"..."
Looking at An Le, who was staring back at her expressionlessly with hollow eyes, Bai Yi felt a few drops of cold sweat break out on her forehead.
A second later, driven by a powerful survival instinct, she squeezed out an awkward smile and addressed An Le,
"I... I went to the wrong room! Haha... sorry for the intrusion... hahaha..."
"..."
An Le simply watched as Bai Yi quickly bent down, picked up the dropped bouquet of flowers, and fled as if running for her life while clutching them tightly.
But after running only a few steps and reaching the middle of the corridor, the pale-faced Bai Yi bit her lip, her delicate feminine fists clenching tight.
The next second, she puffed out her cheeks, spun around, and glared back at An Le.
Imdiately after, she placed her hands by her sides and hiked up her shoulders, as if trying to make herself look taller and braver—entering her "combat form".
"Step, step... step..."
Maintaining this puffed-cheek, raised-shoulder posture, she marched toward An Le step by step, huffing angrily,
"Wait, no! I didn't go to the wrong room at all!"
"..."
"Where is Yan Huan? I'm here to find Yan Huan! I need him for sothing!"
"..."
From beginning to end, An Le did not say a single word, nor did she make any movent.
Yet Bai Yi acted as if she had just gone a few grueling rounds in a boxing ring with her, exhausting herself completely in the process.
But Bai Yi could not tolerate this anymore.
Now there was the unfathomable Sakuramiya Hitomi, and An Le's sudden reconciliation with Spencer...
Even that girl Ye Shiyu had actually started to turn over a new leaf!?
She was clearly the first one to be confessed to! How did things end up like this?
With these thoughts swirling in her mind, even soone as confident as Bai Yi could no longer just go with the flow and wait for victory to fall into her lap.
She decided to take the initiative, even if it ant confronting a girl like An Le.
"Step, step, step..."
"Bai Yi?"
Right at that mont, Yan Huan, who was inside the room, heard the commotion outside and hurried out.
He leaned against the doorfra and peered out. Instantly, Bai Yi's raised-shoulder combat form vanished like smoke and clouds, replaced by a pouting expression filled with grievance.
If Yan Huan was truly giving her the cold shoulder like Bai Yi suspected, then her current expression made perfect sense.
It was obvious that she was cutely and silently speaking to him, her eyes saying,
"It was my fault for rejecting your confession earlier. Please don't ignore ..."
Yet it was not completely soft and submissive; there seed to be a hint of resentnt mixed in as well?
"Even so, you absolutely cannot hook up with girls like Ye Shiyu or An Le! You don't know, they're super, super bad! I'm the only one who treats you the best..."
It ant sothing along those lines.
Whether it was because she frequently had to go on stage to perform, or simply because she was naturally a drama queen, Yan Huan always felt that her beautiful face was like a canvas—full of information and incredibly easy to read.
Even though Yan Huan hadn't considered the idea of a cold war at all, he could still tell that Bai Yi had sothing she wanted to say right now.
He looked at An Le and gave her a helpless smile,
"Then, An Le..."
"It is fine. As for the matter with the Doujinshi Society... I will talk to Spencer about it later, Xiao Huan."
Hearing An Le say this, Bai Yi stole a quick glance at her.
'So they were just talking about the Doujinshi Society earlier...'
'That makes sense. An Le cut ties with Spencer before, and the Doujinshi Society was going to be disbanded due to a lack of mbers.'
Having heard rumors about this, Bai Yi felt a heavy stone lift from her heart, arriving at the exact sa conclusion as Ye Shiyu.
"Yeah, that is great."
In truth, Yan Huan had originally co to find An Le to share intelligence regarding Sakuramiya Hitomi.
Although he definitely could not hold back and did end up sneaking a few sweet bites of food along the way...
But that was not important!
The important thing was that An Le now knew how serious Sakuramiya Hitomi's situation had beco!
Their unbreakable "Anti-Modifier Alliance" had now shifted its strategic focus away from Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi, aiming squarely at Sakuramiya Hitomi.
"..."
After finishing her sentence, An Le turned to leave first. Seeing her walk past, Bai Yi quickly scampered behind Yan Huan to put so distance between herself and An Le.
It seed she truly had been terrified of her just now.
An Le rely shot her a glance but said nothing, walking all the way out of the corridor.
At that mont in the Bookstore, everyone was doing their own thing. A few boys were sitting in front of the PS5 playing video gas, while the rest of the girls were chatting.
At the drawing desk, Spencer was alone, gripping a paintbrush, seemingly agonizing over sothing.
"Spencer..."
"Wah!"
As soon as An Le spoke, the agonizing Spencer snapped back to reality and looked up at her.
"An Le, you're back..."
"Mhm... What are you... thinking about?"
Walking up to Spencer's side, An Le looked down at the drawing paper in front of her. Aside from the Golden Bomb Pig she had initially drawn, the rest of the page was completely covered in random circles and scribbles.
It was obvious how chaotic her thoughts were right now.
"I..."
Hearing this, Spencer pursed her lips, her fingers gripping the paintbrush tighter.
After hesitating for a mont, she closed her eyes and shouted loudly,
"...What I promised you before, it... it still counts!"
"Huh?"
An Le blinked, her expression blanking for a mont.
But a second later, she realized exactly what Spencer was talking about.
"..."
All around them, Spencer's sudden outburst instantly drew the confused gazes of the other people in the room.
An Le's small face imdiately flushed bright red as she slapped a hand over Spencer's mouth.
'This idiot!'
"Didn't I just say earlier that I was joking? W-why are you bringing this up again?!"
"B-but when you said you were joking, you were lying..."
"Huh?"
An Le had not expected Spencer to be so perceptive.
At that ti, her subconscious thoughts were indeed just as Spencer had said—her claim of joking wasn't entirely true.
Back then, the words Sakuramiya Hitomi had spoken to her suddenly resurfaced in her mind.
"An Le, have you ever thought about your future with the President?"
'Yes, even though Xiao Huan and I are very happy right now, and I feel blissful every single day...'
'But, what am I going to do in the future?'
Although An Le had constantly told herself:
'Even if it's brief, at least I will have had a period of happiness, and that will be enough.'
'Even if Xiao Huan eventually grows tired of and wants to cast aside, I will accept it peacefully.'
But...
Was it human nature to always be insatiable, to get what you want and then crave even more?
Beneath An Le's self-deceptive reasoning, she could not help but fantasize, longing to be with Xiao Huan forever and never be apart.
She had thought of countless possibilities.
For example, right now, she was wholeheartedly helping Xiao Huan resolve the Modifiers and managing his household chores, all because she wanted to treat him as well as humanly possible.
By doing this, perhaps she could temporarily delay the day Xiao Huan cast her aside.
Or another example—every night, she would use every thod imaginable to constantly demand Xiao Huan's affection...
Aside from her own insatiable desires, she was also terrified that Xiao Huan would feel unsatisfied and quickly fall in love with soone else.
Yet even so, she feared it would only slow down the inevitable day he left her.
And after that?
Unless she beca so excellent that Xiao Huan could not tear his eyes away.
But in terms of beauty, she was completely inferior to Bai Yi. And in terms of wealth, no matter how hard she worked, she probably could not compare to the likes of Sakuramiya Hitomi, Ye Shiyu, and Spencer, who practically had cheat codes in life.
Therefore...
Even if Xiao Huan ended up with soone else later on, as long as he was still willing to accept her, even if she had to do it secretly...
It went so far that she had even secretly considered...
That invitation from the "Sakuramiya" persona to "get along harmoniously."
"Pat."
"An Le, are you okay?"
Right at that mont, as An Le was in a daze, Spencer suddenly reached out and patted her cheek, waking her from her panic.
Just as Yan Huan had deduced, An Le's parents were wholeheartedly focusing on their newly born child from the late pregnancy.
To the point that they hadn't even noticed An Le constantly sneaking off to the South Ward, practically half-cohabiting with Yan Huan.
Her ntal state had constantly been hovering on the edge of a cliff, which was why Yan Huan had wanted to help her pick up her paintbrush again and reconcile with Spencer.
"I... I'm fine."
An Le forced a small smile, but then looked at her with a confused expression,
"But, Spencer, do you know... what promising this actually ans?"
"I... I... well..."
Spencer pursed her lips. Clearly, this was what she had been agonizing over while An Le was away.
"What if, after this, you can no longer interact with Xiao Huan?"
"N-no way!"
Spencer's eyes widened as she imdiately refused.
But right after, she didn't want to risk making An Le angry again and cutting ties with her.
So, twiddling her fingers, she cautiously said to An Le,
"That's why I wanted to... discuss it with you. Only that is absolutely off-limits... I... I still want to stay together with Yan Huan..."
"Sigh..."
An Le narrowed her eyes, unable to stop herself from probing,
"Then let's discuss it... Is that really it? As long as you can stay together with him, that's enough?"
"W-well, not exactly..."
Spencer's little face suddenly grew a few shades redder, who knew what she was imagining.
"What are you thinking about? Don't tell it's sothing naughty?"
"!!"
Spencer's eyes bulged in absolute shock.
Looking at An Le, who maintained her usual calm expression, she gasped in astonishnt,
"C-can you read minds?" "..."
An Le's expression almost cracked, but upon hearing this, she could not help feeling a sour twinge of jealousy in her heart. Forcing a fake smile, she deliberately added fuel to the fire,
"Mhm, it's very easy to read, after all... Don't tell you're thinking about Xiao Huan's body..."
"Huh? N-no I wasn't!"
Unexpectedly, Spencer imdiately widened her eyes and frantically shook her head in disbelief.
"??"
An Le blinked, looking even more bewildered than Spencer.
Because she knew that Spencer was incredibly straightforward and naturally incapable of lying.
After all, back then, if she had been willing to tell even a single lie, they wouldn't have fallen out with each other in the first place.
"T-then what exactly are you thinking about?"
"Just holding... holding hands, things like that..."
"Holding hands?"
An Le's jaw dropped. She looked up and down at the blushing, utterly embarrassed Spencer, feeling even more incredulous,
"T-that's it?"
"Of course not! Wu..."
Spencer pursed her lips, wanting to say more, but she was already overwheld with unbearable shyness.
Her lips trembled for a long ti, so anxious she could no longer form words.
Finally, as if giving up the struggle, she abruptly ducked her head, burying her face into An Le's chest as she mumbled,
"There's... there's also hugging and... k-kissing! Wu!"
By the end of her sentence, she was so ashad that her words were completely muffled.
As for An Le...
She was utterly shell-shocked!
'That's it?!'
'How is that naughty at all?!'
An Le looked down at Spencer, not even knowing how to begin comforting her.
Seeing how nervous Spencer had been, she originally thought the girl wanted to viciously snatch a massive piece of Xiao Huan's affection from her jaws and gorge herself on it.
But the reality?
'It's just this plain, watery broth! Are you even going to be full eating this?!'
If it were anyone else, An Le would seriously suspect them of having ulterior motives and pretending to be pure.
But unfortunately, this was Spencer!
An Le pursed her lips, then quietly leaned into her ear and softly asked a few questions.
"..."
"Y-you've only kissed that many tis?"
Upon receiving Spencer's shy reply, An Le was even more shocked.
Yes, truthfully speaking, Yan Huan and Spencer really had not kissed very many tis.
Even adding all the scattered instances together, it didn't even amount to a fraction of the kisses An Le gave him in a single night!
'Just how badly has this poor child been starving?'
"..."
Only now did An Le barely realize that she truly felt like Emperor Hui of Jin, wondering why the starving peasants didn't just eat at porridge.
She had been feasting lavishly every single day, yet here she was, agonizing over a pessimistic future.
Seeing Spencer, who was so starved she was terrified of being stripped of her right to kiss, An Le had nearly misunderstood earlier and asked,
"Why don't you do more? Do you not like doing it?"
But in her arms, Spencer had no idea that the way An Le was looking at her had completely changed.
Despite having read so many "masterpieces" and possessing such a powerful Modifier, the absolute limit of her imagination regarding intimate relationships was still so barren.
"So, An Le, could you please..."
"Pat."
Before she could even finish her pitiful request, An Le gently gripped her shoulders, pursed her lips, and whispered,
"...Say no more. Y-yes, you can."
"Yay!"
"..."
Looking at her innocent, easily satisfied deanor, An Le felt an even deeper pang of sympathy in her heart.
After thinking it over for a few seconds, she gently leaned in close to Spencer's ear and whispered softly,
"U-um, there is sothing I want to teach you... Next ti... you should do this, and then this, and then that..."
"..."
Spencer blinked, subconsciously turning her ear to listen closer.
But while listening, her sky-blue eyes gradually widened, revealing an expression of utter shock.
A second later, her small face was thoroughly corrupted by An Le's words, turning the bright red shade of a ripe apple,
"R-really? B-but... Wu..."
An Le looked at the completely stunned Spencer with a face full of pity, not knowing what else to say.
Because the knowledge she had just imparted was rely an incredibly entry-level, absolutely fundantal "ntal technique", nothing more.
Yet to Spencer, it was like a tiny piece of duckweed gazing up at the glorious full moon—it had entirely shattered and reshaped her worldview.
"...I... I must be crazy to personally teach a love rival about these things..."
After saying that, An Le could not help but bury her face in her hands, quietly muttering complaints to herself.
In front of her, Spencer's dazzling blonde hair brightened slightly, as if she had managed to absorb a trace of energy.
"..."
Just as An Le finished speaking, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Sakuramiya Hitomi walking through the doorway, pinching her chin thoughtfully.
She swept her gaze over the surroundings before breaking into a flawless, perfect smile,
"Congratulations, An Le, Spencer."
"So, what happened earlier was my fault! Can we... can we please stop this cold war?"
anwhile, on the other side, inside the Room.
Bai Yi pouted and gently offered the fresh flowers in her hands to Yan Huan.
Taking her bouquet, Yan Huan was completely baffled.
'What cold war?'
He thought back to his recent actions and couldn't help but smack his forehead.
Actually, thinking about it carefully, the bla really did fall on him.
He had done so much leading up to that point, standing just one step away from a successful confession, yet he had continued texting Bai Yi at his usual, casual frequency.
For a sensitive girl, it was impossible not to overthink things.
But the problem was, what should he do now?
Refusing to acknowledge his previous actions was virtually impossible.
But if they completely reconciled, looking at the bouquet in her hands, Yan Huan could entirely predict that her next words would be an invitation to be her dance partner at the High Table Dinner.
That would cause everything to blow up in his face!
With this in mind, Yan Huan quickly ca to a decision,
"I haven't been giving you the cold shoulder."
Yan Huan offered a faint smile as he said this.
Hearing this, Bai Yi's eyes instantly lit up, displaying an overjoyed, carefree, yet undeniably stunning smile,
"Hehe, I knew it! Then... um... ahem, for the High Table Dinner at the end of the term, would you like to dance with ?"
'See?'
'I guessed perfectly right, didn't I?'
Yan Huan maintained his smile without saying a word.
As Bai Yi looked at him, she seed to realize sothing. Her smile faltered slightly as she awkwardly withdrew both her grin and the bouquet,
"I... I knew you were still mad at , haha..."
"Phew..."
Yan Huan let out a long breath, deciding to just play along with her reasoning.
He would use the excuse of being rejected and acting coldly to dodge her fatal invitation.
"I really didn't consider things properly before... Today's timing isn't great either. How about I finish helping An Le and Spencer with the Doujinshi Society's business first? Then we can..."
Yan Huan turned his head to look at the doorway, just about to use this excuse to slip away.
Behind him, however, Bai Yi gripped the bouquet tightly and pursed her lips.
By the ti Yan Huan turned his head back around, the girl before him gritted her teeth and suddenly lunged forward. She shoved her hand against his chest, pinning him firmly against the wall.
"Thud!"
After the soft sound of impact, Yan Huan's eyes went wide as he stared at the girl in front of him.
He saw her biting her lip, raising eyes that shimred with faint tears. Frowning, she stared at him and enunciated every word clearly,
"Earlier... I didn't reject you on purpose back then!
"I... I do like you! I just felt... felt that the timing wasn't quite right...
"I wanted to experience a romantic confession with fresh flowers, a proper date, and all those things too!
"I... I really failed to consider your feelings. When you said it was okay back then, I thought...
"But even if you were upset, you have to tell ! Why do you have to use a cold war to deal with this?
"T-this is my first ti being in a romantic relationship too! So... even if I did sothing wrong, at least... at least talk to about it, okay?"
Yan Huan stared blankly at Bai Yi, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. For a mont, all expression completely faded from his face.
Because he realized that Bai Yi was being completely serious.
Whether it was her feelings of affection or her current emotions of guilt and regret, everything was absolutely genuine.
It was a stark contrast to the playful, sunny, and cheerful girl she had always been before.
She truly, genuinely wanted to salvage the confession she had failed to accept earlier.
Even if that confession had rely been a temporary, theatrical ploy Yan Huan had put on just to acquire intelligence on Sakuramiya Hitomi...
Realizing this, a sudden wave of guilt crashed over Yan Huan.
Admittedly, he could entirely continue the charade right now.
He could use words and lies to deceive this girl who was blinding herself with love, ensuring that there would be no more obstacles in his path while he dealt with the thorny issue of Sakuramiya's Modifier.
Because once a person took the initiative to love, to beg soone to stay, or to chase after them, they placed themselves in a position of weakness in the relationship, leaving themselves vulnerable to manipulation.
But at this mont, Yan Huan ultimately could not bring himself to do it.
He opened his mouth but, for a mont, felt as if he could not bear to face Bai Yi's sincere emotions. He turned his head away.
The unease of his conscience drove him to speak the truth, unable to bear deceiving Bai Yi any longer,
"Bai Yi, the truth is, earlier..."
But in that exact second, the mont he opened his mouth...
Bai Yi bit her lip, suddenly stood up on her tiptoes, and leaned in toward him.
That abrupt lift onto her tiptoes bridged the height difference between them. In an instant, a fragrant breeze washed over his face, and Bai Yi's breathtakingly beautiful features drastically closed the distance between them.
Before Yan Huan could even admire her beauty, his lips felt a faint tingle...
He had t her cherry-like lips, coated in a sweet lip glaze.
It was exactly like taking a bite of a small cake covered in sweet cream.
Reviews
All reviews (0)