"Mmn..."
On the pristine white bed of the infirmary, wrapped in a hazy consciousness, Bai Yi had a dream.
She dread that she was punching Ye Shiyu and kicking Sakuramiya Hitomi, thoroughly defeating them both. She looked down as they fell unwillingly before her, speaking with deep resentnt.
"Damn it! Bai Yi is so beautiful and has such a great personality. We... we're not her match at all!"
"Is this... where it all ends..."
And then, covering her mouth with utter modesty, she consoled them.
"Hehe, it is good that you know the gap between us. Since you've admitted defeat, hurry up and retreat~"
Just like that, she defeated all her romantic rivals. Right as she was about to go give Yan Huan her flowers, she saw him walking toward her of his own accord, wearing a handso black suit and holding a red rose.
Clearly, he was about to invite soone to be his dance partner for the High Table Dinner.
'It seems we really are a destined match, walking toward each other... Ahem,'
Starlight flashed in Bai Yi's eyes, but she feigned modesty, hiding the flowers she was about to give him behind her back. She planned to wait for Yan Huan to ask her out before revealing them.
However, as Yan Huan drew closer and closer, her accelerating heartbeat and slightly flushed face betrayed her true feelings.
"Yan..."
She parted her red lips, about to speak.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
But the Yan Huan in front of her walked straight past as if she did not exist, heading directly toward Sakuramiya Hitomi behind her.
"Huh?"
Bai Yi was slightly stunned and hurriedly turned her head.
Looking behind her, she saw Yan Huan kneeling on one knee, gently taking Sakuramiya Hitomi's hand, and speaking softly.
"Sakuramiya, may I invite you to be my dance partner for the High Table Dinner?"
"President..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi covered her mouth, her heart fluttering with overwhelming surprise and joy.
But Bai Yi was about to explode with anger.
She hunched her shoulders furiously and stomped over.
"Hold on! Are you kidding ? She is my defeated opponent! Yan Huan, you..."
Strangely, even though she yelled so loudly, the two people in front of her acted as if they could not hear her at all, treating her as if she did not exist.
"Mhm... Yes, you may, President~"
"That is wonderful!"
Seeing this, Yan Huan glanced at his mobile phone.
Looking at the ti, which read 4:44, he smiled faintly and held Sakuramiya Hitomi's hand.
"Well... it just so happens that I made a reservation at a restaurant for five o'clock tonight. Shall we go eat together?"
"Pfft... If I had not agreed, wouldn't the President have wasted a fortune?"
And so, Bai Yi watched helplessly as Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi got up and left.
Seeing them walk further and further away, Bai Yi's pupils shrank, and she subconsciously tried to chase after them.
"Wait! Wait a minute! I am still here!"
Bai Yi raised her hand and shouted, but just as she took a step, her head slamd hard against what felt like a transparent barrier.
"Ouch!"
The pain made her gasp in shock as she fell back onto the ground.
But before she could even process the pain, she quickly looked toward the direction Yan Huan had left.
Over there, Yan Huan was walking further and further away.
But strangely, Bai Yi even saw them brush past Ye Shiyu, Spencer, and An Le.
Between them, aside from An Le who had her head lowered and seed to be faintly observing them, no one had any particular expression.
It was as if this Yan Huan had never known them.
And it was as if he did not know her either?
It was only at this mont that Bai Yi realized sothing was wrong.
For example, Yan Huan's gaze right now was so pure and sunny, completely filled with the girl in front of him, as if he did not know she was a voyeur?
Was this right?
"Yan... Yan Huan..."
Bai Yi still wanted to remind Yan Huan about Sakuramiya Hitomi's glorious track record, but out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw the figure of Zuo Jiangqin walking over from the other side.
Bai Yi stared blankly in that direction, her face full of astonishnt.
Because she suddenly realized that Zuo Jiangqin looked incredibly young right now. She sported a retro wavy hairstyle and looked undeniably beautiful.
"Mom?"
But Zuo Jiangqin also seed completely unable to hear her voice. She was rely leaning affectionately against a man who was a total stranger to Bai Yi.
The man turned to look at Zuo Jiangqin, smiling as he spoke.
"Honey, my brother told
there is a way to get rich in Linn. We can make a lot of money."
Hearing this, Zuo Jiangqin seed a bit hesitant.
"Linn? That... that is too far, isn't it? Besides, you don't even have a passport. How are we supposed to get there?"
"Ah Gui chartered a boat. We just need to take the boat out to sea tonight. I calculated it; we will reach Linn after spending a little over half a month at sea."
"Ah? Tonight?! That... that is smuggling ourselves out, isn't it?"
"Oh co on, many people do it. Linn has people from all over. As long as we make it to land, who will know where we ca from?"
"Can we still co back then?"
"Of course we can! Didn't the second son of Old Wang from our hotown co back? You know, the one... Wang Bo, who built that little Western-style house? You rember him, right?"
Looking at the hesitant Zuo Jiangqin, the man hurriedly held her hand and continued.
"Do you know how much money he made in Linn? This much! Look at his family, they've got luxury cars, luxury residences, everything sorted out."
"When the ti cos, whatever bags or jewelry you want, won't you be able to just buy them casually? Plus, buying those things over in Linn is way cheaper, not like here."
Listening intently to the grand vision her man described, Zuo Jiangqin's eyes instantly lit up. She was clearly very tempted.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
But the next second, she gently touched her lower abdon and hesitated.
She scrutinized the man she loved so deeply for a long ti, but eventually cald down. Gritting her teeth, she let go of his hand and turned her head away.
"Go by yourself. I am not going! Damn it, we're leaving tonight, and you're only telling
now? How is that reliable?"
"No, I was just..."
"Give it a rest! Going to so forsaken place where we are completely unfamiliar with the place and people, with absolutely zero security... What if an accident happens? What am I supposed to do? Do you want
and the baby in my belly to gamble our lives with you?"
"Hey, hey... honey..."
The man still wanted to persuade her, but Zuo Jiangqin turned and walked away without looking back.
The man pursed his lips and glanced down at his wristwatch. Staring at the ti, which read 4:44, he scratched his head in frustration.
"Tsk... This woman... at this hour... Agh."
"Crack... Crack..."
Bai Yi sat frozen in place, watching the back view of Zuo Jiangqin turning to leave, her face brimming with confusion.
'If Mom had not followed the man who abandoned her to Linn back then, how could I have been born in Linn?'
But just as she was puzzling over this, the watch on the man's wrist continued to tick, advancing to the next minute.
Before her eyes, whether it was the scene of Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi leaving or Zuo Jiangqin turning away, both were slowly obscured by the transparent barrier, which looked as if it was freezing over, until she could see nothing at all.
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"
"Mom?"
The next second, on the hospital bed, Bai Yi sat bolt upright, drenched in cold sweat, clutching her chest as she cried out.
"..."
Beside the bed, the school nurse Ye Linna, who was biting on a popsicle, stared blankly at Bai Yi's sudden outburst and mumbled blankly.
"Am I that old? Being your mom is a bit of a stretch, isn't it?"
"..."
Hearing her humorous teasing, Bai Yi finally snapped back to reality, realizing she had just been having a nightmare.
"Sorry, I... I had a nightmare."
"I could tell. It is fine, just get so good rest. I don't charge for this bed."
Saying that, Ye Linna nodded, turned back around, and continued munching on her popsicle while binge-watching her show.
anwhile, Bai Yi rubbed her slightly aching head, shook it, and picked up her mobile phone.
The mont she unlocked it, the glaringly obvious ti reading 4:45 made her freeze slightly.
"..."
Bai Yi tilted her head in confusion but just muttered to herself.
"Did I really sleep for that long? Hey, where are my flowers?"
Bai Yi realized the Culture Festival was almost over, suddenly recalling her grand plan to give Yan Huan the flowers.
But when she patted around, she did not feel them at all.
"Ah? I... Wait a minute, nurse, who brought
to the infirmary?"
Ye Linna replied without even turning her head.
"A very tall girl with black hair and a very cold expression."
"Ye Shiyu?!"
Hearing it was Ye Shiyu, Bai Yi instantly knew she had played a dirty trick.
'It must have been Ye Shiyu! She saw the flowers I was going to give him while I was unconscious and threw them away!'
'You truly are a despicable villain, Ye Shiyu!!'
"Ugh..."
Having been sabotaged, Bai Yi puffed up with anger like a pufferfish again.
"Ding~"
At that mont, her mobile phone rang.
Bai Yi looked down and saw it was a ssage from her mother.
"Yiyi, I have good news! Because you didn't sign the contract on the spot yesterday, the Golden Lion Group saw you were still hesitating and raised your appearance fee again! By 10%!"
"Oh my, Mom wrongfully blad you yesterday... You did the right thing. You just have to bargain with them so they are willing to spend a fortune."
"But from what I can see, this is the highest they will go. So do not hesitate this ti. If they run out of patience and hire soone else, it will not be worth the loss."
Bai Yi scoffed sowhat speechlessly. The thought of Zuo Jiangqin's attitude yesterday when she had refused to sign on the spot made her uncontrollably annoyed.
She raised her fingers, originally intending to reject it again, but then suddenly rembered sothing.
"..."
So, she changed her tune and rely asked.
"Where is this variety show going to be fild again?"
"The Golden Lion Mansion! There might be so occasional outdoor shoots, but I heard they are already setting up the venue..."
'Golden Lion Mansion...'
Indeed, Bai Yi recalled the sumr vacation internship that Sakuramiya Hitomi had ntioned to her earlier.
Her grades were not good, and she had not joined the Student Council or the Disciplinary Committee, so naturally, it was impossible for her to get such an internship opportunity.
'Doesn't that an Yan Huan is going to be sent off into a dazzling world to hang out with Ye Shiyu and Sakuramiya Hitomi?!'
'I am terrified that by the ti sumr vacation is over, Yan Huan will have already been molded entirely into their shape!!'
Thinking this, Bai the Pufferfish Yi hesitated no longer. She simply picked up her phone and solemnly typed three words back to Zuo Jiangqin.
"I'll take it."
The Culture Festival would last for a few days, but generally speaking, parents would only co to visit on the first day.
After all, parents were not completely free every day. Being able to spare a single day to drop by was already quite good.
The remaining ti served as a rare entertainnt period where students could detach and relax. After all, they would have to study hard for a good while afterward to prepare for the final exams.
But for the Student Council, and especially for Yan Huan, he really did not have the leisure to enjoy the Culture Festival.
How to put it...
It was like a chef; no matter what rare delicacies he prepared, once they were served on the table, he would be the one with the least appetite.
It was the sa for Yan Huan.
The perspective of a planner was different from that of a participant. Not to ntion, he was also distracted by dealing with the Modifier, so naturally, he did not enjoy it much.
Being able to have a few days of calm—without having to run all over the place dealing with endless, cunning complications—was good enough.
Fortunately, he got to enjoy precisely this sort of treatnt over the next few days.
Ye Shiyu felt that she had won, and coupled with her desire to turn over a new leaf, she was incredibly well-behaved.
Yan Huan had not found a breakthrough point for Sakuramiya's Jiejiè. Since the death of Perfect Sakuranomiya, the only noteworthy clue he had gained was regarding Petite Hitomi and the others who were not present at the ti.
But right now, he had no good reason to enter the Jiejiè, so he could only make plans for later.
Bai Yi was busy with work these past few days, supposedly recording a new song and filming an MV, so she ssaged Yan Huan much less on Plane. Every ssage ca in the middle of the night; Yan Huan would reply in the morning, and she would not respond until the afternoon, which clearly demonstrated how ssed up her schedule was during this period.
As for Aruiya...
Well, finals were coming up, so she was strictly ordered by Elvira to study hard.
Furthermore, he did not know if Aruiya had said sothing to her mother, but it led Heather to constantly beat around the bush, asking Yan Huan what exactly An Le had taught her.
About this matter, Yan Huan did not know, nor did he dare to speak of it.
Because he had a sneaking suspicion that whatever An Le taught her was definitely not anything wholeso.
As for Sister Tong, it seed there was so business in the underworld recently. She sent Yan Huan a ssage saying she would disappear for a few days.
Yan Huan asked, but she did not specify what it was about, though it seed to be related to Nara.
However, there was one piece of good news:
An Le was coming back to the South Ward!
After delaying for a day or two, her parents had finally gone back to the hospital, leaving her ho alone again.
Therefore, she naturally ran straight back to live together in Yan Huan's ho.
Sunday, evening, South Ward, Yan Huan's rental apartnt.
Ever since An Le arrived ho at dusk, the lights in Yan Huan's room had not been turned on once.
"Haa... Ah..."
Drenched in fragrant sweat, An Le lay beside Yan Huan. Content and satisfied, she licked her lips, leaned into his arms, and murmured,
"Xiao Huan... that felt so... so good..."
Beside her, Yan Huan's eyes were wide open, staring blankly in a daze.
Only at this mont was he truly certain...
What a true high-tier match was.
Previously, he had actually been a little bewildered. He had invested so much into his Fertility attribute; how could he still be as inadequate as a raw recruit in front of An Le?
It was only after encountering Sister Tong that he realized...
He was actually formidable enough, and Sister Tong was no novice either.
But in front of An Le, it really was not enough at all.
Of course, it could also be because An Le had been away from here for a full week that she acted like this...
In short, tonight was definitely more than enough.
"...We haven't eaten dinner. Aren't you hungry?"
Yan Huan helplessly swept his gaze over An Le, who was lying comfortably in the bedding, and glanced at the ti.
"Why don't you take a shower first, and I will order us sothing to eat?"
"Mhm..."
An Le got up docilely, but seeing that Yan Huan was about to order takeout, she imdiately hugged him and said,
"I brought noodles and vegetables. Don't waste money ordering takeout. I will go cook right now... Xiao Huan, you go take a shower first. It will be ready to eat by the ti you co out~"
Yan Huan looked at An Le, who was resting her head on his shoulder in the dark, completely full of attachnt, and could not help but agree.
"...Alright."
"Mhm, I will go make it right now."
Seeing Yan Huan agree, she finally sat up and slid out the side of the bed.
"Put on a jacket, An Le."
Yan Huan handed her a jacket. After taking it, An Le smiled sweetly at him.
"Okay!"
In the dark, Yan Huan watched as she skillfully picked up the many crumpled tissues and used wrappers scattered across the floor, tossing them into the trash bin.
To avoid any lingering slls, she pulled up the trash bags, tied them tightly, and tossed them by the front door.
Imdiately after, she gathered their clothes scattered on the floor one by one, carrying them out to place in the laundry basket, while tossing their undergarnts into a basin in the bathroom.
After finishing all this, she finally draped the jacket over her shoulders, tied her black hair behind her head, and went to the living room to open the refrigerator and prepare dinner.
The light from the refrigerator illuminated her flushed little face, clearly revealing the strands of black hair plastered to her temples by sweat.
"Green onions, lard, and vegetables... Mhm... I will also fry an egg for Xiao Huan..."
Yan Huan watched her carefully counting the ingredients she needed. After a long while, he slowly got up to go to the bathroom and rinse his body first.
By the ti he blow-dried his hair and ca out, the outer room was already brightly lit.
An Le, wearing an apron, was stirring noodles on the induction cooker near the door. Myau-chan and Little Finger were lying on the coffee table watching TV.
Hearing the bathroom door open, An Le turned her head and smiled faintly.
"It will be ready soon, Xiao Huan~"
"I turned up the water temperature, so we have to wait for it to heat up for a bit. Let's take a rest after eating."
"Mhm, sounds good..."
An Le liked to take a shower at a very high temperature. If she used the temperature Yan Huan had previously washed with, she could only shower for a short while.
After Yan Huan noticed this, he would turn up the water heater's temperature every ti An Le ca over.
While An Le scooped the noodles out and placed them into bowls with seasoning, Yan Huan wrung out their hand-washed undergarnts, bringing them out to hang dry.
At the sa ti, he tossed the clothes from the laundry basket into the washing machine, poured in detergent, and started the wash.
"Rumble rumble~"
Just like that, accompanied by the spinning sound of the washing machine, two bowls of deliciously fragrant, steaming noodles were set on the table.
An Le handed him a pair of chopsticks. As she sat down, she noticed the hanging undergarnts. She was just about to turn her head and say sothing when Yan Huan, acting with foresight, reached out, pinched her cheek, and interrupted her.
"Hurry up and eat. We are definitely about to starve to death."
"Mmm... Xiao Huan..."
Despite her muffled words, An Le still blushed and lowered her head to start eating.
However, as Yan Huan ate, he caught sight of the "embroidered ball hairpin" resting on the washing machine, alongside two distinctly different flower bouquets stacked together.
Those were items An Le had taken out of her pockets earlier before placing her clothes into the laundry basket.
"..."
Seeing this, Yan Huan blinked and turned his head to look at An Le beside him, who looked perfectly normal and was rely eating her noodles.
After thinking for a second, he took the initiative to explain.
"An Le, that is..."
"Xiao Huan, it is almost twelve o'clock now. Do you not usually talk to Myau-chan about the Modifier on Sundays?"
Consequently, before he could say it, An Le spoke up and cut him off in advance.
"..."
Gazing at the warm smile on her face, Yan Huan seed to read her intent.
It was exactly as she had stated previously:
While here, she wanted to completely monopolize Yan Huan.
Therefore, she did not ask about it, nor did she let Yan Huan bring it up.
Just like this, it was enough.
"..."
Yan Huan instinctively felt this was not right, but looking back on it, even if he were to voice an explanation right now, it would be utterly useless in practice.
After all, he was currently like a mud Buddha crossing a river—unable to even save himself.
"ow~"
Right at that mont, Myau-chan heard their conversation. It eagerly trotted over to the table and spat out the Fragnts it had picked up earlier.
"We have enough Fragnts this week, ow. We can upgrade the Modifier!"
"Fragnts..."
Looking at the Fragnts, An Le blinked and then glanced sideways at Little Finger, who was also sluggishly slithering over.
She seed to have picked up a Fragnt like this before.
Little Finger had said that this thing could enhance the Index Finger's Modifier.
"Whoa, I didn't expect you to even stitch together the Index Finger's Modifier Ability... What kind of ultimate patchwork monster are you?"
Little Finger let out a yawn and complained.
"Shoo, shoo! What do you know? This is called taking the essence and discarding the dregs, ow!"
"Hehe..."
Little Finger could not be bothered to argue with a useless Hachimi. It rely took advantage of An Le and the others' focus on Myau-chan to stealthily use its tail and hook a bit of noodles from An Le's bowl to eat.
After taking a bite, it smacked its lips and judged.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. It tastes terrible. Your craftsmanship is really poor..."
An Le shot the useless snake a glare, but then looked at Yan Huan and asked,
"Does that an Myau-chan can devour the Fragnts of other Modifiers to evolve?"
"Mhm, that is indeed the case."
"Then if we find a way to make it drop Fragnts, couldn't I just keep making Little Finger drop Fragnts, so Xiao Huan's Modifier can keep evolving forever?"
Hearing An Le utter words akin to a living demon king with a perfectly normal expression, Little Finger's eyes went wide.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you talking about?! Are you trying to kill ?! An Le, you... you cannot do this!!"
"..."
Yan Huan pondered for a mont and looked at Myau-chan.
Myau-chan cast a disgusted look at Little Finger, who was thoroughly terrified beside it, and shook its head with regret.
"It is a pity, ow. It would be great if we could do that. However, if the Host has even the slightest knowledge of the inside story or any deliberate intention to drop a Fragnt, it absolutely won't drop..."
"Is that so..."
An Le looked sowhat disappointed, while Little Finger acted as if receiving a general pardon.
But the next second, staring at the woman before it who was about to monopolize its sleeping throne again right after returning, Myau-chan owed ominously.
"If you want to drop a Fragnt now, Yan Huan has to do sothing to abandon you, ow... For instance, forbidding you from coming to the rental apartnt in the South Ward from now on, hehehe..."
"!!"
Hearing this, An Le's little face imdiately went pale, looking as though she was genuinely frightened.
"Crack! Crack! Crack~"
And in an instant, Little Finger also sensed the fluctuations in her heart and began rolling around in agony.
"Ouch! Ouch!! Help!!"
"..."
Witnessing this, Yan Huan was speechless. He pulled An Le into a tight hug and viciously delivered a punch to the useless Hachimi.
"Stop scaring An Le!"
"ow?!"
Seeing the useless Hachimi punched until it was lying on its back with all four paws in the air, dizzy and disoriented on the table, Yan Huan finished the remaining noodle soup in his bowl, drinking it all in one gulp. He then wiped his lips and cut straight to the point.
"Alright, didn't you say you could evolve? Let
see..."
An Le stealthily glanced at Yan Huan's completely empty porcelain bowl, then lowered her head to look at the noodles in her own bowl, of which she had only taken a few bites, and blinked.
"What a pragmatic man, ow..."
Myau-chan, now thoroughly disciplined after being punched, sat back up and muttered this bitter complaint.
But in reality, Yan Huan could see that it was even more anxious than he was.
Earlier, when An Le and he were going for—um, however many rounds it was—it had been scratching at the door nonstop, trying to remind Yan Huan that midnight was approaching and that he needed to hurry out to upgrade the Modifier.
Now, it finally got what it wanted.
"Hum!!"
The very next second, Myau-chan finally took a deep breath and swallowed all the Fragnts in front of it into its belly in one giant gulp.
Modifier Fragnt refiner, activate!
In an instant, the multiple Fragnts either changed their Form or multiplied in number.
The sight left Little Finger beside them staring with a face full of utter astonishnt.
"Gurgle gurgle~"
Following that, Myau-chan fiercely opened its mouth again, spewing out dazzling golden streams of light.
That was the radiant glory of the Modifier's upgrade!
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