"..."
Actually, right after voicing his speculation, Yan Huan regretted it.
Especially now, looking at all the Sakuramiyas pursing their lips with slightly red eye sockets, revealing such sorrowful expressions.
"Does Hitomi... really hate us that much?"
That sorrow pierced through the silence, carried by the murmurs of an unknown Sakuramiya, making Yan Huan feel a twinge of empathy. He couldn't help but sigh.
After all, they were not independent individuals; they were intrinsically a part of Sakuramiya Hitomi's personality.
If Sakuramiya Hitomi hated them, it ant she hated herself.
If Sakuramiya Hitomi wanted to kill them, it ant she wanted to kill herself.
The mask of expression managent that Yan Huan normally wore slipped away without him realizing. He looked at Petite Hitomi, who was lowering her head in front of him, and managed to squeeze out a smile.
He reached out his finger, originally intending to poke her cheek.
Unexpectedly, she clung to his finger tightly, like a drowning person clutching at a piece of driftwood.
Then, she pouted and pressed her face against his finger, whispering,
"Uu, President..."
"...Well, it's just a speculation."
Looking at her pitiful appearance, Yan Huan rubbed her cheek and offered so comforting words.
Hearing his words, the other Sakuramiyas raised their heads to look at him again.
"No matter what, we must find Hitomi's location. Since that's the case, you all should stay here for now and try the plan I ntioned earlier."
'Make Perfect Sakuranomiya fall asleep, huh...'
Yan Huan pinched his chin, pondering feasible strategies.
"Mhm!"
"Then we'll be waiting for you right here, President..."
"Good luck, President~"
After Yan Huan spoke, the Sakuramiyas before him seed to have found their pillar of support once more. They clenched their fists one after another, looking at him with slightly flushed faces.
As Yan Huan looked at them, he reaffird his previous thought.
'This place must be heaven.'
It even made Yan Huan, who had never experienced such passionate gazes from Sakuramiya, feel sowhat unnatural. He averted his eyes slightly and stood up with a casual expression.
"Then I'll be going..."
"Ah, President, once you leave the flower room, just push the door and you can exit. Perfect Sakuranomiya is still wandering within the maze, so you don't have to worry about running into her."
Behind him, Mama Sakuramiya spoke up at the right mont to guide his way.
"Alright."
Yan Huan nodded and walked towards the exit.
As he was about to leave, many Sakuramiyas ca to see him off, gifting him a bunch of items.
Delicious black tea, tasty sakura mochi...
However, just before Yan Huan pushed the door open, the Sakuramiyas behind him tugged at his clothes. Pursing their lips, they entrusted him with a final plea.
"President, please, you absolutely must not let anyone else know about the things here, the Reality Barrier, and Perfect Sakuranomiya. We're begging you..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan had the distinct illusion that he was so sort of 'Fisherman of Linn'.
And the Reality Barrier created by Mama Sakuramiya before him was the "Sakuramiya Spring", while their plea was akin to "do not speak of this to outsiders."
Fortunately, Yan Huan understood the severity of the matter and wasn't going to go back and write a "Tale of the Sakuramiya Spring."
Even though staying with so many Sakuramiyas truly felt like being in heaven.
"Mhm, I promise."
Yan Huan smiled slightly as he replied.
Receiving his answer, the Sakuramiyas before him finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yan Huan turned around, grasped the doorknob, and gently pushed the door open.
In an instant, the bustling shopping mall materialized before his eyes.
Glancing around to confirm that no one was there, he wanted to turn back and bid a final farewell to the Sakuramiyas.
"Then I'll—"
But when he turned around, the space behind him had already reverted to a normal nursing room.
At the sa ti, the gifts given to him by the reluctant Sakuramiyas completely disintegrated into dust.
"..."
Yan Huan blinked. He rubbed his fingers together but couldn't even feel the texture of powder; it was as if he had only touched the air.
This made him realize sothing:
Those Sakuramiyas absolutely could not exist outside the Reality Barrier.
"What are you two whispering about? Don't tell you're secretly on a date with Yan Huan behind my back? Acting all mysterious...
"And you, Spencer, dressing so... flamboyantly. This is a rare sight."
At this mont, in front of the bookstore upstairs, before Ye Shiyu could carefully ponder the aning behind An Le's words, Bai Yi next to her preemptively abandoned all thought and went straight on the offensive.
She crossed her arms and scoffed. Straining her ears, she caught the sound of lively laughter coming from inside the bookstore, which completely obscured its interior. She imdiately suspected so secret date was taking place.
While making sour remarks, she strode toward the entrance.
Then, leaning against the doorfra, she peeked inside.
"Uwa!!"
In an instant, her eyes widened dramatically. With a bright red face, she hurriedly scampered back and hid behind Ye Shiyu.
"...What's in there?"
Seeing this, Ye Shiyu furrowed her brows.
She seemingly assud that Bai Yi had spotted traces of An Le using her superpower, hence the inquiry.
But Bai Yi swallowed a mouthful of saliva, leaned in close to her ear, and said in a trembling voice,
"Ye Shiyu, i-inside... it's completely filled with spicy doujinshi!!"
"..."
Ye Shiyu took a deep breath in sheer speechlessness, then shoved the sheltered and unworldly Bai Yi away.
Looking forward again, An Le's face had flushed slightly red upon hearing Bai Yi ntion her "dating Yan Huan," before she stealthily glanced at Spencer beside her.
Upon seeing Spencer, the shyness on her face gradually faded, and she let out a sigh.
When she looked back at Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi, her expression turned cold and hollow once more.
"Why does it matter to you what we're doing here?"
"..."
Watching the sense of oppression suddenly spike around An Le, Ye Shiyu showed no fear. On the contrary...
The faintest trace of a smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
Because she was absolutely certain from An Le's reaction just now—
'Even if Xiao Huan invited her out today, it is definitely not a date!'
'Moreover, An Le and Xiao Huan haven't made any real progress whatsoever!'
'At most, so of Xiao Huan's actions just caused An Le to misunderstand, resulting in her one-sided wishful thinking and false hopes.'
'As expected, my previous suspicions were completely baseless.'
'If I lost control towards Xiao Huan because of that again...'
'Sure enough, self-discipline is the right path.'
'Doubting this and suspecting that is rely a display of lacking confidence.'
'The more I act like that, the more likely my fears will beco a self-fulfilling prophecy.'
'Conversely, now that I have disciplined myself, all doubts have naturally vanished like smoke and clouds.'
"Hah? No matter what, you previously—"
"That's enough, Bai Yi."
Bai Yi was just about to mutter sothing to An Le when Ye Shiyu gently reached out and stopped her.
This left Bai Yi completely bewildered.
She looked at Ye Shiyu in astonishnt, only to see that beneath her usual expressionless face, there was a faint hint of being calm and unconcerned, as if everything was understood without needing to be said.
"...Is your brain short-circuiting?"
Bai Yi's mouth twitched, and she asked this while gnashing her teeth.
But Ye Shiyu simply looked at her and asked in return,
"...If it were a date, or if she actually made any progress with Xiao Huan, why would Spencer and Sakuramiya Hitomi be here?"
"...That's true."
Bai Yi scoffed, realizing she had been a bit too eager.
At this mont, she also realized that she wasn't entirely as she had claid: that even if Yan Huan's dance partner wasn't her, even if he rejected her invitation, she would accept the result.
Regarding this, Bai Yi believed she had been contaminated by Ye Shiyu.
"Then what are you guys doing here?"
Learning from her painful realization, Bai Yi silently took a step away from Ye Shiyu and looked at An Le and Spencer with a puzzled expression.
Seeing that these two had completely taken the bait, An Le didn't show any surprise on her face.
After all, she was deliberately acting this way.
Her first seemingly unintentional question about Spencer was actually a covert way to reveal Sakuramiya Hitomi's presence and the reconciliation plan.
Then, by maintaining her previously incompatible as water and fire attitude, she wouldn't reveal a flaw.
"...Let's go, Spencer."
An Le was still sowhat inexperienced at pulling off such a lie; her little heart was pounding heavily.
Little did she know, this sort of thing was already everyday routine for Yan Huan.
Outwardly, however, she rely gave Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi a hollow glance, having no intention of answering them at all. She turned around, grabbed Spencer's arm, and headed into the bookstore.
"Aroo? Alright..."
"Hey, you!"
Watching An Le completely ignore her, an infuriated Bai Yi puffed out her cheeks.
anwhile, Ye Shiyu gazed at her back view and explained with an expressionless face,
"It's highly likely Sakuramiya Hitomi's doing... Didn't she say earlier that she was going to talk to An Le about a truce?
"So, she must have tead up with Xiao Huan to help her and Spencer reconcile...
"Her appeasent tactics are truly well executed."
Hearing this, Bai Yi blinked and nodded,
"So that's how it is..."
While agreeing vocally, she stealthily pulled out her mobile phone.
She opened the browser and typed the pinyin for "appeasent" into the search bar, wanting to look up its aning.
As a result, because she didn't know the exact characters, she eventually gave up.
"An Le, Aruiya!"
Right at that mont, Yan Huan also arrived on this floor from the elevator on the other side.
When he saw An Le standing there holding Spencer's hand, he knew that the reconciliation plan had been a success.
He breathed a sigh of relief but pretended not to notice that Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi were there.
Internally, however, he was on high alert, having already prepared a ntal draft to deal with any sudden interrogations from the two of them.
"..."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. 'Aruiya,' so sweet it gives a toothache..."
On the side, Ye Shiyu narrowed her eyes upon hearing the title Yan Huan used for Spencer.
Bai Yi, on the other hand, didn't even bother acting; she rolled her eyes right under her sunglasses.
Her sour jealousy couldn't be concealed in the slightest, seemingly overflowing right past the lenses.
"Eh, Sister Shiyu, Bai Yi? You're here too?"
The very next second, however, Yan Huan happened to spot them and looked over.
Bai Yi's eye roll instantly morphed into a flawless, breathtaking smile. She even waved at him in greeting,
"Hi, Yan Huan~"
Ye Shiyu also pursed her makeup-adorned red lips. Feeling Yan Huan's gaze, she nervously reached out a hand to smooth out her black hair...
At the sa ti, she cautiously observed Yan Huan's eyes, trying to read his assessnt of her makeup today.
"..."
'Wait, the atmosphere between these two is surprisingly harmonious today?'
'I ca over ready to face an Asura's battlefield, but it's actually this normal?'
Thinking of this, Yan Huan inevitably turned his head to glance at An Le and Spencer.
Spencer was still smiling innocently, while An Le pursed her lips and secretly shot him a wink.
'It was An Le, huh.'
Knowing that An Le had intervened, Yan Huan sighed in relief and couldn't help but lant inwardly,
'Phew, sure enough, having an ally makes all the difference... What kind of miserable days was I living before when I was fighting all alone?'
"Wasn't I here before, ow? I'm your ally too!"
On his shoulder, Myau-chan materialized, pushing against his cheek with its paw pads, reminding him not to "forget the old cat just because he got a new one."
"Heh."
"ow?!"
Yan Huan gave a noncommittal response, but a perfect smile blood on his face as he walked toward the two won,
"Sister Shiyu, you put on makeup today?"
"...Mhm."
Ye Shiyu nodded with an expressionless face, though her hand hidden behind her back slowly gripped her skirt tighter.
Bai Yi stealthily glanced at the hand she was hiding behind her back, then glanced at this girl's inexplicably cute expression, suddenly feeling a strong sense of crisis.
Imdiately, she flashed a radiant smile and hugged her tightly like best friends,
"Yup, yup, I'm the one who took her out to pick the costics~"
"..."
The expressionless look that represented Ye Shiyu's shyness gradually faded away. By the ti she looked at Bai Yi, her expressionless face was already filled with sheer sharpness—
Well, Yan Huan had no idea how there could be so many variations of an expressionless face, but regardless, he definitely felt the shift.
At this mont, Ye Shiyu seed to be silently saying,
"Why are you talking so much?"
Bai Yi continued clinging to her, her face still maintaining the smile of a close confidante.
But in reality, she was silently sneering,
"Am I wrong? Did I not pick them out?"
"..." Ye Shiyu said nothing, but her eyes gradually turned purple.
"Ahaha, actually, she picked out quite a few herself too~"
Bai Yi instantly backed down and let go of Ye Shiyu. Taking the opportunity, she pretended to be incredibly busy, clasping her hands behind her back in the guise of a Linn executive as she turned around to inspect the doujinshi bookstore's storefront.
Before them, Yan Huan pinched his chin and carefully examined Ye Shiyu before giving her a thumbs-up,
"This makeup really suits you, Sister Shiyu... You look genuinely beautiful."
"..."
Hearing this, Ye Shiyu's eyes widened slightly.
A second later, they gradually returned to normal.
She nodded again and gave an "Mhm."
However, as she nodded, the black hair she had previously smoothed behind her ear swayed and fell back down, drawing Yan Huan's attention.
It was then that he noticed her earlobe had already turned pink, faintly visible through the strands of her black hair.
Seeing this, Yan Huan didn't expose her. He simply looked over at Executive Bai Yi, who was currently "serving the people of Linn,"
"Thanks, Bai Yi."
Hearing Yan Huan's words, Bai Yi's shoulders trembled slightly.
She then turned her head back, pouted, and pulled her sunglasses down a bit. Her beautiful eyes gazed at Yan Huan, brimming with hesitation and careful deliberation,
"Well, it's nothing... But more importantly, this morning... you could have just told what you were doing today instead of... just saying stuff like 'I have plans'..."
"I'm sorry. It's just that the plan Sakuramiya and I ca up with was a secretly prepared surprise to help them reconcile."
Yan Huan racked his brains and ultimately brought out the ntal draft he had prepared earlier,
"I didn't tell anyone beforehand because I was afraid it would leak out if others knew.
"After all, you guys are on great terms with An Le too. It would have been bad if she found out by accident...
"But since you know now, do you want to head inside and hang out with us? We've prepared so activities and stuff."
'Great terms...'
Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi simultaneously looked toward An Le not too far away, only to see her staring at them with hollow eyes, looking exactly like a female ghost.
"Is that okay, An Le?"
However, the very next second, when Yan Huan turned around, her hollow eyes were instantly hidden behind a bright, crescent-moon smile,
"Mhm."
From the corner of his eye, Yan Huan actually caught the swift change in her expression, and he really wanted to give her a thumbs-up.
'She's a better veteran actor than actual veteran actors...'
"Then let's—"
"Go."
While Bai Yi was still hesitating, Ye Shiyu had already stepped forward, following Yan Huan into the bookstore.
An Le stood by the door with a forced smile, stepping aside to make way.
Spencer didn't really mind. Having finally reconciled with An Le, she was in a very good mood.
"..."
As Ye Shiyu passed by, she glanced at An Le before stepping into the bookstore.
"This was Yan Huan inviting us in, okay? Don't try anything funny..."
Only Bai Yi was left, cautiously throwing out tough words.
After speaking, she quickly picked up her pace to close the distance to Yan Huan.
"..."
Watching them leave, the fake expression An Le had worn gradually lted away.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Right now, her Modifier was appallingly weak; she was relying entirely on her past battle record to bluff her way through.
If a fight truly broke out, she would absolutely be no match for either Ye Shiyu or Bai Yi.
'But fortunately...'
'I managed to bluff my way past them.'
'I don't know how Xiao Huan manages it. Whether it's handling mory correction or the inside details of the Modifiers, his performances have always been seamless.'
'Could it be that Xiao Huan simply has a talent for this?'
"Let's go, they've already started eating the cake, aroo!"
"Eh? Ah, alright."
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the gluttonous Spencer. An Le blinked and hurriedly followed her into the bookstore.
Although so many people were originally called over to prepare a surprise and help An Le and Spencer reconcile...
It seed Sakuramiya had rented this place for the entire day and even prepared cake, drinks, and other refreshnts.
Since everyone here shared the sa hobby, freely roaming around such a massive, treasure-trove-like bookstore with plenty of food and drink...
Therefore, after cutting the cake, the atmosphere in the bookstore didn't cool down at all; instead, it beca even more lively.
"Whoa! Hey, hey, look at this, a new volu for this one is out!"
"Whoa, it's true... Has the Otherworld breeding series really reached this chapter?"
"Hehe, that female paladin has already..."
A few boys were eating cake and flipping through manga in their seats.
On the other side, several won were gathered around An Le, watching her teach Spencer how to draw.
"Teacher Pingxi's skills are as sharp as ever! It looks like we'll be seeing the Teacher's new work soon! She teaches so fast!"
"Hehe, is this cosplayer teacher going to draw chibis? Chibis are really cute..."
"Hss... Big head avatars wouldn't be bad either..."
"Hmm... Furry is understandable too..."
"What is a Golden Bomb Pig?"
Yan Huan swallowed a mouthful of cream and set down his empty plate.
From the corner of his eye, however, he caught sight of Ye Shiyu's tall figure standing alone behind a distant bookshelf, seemingly selecting and reading sothing.
Yan Huan picked up a plastic cup and had just taken a sip of cola when he raised his eyes and spotted the category sign on that bookshelf,
"Hypnosis / Brainwashing"
"Pfft!"
Yan Huan instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He imdiately slamd his drink down and marched over.
Behind the shelf, Ye Shiyu was reaching out, her fingers trailing over a wide variety of eye-catching titles.
Her gaze was focused; evidently, the contents of that shelf had piqued her interest.
Soon, her fingers stopped on a particular book.
Just as she was about to pull it out, Yan Huan's voice called out from the side,
"Sister Shiyu?"
"!!"
Ye Shiyu's body instantly jolted. She stood perfectly upright, rigid as a soldier at attention.
Only then did she slowly, stiffly turn her neck to look at Yan Huan beside her.
She saw him glancing at the surrounding works before asking in confusion,
"Sister Shiyu, do you like this kind of stuff?"
"I don't."
This ti, Ye Shiyu showed absolutely none of the chanical precision and sluggishness of her dolls.
Instead, she answered incredibly quickly, her tone even carrying noticeable fluctuations—
It was clear that she was genuinely panicking.
"..."
Yan Huan blinked, saying nothing.
Clutching her skirt, Ye Shiyu explained with dizzy, swirling eyes,
"I-I'm also encountering this kind of thing for the first ti... I don't understand it at all. I just... I was just wandering around and ended up here..."
"..."
'Hilarious.'
'The fact that you, Ye Shiyu, can say that with a straight face is quite a feat in itself.'
Yan Huan truly felt like he was sick in the head.
He didn't know if his spirit had been too repressed from being tornted by the Modifiers, but right now, he found a rather wicked, malicious delight in appreciating Ye Shiyu's current state of defeat.
Especially seeing her squirming deanor, her flustered tone, and her utterly transparent, head-in-the-sand excuses...
"Is that so..."
Outwardly, however, Yan Huan scratched his cheek with a smile. Looking around openly, he confessed,
"Not gonna lie to you, Sister Shiyu, but I actually... quite like reading these."
Ye Shiyu's eyes imdiately flew wide open, her black pupils seemingly radiating a dark purple glint of excitent.
Even though her expression remained quite faint, the sheer disbelief was practically overflowing,
"You like reading about hypnosis too?!"
'If that's the case, then if I hypnotized Xiao Huan, he would also—'
"Ah? No, I ant... uh, other normal genres and stuff..."
"Uu..."
Seeing Yan Huan seemingly spooked, Ye Shiyu realized she had misspoken again.
She pursed her lips, crumpling the fabric of her skirt into a tight ball in her fists.
"Xiao Huan... I... I misunderstood. I thought you liked reading this stuff, so I got scared... This kind of content is a bit too..."
"Too weird, right?"
Yan Huan's face showed relief as he smiled and finished her sentence.
"..."
It felt as if a knife had been plunged right into Ye Shiyu's heart.
But she forcefully suppressed the urge to vomit blood and began comforting herself.
'It's fine, it's fine. He's not calling weird.'
'I've already turned over a new leaf...'
Seeing that Ye Shiyu's aura had wilted slightly under his tornt, Yan Huan, who was well-versed in the "Rule Horror Story of Ye Shiyu", knew it was ti to lift her spirits a bit.
So, he smiled gently again, pointed his thumb outside, and whispered to her,
"Sister Shiyu, do you want to see the stuff I normally like to read?"
"Eh?"
"Uh... that sounds a bit weird. Sorry, if you don't want to, Sister Shiyu, just pretend I—"
"I want to."
Yan Huan was just about to turn around when Ye Shiyu, who had originally been five or six paces away, instantly grabbed his shoulder.
'Moving like a literal ghost...'
Yan Huan turned his head back, wearing a smile once more, and pressed his hands together in a pleading gesture,
"Don't tell Aunt Ye that I brought you to a place like this, or she'll bla ."
"...Okay."
'Actually, Mama has already seen everything I've done.'
'I'm afraid that whatever Xiao Huan reads is probably considered incredibly pure and wholeso in Mama's eyes.'
Seeing Ye Shiyu agree, Yan Huan seed to breathe a sigh of relief. He led her away, turning around and walking...
Until they arrived at...
"Pure Love / Fresh"
'This way, at the very least, I can temporarily stop her from absorbing knowledge she absolutely shouldn't be absorbing.'
'Take a good look at what you should be reading, damn it!'
"Sister Shiyu, take a look..."
Yan Huan withdrew his gaze from the sign overhead, then crouched down and invited Ye Shiyu to join him.
Ye Shiyu scanned the bookshelf, then swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked,
"Xiao Huan... you like reading this kind of thing?"
'What, do you think it's too mild for your tastes?'
'Ye Shiyu, you're like soone who has eaten so much spicy, heavily seasoned food that your tongue has gone numb, and now you can't even taste the fresh, sweet, healthy flavors of natural ingredients, do you know that?'
'Now is the perfect ti to fix those habits!'
"Mhm."
Yan Huan was just about to nod, but suddenly rembered his own past actions.
Looking at the "Pure Love / Story" section above, he revealed a slightly guilty conscience and admitted with sha,
"I used to... used to love reading these."
"Really?"
Hearing this, Ye Shiyu imdiately squatted down. Her eyes stared straight at Yan Huan, giving him quite a scare.
'Wait—'
'You... also like reading this mild stuff?'
'Is this really you?'
"R-really?"
Yan Huan had been quite certain initially, but being stared at so intensely by Ye Shiyu while being asked that question made him lose his confidence.
Thus, he turned his head and scanned the bookshelf, intending to find a couple of volus for her to try.
But this single glance nearly scared him to death.
Because with just that rough glance, right in front of where he was currently squatting, a dense cluster of tags like "Sworn Older Sister" and "Sworn Younger Brother" completely flooded his vision in a dizzying array...
'Is there sothing wrong with the shop owner's brain?'
'You call this fresh?!'
"..."
Yan Huan stared blankly at those books, then turned his head blankly back to look at Ye Shiyu, who was now inches away from him.
He was just about to step back when Ye Shiyu suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"Clasp!"
Her hand was icy cold, yet soft and seemingly boneless.
The mont it touched Yan Huan's hand, it felt as though she was trying to suck away all his body heat.
"Xiao Huan..."
Amidst that piercing cold, Ye Shiyu suddenly spoke.
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