The next second, his fingers suddenly brushed against...
The outline of a small flower.
The little flower was warm through and through, as if it had rested in her palm for a long ti.
Long enough that even her habitually cold body temperature was able to warm it up.
"!!"
Realizing what she had placed in his pocket, Yan Huan's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly looked at Ye Shiyu in front of him.
However, she had her back to him, presumably still bearing an expressionless face.
Everything seed just the sa as always, save for her fingers resting by her side—tightly gripping and rubbing the hem of her skirt—which betrayed every emotion deeply hidden in her heart at this mont.
Thump... thump...
Yan Huan's breath hitched slightly. He took another look at Ye Shiyu, his gaze landing on her pink earlobe illuminated by the faint light.
"..."
Right after, he quickly followed Ye Shiyu into the room, conversing with the elders with a natural and composed expression.
That flower Ye Shiyu had gifted him, carrying an unmistakable significance, remained tucked in his pocket.
Just like a tender sprout recently planted into the soil...
It was so fragile and immature, yet brimming with vibrant vitality.
"Hmm... so you're saying you didn't find Perfect Sakuramiya's Barrier on the surface of her body?"
The three mothers strolled through the campus accompanied by Principal Hers. They walked at the very back, chatting not only about their children but also about their work.
The conversation was of such a level that even Hers, keeping them company on the side, had to remain silent and couldn't interject, let alone the younger generation.
Taking advantage of going to the Class 2-C stall to buy takoyaki, Yan Huan opened Plane and read the ssages An Le had sent him earlier.
The ssages said that An Le, following the thod Yan Huan provided, had tried to make physical contact with Perfect Sakuramiya and found that she basically did not resist being touched.
"Strange... that shouldn't be..."
Yan Huan was still puzzled, but right after he replied to An Le, she instantly fired back several more ssages.
"However, Xiao Huan, the excuse I used was quite special, so I managed to get a bit closer to her other areas...
"I discovered that she seems to be very resistant to
getting near her mouth. No matter how much I tried to persuade her, she found excuses to avoid it.
"There were clearly far more sensitive areas that she didn't resist at all, yet she was exceptionally guarded about her mouth. Because of this, I suspect the Barrier might be inside her mouth."
'Inside her mouth?'
'That's actually very possible!'
Logically speaking, whether it was Perfect Sakuramiya or Self-Doubting Sakuramiya, the principle behind them walking around in Reality was to wrap themselves within the Barrier located on their bodies.
Therefore, the location of their Barrier was highly likely to be on the surface of their bodies.
Just like Self-Doubting Sakuramiya; she had told Yan Huan that night that her Barrier was located on her tail. She usually kept it curled up and hidden inside her pants, making it difficult for anyone to touch.
And the mouth happened to be the precise boundary between the outside and the inside of the body.
It could prevent others from touching it, while simultaneously wrapping around her at all tis.
However, even if he knew the location of the Barrier now, how to enter it was one issue, and how to rescue the real Hitomi once inside was another.
'It's too difficult...'
"Here you go, President. That'll be twenty-five."
Yan Huan scanned the QR code to pay and took the five portions of takoyaki he bought back with him.
The three mothers didn't eat these sorts of snacks, so it was actually just for him and the other three girls.
Why buy five portions?
Because he knew Aruiya had a huge appetite and usually needed two portions of anything.
But wouldn't making it that obvious show that he understood Aruiya a little too well?
Yan Huan had his ways around it.
He would just say he bought two portions for himself. He'd eat the first one slowly, and when Aruiya devoured hers in one bite after another and still wanted more, he would casually hand over his untouched second portion to her.
This way, it would be absolutely flawless.
"Takoyaki is here!"
Yan Huan grew increasingly familiar with the route of managing these little details. When he returned, Sakuramiya Hitomi was standing in place, locked in a staring contest with Ye Shiyu.
Strangely, it was actually Sakuramiya Hitomi who was actively sizing up Ye Shiyu.
It seed she had picked up on a slight shift in Ye Shiyu's mood.
As for Aruiya...
Well, she was at the Class 3-A stall next door, fishing for goldfish.
After trying to fish for a long ti without any bites, she got so mad that she simply reached in to grab the goldfish with her hands.
She caught one in each hand, glaring fiercely at the wildly struggling goldfish as she demanded:
"Why wouldn't you take the bait, huh?!"
The students from Class 3-A stood there, holding back their exasperation, completely unsure of how to stop her.
Should they tell her "You didn't put bait on the hook," or should they point out that "Goldfish can't talk"?
It wasn't until she heard that Yan Huan had brought back the takoyaki that she released the innocent goldfish and turned around to eat.
Naturally, she also got exactly what she wanted, receiving the secret extra portion Yan Huan had prepared for her...
Under the synchronized, resentful gazes of both Sakuramiya Hitomi and Ye Shiyu.
"Self-Doubting Sakuramiya, what do you think if we strike first?"
At this mont, inside the Barrier, Cat-like Sakuramiya looked at Self-Doubting Sakuramiya and suggested.
"Strike first?"
Self-Doubting Sakuramiya was slightly taken aback as she pondered the possibility.
"Yeah! Most of the Sakuramiyas know by now that you have the qualifications to replace Hitomi. As long as you give the order, everyone will answer the call!"
Hearing this, Self-Doubting Sakuramiya raised her eyes and looked behind Cat-like Sakuramiya.
At this mont, it wasn't just a simple dozen or so Sakuramiyas behind her; there were nearly a hundred of them...
But even so, Self-Doubting Sakuramiya still lacked confidence. Pursing her lips, she said,
"Are just ninety-two of us Sakuramiyas a match for Perfect Sakuramiya? N-No... it's not that I don't believe in you guys. It's just that for this kind of thing, if we're going to do it, it has to be absolutely seamless."
"Ninety-two is ninety-two! We must strike first to gain the upper hand!"
Before Cat-like Sakuramiya could speak, Maid Sakuramiya behind her raised the knife and fork in her hands and spoke indignantly,
"We've had enough of her! Previously, we weren't united, and in one-on-one fights, we could only let her slaughter us! But it's different now. We support you. If we all attack together, she won't be a match for us!"
"Yeah, exactly!"
Hearing this, all the Sakuramiyas echoed in agreent, raising the pots, bowls, ladles, and pans in their hands.
"As long as you go out, Self-Doubting Sakuramiya, and lure her to the Barrier, we'll ambush her in the dark. The mont she steps inside, we'll lock the door, rush out, and slay her on the spot!"
Cat-like Sakuramiya flicked her tail upright as she made this proposal.
Self-Doubting Sakuramiya hesitated for a mont, then gently waved her fair hand.
In an instant, a hundred different types of weapons appeared before their eyes.
Everyone was imdiately blinded by the silver gleam of those weapons. Showing expressions of excitent, they rushed toward the armants.
"Wow! As expected, only you, with the proper authority, could do sothing like this!"
"With this, our chances of winning have vastly improved!"
"I knew it, you are the real Sakuramiya Hitomi!"
As everyone went to distribute the weapons, Cat-like Sakuramiya also broke into a smile and turned to grab one for herself.
However, just as she turned around, her shoulder was gripped by Self-Doubting Sakuramiya from behind.
"Eh?"
She was slightly taken aback and turned her head.
Then she saw Mouse Sakuramiya standing behind her, pursing her lips. Staring directly at her, she said word by word,
"I'll go out in a bit to lure her here. It's the Culture Festival right now, so she must be in the school. She hates , so she will definitely follow to get rid of ...
"As for what happens next, I'll be counting on all of you!"
Hearing this, Cat-like Sakuramiya nodded in response,
"Naturally. We will prepare everything in advance. Nothing will go wrong!"
"It's not enough to just make no mistakes or be watertight..."
Behind her, Mouse Sakuramiya pursed her lips, revealing a faint, pleading smile,
"It must be absolutely flawless."
"Ah?"
Cat-like Sakuramiya was montarily confused, but in the next second, Mouse Sakuramiya took a deep breath and said seriously,
"Because this isn't child's play. If we fail, we might all die... So, we must take this with the utmost seriousness!"
"Ah, rest assured! We will!"
With Mouse Sakuramiya's extra explanation, Cat-like Sakuramiya understood what she ant. Without taking the underlying dread to heart, she rely nodded with equal seriousness.
After all, these Sakuramiyas, who had previously shivered under the butcher's knife, all knew the gravity of the situation.
It had now reached a critical mont of life and death; either they succeeded, or they perished!
Either they would all be wiped out by Perfect Sakuramiya, and everyone would be finished together...
Or...
They would defeat Perfect Sakuramiya and install Self-Doubting Sakuramiya in power.
And then, usher in a Sakuramiya Hitomi who wouldn't resort to slaughter, one who could do things better!!
Reviews
All reviews (0)