Startled awake on a sickbed

Friday noon, outside the Student Council office at Totsuki Academy.

The slightly open door seemed like a sharply drawn boundary, dividing the inside and outside of the Student Council office into two irreconcilable worlds.

Standing outside, Ye Shiyu tilted her head slightly in confusion after hearing Hitomi Sakuramiya's words from within. Her expressionlessness gradually turned into tangible frost.

Looking at the smiling Hitomi Sakuramiya before her, she asked,

"Xiao Huan is my younger brother. Why do I need you to pass on a message when I've come to see him?"

She had said a great deal in one go. Anyone who knew Ye Shiyu would have understood the thunder raging inside her at that moment.

But Hitomi Sakuramiya seemed not to notice at all. She merely covered her mouth, maintaining a gracious, polite smile as she said,

"Because this is the Student Council office. Could you please take another careful look at the sign on the door?"

Since the door was not open very far, Ye Shiyu needed only to step back to see the sign hanging on it.

"Student Council executive office"

"Unauthorized personnel prohibited"

Ye Shiyu parted her lips, but Hitomi Sakuramiya merely smiled, looking at her as she explained,

"This is the Student Council executives' workspace. There are many important documents inside, so outsiders have always needed permission to enter. I'm not trying to make things difficult for you, senior."

In reality, rules were rigid, but people were flexible.

Others had often come into the office to discuss things before. Spencer joining the Study Group, for instance, had originally required coming into the office for a discussion.

So at that moment, Hitomi Sakuramiya was indeed quietly making things difficult for her.

And Ye Shiyu was no fool, nor was she some unflappable girl who never picked up on anything. She keenly detected the hostility lurking in the other girl's words.

She held a bag in one hand. At some point, the phone in her other hand had lit up, seeping a spine-chilling malevolence.

"I'm Xiao Huan's older sister, and I have something to see him about. It has nothing to do with the Student Council. Please let me in."

Hitomi Sakuramiya did not answer directly, instead saying,

"The president doesn't seem to have rested well yesterday. He finally managed to fall asleep just now. If you don't want me to pass on your message, senior, does that mean you want me to wake him up right now?"

Ye Shiyu froze slightly and looked up at Yan Huan, who was lying on the sofa.

The gap in the door was narrow, so she could only vaguely make out part of his face.

His sleeping face was peaceful, but there were unmistakable traces of dark circles beneath his eyes. He looked utterly exhausted.

Was it because of his part-time job?

"...No need. I can go in and wait for Xiao Huan. Until he wakes up."

Hitomi Sakuramiya smiled again, looking entirely businesslike.

"I'm sorry, senior, but as I just said, outsiders cannot enter the Student Council office without permission. If you need anything, you can tell me, and I'll pass it on when he wakes up."

There it was-a perfect closed loop!

To go inside, she had to wake Xiao Huan and get his permission first.

Ye Shiyu did not want to wake the sleeping Xiao Huan, especially when he looked so poorly rested.

But if she did not wake Xiao Huan, this annoying vice president would not let her in.

Communication.

Such a hassle.

Hypnosis would be easier.

As she thought this, Ye Shiyu's gaze on Hitomi Sakuramiya had already become less like one directed at a person.

"What... will you do if I insist on going in?"

The purple vortex glowing on the phone screen between her fingers was already like the gaping maw of an abyss, ready to devour everything she disliked.

But Ye Shiyu did not notice at all that beyond the slightly open Student Council office door, it was like an inferno as well.

Only because she stood outside the room could she not sense the danger within the Barrier.

Ultimately, Hitomi Sakuramiya's refusal to let her in might not have been entirely out of dislike. Rather, it was a struggle between reason and desire.

Once she let her into the Barrier, she might not be able to resist using it to do something, either.

"By the way, Senior Ye, the president mentioned on Monday that you were his older sister."

Just then, a glint passed through Hitomi Sakuramiya's eyes as she looked at Ye Shiyu and suddenly asked,

"Speaking purely for myself, may I ask what exactly this 'sister and brother' relationship means?"

"What does that have to do with you?"

Ye Shiyu disliked Hitomi Sakuramiya more and more, especially when she caught sight of what seemed to be a blanket draped over Yan Huan, its size mismatched to his figure.

Pink cherry blossoms adorned the blanket. One glance was enough to tell that it belonged to a woman.

For some reason, Ye Shiyu guessed correctly that the blanket belonged to the vice president before her.

Hitomi Sakuramiya covered her mouth and chuckled, answering with impeccable grace and courtesy,

"You don't have to answer. I was simply a little curious."

Despite her words, her appraising gaze silently swept over the other girl's clothes.

"Every piece of clothing you're wearing costs more than five figures, senior. And after you suddenly transferred here this semester, the school is setting up a scholarship in the name of Ye International.

"Your family is so wealthy. I'm merely curious-if the president really is your younger brother, why is he still so hard up, working himself into such exhaustion at a part-time job?"

By the end, Hitomi Sakuramiya was completely expressionless. It was unclear whether her words were curiosity or an interrogation.

But Ye Shiyu, clutching her phone, felt her pupils contract at that question. It was as though a sharp sword had pierced her heart.

What was the reason?

Didn't she know perfectly well?

Her mother had clearly intended to adopt Xiao Huan, but she had secretly interfered, always trying to drive him away.

As a result, Xiao Huan had keenly picked up on her dark thoughts. Considerately, he had not told her mother, choosing to leave himself.

She no longer disliked Xiao Huan now. She could persuade him to come back, so why hadn't she?

Because she knew that once Xiao Huan moved back in, she would surely be unable to resist defiling him.

Even now, at school, one of them was in the lower grades and the other in the upper grades.

Whenever they occasionally met, those filthy thoughts would still surface in Ye Shiyu's mind from time to time.

If she could spend day and night with Xiao Huan, she did not know what her despicable self might do.

It was because of her that he had left and returned to the South District. It was because of her that he could not come back now, and those filthy thoughts in her heart were hers as well.

How despicable she was...

Ye Shiyu had known her own ugliness all along. Now that the other girl had exposed it with a single question, she naturally had no answer.

"..."

Ye Shiyu raised her beautiful eyes toward Hitomi Sakuramiya, who stood before her awaiting an answer.

Her lips moved slightly, but the words she wanted to say seemed to retreat into her stomach in shame. However hard she searched for them, they refused to come out.

Yet she could not help recalling that sentence she had seen while browsing that shady little website.

[Perhaps hypnosis was born to fulfill my filthy wishes?]

The guilty unease that had kept swelling under the other girl's few remarks stopped growing, because some terrifying desire had filled the space.

That's right. She had the Hypnosis App.

As long as she had it, she wouldn't need to explain anything now. She wouldn't need to face her own ugliness and despicableness!

As she thought this, Ye Shiyu's grip on her phone tightened, and an invisible black aura began to spread.

"Your name is Hitomi Sakuramiya, correct?"

Hitomi Sakuramiya narrowed her eyes. She had clearly noticed out of the corner of her eye how tightly the other girl was clutching her phone.

Why was she holding her phone?

Her subconscious told Hitomi Sakuramiya that the girl before her had suddenly become dangerous.

It felt much like when she had faced that Spencer, though in terms of the aversion rising from within her, Spencer still had the edge.

Hitomi Sakuramiya's fair hand tightened on the door handle as well, ready to shut the door at any moment and fully enclose herself within the Barrier.

"That's right, Senior Ye Shiyu."

On the surface, however, her expression remained unchanged. She simply smiled with easy composure.

Ye Shiyu raised her icy eyes, looking as though she might activate the Hypnosis App on Hitomi Sakuramiya in the very next instant, without any warning.

But at that crucial moment, Meow-chan, who had been watching them warily from inside the room all along, suddenly bristled and let out a low cry.

"Meow!"

The sleeping Yan Huan abruptly opened his eyes. He gently pressed one hand against the bristling Meow-chan in his arms, then sat up on the sofa, expressionless.

Startled upright on his sickbed, as a dark wind swept rain through the cold window!

Beneath his long lashes, his indifferent eyes swept toward the door.

Since Hitomi Sakuramiya had not opened the door very far, he too could only vaguely make out who stood outside.

It was Ye Shiyu.

But even without Meow-chan's warning, he could more or less guess that Ye Shiyu was preparing to use her Modifier.

And on the innocent Hitomi Sakuramiya, who had nothing to do with Modifiers!

Yan Huan made his decision in an instant.

He rubbed his hanging bangs, making it look as though he were rubbing his eyes.

As his hair scattered under his hand, his expression naturally shifted into lingering, sleepy languor.

Then he spoke softly, sounding groggy.

"Sister Shiyu?"

His voice was not loud at all, yet it swept like a gale across the smoke-filled battlefield ahead.

Hitomi Sakuramiya, who had been covering her mouth and waiting for the other girl to make her move, paused and turned around.

Ye Shiyu, enveloped in a dense black aura of desire, was instantly purified. The phone she had been about to raise seemed to weigh a thousand tons, impossible to lift.

Both looked into the room and saw Yan Huan, who seemed not yet fully awake, his expression still a little dazed.

The president/Xiao Huan, just waking up...

Adorable!

The same thought surfaced in Hitomi Sakuramiya's and Ye Shiyu's minds at once.

Did our conversation wake him?

It was all this fake sister from who knows where/annoying vice president's fault.

If she hadn't interrupted/blocked me, we could have had some lovely time alone!

And so the two at the door secretly disliked each other even more.

Hitomi Sakuramiya smiled faintly, looking like the complete opposite of the expressionless Ye Shiyu behind her, though their thoughts were exactly the same.

Meow-chan jumped down from Yan Huan and warned him,

"Ye Shiyu was about to use her Modifier, meow!"

"I know."

Yan Huan sighed inwardly, then sat upright, the blanket still draped over him.

He looked at Hitomi Sakuramiya and said,

"Sakuramiya, could you let Sister Shiyu in? She probably needs to see me about something."

Ye Shiyu glared at Hitomi Sakuramiya, her expression saying, "See? Xiao Huan would let me in."

Hitomi Sakuramiya, however, was entirely unbothered. She played the unassailable card of "I was only following regulations when I refused her entry."

"Now that you've given permission, president, of course."

With that, she stepped aside from the door, clearing the way inside.

Ye Shiyu entered with the bag. Seeing the lingering sleepiness on Yan Huan's face, she looked a little apologetic.

"Sorry... I woke you."

Yan Huan smiled faintly and said, unconcerned,

"It's fine. I only meant to take a quick nap anyway. Did you come to return my uniform, Sister Shiyu?"

His gaze moved to the paper bag in Ye Shiyu's hand, as though he already knew why she had come.

Though he did not know why she had waited until Friday, when the week was nearly over, to return it.

Uniform?

Quietly walking back into the office, Hitomi Sakuramiya looked thoughtful.

Had the president stayed at her house last week and even left his clothes there?

But the question remained the same: just what was the relationship between Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu?

This so-called sister and brother relationship?

They definitely were not biological siblings, which made that term rather thought-provoking.

"Yes. Aunt Chen washed it a while ago."

Ye Shiyu nodded, then took the initiative to sit on Yan Huan's side of the sofa, making Hitomi Sakuramiya's brows knit slightly.

"Ah, thank you, Sister Shiyu. But for something like this, you could just message me on Plane and leave it in my classroom. There's no need to go to all the trouble of coming here."

The main issue was that the moment he let his guard down, she could actually start using her Modifier on Sakuramiya.

Just because Sakuramiya had followed the rules and refused to let her in?

Ye Shiyu did not respond. She simply kept staring at Hitomi Sakuramiya's blanket, still draped over his thighs.

Then she gently reached out, pushed the blanket aside, and placed the paper bag on Yan Huan's lap.

"There are some new clothes for you inside. Mom picked out some more online after you left, so I brought those too."

Yan Huan blinked, while Hitomi Sakuramiya, sitting on the opposite sofa, found her smile a little harder to maintain.

So you're just going to push my blanket aside like it's nothing?

Fine. Just fine.

Then, after Ye Shiyu finished speaking, the entire office abruptly fell silent again.

After all, Ye Shiyu had only come for this one simple thing, but now that she had finished, she remained motionless, showing no intention of leaving.

Meanwhile, Hitomi Sakuramiya continued playing the perfect vice president, merely observing their interactions closely.

Having taken the bag, Yan Huan sighed inwardly. Just as he was about to start a conversation himself, Ye Shiyu summoned her courage and spoke first.

"Xiao Huan... is your part-time job really exhausting?"

Hitomi Sakuramiya's gaze shifted, settling on Ye Shiyu's profile.

Yan Huan did not answer. Instead, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Meow-chan, who sat beside him.

"Vice President Sakuramiya seems very curious about your sibling relationship with Ye Shiyu, meow."

Meow-chan spoke inside his head.

"She asked Ye Shiyu why, with her family being so wealthy, you still needed to work part-time as her younger brother."

So that was it.

You're a huge help, Meow-chan.

Yan Huan was a little surprised that Vice President Sakuramiya had suddenly asked about his private affairs.

He turned toward Ye Shiyu and, sure enough, caught a trace of guilt in her expression.

She had probably remembered that he had left Ye Lan's home entirely because of her.

Strangely, guilt stirred up by Yan Huan could stop Ye Shiyu from using the Modifier.

Yet when Hitomi Sakuramiya inadvertently touched on the subject, it instead prompted her to use the Modifier.

Did this thing only work for Yan Huan?

"It's fine. Linmen's part-time employment laws only allow up to twenty-eight hours a week, which is pretty humane. It's not particularly tiring, and my boss is very generous to me."

Yan Huan pointed at his eyes and volunteered an explanation.

"I stayed up too late taking care of my own things last night, so I didn't get enough rest."

"Oh, I see..."

Ye Shiyu parted her lips, but she could not bring herself to ask, "Would you like to move back?"

Emotionally speaking, she ought to do so, no matter what.

He had said himself that he longed for the warmth of a family.

Desire was also cheering her on, urging her to hurry up and bring this tender, delectable younger brother home.

Then at night, we could do this and that...

Reason was like the reins holding back those two runaway horses, carefully weighing the consequences.

"I..."

"Ring, ring, ring~"

Just as Ye Shiyu struggled, her phone suddenly rang.

She took it out, and Yan Huan saw the contact name "Driver" on the screen.

Ye Shiyu answered, nodded, murmured her assent a couple of times, then hung up.

Had her family's driver come to pick her up?

"..."

"Sister Shiyu, are you heading home?"

Ye Shiyu nodded, simply looking at Yan Huan.

"Then I'll walk you out. I still have to wait here until the school bus leaves."

"Mom said she wanted to take us out for dinner tonight."

"Huh?"

Wait, wasn't that the driver calling just now?

It seemed, probably, possibly, maybe, that Yan Huan hadn't heard the driver pass along any such message from Ye Lan?

Yan Huan blinked. Hitomi Sakuramiya also paused slightly in the middle of drinking her coffee and looked over.

That look, as though her lie had already been seen through, made Ye Shiyu a little awkward. Her eyes shifted away slightly, and her lips puckered a little.

Yet she stubbornly insisted,

"Mom. Said so."

Her stubborn manner made Yan Huan laugh, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the screen of the phone she held light up for no apparent reason.

"..."

Forget it. It was only dinner, anyway. If necessary, he could ask Sister Tong for time off.

"Sure. If Aunt Ye is inviting me, I'll definitely go."

"Mm..."

Ye Shiyu nodded, rose to her feet, and looked at Hitomi Sakuramiya beside her, who maintained the pose of sipping coffee without actually swallowing any.

Without saying anything, she simply turned and left the Student Council office.

For some reason, Ye Shiyu always felt uncomfortable in this office, as though she could not catch her breath.

"Let's go, Xiao Huan. The car will be here soon."

Once she left the office, that feeling vanished instantly.

Yan Huan gave Hitomi Sakuramiya before him a helpless look, then turned and carefully folded the blanket she had lent him. He stood up, ready to put it back.

"Let me do that, President."

"It's fine. I'm leaving anyway. I'll head off early this afternoon, then. If anything comes up, just contact me on Plane."

"All right, President."

Hitomi Sakuramiya agreed, but her thoughtful gaze drifted back and forth between Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu outside the door.

She kept feeling that President Yan's feelings toward this Ye Shiyu really were rather unusual.

She did not seem like someone he had a crush on.

Nor did she seem like a real older sister.

How strange.

Yan Huan packed his schoolbag and picked up the bags Ye Shiyu had just bought. He was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.

"Oh, right, Sakuramiya..."

"Huh?"

Still lost in thought, Sakuramiya hurriedly came back to her senses and looked at Yan Huan.

"President?"

He gave her a small smile and said sincerely to Hitomi Sakuramiya,

"Thank you for the blanket and coffee. I slept very well this afternoon, and...

"I'll see you this weekend."

Last night, Hitomi Sakuramiya had said she was going to the Linmen Game Expo that weekend.

"Ah, all right, President."

"Click."

The door closed, and Yan Huan left the office.

Only Hitomi Sakuramiya remained, standing there with wide eyes.

"..."

In the silence, a few seconds passed.

Although Hitomi Sakuramiya did not move, a cherry-red blush slowly spread across her fair little face until it covered it entirely...

"..."

Belatedly, she touched her face, only to find that it seemed to tingle.

Then, unable to hold back any longer, she covered her face with both hands, leaving only her pink earlobes exposed.