novelraw Chapter 75
Chapter 75
Chapter 75
"Burgers are here, burgers are here!"
Just as Jiang Yun delivered the heavy news to Spencer, leaving the table oddly quiet, Tatsuya and Nino returned with trays of burgers balanced on their palms.
Spencer folded her arms while Tatsuya, forehead gleaming with sweat, set each order in front of its owner.
An Le offered a soft smile and steered the mood.
"Whatever happens, let's eat first."
Jiang Yun nodded, lifted her cola, and took a sip.
Spencer picked up her Super-Deluxe Ultimate Burger, was about to bite in, then glanced at the grilled-chicken burger An Le had just unwrapped.
"."
She flicked her gaze from her own burger to An Le's, suddenly shoved her own tower of beef across the table, and snatched the chicken burger.
"Trade with me-ow."
"Eh?"
Xiao Muzi's eyes bulged.
"She's nuts. If she wants that she can buy her own—why steal yours?"
"Don't be harsh," An Le soothed. "Spencer swapped with me too."
"Hmph. Wait till she takes something you don't want to give."
An Le dismissed the warning as scaremongering.
Spencer bit into the stolen burger, found it surprisingly tasty, and after a thoughtful chew addressed Jiang Yun.
"About the Club Wars—if I get expelled it's on me. Changing schools isn't the end of the world."
Jiang Yun lowered her drink. "Your parents will be okay with that?"
Spencer finished the burger in two bites, licked her fingers, and shrugged.
"Mom barely notices-ow."
Tatsuya wiped his brow, openly envious.
"Lucky. My folks flip if I drop one rank in exams."
Spencer shot him a look sharp enough to make him swallow the rest of his sentence.
An Le leaned forward.
"Still, not getting expelled is better than getting expelled. Even if your mom's busy, she'll care about this."
Spencer said nothing. Instead she drifted back to the day before she arrived in Linmen.
She'd marched into a gleaming office to tell her mother she didn't want to go.
She hadn't even known where Linmen was.
The room had been full of adults in suits—some of the smartest people in the world, according to the AI butler. Ivy League résumés, laptops open, jargon flying over her head.
Her skin had itched with the feeling she didn't belong. It always did when her mother was around smart people.
When Spencer stepped in, the chatter stopped. Calculating eyes weighed her up, silently asking,
This is the president's daughter?
At the far end, a white executive chair faced the floor-to-ceiling windows. Behind it, a lion specimen snarled. The breeze lifted the same shade of gold in the chair's occupant's hair—exactly like Spencer's own.
Her mother never turned around. She only flicked her fingers, and the geniuses resumed talking.
That was Spencer's last memory of her mother. She left without a word, crossed an ocean alone, and ended up here.
Jiang Yun studied Spencer's sudden silence, then said,
"Just so you know, don't expect miracles from me. But if you're fine with that, I'll join your club."
Spencer snapped back to the present, grinning like nothing had happened.
"Great-ow. That makes three."
An Le smiled, turning to Tatsuya and Nino.
"Then you two?"
The boys exchanged glances and scratched their cheeks.
"Sure, but... our club's really going to be called the Doujin Club?"
Spencer leaned back, phone already in hand.
"Of course-ow! I'll talk to Yan Huan—he'll approve it."
"Doujin Club—official today-ow!!"
"The club theme is inappropriate. Student-Council review denied."
Tuesday night, South District, VIP gym lounge.
Shirtless, Yan Huan glanced at Spencer's message on his phone, took a swig of water, and typed back.
Earlier An Le had told him she'd joined Spencer's club and passed along Spencer's Plane contact. Reluctantly, he accepted—anything to keep tabs on the Modifier.
He suspected she was the type to spam "invite a friend, win diamonds" ads.
Ding~
Reply received.
"Huh?! What's wrong with it?! Yan Huan, are you targeting me?!"
Ding-ding-ding~
Plane call: Spencer.
Yan Huan sipped water and hit Decline.
Ding~
"Come on, Yan Huan, turn on your mic!!"
He glanced at her Peppa Pig avatar and typed one-handed between bench-press sets.
"Call me again and you're blocked."
"You—!!"
A pause, then another text.
"Just wait, Yan Huan!!"
"Sure."
He sent a nodding-cat sticker.
No doubt Spencer was red-hot now. Yan Huan, who'd regretted adding her five minutes ago, found himself faintly amused—like teasing a kid.
While taunting Spencer, he opened An Le's chat and sent the club-registration form.
"An Le, when you file for the club, fill this out."
Smiling-cat emoji.
"Okay, Xiao Huan! I'll get it to you right away."
"No rush—end of this week is fine. 'Doujin Club' isn't impossible, just add a proper description. Nothing that violates student conduct."
"Got it."
A moment later:
"Thanks for the hard work, Xiao Huan."
Yan Huan smiled, typed "No problem," and set the phone down.
Modifier, Modifier...
How am I supposed to deal with you now?
Yan Huan rose from the bench and stepped up to the seated-row machine.
A translucent Meow-chan perched daintily on the seat, pawing the frame with curiosity before meowing at Yan Huan as he sat down.
At this point, Ye Shiyu had already rocketed to the very top of the Modifier threat list, leaving everyone else in the dust.
And Yan Huan still hadn't figured out the limits or abilities of the other Modifiers.
Oh, right—one of them hadn't even shown up yet.
How was he supposed to play this game?
"Huff, huff..."
He adjusted his posture and pulled the twin-cable stack, hammering his lats.
Push one day, pull the next, legs on the third—Charcoal's prescription.
The gym's private coach had agreed with the split; after a quick form check he let Yan Huan train solo.
As the reps burned through his muscles, his thoughts sharpened.
The Modifiers now fell into two clear tiers.
Tier 2: An Le and Bai Yi.
Bai Yi's situation was already covered—no immediate follow-up needed.
As for An Le, after two days of contact she felt exactly the same as before.
Compared with Spencer and Ye Shiyu, Yan Huan wondered if the Modifier's selection algorithm was broken. How could it pick someone as gentle—almost timid—as An Le?
If the Modifier had the same self-awareness as Meow-chan, it'd probably rage-quit in frustration at her softness.
Then came the heavyweights.
Tier 1: Spencer.
Tier 0: Ye Shiyu.
"Hah..."
He pushed to failure, let the stack clatter down, and caught his breath while a spark flashed in his eyes.
The overall plan: make sure their wishes weren't granted when they used the Modifier, but grant them anyway when they didn't.
Side by side, the contrast would plant doubt.
Right now Ye Shiyu was too comfortable with her power; Yan Huan had no direct counter.
But...
I can't handle you—yet Auntie Ye can.
He remembered how Ye Shiyu had once stitched tiny letters onto his shirt. A plan began to take shape.
He picked up his phone and opened Auntie Ye's chat.
First he sent a cat sticker, then typed:
"Auntie Ye, can I stay at your place this weekend?"
Meow-chan leapt onto his shoulder, read the message, and yowled in disbelief.
"Yan Huan, Ye Shiyu is ultra-dangerous right now and you're walking straight in? What if she hypnotizes you—"
A bead of sweat rolled down Yan Huan's temple; whether from the workout or from dread he couldn't tell.
He wiped it away.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Meow-chan, Ye Shiyu's already on a rampage. Better to gamble now.
"My earlier moves made her fixate on me. At bottom, what she feels isn't sibling love or romantic attraction."
He drew a slow breath, dissecting the situation with cold clarity.
"Put bluntly, she's mistaken me for her property; the feeling is twisted possessiveness.
"Even if part of her realizes I'm human, not an object, letting me brand her didn't change the nature of that emotion.
"In her eyes I'm basically that jellyfish keychain—just another possession."
Meow-chan nodded gravely. "Exactly, meow. A sick host like Ye Shiyu paired with such a powerful Modifier will warp the world around her if left unchecked, meow."
Yan Huan nodded. "In Ye Shiyu's world the only one who escapes the 'property' label is Auntie Ye.
"And Auntie Ye is a perfect third party, immune to hypnosis. She's the only one who can break the board."
He glanced at Auntie Ye's profile pic—banana-milk carton—and felt genuine gratitude for converting to the "Church of Ye Lan."
Ding~
Auntie Ye replied: "Sure thing, Xiao Huan. Ride back with Shiyu sis on Friday.
"But why the sudden visit? Trouble in the South District, or something else?"
[Curious emoji]
Yan Huan almost spilled every awful thing Ye Shiyu had done.
Instead he typed: "Nothing serious—just missed you and Sis Shiyu."
Auntie Ye sent a [giggle-behind-hand] sticker.
"Then see you Friday. Oh, and that credit card I gave you is still untouched—don't be stingy with yourself, okay, Xiao Huan?"
"Mmm, got it."
Yan Huan wiped away an imaginary tear. Auntie Ye was an angel.
No—Auntie Ye was an omnipotent god, and Ye Shiyu was Lucifer in rebellion.
He put the phone down and resumed training, turning over how to deal with the remaining Modifier.
If the weekend went smoothly, Ye Shiyu should quiet down for a while.
That left Spencer—the next problem child.
"Huff, huff..."
He pulled harder; the outline of his back muscles grew sharper.
Yan Huan had no bad habits, low body-fat, decent genetics.
Keep this up, add Meow-chan's cheat, and one day he'd match Charcoal-sensei's sculpted frame.
Then he could arm-wrestle that muscle-bound Spencer idiot on equal footing!
Fired up, Yan Huan yanked the stack with renewed vigor.
"Good afternoon, Sis Tong."
As he strained, a voice called out behind him—someone greeting the boss.
Yan Huan paused, released the weight, and turned.
A beautiful woman in a midriff-baring workout set stood there.
Her long red hair, usually loose, was now tied in a high ponytail, giving her a mature look.
But the dead-fish eyes beneath her bangs were unmistakable—his good boss, Tong Yingying.
"Sis Tong, what brings you here?"
Those lethargic eyes swept over him, flickering slightly when they landed on his bare torso.
"Can't I come?"
She strolled closer, scanning him head to toe like a barcode reader.
Yan Huan nodded. "Fair point. You're usually drinking at the bar—your presence or absence hardly matters. Agh!"
Before he could finish, Tong Yingying's hand clamped onto his shoulder with a dead-eyed squeeze, making him yelp.
"H-hey, that hurts! Sis Tong, I'm sorry—ow!"
Only when he begged did she loosen her grip, sparing his deltoid.
Too busy groaning, Yan Huan didn't notice the momentary spark that lit up her usually bored eyes—an inexplicable excitement.
She caught herself at once and withdrew her hand.
Tong Yingying rubbed her fingers and spoke lightly:
"Dumb brat, keep bad-mouthing your boss and I'll dock your pay to zero this month."
"Sorry, Sis Tong."