Homebody girl, get it together!

In a window-side stall in the girls' restroom of Totsuki Academy's first-year division.

An Le was browsing a website, looking up information on small snake species.

Last night, a tiny, strange white snake had suddenly appeared on her windowsill.

She knew a fair amount about snakes. After all, when she first started keeping reptiles, a pet snake had been her first choice.

But Father and Mother were simply too scared of snakes, so she had eventually settled on a gecko, which they found somewhat more acceptable.

As for spiders, insects, and the like, those were completely out of the question.

But that snake from last night?

Despite being so small, it looked very much like a cobra, making An Le wonder whether it was venomous.

She had fed it a little food, then shut it away, making absolutely certain it could not escape.

After arriving at school, she had started searching through all sorts of information online, hoping to find out exactly what species it was and whether she could keep it at home.

An ocean megacity like Linmen had almost no native wildlife. Since it had appeared in a residential area, it was very likely someone else's escaped pet.

Judging by its severe injuries, its previous owner probably had not treated it well either.

An Le wanted to keep it, but after searching all morning, she had not found any information that matched.

Its markings, size, appearance...

She could not find anything similar in any of those respects.

Besides, did milky-white miniature cobras actually exist?

"Hey, Shuwen, I heard the president rejected all the gifts again this morning."

"Yeah. Unless the president's asleep, there's no chance at all."

Just as An Le put down her phone and prepared to return to class, she heard several classmates talking outside her stall.

She immediately fell silent, staying seated without daring to move.

Piao Shuwen seemed to open the neighboring stall, then continued speaking.

"Silly, the point isn't whether the president's asleep. It's that student council treasurer."

"Oh, you mean that nerd you mentioned before?"

"Yeah, he's really close to the president, and he's easy to talk to. If you ask him very earnestly in private, he'll definitely deliver it to the president."

Eavesdropping on their conversation, An Le pressed her lips together, remaining silent.

"Does that really work?"

"Of course, but there can't be too many people. One or two every now and then is fine, but if there are too many, he'll turn them down no matter what."

After a little while, the stall door opened, and Piao Shuwen seemed to step outside again.

"So we just need to ask him once every other week. Act a little cuter, a little sweeter..."

As she spoke, Piao Shuwen washed her hands and put on a sugary, affected voice.

"Ooh, Yatsuhashi, you're so nice. I really don't know how to thank you~"

"Oh, stop it! That voice is so fake! Haha."

"Shh, these are all tips I figured out in secret. Don't tell anyone else."

"Mostly, he's the only one in the student council's upper ranks who can help. Secretary You Anlina will help, sure, but before the letter even gets delivered, who knows how many times she'll have read it."

"And that Aishili always has such a sour face. She's impossible to get along with."

"As for Sakuramiya... heh."

"Hahaha~"

Their voices gradually faded away with the ringing of the class bell, while An Le remained seated in the stall, seemingly still mulling over their conversation.

If I give my letter to that treasurer named Yatsuhashi, will Xiao Huan accept it?

But somehow...

And if Piao Shuwen and the others find out I overheard them and did the same thing...

An Le pressed her lips together and lightly covered her chest, feeling a heaviness there.

Breathing hard, she undid a button at her collar, because her breasts stretched her clothes far too tightly.

Yet even after she did that, the heaviness remained.

Only then did she realize it was not her chest that felt heavy, but the heart beneath it.

"Gurgle~"

As An Le hesitated, an illusory snake tattoo that had appeared on her body from who knew where wriggled out from the skin beneath her clothes.

An Le cupped her face, only to catch something moving on her arm out of the corner of her eye.

"!!"

Startled, she hurriedly stood and looked at her arm.

A snake... s-s-snake!!

Why is it in my hand?!

Just as her eyes grew misty and she stood at a loss, the snake tattoo slipped off her fingers, gradually materializing into a little white snake.

"Gurgle..."

The little snake looked exactly like the one she had helped last night.

"Hello, An Le."

The little snake raised its body and studied the girl before it, suddenly speaking inside her mind in a rather feminine voice.

"It... it talked!!"

An Le covered her mouth, even beginning to wonder whether she had masturbated so much that she was hallucinating.

The little snake rolled its eyes in a distinctly human fashion, then looked at her and cursed.

"Loser!"

"Huh? Why... are you suddenly insulting me?"

"You won't even talk back when I call you a loser. Are you even human?"

"But... I don't know why you're insulting me. What if it's because I locked you up last night..."

The little snake laughed in sheer exasperation, momentarily unable to think of another insult.

After a brief silence, it gave An Le a sidelong look and muttered helplessly.

"I can't even... Forget it, there's no other way. If I keep dragging this out, the other [Fingers] will have won their chicken dinners already..."

"E-eating chicken?"

An Le's little face flushed. She had only caught something about "eating chicken," and who knew what had suddenly occurred to her.

"Listen up, An Le. I like telling the truth, so I'll get straight to the point."

The little snake flicked its translucent pink tongue and said to An Le,

"Do you know what a cheat is?"

"I... I think so. I've read lots of Dragon Nation novels..."

"I'm your cheat. You can call me a hack or a system, but in short, I'm here to help you fulfill your wishes."

"Fulfill my wishes?"

"Exactly. You're the protagonist of this world, the Child of Fortune, blessed by fortune. You can do anything you want."

Flicking its tongue, the little snake approached An Le, coiled around her arm, and twisted its way closer to her.

[I can grant you the power to manipulate sensations. Through them, you can control anyone's pleasure and pain.]

As the little snake wound upward, a tingling sensation spread through An Le's arm, followed by itching, pain, and then...

An Le's face reddened slightly, and her body went weak against her will.

But the sensation was fleeting, soon receding like the tide.

[In return, you must show me your wishes coming true.]

[One by one, fulfill every wish: the tiny ones, the grand ones, the effortless ones, and the impossible ones.]

[The more you use it, the stronger the power I can give you will become... until it evolves.]

As sweet as the apple Eve had stolen a bite of, the white snake's words abruptly stopped. Then its tone changed sharply.

[But you must be careful. Careful, careful, and more careful. You absolutely cannot let anyone else know you have this ability. You absolutely cannot be discovered.]

An Le swallowed and instinctively asked,

"Otherwise... what will happen?"

Otherwise, we'll all be finished in an instant!

These Fingers, along with this entire world.

No one other than a Finger's owner could be allowed to learn of the Fingers' existence. That was a rule laid down by that god...

"If people could find out, could it still count as a Japanese anime?"

So said the great god.

That was the main reason.

As for the second reason...

"What do you think? What would happen if other people discovered you had a supernatural ability like this?"

"I'd get captured and experimented on?"

"You're not completely stupid."

The little snake flicked its tongue and rolled its eyes at An Le.

"More likely, they'd kill you after their research failed to produce results!"

Although it would not die, having to start over with another host would put its progress behind the other Fingers.

It had originally intended to bind itself to that woman named Tong Yingying. Even after it had shown her what it could do, she had still voluntarily chosen to give it up...

As a result, it had suffered severe injuries.

All it could say was that, fortunately, the binding had not been completed. Otherwise, it would have been done for.

Now it could only settle for second best and come looking for the homebody girl before it.

"Well? Will you accept my help?"

"I..."

An Le opened her mouth, looking at the little snake before her.

She watched it flick its tongue, her distorted figure reflected in its scarlet eyes.

"Are you sure you want people bullying you for the rest of your life? Elementary school, middle school, high school, and now..."

"..."

"Are you sure you want to be timid forever, not even daring to speak to him and rekindle those memories, just watching him get together with other women?"

"N-no, that's not it!"

As she listened, An Le suddenly gripped her own hands and protested fiercely.

"I just want him to recognize me... As for who he likes, I..."

Seriously, girl.

After all that buildup, that's what you give me?!

How is that any different from getting the power to stop time, only to use it to give yourself more time to study?

You've got a freaking superpower, and you still want to pull this 'as long as you're happy, my skies are clear' crap?

Fine, fine, fine.

Its expression darkening, the little snake slapped her hand with its tail and swore.

"Hopeless!! Forget just that Yan Huan guy. I'm telling you, you can screw anyone you want!! Can't you show a little ambition?! You don't even dare think about it?"

"But I only..."

"Smack, smack, smack, smack!"

Before she could finish her next sentence, the little snake's tail came down again and again like a whirlwind.

An Le hurriedly covered the back of her hand, babbling as she tried to stop it.

"D-don't slap me anymore... I... I'll accept your help!"

The little snake was thoroughly worked up too, panting as it spat.

"How did someone as smart as me end up picking a spineless loser like you?! I'm telling you, from today onward, you'd better get it together!"

"From now on, if anyone bullies you, make them pay!

"If you fancy someone, turn him into your slave, just like the characters in those games you play!"

An Le's mouth fell open. She actually wanted to say, "How can you apply things from games to real life?"

But seeing how angry it was, she did not dare say anything more.

Instead, she asked,

"Little snake... Since you can talk, do you have a name?"

"...You can call me [Little Finger]."

"What a strange name."

An Le stroked its head, only to have her hand angrily slapped away.

Unbothered, An Le simply finished what it had interrupted her from saying earlier.

"Little Finger, what I was trying to say was, even though you make it sound so amazing... if all I can do is manipulate pleasure and pain, it sounds like I can't really do anything at all."

"..."

Little Finger froze briefly, nearly driven into a rage by An Le's simple remark.

"What do you mean?! Are you saying I'm weak?! I'm so smart, helping you is more than within my abilities, okay?!"

"N-no, I'm just being realistic."

"Bullshit! Besides, this is only the starting ability! It'll get stronger the more you use it!!"

"Mm..."

But no matter how much stronger something like this gets, won't it still be completely useless?

But afraid of making Little Finger lose it, she could not bring herself to say it.

An Le was a gentle girl.

"O-okay... But Little Finger, you're a snake. I can't bring you to school normally, and at home, I'd have to worry about whether Father and Mother might see you."

"Did you think just anyone could see me? Only you can see me. No one else can see or hear me."

As Little Finger spoke, she slowly melted.

Her milky-white body seemed to become saturated with ink, turning into an illusory tattoo on An Le's hand.

The tattoo writhed little by little on her hand. Then, inexplicably, illusory text appeared before her eyes.

[Current level: 1]

[Effects: Pleasure and pain manipulation]

[Usage method 1: Once per day, lasting 15 minutes each time. Mentally select any target within a ten-meter radius to activate.]

[Usage method 2: Summon the snake-shaped tattoo. Contact between the tattooed area and the target also allows sensitivity manipulation. This method has no duration limit or cooldown, but can only affect one person at a time.]

Looking at the illusory text before her, An Le parted her lips slightly and murmured,

"It really is just like the systems in novels..."

"Hmph, as long as you know I'm your cheat. Now what you need to do is teach those people who keep bullying you a lesson, understand?"

Little Finger's voice sounded in her mind.

An Le pressed her lips together, neither agreeing nor refusing.

She merely glanced at her phone, then stood up in a fluster when she saw the time.

"Oh no... Class started ages ago. I have to hurry back to the classroom."

"Hey, did you even hear what I said?!"

"..."

An Le quietly slipped out of the stall and went to the sink.

Yet her thoughts seemed to have been thrown into disarray by this little snake that had appeared out of nowhere.

She did not think about taking revenge on Piao Shuwen and the others. Instead, scenes from over ten years ago suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Back then, her family had not yet moved out of the South District, and they lived in a rundown old neighborhood that was rather dirty and chaotic.

Back then, much like now, she had hardly any friends.

The difference was that back then, she had a childhood friend she was very close to.

The neighborhood children often played together, but rarely included her, because she was simply too withdrawn and too unlikable.

She still yearned for friendship, so even if she could only follow those children without a word, even if she could only sit to one side doing nothing, she still wanted to be with them.

There was an orphanage in the neighborhood, and the local children often went there to play with the children who lived there.

It was there that An Le met a boy named Yan Huan.

A very special boy.

Of all the children, only Yan Huan noticed her sitting alone in a corner.

Only Yan Huan would approach her, talk to her, and bring her along to play.

An Le would carefully prepare birthday presents for him, too, taking him home to sleep beside her.

Her parents liked him very much as well, and she had even innocently suggested to them that they take Yan Huan in to live with them...

An Le could never forget those happy years.

But all those wonderful things vanished when An Le moved away from Linmen.

She still remembered clinging to him and crying before she left. At a loss, he cut out a piece of stiff paper and said to her,

"Don't cry. I'll make you a bookmark, okay?"

"Waaah... Xiao Huan, what's a... a bookmark?"

"A bookmark keeps a record of where you stopped reading when you parted with a book."

"So this bookmark is a record, too?"

"Mm-hmm. The whole point of a bookmark is so that when you meet again, you can start from where you parted."

He wrote a line on the cardboard with his pen-their names.

"Yan Huan and An Le"

He asked her whether she wanted to write anything on it.

She raised the pen and thought, but there was only one exceedingly simple thought in her mind.

I don't want us to part.

And so she wrote a line on the bookmark, making it complete.

"Yan Huan and An Le"

"Will be together forever."

After that, her family returned to the Dragon Nation and spent many years doing business.

When it failed to amount to much, they moved back to Linmen and settled in Luoqiao District.

She had returned to the orphanage in the South District, but so many years had passed that Yan Huan had long since left, and no one knew where he had gone.

Perhaps fate could not bear to make her keep searching. After she struggled to gain admission to Totsuki, Yan Huan appeared before her of his own accord.

As it turned out, Yan Huan had also gotten into Totsuki and attended the same school as An Le.

But if she missed him so deeply, why had an entire semester passed without her approaching him?

Splash...

The icy water flowed over the backs of her hands, drawing away her body heat and making her look up at the mirror before her.

In the mirror, her long, thick black hair dragged her entire bearing down.

After a moment of silence, she brushed some of the black hair away from her forehead, revealing her fair, clear, and lovely face.

Yet even looking at herself in the mirror, her eyes instinctively averted.

That evasiveness was steeped in the gloom of inferiority, burying everything about her.

Someone like me.

And Xiao Huan, who's become the president, who's liked by so many people...

How could we...

How could we ever be together forever?

An Le pressed her lips together and lowered her head a little more. Her long black hair fell again, hiding her face.

Feeling rather miserable, she left the restroom and headed for her classroom.

She knocked softly on the door, entered the classroom, and murmured to Zhou Bin, who was lecturing at the front,

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm late getting back..."

Already prepared to stand as punishment, An Le made to head toward the last row.

She sat in the last row anyway.

But, unusually, Zhou Bin merely adjusted his glasses and forced a smile.

"It's fine. Go back to your seat."

"Huh? O-okay, Mr. Zhou."

An Le gave Zhou Bin a grateful look, then lowered her head and walked toward her seat.

She breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to sit down when her body abruptly froze.

My...

Where's my book?

The book doesn't matter, but... the bookmark I... I put inside...

If I've lost the bookmark...

Her eyes, hidden beneath her black hair, trembled and gradually grew hollow. A snake-shaped tattoo seemed to grow restless, nourished by something terrifying.

Gurgle~

She turned to look beside her and saw the blonde-haired Spencer staring blankly at the bookmark that had become crumpled with age.

It's... in her hand!

Spencer turned and looked curiously at the girl before her, only to hear An Le whisper to her with great urgency,

"Please... please give that back to me."

"Huh?"

At that, Spencer raised an eyebrow and looked An Le up and down.

A moment later, her expression, which had been brimming with interest and fierce fighting spirit, gradually sank into utter boredom.

"Sure."

She handed the bookmark back to An Le along with the textbook.

"Th-thank you..."

Holding the bookmark in both hands, An Le breathed a sigh of relief and slowly sat back down.

But just then, Spencer's voice drifted over from beside her again.

"You really like him too, huh? That president, Yan Huan."

"Huh? N-no... I don't... I..."

An Le's face instantly flushed bright red, and she hurriedly waved her hands, instinctively denying it.

Seeing her like this, a little sympathy surfaced in Spencer's eyes.

Propping her cheek on her hand, she looked toward the front of the classroom and said languidly,

"What's there to be embarrassed about...? Still, it's best if you don't. Just thought I'd give you a heads-up..."

"Huh?"

An Le awkwardly withdrew her hands and pressed her lips together, seemingly thinking that the other girl liked Yan Huan too.

"After all, he's already together with that Hitomi Sakuramiya, and they've even done that sort of thing."

An Le's body stiffened slightly. She turned her head in a daze.

"Th-that sort of thing..."

A mocking smile spread across Spencer's face, her blonde hair seeming saturated with sunlight.

Facing An Le, she opened and closed her red lips, mouthing a word.

The meaning conveyed by those lips reached her without a sound, seeming to turn into some disorienting scene that crashed into An Le's mind.

In just an instant, she seemed able to picture Yan Huan in some room, looking with eyes full of love at the vice president who was always by his side.

"..."

Uncontrollably, An Le's little face immediately turned pale.