novelraw Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Chapter 73
"Mm, so, Spencer, you still need two more people to start your club?"
In the forest park, An Le watched Spencer hop down from a tree and asked the question aloud.
Earlier, before An Le could even look around for something Spencer could stand on, the girl had relied on sheer instinct. She'd found a tree close to the wall, taken a running leap, and somehow cleared three meters in one bound, landing neatly on a low branch. After that she shimmied down like a cat and strolled onto campus.
"Is this girl actually a macaque in disguise?" Xiao Muzi hissed, impressed.
Spencer plopped down in front of An Le, crossed her arms, and nodded. "That's what Yan Huan said. I have to win Club Wars or I'll be expelled. Since I punched the guy who was helping Park Seo-mun gang up on me, the Track-and-Field Club won't take me. So I'll just make my own."
An Le pressed her lips together, guilt pinching her stomach. Spencer had only fought because of her; now the girl couldn't join any existing club. If they couldn't scrape together four members...
Xiao Muzi flicked his tongue, puzzled. "Hold up—why would Yan Huan tell her anything? When did those two get so friendly?"
An Le shot him a look. "Maybe it's just President Yan doing his job. And maybe he knew Park Seo-mun was bullying me—"
"Oh, please. You're hoping Yan Huan did it for you, aren't you?"
An Le's cheeks flamed, but she neither nodded nor spoke.
None of that mattered right now. The priority was keeping Spencer in school. Besides, Spencer had promised to help her in return.
An Le's brain shifted into overdrive. She wet her lips and said firmly, "Then I'll join your club too."
"Awesome! That's two down. Where do we dig up the last pair?"
"It shouldn't be hard. At this morning's club fair a few students didn't sign up anywhere. They're... well, kind of like me— not super popular." She peeked at Spencer. "If you don't mind—"
"I don't care," Spencer said with a shrug. "My club won't be picky. If they want in, they're in."
An Le smiled softly. Typical Spencer.
The smile faded as she switched into planner mode. "I remember their names. I can look up their school e-mails and invite them to talk."
"Cool."
"Next up: club theme and our actual odds in Club Wars."
"Cool cool."
Spencer watched An Le think, content to use her as an external hard drive. Understanding was optional; looking suitably awed was enough.
An Le peeked again. "Spencer, do you even know what Club Wars is?"
"No clue."
An Le didn't scold; she simply explained, patient as ever.
"Yuanyue runs on its own calendar. Student-council elections start at the beginning of the year, not the end. Club Wars is the same—other schools treat it as recruitment, but we treat it as a full-blown tournament. Winners get a wish granted."
Spencer nodded sagely, then rubbed her chin. "Hmm, what should I wish for? Heh—maybe make those jerks—"
"You don't even have a club yet and you're already fantasizing about the prize?" An Le laughed helplessly. "If you win, the wish has to be 'don't expel me.' That's why President Yan told you to enter and win."
"Oh. Right."
An Le realized Spencer had only just connected the dots. She eyed the girl with concern, wondering if explaining the rules was worth the effort. Probably not; Spencer would forget in five minutes.
She stood, pulled out her phone, and began typing. "I'll e-mail the others now. Let's see... Nino from Year 2-B, Sagawa Tatsuya from 1-D, and Jiang Yun from 2-C."
While An Le tapped invitations into the campus-mail app, she asked, "So what will our club actually do?"
"Oh, that's easy. I've decided." Spencer folded her arms, grinning wide. "We'll be the Doujin Club!"
An Le's fingers froze mid-word. She and Xiao Muzi stared at the self-satisfied blonde.
Her face turned scarlet. "N-No! That's not a normal club theme! Nobody will join!"
"Huh? Why not?" Spencer looked genuinely baffled. "Everyone loves that stuff! Look at the lines at the expo—you queued too."
"That's fiction!" An Le wanted to cry. "The plots, the heroine's reactions, the— the measurements— it's all fake!"
"It is not! It's real!"
"Like Santa Claus, it's make-believe!"
Spencer's jaw dropped. "Santa's fake?"
An Le lifted her head, speechless. Xiao Muzi's eyes filled with pity.
"If we ever meet her parents," the serpent muttered, "advise them to re-roll. This account's ruined."
An Le pressed her lips together, too kind to agree out loud.
Spencer huffed, arms folded. "Forget Santa. Pure White Ballet is real!"
"No, it's not!"
Spencer's cheeks flushed. She glanced away, voice small. "I know it's real because... I've seen the measurements myself."
Xiao Muzi stared flatly at An Le. "What reference point is this idiot using, exactly?"
An Le gave up. She raised her phone like a white flag. "Fine. Let's stop here. Please, Spencer—"
"Told you I couldn't be fooled."
"Ugh..."
An Le wanted to die, but dying over this felt too unfair. She looked at the triumphant blonde and whimpered.
"But even so, if we pitch this as our club theme to the student council, Xiao Huan will never approve it," she said, lowering her head as if she'd been thinking it over for a while. "Let's pick another theme, Spencer."
At An Le's words, Spencer pictured that mouth-says-no-body-says-yes guy, Yan Huan. One day—soon—she'd make him...
Spencer clicked her tongue in irritation and raked her fingers through her golden hair. "Fine, fine, I get it. Let me think about what theme we'll actually use. You go call everyone out first—let's get the whole squad together."
"Mm."
An Le exhaled in relief, glanced at her phone, and her eyes lit up. "Ah! Senior Jiang Yun already replied—she's willing to meet us. One more person and we'll have enough to register the club! Oh, wait, we still need a faculty advisor and the Board's approval—"
"Hmph, leave all that to me. I've already had my AI butler take care of it!"
"AI butler? What's that? A butler who isn't even human?"
Spencer shot An Le a sideways look; the sunny smile on her face dimmed for a heartbeat. The shadow vanished as quickly as it came. She thumped her chest and brightened again.
"Never mind, I can't really explain it, but trust me—it's awesome. Come on! You set the meeting, I'll treat everyone to food."
"O-okay... let's go—wait, we still have classes this afternoon, Spencer!"
"So skip 'em."
"No way!!"
Buzz—
On the commercial street, Yan Huan's vacant gaze sharpened until it was as lively as ever. In his mind, the events of the last hour receded like a tide, then snagged on the reef of resistance and stayed.
The newly edited memories felt... jarring.
He blinked, testing the patch, and rubbed the shoulder Ye Shiyu had bitten. Beneath the cloth, a faint red crescent throbbed. When his fingers came away damp, he yanked his hand back and muttered to Meow-chan, "Every Modifier seems to fix memories, but the results are never quite the same."
Meow-chan materialized on his shoulder, glanced at the expressionless Ye Shiyu emerging from the alley, and replied, "Exactly. When An Le touched you just now, without resistance you'd have believed the rush of pleasure was attraction and shrugged off the muscle pain from training."
"Yeah. The rewrite makes the impossible feel inevitable. Without an unaffected third party, the people involved can't break the illusion. Terrifying against any ordinary target."
Meow-chan fell silent; Ye Shiyu was already at his side.
Yan Huan slipped on his Perfect Expression mask and turned to her. Checking his phone, he smiled. "It's later than I thought, Shiyu sis. Student-council stuff at noon—I lost track of time shopping. I need to head back to the office. You—"
Since the hypnosis ended, Ye Shiyu had become a different person. Before, even with her lewd expressions, she'd been vividly alive. Now her blank face made her look like a beautiful porcelain doll.
She nodded. "I'll walk Xiao Huan back. I'll rest in my classroom afterward."
"All right."
Seeing his ordinary smile, her pulse and breathing quickened—as if the culprit were strolling calmly through the crime scene, undetected. The thrill crashed into waves of guilt.
". . ."
From the shopping street to the inner campus, the walk felt shorter than ever. One blink and they stood before the freshman building, time to part.
". . . Shiyu sis, I'm heading up. See you in the elective this afternoon."
"Mm. See you."
Yan Huan gave a small wave, climbed the stairs, and Ye Shiyu kept her expressionless farewell until his silhouette vanished. Only then did she lower her hand, lips parting in muted loss.
". . ."
After a moment she turned toward the sophomore building. Midway, she pressed her lips together and slowed. She raised a pale hand to the hollow of her collarbone, as if something beneath her blouse demanded attention.
"Ha..."
A flush rose on her cheeks; she braced herself against the wall, knees weak. Black hair curtained her face as she relived the feel of Xiao Huan's breath on that spot.
"Just a little more... and the mark would have..."
She bit her lip; violet whirlpools of desire swirled in her eyes. The reason crystallized:
"The hypnosis didn't last long enough."
Straightening against the cold wall, she walked on. Her phone screen drank the memory and glowed brighter.
Click—
Yan Huan pushed open the student-council door. Inside, only Sakuramiya Hitomi's petite back greeted him, wielding a broom with house-proud care.
When the door creaked, she glanced over. Her startled look melted into a gentle smile. Tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear, she said, "Welcome back, President."
Though he felt a little cliché, Yan Huan couldn't deny the image—wife greeting husband home. The exhaustion left by Ye Shiyu's Modifier faded slightly. Hitomi looked especially pretty today.
"Is something on me?" she asked, noticing his stare. She glanced down at her outfit.
He shook himself, smiled, and stepped inside. "Nothing. Just feels good to be back."
Hitomi hid a giggle, set the broom aside, and asked, "Trouble outside?"
Rubbing his shoulder, Yan Huan headed for the President's chair. "Bai Yi was supposed to check in with the study group today. Got delayed—has she been here?"
"I handled the paperwork for you. She dropped by at lunch, waited a bit, chatted, then left."
"Good."
He glanced at Hitomi by the tea table—this time he didn't worry about Bai Yi's passive Modifier. It lacked aggression, and Bai Yi sounded relieved on the phone; she wouldn't activate it again so soon. Without her mother, Zuo Jiangqin, she'd probably abandon the Modifier altogether.
If there was danger left, its locus was Zuo Jiangqin.
"Tea, President."
A cup of fragrant black tea appeared before him. He looked up at Hitomi's bright smile.
"Thanks, Sakuramiya."
"You're welcome."
He sipped, then opened the stack of files beside him. Modifiers to solve, routine work to finish—yet the first file already held neat annotations in red ink. He glanced at Hitomi.
She poured another cup. "Just chores. I had time, so I helped. You shouldn't be so tired."
Yan Huan drank in silence. Warmth spread from stomach to chest, and he let out a long, quiet breath.
He watched Sakuramiya Hitomi sip her black tea, words he'd meant to say nudged forward again by the gentle warmth, rising to the tip of his tongue—words he wanted to offer her.
But before he could speak, Sakuramiya lifted her gaze. Their eyes met. In that instant it was she who blinked first, glancing away for a heartbeat—then, a second later, drifting back.
She gave a small smile and said, "By the way, President, there's something else I should probably apologize for."
"Apologize? What for?"
"This morning—about Spencer. I didn't think things through."
Hands wrapped around her steaming cup, Sakuramiya offered an apologetic smile. "I did some quiet asking around. It looks like Park Seo-mun really may have been bullying a classmate. I never considered that possibility; at the time I thought Spencer was just being unreasonable.
"Spencer throwing a punch was wrong, and she's already facing expulsion. But Park Seo-mun bullied An Le and hasn't been punished at all—that's simply unfair."
Looking Yan straight in the eye, she continued, "I've filed a statement with the school. It won't help Spencer now, but it might clear some of the injustice An Le suffered."
Yan, who had come back planning to investigate Park Seo-mun himself, froze. He stared at Sakuramiya, surprised she had already done so much in his absence—handling council work, digging into the bullying case, even brewing hot tea and tidying the office.
Sakuramiya, once we deal with the Modifiers, I'll have Meow-chan make you a silk banner!
It was meant as a joke, yet looking at her now he suddenly remembered the start of last semester. Because she'd used connections to snatch the vice-president seat from Hashimoto, he'd held a grudge and kept her at arm's length.
When had that changed—when had Sakuramiya become someone the student council couldn't do without? He couldn't recall exactly. The only thing that surfaced was the first time he'd visited her house to see the cats.
He thought she looked a lot like those fluffy kittens.
Adorable.
So, for once, he glanced away, breaking eye contact. Clearing his throat, he said, "I was going to look into Park Seo-mun myself. You've really saved me a step, Sakuramiya."
"It's only right, President."
"Still... about Spencer. The principal took a hefty donation from her family; expelling her won't be easy. Track-and-Field won't take her back, so she's starting a new club to compete in the Club Wars."
"Forming her own club? Then..."
"Yeah. The odds aren't great. She'll never outrun the Track-and-Field team." Yan took another sip of tea and gave a rueful smile. "But it gives Principal Hermes an excuse—he won't have to stay silent in front of the Golden Lion Group."
"That's true."
Sakuramiya's smile turned thoughtful. She was about to add something when her gaze caught on the edge of Yan's collar.
"..."
The teacup paused halfway to her lips. Even her smile thinned.
She rubbed her eyes, looked again, and confirmed it wasn't an illusion.
Beneath the president's collar, faint but unmistakable, lay a small strawberry-shaped mark.
Sakuramiya opened her mouth, set the cup down with trembling fingers, and—still smiling, though the smile now looked brittle—pointed.
"Um, President... there's a red mark on your collar."
Yan, mid-sip, blinked and turned to her.
"..."