"Mmh..."
In the darkness, Yan Huan felt a dull throbbing in his head, like sothing was wedged into his skull and twisting around.
He groggily opened his eyes—
And found himself under the sa blanket as a red-haired beauty.
Tong Yingying.
She was fast asleep, her red lips slightly parted, her face turned toward him.
Yan Huan blinked in slight confusion and shifted slightly.
The mont he moved, the warm cocoon of blankets around them shifted with him, making every little point of contact painfully obvious—
The warmth of her body, the hand lightly resting on his chest, the knee pressing against his thigh…
"......"
Yan Huan’s gaze flicked down, pausing briefly on the black camisole strap slipping off her shoulder.
His eyes trailed lower—
And then snapped away like he had been burned.
Damn it.
This was ridiculous.
Ever since reincarnating, he hadn’t touched a single drop of alcohol, so he didn’t realize he was this much of a lightweight.
He wasn’t completely blacked out, but his mory was hazy and fragnted.
Shaking his head, he quickly sat up and reached for his phone.
4:22 AM.
Between lack of sleep the night before and drinking, he had managed to knock out from the afternoon until now.
Rubbing the back of his head, he felt the call of nature and carefully slipped out of bed.
Stepping outside, he noticed the rain had stopped, but the air was still cold.
"Click."
He shut the bedroom door behind him, flipping on his phone’s flashlight before heading downstairs to the bathroom.
After handling business, he stood at the sink and splashed so cold water on his face.
"Yan Huan."
The sudden voice nearly made him jump out of his skin.
Turning his head, he spotted ow-chan sitting primly by the bathroom door, its big, round eyes staring up at him.
"ow-chan, last night—"
"Last night, Tong Yingying kissed you, ow."
"!!???"
Yan Huan froze.
His mind reeled as a vague mory surfaced—
Sothing soft had gently pressed against his forehead.
It had been warm and comforting.
Instinctively, he reached up and touched the spot—
ow-chan nodded.
Then, just as Yan Huan sighed—his fingers moving toward his lips—
ow-chan nodded again.
And Yan Huan was shook.
"Wait… No way…"
"Yes way, ow. Tong Yingying went full cougar mode—not only did she kiss your forehead, she also kissed your lips."
ow-chan licked its paw and added,
"Can’t really bla her, ow. She comforted you all night, and you still mumbled ‘Sakura Palace’ in your sleep. She was pissed."
"......"
Yan Huan’s expression stiffened.
At the ntion of Sakura Palace, his mood instantly soured.
But ow-chan didn’t linger on the topic.
Instead, it leaped onto Yan Huan’s shoulder with weightless grace.
"More importantly, I gathered so critical intel while you were asleep, ow."
Yan Huan wiped his face.
"What intel?"
ow-chan narrowed its eyes.
"Do you rember that giant Modifier fragnt we found at the pub?"
"...The snake scale?"
"Correct, ow. I now know where it ca from."
ow-chan flicked its gaze toward Tong Yingying’s bedroom, then continued.
"The intelligent Modifier that resembles a white snake originally chose Tong Yingying as its Host.
"But she rejected it."
"The only way to eliminate a Modifier is for its Host to willingly abandon it. Even though their bond wasn’t fully ford yet, Tong Yingying’s refusal dealt the Modifier a serious blow—which is why we found the fragnt, ow!"
Yan Huan’s eyes widened as he processed the information.
"Tong Yingying? A Modifier Host? No way."
"It’s true, ow!"
ow-chan nodded firmly and added,
"My previous guess was right—Tong Yingying has a sadistic streak.
She enjoys watching you suffer, ow.
You don’t even know—last night, when she kissed you, she—"
"STOP! STOP! STOP!"
Yan Huan’s face darkened instantly.
He shut that conversation down imdiately.
But now that ow-chan ntioned it, he did recall sothing—
Back at the gym, when Tong Yingying had whipped him with a training rope, there had been a distinct gleam of excitent in her eyes.
"That being said…" Yan Huan muttered, rubbing his temples.
"I don’t think her problem is that bad…"
Still, it made him uneasy.
Was this just him getting used to abnormal things?
Had his threshold for “acceptable” behavior risen so much?
Was Tong Yingying also "pretending", just like Sakura Palace had?
"Her case isn’t too serious, ow. Or rather, even if it was, it wouldn’t affect anyone else.
"Even though she has those tendencies, she still chose to hold back last night."
ow-chan flicked its tail and looked directly into Yan Huan’s eyes.
"And if you think about it, ow, the sa logic applies to all the Modifier Hosts.
Including Sakura Palace."
Yan Huan fell silent for a mont.
Then, he frowned.
"You’re not trying to say that Sakura Palace is blaless and it’s all the Modifier’s fault, right?
"Because let’s not forget—her stalking started back in November. That was way before the Modifier ca into play."
ow-chan shook its head.
"Yan Huan, I’m just reminding you—your true enemy has always been the Modifier. Not the Hosts."
"......"
Yan Huan’s pupils shrank slightly as he digested those words.
"Hosts are susceptible to manipulation because of their own weaknesses and desires.
"The process of neutralizing a Modifier is about removing its influence and guiding the Host back to reason.
"It’s like a tug-of-war, ow.
"You’re on one end. The Modifier is on the other.
Your real opponent is the Modifier. Not the rope."
ow-chan nuzzled Yan Huan’s face gently before finishing,
"Of course, ow, I’m asking you to win this battle, but I myself can’t contribute much.
"So I have no right to dictate how you fight.
"I just want you to know that pulling them back to normalcy will benefit both you and them in the long run.
"Because if you start treating the rope as the enemy, gripping it too tightly—
You’ll only end up with bloody hands."
Yan Huan exhaled slowly, his eyes gleaming with thought.
After a mont—
The corners of his lips curled up slightly.
For the first ti since yesterday, he felt a hint of his usual self returning.
With a smirk, he looked at ow-chan and teased,
"ow-chan, you only add ‘ow’ at the end of your sentences when you’re pretending to be cute, huh?
"Just now, when you were being serious, you didn’t ‘ow’ once."
"ow?"
ow-chan tilted its head innocently, as if saying, "I’m just a cat. How could I possibly understand what you’re talking about?"
Yan Huan rubbed his chin and mused,
"That ans… the other intelligent Modifier—just like you—has already found a new Host.
"Out of the five remaining candidates…
Who’s the most likely?"
Before ow-chan could answer—
"Click."
The bathroom door swung open.
Yan Huan turned around—
And saw Tong Yingying, still half-asleep, stumbling inside.
"Wait… is she sleepwalking?!"
He and ow-chan exchanged glances, then turned back to see—
Tong Yingying reaching for her pajama pants.
"Whoa whoa whoa—Sister Tong, don’t pull those down! I’M STILL HERE!"
Tong Yingying’s eyes snapped open.
"...Yan… Huan…"
Her voice was deathly cold.
Yan Huan broke into a cold sweat.
"Not my fault! I didn’t see anything!!"
Yan Huan bolted out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.
Tong Yingying blinked, staring at the firmly closed bathroom door, the words she had been about to say stuck in her throat.
Now that she thought about it...
This wasn’t even Yan Huan’s fault.
Dude didn’t even get a chance to turn away.
"......"
Propping her cheek on her hand, she gazed at the frosted glass door, watching the blurred silhouette of Yan Huan hurriedly pulling on his jacket before sprinting away like his life depended on it.
"Sister Tong, I’m heading ho to grab my school stuff! I’ll bring you breakfast later, so I’m leaving first!"
"...Pfft—!"
Tong Yingying snorted.
This guy was so pure. So high school.
But as she kept thinking about it, a faint blush unknowingly crept up her cheeks.
Wednesday. Yuanyue Academy. Noon.
"Isn’t it strange how so words just make you want to cry?"
An Le stared at her phone, watching the MV of Bai Yi’s newly released song.
On the screen, a youthful, radiant idol girl shone brightly, almost glowing with an ethereal aura.
If only she were as beautiful and talented as that...
An Le had never been the type to feel jealous of people who were better than her.
If anything, she admired them.
Like when she saw Sakura Palace and Yan Huan standing together—they looked so perfect together.
It hurt, sure. But she never resented Sakura Palace for it.
The MV’s scene shifted—
A boy in a white shirt appeared, his figure softened by filters, making him look almost angelic as he reached out to Bai Yi, pulling her along with the music.
His face was obscured, but An Le recognized him instantly.
Yan Huan.
"Heh. Your little Huan is sothing else, huh?
Student Council President, starring in MVs… He’s really out here shining, huh?"
From her shoulder, Little Finger flicked its forked tongue, mocking her.
An Le lowered her gaze, feeling a little self-conscious.
She pulled out a compact mirror, checking her own reflection—then glanced at Bai Yi on the screen.
The gap between them was staggering.
With a soft sigh, she murmured,
"Huan has always been amazing… Not only is he starring in Bai Yi’s MV, but I heard he also invited her to the opening ceremony of the Club Competition this Friday…"
Little Finger flicked its tongue again, its scheming nature surfacing.
"Which is why we should just keep drugging him, activate Superconductor Mode, and—"
"Which is why… I need to work harder and beco more dazzling myself."
An Le and Little Finger spoke at the sa ti.
Both fell silent.
They stared at each other.
The next second—
Little Finger absolutely lost it.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHERE IS YOUR SENSE OF AMBITION?! I GAVE YOU SUPERPOWERS AND YOU STILL WANT TO WORK HARD LIKE A NORMAL PERSON?!"
An Le awkwardly fidgeted.
"But… but honestly, just talking with you every day like this is already nice, Little Finger. I don’t necessarily need to use that power… It just doesn’t feel right…"
The last few tis she tried, things had gone horribly wrong.
She even almost hurt her two closest friends.
That realization had shaken her to the core.
She had changed.
Little Finger nearly fainted from frustration.
Just then, Spencer stord over, fuming, clutching a crumpled docunt.
"AN LE!! GODDAMN IT! LOOK AT THIS!!"
"A-Ah? W-What’s wrong, Spencer?"
Last week, An Le had accidentally drugged Spencer, and now Spencer kept treating her to food, making An Le feel even more guilty every ti she saw her.
But this ti, Spencer wasn’t here to buy her food.
"BAM!"
Spencer slamd a piece of paper in front of An Le.
An Le looked down and started reading.
After two or three lines, she visibly paled.
"Why are we assigned to that location for the Club Competition…?"
"RIGHT?! THEY STUFFED US INTO A TINY LITTLE ROOM!! Like, are they seriously looking down on our Doujin Club?!"
Spencer raged as she glared at the official venue assignnts from the Student Affairs Office.
Their club had been given the equipnt storage room on the road linking the Track & Field Stadium and the main school buildings.
It was tiny.
It was ridiculous.
It pissed Spencer off.
But unlike Spencer, An Le’s concern was completely different.
She frantically waved her hands and explained,
"N-No, Spencer! The problem isn’t just the size—this location is literally the central battlefield of the Club Competition!"
"...Central battlefield?"
"Yes!"
An Le quickly pulled up the Yuanyue Academy official map on her phone and showed Spencer.
Their assigned area was right in the middle of campus—
On one side was the Track & Field Stadium and Forest Park.
On the other side were the Teaching Buildings, the Club Building, and the Moonbell Clock Tower.
Then, An Le’s face turned even paler.
She switched to the Club Competition venue layout.
The entire school had been split evenly between Cultural and Sports Clubs.
But their Doujin Club’s location?
Smack dab in the middle.
A literal warzone.
"And it’s close to the stadium and gym, aning most of the big sports matches will happen here.
"Spencer, just think about it—every single club can easily challenge us without even walking far.
"We’ll be under constant siege!!"
"And we barely have enough mbers as it is. That ans our club mbers will have to fight battle after battle without rest..."
"......"
"Unless… Spencer, you can single-handedly defeat every challenger."
An Le turned to Spencer, her eyes filled with hope.
Because she knew—Spencer was insanely strong.
But for once, Spencer hesitated.
"...Tch."
She clicked her tongue, avoiding An Le’s gaze.
"I’ll be real with you, An Le… I’ve got a stamina problem."
Spencer folded her arms.
Ever since she gained that mysterious power, her strength and explosive force had increased dramatically.
But in return, her appetite and tabolism had also skyrocketed.
She used to eat three als a day.
Now she needed six, and still felt hungry.
If she had to continuously fight without rest—
She wouldn’t last.
"......"
An Le looked horrified.
She quickly lowered her phone and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
"This… This is weird. They never put clubs there before. Even when there were extra clubs, they always got outer periter spots...
"Why would they put us in that spot…?"
Spencer frowned and scanned the bottom of the docunt.
Then—her expression darkened.
"Submitted by: Student Council Vice President, Sakura Palace."
"Approved by the Student Affairs Office."
An Le leaned over and read it too.
"...Why would Vice President Sakura arrange things like this?"
Spencer gritted her teeth.
She already knew the answer.
"Tch..."
An Le hesitated.
"Spencer… Should I ask Huan about this? Or maybe… if your family has any connections—"
Before she could finish, Spencer slamd the paper down and stood up.
"Forget it."
"Huh? Wait, Spencer—where are you going?!"
Spencer didn’t even look back.
Gripping the docunt tightly, she stord toward the Teaching Buildings.
"I’m going to settle the score with that goddamn Sakura Palace!!"
"Eh?! WAIT—SPENCER!!"
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