“Uh... Sothing like this should be child's play for you, right? Why’d you even go through the trouble of sneaking it back?”
Monday night, Luoqiao District, at An Le’s ho.
On the computer desk, Little Finger flicked its tongue and used its tail to lift a page of the book Pleasure Purgatory, then turned to look at An Le, who was drying her hair.
An Le blinked, her face turning slightly red, and said sheepishly,
“Because this book... is a story I co-wrote with a teacher from a forum back then. So, looking at it now... is a bit embarrassing.”
“Huh?”
Little Finger paused for a mont, then turned to look at the exquisite cover. The credits read:
Illustration: Ice Cream Jelly
Script: Ping Xi
It then glanced at the coin pendant hanging from An Le’s backpack—four coins tied together, each engraved with a character:
"Ping An Xi Le" (Peace, Safety, Joy, and Happiness)
Little Finger flicked its tongue again and muttered,
“So that’s why... No wonder. I was wondering why a dirty-minded demon like you was acting all pure and bashful—turns out you were just embarrassed by your own work...”
Saying that, it beca quite interested and flipped to the first page, carefully reading from the beginning.
“D-Don’t say that... Even though no one knew back then... especially with Little Huan around, it just feels so embarrassing.”
An Le covered her face, her watery eyes peeking through her fingers at Little Finger, then she explained,
“I used to visit a forum called Changganli a lot—it was full of like-minded people who loved creating ‘childhood sweetheart’ stories, whether novels or short comics...
“I wrote quite a few pieces there and had a bit of a reputation, so this teacher asked if I wanted to collaborate on a work to submit to the Linn Exhibition...”
Little Finger blinked and let out a “huh.”
“But I didn’t see any contacts saved in your Plane app.”
An Le smiled helplessly and explained,
“I didn’t even have Plane back then—we just communicated on the forum.
“We lost touch a long ti ago. I was still young at the ti, and when she found out my age, she freaked out, thinking she had corrupted a minor and would get arrested...
“That teacher has since ‘gone ashore’ and is now a well-known illustrator in the industry. I think her artist na is sothing like... ‘Sweet Parfait’...”
Little Finger wasn’t too interested in this part. It just figured the teacher was probably a hardcore childhood sweetheart enthusiast, just like An Le.
“Little Finger, help
grab my comb, it’s right in front of the mirror...”
Little Finger glanced toward the mirror and instantly disappeared, reappearing right in front of it.
It wrapped itself around the comb, then returned to An Le’s shoulder in a flash.
“Here.”
But this little trick scared An Le—her mouth dropped open in shock.
“L-Little Finger... You can teleport?!”
“Hah? You’re just noticing this now? As long as I don’t move too far away from you, I can teleport freely. I can even choose whether or not others can see .”
With a “what a newbie” expression, Little Finger tossed the comb into her hand before instantly reappearing in front of the book again.
“I’ve tested it before. Within a 15-ter radius around you, I can move however I want.”
“I... I see...”
Hearing this, Little Finger smirked smugly and said,
“Hmph, I am the smartest Little Finger—this is my unique ability.”
“That’s amazing.”
An Le smiled slightly and praised it without hesitation.
Little Finger felt secretly pleased but kept a straight face.
Instead, it snorted and, while reading through the book, muttered,
“Ew, I gotta admit, this story is kinda interesting. The girl’s got quite the imagination just for XX...”
“I already said... stop reading it out loud...”
The book told the story of a female pharmacist who, after quitting her job in the big city, was forced to return to her hotown. There, she reunited with her childhood friend.
Initially drained by life and in a slump, the female lead found herself slowly healed by the male lead. He helped her escape from the anxiety and burnout of city life, and she began to develop romantic feelings for him.
Just as she was ready to move on from her past and embrace a new life with him, she unexpectedly witnessed other won in the town confessing to him.
Although the male lead said he needed ti to think, the female lead felt a crushing despair—her White Moonlight was about to be taken away.
So, in a desperate bid to keep him, she used her pharmaceutical expertise to create a drug that induced euphoria, hoping to use it to make him stay.
However, the drug ended up trapping them both in an endless cycle of pleasure purgatory~
Little Finger narrated the book’s ending like a storyteller and casually closed it, then looked over at An Le.
Only to see her face completely flushed, head buried in her pillow, with only a pair of misty eyes peeking out at Little Finger.
“Ugh... S-Stop reading it out loud...”
Little Finger swayed its tail slightly, puzzled.
“No, but seriously, sis. You already know how to get Yan Huan, right? If you just copied what’s in the book, you’d be living the good life by now...”
“What are you even saying, Little Finger! T-This is just a fictional story! Are you turning into Spencer now, unable to tell fantasy from reality?”
Little Finger rolled its eyes and muttered,
“Sotis, I really wish you’d learn a thing or two from Spencer. That guy may be brainless, but his courage puts you to sha. When we went to the Student Council Office, he only needed one sentence to counter what you hesitated over for two whole months...”
At the ntion of this, An Le’s eyes lit up.
“So... Spencer did say he’d help ...”
“Heh, ever heard of ‘rely on yourself, not others’? And be honest—since reconnecting, has Yan Huan shown you any special feelings? At best, he treats you like a friend...”
Little Finger clicked its tongue and continued,
“anwhile, Ying Gong Tong and him? Perfect harmony, ‘a husband sings, the wife follows.’ And now, there’s so new pale-skinned beauty idol in the picture too. My god... everyone’s better than you—how are you even gonna compete?”
Ordinary girls in this world were one thing, but the real problem was that terrifying girl with Index Finger by her side—Ye Shiyu.
Even Little Finger had no idea how to beat Ye Shiyu.
It had tried convincing An Le to like soone else, but she wouldn’t budge...
And, well, it had to admit, Yan Huan’s aura was downright mouthwatering.
That guy just had to stand there, and a doujin plot would start unfolding around him. No wonder Index Finger had taken an interest in him, too.
But hey, Index Finger, no matter how strong you are, I, Little Finger, am no pushover either.
anwhile, An Le fell into silence at Little Finger’s words.
Little Huan was still as kind to her as before—he often ca to her class to see her and sent her Plane ssages.
She could even tell... that Yan Huan had deliberately let the childhood sweetheart story leak out.
Even though she had tead up with the "notorious" Spencer to form the Hentai Club, no one had mocked her for it.
At least, not on the surface...
An Le understood that it was all because of one phrase—“childhood sweetheart”—but that was the extent of it.
Closer than friends, but nowhere near lovers.
This kind of relationship...
She had clearly told herself before—as long as she and Little Huan reconnected, she would be satisfied.
Whether he liked her or not was his choice. She wouldn’t force it.
But now that things had truly turned out this way, her heart had grown greedy, longing to take another step forward.
What she really wanted...
Was to have Little Huan, wasn’t it?
"Knock knock knock~"
As An Le pressed her lips together, interrogating herself about her own desires, Little Finger instantly sensed the shift in her emotions.
A thick shadow spread forth, and the pink heart-shaped mark on Little Finger’s back suddenly lit up.
It flicked its tongue but pretended not to notice anything, saying casually,
“Well, whatever, just go with the flow. I won’t say anything more—just do your best.
“But after looking at your doujin, I actually got a little inspiration. I want to test sothing out. Do we have any black tea at ho? Bring
a cup.”
An Le snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the white snake in front of her.
“Huh? Black tea? I don’t think we have any... How about Pu’er?”
“Mm, actually, any liquid will do. Black tea just works a little better...”
“I see...”
An Le nodded and brought over a cup of hot water.
Little Finger opened its fangs and bit the edge of the cup.
A single drop of pink, illusory liquid fell into the water, then vanished without a trace.
Little Finger examined the cup, muttering,
“Huh, it actually worked.”
“It did? W-What does it do?”
Little Finger gave An Le a sideways glance and said,
“Not much. For example, if your parents drank it, their relationship would improve. Who knows? Maybe you’d end up with a little brother or sister.”
“T-That’s just like in my douj—”
Little Finger yawned sleepily, nodded, and said,
“Whatever, it’s just an experint. As long as it works, that’s enough. I’m a bit tired, so I’ll rest now. You can deal with it however you want.”
“Huh? Oh...”
In an instant, Little Finger vanished as if it had never existed.
Only An Le remained, staring at the cup of water that seed as ordinary as ever.
After a mont of silence, she picked it up and walked toward the bathroom, seemingly intending to pour it out.
"Click~"
As the bedroom door opened, the gecko in its enclosure stared blankly at its owner leaving the room.
But not long after, An Le hesitantly, almost guiltily, crept back in and placed the cup back on the desk—right next to her doujin.
The transparent liquid inside the cup rippled slightly—not a drop more, not a drop less.
Under the room’s lighting, the title Pleasure Purgatory on the cover of the doujin seed to magnify by an entire size.
“Nara, do we have a basent in this house?”
“...?”
Nara, who was unboxing a surveillance cara, froze for a mont. She turned to look at Ying Gong Tong, who was lying on the large bed in her nightgown, and blinked.
“Why are you suddenly asking that, Miss Ying Gong?”
“Just curious.”
Ying Gong Tong lay on her side under the blankets, reading a book under the bedside lamp.
This made Nara even more intrigued.
The Ojou-sama was always diligent in her studies, but this didn’t look like studying at all.
What was she reading?
Nara quickly put down the surveillance cara and walked to the bedside.
Curiously, she peeked at the title of the book—
And imdiately, her face darkened.
“W-What the hell are you reading?!”
“Huh?”
Ying Gong Tong sat up and glanced at the book in her hands. Then, she looked at Nara and said,
“Isn’t it obvious? A doujin.”
“...I can’t believe you just admitted that so shalessly, Miss Ying Gong.”
At this, Ying Gong Tong chuckled dismissively, covering her mouth as she gazed at Nara with the kind of expression one would use to look at an idiot cousin.
“Nara, we’re all adults now, you know~ Do you think I’m the kind of naive Ojou-sama who can’t tell fantasy from reality? A sheltered girl who’s completely clueless about biology? You’re overreacting.”
Nara rubbed her temples, sighed, and asked,
“So then, why were you asking about a basent?”
“Mm... I was just thinking—if we locked the Student Council President in a basent, wouldn’t that make things much easier? Not only would I have complete control over him, but I could also protect him. It’s the perfect two-in-one solution.”
“That’s exactly what it ans to not know the difference between fantasy and reality, you idiot!!”
“Eh?”
Nara snatched the doujin from Ying Gong Tong’s hands.
She imdiately lunged forward to take it back, but Nara simply pressed a single finger against her forehead and pushed her right back down onto the bed.
“What are you doing, Nara?!”
“If your parents or your older siblings ever found out about this, before they even uncovered my bait-and-switch sche, everyone in this mansion—including —would be kicked out!”
Ying Gong Tong opened her mouth, but she didn’t try to snatch the book back.
After all, she had already read it several tis. With her genius-level mory, she had practically morized every line and scene.
“...Is it really that serious? I just thought so of the ideas in it were worth referencing.”
“What kind of ‘reference value’ could a doujin possibly have?”
Rationally, Ying Gong Tong rubbed her chin and explained to Nara,
“My goals are twofold—one, to know everything about the President, and two, to protect him. But since our daily lives are so far apart, achieving even one of those things takes an imnse amount of effort...
“At this rate... I won’t be able to protect anything, will I?”
Her second sentence was more of a whisper, almost to herself. Nara didn’t catch it.
But then, Ying Gong Tong seed to arrive at an answer.
Looking at Nara, she said,
“And locking the President up would achieve both goals with minimal effort.”
Nara opened her mouth—
She really wanted to crack open this Ojou-sama’s head and see what the hell was going on inside.
"Do you really think that Yan Huan—or any normal person, for that matter—would ever agree to this? Don’t you understand the value of freedom, Miss Ying Gong?”
At these words, Ying Gong Tong simply shook her head and said,
“Freedom is rely a construct imagined by the human mind. Since absolute freedom doesn’t exist, its limits are ultimately dictated by people.”
She raised her fingers one by one, thodically laying out her reasoning.
“To you, a so-called underground chamber is just a confined, hidden space. But to , the concept of a ‘chamber’ can extend infinitely.
“As long as it remains sealed and controlled, then no matter how large it is, living inside is rely another form of captivity.”
Her fingers lifted one after another, stopping only at her middle finger.
“If I can create a space that appears identical to the outside world in the Student Council President’s eyes, yet is in fact completely enclosed and under my control, then I would have successfully trapped him in an underground chamber.”
Nara narrowed her eyes and sighed.
“This sounds like so extre social experint... It’s theoretically possible, but constructing a virtual chamber like this would demand an astronomical cost.
“You’d also have to raise your precious Yan Huan from infancy, reshaping his entire worldview from the start until your version of reality beca his common sense.”
Nara shook her head, spreading her hands.
“This kind of thing only happens in sci-fi movies. Even with the Ying Gong family’s vast resources, there’s no way they’d indulge your whims like this. Your real priority right now is sleep, Miss. Stop dreaming.”
“......”
She had expected these words to shatter Ying Gong Tong’s absurd delusions.
But instead, the girl rely fell silent for a mont before smiling slightly and looking up to ask,
“Who said I need my family’s resources to do it?”
“......”
Nara froze for a mont, then covered her face in exasperation.
“Miss, I think you’re actually just sleep-deprived and starting to hallucinate... Go to bed already. You have to wake up early tomorrow.”
“Yes, yes~ Goodnight, Nara.”
Oddly enough, Ying Gong Tong seed to be in a rather good mood, as if she had figured sothing out.
Nara sighed, turned off the lights, and walked toward the door.
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly rembered sothing and turned back.
“Oh, right, Miss. Your cousin, Miss Liang, said she wants to visit this Friday.”
“Let her co. Middle schoolers don’t have classes on Friday afternoons. She’ll be ho early—just make the arrangents.”
“Understood, Miss.”
Nara nodded, stepping away from the now shadow-drenched bed, wrapped in the darkness from the lights being turned off.
“Goodnight, Miss.”
Ying Gong Tong lay there, quietly nestled in the heart of the shadows.
"Knock, knock, knock~"
The soft glow of a lamp illuminated an MV script that had been edited and revised multiple tis. On a split-screen, a newly finalized PDF file had just been sent to a user nad "Golden Lion Group Representative."
Yes, the company responsible for distributing Bai Yi’s new song this ti was none other than a subsidiary of the Golden Lion Group, a business they had worked with multiple tis before.
Since Milos, the Linn representative, had previously extended an olive branch to Bai Yi, and since Golden Lion Group was such a powerful giant, Bai Yi had no reason not to collaborate with them.
"The new script file has been received.
We'll begin preparations in the next few days. The filming location is here."
[Location: Golden Lion Tower]
"When you arrive, contact us. Don’t wander around or break any rules.
Especially the top floor—that's where very important people live. Do not go there, or you will bear the consequences."
The secretary from Golden Lion Entertainnt still seed to hold a grudge over Bai Yi deviating from the performance schedule last ti, emphasizing multiple tis not to wander off again.
Bai Yi simply replied, “Got it.” That was the end of the conversation.
Because right now, Bai Yi was lying on her bed, her face slightly flushed as she flipped through the oto doujin she had secretly retrieved this afternoon.
“Ugh... Why did I even bring this thing ho...?”
As she read, her face grew redder, and she quickly buried her head under the covers.
From outside the door, faint voices of conversation reached her ears, making them perk up.
“You’re saying Yan Huan is also participating in the MV shoot?”
“Yeah, it’s already been arranged.”
It was Zuo Jiangqin talking to Jiang Xiong.
“That won’t do! If a guy the sa age as her appears in the MV, even if there’s no romantic scenes, won’t the audience still overthink it?”
“I don’t think it’s a big deal. Bai Yi has already decided to focus on singing, and in this industry, talent is what matters. People care about her voice, not her private life.”
“You seriously think her singing is that great?”
“Even Golden Lion Group’s professionals have said—”
“I don’t care what they say. Don’t you have any common sense?”
Lying on her bed, Bai Yi pursed her lips and furrowed her brows, shooting an irritated glance toward the door.
She stood up, ready to push the door open and argue with her mother right then and there.
“......”
But just as her hand gripped the doorknob, she hesitated.
Or rather—she didn’t want to get into another intense argunt.
Because every ti she did, she gained nothing. Instead, everything just got worse.
Talking things out never worked. Confrontation only led to her being pressured by societal expectations to apologize.
So, she had grown accustod to avoiding conflicts, avoiding criticism, avoiding pain...
Other than that, she had no idea how to face her mother.
Bai Yi gritted her teeth, tightening her grip on her pocket watch. With her other hand, she clutched her phone tightly.
On the screen was her Plane chat history with Yan Huan.
She had just sent him the new script, and he had responded with approval.
It felt as though the things in her hands—her pocket watch and her phone—were her only shields at this mont.
“Beep... Tap tap...”
"Knock, knock, knock~"
“Achoo!!”
A dense shadow lood overhead, transforming into the bitter cold of early spring in Linn, making the handso young man shiver from the night wind.
"ow?"
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