"I haven't really decided yet. Sister Shiyu, is there anywhere in particular you want to go?"
"Hmm, let
think about it."
Over there, Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu slowly turned around and left the campus.
anwhile, hidden in the shadows not far behind them, An Le's gaze followed their departing figures until they were out of sight before she finally looked away.
Turning her head to look at Spencer, who was still standing off to the side in a daze, An Le pursed her lips and asked with deep concern,
"Spencer, are you okay?"
"Ah? I... I'm fine."
Upon hearing An Le's voice, Spencer snapped back to reality, looking at her and shaking her head.
"..."
However, after a few seconds of silence, Spencer suddenly whispered,
"I'm sorry, An Le."
"Eh? Why... why are you suddenly apologizing to ?"
An Le was a bit confused, but Spencer squeezed her hand tightly and explained,
"Because... I think I finally understand how you felt back then..."
"Spencer..."
"It's just... my chest feels all tight. I'm a little angry, unhappy, and then... it feels like I can't breathe."
Spencer touched her chest and looked at An Le, asking,
"An Le, is this how you felt back then too?"
"..."
Looking at Spencer, who seed inexplicably sad, An Le pursed her lips, suddenly at a loss for words.
As the saying goes, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Therefore, after suffering pain, people often wish for the other party to feel that exact sa pain.
But right now, looking at the unusually quiet Spencer before her, An Le felt absolutely no pleasure of revenge.
Perhaps it was because she had long since stopped caring about it.
Ever since returning from Tokyo, the void in her heart had been more than filled by Yan Huan.
Of course, it could also be because she was equally annoyed by Ye Shiyu, naturally allowing her to empathize with Spencer.
"...Then Spencer, what do you plan to do?"
After thinking for a mont, An Le took a deep breath, raised her eyes to look at Spencer, and asked.
"Ah? What do I do? I... I don't know either..."
"What do you an you don't know? Aren't you completely aware of how you're feeling right now?"
"Yeah... because seeing Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu looking so intimate... it just... it inexplicably upsets ."
"Ah, I feel the exact sa way."
"Eh?"
Spencer blanked for a second, looking at An Le in front of her.
However, the usually gentle An Le now had a perfectly serious expression, seeming quite displeased herself.
But that displeasure was not directed at Yan Huan; it was directed at Ye Shiyu.
"You know what, Spencer? I have a way to make sure you no longer... no, to make sure we no longer have to suffer like this. Do you want to try it?"
"Wh-what is it?"
Spencer blinked blankly, looking at An Le in complete ignorance.
In front of An Le, she really was nothing more than a total rookie.
And the way An Le ntioned was not just empty talk; she had personally put it into practice before.
Previously, she had been left covered in bruises after being NTR'd by Spencer. So why did she feel absolutely nothing now, and instead felt a sense of pity and sympathy seeing Spencer unable to even get a single bite to eat?
Wasn't it simply because she was being well-fed and satisfied every single day, having her desires imnsely fulfilled?
So by that logic, wasn't the thod to relieve Spencer's suffering completely obvious?
"Let's secretly follow them and snatch Xiao Huan right back from under Ye Shiyu's eyelids."
And so, An Le dropped her shocking bombshell.
"S-snatch him back?"
Hearing this, Spencer blinked, but her expression quickly filled with determination.
"Alright! Hold on, I'm going to grab my weapons!"
With that said, Spencer rolled up her sleeves and scanned the surroundings, searching for a handy weapon.
Seeing her act like this, An Le sighed, looking thoroughly disappointed by her failure to live up to expectations.
"What... no, not like that! I an, do you still rember all those things I taught you before, Spencer?"
"Ah?!"
Upon hearing this, Spencer's small face instantly flushed red. She looked entirely incredulous as she stuttered out,
"Don't tell ... you want
to secretly do that kind of thing to Yan Huan while he's on a date with Ye Shiyu?!"
"So, are you going to do it?"
"I..."
Spencer's heartbeat continuously sped up. She was clearly feeling extrely embarrassed.
Yet, for so unknown reason, when this idea popped into her head, a bizarre sense of excitent and thrill surged in her heart.
Because of this, the pair of ox horns on her head beca even more radiant.
"I-I'm in!"
"Good. But as for how we do it, you need to listen to , okay?"
Unlike Spencer, who acted on whims and relied purely on brute force, An Le was a ticulous thinker.
Her motivation for doing this was primarily driven by jealousy and her distinct dislike for Ye Shiyu.
Previously in Tokyo, An Le had nearly destroyed both Xiao Huan and the world. Yet despite that, Xiao Huan had let bygones be bygones, even bringing out that special dicine to cure the side effects afflicting her body.
In private, An Le had asked Little Finger about it. It said it didn't know where Yan Huan's dicine ca from either, but it was undoubtedly incredibly precious.
This matter had left An Le feeling imnsely guilty ever since.
Furthermore, lately, Xiao Huan had been constantly... taking care of her every night.
Therefore, An Le resolved to help Xiao Huan resolve the Modifier problem. Even if he ended up falling for soone else later and abandoning her, she would still...
But what about that girl, Ye Shiyu?
Back in Kyoto, she had used her hypnosis on Xiao Huan, nearly causing him to be murdered by assassins.
One only had to think about it to know that she had definitely done that to Xiao Huan more than once.
How could anyone believe that soone like her had truly turned over a new leaf?
An Le didn't hesitate to suspect the worst: this was nothing more than Ye Shiyu's disguise.
Because of the existence of the other Modifier hosts like them, she couldn't forcefully impose herself on him, so she was resorting to softer tactics instead.
And what about Xiao Huan?
Since Xiao Huan needed to resolve the Modifiers, he couldn't afford to expose himself.
So, even if Xiao Huan knew that Ye Shiyu was just pretending, wouldn't he still have to swallow his grievances in silence, pretending to accept her and let bygones be bygones?
Where in the world could one find such a profound injustice?
Even if there was, An Le refused to let it happen to Xiao Huan ever again.
That was why, right now, An Le wanted to make Ye Shiyu suffer a bit.
"First of all, Spencer, Ye Shiyu absolutely cannot find out about this. But it's okay if Xiao Huan knows; he definitely won't tell Ye Shiyu..."
However, An Le was still far from losing her mind.
If their secret actions caused Ye Shiyu's Modifier to go out of control, wouldn't that just be creating more trouble for Xiao Huan?
The considerate An Le would never let such a thing happen.
"Then, when the ti cos, I'll be in the open, and you'll stay in the shadows. You find a chance to lure Xiao Huan away, and I'll show up to distract Ye Shiyu..."
With that settled, An Le leaned close to Spencer's ear, once again generously imparting all her profound knowledge.
"Mhm, mhm..."
And our top disciple, Spencer, was, as always... thoroughly blown away!
"It's just that I won't be by your side when it happens. Are you really going to be okay doing all those things I taught you?"
In the end, An Le's only worry was whether her top disciple's learning outcos were up to par.
She didn't want them to exhaust themselves plotting for half the day, only for Spencer to fail to execute any of it. That would be a complete waste of effort.
"N-no problem at all!"
However, over this recent period, aside from studying and preparing for the end of the term, this was exactly what Spencer had been cramming into her little head the most.
With a slightly flushed face, she shakily raised a thumbs up.
"I can do this!"
And just like that, the Great Yan Huan Retrieval Operation officially comnced!
"Achoo!"
anwhile, on Yan Huan's side, he had just gotten into a ride-hailing car with Ye Shiyu when he let out a sudden sneeze.
He rubbed his nose and looked out the window at the receding Far Moon Academy, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"Xiao Huan, have you caught a cold?"
"No..."
"Do you want to put on so more clothes? Let's go to a nearby mall and buy you a jacket."
"...There's really no need for that, Sister Shiyu."
"..."
Beside him, Ye Shiyu wasn't done yet. She pulled a tissue from the bag she carried and handed it to him.
"Ah, thank you, Sister Shiyu..."
But just as he spoke, Ye Shiyu tilted her head. She lowered her eyes slightly before looking back at Yan Huan. Unprecedentedly, her voice grew softer, with a slight hesitation in her words,
"Today... Xiao Huan, could you... just call ... Shiyu?"
"..."
Yan Huan blinked, looking at her.
But this slight hesitation of just a few seconds caused her to tilt her head and lean even closer to Yan Huan.
Thus, in Yan Huan's field of vision, her beautiful, expressionless face—with her eyes staring intently at him—magnified slightly.
"Could you?"
"Wait, Sister Shiyu..."
She tilted her head again, leaning in even closer.
"Could you?"
In an instant, she had crossed the midline of the car's backseat, ending up just inches away from Yan Huan.
At this mont, Yan Huan could even clearly see the pores on her face and the intricate, inviting texture of her lips.
However, her eyes continued to reflect only Yan Huan's figure, staring at him unblinking.
"...Alright, Shiyu."
Being stared at by her like this, Yan Huan really had no other choice but to agree.
"..."
And after Yan Huan agreed, a corner of her completely expressionless face finally cracked.
Her pink lips curled up slightly into a subtle curve.
To an outsider, it would look no different from before.
But only Yan Huan, who was re inches away from her, could see it clearly...
She was smiling. "That's wonderful, Xiao Huan."
"..."
Feeling the genuine joy radiating from the depths of her eyes, Yan Huan felt unprecedentedly flustered. Unable to look her in the eyes, he turned his head to look out the window.
Ye Shiyu made no further movents, rely sitting up straight and proper, as quiet as a porcelain doll.
It was only a few seconds later that Yan Huan realized she hadn't moved back to her own side of the seat. Instead, she was squeezed up right against him, practically pressing him into the corner.
"Shiyu... uh, do we really have to sit like this?"
Yan Huan glanced at the spacious empty seat beside her and asked helplessly.
"..."
Ye Shiyu turned her head to look at him with her expressionless face, then shifted her gaze away.
Hmm?
It seed like an incredibly overbearing action, but having spent so much ti with her, the familiar Yan Huan sensed that sothing was off.
If she wanted to be forceful, she wouldn't be this hesitant at all. Yet now...
Could it be that she had so sort of ulterior motive for doing this?
"Shiyu, do... do you want
to do sothing?"
After a mont of hesitation, Yan Huan decided to ask directly.
"..."
Her shoulders trembled slightly, as if Yan Huan's question had struck right at the core of her thoughts. She quietly turned her head to cast an expressionless glance at him.
A second later, she quickly turned her head away again.
This ti, the tips of her ears poking out from beneath her black hair had flushed a rosy red.
It looked like...
She was struggling with whether or not to say it.
Forget it, he might as well take the initiative and add fuel to the fire.
Since things had already co this far, Yan Huan decided to actively test the waters.
To his surprise, before he could even speak, Ye Shiyu actually took the initiative and spoke up first,
"Xiao Huan, your hands... they seem really big..."
Hmm?
Hearing this, Yan Huan paused slightly and looked down at his own hands.
He spread his fingers out, about to express his confusion, when he suddenly realized sothing.
He inhaled sharply...
Ye Shiyu, she...
Could it be that she wanted to have so physical contact with him, like holding hands, but was too embarrassed to just say it outright?
Ah, this...
'You were playing so wild after using hypnosis before, so why are you acting like a total rookie when you're not using it?'
'Does that even make sense?'
"..."
But turning his head, he saw her head slightly lowered, allowing her black hair to cascade down like a waterfall. From the side, he couldn't see her eyes, only her tightly pursed lips.
Her current timid, blossoming-bud appearance actually dragged Yan Huan right down to her rookie level, making him feel awkward and uncomfortable all over.
Because, to his own surprise, he actually found the current Ye Shiyu inexplicably cute.
It was the exact sa feeling as that ti in the bookstore.
At this mont, she shakily raised her own hand, spreading her slender fingers out just like Yan Huan had, and spoke haltingly,
"In comparison, mine seem to be..."
For so reason, seeing her like this, a mischievous urge bubbled up within Yan Huan's heart.
Right in the middle of Ye Shiyu's sentence, Yan Huan proactively lifted his hand and grabbed hers.
"Eep..."
Imdiately, he felt Ye Shiyu's body stiffen slightly.
Following that, her cool body temperature, feeling almost like ice cream, seeped into Yan Huan's palm.
He didn't know why, but her body temperature was always so cool.
In the past, whenever she touched him, he would break out in massive waves of goosebumps.
But now that he was touching her of his own accord, it instead brought a refreshing sensation akin to eating an ice pop in the dead of sumr.
Inexplicably, he felt an urge to pull her into his arms and hold her just to cool off.
"Indeed, in comparison, your hands are very small..."
Yan Huan said in a teasing tone. Ye Shiyu blanked slightly, stealing a glance at him before averting her eyes again.
She only gradually tightened her grip on Yan Huan's hand while giving a gentle nod,
"Mhm..."
After that, the entire backseat fell completely silent.
Neither of them let go of the other's hand; they rely focused entirely on feeling the contours and temperature of each other's palms.
A mont later, the car drove over a speed bump, causing the chassis to sway slightly.
True to the "Ye" in her na, Ye Shiyu seemingly transford into a light, weightless leaf, inadvertently leaning her entire body against Yan Huan's shoulder.
"..."
Yan Huan tried to look at her, but all he could see was her black hair snuggled against him and the elegant bridge of her nose.
"Hiss... hiss..."
As an aside, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the ride-hailing driver in the rearview mirror. The man's eyes were bloodshot as he clutched his chest, panting heavily.
Just like the last ti he took a ride-hailing car with An Le, the driver wore that sa horrifying expression that scread, "Well, congratulations to you!"
"..."
Fortunately, it wasn't long before they arrived at their destination and got out of the car.
After stepping out, Yan Huan subconsciously let go of Ye Shiyu's hand and began to survey his surroundings.
This was the North Sea District, a premier scenic spot for ocean viewing in Linn.
Although Linn was an artificial island nation and theoretically surrounded by the sea on all sides, only the North Sea District and a few of Linn's outer islands possessed beaches and truly excellent ocean views.
The rest were either ports, dirty urban sprawls, or obstructed by irregular city borders. Not a single spot was as picturesque as this place.
Behind him, the now hand-less Ye Shiyu showed a faint glimr of disappointnt in her eyes.
But right now, she no longer had the sa opportunity she did in the car to bravely speak up and hold Yan Huan's hand again.
"...Even though I've been here many tis, the North Sea District really is stunningly beautiful..."
Hearing Yan Huan's voice, Ye Shiyu snapped out of her daze and explained,
"Yes. There's a very nice ocean restaurant here, and later we can take a stroll around the area."
"That sounds wonderful."
Yan Huan had just agreed when he turned his head and suddenly felt that this area looked sowhat familiar.
Looking closely, behind a distant patch of lush greenery, he could vaguely make out an exceptionally spacious private beach.
That place...
Wasn't that the beach attached to the villa of Sakuramiya Hitomi's younger cousin, Sakuramiya Ryo?
They had gone to Sakuramiya Ryo's house for her birthday before, so Yan Huan still rembered it.
Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, shifting his gaze closer to their current direction.
Over here was a luxurious comrcial district.
At the northernmost tip of the comrcial district, he could faintly spot a few scattered islands on the horizon, along with the buildings built upon them...
Wasn't that place the finalized venue Sakuramiya had chosen for the High Table Dinner?
No wonder it was so expensive; the scenery was absolutely gorgeous.
"...This place can't be cheap, right?"
Then again, any place Ye Shiyu brought him to definitely wouldn't be so run-of-the-mill diner.
"Not necessarily. This way, Xiao Huan."
Ye Shiyu smoothly changed the subject, making a polite gesture of invitation to lead him in a certain direction.
They walked through a moderately quiet yet brightly lit street, eventually arriving in front of a modern glass building built halfway over the sea.
A waiter dressed in black approached them with a smile. After a few casual words from Ye Shiyu, the waiter smiled again and pushed open the restaurant doors for them.
It was only after the doors were opened that Yan Huan realized this restaurant was actually built underwater.
Inside the grand hall, constructed partially from glass and concrete, one could clearly see the shimring ocean waves illuminated by the setting sun above, as well as the profound depths of the water below.
Between the exterior lights of the restaurant, schools of fish could be seen faintly andering about, almost moving in ti with the classical music playing inside.
'Rich people really know how to enjoy themselves...'
Taking in the beautiful surroundings, Yan Huan felt he was gaining a deeper understanding of Ye Shiyu's tastes.
Just like him, she loved the sea.
It was right around dinnerti, so there were already quite a few patrons inside enjoying their als.
Seeing new arrivals, they inevitably stole glances, scrutinizing the newcors.
There wasn't any particular malice in it; they were just checking to see if it was an acquaintance, as most people who could afford to eat here ran in the sa circles.
Yet even against such aningless, neutral gazes, Ye Shiyu seed determined to act as Yan Huan's shield.
She suddenly grasped Yan Huan's hand and stepped in front of him, her powerful aura forcing the others to avert their eyes.
Only then did it suddenly dawn on Yan Huan:
Ye Shiyu was actually very good at taking care of people.
Moreover, being by her side actually provided a strong sense of security.
Because her aura was potent enough to envelop their entire surroundings, making it so you could only focus on her and no one else.
"..."
Only after doing all of this did she finally follow the waiter's lead to a reserved table situated right by the window.
She first pulled the chair out for Yan Huan before gracefully walking over to sit opposite him.
"This is my first ti seeing the sea from this angle. It feels so magical."
While waiting for the restaurant to prepare their pre-ordered dinner, Yan Huan rested his chin in his hand, gazing out at the ocean through the window as he voiced his awe.
"Yes, and the timing is just right... Any later, and it would be too dark to see anything."
Yet, despite her words, Ye Shiyu wasn't looking at the sea. Instead, her eyes were fixed directly on the young man in front of her.
"Yeah. It's truly rare... for things to be so quiet."
In truth, Yan Huan was probably referring to more than just the restaurant's ambiance.
He was reflecting on the fact that he was spending ti alone with Ye Shiyu.
For the first ti ever, there were no Modifiers and no terrifying feelings of dread—just absolute peace and quiet.
"As long as you like it, Xiao Huan."
Misunderstanding his aning, Ye Shiyu simply assud he was praising the restaurant.
"Oh, look at that jellyfish!"
At that exact mont, just as Ye Shiyu was staring at Yan Huan, his expression suddenly shifted with delight, and he pointed out the window beside her.
As his gaze shifted her way, Ye Shiyu hastily averted her eyes to look out the window, avoiding being caught staring at him.
Looking through the glass pane, she saw a translucent blue jellyfish drifting gracefully upwards right in front of her.
"Glp..."
Through her own reflection in the windowpane, Ye Shiyu stared blankly at the jellyfish.
Then, the corners of her mouth slowly curled upwards, revealing a serene, beautiful smile as she spoke to Yan Huan,
"It's so pretty..."
anwhile, Yan Huan was still resting his chin on his hand, looking toward the window in front of her. Yet, his gaze didn't penetrate the glass; it rely lingered on the reflection upon it.
He watched the faint smile on the young girl's face reflected in the glass, and after a mont of silence, he nodded in agreent,
"Yeah, truly beautiful."
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