novelraw Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Yuanyue Academy, freshman building, the stall by the window in the girls' restroom.
An Le was scrolling through her phone, looking up pictures of small snake species.
Last night, a tiny, strange white snake had suddenly appeared on her windowsill.
She knew a thing or two about reptiles—when she'd first wanted a pet, snakes had been her top choice.
But her parents were terrified of snakes, so they'd settled for a gecko they could just about tolerate.
Spiders and insects were out of the question.
So what about the snake from last night?
It was minute, yet its markings screamed cobra, leaving An Le to wonder if it was venomous.
She'd fed it a bit of food, then locked it up tight so it couldn't escape.
Once at school she'd gone online, trying to identify the species and whether it could be kept as a pet.
Linmen, the sea-girdling megacity, had virtually no native wildlife; anything found in a residential area was almost certainly someone's escaped pet.
Judging from its injuries, its previous owner hadn't treated it kindly.
An Le wanted to keep it, but after a morning of searching she'd found nothing that matched—
not the pattern, not the size, not the shape.
Besides, were there any milk-white miniature cobras in existence?
"Hey, Seo-mun, did you hear? The president rejected all the gifts again this morning."
"Yeah, if the president doesn't sleep there's no way to corner him."
An Le froze, phone in hand. Footsteps and chatter drifted in from outside. She held her breath and sat perfectly still.
Park Seo-mun seemed to have opened the next stall; voices carried on.
"Silly, the key isn't whether the president's asleep—it's the student-council accountant."
"Oh, the shut-in you mentioned?"
"Exactly. He's close to the president and easy to talk to. If you ask him seriously, one-on-one, he'll definitely pass your gift along."
An Le listened, lips pressed together, saying nothing.
"Will that really work?"
"Of course. But no crowds—one or two people, fine. Any more and he'll refuse."
A door opened; Seo-mun stepped out.
"So, we'll ask him every other week. Be cute, be sweet..."
While washing her hands, Seo-mun adopted a sugary tone:
"Oh, Hashimoto, you're the best—how can I ever thank you~"
"Ugh, stop, that's cringe—ha-ha!"
"Shh, I'm sharing my secrets. Don't tell anyone."
"Only the council brass can help. Secretary Yua Lina will assist, but she'll read your letter ten times before it ever reaches the president."
"And Ashley? Always scowling—impossible."
"As for Sakuramiya—ha-ha-ha..."
Their laughter faded with the bell's ding-ding.
An Le sat motionless, turning their words over in her mind.
If she asked the accountant named Hashimoto, would Xiao Huan actually accept the gift?
But if Seo-mun found out she'd eavesdropped...
An Le bit her lip and pressed a hand to her chest; it felt tight.
She undid the top button—her blouse had grown too snug—but the pressure remained.
It wasn't her chest; it was the emptiness beneath.
Gurgle-gurgle—
A phantom tattoo, a snake-shaped mark, surfaced on her skin beneath her sleeve.
An Le cupped her face. Out of the corner of her eye, something moved on her arm.
Snake—snake-snake-snake!
Why was it on her hand?
Tears welled up as the tattoo slid from her fingertips and solidified into the same white snake she'd rescued last night.
"Gurgle-gurgle..."
"Hello, An Le," the snake said, rearing up. Its voice rang directly in her mind—female, clear.
"It—it talked!"
She clapped a hand over her mouth, wondering if too much self-pleasure had finally broken her brain.
The snake rolled its eyes.
"Idiot!"
"Wh-why are you yelling at me?"
"You don't even argue when someone calls you trash—are you even human?"
"But... I don't know why you're scolding me. Maybe because I locked you up last night—"
The snake gave a laugh of pure exasperation.
"Forget it. There's no other choice. If we wait any longer the other [Fingers] will win the chicken dinner."
"Chicken dinner?"
An Le's cheeks flushed. She'd only caught "eat chicken" and her imagination ran wild.
"Listen up, An Le. I'm blunt, so I'll lay it out."
The snake flicked its translucent pink tongue.
"You've heard of a golden finger, right?"
"I—I think so. I've read tons of Longguo web-novels."
"I'm that golden finger—call me a cheat, call me a system, whatever. I'm here to grant your wishes."
"My wishes?"
"Exactly. You're the protagonist of this world, the chosen one. Anything you want, you can have."
The snake coiled up her arm, winding closer.
[I can give you the power to manipulate sensations. You can control anyone's pleasure, pain...]
Tingles spread along her skin—numbness, itch, pain, then—
An Le's face reddened; her knees weakened.
The sensation vanished as quickly as it had come.
[In exchange, show me your wishes fulfilled.]
[Small ones, grand ones, easy ones, impossible ones—achieve them all.]
[The more you use me, the stronger I'll become... until I evolve.]
Like Eve's forbidden fruit, the snake's words were sweet—then suddenly sharp.
[But be careful. Careful-careful-careful. Never let anyone know you have this power. Never get caught.]
An Le swallowed.
"What happens if... someone finds out?"
We all die instantly—Fingers, world, everything.
No one outside the Finger-bearers may know. That's the rule the god decreed...
"If it could be exposed, would it still be a Japanese anime?"
So the god declared.
That's the main reason.
The second?
"Guess what happens if people discover your ability?"
"They'd lock me up for experiments?"
"Not bad."
The snake flicked its tongue, giving her a sidelong look.
"More likely they'll kill you when the experiments fail."
It couldn't die, but switching to a new host would set its progress far behind the other Fingers.
At first it had planned to bind Tong Yingying, had even explained what it could do for her, yet she'd chosen—of her own free will—to give it up. The rejection had wounded it badly. Lucky thing the bond hadn't fully formed, or it would've been finished.
Now it had to settle for second best and approach this gloomy shut-in.
"So, want my help or not?"
"I—"
An Le opened her mouth, staring at the little serpent flicking its tongue. In its scarlet eyes she saw her own reflection, twisted and small.
"Are you really going to let them bully you forever—elementary school, middle school, and now here?"
"...."
"Are you going to stay a coward your whole life, too scared even to speak to him and recover your memories? You'll just watch while he ends up with another girl?"
"N-no, it's not like that!" An Le clenched her hands, almost shouting. "I only want... to recognize him again. Who he likes is—"
Girl, seriously?
I set the stage for you and that's your answer? That's like having the power to stop time and using it to squeeze in extra study hours!
You've got a cheat ability and you're still stuck in "as long as he's happy, it's sunny" mode?
Fine, fine.
The snake's face darkened; it whipped its tail against her wrist, grumbling.
"Pathetic! Forget Yan Huan—you can have anyone you want! Grow a spine! Don't you even dare dream big?"
"But I just—"
Smack-smack-smack-smack!
Before she could finish, the snake's tail spun like a cyclone. An Le shielded the back of her hand, squeaking, "D-don't hit me! I... I'll take your help!"
The little snake was still fuming, catching its breath. "How did a smart guy like me pick such a loser? Listen up—starting today you'd better toughen up!"
"If anyone messes with you, hit back twice as hard! See someone you like? Make him your slave—just like in those games you play!"
An Le's mouth hung open; she almost blurted out, "Game stuff doesn't work in real life." But seeing how steamed the snake was, she swallowed the words and asked instead,
"Little Snake... since you can talk, do you have a name?"
"You can call me Xiao Muzi."
"Weird name."
An Le reached to pat its head; the snake smacked her away, still sulking. Undeterred, she finished the sentence it had interrupted.
"Xiao Muzi, I was only saying—even if you're amazing, the power to tweak pleasure and pain sounds... kind of useless."
"...."
Xiao Muzi froze, almost overheating at the casual dismissal.
"What do you mean? Are you calling me weak? I'm a genius—more than enough for you!"
"I'm not, just being realistic."
"Bull! And that's only the starter ability! The more you use it, the stronger it gets!"
Mmm... but even if it got stronger, it still sounded useless. Afraid of breaking Xiao Muzi, An Le kept the thought to herself. She was a gentle girl.
"O-okay, but you're a snake. I can't bring you to school, and at home I'd worry Mom and Dad might see you."
"Do you think just anyone can see me? Only you can—nobody else can see or hear me."
As it spoke, the snake melted away. Its milky body darkened like ink spilled in water, becoming a faint tattoo on An Le's hand. The mark squirmed, then projected phantom words in front of her eyes.
[Current Level: 1]
[Effect: Pleasure/Pain Manipulation]
[Method 1: Once per day, lasts 15 minutes. Silently choose any target within ten meters.]
[Method 2: Summon the snake tattoo and touch the target directly. No cooldown or duration limit, but affects only one person at a time.]
An Le's lips parted. "It's exactly like the systems in novels..."
"Hmph—just know you've got yourself a cheat. Now go show those bullies what you're made of—got it?"
Xiao Muzi's voice echoed in her mind. An Le pressed her lips together, neither agreeing nor refusing. She glanced at her phone, paled at the time, and jumped up.
"Oh no, classes have already started—I have to get back!"
"Hey, are you even listening to me?!"
...
An Le slipped out of the stall and hurried to the sink, thoughts swirling like stirred water. Revenge on Park Seo-mun and the others hadn't crossed her mind; instead, a long-buried scene surfaced.
Ten-plus years ago, before the move, her family had lived in a shabby South District neighborhood. She'd had no friends then, either—except for one boy.
Kids from the area played together but rarely invited her; she was too quiet, too easily ignored. Still, she longed for company and tagged along silently, content just to sit nearby.
Near the neighborhood stood an orphanage where the local children often played. There she met a boy named Yan Huan—an unusual boy.
Of all the kids, only Yan Huan noticed the girl sitting in the corner. Only he sought her out, talked to her, pulled her into games. An Le would prepare birthday gifts for him, bring him home, let him sleep over. Her parents adored him; she once asked them, wide-eyed, if Yan Huan could come live with them forever.
Those few happy years were the brightest of her life.
Then the family moved away to Longguo for business. The venture failed, and they returned to Linmen, settling in Luoqiao District. She went back to the South District orphanage, but years had passed—Yan Huan had left long ago, destination unknown.
She still remembered their last day. She clung to him, sobbing. Helpless, he cut a stiff piece of cardboard and said,
"Don't cry—let me make you a bookmark, okay?"
"Uuu... Xiao Huan, what's a bookmark?"
"It's something that marks where you stop reading so you can pick it up again."
"So this bookmark is a kind of record too?"
"Exactly. Its whole purpose is so you can start again right where you left off."
He wrote their names on the cardboard: Yan Huan and An Le. Then he asked if she wanted to add anything.
She thought hard, but only one simple thought filled her mind—I don't want to be apart.
So she wrote beneath their names:
Yan Huan and An Le
will always be together.
After that, the family returned to Longguo for years of middling business. When they finally moved back to Linmen, to Luoqiao District, An Le returned to the orphanage. But it had been too long; Yan Huan was gone—no one knew where.
Maybe fate simply didn't want her to search anymore—after she'd struggled to get into Yuanyue, Yan Huan had appeared right in front of her eyes.
Turned out Yan Huan had also passed the entrance exam and was now at the same school as An Le.
Yet, even though she missed him so fiercely, an entire semester had slipped by without her ever seeking him out.
Splash—
Cold water slid across the back of her hand, stealing her warmth, and she lifted her gaze to the mirror.
In the reflection, long, thick black hair dragged her whole aura downward.
After a moment of silence she brushed the strands away from her forehead, revealing a pale, delicate face.
But even when she looked at herself, her eyes flinched.
That flinch bled into a gloom of self-loathing, burying everything.
Someone like me...
And Xiao Huan—now the President, adored by so many...
How could we...
How could we ever belong together?
An Le pressed her lips together and bowed her head; the black curtain of hair fell back to hide her face.
Feeling a dull ache, she left the restroom and walked toward her classroom.
She knocked softly, stepped inside, and whispered to Zhou Bin at the podium, "Sorry, Teacher, I'm late."
Expecting to be told to stand at the back, she started for the last row—she always sat there anyway.
But to her surprise Zhou Bin simply adjusted his glasses and smiled.
"It's fine. Take your seat."
"Ah—thank you, Teacher Zhou."
Gratefully she glanced at him, then lowered her head and headed for her desk.
She exhaled, about to sit, when her body froze.
My... my books?
Books themselves didn't matter, but the bookmark tucked inside—
If the bookmark was gone—
Her eyes, hidden beneath her hair, trembled and slowly emptied; the snake-shaped tattoo on her arm twitched as if fed by some fresh horror.
Glug-glug—
She turned and saw the blonde Spencer idly holding a crumpled old bookmark between her fingers.
It's... it's in her hand!
Spencer looked over, curious, and An Le whispered urgently, "P-please give that back."
"Huh?"
Spencer arched an eyebrow and studied her.
After a moment the spark of interest—and the fiery fighting spirit—dulled into boredom.
"Fine."
She handed the bookmark and the textbook back together.
"Th-thank you."
An Le clutched the bookmark, let out a small sigh, and sat down.
Then Spencer's voice drifted over, lazy and soft.
"You like him too, huh? That President Yan Huan."
"Wha—n-no, that's not—"
An Le's face flushed crimson; she waved her hands in frantic denial.
Spencer's eyes glinted with something like sympathy.
Propping her chin in her hand, she stared toward the front and murmured, "Nothing to be shy about... though it's better if you don't. Just a friendly heads-up..."
"Eh?"
An Le awkwardly lowered her hands, thinking Spencer also had feelings for Yan Huan.
"After all, he's already with Sakuramiya Hitomi. They've even... you know."
An Le's body went rigid.
"Wh-what do you mean, 'that'?"
Spencer's lips curled in a mocking smile, her golden hair catching the sunlight like liquid gold.
She mouthed a word—slow, deliberate, silent—yet its meaning crashed into An Le's mind like a lurid image:
In some quiet room, Yan Huan gazed with naked love at the Vice-President who was always beside him.
...
An Le's small face drained of color before she could stop it.