Inside the curtain, sensing Spencer's restless movements, Yan Huan quickly grabbed her mischievous hand.
He glanced down at her dazed expression, confirming that she was too out of it to make a sound, and only then did he relax slightly. His focus shifted to the scene beyond the thin curtain.
On the other side, An Le, Yan Huan’s childhood friend, was completely oblivious to what was happening inside.
"Where did Teacher Yelena go? Well, even if she’s not here, she wouldn’t have taken the phone book with her, right…?"
An Le muttered to herself, but Yan Huan didn’t find it strange at all.
She had this habit since childhood.
Having few friends, she was used to being alone, and sometimes, when certain people were by themselves, they would inexplicably talk out loud to dispel the loneliness.
Yan Huan once had a college roommate in his past life who did the same thing—he would narrate everything while playing
Stardew Valley
, yet would fall completely silent whenever someone was around.
"Condoms, oil? W-Why does she have stuff like this?"
As expected, An Le soon stumbled upon Teacher Yelena’s hidden stash.
"She even has doujinshi?"
Teacher Yelena sure had some heavy tastes… poor An Le, this little fool, was probably going to be scarred for life.
The sound of flipping pages filled the air. An Le was obviously reading through it.
Yan Huan waited for her to get embarrassed and let out a shy little squeal, like a startled animal.
Instead, she sighed in disappointment.
"This is so tame. Boring… Whatever, I should just find the phone book."
"…?"
Yan Huan blinked. Then, suddenly, he recalled seeing her buy
Dragon Bound
at the doujin convention.
He hadn’t checked its contents back then, but considering this reaction… it was probably on the extreme end of things.
An Le, just what kind of stuff are you reading in private?!
"Ugh… I must’ve fried my brain reading all this. That’s the only reason I’d even consider doing something like this… Oh! Found it!"
An Le rummaged around and quickly found Spencer’s family contact. She dialed the number.
Meanwhile, inside the curtain, Yan Huan was struggling to keep Spencer under control as his brain raced.
The problem now was that An Le had no idea Spencer’s family was already on their way.
If the people from the Golden Lion Group saw Spencer in her current state with him, it would be impossible to explain.
It wouldn’t be easy to explain to An Le, either—especially since she had already made it clear she was the one responsible for this entire mess.
Come to think of it, he really had Spencer to thank. If it weren’t for her messing around at lunch, the one lying here in this state would probably be
him
!
Yan Huan swallowed hard, still shaken by the thought.
Outside, An Le had already connected to Spencer’s family’s reserved line and pressed the phone against her ear.
Because of that, Yan Huan couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end.
"Welcome to the Golden Lion Group. Based on your call’s origin, this appears to be an inquiry related to the academy. If so, press one. If not, press two."
A mechanical, robotic female voice played from the phone. An Le hesitated briefly, then pressed "one."
"Hello, I am Miss Aria Spencer’s AI assistant,
Lionheart
. How may I assist you?"
Gripping the phone tightly, An Le quickly explained that Spencer might not be feeling well and asked the AI to locate her as soon as possible.
Lionheart AI fell silent for a moment before responding that "Spencer's vitals are stable" and "staff members have already made contact with Miss Spencer." It also assured An Le not to worry.
"Th-That’s great… Thank you."
An Le hung up, cradling the phone in relief. She turned to
Little Finger
, the tiny creature on her shoulder, and spoke,
"Looks like Spencer’s family has already confirmed she’s okay. That’s such a relief…"
Little Finger clicked its tongue.
"You chose the [Pleasure Route], so my ability doesn’t have much destructive power. She won’t be permanently damaged. But if her family’s already reached her, then I guess she didn’t get the chance to cause any trouble."
"Thank goodness…"
Little Finger shot her a side glance and muttered,
"No surprise there. The filthy rich sure know how to react fast when things go wrong."
Well, whatever. If Spencer didn’t get the chance to go wild, it also meant
Big Thumb
wouldn’t be able to feast…
With that thought, Little Finger let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Just then, An Le seemed to remember something and turned to Little Finger.
"Hey, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you…"
Little Finger flicked its tongue and responded flatly,
"…Go ahead."
An Le hesitated for a second before finally voicing her question.
"Little Finger… are you hiding something from me?"
Little Finger stopped flicking its tongue and simply stared at her.
An Le didn’t let the silence drag on. Instead, she added,
"When we met Yan Huan’s adoptive sister, Ye Shiyu, your reaction was really strange. And now, when Spencer drank your medicine, you immediately knew something was up and made the right call…"
That kind of awareness… why not go pro?
Little Finger flicked its tongue again, realizing that An Le was starting to catch on to this
competition of fingers
.
But it just stared at her, saying nothing.
"……"
Well, it wasn’t like she wouldn’t find out eventually.
Little Finger was just wondering whether now was the right time.
From its perspective, the best strategy was to keep its host in the dark for a while longer.
By then, she would have already used the Modifier to fulfill several desires, getting addicted to its convenience.
She’d start craving even greater power and naturally come to see other Modifier users as threats.
But right now, An Le was an idiot who messed up every single time she tried using it. She hadn’t even gotten a taste of the benefits yet—there was no way she’d be reluctant to let it go.
And on top of that, she was as timid as hell. If a fight broke out, she’d probably surrender instantly.
Not to mention, one of the other competitors was
Spencer
, one of her only two friends. There was no way she’d be willing to fight her.
Nope, it wasn’t the right time. This secret still had to stay hidden!
"Ahem, you’re overthinking it. When I saw Ye Shiyu, I just thought her gaze was a bit intense. Didn’t you feel that way too?"
An Le thought back to Ye Shiyu’s expression when she looked at her.
It didn’t feel like she was looking at an enemy… but it didn’t feel like she was looking at a
person
either.
"As for Spencer, you said it yourself—people have different constitutions. Maybe she just has a strong resistance? I just trust my own ability too much to believe anyone could be immune to it!"
That much was true. Even among the five Modifiers,
Big Thumb
, the strongest one, couldn’t resist
Little Finger’s
ability.
"I see…"
An Le watched as Little Finger puffed up its tiny head proudly. She seemed to believe it.
The doubts on her face cleared up, replaced by a bright smile.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of something in the phone book.
"Huh… Yan Huan really kept this number…"
Little Finger curiously glanced at the digits next to Yan Huan’s name.
The first part was the international code for Linmen. The rest read:
07010624.
Little Finger didn’t get it.
"What’s this?"
An Le turned toward it and said softly,
"When we were kids, Yan Huan told me he would leave the orphanage one day. I was worried that once he left, I wouldn’t be able to find him anymore…
"So I told him, if he left, there wouldn’t be a guardian number he could write down for school."
Her voice lowered as she continued,
"He said that, if anything ever happened to him, there wouldn’t be anyone to take care of him anyway, so writing down a guardian number was pointless…
"He told me to just make one up. So he took our birthdays and put them together."
Little Finger opened its mouth slightly.
It glanced at An Le’s reddened eyes.
Then, it turned back to the number.
After a long silence, Little Finger finally couldn't hold back its curiosity and asked,
"…How does an orphan even know their birthday?"
An Le froze, as if struck by a heavy blow, nearly breaking into tears.
"He… He was born in Linmen! He used to have parents! It’s all recorded in the archives!! What are you even saying, Little Finger?!"
"Ahem…"
Inside the room, Yan Huan, still restraining Spencer, didn’t hear An Le’s frantic explanation to Little Finger. He only caught the part where she mentioned the number he had left in the phone book.
At that moment, inside the curtain, memories of An Le flooded Yan Huan’s mind.
Outside the curtain, An Le, staring at the phone book, was also lost in recollections of the past.
As the childhood friends found themselves immersed in nostalgia, the hair of the restrained Spencer suddenly shimmered even brighter.
She sluggishly lifted her head, her body still hazy from the lingering effects, but her extraordinary constitution had already expelled some of the toxins.
It was like waking from a dream—her mind unclear, but she finally recognized the person in front of her.
That annoying Student Council President, Yan Huan.
"……"
Spencer blinked in a daze, staring at him. Then, her gaze shifted toward the outside.
Was there someone else out there?
She wasn’t sure.
All she knew was that his intense, unwavering focus on someone beyond the curtain made him shine so brilliantly… so much so that it made her want to steal it, taint it, make it hers alone.
She glanced at the tight grip he had on her wrist.
Her body reacted before her mind could even process it.
Buzz!
A surge of power, as if from a raging bull, erupted instantly.
Yan Huan, lost in thought, reminiscing about the past, was caught off guard. His expression changed sharply as he turned back to look at her.
Spencer?!
When did she get here?!
No—
When did she wake up?!
Spencer stared as the focus and sincerity on his face, meant for someone else, shattered because of
her
.
Just witnessing that was enough to send a thrill through her body.
Memories flowed like a river—Yan Huan’s and whoever was outside, interwoven together, forming a beautiful picture of the past.
And Spencer, grinning wickedly, stood at the riverbank, lifting a heavy stone—
Boom!
With a single toss, she shattered that picture-perfect nostalgia into countless fragments.
Now, in
Yan Huan’s
river of memories, there was no one else.
Only her wicked smile rippling through its reflection.
"……"
Spencer’s vacant expression twisted into that familiar, sinister grin. Even in her hazy state, her instinct remained sharp.
She grabbed Yan Huan’s wrist, flipped over, and straddled his stomach with domineering force.
The sudden movement threatened to make the hospital bed creak.
Yan Huan’s pupils shrank. He quickly arched his back, keeping his body off the bed to prevent any noise from escaping.
"……"
Silence remained.
Outside the curtain.
An Le gently ran her fingers over the phone book, speaking with regret,
"Back then, it was always just me and Yan Huan playing together. We used to play tag near the water at the park. He was always ‘it,’ and even though I was slower, he never caught me right away… When I turned back, he was always smiling so gently at me."
Inside the curtain.
Yan Huan tensed his muscles, steadying himself against the bed.
Since lying flat made it difficult to move, he pushed Spencer away slightly, trying to turn over and get up.
But the moment he did, Spencer, like a ghost, clung to his shirt with a death grip.
Yan Huan turned back—
And was met with Spencer’s face, barely inches away, her wicked grin burning into his vision.
She licked her exposed fang, the gesture sending a shiver down his spine.
Outside the curtain.
An Le leaned against the desk, her tone tinged with nostalgia.
"I was always timid, so I followed behind him everywhere, afraid of getting lost… I loved holding onto the back of his shirt, his sleeve—but I never dared to grip too tightly, worried I’d wrinkle his clothes."
Inside the curtain.
Spencer yanked on Yan Huan’s shirt, pulling it up slightly, exposing his lean, toned abs.
Yan Huan’s face darkened as he immediately yanked the fabric back down.
But just that brief glimpse seemed to have blinded Spencer—
Like discovering a new toy, she became obsessed, grabbing at his shirt without hesitation.
His neatly worn clothes were soon wrinkled beyond recognition, with more and more skin exposed.
Outside the curtain.
An Le sat down on a chair, speaking softly,
"I always cared about Yan Huan’s feelings the most. I was afraid he’d get tired of looking after me…
"So no matter what I wanted to eat, I always shared it with him. No matter what I wanted to do, I always asked for his opinion first."
Inside the curtain.
The struggle between Yan Huan and Spencer escalated into a full-on battle.
He wanted to stay silent, but Spencer was determined to make him
fail
.
She refused to make a sound herself but did everything possible to force
him
into making noise—to attract the attention of the person outside.
Yan Huan dodged left, away from the curtain.
She yanked him right, dragging him closer to it.
He avoided looking at her, worried that any part of her body might trigger an unwanted reaction.
She leaned in, locking him down completely, ensuring that the only thing he could see was
her
.
Outside the curtain.
An Le, lost in thought, suddenly blushed furiously and covered her face.
"Speaking of which… There was actually this one time… when Yan Huan stayed over in my room, and I woke up before him…"
She took a shaky breath, voice filled with embarrassment.
"I just… I don’t know why, but looking at his sleeping face, I had this sudden urge to kiss him…"
She buried her face in her hands.
"Thank goodness I held back… I mean, doing something like that, in a way, would’ve been overstepping, right? I should’ve at least asked for his permission first…"
On her shoulder, Little Finger rolled its dead-fish eyes and grumbled,
"You just rambled on forever. So when’s the
real
action happening? Can we fast-forward to the juicy part already?"
"W-We were kids back then!! Of course nothing happened!"
"Okay, but what about now? You’re not kids anymore."
"Well… After what happened today, I’ve realized something. This kind of thing… it has to be mutual. I can’t go against Yan Huan’s will…"
Hearing that, Little Finger dramatically rolled its eyes.
Inside the curtain.
Yan Huan, now desperate, finally found an opening.
Spencer’s body was still slightly weak. Using that to his advantage, he attempted to break free.
But Spencer, eyes half-lidded and dazed, only found his flustered expression even more enticing.
The usually composed and dignified Student Council President—
Now sweaty, breath uneven, struggling to keep himself together in complete silence.
It was exhilarating.
An opportunity like this… how could she
not
take it?
This version of him—she wanted to steal it
all
.
At that moment, a new thought crossed Spencer’s mind.
Her face turned a slight shade of pink.
She tightened her grip on Yan Huan’s wrist, and before he could react, she suddenly leaned in close.
Pop!
Softness pressed against his cheek.
Without his consent, as if seizing a prize—
She stole a deep, possessive kiss.
The battlefield that had once been filled with struggle and resistance—
Instantly froze.
Locked in that tiny space behind the curtain, time itself seemed to pause.