"Everyone, rember not to leave imdiately after the elective classes this afternoon! You need to clean out your desks and put your things in your lockers outside."
Wednesday, Far Moon Academy, Class 2-A.
At the podium, a student cupped his hands around his mouth like a gaphone, reminding everyone of the upcoming schedule before they left the classroom for lunch break.
Tomorrow, Thursday, Far Moon Academy would hold its midterm exams, so the classrooms needed to be set up as examination rooms.
The students sitting below chatted among themselves while voicing their agreent. Only Ye Shiyu sat at her desk with an expressionless face, turning a deaf ear to the announcent.
At this mont, her attention was entirely focused on her mobile phone.
It seed that ever since she got her phone back, that expressionless look had been permanently welded to her face, reducing her already faint emotions to absolute nothingness.
Listening to the student on the podium with neither joy nor sorrow, Ye Shiyu stared at her screen. Refusing to give up, her finger moved toward that purple app icon once again.
"Bzzzt..."
Opening the Tuner APP, the interface appeared completely normal, even popping up with a new task notification.
However, less than a minute later, the page froze up. No matter where she tapped, there was no response.
A few seconds later, the screen even erupted into a chaotic ss of static.
After a flurry of garbled text, the app simply crashed.
"..."
This was not the first ti this had happened. Ye Shiyu had discovered this problem last night when she eagerly opened the Hypnosis APP right after getting her phone back.
But this miraculous app had no instruction manual, let alone custor service to report a bug to.
As a result, Ye Shiyu, a complete novice with technology, could only try reopening it and refreshing the interface over and over again.
The bad news was: the Hypnosis APP was still crashing.
The good news was: after a night had passed, the app seed to stay open for longer and longer durations.
Last night, it crashed the mont she opened it, but now she could keep it open for a few dozen seconds.
This gave Ye Shiyu a certain feeling:
It was as if the Hypnosis APP had suffered a grievous injury ever since she willingly handed her phone over to her mother, and it needed ti to heal...
Ye Shiyu had no idea how long it would take to recover. The only thing she knew for sure was that the app could not hypnotize anyone in its current state.
Even if it could, the effect would be interrupted halfway through because of the crashing.
"..."
The blade in her hand had dulled, yet that wicked scoundrel was still running rampant.
The mont Ye Shiyu thought about what Spencer had done to Xiao Huan in broad daylight, her expressionless face gradually frosted over with a layer of icy chill.
"Shiyu, do you want to go grab lunch with us?"
The surrounding classmates vaguely sensed the coldness radiating from Ye Shiyu. They didn't even dare to look at her, let alone approach her on their own initiative.
In the entire class, only Gongzi had a good relationship with her and frequently invited her to hang out.
Hearing this, Ye Shiyu was just about to nod in agreent when she suddenly rembered the ssage Bai Yi had sent her that morning after she had newly added her contact.
"Ye Shiyu, I have sothing very important I want to discuss with you tomorrow at noon.
"Let's et by the lake in the park. I'll send you the location later. Don't rush to refuse; think about it carefully...
"It's about that Spencer."
Thinking of this, Ye Shiyu opened Plane again and took a quick glance.
Sure enough, Bai Yi had already sent a location pin.
Looking at the ssage, Ye Shiyu finally raised her eyes to look at Gongzi and politely declined.
"Thank you, but I already have plans with soone else."
"Oh, I see. That's fine."
Gongzi smiled dismissively, then turned and left with her companions.
"Hey, is Ou Wen really going to get engaged to you?"
"Yeah... After all, our families have agreed to it."
"The Club War last week was so intense. I just can't believe that Spencer actually dared to do sothing like that to the president in public!"
"Well, I heard she's leaving Far Moon soon anyway."
"..."
Watching the back view of Gongzi and the others as they left, Ye Shiyu silently stood up and headed toward the location Bai Yi had sent.
"Rustle, rustle..."
At noon, a gentle breeze swept through Far Moon, causing the lush greenery of the forest park to sway.
Bai Yi sat beneath a tree by the lake wearing her Bluetooth earbuds. She had bought a spam sandwich for lunch.
While eating, she held her phone in one hand, conversing with her agent, Ji Lin.
"Yiyi, when I went to Golden Lion Entertainnt today to play your new song for Director Milos, he suddenly asked about your school."
Ever since Bai Yi signed with the Golden Lion Group as a singer, Zuo Jiangqin rarely interfered with her work affairs, entrusting Ji Lin with full authority to liaise with the company.
Bai Yi frowned, her chewing slowing down.
"About my school?"
"Yeah. He asked what grade and class you're in at Far Moon Academy, and how your relationship with Aria Spencer is..."
"How did you reply? You didn't say anything stupid, did you?"
"How could I say anything stupid? I just told him you guys have t once, and nothing else."
"Uh-huh. And then? What did he say?"
"He said you should build a good relationship with Eldest Miss Aria at school from now on. It would be good for you."
"..."
Staring at the ssage Ji Lin sent, Bai Yi stopped eating her sandwich altogether.
She replied with an 'I understand,' but countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
'From now on at school?'
'Does that an...'
Just as Bai Yi was lost in thought, the sunlit lawn around her was gradually devoured by the shadows of overcast clouds.
"Whoosh—"
A cold wind suddenly howled, and the surrounding temperature seed to drop a few degrees.
A shuddering sensation instantly welled up in her heart, prompting her to quickly raise her eyes and look ahead.
Before her stood Ye Shiyu, gripping her mobile phone. She stared down at Bai Yi with an expressionless face.
"Eek!"
Bai Yi jumped in fright and quickly hid behind the tree, pointing at Ye Shiyu as she exclaid.
"Are you a ghost or sothing?! You don't even make a sound when you walk!"
"..."
Although Ye Shiyu maintained her indifferent expression, her profound eyes revealed a hint of pity, as if she were looking at an idiot.
In the next second, she raised her finger and pointed at Bai Yi's ears.
Bai Yi blanked for a mont before realizing she was still wearing her Bluetooth earbuds.
Her face flushed slightly red. Embarrassed, she hurriedly took off the earbuds...
But she didn't apologize for her rude outburst.
"Ahem..."
Ye Shiyu didn't mind. From beginning to end, her gaze toward Bai Yi had always lacked human warmth anyway. She simply asked.
"Why did you look for ?"
"...Don't rush. There's still one more person who hasn't arrived."
"..."
'Another person?'
Before Ye Shiyu had ti to ponder who that person might be, the faint sound of panting suddenly drifted from behind her.
"Hah... Hah..."
Hearing the noise, Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi turned their heads simultaneously to look at the source.
They saw Sakuramiya Hitomi leaning against a tree trunk, her forehead covered in sweat and her face slightly pale.
She gasped for air, holding onto a branch while wiping her sweat. With an awful expression, she questioned Bai Yi.
"What's the matter... Hah... Couldn't we just talk in the Teaching Building? Why did we have to co all the way to this park... Hah... Hah..."
"...Isn't it just that your stamina is too weak?"
The mont she saw Sakuramiya Hitomi, Ye Shiyu retracted her gaze and looked back at Bai Yi.
The stare gave Bai Yi goosebumps, prompting her to voluntarily stand up and inch closer to Sakuramiya Hitomi.
Even though Hitomi's fra was frail, being near her seed to warm Bai Yi's body temperature up a bit, allowing the words that followed to flow out more smoothly.
Thus, Bai Yi made a polite gesture of invitation toward Sakuramiya Hitomi and took the initiative to speak.
"First... let's not rush. I invited both of you here, and the matter we need to discuss is the sa."
Ye Shiyu didn't utter a word. She just stared at her quietly.
Sakuramiya Hitomi, on the other hand, glanced at Ye Shiyu, analyzed the composition of the three people present, and connected it to what Bai Yi had ntioned about Spencer...
A second later, Sakuramiya Hitomi had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
She threw a side-glance at Bai Yi and suddenly declared.
"Aside from that Spencer, the real reason you called us here is actually the president, right?"
Bai Yi was slightly surprised by Sakuramiya Hitomi's keen intuition. She paused for a second before chuckling, openly and frankly admitting it.
"Yes, that's right."
"..."
"And I can bluntly confess right now: I do have those kinds of feelings for Yan Huan."
Sakuramiya Hitomi furrowed her brows. Behind her, Ye Shiyu remained expressionless, only tightening her grip on her phone a fraction more.
Two terrifying waves of pressure invisibly encroached from the front and back. Caught in the middle, Bai Yi inexplicably broke out in goosebumps and a cold sweat.
In her pocket, her pocket watch seed to sense the danger as well, quietly materializing.
But just as it appeared—before the second hand even started ticking—it suddenly sensed the awful expression of Sakuramiya Hitomi in front and the icy deanor of Ye Shiyu in back...
In the very next second, the pocket watch silently concealed itself once more, disappearing entirely.
At this critical mont, Sakuramiya Hitomi smiled elegantly and spoke up.
"Far Moon is certainly not lacking in girls who harbor a crush on the president. Calling us all the way out here to waste our lunch break just for this is really..."
"But I dare say that the three of us present are the closest to Yan Huan, and the ones with the most hope, right?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi froze slightly at the interruption, raising her eyes to look at Bai Yi.
She watched as Bai Yi turned her head, pointing at Ye Shiyu behind her to introduce her on her behalf.
"Senior Student Ye, the only daughter of the CEO of Ye International.
"I realized it back when Yan Huan and I were shooting our music video at the Golden Lion Mansion. CEO Ye is practically like an adoptive mother to Yan Huan, isn't she?
"Which ans, Senior Student Ye, you are one of the very few family mbers Yan Huan has had while living alone in Linn all these years. And the kind without blood ties, too.
"Therefore, there's absolutely no problem calling you the person closest to Yan Huan, right?"
Hearing this, Ye Shiyu offered no response, but her tight grip on her phone loosened slightly.
Sakuramiya Hitomi, however, grew secretly puzzled.
She knew about the president shooting a music video with Bai Yi, but she had no idea they had bumped into Ye Shiyu there as well.
To think, that was back when her caras hadn't been dismantled yet.
Even when they weren't dismantled, there were things she didn't know. Now that she had no caras at all, she had absolutely no clue what the president was up to...
That intense desire to spy on Yan Huan reared its head once again, causing Sakuramiya Hitomi such unbearable distress that she dug her nails into her palms, trying to use the pain to suppress her urges.
Right at that mont, Bai Yi turned her head to look at Sakuramiya Hitomi again.
"Vice President Sakuramiya, the only Inner Court Student in the Student Council. Furthermore, ever since Yan Huan beca the student council president, you've been right by his side assisting him.
"From enrollnt up until now, as his first year is about to end—for an entire year, it could be said that Yan Huan's university life has been completely tied to you, hasn't it?
"So, there's absolutely no problem calling you the person who has accompanied Yan Huan the longest, right?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi, who was just about to flare up, paused slightly, her gaze shifting away sowhat unnaturally.
"Well, about that..."
But she didn't even get to relish the complint for more than a second before she realized sothing. She shot a highly suspicious glare at the smiling Bai Yi.
"Wait a minute. You said the three of us are the closest to the president and have the most hope?"
"Mhm~"
"...Senior Student Ye and my situations are both easy to understand. But let ask you: exactly how are you close to the president, and why do you have the most hope?"
At those words, the smile on Bai Yi's face grew even wider, as if she had been 'just waiting for you to ask that.'
She turned up her nose slightly, lightly running a hand through her black hair, and flashed a confident smile at Sakuramiya Hitomi.
"Vice President Sakuramiya should know about that song, "Fan A", that I perford at the comic convention, right? That song was written exactly for Yan Huan.
"Moreover, my performance on stage that day was a stage set up entirely by Yan Huan for , even at the risk of being held accountable by the Golden Lion Group..."
As she spoke, Bai Yi spared no effort in embellishing a little on Yan Huan's status as her fan, as well as the things he had done for her performance back then.
"Hold on. You're saying that the song "Fan A" at the comic convention was done by the president for you..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi's eyes went wide in disbelief.
Don't forget, she had been there at the ti too.
At this mont, it felt as though she had been dealt the sa heavy blow she took during the Club War Finals when she witnessed Spencer forcefully kissing the president.
Looking at the incredibly smug Bai Yi, Sakuramiya Hitomi suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
Bai Yi cast a sideways glance at the frowning Sakuramiya Hitomi, the corners of her mouth curling up a few degrees higher.
"Exactly~"
The two in front had already exchanged nurous sentences, leaving only Ye Shiyu behind them.
She looked at Bai Yi one second and Sakuramiya Hitomi the next, yet remained without answers for quite a while.
Thus, she couldn't help but voice her confusion.
"...What comic convention? What "Fan A"?"
"..."
'She didn't know?'
Seeing the confusion leaking from Ye Shiyu's eyes, a faint trace of disdain rose in Bai Yi's heart, though she hid it perfectly.
"Well, regardless, you two shouldn't have any objections to the conclusion I raised earlier, right?"
In the next second, Bai Yi raised her index finger again and asked.
"The next topic: Spencer...
"Senior Student Ye, Vice President Sakuramiya, both of you must hate Spencer very much, correct?"
The mont the topic of hating Spencer was brought up, Bai Yi certainly had plenty to say.
Originally, last weekend, she knew Yan Huan was down in the audience acting as a judge.
She had fully prepared herself, planning to do an onstage-offstage 'love song duet' to spark an unparalleled romance.
And the result?!
As soon as she got on stage, the first thing she saw was Spencer forcefully kissing Yan Huan. And bound by her professionalism, she had to sing through the whole thing, completely beyond tears!
Just talking about the Club War last weekend made Bai Yi grind her teeth so hard they nearly broke.
And the other two were no better off.
Just seeing Spencer lay her hands on Yan Huan was enough to send Ye Shiyu into a blinding fit of rage.
As for Sakuramiya Hitomi, she was the only one among the three who had clearly seen the fact that Yan Huan actively embraced Spencer during that stunt.
With it being brought up, the resentnt of the three girls was almost manifesting into a physical form.
Sakuramiya Hitomi took a deep breath, pre-emptively exposing Bai Yi's intentions.
"In other words, you plan to have us help you deal with Spencer?"
"To be precise, we form an alliance and take down Spencer together first."
Ye Shiyu narrowed her eyes, but reminded them.
"However, everyone says that Spencer will be leaving the school soon."
"Here, Senior Student Ye, take a look at this."
Bai Yi showed Ye Shiyu the ssage her agent had just sent her. After Ye Shiyu finished reading, Bai Yi passed it to Sakuramiya Hitomi.
"Milos is the director of Golden Lion Entertainnt. His words carry quite a bit of weight, don't they?"
"'From now on at school, build a good relationship with Spencer'..."
Chewing over those words, Sakuramiya Hitomi quickly realized sothing, murmuring to herself.
"That ans Spencer will be returning to school later on..."
"The Golden Lion Group has profound backing, and Spencer herself has a terrible personality, making her incredibly hard to deal with. If we try to fight her alone, none of us will be her match, right?"
Bai Yi made a noncommittal gesture, taking her phone back as she spoke.
"So, since we all find her annoying but can't defeat her individually, why not unite and crush her first?
"Once it's done, we rely on our own abilities. How about it?"
Upon hearing this, an abrupt silence descended upon the lake in the forest park.
Ye Shiyu and Sakuramiya Hitomi both began considering Bai Yi's proposal on their own.
Speaking of which, Sakuramiya Hitomi had actually considered this approach before.
At the ti, she had thought about getting on good terms with the president's childhood sweetheart, An Le, and then using thods like sowing discord to control An Le and check Spencer.
Who could have expected that An Le would directly side with Spencer completely, becoming birds of a feather?
Well, it didn't matter anymore.
That An Le was completely useless. No matter whose side she joined, she was dead weight.
The Sakuramiya family's motto was: utilize everything that can be utilized.
Therefore, it wasn't a bad idea to use Bai Yi and Ye Shiyu to deal with Spencer first.
Anyway, she was the closest to the president.
She could totally sneak ahead and win without anyone noticing.
By the ti they defeated Spencer and tore each other's faces apart, she would have already claid her prize.
"...Alright, I have no objections."
Hearing Sakuramiya Hitomi suddenly speak up to express her agreent, Bai Yi could hardly suppress the upward curve of her lips.
'No.'
'I have to hold it back.'
'I can't laugh yet!'
'Neither of them probably knows that the person Yan Huan likes is .'
'I'm rely using the two of them to get rid of that imnsely powerful ho-wrecker who might ruin our relationship.'
'Once we take down that ho-wrecker and they think it's ti for fair competition, they will be horrified to discover—'
'I was standing at the finish line right from the very beginning!!'
'What exactly do you two plan to compete with against?'
"Then, it's a deal?"
Thinking this, Bai Yi was almost unable to hold back her laughter.
She lifted her hand with great difficulty and placed it over the back of Sakuramiya Hitomi's hand, signifying the establishnt of their alliance.
At the sa ti, Bai Yi turned her head to look at Ye Shiyu.
"Senior Student Ye, what do you say?"
"..."
Gripping her phone, Ye Shiyu maintained her expressionless face, but she had indeed been thinking the whole ti.
Truthfully, based on Ye Shiyu's principles, it was impossible for her to make a deal with anyone coveting Xiao Huan.
But unfortunately, that Spencer was indeed difficult to handle.
More importantly, her Hypnosis APP was currently ineffective and unusable.
This period of ti was her weak phase.
Thus, temporarily borrowing the strength of these two girls was the wise move...
Conveniently, Ye Shiyu had previously viewed everyone with suspicion.
She suspected anyone who might lay their hands on Xiao Huan with equal intensity.
Now, things were simpler. The treacherous ministers had stepped out of the woodwork themselves.
Sakuramiya Hitomi was one, and Bai Yi was another!
Although that An Le was one too...
But she was just a piece of trash. There was no need to worry about her for the ti being.
If she dared to harbor secretive desires later on, it wouldn't be too late to deal with her then.
The top priority right now was Spencer, along with these two girls in front of her.
'Just you wait...'
'Once I use you to take care of Spencer and my Hypnosis APP is fully recovered...'
'I'll destroy both of you!'
"Alright."
Thinking this, despite the thunderous storm in her heart, Ye Shiyu's face remained as placid as a lake, her voice echoing neither sorrow nor joy.
She simply raised her empty left hand and placed it right on top of their allied hand stack.
Sakuramiya Hitomi, wearing a faint smile.
Bai Yi, trying her hardest to look serious but struggling to suppress the corners of her mouth.
And Ye Shiyu, expressionless from start to finish, yet radiating a fleeting, ferocious light from the depths of her eyes.
Just like that, the 'Anti-Spencer Alliance'—where all three mbers harbored their own sinister ulterior motives—was established.
"Yes, you go inside, take a number first, and then wait for your number to be called before heading to the counter. Just tell them you want to cancel the suspension of your academic status at Far Moon Academy."
"Oh... I... I got it."
Noon, top floor of the First-Year Departnt, the Student Council Office area.
Yan Huan walked up to the top floor with his school bag slung over his shoulder, conversing through his Bluetooth earbuds as he moved.
On the other end, at the Linn Education Departnt.
Spencer lay nervously by the entrance of the office area, taking a deep breath as she watched the beautifully dressed birds in suits walking back and forth.
Fortunately, Yan Huan's voice continuously trickled into her ears, helping to steady her emotions.
"I'm going in, Yan Huan!"
A few seconds later, Spencer's energetic voice chid through, making Yan Huan smile faintly as he offered a sincere word of encouragent.
"Good luck. I'll hang up for now. Let know if you run into any problems."
"Ah... Oh, okay..."
Yan Huan firmly resisted the urge to keep chatting—an urge sparked by Spencer's soft voice—and reached out to hang up the phone.
Mainly, if Spencer's mother wanted her to handle her own school withdrawal matters, did his step-by-step guidance count as her doing it herself or not?
Thinking of this, Yan Huan shook his head helplessly and walked toward the Student Council Office.
"Click."
He pushed the door open and looked inside. The others were nowhere to be found; only Sakuramiya Hitomi was sitting in his president's chair.
"...Sakuramiya, you're here."
Yan Huan instinctively wanted to put up a front, but after a second of deliberation, he decided against it.
Consequently, he revealed a hint of surprise. After all, Sakuramiya had never been one to sit in that chair.
Even though everyone else—including Ashley—had sat in it before.
"President."
Sakuramiya Hitomi stared straight at Yan Huan with an indifferent expression.
Her unblinking gaze made Yan Huan sowhat uncomfortable, but he rely raised an eyebrow and walked into the office.
As the door clicked shut behind him, he tossed his school bag onto the sofa and turned toward the bookshelf.
"I ca to fetch the midterm exam schedules. Yabashi Ki ntioned that one of the classrooms in the third-year departnt is out of commission, so we'll have to arrange a lecture hall for the exam."
"Mhm."
Yan Huan went to look for the docunts, only to find that they weren't in the folder Yabashi Ki had specified.
"Hiss... Did he rember it wrong?"
Stare...
Just as Yan Huan was feeling puzzled and reaching for his phone to text Yabashi Ki, he caught sight of Sakuramiya Hitomi out of the corner of his eye. She was standing silently beside him, leaning over and tilting her head as she watched him.
The fact that her face was a re breath away caught Yan Huan off guard, and he quickly took a step back.
He was about to speak when the Sakuramiya Hitomi in front of him waved the docunt in her hand.
"President, are you looking for this?"
"Ah."
Yan Huan accepted the docunt she handed over. After glancing at it to confirm it was the right one, he looked up at the indifferent-faced Sakuramiya Hitomi before him.
"Thank you. This is the one."
"Mhm."
Sakuramiya Hitomi nodded, remaining rooted to her spot.
anwhile, Yan Huan shoved the docunt into his school bag. He was just about to grab it and leave when his movents paused for a second.
Then, he turned to look at the cold-faced Sakuramiya Hitomi behind him and suddenly asked.
"Sakuramiya, did sothing happen to you today?"
Despite maintaining her cold expression, Sakuramiya Hitomi tilted her head adorably and replied.
"Why do you ask?"
"...It's nothing. Maybe it's just my imagination."
Yan Huan offered a faint smile, simply stating.
"I just feel like you're acting exactly the way you did when we first t."
Sakuramiya Hitomi blanked for a second before replying.
"You're just like you were back then too, President..."
"Is that so?"
Yan Huan nodded and was about to turn and leave, but the Sakuramiya Hitomi behind him suddenly added.
"Very handso."
"..."
Yan Huan blinked, subconsciously turning his head back around.
Only to catch a glimpse of a faint smile surprisingly gracing the normally cold face of Sakuramiya Hitomi.
That familiar smile seed to awaken a mory that made his heart race, making it difficult for him to look away.
Hence, he couldn't help but think back to her spying on him earlier, and the things Nara had told him.
"..."
In the brief second of his pause, the cold-faced Sakuramiya Hitomi in front of him suddenly sensed sothing.
Imdiately, she clicked her tongue almost imperceptibly, forced to speak up instead.
"President, I'm going to the restroom. Excuse for a mont."
"...It's fine. I'm leaving anyway, so you go ahead."
Sakuramiya Hitomi nodded and walked toward the door with her hands behind her back.
It wasn't until she walked past Yan Huan that he suddenly noticed she was holding a Chujo mask behind her back.
'That's...'
'A Noh mask?'
Yan Huan watched Sakuramiya Hitomi open the door and leave the Student Council Office.
"Click."
The Student Council Office was left with just him once again. After a second of silence, Yan Huan abruptly turned and strode toward his desk.
He opened the bottommost drawer, where a wooden folding fan lay conspicuously inside.
Yan Huan bent down and picked up the fan.
"Swish!"
The fan opened, revealing two lines of calligraphy written across its surface—one large, one small, one horizontal, one vertical.
"Together"
The two largest characters, along with a line of small text written vertically beside them:
"Gifted to President Yan Huan, wishing him a happy birthday."
Staring at the fan in his hand, Yan Huan took a deep breath.
"President, happy birthday. This is a gift for you."
Last year, on November 11th.
Inside the Student Council Office, Yan Huan had looked at the cold-faced Sakuramiya Hitomi before him, blinking involuntarily before asking with a helpless tone.
"Sakuramiya, didn't you look at my file when we were submitting the Student Council Managent rosters earlier? My birthday is on July 1st. It's long past."
Sakuramiya Hitomi blinked, simply looking at Yan Huan.
Seeing her expression, Yan Huan could only reach out to accept her gift, thanking her.
"Forget it. I'll treat it as you celebrating a belated birthday for ... Even though I've never celebrated my birthday before."
Watching Yan Huan take the gift, Sakuramiya Hitomi finally sat down on the nearby sofa, gazing at him as she spoke.
"But I rember the last ti you celebrated Yabashi Ki's birthday. When he asked you when your birthday was, you first muttered 'Strictly speaking, it's November 11th,' and only afterward did you say 'On the family register, it's July 1st'..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan's eyes froze slightly.
Imdiately, he shot a look up at the petite girl in the kimono before him.
Because November 11th was his birthday in his previous life, and July 1st was his birthday in this life.
He had rely said it casually back then, but he never expected Sakuramiya Hitomi to morize it.
And to rember it all the way up until today.
Yet the Sakuramiya Hitomi before him seed completely oblivious to Yan Huan's gaze lingering on her profile. She rely picked up her teacup and continued explaining.
"I looked it up later. It said that birthdays in the Dragon Country have a distinction between the lunar and solar calendars. So I thought maybe November 11th was your birthday in the other calendar..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan lowered his eyes and smiled softly, opening the gift box in his hands.
What t his eyes was a wooden folding fan resting in the very center of the box.
Yan Huan picked it up and unfolded the fan. Writing that was clearly penned by Sakuramiya Hitomi herself sprang into his vision:
"Together"
"Gifted to President Yan Huan, wishing him a happy birthday."
Yan Huan stared at the word "Together" in a daze. A few seconds later, he smiled and raised his head to look at Sakuramiya Hitomi sipping her black tea.
"Thank you. I love it."
Upon hearing his words, Sakuramiya Hitomi turned her head to look at Yan Huan while sipping her tea.
And it was right after hearing those words that her originally cold face seed to lt like thawing ice and snow, revealing a faint smile.
That smile was exceptionally beautiful. Yan Huan rarely saw it, which made it all the more unforgettable.
"I'm glad..."
Accompanying that smile and settling deep into Yan Huan's heart was her concurrently sincere whisper.
"Happy birthday, President."
"Thud... Thud... Thud..."
"Hah... You... You, you, you! How could you et the president alone behind my back?! What if you acted recklessly and ssed everything up..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi gasped for air as she trudged up the stairwell, rushing toward the office as fast as she could.
At the sa ti, inside her mind, she was frantically arguing with the 'Cold Hitomi' who had returned to the Barrier at ho.
Right now, inside the Barrier of Hitomi's bedroom.
Cold Hitomi sat on a chair with her legs crossed and a face full of disdain. Propping up her chin, she looked at the projection of Sakuramiya Hitomi in front of her and couldn't help but say,
"Heh. , ss up? Do you have any idea that if you hadn't commanded to leave, the president might have already opened his heart to by now?"
"You? Yeah, right!"
"Who else? You, you piece of trash?"
"You!"
Seeing the two of them about to fight again, the thirty-centiter-tall 'Petite Hitomi' anxiously flew onto Cold Hitomi's shoulder to diate.
"Stop fighting, stop fighting! We are all parts of you, and we are all you! We're all just trying to make things better with the president. Stop arguing!"
"Hmph."
Hearing Petite Hitomi's voice on the other end, Sakuramiya Hitomi couldn't be bothered to deal with Cold Hitomi anymore.
She simply rushed to the door of the Student Council Office and pushed it open.
"Bang!"
"Pres—President!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi leaned against the doorfra. Not having entered the Barrier yet, her physical constitution was frail, and she was already on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.
Running to the park and then back, and climbing all those stairs was far too heavy a burden for her.
But for the sake of the urgent situation earlier...
"Hah... Hah..."
However, what greeted Sakuramiya Hitomi was an office that had long returned to its empty state.
Sakuramiya Hitomi stared blankly at the room that had fallen silent once again due to Yan Huan's departure. She paused for several seconds before walking inside.
The mont she entered her Barrier, the exhaustion and weakness in her body were instantly washed away.
"..."
She stood all alone inside the Barrier, looking around for a long ti in an attempt to find traces left behind by the president's recent visit.
Unfortunately, it seed she couldn't find anything.
Just as she took a deep breath, planning to lean against the student council president's desk, her wrist accidentally brushed against sothing on top of it.
"Huh?"
She blinked in surprise and turned around to look.
There on the table lay an open gift box.
That gift box...
Was that the birthday gift box she had given to the president in the past?
Sakuramiya Hitomi blanked for a mont, peering inside the gift box.
Inside, it was completely empty.
This proved that Yan Huan had taken the gift and kept it on his person.
Afternoon, after class.
"Hey, An Le, look! The school bus for the South Ward is leaving! Has the car you hailed arrived yet?"
"It's here..."
An Le had called a car on the Mber ride-sharing app on her phone, and it had just about reached the School Gate.
It was difficult to hail a cab near Far Moon. To catch a ride, one had to walk all the way along the main road outside the Comrcial Street until they were out of the forest park's periter, where one or two cars would occasionally pass by on the major highway.
"Hello, are you Miss An? Are you..."
"Please... Please follow that school bus in front of us!"
"...I can only drive to the destination you inputted. Harry Avenue in the South Ward... Is your destination at the end of this school bus's route?"
An Le didn't know which stop Yan Huan would get off at, so she had simply entered a random stop along the South Ward school bus route.
When the driver asked this, she bit her lip.
Little Finger curled the corners of its mouth. Looking at the still naive and simple An Le, it knew it was ti to take the stage.
But just as it was about to speak, An Le's hollow eyes shifted slightly, and she suddenly said,
"Sir, the thing is... my boyfriend is on that school bus. I secretly saw his phone and found out he's been talking to another girl. So... I'm going to catch him in the act."
Little Finger blinked, watching as An Le pulled a small wad of cash from her pocket and shoved it directly into the driver's hands, pleading.
"Mr. Driver, can you please help ?"
An Le's hollow eyes stared straight at the driver in the front seat.
The driver blanked for a mont, then resolutely adjusted his driver's cap.
In the next second, he pushed away the cash An Le was holding out and turned his head.
"There's no need for money. I just have one condition: when we get there, I'm going up with you."
"..."
"Fasten your seatbelt. We're heading out!"
Imdiately after, the small sedan accelerated, tailing the school bus that was cruising ahead at a moderate pace.
Little Finger turned its head in dumbfounded shock, watching An Le fasten her seatbelt and lean back into her seat.
For a mont, it didn't even know what to say.
An Le turned her head to look at the school bus driving parallel to them. From this side, she could perfectly see Yan Huan sitting by the window.
He was holding a folding fan, examining it closely, lost in whatever thoughts were crossing his mind.
An Le didn't know what that folding fan was either. Her attention was entirely fixated on Yan Huan's side profile.
"..."
She swallowed a mouthful of saliva, her mind clearly already overflowing with dirty thoughts.
'Once I find out where Xiao Huan lives today...'
'Tomorrow?'
'No, tomorrow seems too rushed, and he has exams the day after.'
'If things get too intense that night, will it affect Xiao Huan's exams the day after tomorrow?'
'How about...'
'I'll just wait until the midterm exams are over on Friday.'
'That will perfectly lead into the weekend, which ans he'll be spending more ti at ho, giving even more opportunities.'
At the thought of this, An Le's breathing couldn't help but quicken, and hazy, hot breaths continuously escaped her lips.
"Hah... Hah..."
Yet in the next second, the driver, seeing this in the rearview mirror, spoke up righteously.
"Don't worry, little miss. Your uncle here absolutely despises scumbags who play with people's feelings and bodies!
"When we get up there, I'll give him a solid left kick—"
"Ring, ring, ring—"
On the bus, Yan Huan, who had been sitting for quite a while and was nearing the South Ward, felt his phone suddenly ring in his pocket.
He couldn't help but set down the folding fan he had been staring at the entire ride and took out his phone.
On the screen, an incoming call from Spencer stood out glaringly.
He quickly put in his Bluetooth earbuds and answered the call.
"How did it go, Spencer?"
"Hehe, guess whether I did it or not!"
"...You did it."
"Ah! How... How did you guess?!"
"..."
'Because your tone already gave it away!!'
"You wouldn't believe it, there was no one else there today. I was the only one handling paperwork."
"Just you?"
Hearing this, Yan Huan grew even more certain of what Spencer's mother was trying to accomplish.
"Yeah! I just grabbed a number there, and then sat down in front of that bird lady. Whatever docunt she asked for, I just handed it to her..."
Listening to her happily chatter away about the details of handling her affairs today, Yan Huan didn't feel the slightest bit impatient. On the contrary, he smiled unconsciously.
Occasionally, he would even chi in with a word or two.
"Didn't you finish a long ti ago, then? Why are you only calling now?"
"I figured you might be in class at the ti, and I was afraid of bothering you."
"So considerate?"
"Yep!"
"Then what have you been doing all this ti?"
"Oh, I walked around and bought so tasty snacks, and I also got this milk tea to drink... I bought a cup for you too."
"If you eat so much now, will you still be able to eat dinner later?"
"I can! I eat a lot."
"Uh-huh."
"Then... where are you now?"
"I should be there soon. Just one more stop."
Glancing at his current location, Yan Huan joked.
"What, don't tell you missed ?"
"...Yeah."
"..."
Sotis, while chatting with Spencer, Yan Huan would subconsciously drop his guarded facade.
It wasn't that maintaining his facade made him a hypocrite; it was just that talking with close bros and talking with the opposite sex naturally resulted in completely different conversations.
When chatting with Yabashi Ki, the two of them would often exchange half-joking, half-sappy trash talk.
It was just that for so reason, when talking with Spencer, he would unwittingly lower his guard and beco much more casual.
And she had actually taken his joke seriously, answering his question with utmost honesty and sincerity.
Hearing the shy answer that ca after a mont of hesitation on the other end of the line, Yan Huan took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
"I'm almost there. How about you? Where are you now?"
"Oh, I'm right downstairs from your house."
"Alright, I'll be right there."
"Okay!"
Right after he hung up the phone, the vehicle ca to a halt.
Yan Huan glanced up, only then realizing that he had reached his stop while lost in conversation.
He quickly gathered his things, stood up, and got off the bus, hurrying toward the direction of his ho.
"Vroom..."
He was unaware that right after the school bus headed off down the main road, a private car tailed closely behind him, turning onto the narrow streets of the South Ward.
In the car, An Le watched Yan Huan jog along, hurriedly making his way in a certain direction.
Suspicions secretly arose in her heart.
'He's in such a rush... Is Xiao Huan hurrying to his part-ti job? In that case, wouldn't I have to wait a long ti before seeing him co ho?'
She pinched her pinky finger, watching as Yan Huan ran for a bit, then ca to a stop.
Next, he threw a glance at the folding fan in his hand.
After hesitating for a second, he carefully slipped the folding fan into a compartnt inside his school bag to keep it safe.
Imdiately afterward, he continued running forward.
After driving for so long, the driver had nearly been yawning. He didn't regain his spirit until he saw the teenage boy get off the bus.
Gasp...
'That must be the scumbag this young lady has been obsessing over!'
'I absolutely must help the girl in the back seat catch him!'
But in reality, An Le in the back seat was already trying to find a way to slip away.
What she said earlier was just an excuse. When they finally arrived, the driver would definitely ask questions when he found out there was no one to catch...
"Sir, I think I'll just..."
Thinking of this, An Le pulled out that small wad of cash from her pocket again, planning to pay him and get it over with.
Who knew that just as she tallied up the fare and was preparing to hand the cash to the driver up front, the driver suddenly gasped in shock. Turning around with a face full of fury, he yelled at An Le.
"Look, miss! That scumbag's side chick has co out!! And she's a real beauty, too!!"
"Ah? A s-side chick?"
At first, An Le was dumbfounded, having no idea what the driver was talking about. But a second later, she realized sothing and hastily jerked her head to look out the window.
Only to see that outside the window, right beneath a public housing building...
A beautiful blonde girl was squatting prettily by the side of the road, holding a bag of un-drunk milk tea in her hand.
The mont she saw Yan Huan approach, her eyes instantly lit up. She happily stood up and ran toward Yan Huan.
"Yan Huan, you're back!"
In the next second, she threw herself onto Yan Huan, catching him off guard and causing him to stumble back a few steps.
"Look, look! I got all the paperwork done! I can go back to Far Moon and attend school with you again!"
"..."
Watching Spencer stay happily nestled in Yan Huan's arms, smiling like a blooming flower, the expression on An Le's face inside the car gradually turned utterly slack.
'Clearly...'
'I was just making up an excuse, wasn't I?'
'How did it...'
'Turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy?'
Reviews
All reviews (0)