Chapter Summaries

Yun Lan submitted an application to join the Student Council and defended his methods and priorities to Manabu Horikita. He openly admitted that protecting the people he cared about mattered more to him than graduating from the school.

• Yun Lan filled out his Student Council application, writing that he wanted to join and selecting Vice President and Secretary as his desired positions.
• Manabu Horikita confronted Yun Lan about taking activity funds from club heads, and Yun Lan replied that the school valued ability above all else.
• Manabu Horikita asked whether Yun Lan valued feelings over graduating, and Yun Lan answered yes without hesitation.

Yun Lan joined the Student Council after telling Manabu Horikita that feelings mattered more than graduation and offering to help him. Manabu assigned Yun Lan to start as a secretary, while Honami Ichinose questioned Yun Lan about his surprising answer as they left.

• Manabu Horikita accepted Yun Lan into the Student Council after Yun Lan thanked him and said he would do his duty.
• Yun Lan unexpectedly told Manabu, "I'll help you," and Manabu replied that he looked forward to it.
• After Yun Lan and Honami Ichinose left, Akane Tachibana questioned Manabu about admitting Yun Lan despite his unconventional methods and application.
• Manabu reassured Akane that he had his own plans and assigned Yun Lan to begin as a secretary, saying the Council would be the best place to observe him.
• Honami Ichinose asked Yun Lan what he meant by saying feelings mattered more than graduation and why Manabu had let him join.

Yun Lan promised Ichinose he would explain his meeting with Manabu Horikita that night, and she pressed him for the truth in his dorm room. He began explaining that the Student Council and its power over school rules were central to his decision to join, leaving the rest of his reasoning unrevealed.

• Yun Lan promised Ichinose he would tell her everything about his meeting with Manabu Horikita after dinner.
• Ichinose took Yun Lan's hand and led him to the cafeteria, insisting he keep his promise.
• In Yun Lan's dorm room, Ichinose questioned him about offering to help Manabu Horikita and his reasons for joining the Student Council.
• Yun Lan asked where the school's true center of power lay, then told Ichinose that the rules and the Student Council held significant influence over students' lives.

Yun Lan explained to Honami Ichinose that Manabu Horikita recruited him to counter Miyabi Nagumo’s influence in the Student Council, and that he agreed both for his own ambitions and to protect her. After Ichinose promised to keep his role secret, she noticed his unease and asked whether he disliked her questioning him about dangerous matters.

• Yun Lan told Ichinose that Manabu Horikita feared Miyabi Nagumo’s radical plans could drive students out of school and wanted a new force to oppose him.
• Yun Lan explained that Horikita offered him a place in the Student Council, where he would face pressure and possible attacks from Nagumo’s supporters.
• Yun Lan said he accepted the risky position to gain influence, pursue his goals, and protect Ichinose from Nagumo.
• Yun Lan asked Ichinose to keep the Student Council power struggle secret, and she promised to do so while urging him to be careful.
• Ichinose sensed Yun Lan’s discomfort and asked whether he did not want her questioning him about complicated and dangerous matters.

Honami Ichinose pressed Yun Lan to explain his feelings for her, and he admitted that while he could not promise to love only her, their shared past gave her an irreplaceable place in his heart. Moved by his honesty, Honami threw herself into his arms.

• Ichinose asked Yun Lan whether he disliked her for pressing him with questions, and he quickly assured her that he could never dislike her.
• Ichinose teased Yun Lan by asking whether he liked her because she was cute, and he playfully praised her looks and figure.
• Ichinose asked whether he would be attracted to another girl with similar qualities, and Yun Lan explained that their history made her place in his heart unique.
• Yun Lan admitted he could not promise to love only Ichinose, but said she would always be family and a part of him.
• Moved by his candid answer, Ichinose leaned forward and threw herself into Yun Lan's arms.

Ichinose embraced Yun Lan and declared that she would stay with him for life, and he silently accepted her commitment. The next morning, Yun Lan greeted Kanzaki at school, where Kanzaki questioned his unusual friendliness and analyzed his social habits.

• Ichinose told Yun Lan she would stick with him for the rest of her life, and he accepted her declaration by embracing her.
• Ichinose returned to her dorm instead of spending the night with Yun Lan.
• Yun Lan arrived in the Class 1-B classroom the next morning and greeted Kanzaki, his desk mate.
• Kanzaki said Yun Lan's greeting was unusual because he seemed to avoid casual social pleasantries.
• Yun Lan joked that Kanzaki had already judged him as cold and aloof.

Yun Lan and Ryuji Kanzaki discussed Kanzaki’s deduction that Yun Lan’s unusually friendly mood was tied to a plan for the following afternoon. Yun Lan explained that he had made peace with some of his feelings, then returned to joking with Kanzaki about swimming class.

• Ryuji Kanzaki confronted Yun Lan about his out-of-character greeting and guessed it was connected to something planned for after school the next day.
• Yun Lan praised Kanzaki’s perceptiveness and said his good mood came from accepting and reconciling with thoughts and feelings he had previously avoided.
• Kanzaki accepted Yun Lan’s explanation as an internally driven change in behavior and returned to his notes.
• Yun Lan asked whether they had swimming class and joked about impressing his classmates.
• Kanzaki told Yun Lan that he was already experiencing a vibrant high-school life.

Yun Lan’s eagerness for swimming surprised Ryuji Kanzaki, who asked him to return to his usual demeanor before they headed to the pool. In the boys’ locker room, Yun Lan listened silently as classmates discussed which girls in their class had the best figures, leaving his own opinion unstated.

• After class, Yun Lan hurried to get ready for swimming, and Ryuji Kanzaki asked him to act as he had the day before.
• Yun Lan calmed his expression and manner, satisfying Kanzaki’s observations, and they went to the locker room.
• While changing, several boys debated whether Mako Amikura, Chihiro Shiranami, or Yume Kobashi had the best figure.
• Yun Lan listened to the boys’ discussion without joining in or naming his own choice.

During swim class, Yun Lan kept his feelings for Honami Ichinose private and followed Ryuji Kanzaki to the pool, where Kanzaki wondered if Yun Lan was attracted to men. Yun Lan firmly denied it, and they joined the students gathering by the pool.

• Yun Lan recalled his deep feelings for Honami Ichinose while his classmates discussed girls, then avoided giving his opinion.
• Yun Lan followed Ryuji Kanzaki toward the pool and admitted he wanted to follow him.
• Kanzaki speculated that Yun Lan might be sexually attracted to men, and Yun Lan emphatically denied it.
• Yun Lan and Kanzaki reached the pool, where students gathered in their swimsuits.

Yun Lan suspected the swimming lessons were preparation for the Island Special Exam, then stunned the class by dominating his 100-meter freestyle race. Ryuji Kanzaki watched in surprise as Yun Lan finished far ahead of his competitors.

• Yun Lan asked why Class B's swimming lesson was separate, and the teacher explained that the pool could not accommodate all four classes together.
• Yun Lan reasoned that the school was teaching students to swim in preparation for the Island Special Exam, where being surrounded by water could make swimming a matter of safety.
• The teacher announced separate boys' and girls' races, offering 5,000 personal points to the fastest student and extra lessons to the slowest.
• Yun Lan entered the first boys' group and launched into the race with polished technique, quickly pulling far ahead of the other swimmers.
• Yun Lan finished first after completing the 100-meter freestyle, while Ryuji Kanzaki watched with rare surprise.

Yun Lan impressed everyone by swimming 100 meters in 50 seconds, then redirected the swimming teacher’s recruitment effort toward Student Council president Horikita. He won first place and 5,000 personal points, while considering how his display of strength might affect others’ view of him.

• Yun Lan finished the 100-meter freestyle in 50 seconds with little apparent effort, leaving Kanzaki and the other students astonished.
• The swimming teacher praised Yun Lan’s technique and urged him to join the Swimming Club.
• Yun Lan said Student Council rules prevented him from joining another club and suggested the teacher seek an exception from Horikita.
• The teacher agreed to approach Horikita, while Yun Lan returned to watch the remaining races.
• Yun Lan won first place in the boys’ group and received 5,000 personal points.

Yun Lan politely handled Sota Shibata’s praise after winning the swimming competition, while privately treating the interaction as a social obligation. At lunch, he sat with Honami Ichinose, who had prepared two carefully arranged lunch boxes for him.

• Sota Shibata congratulated Yun Lan on his swimming and tried to arrange a future basketball game.
• Yun Lan gave Shibata a polite compliment and noncommittal response, then reflected that his athletic display was already affecting his social life.
• Ryuji Kanzaki watched Yun Lan and Shibata’s interaction and appeared to record it.
• Yun Lan joined Honami Ichinose for lunch, where she watched him enjoy the two lunch boxes she had prepared.

Yun Lan and Honami Ichinose shared a familiar, intimate lunch and acknowledged how accustomed they were to having each other in their lives. When Yun Lan mentioned his three junior sisters, Honami grew curious and showed faint jealousy, leaving him to answer her questions.

• Yun Lan and Honami Ichinose shared lunch and reflected on how familiar their quiet meals together felt.
• Yun Lan told Honami that he planned to message his masters and mentioned that his old master had three junior sisters.
• Honami stopped eating and asked Yun Lan why he had never mentioned his junior sisters and where they were now.
• Honami waited for Yun Lan's answer, unsettled by the possibility that he shared a close bond with other women.

Yun Lan told Ichinose about his three junior sisters, Yi Jiang, Yi Xuan, and Ye Shunguang, and recalled the hardship of returning home alone one snowy New Year's Eve. The chapter left him encountering two starving, white-haired girls with golden and crimson eyes huddled in an alley.

• Yun Lan named his three junior sisters and said he remembered to send them holiday gifts and clothes.
• Ichinose asked why Yun Lan did not visit his junior sisters, and he claimed he was too busy with school.
• Yun Lan remembered his master sending him down the mountain to spend New Year's with his family.
• Yun Lan walked through a snowy night and heard a little girl say she was hungry and wanted a barbecue pork bun.
• Yun Lan found two cold, ragged sisters huddled by a closed bun shop, with natural white hair and striking golden and crimson eyes.

Yun Lan rescued the starving, freezing Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan and brought them to the Yun Family villa. The sisters found shelter and warmth, though what would become of them remained undecided.

• Yun Lan found Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan shivering in the snow and covered Yi Xuan with his coat.
• Yun Lan called Uncle Su for help and took the sisters to the Yun Family villa after Yi Jiang agreed to go.
• Yun Lan’s parents, Xia Yue and Yun Shen, accepted the sisters staying with the family.
• Yun Lan learned the sisters’ names and offered them money to leave or a place to stay as maids.
• Yi Jiang chose to stay with Yun Lan, who told the sisters to recover before deciding anything further.
• Yi Jiang took Yi Xuan to bathe after their immediate need for shelter and food had been met.

Yun Lan arranged clothes and extra char siu buns for Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan, while Uncle Su warmly misread his kindness as a sign he was bringing home future young mistresses. After their bath, the girls entered the dining room and were overwhelmed by the food, especially the buns.

• Yun Lan teased Uncle Su for getting emotional as Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan bathed.
• Uncle Su said he was happy Yun Lan had brought girls home, and Yun Lan protested that he was still young.
• Yun Lan asked Uncle Su to prepare extra char siu buns and clothes for the girls.
• Uncle Su arranged the clothes and food, delighted by Yun Lan's concern for Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan.
• Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan came to the dining room in new dresses and stared at the feast, while Yi Xuan's stomach growled loudly.

Yun Lan offered Yi Xuan and Yi Jiang hot char siu buns, and their hunger overcame their initial wariness and restraint. As they ate and relaxed in the warmth of his home, Yun Lan watched them and found them cute.

• Yun Lan placed a char siu bun before Yi Xuan and invited the sisters to eat.
• Yi Xuan eagerly ate the bun and urged Yi Jiang to try one.
• Yi Jiang gave in to her hunger and ate a bun, gradually relaxing as she tasted the warm food.
• Yun Lan watched the sisters eat after they had washed up and thought they were cute.

The narrator decided to give Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan a chance at a normal life by arranging household registration and school enrollment through Faust. He then went to Yun Shen to ask for personal protection for the girls, leaving the request about to be discussed.

• The narrator watched Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan eat and accepted that their presence might change his quiet life.
• He called Faust, Mao Rabbit, and ordered her to check the girls' household registration and arrange a suitable elementary school.
• Faust confirmed she would investigate and report school options by the next morning.
• The narrator decided the girls needed reliable personal protection when away from home.
• He went to Yun Shen's study and told his father that the girls' safety required more than the house's security system.

Yun Lan chose Faust and Don Quixote to protect Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan, then tried to reassure the girls that they were not expected to work as maids. Yi Jiang kissed him and tearfully offered herself in exchange for him not abandoning them.

• Yun Lan asked Yun Shen to assign Faust and Don Quixote as the girls’ protectors, and Yun Shen agreed to notify them.
• Yun Lan returned to find Yi Jiang caring for her sleeping sister, then gave Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan lollipops and told her to brush her teeth afterward.
• Yun Lan told Yi Jiang he had not brought them home to work as maids and promised to take them shopping for clothes the next day.
• Yi Jiang kissed Yun Lan, then cried and offered herself to him, pleading with him not to send the sisters away or abandon them.

Yun Lan learned that Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan had signed contracts to become his personal maids, then took them shopping and bought them the clothes they liked. The sisters settled into their new place in his household, while Yun Lan recognized that Yi Jiang had arranged the contract to secure their stay beside him.

• Yun Lan reassured Yi Jiang that he would not abandon her, and Yi Xuan woke him the next morning by nudging him and calling him Brother Lan.
• Xia Yue told Yun Lan that Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan had signed contracts to become his personal maids, but Yun Lan objected that the girls were too young for the contracts to be legally valid.
• Yun Lan realized Yi Jiang had arranged the contracts to secure a place for herself and her sister beside him, and he felt sympathy for her.
• Yun Lan took the sisters shopping and told Uncle Su to buy every outfit that suited them.
• Yi Jiang worried that the clothes cost too much, while Yi Xuan cheered at the prospect of taking them home.