"Are you serious? Do I
really
look that bad in this dress?!"
Monday afternoon.
You Anlina clutched the hem of her light green floral dress, looking at Aixi Li in disbelief.
Aixi Li, on the other hand, was wearing a coordinated spring outfit, complete with a beret-style leather cap, giving off strong vintage journalist vibes.
Meanwhile, You Anlina was pacing in circles, frustrated. She had
specifically
brought this dress to change into after school, planning ahead for the Sakura Palace birthday party.
And yet, all it took was one glance from Aixi Li before she casually dropped the bomb:
"It looks bad."
The impact nearly knocked You Anlina out. She clutched her head, shaking it furiously.
"I don’t hear it! I don’t hear it! I don’t hear it! Aixi Li, you’re lying!"
"Who’s lying? That dress makes you look fat, and it ages you by at least ten years. You look like one of those aunties who show up just for the free food and drinks."
"Eh?!"
You Anlina’s eyes widened. She turned to Aixi Li and asked,
"How do you
know
I’m going there for the free food and drinks?"
"...Is
that
your takeaway from what I just said?!"
Aixi Li rubbed her forehead in exasperation, too tired to argue.
At that moment, Yaqiao Mu walked out from the school shopping street, casually slinging his bag over one shoulder. He was dressed in a black long-sleeved jacket and matching pants, wearing Bluetooth earbuds.
Seeing the two girls by the street, he took off an earbud and greeted them,
"Yo."
You Anlina and Aixi Li gave him a quick once-over.
You Anlina was the first to comment.
"You’re going to a banquet, Yaqiao, but you’re dressed
exactly
like you do every day?"
Yaqiao Mu looked genuinely confused.
"This is my carefully selected
'confidence outfit'
. I don’t even wear this unless it’s an important event—like exams. Besides, Sakura Palace's Vice President specifically said this was a
family
dinner, no need to be too formal."
"Confidence outfit? And where exactly is the
confidence
in this?"
You Anlina remained unconvinced.
Aixi Li narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him for a second before stepping forward.
Then, without warning, she yanked open his black jacket—revealing the bright red anime print of a
big-busted lightning heroine
underneath.
"I
knew
it! This guy’s so-called 'confidence' is literally just wearing his 2D waifu on his chest!"
"Ha?! And what’s wrong with that?! Besides, what kind of pervert just
yanks
people’s jackets open?!"
You Anlina, still salty about the earlier dress comment, suddenly had an idea. She turned to Yaqiao Mu and asked,
"Wait, hold on. Let’s settle this. Yaqiao, what do
you
think of my outfit? Out of ten, what would you rate it?"
"Huh?"
Yaqiao Mu gave her a quick glance. You Anlina even did a little twirl to show off the dress.
But the next second, Yaqiao Mu ruthlessly delivered his verdict.
"One."
"EHH?!
O-One?!
"
He adjusted his glasses and scoffed.
"The color’s garbage. The design is garbage. The coordination is
garbage
. From far away, you look like a pile of seaweed. Up close, you’re a bloated lily pad. One point."
"You—you—you…
sob
... SO
SUBJECTIVE
! You just don’t have taste!!"
Completely wrecked, You Anlina was on the verge of tears. Meanwhile, Aixi Li was laughing so hard she had to clutch her stomach.
"Hahaha, I gotta agree with Yaqiao—your dress is
hideous
!"
But Yaqiao Mu wasn't done yet.
He turned his gaze to Aixi Li, looked her up and down, and delivered yet another judgment.
"You get a two."
"...Excuse me?!"
Aixi Li’s triumphant smile froze in place.
Yaqiao Mu smirked.
"You planning to attend a
cosplay
event? Still stuck in the anime convention from two weeks ago? Your outfit is so outdated, even my mom—no, my
grandma
wouldn’t wear that."
Aixi Li’s expression crumbled.
But the laughter didn’t disappear—it just transferred.
Now it was You Anlina’s turn to burst out laughing.
"PFFT—HAHAHAHA!"
"Yaqiao Mu, you have
chosen death
!"
Just as Aixi Li was about to unleash a righteous beatdown, another voice called out from a distance.
"Sorry, I’m late. Had volleyball practice—didn’t want to show up covered in sweat."
Turning toward the voice, they saw Yan Huan walking toward them in a white dress shirt and black pants.
You Anlina immediately rushed over, spinning in place as she eagerly asked,
"President! What do
you
think of my dress? Out of ten, how would you rate it?!"
"...Your dress?"
Yan Huan stroked his chin, gave her a once-over, and finally answered.
"Eight?"
"See?! It’s
not
that bad! Right, President?!"
Finally hearing something positive, You Anlina jumped in excitement.
Then, she turned to Yaqiao Mu and Aixi Li, smugly wagging her finger at them.
"Hmph,
this
is what an
objective
evaluation sounds like! You two just have no appreciation for true fashion. So
pathetic
~"
Aixi Li rolled her eyes.
"So basically, you only call it 'objective' when it’s what you want to hear?"
Yaqiao Mu groaned and covered his face.
"I can’t believe you actually bought that. President’s got
terrible
fashion sense. Did you
all
forget what his hair looked like when he first ran for Student Council?"
"Ah… uhh…"
At the mention of that particular
disaster
, You Anlina’s smile completely stiffened.
Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, looking between the two suddenly silent girls.
"That hairstyle was done by the school’s staff when I enrolled. Was it really
that
bad? I thought it looked fine."
Back when he first joined Yuanyue Academy, students had to take formal ID photos. The academy provided uniforms, hairstylists, and makeup artists to prepare them.
As a result… Yan Huan ended up with slicked-back
middle-parted hair
and a suit-like school uniform.
His student ID photo made him look like some male host from the South District.
At the time, his classmates had even joked that he looked like a
host club employee
.
It wasn’t until Yaqiao Mu suggested changing the photo that he managed to get through the election without embarrassing himself.
But
back then
, Yan Huan hadn’t thought anything was wrong.
"......"
Seeing the girls completely dodge the question, Yan Huan started reconsidering his
own
sense of aesthetics.
Yaqiao Mu shrugged and continued,
"I already knew from our gacha pulls in
Fate/Grand Order
. President skips all the S-tier waifus and only likes the flat-chested R-rank characters."
Yan Huan shot him a look.
"You
also
like lolis, don’t you?"
"That’s
completely
different! Lolis are lolis. But those so-called 'pseudo-lolis'—the ones who grow up and
still
look flat—are an abomination!"
Yaqiao Mu shook his head and sneered.
"They have the
body
of an angel, but a
corrupt
soul. That makes them worse than demons!"
"...Why are you all slowly backing away from me?"
Everyone had silently taken a step back, clutching their noses as if to ward off something cursed.
Yan Huan simply covered his eyes.
"The corpse is speaking."
"...Wait, what corpse—"
But before Yaqiao Mu could finish, realization hit him like a truck.
His face paled.
"Vice President Ying Gong, I was talking about
anime
!
Anime
!—AHHHHH!!"
Too late.
A smiling Ying Gong Tong had already raised her purse and was mercilessly bashing his head in.
Yaqiao Mu,
downed
.
"...Maybe we should talk about something normal for once?"
Aixi Li blinked and sighed.
You Anlina, on the other hand, clapped her hands together and started a new topic.
"Haha! So, what did everyone have for lunch today? I had tomato noodle stew—sooo good… Oh! And I shared some of my fruit salad with that blonde girl who came to our office earlier… Spencer, was it?"
Aixi Li immediately covered her face like she was in physical pain.
"I said
normal
conversation, not flipping to the
kids' channel
or
idiots' channel
, okay?"
Sakura Palace stroked her chin and glanced at Yan Huan, who was smiling down at his phone. Then, she asked,
"You Anlina, why’d you share your food with Spencer?"
"Oh, I saw her buy the last bit of dragon fruit, so I asked if she’d share a little with me. She looked at me for a second, then just gave me some."
"Yeah, that sounds like something
you
would do."
Aixi Li propped her chin on her hand and teased,
"You’re a legend, seriously. Everyone in school who’s ever heard of her
hates
her—only the President’s childhood friend even hangs out with her. And
you
actually asked her for food? Weren’t you scared she’d
serve
you a different kind of dragon fruit?"
"Eh? Is she really
that
scary?"
Yan Huan, still scrolling through his phone, narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to You Anlina with a carefully neutral expression.
"You Anlina, you don’t
dislike
Spencer?"
"Ah… Well, hearing you guys talk about her, I guess she sounds a little scary? But when I met her at lunch, she seemed really quiet and kind..."
Aixi Li leaned in, whispering creepily into her ear,
"You know, serial killers are like that too~ They lure their prey in with kindness, and then when you least expect it—
stab
."
"Ahhh!! Stop scaring me!!"
The two girls started messing around again, but Yan Huan was lost in thought.
Here it was again...
You Anlina
also
didn’t dislike Spencer.
Which meant she, just like An Le and Aunt Ye, was immune to the negative effects of Spencer’s Modifier.
But
why
?
Yan Huan mulled it over, but glancing at You Anlina—currently getting her cheeks squished by Aixi Li—he couldn’t figure it out.
"......"
Screw it.
He wasn’t going to waste his energy on this today.
It was a rare, peaceful Monday. Ye Shiyu, Spencer, and An Le hadn’t come looking for him. Bai Yi wasn’t at school.
It was like fate had given him a break—a full day to relax, go out with Sakura and the Student Council, and just
enjoy
himself.
No need to overthink things.
Yan Huan let out a helpless chuckle, deciding to just file the thought away for later.
The girls were still deep in their conversation. Meanwhile, Yaqiao Mu had already put his earbuds back in and was whispering sweet nothings to his 2D waifu.
Bored, Yan Huan shifted his gaze to the front row—to the alluring woman driving the car.
Sakura called her… Nara.
Probably a bodyguard of some sort?
The extravagant lives of the Linmen elite were truly hard to imagine. The school had plenty of wealthy students, but it was rare for someone like Sakura—who had
literal
bodyguards escorting her in secret.
Curious, Yan Huan subtly observed Nara.
That’s when he noticed something—just below her high collar, half-hidden at the nape of her neck, was a tattoo.
Guess government jobs are out of the question for her…
That was his first bored thought.
But then—his face stiffened slightly.
Because the design… looked familiar.
It was a pair of folded wings.
And it reminded him of Tong Yingying’s earrings—the same emblem that hung in her room.
…Is this a well-known brand? Or does it have some deeper meaning?
The problem was—it wasn’t just
similar
to Tong Jie’s emblem.
It was identical.
"......"
Yan Huan was still analyzing the tattoo when Nara suddenly
met his gaze
in the rearview mirror, her lips curling into an alluring smile.
Their eyes locked for a moment.
From that seductive expression, Yan Huan could
sense
something—something
dangerous
.
"Say the name… Say the name… Say the name…"
The devil’s whisper echoed in his mind.
He hesitated for a second… then, in his heart, he murmured,
"Nara, Nara, Nara."
Silence.
Nothing happened.
The mind-reading ability didn’t activate.
No—that wasn’t it.
Yan Huan’s eyes flickered with realization.
The name was wrong.
Nara wasn’t her real name.
That’s why the ability didn’t work.
He swallowed dryly.
And at that exact moment, the woman driving the car suddenly
winked
at him.
Her flirtatious gesture made him immediately look away.
Nara, misinterpreting his reaction as shyness, chuckled softly and covered her mouth in amusement.
Hearing this, Sakura frowned slightly from the backseat and asked,
"What are you laughing about, Nara?"
"Nothing, just thought of something funny."
"…Really?"
Sakura seemed skeptical, but at that moment, the MPV turned off the highway and headed toward the coastline.
"We’re almost there, everyone."
"Whoa, this is
way
out on the edge of Linmen."
"Yeah, any farther and we’d be driving straight into the ocean. I had no idea there was even a villa out here."
Sakura covered her mouth and giggled.
"Just a heads-up—my cousin
hates
birthdays."
"Hates birthdays?"
Yan Huan was surprised.
Sakura explained,
"Yeah. Liang doesn’t like social gatherings. Our family has a
ton
of traditions—big and small events, endless banquets. So over time, she started preferring solitude and stopped considering other people’s feelings.
"Based on past experience, she’ll probably show up in
pajamas
with an annoyed look on her face. And honestly? There won’t be much entertainment at this party."
Aixi Li blinked and shrugged.
"Eh, no big deal. It’s like when we visited your house last time—we can just find our own fun. Besides, we’re at the beach."
You Anlina, however, gave her a sharp look.
"No way! Since we’re here, we
have
to include Sakura’s cousin in our fun!"
The two girls debated their perspectives.
The boys, meanwhile, stayed silent.
Yan Huan simply leaned against the window, watching as the villa came into view.
And he muttered,
"That’s your cousin’s house? …It doesn’t
look
like it."
Sakura didn’t glance outside. She just chuckled softly.
"It should be. A bit deserted, but this is the only house around."
"Deserted? No… it’s not."
"Huh?"
Sakura blinked in confusion, then finally turned to look outside.
Her eyes widened.
The "deserted" villa was
lit up like a festival
.
Bright lanterns, a fully illuminated yard, maids bustling around setting tables and pulling out
grills
.
"???"
Sakura was completely baffled.
By then, the MPV had already pulled into the driveway.
As the door opened, Yan Huan had barely stepped out when the mansion doors swung open.
A girl—who looked just like Sakura, but smaller and younger—stepped out gracefully.
Dressed in an elegant princess gown, a delicate flower crown on her head, Sakura Ryou placed her hands in front of her stomach in a demure pose.
Her voice was soft, polished, and noble.
"Such a long journey—it must have been exhausting. Welcome, esteemed guests from Yuanyue Academy’s Student Council. I am but a humble host, Sakura Ryou. Forgive me for not greeting you sooner."
Yan Huan and Yaqiao Mu stood there, mouths slightly open.
Even their greeting was delayed.
"Ah… uh… Hello."
Everyone, except Yan Huan—who found her vaguely familiar—was
stunned
by this elegant, noble young lady.
They all turned to look at Sakura Palace.
…Because just minutes ago, Sakura had
explicitly
described her cousin as an
antisocial girl in pajamas
.
Now, reality was slapping her in the face.
Sakura’s smile twitched, becoming…
not quite a smile
.
"Liang, you…"
She stepped forward, about to say something—
But then, Sakura Ryou’s gaze flickered to Yan Huan.
She winked at him.
And then—
innocently
turned back to Sakura Palace with wide eyes.
"What’s wrong, my
dear sister
?"