"Spencer… so, there’s really no way to change our club’s assigned spot for the competition?"
Thursday, noon, in the cafeteria.
An Le pursed her lips, looking across the table at Spencer.
At her words, Spencer averted her gaze slightly, looking a bit guilty.
How was she supposed to explain this?
Tell An Le that she had gone to the Student Council Office yesterday, but instead of handling this issue, she had gotten into a full-blown showdown with that peacock, Ying Gong Tong, and completely forgotten about it?
Scratching the back of her head, she tried to dodge the question.
"Uh… did you get enough to eat? If not, I can grab you some more, you know?"
"……"
An Le didn’t even dignify that with a response. She simply stared at Spencer, unblinking.
Seeing no way out, Spencer finally caved and gave an explanation.
"Well… so, here’s the thing… Ying Gong said she already submitted it or whatever, so not even Yan Huan can change it now."
"Seriously? Then what are we going to do for the competition? Should we gather the club members to discuss?"
"Hmm…"
Spencer folded her arms, her face scrunching up in thought.
But before she could come up with a plan, her peripheral vision caught sight of Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu sitting a few tables away.
"……"
Over there, Yan Huan set down his tray, chatting casually with Ye Shiyu as he smiled.
Meanwhile, the Ye Shiyu that Spencer had always found disturbingly eerie was unexpectedly… quiet.
She simply took out her own set of utensils and listened to Yan Huan without interrupting.
"Shiyu-jie, how’s the Sewing Club? Are you settling in alright?"
"Mm, it’s fine."
Watching this, Spencer propped her chin up on one hand, feeling inexplicably irritated.
She had actually seen Yan Huan once yesterday afternoon.
At the time, she had tested his reaction—bringing up Ying Gong Tong’s name in front of him just to see if he’d flinch.
But he hadn’t.
His eyes no longer held that familiar light when he heard her name.
He was no longer the boy whose gaze used to shine when he looked at her.
That was only natural.
After all, Ying Gong Tong was a
total pervert
.
No matter how much Yan Huan tried to deceive himself, no matter how much Ying Gong Tong tried to fix things—some things couldn’t be undone.
Yesterday, Spencer had even celebrated the victory—popping metaphorical champagne because she had
finally
snatched Yan Huan away from that pretentious peacock.
She had been so happy that she ordered six steaks for lunch today!
But…
She had
overlooked
something.
That guy…
He didn’t only have one Ying Gong Tong around him.
Even after knocking
her
down, Yan Huan simply gravitated toward
another
annoying woman instead.
Not her. Not An Le.
Sure, Spencer enjoyed the
process
of stealing Yan Huan away from a beautiful, deceitful bird.
But if one bird fell and he just moved to another…
What was the point?!
Her gaze locked onto Ye Shiyu, who sat across from Yan Huan, her expression calm and unreadable.
No matter how Spencer looked at her, she just
could not
match her with the terrifying woman who had scared the hell out of her back in the shopping district.
"
Tch.
"
Seriously, why was Yan Huan always surrounded by these weird, disturbing women?!
Completely oblivious to her own lack of self-awareness, Spencer bit her thumbnail in frustration, scheming once again.
Hearing the
tch
sound, An Le followed her gaze and turned around—her expression immediately paling.
Because she, too, recognized that woman.
"The… that’s supposed to be Little Huan’s sister," An Le murmured hesitantly. "She’s the daughter of his mom’s old best friend. She only recently arrived in Linmen…"
Spencer shot her a
look
.
"You really think that woman is just his
sister
? Last weekend, when Yan Huan came to my place to shoot an MV, I saw her there. The way she was looking at him—she was practically
devouring
him with her eyes."
"…Huh?!"
An Le’s entire body stiffened in shock.
She… she knew nothing about this!
She had
barely
heard Little Huan mention the MV shoot in passing.
She had no idea where he had filmed it or
who
he had met.
So, in other words—
Over the weekend, not only had Little Huan filmed an MV with the glamorous Bai Yi, but he had also run into Spencer and Ye Shiyu?!
What?!
Why… why did it feel like the game had updated, but she was still stuck on the
single-player nostalgia version
?!
An Le looked at Spencer, who was still deep in thought, scheming.
Then, after a moment, she actually felt relieved.
"My family background is pretty average. Compared to Ye Shiyu from Ye International, Ying Gong Tong from the Ying family, or even the rising star Bai Yi, I don’t stand a chance…"
"But at least I have Spencer on my side! Not only does she treat me to great food, but she also selflessly shares information with me…"
"Spencer is definitely my best friend!"
With that thought, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she became even more determined to help Spencer avoid getting expelled if their club lost the competition.
"I… I’ll contact Jiang Yun-jie, Zuo Chuan, and Nino. They should be in the cafeteria too."
Quickly, she pulled out her phone, determined to contribute.
Meanwhile, across the cafeteria, Yan Huan had, of course, noticed Spencer and An Le.
But he simply kept it to himself.
Instead, he let his thoughts wander for a moment before turning back to Ye Shiyu.
"Shiyu-jie, are you going to compete in the opening matches tomorrow?"
"Probably not. I think most of our club members have already accepted their fate as background participants."
Yan Huan chuckled.
"That’s a shame. If you were competing, I would have cheered for you."
"…Would you like me to participate, then?"
Ye Shiyu tilted her head slightly, looking at him with an unreadable expression.
"Aside from the finals, we’ve added a lot of fun new events this time. The team competitions give a better feel of what student life is like at Linmen. It’s different from the mainland."
"……"
Ye Shiyu nodded quietly and continued eating.
Yan Huan observed her for a moment, a faint smile playing on his lips.
But beneath the table, where she couldn’t see—
His left hand was swiftly tapping across his phone screen, typing a message.
At the top of the chat window—"Bai Yi."
Yes.
He was also messaging Bai Yi.
On his shoulder, Meow-chan appeared in its phantom form, reading Bai Yi’s message aloud.
"‘Do you want to meet today? We could do another rehearsal or something, meow. Though honestly, I think she just wants to see you, meow…’"
Without even glancing at the screen, Yan Huan’s left hand typed rapidly.
"The opening ceremony isn’t too formal, since everyone’s busy with the competition. It’ll be broadcast across campus, so we can keep things casual. By the way, we put a lot of thought into the event this time—maybe it’ll even inspire your next song?"
A second later, he took another bite of food.
Meow-chan piped up again,
"She says: ‘It hasn’t even been that long, and you’re already fishing for a new song? Greedy.’ …Oh, and she sent a cat emoji. She
stole your cat emoji
, meow!"
Yan Huan, calmly eating his peas, replied without missing a beat.
"Of course. What, don’t tell me you already have a new idea?"
"Hehe, not telling~"
With the conversation wrapped up, Yan Huan locked his phone, slipped it into his pocket, and—finally—focused on his meal.
Meow-chan finally let out a long sigh of relief.
In just one morning, Yan Huan had worked on the Club Competition with Ying Gong Tong, had lunch with Ye Shiyu, and even managed to chat with Bai Yi on the side.
Yan Huan himself looked completely unfazed as he calmly ate his lunch.
Meanwhile, the poor cat was
exhausted
from keeping up.
Stretching lazily on Yan Huan’s shoulder, Meow-chan finally asked,
"So, what’s your plan now, meow?"
Yan Huan took a sip of his red tea before responding internally,
"Ye Shiyu’s issue is her excessive possessiveness. But she’s self-aware enough to recognize the problem and actually has a desire to change.
"That’s why she listens to Aunt Ye’s guidance, and why last weekend at the set, she tried to ‘deal with’ Spencer, thinking she was a problem."
Finishing his meal in just a few bites, Yan Huan glanced up—Ye Shiyu had barely touched hers.
She looked at his empty tray, tilted her head, then silently pushed her own meal toward him.
Yan Huan smiled wryly and declined, instead standing up to buy another serving for himself.
"Basically, she
knows
the right direction to take, but her approach is clumsy and often misguided.
"It’ll take time. I need to stay in contact with her and guide her properly."
As he made his way to the food counter, Yan Huan’s gaze flicked to his phone, glancing at his chat with Bai Yi.
"And Bai Yi… her mother is still an unresolved issue. Plus, she gets easily distracted by romance and relationships.
"The best way to handle her is to keep her focused on her career—to help her build up her own strength. That way, when she eventually has to stand up to her mother, she’ll have more confidence.
"And, of course, she won’t have time to think about anything else."
To Yan Huan, Bai Yi’s personality was simple to categorize:
Love and hate—both absolute.
She lacked rationality and principles, often making impulsive, extreme decisions.
When she liked something or someone, she would
completely
immerse herself in it, ignoring everything else.
That was probably why she kept messaging him every day.
How much time did she even have left for composing?
When she disliked something, she had no bottom line—her retaliation was brutal, fueled purely by emotion.
That was why, when Ye Shiyu and Spencer interrupted her MV shoot, Bai Yi had retaliated in the most
irrational
way possible—by stripping off her own clothes in front of them just to make them uncomfortable.
And yet, she avoided direct confrontations whenever possible.
If she had a problem with you, she wouldn’t fight you outright—unless she
really
lost control.
But the second you were out of sight?
She would
ruin
you in the background.
No wonder her Modifier was specialized for sneaky tactics.
"Yan-kun, your appetite has grown lately. I’ll give you a 20% discount on your second serving. Just scan to pay."
"Got it."
Taking his tray, Yan Huan headed back to his seat, continuing his conversation with Meow-chan.
"As for Ying Gong Tong… I still don’t even fully understand what her Modifier
does
yet. That can wait."
"An Le is easy. She’s a good person at heart, just too timid. I just need to help her meet more people, make friends, and accomplish things she never imagined she could. As long as she’s happy, that’s enough."
"And Spencer—"
Before he could finish, Meow-chan suddenly
shoved its tiny pink paw
against his lips.
"?"
"Meow~"
Seeing his confused expression, Meow-chan let out a heavy sigh.
"I wasn’t asking about the Modifiers, meow…
"That’s important too, but come
on
! You jumped into ‘ruthless work mode’ so
fast
!
"Face it, meow—what happened with Ying Gong Tong
is
affecting you."
To Meow-chan, Yan Huan looked exactly like someone dealing with
heartbreak
by throwing himself into endless work.
Yan Huan glanced at it, then deadpanned,
"Didn’t
you
say we had to wrestle with the Modifiers and set everyone on the right path?
"I’m not treating them as enemies—I’m thinking about what’s best for them."
"That’s true, meow, but…"
Something about Yan Huan’s approach still felt
off
.
Meow-chan tilted its head, deep in thought, trying to figure out what it was.
After several moments…
Nothing.
It couldn’t put it into words.
So, instead, it let out a cute little, "Meow~"
Yan Huan narrowed his eyes.
"Ah. So when you don’t know what to say, you just start acting cute, huh?"
Before Meow-chan could respond, a conversation nearby caught Yan Huan’s attention.
A group of guys had gathered around a chubby boy who sat hunched over his tray, eating in silence.
"Hey, Zuo Chuan, I heard you joined that, uh…
Hentai Club
or something?"
"Pfft,
what
kind of name is that?!"
"Yeah, sounds exactly like the kind of club you’d join."
"Honestly, though, it makes sense. Where else would Zuo Chuan even
fit in
?"
Sweat formed on Zuo Chuan Dazai’s forehead as he struggled to respond.
"Uh… well…"
It was clear he was
used
to this kind of situation.
"…"
One of the guys suddenly noticed Yan Huan standing nearby.
His expression stiffened slightly.
Throwing an arm around Zuo Chuan’s shoulders, he grinned at Yan Huan.
"President Yan, no need to look at us like that! We’re all classmates here. We’re just friends messing around, right, Zuo Chuan?"
He nudged Zuo Chuan’s chest with his elbow.
Zuo Chuan glanced at Yan Huan, then quickly looked away, forcing a weak smile.
"Y-Yeah… that’s right…"
Yan Huan stared at them for a moment.
Then, he finally spoke.
"You all… should be careful."
"Huh? What do you mean, President? We’re just having normal social interactions here."
"Yeah, see? Even Zuo Chuan says he’s fine."
"…"
Yan Huan didn’t respond.
Instead, the next second—
BANG!
The boy who had just spoken
was suddenly kicked
so hard he stumbled forward and fell to his knees.
"Wha—?!"
He whipped his head around—
Only to see Spencer lowering her raised foot,
glowering
.
"You think that’s ‘fine’?! You wanna keep messing with my club member?! Keep it up, and I
swear
, I’ll
launch
you into the sky!"
"It’s her—Spencer!!"
"The club psycho!!"
The group of guys
immediately
backed away in fear.
Behind Spencer, An Le, Jiang Yun, and Nino stood, but none of them needed to do anything—Spencer’s sheer
presence
alone had taken over the situation.
One of the boys hurriedly helped his fallen friend up, but before he could speak, Spencer pointed
directly
at him.
"You! What were you about to say?! Say it!"
"I—"
The boy’s breath hitched.
His face paled slightly, and he took a step back.
"You… You better not get cocky, Spencer! We
all
know your club got stuck right in the center of the competition grounds!
"So just wait until then—
heh
… you’ll see what happens!"
By now, a small crowd had gathered around, whispering among themselves as they watched the confrontation unfold.
The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.
An Le pressed her lips together, feeling uneasy. Still, she took a hesitant step forward and stood beside Spencer.
Jiang Yun frowned, catching snippets of unpleasant whispers from the crowd and glaring back at anyone who dared meet her gaze.
Meanwhile, Nino and Zuo Chuan Dazai, who had been standing and sitting respectively, both lowered their heads, avoiding eye contact with the growing number of onlookers.
"……"
Spencer, however, simply glanced at the wooden table she had just cracked with a single punch.
She flexed her fingers slightly, feeling the surge of power coursing through her body.
For a moment, she looked genuinely surprised.
Then, the next second—
She planted her hands on her hips and
laughed mockingly
.
"Fine! I’ll be waiting for you guys
right there
! If you’ve got the guts, bring it on! If you don’t show up, you’re just a bunch of
cowards
!"
"YOU—!!"
"God, she’s so arrogant!"
"Screw it, let’s make sure we
crush
their club!"
Spencer’s taunt only
fanned the flames
of rage. Furious glares locked onto her from every direction.
The guy in front, the one who had been kicked earlier, let out a sharp laugh, pointing straight at her.
"Fine! If we don’t show up, we’re cowards?! Just you wait! We’ll
see
who gets the last laugh!"
With that, the group stormed off, clearly planning to gather reinforcements.
An Le, however, was nearly trembling with nerves.
She grabbed Spencer’s sleeve, tugging urgently.
"Spencer! What are you
doing
?! We were already in a tough spot, and now you’ve gone and
provoked
them?! If we get
ganged up
on—"
But Spencer just smirked confidently, patting An Le’s hand reassuringly.
"Relax, I’ve got a plan."
"Huh? A… a plan?"
An Le had a hard time believing that.
Given what she knew about Spencer’s
typical
behavior, this so-called "plan" sounded like nothing but reckless bravado.
"But… but didn’t you say yourself that endurance was your weak point? If they
swarm
you—"
"Bah, I already
fixed
that! No worries!"
"Fixed…? But… that was just
one day
…"
For a split second, Spencer’s confident expression faltered.
Her brain kicked into overdrive, scrambling to come up with a plausible explanation.
But after a few seconds of mental strain, she simply turned around and jabbed her thumb toward herself.
"I’m a
trained athlete
! I
know
sports! One day is
more than enough
to refine my skills!"
"……"
An Le looked at her, clearly skeptical.
But Spencer wasn’t lying.
She really
did
have a plan.
Ever since she had stolen Yan Huan away from Ying Gong Tong, her physical abilities had surged dramatically.
Most of the improvement had been in raw
strength
, sure.
But who needed endurance when you could just beat your enemies into submission before stamina even became an issue?
Spencer rubbed her chin, an evil grin creeping onto her face.
She scanned the crowd, eyes gleaming with a predatory glint.
If she could just snatch a few more things from others…
She could keep growing stronger.
With whatever strange power she had gained, even if they
all
came at her, they would be
nothing
.
Of course, taking things by force was a little unethical.
But hey—winning was the priority, right?
She could always make up for it later.
Like, maybe she’d declare some kind of "Thanksgiving Day" every year in honor of the people she robbed.
"Damn, I’m a genius."
"……"
Completely convinced of her own logic, Spencer was fully prepared to embrace her villain arc.
She continued scanning the room, searching for potential targets.
And then—
Her gaze
collided
with Yan Huan’s expressionless stare.
"YEEK!"
She
yelped
, leaping backward and hiding behind An Le.
"You—you scared the hell out of me, damn it!"
"…If you weren’t guilty, you wouldn’t be scared."
Yan Huan’s calm retort hit too close to home, and Spencer suddenly found herself sweating.
Her eyes darted away, her face turning suspiciously rigid.
"I—I’m not guilty of anything!"
"……"
The way her entire thought process was written all over her face made both Yan Huan and An Le instantly suspicious.
"She’s definitely planning something shady, isn’t she?"
Yan Huan narrowed his eyes slightly, making a mental note to keep an
extra close
watch on Spencer during the competition.
He had
zero
doubts that she was about to pull some kind of out-of-bounds stunt.
"Listen, you—"
"Xiao Huan?"
Before Yan Huan could say another word, a soft, cool voice suddenly cut through the air.
Both he and An Le turned their heads—
Ye Shiyu had walked over.
Apparently, she had come to check on Yan Huan since he had taken so long getting his food.
"Ah, Shiyu-jie. I was just handling a small conflict between classmates."
"……"
Yan Huan smiled as he spoke, and Ye Shiyu didn’t question him.
But—
Her gaze shifted past him.
She first swept over An Le, taking one look before dismissing her.
Weak. Not a threat. Moving on.
Then, she locked eyes with Spencer.
Spencer’s pupils shrank slightly.
Neither of them backed down.
The air between them sizzled with tension, like a match about to be struck.
It felt almost exactly like that moment in the Golden Lion Tower hallway last weekend—a silent but deadly standoff.
But this time—
Yan Huan was standing right there.
So before things could escalate, he
quickly
stepped in, moving between them with a bright smile.
"It’s all good now, Shiyu-jie. Let’s go back and finish eating, yeah?"
"…Alright, Xiao Huan."
Ye Shiyu nodded without hesitation, dropping the matter as if it was never important to begin with.
But—
As she turned to leave with Yan Huan, the phone in her palm briefly flickered with an eerie purple glow.
She had just received a new command from her Modifier.
"Obstruct Spencer."
Ye Shiyu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She said nothing, her expression unreadable.
But deep down, her thoughts swirled violently.
"That woman is always causing trouble for Xiao Huan. Completing this task… it’s for his sake, isn’t it?"
"……"
Meanwhile, Spencer watched them leave, absentmindedly licking one of her sharp canines.
She knew that stealing from random people was necessary for her strength.
But somehow—
Taking something from Yan Huan felt even
sweeter
.
After all, yesterday, when she had ripped him away from Ying Gong Tong, she had experienced a thrill unlike anything before.
So…
Aside from stealing from everyone else—
That Ye Shiyu was also on her list.
"I wonder…"
"If I take Yan Huan from you, Ye Shiyu… just how badly will your mask shatter?"
"Would it be even worse than Ying Gong Tong?"
"……"
As the two figures disappeared into the distance—
Both Ye Shiyu and Spencer had silently placed each other at the top of their hit lists.