MTLNOVEL Chapter 48
Chapter 48
After discussing with Sakuramiya Hitomi, Yan Huan decided to take her to the entertainment area to play for a while, starting from the basics and gradually gaining some knowledge since she didn't know much about the two-dimensional culture.
Anyway, it's just a little after nine right now, so Bai Yi's activity can wait until after noon.
Before that, wandering around the expo hall with Sakuramiya is also a pretty good choice.
Opportunities like this are rare-even though the student council members usually hang out together, there haven't actually been many real team-building events.
Today's comic convention counts as one; the last time was last semester, when they went to Sakuramiya's house to see the kittens.
"Hello, you two. Before entering the entertainment area, each person can draw once for a chance to win a plushie, free admission tickets, and other rewards~"
As a result, right at the entrance to the entertainment area, they were stopped by a staff member holding a raffle box.
"There's something this nice?"
Yan Huan glanced at the entertainment facilities inside. Some were free, but most required extra tickets to get in.
"Hmm, trying your luck isn't bad either."
Sakuramiya Hitomi nodded and proactively stepped forward, reaching into the box.
As she fumbled around, she turned back to Yan Huan and asked,
"President, if you don't mind, shall I draw one for you as well?"
"OK."
"Alright then."
Sakuramiya Hitomi took out two slips of paper, unfolded them, and saw that each had three different rewards written on it.
"Looks like we won."
Yan Huan glanced at them and muttered,
"We both get one free visit to the haunted house, then for the rest-one slip has a free fortune-telling and ten claw machine tokens, the other has fifteen shots at the shooting gallery and five claw machine tokens."
"Not bad luck at all, President,"
Sakuramiya Hitomi covered her mouth and laughed softly as she said this.
Scheming~
In reality, Nara had already attached the two slips to the inside wall of the raffle box; all she had to do was reach up to pull them off.
And to avoid raising suspicion, Sakuramiya Hitomi had even set different prizes to make the raffle look more authentic.
After all, since the two of them were together, they'd end up going as a pair anyway, so there was nothing to worry about.
"That's true. So, shall we check out this so-called fortune-telling first?"
"No problem."
Sakuramiya Hitomi gave a polite smile, but inside, her feelings were completely different from her expression.
Surely the President will see soon enough, right?
She'd already prepared everything-whether it was for fortune-telling, the shooting gallery, or the claw machines, she'd set up all sorts of psychological cues.
A fortune-telling result emphasizing "your destined partner is right beside you," then have Nara interpret the fortune, saying things like "just work a little harder and you'll become a couple."
The claw machine would easily yield the couple's grand prize: two matching kitten plushies, their tails forming a heart shape when put together.
All these subtle suggestions, planted quietly, would sow the seeds of love in the President's heart.
And then, it would all erupt in the haunted house!
The cramped, dark school setting, ghostly NPCs lurking everywhere, the tense and oppressive atmosphere.
At that moment, all she'd have to do is make some subtle physical contact with the President, and when he hesitated and looked over-
"President, I-I'm a little scared, can I hold onto you for a bit?"
Following behind Yan Huan, Sakuramiya Hitomi's "scheming grin" in her heart was getting more and more twisted.
Soon, the President would be hers, and by then, inviting herself over to his rental apartment would be perfectly natural, right?
Then she could set up the second Room Barrier at the President's place, finally completing the last piece of the puzzle in his life.
What a beautiful future~
Just as Sakuramiya Hitomi was already fantasizing about what to name their first child, Yan Huan suddenly stopped in front, pulled out his phone,
"Looks like Yaqiao and the others are done on their end-they want us to meet up in the doujin area now."
"."
Upon hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi kept her smile on her face.
But that smile seemed to rust, becoming stiff and unnatural.
Haha, Yaqiao-kun, you really know how to pick your moments~
Have all those digital potted plants you raise messed up your sense of time?
Just wait, I'll definitely hack your game account later and melt down all the weapons and materials you've farmed for your waifus!!
"I see."
The clouds above drifted, blocking the sunlight from shining through the convention center's glass ceiling, casting cloud-shaped shadows across the venue.
In the shadows, Sakuramiya Hitomi simply turned her head considerately and said to Yan Huan,
"Then let's go meet up with Yaqiao and the others now."
Hearing this, Nara, standing in the dark, let out a silent sigh.
So it turned out this way after all.
As long as you wear a mask and never take it off, no matter what your real expression is, others will only ever see the mask.
But maybe the young lady does understand this-she just hides her real face because it's something the world could never accept.
There's nothing to be done about it.
Unless the outside world could accept that ugliness, or even make it the norm.
But that's impossible.
All that effort for nothing.
Nara blinked and picked up the walkie-talkie, about to give the order for the staff who were standing by to withdraw.
But in the venue, Yan Huan stood there holding his phone, looking at Sakuramiya Hitomi smiling in the shadow before him.
After thinking for a second, he suddenly said,
"No matter what, we've come all this way-it'd be a real shame not to play anything, especially since we won a prize."
"."
Sakuramiya Hitomi, still wearing her polite smile, was momentarily stunned, while Nara, standing in the dark with her finger on the walkie-talkie, also looked over.
One in the light, one in the dark-two pairs of eyes silently fell on Yan Huan.
Yan Huan, it's exactly because you're always like this that the young lady is so obsessed with you.
When the young lady finally devours you whole, you'll have no one to blame but yourself~
Well, not that he knows any of this anyway.
Nara sighed and released the walkie-talkie.
Sakuramiya Hitomi blinked, then reached up to tuck a strand of black hair behind her ear.
It was a little gesture she only made when her emotions were stirred; even with the fake mask, such body language was hard to hide.
In front of Yan Huan, she did it especially often,
"Do you think they'll be waiting long?"
"It's fine, we waited for them for so long just now-now it's their turn to wait for us."
Yan Huan glanced around at the entertainment facilities and noticed the haunted house was the most expensive-ninety-nine per person-and they just happened to win free admission.
"Let's just pick one or two to try. It won't take long. Sakuramiya, have you ever done a haunted house before?"
"No, but I'd like to try."
"Alright, let's go check it out."
Yan Huan sent a message to Yaqiao Mu, letting him know they'd need to wait a bit over here.
He got a "OK" 2D beauty meme in reply, along with a message:
"No worries, President. We're just wandering around nearby too."
Seeing this from the shadows, Nara smiled slightly, picked up her walkie-talkie again, and said,
"Haunted house staff, get ready. Double-check the mechanisms-we're starting soon."
"Roger."
The clouds drifted bit by bit, sunlight pouring down again, illuminating the haunted house's queue entrance.
Looks like there'll be a bit of a wait.
Sakuramiya Hitomi followed behind Yan Huan, sunlight falling on them, making Yan Huan's silhouette glow brilliantly.
But she just felt a little sunburnt, so she opened her parasol again, blocking the sunlight completely.
"Please wait here for a moment, you two. Space inside is limited, so we can only let two groups of eight in at a time. Once we have enough, a staff member will take you in."
At the haunted house's first floor entrance, a smiling staff young lady handed a pair of blindfolds to Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi, explaining at the same time,
"And for the best experience, please put on your blindfolds. We'll start the background introduction very soon."
Yan Huan had played escape rooms and the like in his previous life, so he was quite used to this process.
Turning around, he saw that Sakuramiya Hitomi had already put on her blindfold.
She adjusted the position of her blindfold and curiously asked,
"President, if we can't see anything like this, how are we supposed to get in later?"
"There'll probably be staff to guide us in."
"I see."
As she spoke, the lights in the waiting room suddenly dimmed.
Then, eerie music accompanied by a female voice began playing,
"I am Saito Rina from Class 1-A of Kyoutou High School. The story I'm about to tell is about Kyoutou High School, about my dear friend Manako-"
The atmosphere was just right. Even Sakuramiya Hitomi, who knew about the arrangements beforehand, couldn't help but feel tense from the emotionless, almost corpse-like first-person narration.
Seeing Sakuramiya's pink lips unconsciously tighten beneath her blindfold, Yan Huan smiled faintly and put on his own blindfold as well.
The surrounding temperature seemed to drop by more than a degree. Finally, as the last line ended, Saito Rina's voice spoke up again.
But this time, it sounded as if it was right behind Sakuramiya Hitomi,
"You two, please hold hands and enter Kyoutou High School together."
Sakuramiya gulped, not daring to move a muscle.
But in front of her, a large, warm hand reached out and grasped her cold, tiny hand firmly.
"Let's go, Sakuramiya."
"O-okay, President."
The President's hand feels so big...
And so warm, it's really comfortable to touch...
She unconsciously rubbed his palm slightly but then froze, afraid he might notice her little action.
"Slowly, Sakuramiya. I can feel the door ahead opening. There's a breeze-we should move forward bit by bit."
"Mm, President."
But Yan Huan clearly didn't notice Sakuramiya's little actions, simply leading her forward as they officially began their haunted house adventure.
Meanwhile, behind the night-vision monitors, Nara was watching the scene unfold.
She held a walkie-talkie, ready to communicate with the staff responsible for each section at any moment.
But before she could issue any orders, a panicked female voice came through the walkie-talkie first,
"N-Nara! Trouble! There are two girls trying to barge in at the entrance! They refuse to wait in line and are demanding to go in right now!"
"What?!"
Nara blinked in surprise, immediately sitting up straight with a frown,
"We just cleared the place! Don't let anyone in-hold them back by force if you have to!"
"We tried! We can't hold them! That golden-haired girl is as strong as an ox! We couldn't even pull her back-A-Qiu got yanked to the ground!"
Hearing this, Nara blinked in disbelief and cursed,
"Are you all useless?! So many of you can't even stop one little girl?!"
"No, Nara, it's just-"
But Nara had no patience for excuses. She switched the monitor feed to the entrance and heard the commotion through the audio feed.
She saw two staff members crouched on the ground, clutching their hands in pain where they had apparently tried to grab the intruders' wrists.
"Oww..."
On the monitor, a golden-haired girl was storming into the haunted house, followed by another girl carrying several black bags.
She even casually scanned her phone at the ticket booth to buy two haunted house tickets.
"Two tickets. Hurry up."
"U-um, Spencer... maybe... maybe you go in alone, and I'll just wait outside..."
"Scared?"
"...Yeah."
The girl called "Spencer" smirked mischievously at her timid companion,
"But I refuse."
"Ugh..."
Nara had initially suspected these intruders might be targeting Sakuramiya Hitomi-if they could overpower the bodyguards, they were likely dangerous.
But judging from the monitor feed, that didn't seem to be the case...
Nope, they just really wanted to visit the haunted house.
"..."
What now?
Nara turned her attention back to the other monitor feed, showing Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi.
Since they were blindfolded and Sakuramiya was nervous, Yan Huan was leading her forward very slowly.
As a result, when Spencer barged into the waiting room, they hadn't gotten far and were still near the entrance.
"Hah! So this is the haunted-huh?"
Spencer had just planted her hands on her hips, about to make some bold declaration, when she spotted the two holding hands.
Even with the blindfolds, the subtle, ambiguous atmosphere between the handsome boy and the beautiful girl was unmistakable to Spencer.
After a brief pause, her expression lit up with excitement.
"Ohhh~"
A knowing smirk spread across Spencer's face.
Meanwhile, An Le, who wasn't as physically fit as Spencer, had been struggling to keep up after running from the underground doujin event to the entertainment area while wearing a mask.
"Hah... hah... Spencer, wait-"
As a result, she noticed the two inside a second later than Spencer.
Just a few seconds later, her gaze locked onto the blindfolded handsome boy in front of her.
In an instant, her eyes widened-she clearly recognized him.
!!
X-Xiao...
Xiaohuan?!
Excitement, joy, exhilaration, anxiety, shock, worry-
A storm of emotions exploded in An Le's heart. Even the usually lethargic Little Finger on her shoulder perked up like it had just seen the national soccer team take a 2-1 lead, its eyes gleaming strangely.
"No way! What are the odds?! An Le, quick! This is our chance!!"
"Huh?"
An Le's heart raced. She never expected the long-awaited reunion scenario Little Finger had hyped up would suddenly become reality.
Overwhelmed, she wanted to call out, to reveal her identity to Xiaohuan,
"Um-"
But then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi's tightly clasped hands.
Huh?
Hands...
Xiaohuan's hand is already being held by that Sakuramiya girl...
An Le froze, her brain short-circuiting.
Meanwhile, Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi also heard the commotion behind them-especially since the voice sounded so familiar.
Both frowned in perfect sync, like two mecha pilots at 100% synchronization, and simultaneously removed their blindfolds.
What greeted them was a terrifying monster seemingly invading their world from the depths of the Pacific Ocean-
Codename: Niu Niu!
"It's you?!"
They spoke in unison.
Yan Huan knew she was a dangerous modifier user, while Sakuramiya Hitomi remained wary of this girl who had once shattered her barrier with a single kick.
As a result, the two stood united, their combined aura forming an impenetrable wall against the uninvited Spencer.
This reaction both annoyed and excited Spencer. Crossing her arms, she tilted her head up and said,
"What a coincidence~ Fancy meeting you here, President~"
She deliberately emphasized the word "President," sending an inexplicable chill down Sakuramiya's spine.
Just as Yan Huan was about to respond, a staff member entered and said with an awkward smile,
"Um, if you're entering the haunted house, you need to wear blindfolds, listen to the backstory, and then go in holding hands."
Hearing this, Little Finger quickly tapped An Le's cheek with its tail and scolded,
"Snap out of it! They're only holding hands because of the haunted house! That Sakuramiya girl hasn't won yet-you still have a chance!"
"R-really?"
An Le finally snapped out of her daze, blinking as she took in the tense atmosphere at the haunted house entrance.
Even the staff member had retreated after saying just one sentence...
Huh?
Why do Xiaohuan and Spencer always seem to butt heads like this?
Oh, right...
It's because of that study group incident!
Back then, they almost got into an argument, and she had accidentally overdosed Xiaohuan with pleasure while trying to help.
I'm sorry, Xiaohuan... It's all my fault...
"Um... you guys..."
An Le finally spoke up softly, like a timid little animal, trying to mediate the standoff.
It wasn't until An Le spoke up that Yan Huan noticed there was another girl standing behind Spencer.
His scrutinizing gaze fell upon her, as he was genuinely curious what kind of person could get along with someone like Spencer.
As a result, An Le, who was just about to say something, immediately shrank back under Yan Huan's piercing look.
"Ugh..."
Her face flushed red as she immediately lowered her head and retreated further behind Spencer.
Thus, Yan Huan could only vaguely make out her masked face and the several black bags clutched to her chest - nothing more.
"You idiot!! What are you doing? Hiding like a coward! Step forward! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Little Finger was approaching critical temperature again. Normally, such words would go in one ear and out the other for timid An Le.
But this time, perhaps because it was her first time standing openly before Xiaohuan like this, she found an unexpected surge of courage.
So she silently stepped back to Spencer's side rather than hiding behind her.
Spencer, right? I didn't expect students from our Yuanyue Academy to lack such basic manners.
"Barging in and ruining the atmosphere right before our game starts - that's not something any normal person would do."
Sakuramiya Hitomi's expression turned cold as she glared at Spencer.
As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to remember something and added with a mocking smile,
"Ah, I forgot - you're a transfer student. You probably never took Yuanyue's etiquette exam, did you? Or maybe you failed the IQ test?"
Spencer frowned and sneered back.
She didn't care what others said about her - except when they called her stupid.
"I-" Just as she was about to retort, An Le beside her blushed and apologized,
"S-sorry, we didn't mean to, really sorry..."
She even tugged at Spencer's sleeve, trying to stop her from arguing further with Xiaohuan and the others.
"Hah?!"
But this time Spencer wouldn't back down. She stared at An Le in disbelief.
You... you like that Yan Huan too, don't you?
Yet you don't dare say anything in front of this Sakuramiya?
What's the point then?
And you actually dare betray me by taking their side?
For the first time in so long, Spencer tasted the bitterness of betrayal - even if just slightly, since An Le hadn't meant it that way.
But Spencer's expression darkened dangerously, teetering on the edge of explosion.
Her golden hair seemed to glow brighter as an imperceptible ripple spread through the waiting room,
Though no one realized what was happening, they all felt an inexplicable chill.
"Hah? Vice President, what do you mean 'barging in'? You haven't even started yet! Groups go in together all the time - what's wrong with me joining?"
Yan Huan, who knew everything about the modifier, was the first to sense something amiss.
Though he didn't realize Spencer's Ability had activated, seeing the host in a bad mood told him this wouldn't end peacefully.
Most importantly, innocent Sakuramiya was here - he couldn't let her get involved.
"Sakuramiya, ignore her. Let's go."
Yan Huan took Sakuramiya's hand, trying to pull her behind him.
It was an instinctive protective gesture, but unexpectedly, Sakuramiya was pulling with equal force.
She was also trying to pull Yan Huan behind her, away from Spencer.
Both privately knew how dangerous Spencer was, and both assumed the other needed protection.
So once again, their actions synchronized perfectly!
And in the sudden tension, neither noticed they were still holding hands.
Spencer narrowed her eyes at Yan Huan's intervention and smirked,
"President, don't forget what you promised me, okay?"
Speak.
Right - he'd agreed to her condition. If this continued, Sakuramiya might get dragged in.
Maybe... they should just let her come with them...
Yan Huan froze momentarily as this thought surfaced.
Hearing this, Sakuramiya's heart skipped a beat before she thought:
A previous promise?
Was it about the study group?
Or was the President hiding something from her, secretly dealing with this Spencer...?
No, that couldn't be.
She should trust the President. That Spencer probably wouldn't...
At this thought, Sakuramiya also froze, surprised by her own reasoning.
Then simultaneously, both their minds roared in protest,
"How could I think that way about them?!"
Sensing something amiss, Sakuramiya glared daggers at Spencer,
"Whatever you discussed with the President, you're still in the wrong here! There were people queuing behind us - if anyone joins, it shouldn't be you! Please leave!"
But Spencer remained unmoved, ignoring Sakuramiya entirely as she smirked at Yan Huan.
That blatant covetousness, that greed - it made Sakuramiya sick.
Meanwhile, An Le couldn't tear her eyes away from Yan Huan and Sakuramiya's increasingly tight handhold.
Shouldn't that be enough?
Xiaohuan, Vice President Sakuramiya...
You're arguing now - no need to hold hands since we're not entering the haunted house yet!
Huh?
Why are you gripping tighter while arguing with Spencer?!
Are you... interlocking fingers now?
Is this...
What marital harmony feels like?
The light drained from An Le's eyes.
Childhood memories came flooding back.
She remembered catching cicadas together in the southern district park, how Xiaohuan made funny faces when she cried after falling.
She remembered sharing a bed, how she clung to him the next morning when Mama Bai tried waking them.
But these memories crumpled like paper in Sakuramiya's invisible hands, tossed into the bin.
An Le could almost see Sakuramiya smirking as she embraced Xiaohuan.
From then on, his gaze would never return to her.
Instead, it would belong wholly to his new lover.
That outstanding Vice President who'd appeared out of nowhere just half a year ago.
Yes, now An Le too felt the pain of being "stolen" by Sakuramiya.
Her heart ached so badly she nearly cried.
Then Yan Huan's voice cut through again,
"Enough, Spencer, you idiot - have you forgotten my warning too?"
Spencer froze momentarily.
She suddenly remembered her promise to Yan Huan: Don't let Sakuramiya find out.
Yet in her anger, she'd nearly crossed that line.
Though subtle, it was dangerously close.
Spencer guiltily crossed her arms as Yan Huan's pressure bore down,
"This is our break time. We're not here to argue - we have other plans."
Though directed at Spencer, his harsh tone also wounded An Le.
After that day, she'd considered Spencer her only friend.
She...
She never wanted this.
Cutting in line, arguing with Xiaohuan and Sakuramiya...
She just wanted to reconnect with Xiaohuan - now she was pushing him further away.
With this thought, An Le gently tugged Spencer's sleeve,
Spencer... let's stop. We were wrong to cut in...
"Let's go... I'll queue properly with you next time, at least we shouldn't..."
Head bowed, she spoke more than ever before, leaving Spencer speechless.
You...
Spencer gritted her teeth, fury boiling over.
I only chose to help you because you had nothing-whether buying tickets or bringing you here to play, if it weren't out of pity, I wouldn't have done this at all!
And originally, you liked Yan Huan too, didn't you?
Yet you keep opposing me at every turn, siding with others when they don't even want to acknowledge you. It's just self-indulgence.
In the whole class, it doesn't matter if no one likes me-after all, no one ever has since I was little.
But you, you clearly crave friendship and hate being bullied.
It's precisely because I saw that side of you that I meddled in the first place!
Looking at An Le, who was stopping her now, Spencer felt the pain of betrayal by a friend, her face twisted in anguish yet unable to speak.
"."
Meanwhile, at the haunted house entrance.
Sakuramiya Hitomi, provoked by Spencer's aggression, felt anger at the thought of the President being snatched away.
An Le, seeing Yan Huan and Sakuramiya holding hands, feared everything between childhood friends would be lost.
Spencer, because An Le sided with Sakuramiya and Yan Huan instead of her, felt the sorrow of betrayal by a friend.
For a moment, it was unclear who had wronged whom.
Maybe she wronged her, or perhaps she was wronged by her.
Maybe everyone was wronged, or maybe no one at all.
It was a philosophical question, at least in this tense atmosphere.
Unclear, truly unclear.
But no matter how tense, after reaching a boiling point, it had to be settled.
The one to settle it was Yan Huan.
"Spencer, stay away from us today."
With that, Yan Huan took Sakuramiya's hand and turned toward the haunted house, ignoring Spencer and the unidentified friend behind them.
Seeing Yan Huan and Sakuramiya's seemingly "deeper bond," Spencer grew frustrated, directing her dissatisfaction toward the modifier too.
If only this so-called modifier were more powerful.
Spencer turned to An Le beside her, about to vent her frustration, but noticed the trembling hand clutching her clothes.
"."
She opened her mouth, looking at An Le, only to see her eyes brimming with tears.
I'm sorry, Spencer... I... I really tried to go along with you. Cutting in line, picking fights-
"I knew it was wrong, but I still wanted to stand by you. I didn't want to betray your kindness... but-"
As she spoke, she wiped her tears, unable to continue.
Spencer stared at An Le, whose tearful eyes remained fixed on her, and the resentment she meant to unleash never surfaced.
Only then did the foolish girl realize-perhaps An Le hadn't sided with them out of affection for Yan Huan.
The real reason was that she couldn't bring herself to side with Spencer.
Because she had nothing, because she followed rules, because she couldn't bear to hurt others, because she was used to suffering in silence.
Everything about her was the opposite of Spencer's way of handling things.
This was why An Le had always been bullied.
And why Spencer couldn't ignore it when she saw it happening.
"Tch."
Irritated, Spencer scratched the back of her head, glancing toward the haunted house, then at the tearful An Le.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but no words came.
Even if she could speak, it wouldn't be anything nice.
In the end, she gritted her teeth and folded her arms.
"Alright, stop crying! I get it-I was wrong!"
"."
An Le clutched her bag, pouting at Spencer.
But the latter turned away, opening and closing her mouth reluctantly.
Finally, as if forcing it out, she muttered almost inaudibly,
"S-sorry..."
"Huh?"
An Le blinked, watching as Spencer turned back to her.
"That's it! Enough!"
Face flushed, Spencer marched ahead, arms still crossed.
She headed into the haunted house, leaving An Le with only her back.
Anyway... we already cut in line! Let's just go in now-I won't do it again.
"And... don't you like Yan Huan? What happened earlier was all me-it's not your fault. Do whatever you want. Just ask if you need help!"
An Le blinked but didn't leave. Instead, she walked up to Spencer and whispered,
"Then let's go in together, Spencer... Sorry for not speaking up for you earlier."
Spencer acted indifferent, replying,
"Whatever. I'm used to it."
"...Sorry, Spencer. Then... inside, could you distract Vice President Sakuramiya? I want to talk to Xiaohuan."
"."
Without agreeing or refusing, Spencer entered first, adding,
"Hmph, just so you know-I'm only going in to enjoy the haunted house. Helping you is just incidental."
"Okay... thank you, Spencer."
Then, as if mustering courage, An Le followed her inside.
Both groups temporarily ceased hostilities, leaving only Little Finger and Nara, who had witnessed everything, deeply shaken.
Wait, why did we come here again?
Wasn't it to deal with Yan Huan?
How did it suddenly turn into talks about friendship before they all walked into the haunted house?
I don't get it.
But ultimately, both Little Finger and Nara saw this as a minor detour-there was still room to maneuver.
From Nara's perspective, the young lady had entered the haunted house, and the incident had only strengthened Yan Huan and her bond.
They just needed to instruct the staff to keep Spencer away from them using the haunted house mechanisms.
From Little Finger's view, at least they'd found Yan Huan, and with Spencer-strong but dumb-creating a chance to be alone with him would be easy.
With the modifier, brute-forcing it and reminiscing about the past would surely stir desire.
Though they'd never met, Little Finger and Nara wore identical scheming smiles.
No matter what, the chance to be alone was here-the advantage was ours!
Now, they just had to arrange things properly inside the haunted house to win!
"I hate this, I hate this..."
Past the haunted house entrance was a maze-like school hallway. Both Yan Huan and Sakuramiya, wanting to protect each other, tried to distance themselves from Spencer.
Result? The two wandered hand in hand until they realized they were lost in some old classroom.
Darkness surrounded them, eerie whispers echoed, and cold air made their skin crawl.
Seeking warmth, Sakuramiya unconsciously tightened her grip on Yan Huan's hand.
"Sakuramiya, your hand-"
Only then did she realize.
"!"
Her persona nearly slipped as she quickly let go, apologizing.
"President, sorry-it's because of what happened earlier with Spencer..."
"It's fine."
Yan Huan smiled, but beneath his perfect expression management, he wasn't pleased.
He hadn't expected Spencer to show up here.
He'd come to check Bai Yi's modifier progress, only to run into troublesome Spencer.
Like preparing one table of food but getting two tables of guests-how to divide it?
If Bai Yi and Spencer met prematurely, might it trigger the Linmen Holy Grail War early?
Damn.
Seeing Yan Huan's calm expression, Sakuramiya relaxed slightly and changed the subject.
"This haunted house is huge with no guides. I heard we need to find the exit and its key to win."
Yan Huan refocused, pushing aside thoughts of Bai Yi and Spencer.
"It shouldn't be too hard-there'll be subtle hints. Look there, Sakuramiya."
Following his finger, she saw bloody words on the classroom blackboard:
"SHE'S HIDING IN THE EQUIPMENT ROOM!! KILL HER! DON'T LET HER ESCAPE!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi withdrew her gaze and smiled at Yan Huan,
"Seems we need to find the equipment room first."
"Yeah, let's go look for the way out first, and try not to run into that psycho."
She was referring to Spencer.
"Okay, President."
Sakuramiya nodded with a smile and walked out with Yan Huan.
While checking the classroom door numbers, seemingly to ease the haunted house's oppressive atmosphere, Sakuramiya initiated a conversation,
"By the way, President, there's something I wanted to ask you."
".Hmm?"
"Earlier, both you and Spencer seemed to have exchanged some private words, right?"
Yan Huan paused slightly and turned to look at Sakuramiya following behind him, her eyes filled with concern.
This concern wasn't feigned.
When confronting Spencer earlier, that strange thought had inexplicably resurfaced in her mind again.
That feeling of unconditionally trusting Spencer and the President, letting her guard down completely.
Having this happen repeatedly, Sakuramiya became increasingly convinced that Spencer truly possessed some special superpower like her.
Moreover, through those faint thoughts that suddenly emerged in her mind, she deduced that the President, being powerless, would surely be affected too.
If this continues unchecked, the President he...
For some reason, an image flashed in Sakuramiya's mind - Spencer holding the hesitant, evasive-eyed President in her arms.
Spencer raised her head, looking down arrogantly at her below while laughing wildly, revealing that signature canine tooth,
"Ehehehehehehe! The President is mine now!"
Then, when she looked at the President, his expression grew even darker, a tear sliding down his cheek,
"I'm sorry, Sakuramiya... I... can't go back anymore."
"!!"
Sakuramiya suddenly shuddered, her disgust for Spencer intensifying to the extreme.
No, she must deal with Spencer without the President knowing!
"Ah, sorry Sakuramiya, I kept this from you earlier. Remember when she took those photos of us? I used some tricks to make her delete them."
"Tricks?"
"Exactly."
Yan Huan smiled slightly and turned to face Sakuramiya, saying,
"In exchange for returning the photos, I agreed to one of her conditions."
Hearing this, Sakuramiya's pupils gradually constricted.
(End of Chapter)