"President? President, are you there? Wuwu..."
In the darkness, the blood rushed back to Yan Huan's brain. He almost instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Petite Hitomi.
Because of Petite Hitomi's tiny stature, her voice was much higher-pitched than the other Sakuramiyas.
Moreover, judging by the sound of it, she was incredibly panicked. Sothing must have happened.
"..."
Yan Huan glanced down at An Le in his arms. Her face was slightly flushed and filled with confusion. His heart imdiately skipped a beat.
He rubbed the space between his eyebrows and had no choice but to explain in a whisper,
"While you were away earlier, didn't I go into Sakuramiya's Barrier to deal with the Perfect Sakuramiya situation? The other Sakuramiyas gave
a cara that can only be used for communication..."
Hearing this, An Le blinked. Before she could speak, Petite Hitomi seed to vaguely catch his voice through the device and hurriedly cried out,
"President! I hear your voice! Are you there?!"
"Hiss..."
Yan Huan could only scramble out of bed and hurry over to the desk.
He switched on the table lamp, letting his eyes adjust to the sudden light, before picking up the faintly glowing cara.
"Sakuramiya?"
"Ah, President! Waaah, thank goodness, I finally managed to contact you..."
On the other end, the mont Petite Hitomi heard Yan Huan's voice, she sounded incredibly wronged.
She hurriedly recounted the horrors they had just encountered, but her tearful tone made it sound more like she was acting coy,
"You have no idea what just happened inside the Barrier... It was so, so scary... These weird humanoid monsters suddenly appeared, and we almost... Waaaah!"
"Don't cry. What monsters? Tell
what happened, take it slow."
Yan Huan furrowed his brows. The unease he felt earlier about Self-Doubting Sakuramiya going on stage suddenly resurfaced in his heart.
He patiently soothed her emotions, his voice gentle like he was coaxing a child, which gradually helped Petite Hitomi calm down...
This also caused An Le, who was sitting on the bed behind him clutching the bedding over her body, to unconsciously puff out her cheeks.
"Rustle... rustle..."
Yan Huan listened closely to the audio from the surveillance caras and quickly grasped the entire situation on their end.
A countdown tir, an earthquake, and...
Humanoid monsters?
Yan Huan rubbed the space between his eyebrows, his mind racing.
He didn't think the mutations within the Barrier were caused by external factors; there was a high probability they originated from the Sakuramiyas themselves.
Moreover, recalling Perfect Sakuramiya's dying words that choosing Self-Doubting Sakuramiya was the sa as choosing her, Yan Huan believed the current anomaly in the Barrier was caused by Self-Doubting Sakuramiya, not the deceased Perfect Sakuramiya.
"I roughly understand the situation. How about this, we... Hiss!"
As he spoke, a sudden numbness ran through Yan Huan's body, causing him to gasp in shock.
He turned his head in disbelief, only to see An Le with her slightly flushed face, blinking her bright and sparkling eyes. She was leaning against his shoulder, staring at him with a completely innocent expression.
She didn't make a single sound, clearly not wanting the Sakuramiyas to know she was there.
But...
The next second, she gently kissed his shoulder, trailing her lips down Yan Huan's muscles inch by inch until she disappeared from his field of vision.
"..."
She was still misbehaving!!
And...
"President, what's wrong?"
Inside the Barrier, within the dimly lit common area, Cool Sakuramiya also looked toward the cara.
Clearly, both she and Petite Hitomi had caught the sudden pitch shift in Yan Huan's voice just now.
"...It's nothing, hiss... I was just saying that I'll need to enter the Barrier to check on the specific situation. Let's et up first... hiss... Where are you right now?"
When Yan Huan spoke again, his voice had dropped a few octaves, seemingly hiding a difficult struggle beneath his words.
"..."
Petite Hitomi felt that sothing was off, but this particular subject fell completely into her blind spot of knowledge.
She could only look at Cool Sakuramiya beside her, only to see her frowning as if deep in thought.
After rubbing her chin in thought for a few seconds, Cool Sakuramiya's eyes lit up slightly. She raised her index finger and declared, convinced,
"Yan Huan must be working out, right?"
"Oh, oh..."
Petite Hitomi nodded, taking her word for it.
anwhile, Yan Huan, who was currently undergoing a severe test of endurance, had his body's blood flow being fiercely contested between his upper and lower halves. However, his brain was clearly winning the tug-of-war for now.
"Regarding the aning of that countdown tir... do you guys know if any of the Barriers share the exact sa flow of ti as reality?"
"Ah, there is! It's right inside the school, actually. It's Frail Sakuramiya's Barrier..."
"Hiss..."
At this mont, Yan Huan took the opportunity to glance down. Ignorance was bliss, because the mont he looked, a significant portion of blood was instantly stolen away from his brain.
He rubbed the space between his eyebrows, his speech slowing down considerably.
"Then can you make it there? We'll et up there tomorrow..."
"We can, it's just that... Self-Doubting Sakuramiya..."
"It's fine. She just sent a ssage saying she needs to inspect the High Table Dinner venue tomorrow. She's already invited a lot of people over today..."
"Okay then, President, see you tomorrow!"
By the end of the conversation, Petite Hitomi couldn't hide her joy.
It seed that simply talking to Yan Huan was enough to significantly improve her mood.
But this was undoubtedly a massive provocation to An Le. Instantly, Yan Huan felt An Le exert even more effort.
"Hiss!"
Seeing the situation escalate, Yan Huan hastily shut off the cara in his hand.
He scooped up An Le, who was sitting duck-style on the floor before him, wrapping his arms around her waist, and tossed her right back onto the bed.
"Creak~"
Following that, with a darkened expression, he glared down at An Le beneath him, who was still blinking with complete innocence.
However, despite being treated so roughly, she didn't show the slightest hint of annoyance. Instead, she continued to gaze up at him cutely.
She gently licked her lips, then tilted her head and spoke in an incredibly provocative tone,
"That was so dangerous just now. Vice-President Sakuramiya almost found out..."
Yan Huan knew perfectly well that she was just trying to tempt him into treating her rcilessly.
"Yeah, I really need to punish you properly..."
"Wuwu... Xiao Huan, so... so scary..."
Despite her words, her face held not a single ounce of fear; instead, it was brimming with undisguised...
Anticipation!
Damn it, this girl An Le was simply too...
Gritting his teeth, Yan Huan gently extended his sinful hands toward An Le.
The next day, Far Moon Academy.
"Ah, just leave this matter to , Yabashi."
"Uh, but Vice-President Sakuramiya..."
"..."
"Yurianna, I've already taken care of that matter too~"
"Huh? I... I just received the official docunts from the President!"
"..."
"Ashley..."
"..."
Noon, inside the Student Council Office.
Yurianna held several dozen UNO cards in her hand, utterly bored. Tilting her head, looking as if life was aningless, she complained to Yabashi Ki,
"Before, whenever the President assigned even a little bit of work, I felt so exhausted. But now that there's nothing to do, it's suddenly so boring..."
"Well, wouldn't it be a good idea for you to study, then? The final exams are coming up soon, after all. Even the President is revising."
Yabashi Ki adjusted his glasses and nonchalantly played a ' 4' card.
Beside them, Ashley shot him a death glare. After drawing four cards, she said,
"The President has to tutor Spencer, so it can't be helped. But why is Vice-President Sakuramiya suddenly acting so hyper lately? She insists on helping with absolutely everything."
"Isn't she already swamped with the High Table Dinner? Why is she taking on the final exams and the regular etings on top of it all?"
After Ashley played a blue number card, Yurianna looked toward the President's seat and guessed,
"Maybe she noticed the President has been exhausted lately and wants to share his burden?"
"..."
Yet in the President's seat, Yan Huan sat cross-legged like a Buddha, closing his eyes to rest.
Bathed in the sunlight streaming through the window, he looked as if he was absorbing the very essence of the heavens and earth.
In reality, he was eavesdropping on Sakuramiya Hitomi and the other Student Council mbers discussing the Examination Room arrangents downstairs.
"In the future, please pay attention to aesthetics when putting up notices. Post them in order from left to right, top to bottom. Don't just slap them onto any empty space you see..."
"Uh, o-okay."
"Look at where my asuring tape is. Ten centiters from the outermost edge is optimal, and there should be a five-centiter gap between each notice..."
"Huh?"
The other students exchanged glances, but they still followed Sakuramiya Hitomi's instructions. Rulers in hand, they asured the distance for each one as they put up the various official docunts and notices. "..."
Upstairs, Yan Huan opened his eyes. He stood up and approached the window side, glancing down below.
Below, Sakuramiya Hitomi, wearing a small Western hat, was watching them post the notices.
As she watched, her mobile phone rang again.
"Ring~"
"Hello... Ah, you guys have already arrived at the hotel? Hey, wait, don't start the setup yet. Wait until I get there and supervise before you begin..."
"..."
"Mhm, so of the details weren't quite perfect before. I thought it over again last night and want to make a few additions..."
"..."
"I know this is already the third ti we've added things, but I still hope..."
"..."
Still on the phone, Sakuramiya Hitomi hurried toward the school gate, seemingly rushing off to the High Table Dinner hotel in the North Sea District right this minute.
Watching her leave, the expression on Yan Huan's face grew increasingly peculiar. Still, he turned back and picked up the jacket draped over his chair.
"I have sothing to take care of. I won't be eating lunch with you guys today."
"Oh, alright, President."
Yan Huan left the Student Council Office, resolute and quick, jogging straight toward the Equipnt Room.
"Click~"
The door opened, revealing the sa old furnishings inside.
Yan Huan narrowed his eyes and scanned the room, but found no sign of Petite Hitomi or Cool Sakuramiya...
'Have they not arrived yet?'
Yan Huan closed the door and glanced down at the ti on his mobile phone.
"Beep."
However, the exact mont he shut the door, a golden countdown tir abruptly materialized on the wall...
486:27:32
'A countdown in hours?'
Yan Huan blinked, doing so quick ntal math.
'Twenty days?'
Frowning, Yan Huan opened his calendar and checked the dates.
'More than two weeks until the final exams, and then after the finals...'
'The High Table Dinner?'
Yan Huan quickly raised his eyes to look at the countdown tir on the wall. Only then did he suddenly realize that this tir was counting down to the High Table Dinner.
'No...'
'To be precise, it's not counting down to the High Table Dinner itself, but to the start of the ball!'
'But what aning does this thing have?'
'Could it be that Self-Doubting Sakuramiya is looking forward to the ball so much that she set up an alarm-like countdown in the Barrier to remind herself to seize the ti and get everything ready?'
"Bang!"
Right at that mont, a loud noise erupted from the Equipnt Room door.
The doorknob trembled slightly, and the very next second, the door burst wide open.
"Waaaah!!"
"Quick, close the door!!"
As soon as the door swung open, the panicked and helpless figures of Petite Hitomi and Cool Sakuramiya were revealed outside.
Both of their faces were pale as they forcefully scrambled into the Barrier.
"Sakuramiya..."
"Ah, President!"
The mont they saw Yan Huan, joy instantly washed over their faces, acting as if they had just found their absolute mainstay.
However, it was precisely this brief mont of distraction that caused them to forget to shut the door imdiately.
"Crack!"
Behind them, an incredibly pitch-black hand violently grabbed the edge of the door.
Following that, the owner of the hand slowly poked its head into the Barrier.
Yan Huan could see that the shadowy figure, which had lacked facial features just yesterday, now displayed the distinct contours of a nose and eyes. The cherry-blossom pink at the ends of its long hair was incredibly conspicuous, instantly drawing his attention.
"Gurgle~"
"Waaah! The monster got in!!"
'A monster?'
Petite Hitomi was so terrified by the thing that she flew behind Yan Huan's head in a panicked frenzy, desperately trying to burrow into his collar.
But the larger Cool Sakuramiya fared much worse. She was so frightened that she froze perfectly still on the spot.
Watching the faceless silhouette slip inside and tilt its head as it approached Cool Sakuramiya, Yan Huan's pupils shrank, and he took the initiative to sprint toward her.
"Hiss!"
Having kissed last night, Yan Huan activated his Kiss God ability and yanked Cool Sakuramiya behind him.
However, just as Yan Huan clenched his fists, whipped around with a ferocious glare, and prepared to resort to violence against the monster before him, the creature stared at him and strangely remained completely motionless.
"President..."
Its hoarse voice was squeezed out bit by bit from the depths of its throat, faintly carrying a sense of shyness and childish delight.
"Waaah, you're not allowed to hurt the President! Take this!!"
Yan Huan blanked for a second. Just as he was about to speak, Cool Sakuramiya, gritting her teeth, lunged out from behind him wielding a baseball bat and violently smashed it over the monster's head.
"Whack!"
Following the crisp sound, the monster proved to be as fragile as a potato chip. Its entire head caved in completely.
"Crack..."
Subsequently, cracks began to web across the monster's body until it could no longer even stand. It collapsed onto the floor and disintegrated into flying ash.
Yan Huan stared blankly at the fallen monster in front of him. He hadn't expected this entity to be so incredibly weak.
Because Cool Sakuramiya seed to have inherited the frailty of Sakuramiya's main body, the force behind that swing had been roughly equivalent to a primary school student's. Yet, it actually managed to bludgeon the 'monster' right in front of them to death?
"Buzz..."
But to Yan Huan's absolute surprise, after the monster turned to ash, it transford into a peculiar blank mask—just like the other Sakuramiyas.
"...Aweso, we beat her!"
Petite Hitomi flew out and perched on Yan Huan's head, clenching her delicate feminine fists.
"I didn't expect her to be so fragile, either? If I had known, we wouldn't have needed to run away earlier..."
Cool Sakuramiya stared at the baseball bat in her hands, her face full of astonishnt.
Only Yan Huan frowned. He crouched down and picked up the plain mask that had appeared among the scattered ashes.
"She was a Sakuramiya too."
Holding the mask gently, Yan Huan turned back to Cool Sakuramiya and Petite Hitomi and declared.
"Huh?"
"Seriously..."
Yan Huan nodded. He pointed at the hair that was still turning to ash and the mask in his hand,
"Just like you guys, she had Hitomi's traits, but..."
Yan Huan currently couldn't figure out where she had co from. Several possibilities flashed through his mind, so he asked,
"Is it possible that a Sakuramiya previously killed by Perfect Sakuramiya has resurrected?"
"...Hmm, it doesn't look like it."
However, after inspecting it, both Sakuramiyas shook their heads in unison.
This surprised Yan Huan, so he couldn't help but ask,
"How can you be so certain?"
"Well, because... President, you might not know this, but even though all of us Sakuramiyas look very much like Hitomi and can easily impersonate one another, our essence—which is our mask—absolutely never lies."
Petite Hitomi flew in front of Yan Huan and pressed a hand over her chest, saying,
"Every single Sakuramiya's mask is completely unique. Therefore, as long as we check the mask, we can confirm a Sakuramiya's true identity."
As she spoke, she turned to look at the blank mask in Yan Huan's hand—which looked like an unfired piece of clay pottery—tilted her head, and added,
"I have a rough idea of which Sakuramiyas have died, and their masks definitely didn't look like this..."
"Is that so?"
Petite Hitomi landed in the palm of Yan Huan's hand. She curiously poked the pure white mask, her expression growing even more puzzled.
"Not only does this mask lack color and shape, but it's also much, much smaller than ours. It looks almost like..."
She didn't finish her sentence. Behind her, Cool Sakuramiya crouched down, pinching her chin as she finished the thought,
"Like a newly born Sakuramiya."
"...But Hitomi shouldn't have any consciousness right now. Why would she suddenly decide to create a new Sakuramiya?"
Yan Huan was confused, and the other two Sakuramiyas were even more baffled.
"We don't know either... But if you look closely, the structure of her mask is different from ours. Ours are all Noh masks, but I have no idea what kind of mask hers is..."
Hearing her say this, Yan Huan's scalp suddenly tingled with shock.
Because he abruptly thought of a terrifying possibility,
"What if..."
"What if these new Sakuramiyas aren't being created by Hitomi, but by Self-Doubting Sakuramiya?"
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