novelraw Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Chapter 72
"Ring-ring-ring~" Bai Yi?
Ye Shiyu's eyes lingered on the name glowing on the screen. Something about it tugged at her memory—she was sure she'd heard it before.
She stole a glance at Yan Huan, then gently pressed the accept button.
The dazed Yan Huan's breathing hitched. He checked the time—barely twenty minutes left, if that. From when she'd begun hypnotizing him to dragging him into this deserted corner, too much time had already slipped away.
Just hold on a little longer.
"Yan Huan, I've got amazing news!"
The moment the call connected, a bright, energetic voice burst through, making Ye Shiyu's lashes tremble.
Silence.
Sensing the girl's excitement, Ye Shiyu said nothing, simply listening like a spider hidden in shadow, scarlet eyes watching a fly drift toward its web.
"This morning, music platforms and record labels from Linmen and Longguo reached out! They want to license 'Fan A,' and they're talking about releasing an album with my earlier songs too!"
More silence.
As Ye Shiyu listened, fragments about this "Bai Yi" surfaced. When Mom had taken her and Xiao Huan to the aquarium, they'd mentioned her—a rising Linmen idol who'd starred in one of Mother's films. But Xiao Huan had said they weren't close.
This tone of voice—did that sound "not close"?
Feeling Ye Shiyu's terrifying gaze, Yan Huan wanted to cry. He screamed silently at the oblivious girl on the other end: Bai Yi, read the room! Stop talking—realize something's wrong!
"My music's trending on Longguo's short-video platforms! My DMs are exploding—"
"Ah, um, there's something I'd like to ask... help with?"
Her voice faltered, suddenly shy. "This might be presumptuous, but... they're shooting an MV for the new song, and I was hoping you'd appear in it. After all, the song exists largely because of you."
Ye Shiyu's dark eyes bored into the name "Bai Yi" on the screen, as if she could reach through and seize the girl speaking.
A song born because of Xiao Huan? A love confession?
Besides those three girls who already liked him... there's someone else?
Ye Shiyu's expression remained blank, but memories flooded back—whenever classmate Gongzi introduced new friends, their faces would light up in surprise.
"Wait, you're the student-council president's sister? Pleasure to meet you!"
Or they'd greet her normally, then after adding her on Plane, casually ask, "So, what's really going on between you and the president? Just curious."
Does a school where Xiao Huan's this popular even need to exist?
To Ye Shiyu, students should focus on studying, proving their worth, building their futures—not fixating on someone else's little brother.
"Of course, you'd be compensated. If you're uncomfortable, I've thought of ways to keep your face hidden... And, um, it's just to match the MV's theme—please don't misunderstand. Since this is my first live performance, first time having people love my work, I want to do it properly. What do you think, Yan Huan?"
What do I think?
I think you're in mortal danger, Bai Yi!
Yan Huan couldn't even look at Ye Shiyu's face—he knew it would be terrifying right now.
These Modifiers warp personalities, especially when their hosts already have flaws. And possessiveness? Ye Shiyu excels at that.
First Spencer, then An Le, now Bai Yi...
At this rate, we'll be fighting a Holy Grail War.
"Oh, I was going to talk in person—we were supposed to have study group at lunch. I'm outside the student-council office, but it's locked, so I called to check—"
Silence.
"Um... Yan Huan? Are you there?"
The silence stretched too long. Bai Yi finally sensed something was off—far too late.
As she voiced her confusion, Ye Shiyu's lips parted, ready to respond. But at that critical moment, the hypnotic numbness cloaking Yan Huan rippled like disturbed water.
*Buzz*
[Hypnosis countdown: 3 minutes remaining]
[Please handle interactions carefully to avoid detection after the trance ends.]
At the warning, Ye Shiyu's parted lips sealed shut.
She pressed end call.
Yan Huan exhaled in relief—but also confusion. Would Ye Shiyu really let this go?
As he wondered, Ye Shiyu lifted her gaze to his. Her eyes held complexities he couldn't decipher.
She approached again, lips descending to where she'd bitten him earlier.
Hiss.
Wait—this wasn't another bite.
It was a kiss, feather-light on the tender spot.
"After the hypnosis ends... you'll forget all this, won't you, Xiao Huan?" Her voice trickled into his ear like water. "But I'll remember. So... leave me a matching mark."
Matching mark?
Ye Shiyu, what are you—
She stepped back, fingers tugging at her collar to expose the pale column of her neck and part of her shoulder.
Yan Huan's pupils dilated; the hypnotic haze couldn't dull this stimulus.
Tilting her head, black eyes fixed on his dazed ones, a shy flush blooming across her usually cool cheeks and down her throat.
Amid intensifying floral scent, she spoke—half-command, half-plea:
"Choose a spot. Leave your mark, Xiao Huan."
His throat bobbed.
The abrupt call disconnection left Bai Yi frowning in the hallway.
"Signal issues?"
As she redialed, footsteps approached behind her.
"Bai Yi?"
She turned to see the graceful vice-president, still carrying the scent of her lunch.
"Vice-President Sakuramiya! Did you just eat?"
Bai Yi tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear, a fleeting crimson glint in her eyes.
"Yes. What brings you here? The student council usually rests during lunch—no one's in the office."
"Ah, I signed up for that study group. President Yan said to report to the Student-Council Office at noon, but I had some errands this morning and missed school."
"Is that so?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi glided past Bai Yi and rested her hand lightly on the office doorknob. Moments earlier Bai Yi had tested it—locked tight—yet under Sakuramiya's fingers the latch clicked open.
Click.
The door swung inward, revealing a cavernous gloom. A prickle of unease crawled across Bai Yi's skin; the curtains were drawn, the lights off.
Sakuramiya turned, smiling. "If the president invited you, he'll be here soon, whatever's keeping him. Come in and sit while you wait—I'll brew us some tea."
"Besides, your performance last Sunday was stunning. That song still echoes in my head. A professional singer, truly on another level. Would you mind sharing your creative journey with me?"
A professional?
"Haha, I'm hardly that. I only started singing recently—before that, hardly at all."
The office's earlier chill melted beneath Sakuramiya's praise; Bai Yi's nose lifted involuntarily. Delighted, yet determined to appear modest.
Sakuramiya noted every twitch of her expression, her own smile growing warmer.
"Not at all. I may lack talent, but back home I've heard plenty of singers. Among our peers, your performance stands out."
"You're too kind, really."
Bai Yi floated on the compliments, and without noticing, the distance between her and Sakuramiya—met only that morning—shrank to nothing. She stepped inside; Sakuramiya held the door like a courteous host.
"The sofa's fine—I'll make tea."
"Oh, you don't have to!"
"It's no trouble."
Sakuramiya's gaze flicked once to the empty corridor, then she eased the door shut. As the latch clicked, the hallway light vanished, and her perfect smile seemed to slip into shadow.
"To think a classmate could craft music so beautiful—it makes me envious."
"Not at all. I just do what little I'm good at; everything else baffles me."
"Holding fast to a dream is a talent in itself. In that sense, I should regard you as an idol~"
"An... idol?!"
Click.
Like a vault sealing, the outside world went mute—conversation snuffed to silence.
The bustling commercial street had always been the favored noon refuge of Yuanyue's moneyed and idle. Wide, immaculate avenues; colorful, affordable goods; a mingling of cultures. Yet the bustle belonged to others—never to An Le.
After lunch she would seek some quiet, shaded corner. The forest park beyond the street was perfect. Sometimes she read, sometimes watched videos, sometimes simply sat and thought. "Quiet," however, was relative. Across the lake she often saw couples cuddling, clubmates on bonding outings, tourists snapping photos. She didn't mind; she knew even the corner she chose followed someone else's footsteps.
An Le lifted her gaze to a gnarled tree halfway down the slope—its jade leaves the spot where Yan Huan usually napped. The park's edge; behind her rose Yuanyue's high wall. Yes, even this solitude was borrowed from Yan Huan. Today, though, he hadn't come.
She looked away, down at Xiao Muzi coiled on the grass, eyes closed. Gently she stroked the cool white scales. Where had this miraculous serpent come from? Why grant powers to someone like her? An Le didn't know, nor did she believe she was the "Heaven-Chosen" it claimed. She was timid, slow-witted; if the world truly selected her, it must already be doomed.
Did Xiao Muzi want something? Was there a scheme? At first she'd wondered, wary. Gradually she stopped. When she reached for the safe, conservative uniform, it scolded, "Idiot! That looks awful—change!" When bullies left her speechless, it urged, "Damn, a four-eyes dares talk to you like that? Fire back!" When she shrank before Xiao Huan, it teased, "So when's the dirty stuff? Buy the little balloons first—do you even know his size?"
An Le gazed at the sleeping snake, her shy eyes lowering. After Xiao Muzi arrived she'd had a nightmare: a colossal white serpent gulping down the pink earth. Quakes shook the world, storms brewed. The snake devoured everything, as if to exhaust creation itself. She'd tried to flee, yet her legs were numb—gone. Looking down, she saw her lower body had become a serpent's tail. Following it backward, she met the same monster devouring the world. She was the snake. Or the snake had become her.
She stroked Xiao Muzi's scales, recalling its odd behavior today. Had it panicked upon seeing Yan Huan's older sister, Ye Shiyu? It had even asked, "Could you please stop liking Xiao Huan?" No answer came, no matter how she pressed. Strange.
An Le sighed, helpless. "I promised to help Spencer, but the moment I saw Xiao Huan all I talked about was myself. If Spencer gets expelled, it'll be my fault. And Senior Ye is so pretty—if she likes Xiao Huan too... then Sakuramiya Vice-President and Senior Ye... I'd have no chance at all."
As her head drooped, a crisp voice rang from the wall behind her.
"What 'no chance at all'? Where's your confidence, coward? With me here, what's to fear?"
"Eh?"
An Le's eyes flew wide. She spun around so fast that Xiao Muzi, comfortably asleep, flopped onto her shoulder and flicked its tongue in surprise.
Six meters up, perched atop the wall, sat the blonde beauty in a white windbreaker over a black athletic tee. Chin propped on one hand, she grinned down at An Le.
"Sp-Spencer?! You're suspended—barred from campus for a week!"
"Oh? Right. Suspended. The guards know me on sight now; they reach for their batons the moment they see me. No idea what the school told them." Spencer shrugged, then flashed a cocky smile and thumped her chest.
"So I climbed the wall instead."
"B-but it's so high—how did you...?"
Xiao Muzi slithered up An Le's shoulder, eyeing Spencer with grudging admiration. "Damn, is that girl even human? Scaling that like it's nothing."
Spencer's grin faltered at An Le's praise. Arms crossed, she glanced at the dizzying drop, then looked away.
"Well... I used a car roof on the outside. Getting down's the tricky part—ouch. Let me think."
"Huh?"
An Le stared blankly at Spencer, watching the thoughtful expression that had settled on her face. But having become friends with Spencer, she knew all too well that whenever Spencer got that look, it wouldn't last more than three seconds before switching to impatient, give-up-on-thinking mode.
"Ugh, why'd they make these stupid walls so high? It's just some dumb school, acting like it's Fort Knox."
See? There it was.
An Le gave a helpless smile but didn't contradict her.
Spencer pouted, glanced down at An Le below, cleared her throat dramatically, and declared, chin held high:
"So, figure out a way to get me in. Your Yan Huan gave me this foolproof plan to avoid expulsion, but I have to pull it off inside school grounds."
"If I don't get kicked out, I'll definitely make good on what I promised."
An Le opened her mouth, then asked hesitantly, "What you promised...?"
"You know—helping you get Yan Huan."
"Eh? I-I thought you were joking, Spencer."
Spencer rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "I never joke with you about this stuff. And anyway, didn't I tell you before? Those other girls crushing on Yan Huan aren't pushovers. They're tough."
"But with me on your side? Easy pickings!"
Grinning with renewed confidence, Spencer thrust out her hand, pointing directly at An Le and announcing:
"I'm here to back you up!!"