Today's Yán Huān is not yesterday's Yán Huān. This was a sophistry, and Yán Huān didn't agree with it, but he did regret the choice he made yesterday. It was like when he was six and made a wish for a touch of fantasy/wonder, only for the Modifier to appear in his first year of high school and force him to his knees.
In short, he was very regretful now. After washing up, Yán Huān stood in front of the mirror and tidied his appearance. Miāo Jiàng also ran over, its tail curled as it circled his feet.
A white cotton T-shirt, a loose printed shirt jacket over it, and a pair of long denim jeans made up his Monday school outfit. As he watched, the boy in the mirror yawned, adding a touch of languor to his handsome face. Only now did Yán Huān realize what that unshakeable sleepiness meant.
Splashing cold water on his face, eating breakfast. No matter what he did, the feeling couldn't be dispelled. Although it was very slight, it still made him feel listless.
Only when he was seriously engaged in something did that feeling subside, but how could there be so many moments of full concentration in a day? It was almost 7:10 when he slung his backpack over his shoulders and spoke to Miāo Jiàng behind him, "Miāo Jiàng, I'm leaving." "Meow?"
Seeing as Miāo Jiàng would appear anytime he called, Yán Huān still said goodbye before leaving, truly seeming trapped by that sleepiness. He went downstairs with his phone. It would take another seven or eight minutes to walk to where the school bus stopped.
By then, several classmates would already be there; they were all students from the South District. "President, good morning." "Hello."
Yán Huān greeted them with a smile and then leaned against the bus stop, browsing his phone. Before long, a bus with the Yuan Yue Academy emblem arrived. He took out his school card, lined up, swiped it to get on the bus, and then chose a familiar window seat.
This route, with its stops and starts, would take about forty minutes to reach the school. Arriving at school at 8:00 AM, his first class started at 8:30 AM. Yán Huān's stop was relatively early in the South District, so there were only a few people on the bus when he boarded.
As the doors opened at the next stop, Yabashi Ki, holding his phone, got on. He took the same bus line as Yán Huān. "Yo, morning, President."
"Morning." Scanning the school bus, he quickly found Yán Huān leaning by the window and greeted him, naturally sitting down beside him. As soon as he sat down, he couldn't wait to turn his phone horizontally and open a certain anime-style game where he could raise a waifu.
"Oh, Leader, starting work so early? So diligent. Source Star-chan must also work hard~" The sign-board girl greeted him sweetly on the interface, making him smile involuntarily with his Bluetooth earphones on.
"The new gacha pool is about to open. The newly released character is a big pull. I've saved a lot of stones, I *must* get them!"
he declared grandly while clearing stamina and doing daily tasks. Yán Huān glanced at the screen of Yabashi Ki's phone and said, resting his cheek on his hand, "You got both characters in the last pool. You're going for this one too?
How much have you spent?" "Just all my pocket money. It's all worth it for my waifu.
I even pulled her exclusive weapon. President, look, this sword..." On the phone, a realistic physics engine made the female character's soft body sway, and gorgeous special effects with a heap of numbers erupted, slamming into the BOSS.
Yán Huān yawned, made no comment, and simply leaned back against the window, preparing to doze off. "I didn't sleep well yesterday. I'll rest my eyes for a bit.
Wake me when we get to school." "That's rare. You're resting on the school bus, President?
Is that auntie's house fun? So unsatisfying?" "Heh."
Did he think being hypnotized was fun? Yán Huān still felt lingering fear about Yè Shīyǔ running to his room last Saturday night. Thinking this, Yán Huān closed his eyes, letting the drowsiness engulf his consciousness.
Meanwhile, Yabashi Ki was tending to his virtual potted plants next to him. He had to log in every morning to do these fixed tasks; it had almost become a habit. As he was playing, a hand suddenly reached out from the aisle beside him and gently tugged at his clothes.
"Hm?" Yabashi Ki turned his head and saw a girl with a slightly flushed face looking at him. "..."
Yabashi Ki paused for a second, adjusted his glasses, and asked with a puzzled look, "You're not on this bus route, are you? I've never seen you before." "Hehe.
Sorry, I slept at a classmate's house yesterday. She takes this route. Also, Yabashi-kun, could you...?"
As she spoke, she took out an envelope with a lingering faint scent of body odor and a can of candy from her embrace and handed them to Yabashi Ki. Her face was slightly red, and her fingers discreetly pointed at Yán Huān next to him. Everything was implied.
Yabashi Ki turned to look at the handsome boy sleeping by the window. His appearance was so captivating that one didn't want to disturb him. He understood and accepted the gifts from the girl, saying, "I'll give it to President when he wakes up.
Don't worry." "Thank you, you're such a nice person, Yabashi-kun!" "...That's a compliment that doesn't make me feel happy at all."
The girl turned and left. Yabashi Ki grumbled to himself and prepared to open another game. Then, another hand quietly reached out from the aisle next to him and gently poked his shirt.
Yabashi Ki again looked up blankly. This time it was another senior student, holding out chocolate to him. "Haha, Yabashi-kun, you know what I mean."
"..." "From now on, when we take the school bus, President, you sit on the outside. I want the window seat."
After getting off the bus at school, Yabashi Ki suddenly said this. Yán Huān, carrying a pile of gifts, looked a little helpless. "I usually don't accept them, so you can just refuse them directly."
Yabashi Ki turned to look at him, his face flushing, and said with animation, "How could I refuse? I'm not you, where would I get so much experience! Besides, wouldn't refusing someone seem impolite?"
"Not at all. Or you could just ignore them and wait for me to wake up..." Amidst the surrounding chatter of students, a rhythmic construction sound emerged, clanging and banging, attracting Yán Huān's attention.
Following the sound, he saw the outline of a nearly completed building on the northern side of the campus. "The school is building again? So noisy so early in the morning."
"It looks like it's a new teaching building. They started construction over the winter break, and it should be completed this month." While discussing these trivial matters, Yán Huān and Yabashi Ki walked to the top floor of a teaching building.
The entire floor belonged to the student council. In front of the door at the end of the hallway, the nameplate read: "Yuan Yue Academy Student Council Office." Yabashi Ki fumbled through the mailbox hanging at the door but found nothing.
"Huh? That's strange. No mail was delivered this week?"
"How is that possible? It's Monday today." The student council held a meeting every Monday morning, which was why neither Yán Huān nor Yabashi Ki went to their classrooms but headed here instead.
Usually, the school's administrative offices would send some documents over on the weekend, notifying them of the school's arrangements for the week so the student council could plan its work. As for why the mailbox was empty at this moment? Yán Huān walked to the door, gestured for Yabashi Ki to open it, and said with a smile, "Sakuramiya Vice President has already arrived."
"Ah? So early?" Yabashi Ki pushed the door open, revealing an office of about thirty square meters.
A wool carpet covered the wooden floor. A glass coffee table was surrounded by two black sofas, with a potted plant on it. A sofa was placed against the wall, opposite a row of cabinets stacked with various documents and books.
The curtains at the end were open, and the slatted floor-to-ceiling windows let in the morning light, illuminating a larger desk in front of the windowsill. On the desk, a golden plaque read: "Yuan Yue Student Council President." And in front of the bookshelf next to it stood a girl wearing a black British academic-style uniform.
Her black hair was tied back into a knot at the nape of her neck, adorned with a very simple white ribbon. The ends of her black hair hanging down at her temples had a touch of cherry blossom color appearing out of nowhere. A dark green jacket and a white shirt encased her small, delicate body, and a white bow at the collar of her shirt added a touch of beauty.
Beneath her long dark green skirt were her fair calves, white socks, and small black leather shoes with their heels off the ground—she was using a duster to clean the accumulated dust on the bookshelf. Due to her height, to clean the higher shelves, she had to stand on tiptoe. Hearing the door open, she lowered her heels and turned around, revealing her exquisite features.
Her eyes sparkled with a lively light, and she looked at Yán Huān, who had entered with a pile of things, with a discerning gaze. She smiled, as beautiful as an elf, "Good morning, President, Yabashi-kun." "Good morning, Sakuramiya."
"Sakuramiya Vice President, good morning." Yán Huān walked to the coffee table and placed all the things he was carrying on it. "Sakuramiya, see if there's anything you'd like to eat.
Let's all tackle these together." Sakuramiya Hitomi put down the duster. Her gaze was caught by a pink envelope among the snacks.
She reached out and picked it up, examining the text. "To my dearest Yán Huān, President!" Holding the letter, Sakuramiya Hitomi then focused on the name at the bottom: "Class 1-C, Pǔ Shūwén."
Her fingers unconsciously creased the envelope slightly. A moment later, she said, ".Hmm, but perhaps we should wait for Yū Anlina and Ashily to arrive before we eat them together." Then, the letter landed on the table, and she turned to pour tea at the nearby tea station.
"Alright." Behind her, Yán Huān and Yabashi Ki sat on the sofa, sorting the snacks. Sakuramiya Hitomi returned with two cups of hot black tea and placed them in front of Yán Huān and Yabashi Ki.
"Please, President, Yabashi-kun." "Ah, thank you, Sakuramiya." "Thank you, Vice President!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi then placed two more cups on the coffee table and sat opposite them, holding a cup herself. Before long, the door opened again, and a voice full of energy rang out, "President! Sakuramiya!
Yabashi! Good morning!!" Turning their heads, they saw a girl in a JK uniform with pink and red highlights in her hair walking in, hands on her hips.
Her face had very obvious mixed-race features, and her grin matched her confident posture of hands on hips and chest puffed out, also revealing her ample curves. Following behind her was a tall girl with short golden-blonde hair. She looked expressionless, seemingly accustomed to the other's boisterousness.
"Good morning, everyone." These two were the student council secretary, Yū Anlina, and the head of discipline, Ashily. "Morning, Yū Anlina, Ashily."
"Oh! There are so many goodies! Where did they come from?"
Ignoring Yū Anlina, who was eagerly squatting by the coffee table contemplating what to eat, Ashily sat down next to Sakuramiya Hitomi. She glanced at the heart sticker on the candy jar and said, "They're from a girl for the President, right? It even has the President's name on it."
"Eh?!” Yū Anlina looked up like a fierce tiger, her eyes blazing, and looked at the languid Yán Huān beside her. "Are you falling in love, President?!”
"Yū Anlina, we're starting the meeting." Sakuramiya Hitomi interrupted her enthusiasm at the right moment and then got up to retrieve some documents from the desk. "Why like this?!
Sakuramiya, aren't you curious? Ashily, what about you? Who will the President end up with...?
Hey, why aren't you interested in this at all?! The student council is almost a haven for single people, it's all your fault for thinking like this!" Sakuramiya Hitomi, who had sat down again, didn't reply, simply picked up her teacup, preparing to drink.
Ashily took out her phone and started scrolling through short videos, saying at the same time, "President and Vice President won't lack partners. It's just that President is usually very busy, where would he find the time? He probably doesn't have a preferred candidate either.
Sakuramiya Vice President said when she first joined the student council that she would never date..." "I also have to work part-time. Student council and studies are enough to give me a headache, let alone dating...
As for Yabashi-kun, isn't he getting along harmoniously with his virtual waifus?" Sakuramiya Hitomi paused slightly as she drank her tea. Yabashi Ki adjusted his glasses, giving a "you're right" expression.
Yū Anlina was still persistent and secretly looked at Yán Huān, whispering, "President, if you secretly tell me if you have someone you like, I promise not to tell anyone~" Yán Huān yawned and smiled, saying, "Yes, I like you, Yū Anlina." Sakuramiya Hitomi continued to drink her tea. The slight ripples reflected her blurred eyes.
Yū Anlina's face instantly turned red. Waving her hands, she quickly said, "No, no, no! I can't be with President.
If that happens, I'll be worried every day about whether the handsome President will cheat, and I'll definitely get depressed! If we get married and have children, and I cry day and night, I definitely won't live past twenty-five!" Ashily rolled her eyes and retorted, "You're really thinking that far ahead?
How many drinks have you had to get like this? Thinking so far ahead..." Hearing this, Yū Anlina turned to look at Yán Huān with disbelief.
"President, are you joking with me?" "Didn't you start the joke?" Yán Huān spread his hands, unable to bear deceiving the innocent Yū Anlina any longer.
"You said you wouldn't tell anyone, but if I had someone I liked and told you, before the first class even started, the news would be flying everywhere in all your group chats, you big blabbermouth." "I..." Just as Yū Anlina pouted and was about to argue, Yán Huān had already taken the documents from Sakuramiya Hitomi.
He glanced at them, his expression becoming a bit more serious. "Alright, let's start the meeting now. Everyone, please look at your respective documents."
The documents were distributed. Sakuramiya Hitomi had already seen them, so she simply took a sip of her black tea and said, "Actually, there are only three things. First, the results of last week's entrance exam will be released tomorrow.
I heard the results are quite disastrous." "Results released in just one weekend. As expected of the specially hired teachers from Dragon Country."
Yabashi Ki scoffed and said. Yán Huān, long accustomed to this, simply assigned tasks. "Posting the results will be handled by Yū Anlina, just like before."
"Got it!" Sakuramiya Hitomi continued, "The second matter is that the 'Club Wars' are coming soon. This is the second time our current student council has organized such a large-scale event.
We had some issues with last semester's sports meet, making the school committee suspicious..." "I object! Why should they be suspicious?"
Before Sakuramiya Hitomi could finish, the secretary Yū Anlina raised her hand. "Filling the swimming pool with cola for a swimming competition and the semi-naked men's basketball were the results of a vote, although the school committee didn't approve. But the 5-kilometer teacher's run, I think it was reasonable.
If the vice principal was dragged to exhaustion by a student, that's his own problem!" "Who told you to put the vice principal in the same group as the track and field members?" Ashily always got straight to the point.
"He said he was an athlete in his opening speech. What's wrong with me letting him reflect?!” Yán Huān glanced at the document and said with a smile to Yabashi Ki, "Anyway, it's still two weeks away.
As for this week, Yabashi, you first confirm the budget, and then Sakuramiya and I will notify the various clubs. We'll think about the specific event arrangements later." "OK, President."
The first two matters were notifications from the school. Only the last document did not come from the school. It came from the Linmen Education Bureau.
Sakuramiya Hitomi glanced at the beginning of the document: "Linmen Regarding the Prevention of Campus Bullying..." She immediately held up the document and asked the others, "Are there any cases of campus bullying in our school?" The foolish Yū Anlina immediately shook her head.
"No, I feel like everyone is very friendly. And there haven't been any fights between students." "It's not just physical violence that counts as campus bullying, you know?"
Yabashi Ki glared at Yū Anlina. "Physical violence is already a very serious matter. It's the most obvious and easiest to manage.
The fear is of subtle insults, slander, exclusion, and suppression. These are hard to define, and even if you ask the parties directly, you won't get an answer." Ashily nodded and continued Yabashi Ki's point.
"I heard privately that last semester, someone in the second year dropped out due to depression. The neighboring Xiuzhi Academy even made the news for a suicide jump. This document probably came down because of that...
After the investigation, it was found that the school had already investigated once before the incident. The students being investigated were good at feigning innocence and deceiving people; it had no preventive effect." Rebutted by the two consecutively, Yū Anlina showed a pitiful expression and threw herself into Sakuramiya Hitomi's arms, shouting, "Ugh, Sakuramiya!
They're all bullying me. Please do something about them!" Sakuramiya Hitomi patted her back, speechless.
Yán Huān looked at the document and recalled a dialectical quote from his past life: "Subjectively, there is none, but objectively, perhaps there is?" As he thought, his brow suddenly furrowed. Because he suddenly thought of Yè Shīyǔ.
She was also attending school today, having transferred in suddenly. With her peculiar personality, could she fit in with the classmates she had been with for over a year? She could run into trouble with someone who had a Modifier just by going to the aquarium.
If she had conflicts with others, Yè Shīyǔ would just use hypnosis on you. Amen, second-year students, good luck to yourselves. "President?"
Just as Yán Huān was imagining Yè Shīyǔ frantically using her Modifier to wreak havoc, Sakuramiya Hitomi's voice rang out, pulling his wandering consciousness back. "Sorry, I was thinking about something..." Yán Huān smiled slightly at Sakuramiya Hitomi and said, "Well, it's fortunate that this problem wasn't thrown to us to solve.
The Education Bureau has already taken the lead. This document directly states the measures the school hopes to take, so we just need to follow them..." "Understood, President."
At the same time, in Class 1-C. "Hey, Shūwén, did you really give the letter to President this morning?! President never accepts these things, how did you manage it?"
Since class didn't officially start until 8:30 AM, students were doing their own things inside and outside the classroom. At a seat towards the back, several girls were gathered around a girl named Pǔ Shūwén, chatting animatedly. The girl called "Pǔ Shūwén" covered her mouth and said with a sly smile, "Really!
President fell asleep on the bus this morning. The student council accountant next to him looked like a total otaku, very easy to talk to. I just acted cute a bit, and he got dizzy, saying he'd pass it to President~" "Hey, President fell asleep on the bus?"
"Really, look, this is the picture I took. He's so handsome, right?" "You sneak-photographed him!
Send it to me! Send it to me!" As they were talking, a girl quietly walked past the aisle beside them.
She kept her head down, her thick black hair falling to cover her fair face somewhat indistinctly, also dragging down her aura. Although it wasn't a special day, she was still wearing Yuan Yue's uniform, making her stand out incongruously among everyone else in casual clothes. Even more striking was how her uniform was stretched taut by her extraordinarily proud chest, almost bursting out.
The buttons on her shirt and jacket were struggling to hold the fabric on either side, as if blushing and shouting, "I can't hold on anymore!! Headquarters! Tell the buttons below, I love them!!"
The school badge on her uniform bore her name: "Class 1-C, Ān Lè." As she walked with her head down, a certain word from the girls' conversation seemed to catch her attention. Her steps slowed, and her pink lips parted slightly.
The girls who were conversing also noticed the gloomy girl who had stopped. Pǔ Shūwén, who was the center of attention, glanced at her companion and suddenly laughed, "Hey, do you guys smell milk?" "Haha, yeah, it's really strong."
The girl with her head down pursed her lips but still mustered the courage to say to one of the girls sitting behind Pǔ Shūwén, "This seat... it's... it's mine."
The girl in that seat chuckled, not moving, and said, "Just for a moment, so stingy. Be more broad-minded." "Pfft."
Pǔ Shūwén, surrounded by them, snorted and turned away, too lazy to pay attention to the head-down Ān Lè. Just as she was about to share the photo of Yán Huān with her classmates on her phone, the homeroom teacher of Class C walked into the classroom entrance. "Quiet down, there's something to announce.
Class will start five minutes early." "Why like this?!" "Other classes aren't..."
But the teacher didn't bother with pleasantries and loudly said, "Quiet! Everyone return to your seats!" Under the teacher's authority, the students reluctantly returned to their seats.
The students scattered like birds and beasts, and Ān Lè could finally return to her seat. She lifted her head slightly, just enough to see the screen of Pǔ Shūwén's phone in front of her. Thus, she saw the photo of Yán Huān sleeping, sneak-photographed that morning.
Ān Lè's eyes were instantly captivated by the handsome sleeping boy on the screen. Her throat bobbed, and her face flushed slightly. Pǔ Shūwén, in front, felt the gaze from behind and looked back at the Ān Lè behind her with disgust.
Then, she straightened up and hid her phone screen. "Disgusting." "..."
Ān Lè pursed her lips, feeling embarrassed and lowering her head again. Under the desk, her fair fingers nervously clutched the hem of her skirt, seemingly hurt by Pǔ Shūwén's words. But under her sleeve, a phantom snake-like tattoo seemed to writhe on her skin with her changing emotions.
"Gurgle~" Huh? What was that sound? Ān Lè looked up blankly, searching for the source of the phantom sound.
At that moment, the teacher on the podium spoke, "Um, Class C has a new student transferring in today. Please have her come up for self-introduction. Let's give her a warm welcome."
"Clap, clap, clap." Sparse applause erupted from below. Ān Lè was among those clapping.
Then, in Ān Lè's line of sight, a beautiful woman with golden long hair and an impressive figure, head held high and chest puffed out, walked in confidently from the door. She stood on the podium, her gaze sweeping down over all the students. She chuckled, revealing a very prominent fang.
She said casually,
I am Ariya Spencer, and I'll be your classmate from now on. Please take care of me, everyone.