Chapter 52
*Dong!* In the corridor, Yinggong Tong watched Spencer wandering around like a headless fly, clearly lost. She sneered with disdain.
When Spencer had ignored her commonsense modifier earlier, Yinggong Tong panicked for a moment—but quickly regained her composure.
After brute force failed, Spencer became completely powerless against the barrier. All her running and smashing achieved nothing. Only then did she think to take out her phone.
Unsurprisingly, it had no signal.
Now, Spencer was squatting near a corner of the corridor, looking utterly broken and disoriented. Her mind seemed overloaded by the ordeal.
"Aaaah! Where the hell is the way out?!"
She couldn't even tell north from south anymore.
'The timing should be just about right.'
The situation was perfect—Spencer and the President were separated, and Yinggong Tong had remained hidden in the shadows the entire time without being discovered.
*Pa!*
With a light tap on the wall, Yinggong Tong withdrew the scattered barrier completely.
*Zizi~*
The Bluetooth earpiece that had lost signal reconnected instantly. Surveillance resumed in the corridor, and the ghostly NPCs—who had been locked in an abandoned classroom by Yinggong—poked their heads out in confusion.
"Miss Yinggong!"
"Miss!"
"The door suddenly slammed shut just now, and it went completely silent outside. We couldn’t reach Sis Nara!"
Along the corridor, ghostly figures with spooky makeup peeked out and called to her excitedly, making even Yinggong Tong crack a faint smile.
"Shh!"
She quickly raised a finger and pointed toward the infirmary.
The gesture meant: 'Don’t let the President hear.'
The NPCs instantly understood. They shut their mouths and began whispering through their Bluetooth earpieces.
"Miss! Are you okay?!"
Nara’s anxious voice suddenly came through, the sudden volume spike making Yinggong Tong tilt her head.
"I'm fine. Just now—"
"Just now, the surveillance on the entire second floor of the haunted house suddenly cut off. We don’t know what triggered it. All the doors’ mechanisms activated by themselves, and staff can’t open them."
"Ah, probably just a malfunction. What about the President? Has he reached the end?"
As mentioned earlier, unless you take the secret path through the infirmary, you’ll have to circle up to the third floor to get to the exit on the opposite side of the first floor.
Yinggong Tong ascended the stairs to the third floor with practiced ease and immediately asked Nara,
At this point, she planned to circle around and intercept the President at the exit.
"I was just about to tell you, Miss... That blonde girl had another girl with her earlier, remember?"
"Girl?"
As she walked, Yinggong Tong paused slightly, a sense of unease rising in her chest.
Right—when Spencer arrived, there was indeed a girl following behind her.
But that girl seemed like a complete shut-in: timid, meek—Yinggong Tong had lost interest at first glance.
She only remembered her now because the girl had spoken up rationally during the earlier conflict.
"Ah, Miss, when the President entered the infirmary, that girl also went in. Now the two of them are inside the secret path leading to the exit. There’s no surveillance in there, and—"
"And?"
"And it’s been quite a while—they still haven’t come out. We don’t know what they’re doing inside."
Yinggong Tong’s face froze. Holding her phone, she gaped in disbelief.
Then, she tossed aside her parasol, lifted her dress, and bolted toward the third floor.
'Damn it! I was so focused on defending against tricky Spencer that I completely neglected the other one—'
'She snuck in on me!'
Right now, Yinggong Tong felt like she had just won a team fight, hadn’t even had time to celebrate—only to glance at the minimap and realize—
'The enemy is attacking our crystal?!'
(*) Reference to MOBA games like League of Legends, where the "crystal" is the final objective.
"What the hell?! That girl snuck into the infirmary—Nara, why didn’t you warn me?!"
"Everyone’s attention was on the blonde girl. That other one didn’t stand out. I checked the surveillance—they interacted normally. Entering the secret path didn’t seem like a big deal."
Yinggong Tong had poor stamina—she had barely climbed the stairs and taken a few steps before she started panting.
Leaning against the wall, she listened, only half convinced—but slightly reassured.
*Huff—*
'Yeah, probably nothing happened.'
But the moment she thought that, she began to doubt it.
'Isn’t it possible that even this thought is a result of that damn Spencer’s superpower?'
That idea hit her like a bucket of cold water.
Gritting her teeth, Yinggong Tong sprinted down the stairs and arrived at the entrance of the secret passage.
She pushed it open—it was a slide-like corridor with a background suggesting it was the school's trash chute.
The President and that girl still hadn’t come out?!
How long had they been in there already?!
*Haha.*
Staring into the darkness, Yinggong Tong gasped and shouted,
"President!!"
'What exactly are the President and that girl—'
'Doing in there?!'
*Ding ding ding~*
Let’s rewind time a bit. In the dim corridor, the sudden ringtone echoed like a great bell, instantly catching An Le’s attention.
Her face flushed red. Just as she looked up while panting, Yan Huan’s sudden closeness startled her into looking away.
"Xiao Xiaohuan, hubby, w-wait a second..."
An Le’s panicked brain reacted on instinct—falling back into old habits from playing house—only realizing what she had said moments later.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
In the darkness, Yan Huan blinked and turned his eyes toward her—but from this angle, he could only see her completely flushed cheek.
Soft and tender—it made Yan Huan wonder if it would leak juice if he bit it.
But he didn’t act impulsively. Instead, he pretended to still be under the influence of the modifier.
"Xiaohuan... that phone call..."
He toyed with her black hair while glancing at the phone display.
*...*
Then turned back and whispered in the dark,
"Doesn’t matter. An Le, wifey."
"Don’t—don’t call me that, Xiaohuan, ah... I’ll—"
An Le backed away again, her timid voice shrinking so low only she could hear it. Even Little Pinky looked at her in confusion.
"I’ll... I won’t be able to hold back."
"Huh? What did you say?"
Little Pinky flicked out its tongue and looked at An Le, asking.
Grabbing onto it like a lifeline, An Le quickly turned to Little Pinky and asked,
"Little Pinky, I want to cancel Superconductor Mode now. Make sure Xiaohuan’s memories feel more natural. I don’t want..."
"I know. But this is a rare opportunity—are you sure you don’t want to do anything?"
This time, Little Pinky’s tone held no disappointment—just a gentle follow-up.
Originally, its expectations for An Le were low—"sixty points counts as winning." But this sudden move scored a "ninety!"
Not only did they acknowledge each other and hug—they even used the modifier!
Very good, very good...
Right now, in Yan Huan’s eyes—under the modifier—An Le sparkled with a beauty filter. Even in Little Pinky’s eyes, she radiated charm!
An Le opened her mouth and muttered softly in her mind,
'I-I won’t do it. Besides, there’s not even enough time to do... anything...'
*...*
Little Pinky opened its mouth, then burst into laughter.
It patted An Le on the shoulder with its tail and grinned wickedly, saying,
"Who knows? A boy with his yang essence still intact might not need that long~"
(*) "Yang essence" is a Chinese cultural concept referring to male vitality or sexual energy.
"Little Pinky!"
An Le’s face turned even redder. She gently patted Little Pinky’s head, silently telling it to stop being so obscene.
But Little Pinky wasn’t angry. It simply lifted its red snake eyes toward the blushing, heart-pounding Yan Huan.
Heh. Hosts with boundaries always start off saying: "All I want is a normal romance."
But once you bombard her with overwhelming stimulation, her mental defenses gradually erode—until she becomes completely enslaved by desire.
*No rush~*
*Hiss~*
While An Le gathered the scattered literary works from the ground and placed them into her bag, Little Pinky began its own operation.
Its forked tongue flicked out, and its crimson mouth opened in perfect sync.
Though the snake's mouth wasn’t large, it swallowed the white mist connected to Yan Huan like a bottomless pit.
Along with the mist, everything that had occurred in his mind during this period was also consumed.
As Little Pinky opened its mouth, Yan Huan immediately felt the same memory-devouring sensation he had experienced at the end of other modifier sessions.
From the moment he saw that literary work, his memories deviated—he hadn’t seen any books at all, only recalled moments with his childhood sweetheart buried deep within his heart.
An Le's image grew clearer and more radiant, stirring emotions in Yan Huan's heart, making him reluctant to leave.
Even more unsettling was that, after the memory correction, a portion of the unnatural affection toward An Le—created by the modifier—still remained.
Yan Huan blinked and looked ahead at An Le through the darkness.
That radiant, goddess-like aura had faded, but he still genuinely found her beautiful—completely his type.
She had entered his strike zone—almost on par with Yinggong Tong.
'Who would've thought a flat-chest fanboy could be turned into a boob-loving slave like this!'
*Hiss*, this boy is terrifying!
And even though Yan Huan was aware of it, he couldn’t deny how cute and fragrant An Le seemed to him at that moment.
"Xiaohuan, are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine."
Seeing the passionate look on Yan Huan’s face gradually return to normal, An Le couldn’t help but purse her lips.
For some reason, a tinge of disappointment welled up in her heart.
She didn’t show it, but Little Pinky, perched on her shoulder with a sly smile, noticed her disappointment.
*Hiss~*
It simply flicked its tongue and kept her feelings to itself.
Yan Huan turned to look at his phone, whose ringtone had long since stopped, and reached out to pick it up.
Glancing at the screen, he smiled at An Le and said,
"It’s been so long since we met. I was so happy to see you, I forgot to answer the call."
"R-Really? I’m also really happy to see you, Xiaohuan."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Yan Huan’s face faded slightly. He reached out and patted her head.
"But you’re attending the same school as me. When I ran for President, it was announced school-wide—you must’ve known I was here. So why didn’t you come find me?"
"Uhh~"
As Yan Huan patted her head, An Le instinctively narrowed her eyes and leaned into his hand like a content kitten.
But soon, her face flushed red and she lowered her head.
"Xiao... Xiaohuan, I’m not a kid anymore. Don’t treat me like you did back then..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan was slightly stunned. His expression became complicated.
He withdrew his hand and smiled faintly.
"Yeah, you’re not the same as before anymore..."
Hearing this, An Le instinctively looked up to read his expression, but he had already turned away, gazing down the corridor.
"Alright, let’s get ready to go."
"O-Okay."
By the way, Yan Huan dialed Bai Yi’s mother’s number.
*Beep~*
*Beep~*
"Hello? Xiaohuan, did Yiyi tell you where to find us?"
In the narrow, quiet corridor, Bai Yi’s mother’s voice was clearly audible to An Le.
"Nope, Auntie."
"Ay, that girl... Alright then, Xiaohuan, come to the Main Venue around eleven-thirty. I’ll have someone pick you up there."
"Okay, thank you, Auntie."
"Oh, don’t mention it."
After hanging up, Yan Huan noticed a slide-like structure appear in the darkness ahead of the corridor.
"Looks like we’re supposed to exit from here, An Le."
"Mm."
Yan Huan sat down first, and An Le sat behind him, gently grabbing onto his clothes.
He slid forward slightly, braced his legs against the corridor walls, and turned to check on her.
"Alright, ready to—"
"President!!"
A sudden shout echoed from the other end of the corridor—it was Yinggong Tong’s voice.
Yan Huan was momentarily stunned, and at that moment, An Le, who had been holding onto his clothes, tensed up like a mistress caught red-handed.
"Ah!"
She instinctively tried to hide behind Yan Huan—but since he was already seated on the slide, her motion only shoved him forward.
In the next second, the friction couldn’t support both of them, and Yan Huan lost balance, dragging An Le down the slide with him.
Something soft and balloon-like pressed against Yan Huan’s back, making his pupils dilate slightly as they slid toward the bright exit.
Outside the entrance, Yinggong Tong had just been about to call again when she heard frantic rustling from within.
The next moment, Yan Huan and An Le—clothes in disarray—slid out and landed right in front of her.
"Ah—Xiaohuan!"
Xiaohuan?
Yinggong Tong blinked and mulled over the name.
'Wait a second... why does it feel like everyone except me is calling the President that?'
'Fine, fine—Ye Shiyu and Spencer want to fight over the President, and now you want to join in too?'
'Then let’s fight!'
Yinggong Tong maintained a polite smile on her face, but inside, she was already sharpening her metaphorical knife.
"Yinggong?"
Yan Huan looked up at her, untouched and already waiting there, while An Le, hiding behind him with a black bag, had taken off her mask, revealing her fair and innocent face.
Her cheeks were flushed, slightly moist, and she was still clutching Yan Huan’s clothes.
She looked at Yinggong Tong and quickly greeted her.
"Vice President Yinggong."
It was just a normal greeting, but coupled with her intimate posture with Yan Huan, Yinggong Tong could almost smell the scent of tea in the air.
(*) "Tea" in Chinese slang can suggest someone who acts sweet or innocent but is actually calculating or manipulative.
Yan Huan quickly stood up, and with An Le no longer able to hold onto him, she had no choice but to let him return to Yinggong Tong’s side.
"President, who is this?"
"Ah, Yinggong, let me introduce you—she’s also a student at our school, from Class 1—"
"C! I’m from Class 1-C. Hello, Vice President Yinggong, I’m An Le."
An Le nervously stood up and bowed politely to her.
Then, with a slight pout, she apologized again to Yinggong Tong.
"About what happened with Spencer earlier, I apologize on her behalf. Sorry for the trouble."
"..."
The polite smile on Yinggong Tong’s face faded slightly. She studied the girl avoiding eye contact, deep in thought.
'This girl doesn’t feel as incompatible as Ye Shiyu or Spencer...'
'And—'
'She seems... afraid of me?'
"It’s alright. That was her fault, not yours. No need for you to apologize. But just now, you called the President..."
Hearing this, An Le’s face turned beet red. She waved her hands, trying to explain.
"I-I mean..."
Little Pinky had been quite satisfied until now, but her reaction made it flustered. Just as it was about to scold her, it heard An Le clutching her clothes and saying,
"Xiaohuan and I... grew up together, so..."
'Childhood sweethearts?'
'And a seasoned rival?!'
Yinggong Tong’s smile nearly cracked. She glanced at Yan Huan, while Little Pinky gave An Le a newfound level of respect.
*Hiss...*
'You little thing... did you just awaken your hidden potential today?'
In truth, it was all because An Le had personally overheard Xiaohuan say, "Yinggong Tong isn’t even my girlfriend yet."
Even though facing the radiant Yinggong Tong—who seemed like a perfect match for Xiaohuan—still made An Le feel inferior, she...
...had already experienced such passionate treatment from Xiaohuan.
An Le instinctively didn’t want to let go or give that up.
So even she was a little surprised that she could say such bold words.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
Yan Huan smiled slightly and softly introduced her to Yinggong Tong.
"This is An Le. We grew up together in the southern district when we were kids. She used to take good care of me. After she moved back to Longguo, I didn’t think she’d return."
Yinggong Tong blinked, gave a polite smile, and then looked curious.
"I see. But aside from Spencer, there haven’t been any other transfer students this year. Did An Le enroll through regular admission? I don’t recall the President mentioning her."
Upon hearing this, An Le’s face instantly turned a little pale.
'Yeah... it was all my own cowardice that kept me from reaching out to Xiaohuan all this time.'
'Would Xiaohuan think I didn’t want to find him?'
He had just said, "I’m not the same as I used to be."
'If it were the old me, I would’ve followed Xiaohuan wherever he went.'
'And I would never have rejected his head pats.'
But now, she—
—didn’t hate it at all.
She was just... too cowardly, just like Xiaohuan said.
An Le’s lips trembled slightly. She quickly looked up, wanting to explain.
But just as she met Yan Huan and Yinggong Tong’s eyes in a panic, a single sentence from Yinggong Tong had already pierced through her.
'This girl...'
'Is really weak.'
Among the three current potential romantic rivals, Yinggong Tong began ranking them in her mind.
Tier 0: Spencer.
That girl isn’t very bright, but fools can beat experts. With brute strength and a superpower, she was the most dangerous.
Tier 1: Ye Shiyu.
Aggressive, but not articulate. You can tell she’s cursing a thousand times in her head, but only manages to say a phrase or two.
Still, her mother, Ye Lan, is the President’s benefactor. That connection could give her an edge. Caution is necessary.
Tier 2: An Le.
A weakling. Not even worth analyzing. Probably has a one-sided crush on the President. The way he looks at her is a bit complicated, which caught Yinggong Tong’s attention.
And she seems to have a decent relationship with Spencer too.
With that thought, Yinggong Tong instantly changed her strategy.
"Mm."
Seeing the nervous expression on An Le’s face, Yan Huan's heart tensed slightly.
He knew that the old An Le would suffer in silence, even when wronged. But now, she had the modifier.
And after such a long separation, Yan Huan felt the environment had already begun to influence her.
Who knows when something might go wrong?
So, Yan Huan opened his mouth, intending to explain for An Le.
But Yinggong Tong was faster. She offered an apologetic smile and quickly said to An Le,
"Sorry, An Le. I shouldn’t have asked that. I didn’t mean it like that.
Since you’re the President’s childhood friend, you should visit the student council more often. We’d all love to have you. I’m Yinggong Tong—pleased to meet you."
As she spoke, Yinggong Tong extended her hand to An Le.
An Le’s face flushed slightly. She was nervous but still reached out and shook Yinggong Tong’s hand.
"Ah, okay, Vice President Yinggong."
Yan Huan glanced at Yinggong Tong and smiled helplessly.
As long as others were polite, Yinggong Tong was always gentle with everyone.
All this time, he had only seen her lose her temper at Spencer.
That girl—
Still, if An Le was truly just a childhood friend, Yan Huan naturally wouldn’t mind letting her spend more time at the student council.
But the problem was—
She and Spencer were both hosts of the modifier.
'Oh, Yinggong... why do you always attract modifier hosts?'
Yan Huan glanced toward the haunted house and asked,
"Is Spencer still inside?"
Come to think of it, what exactly had Spencer used the modifier for this time?
Was locking herself and An Le in there just to expose An Le as a modifier host?
Did she already know An Le is a host?
If not, and she just wanted to repeat what happened last time, then why wasn’t she seen when they came out?
Also, didn’t the phone have signal just now?
So many mysteries—it was overwhelming.
Yinggong Tong’s smile faded slightly. Stroking her chin, she replied,
"I think the President triggered a haunted house mechanism earlier, which split us up. Spencer might’ve triggered one too and got locked somewhere. She’s probably still lost inside."
'A mechanism?'
Could it be he guessed wrong, and it wasn’t the modifier that caused it, but the haunted house itself?
Yan Huan felt suspicious of both theories. There had just been too much information from inside the haunted house, and he still hadn’t recovered from the shock of his childhood sweetheart’s ‘wolf pounce.’
Yinggong Tong turned around with a smile, looking at Yan Huan and An Le—especially An Le.
"Forget about her, An Le. Come have fun with us today. Everyone from the student council is here. The President and I can introduce you properly."
"Eh?"
'Schemer~'
Yinggong Tong was becoming increasingly aware that more and more people were eyeing the President.
Not to mention someone like Spencer, who had superpowers.
Given the situation, if she wanted to protect—no, monopolize—the President, she’d have to treat Ye Shiyu and Spencer as enemies.
If this went on, Yinggong Tong figured she might end up surrounded by enemies.
So she decided to first identify who could be an ally and who couldn’t.
'Does An Le have feelings for the President?'
'Admittedly, yes.'
'But she’s weak and seems afraid of me. There’s a chance she could be drawn to our side.'
Judging by her closeness with Spencer, using An Le as leverage to strike Spencer later wasn’t out of the question.
'Come now, An Le. Be the blade I use against Spencer.'
An Le’s face flushed slightly as she looked at Yinggong Tong’s gentle and polite smile. Her heart filled with guilt and self-loathing.
'As expected...'
'Vice President Yinggong really is like a goddess—so gentle and kind. She matches Xiaohuan perfectly.'
She felt tempted. After all, being with Xiaohuan, joining his circle, and gradually becoming part of his life didn’t seem impossible.
Besides, Spencer was rude and reckless. She often did things like today that left An Le embarrassed and bewildered.
An Le opened her mouth, just about to agree.
But she suddenly remembered that day—when she was being bullied, it was Spencer who turned back to save her.
When she missed the release of a new game due to not having a ticket, Spencer had given her one worth over a thousand.
'To abandon the friend who once reached out to me... just because of a crush—'
'Do I even deserve to like Xiaohuan?'
'Besides, without me to guide her, Spencer would definitely get lost in there.'
'She played a role in helping me reunite with Xiaohuan too. How could I...'
At that thought, An Le’s earlier temptation slowly faded.
She glanced at Yan Huan, who was still smiling, thought for a moment, and then took a step back.
"Xiaohuan... I—I want to go back and look for Spencer. You guys go ahead and have fun."
Yan Huan was slightly stunned and didn’t respond right away.
At the same time, Yinggong Tong’s smile didn’t falter.
On the contrary, the closer their relationship, the more use Yinggong Tong could make of her.
As An Le turned to leave, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and bowed to Yan Huan, then to Yinggong Tong.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry... Ugh."
"Wait, An Le!"
Yan Huan suddenly called out from behind. An Le, who had just been about to leave, immediately stood up straight.
"Yes!" she responded.
An Le turned her head, her face slightly flushed, and quickly lowered it again when she saw Yan Huan's face.
"Xiaoxiaohuan, wh-what is it?" she stammered.
Seeing her flustered expression, a flicker of emotion crossed Yan Huan's face.
But it quickly vanished behind the mask of his Perfect Expression Control. He raised his phone and said,
"Let's add each other on Plane first, An Le."
(*) Note: "Plane" is likely a fictional or in-universe social media or communication app.
An Le's eyes brightened slightly as she looked up at him.
After a brief pause, a cute smile bloomed on her face once more.
She nodded and said,
"Mm!"
Inside the haunted house, Spencer sat lifelessly in an abandoned classroom, so lost she couldn't even tell which floor she was on.
Even her once-puffed, angry expression had worn down over time, softening into a look of grievance.
After a moment of silence, she scratched her golden hair, her voice unexpectedly taking on a tearful tone.
"So annoying! I didn’t even get the comics, and now I’m separated from An Le. I haven’t seen Yan Huan or Yinggong Tong either."
(*) Note: "Yinggong Tong" appears to be a character's name.
Just as she was about to say more, a crisp sound suddenly echoed through the quiet classroom.
*Ka-ka.*
"Who's there?!" she cried.
Spencer quickly stood up, nervously scanning the room—but there was only silence.
She swallowed hard, cautiously stepping back while keeping her eyes on her surroundings.
Suddenly, a black paper bag flew onto the desk in front of her as if drawn by an invisible force, draining the color from her face.
Though she didn’t scream, she instinctively fell into a combat stance.
"Wh-what is this?"
Spencer hesitated, thinking it might be a haunted house prank. But the paper bag looked increasingly familiar.
'Wait a second—wasn't An Le carrying a bag like this earlier?'
'No... come to think of it, everyone who bought comics there had one.'
She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then cautiously stepped closer to the paper bag.
Like a curious kitten, she gently poked it.
Immediately, a comic book slid out from the bag, revealing its title.
"Pure Ballet"
"Author: Jiaotan"
[To be continued]