Chapter 18: The Note Passed Through the Gap Under the Door Held the Way Out |
Sakuramiya Hitomi considered herself to have a bad habit.
That was hypocrisy.
Of course, perhaps everyone possessed a bit of hypocrisy. After all, no one wanted to hear the truth all the time. Thus, people put on airs and played along with the occasion to conceal their genuine thoughts.
However, Sakuramiya Hitomi knew exactly the extent of her own hypocrisy, and she knew just how unbearable the truth hidden beneath that facade truly was.
Therefore, this girl who had analyzed herself so profoundly grew thorns of rational rejection over her gentle exterior.
This led her to publicly declare the moment she entered the school: she would absolutely never date.
It seemed like a statement looking down on everyone, but its true meaning was to prevent any intimate relationship from piercing through her thorns of rejection, which would expose the truest, most disgraceful version of herself.
When that time came, any so-called affection would be scared away by her terrifying true nature anyway.
Since it was destined to end that way, it was better not to start at all.
She could not remember when she first developed feelings for Yan Huan.
She only remembered one afternoon when she invited the members of the Student Council over to her rented apartment as guests. They had originally planned to go out to eat, but Yan Huan ended up cooking a meal for everyone right there.
She remembered eating her favorite caramel pudding that day, and her gaze subconsciously drifted toward Yan Huan, the one who had made the dessert.
There, she saw her three pet cats clinging to his body obediently, meowing and acting spoiled, seemingly extremely fond of him.
And he was incredibly patient, smiling as he lowered his head to scratch the cats under their chins.
Just in the instant she witnessed that scene, from within those thorns of rejection, her unbearable true nature began to stir restlessly, growing a deep craving to understand him.
She wanted to know everything about him—his thoughts, his routines, his joys and sorrows, his body...
To know exactly when Yan Huan would come to the Student Council Office, she installed her first hidden camera there.
After that, things spiraled completely out of control.
Yan Huan''s classroom, many of the school corridors, the Student Council Office, outside his workplace, and even outside his rented apartment...
Remember on Friday when Ye Shiyu hypnotized Yan Huan, and Sakuramiya Hitomi suddenly sent a message on plane?
That was because it was usually the time Yan Huan got off work and headed home. However, Sakuramiya Hitomi neither saw Yan Huan come out onto the street outside the tavern where he worked, nor did she see him return to his apartment.
Thus, she sent that message. She was not even willing to wait, immediately calling him instead, which threw Ye Shiyu into a panic on the other end.
Reason told Sakuramiya Hitomi that this was not the right way to like someone. She should not be morbidly monitoring him or attempting to manipulate his life.
But her true inner self could no longer be restrained. She was like a prisoner locked away within her own rationality.
And that prisoner was dancing gracefully in chains, confined by the persona of the understanding Vice President Sakuramiya!
In truth, the folder on her laptop just now contained not only many secretly taken photos of Yan Huan but also detailed logs of everything he said.
She had reached the point where she needed to thoroughly dissect the meaning behind his every word. She was trying to completely understand all of his thoughts through this method.
Of course, there were many times when she absolutely could not comprehend the meaning behind some of Yan Huan''s remarks.
"Fish, what a big fish, a tiger-striped shark."
The document included a screenshot of a plane chat window, and below it was information such as the date and notes written by Sakuramiya Hitomi herself.
"March 9 plane chat log, message sent by Yan Huan after going to the Aquarium."
"He does not seem to be talking about an actual species of shark, and he showed no obvious reaction to my scientific explanation. Meaning unknown, temporarily recorded."
"I''m fighting Sukuna, really?"
"March 6, after handing over the task of reporting to the Principal to the President, he suddenly said this to me."
"I do not know why he would compare the Principal to a mythical monster. Does he think the Principal is terrifying? Meaning unknown."
"Where the hell did I end up, is this even the same country?"
"March 4, the President, who had just started the new semester, said this upon seeing the Student Council Office I had tidied up in advance."
"Is it perhaps because my arrangement made the Student Council Office look completely different from the Linmen style? But all I did was rearrange the office desks and add a lot of bookshelves along the way."
There was a massive pile of records below that, detailing her attempts to psychoanalyze Yan Huan from the previous semester up to the present.
Over half a year of interacting, everyone in the Student Council had grown used to the President occasionally saying things no one could understand.
Perhaps it was a local dialect from Linmen or Dragon Country?
But Sakuramiya Hitomi had asked many people from Dragon Country and Linmen, and none of them knew what these phrases meant either.
These were just the verbal expressions she could not comprehend. More often than not, as she conversed with Yan Huan, he would always reveal emotions that she absolutely could not understand.
Sakuramiya Hitomi''s mind unconsciously drifted back to the time they took an elective class together last semester. They were preparing a group presentation at the time and had to gather information on several famous companies.
Upon seeing a certain set of materials, Yan Huan suddenly muttered,
"The employees at Jinshi Group get off work at four-thirty in the afternoon?"
"Yes, President. Because of that, running errands there can be very troublesome, often requiring you to line up for several weeks."
"Is that so..."
It was clearly just an ordinary conversation, but why did Yan Huan reveal such a complicated and incomprehensible expression back then?
Countless questions fueled her desire to seek answers, yet she dared not open her mouth to ask, terrified that doing so would expose the affection in her heart.
She feared it would draw him closer, making him scrutinize and evaluate the person who liked him.
And then, he would realize that many of the questions she asked were things she had no business knowing.
"How did you know I didn''t go home?"
"How did you know what time my shift ended?"
"How did you know who I talked to in class?"
Because I am always watching you from the shadows, monitoring you every second of the day!
That was the shameful, honest answer, but Sakuramiya Hitomi could never say it out loud.
She knew her actions were morally unacceptable. If she spoke the truth, it would probably horrify him and even strip her of any place she had left in this world.
''If only there was a place that could accept the darkness in my heart. A place where, even if I revealed it, everyone would find it perfectly normal...''
''A place where I could watch him without restraint, learn everything about him, and boldly share my shameful desires with him.''
''Treating it like common sense, treating it like a rule.''
Yet, one day when this thought surfaced, a voice abruptly echoed in her mind.
"Would you like to activate the Room Barrier?"
Room Barrier?
What was that?
"Barrier Level: 1"
"Effect Description: Once a week, select an enclosed area (within 50 square meters) to deploy a barrier. The maximum number of active barriers is 1."
"Within the barrier, you possess the following effects:"
"You may establish rules that must be obeyed, and you gain the ability to monitor the area without any blind spots. Merely by visualizing it in your mind, you can see the scene inside the barrier no matter where you are."
"You may modify the common sense of individuals within the area. Only one piece of common sense can be added at a time. Please note, the common sense cannot dictate something the individual is completely incapable of doing."
"Once the effect is generated, individuals who leave the area will completely forget what they did inside the barrier, and their memories will be corrected accordingly. However, when a Third Party is present within the barrier, they may notice the discrepancy in common sense."
"While you are inside an active barrier, the barrier level will gradually increase, and its coverage area and effects will progressively strengthen."
Perhaps just looking at the text, she still could not comprehend what this so-called barrier meant.
But the first time she deployed the barrier in the Student Council Office, she felt an unprecedented sense of security.
And from that day onward, the barrier in the Student Council Office had never been closed.
"Snap!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi, who was zoning out in thought, was abruptly snapped back to reality by a finger snap in front of her. The illusory text floating before her eyes also dissipated little by little.
The fading illusory text read:
"Barrier Level: 2"
"Effect Description: Once a week, select an enclosed area (within 75 square meters) to deploy a barrier. The maximum number of active barriers is 2."
She blinked, pulling her attention away from her deep thoughts, and looked at Yan Huan, who was wearing a tracksuit beside her.
"Sakuramiya, class is about to end. It''s our turn for cleaning duty today."
It was currently a Monday afternoon elective class, and she had chosen the same volleyball course as Yan Huan.
At noon, Yan Huan had taken Ye Shiyu for a stroll around the school but had not returned to the Student Council Office. Plagued by lethargy, he hid in a quiet spot for a quick nap and came straight to the gymnasium for his afternoon class.
Sakuramiya Hitomi had incredibly poor stamina. She would generally only move when the teacher was actively instructing. Whenever it came time for free activity and team matches, she would just find a place to sit down.
Yet there had never been a day like today, where she sat completely still in a daze until class was nearly over.
"...Alright, President."
Sakuramiya Hitomi blinked and looked at Yan Huan before her. She seemed like she wanted to ask something, but she silently stood up and nodded instead.
Inside the gymnasium, most of the volleyballs had already been collected into the carts.
Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi still needed to dismantle and pack up the net, and then return it to the Equipment Room along with the cart full of volleyballs.
"You barely moved at all today, Sakuramiya. Are you feeling unwell?"
"A little. I''ll be fine after this week..."
Following behind Yan Huan, she began taking down one side of the net while he handled the other.
''This week?''
Yan Huan paused his movements, a look of sudden understanding washing over his face.
He turned his head to look at Sakuramiya Hitomi beside him and offered,
"Then you should go rest, Sakuramiya. I can handle things here."
"..." Sakuramiya Hitomi turned to glance at the smiling Yan Huan. She didn''t accept the offer, merely continuing to pack the net.
"It''s fine. Let''s go together."
In truth, it was not that it was her time of the month. She just had something she wanted to ask Yan Huan.
Something concerning that Ye Shiyu.
Usually, there were many girls in the school who paid close attention to Yan Huan. Aside from monitoring him, Sakuramiya Hitomi seemed to have gotten used to their presence and didn''t care much.
After all, Yan Huan had never shown anyone an attitude beyond basic politeness. In other words, it was all just pleasantries.
But that Ye Shiyu was completely different.
Sakuramiya Hitomi had never seen such a patient and gentle expression in Yan Huan''s eyes before.
When the President abruptly called her on Saturday to ask why she liked cats, it was undoubtedly for Ye Shiyu''s sake too.
For that expressionless girl who looked like a Wooden Puppet?
Even though she had been watching the President since last semester, to the point of knowing his daily habits like the back of her hand...
What right did she have?
Just because you''re his Older Sister?
Are you even a proper Older Sister?
Yes, contrary to Ye Shiyu''s impression that Yan Huan was gentle to everyone, Sakuramiya Hitomi could clearly sense how entirely different Yan Huan''s treatment of Ye Shiyu was...
However, Sakuramiya Hitomi had no idea that the driving force behind that gentle core was actually Yan Huan''s genuine desire to survive.
She simply consoled herself not to rush. After all, the President had clearly said those words that night...
He had said that he remembered why she liked cats.
Did that mean it was possible he liked her?
If the feelings were mutual, then her peeping, monitoring, and controlling should all be considered perfectly reasonable actions, right?
She had to confirm the President''s true feelings.
However, the persona of the understanding and boundary-respecting girl had already been established. A Sakuramiya Hitomi like that would absolutely never take the initiative to pry into someone else''s private life.
So, she could only resort to other methods.
"It seems the weather is starting to warm up. It''s been pretty nice these last few days, and the sun was quite bright over the weekend."
"Hmm... Was that when you went to the Aquarium, President?"
"That''s right. It was actually quite sunny out there."
Sakuramiya Hitomi finished folding the net, placed it into the cart, and walked with Yan Huan as he pushed the cart toward the Equipment Room behind the gymnasium.
Opening the unlocked door revealed an extremely spacious enclosed area inside.
Far Moon Academy was very wealthy. Given their exorbitant tuition fees, it naturally had every type of equipment imaginable.
All kinds of sports balls, protective gear, field props, yoga mats, crash mats, and so on...
Sakuramiya Hitomi walked in first. With one pulling from the front and the other pushing from the back, she and Yan Huan moved the cart inside, pushing it all the way to the back.
"All done."
"Ring-ring-ring~"
The bell dismissing class rang outside. Yan Huan looked at Sakuramiya Hitomi in front of him, who was already panting after such a light amount of exercise, and suddenly felt a bit thirsty.
Not because of the Sakuramiya Hitomi before him, but because he had been exercising for an entire class period and had yet to drink any water.
"I''m so thirsty... Let''s go, Sakuramiya. I''m going to buy some water. Do you want something to drink?"
"I''d like to go buy a drink off-campus, and maybe get some dessert while we''re at it. Would you like to come, President?"
"Dessert, huh..."
Just as Yan Huan stroked his chin and prepared to walk out with Sakuramiya Hitomi, the door ahead suddenly slammed shut on its own without any wind, producing a loud "Bang!"
Yan Huan was slightly taken aback, and Sakuramiya Hitomi beside him was also startled by the massive noise, immediately covering her ears.
"What''s going on?"
Yan Huan frowned. He walked over to the door, grabbed the handle, and tried to twist it.
"Click, clack, click"
The doorknob groaned under the force of Yan Huan''s grip, but no matter how hard he tried, the door remained as motionless as an iron wall.
"President, what''s wrong?"
"The door''s locked?"
"Huh?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi frowned, then stepped up to the door and tried to jiggle the handle herself.
When that yielded no results, she shouted toward the outside,
"Is anyone there? Whoever it is, please stop playing this kind of joke!"
"..."
However, there was no response.
Yan Huan took a deep breath and gestured for Sakuramiya Hitomi to step back, while he simultaneously retreated a few paces...
Then, he suddenly sprinted forward and delivered a flying kick right into the door panel.
"Crash!!"
A tremendous sound rang out, but the instant Yan Huan impacted the door, he felt like he had just kicked a solid brick wall.
The door actually did not budge an inch. The powerful force behind his kick was like a drop of water falling into the ocean, vanishing without a trace in an instant.
On the contrary, he absorbed a massive reactive force, stumbling back several steps.
"President! Are you alright?!"
"I''m fine."
Sakuramiya Hitomi lowered the hands that had been covering her ears and hurriedly rushed to Yan Huan''s side. Frowning at the doorway, she asked,
"What exactly is going on? Did someone close the door from the outside?"
"I don''t know."
Although he said that aloud, Yan Huan had actually already sensed that something was amiss deep down.
And sure enough, in the very next second, a small slip of paper drifted through the gap under the door from the deep darkness outside like a phantom, landing right in front of Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi.
Yan Huan lowered his head, picked up the note, and looked at it alongside Sakuramiya Hitomi. He saw what was written on the note:
"Do you want to get out of here?"
"Then the two of you must hold hands for ten minutes, hug for ten minutes, and kiss for ten minutes."
Staring at the note before him, Yan Huan''s mind went completely blank for a moment.
''This feels familiar. It definitely feels familiar...''
''Everything feels perfectly in line. Every bit of unreasonableness makes sense now!''
Consequently, he blankly turned his head to look at Sakuramiya Hitomi beside him, who was covering her mouth and looked just as exceptionally shocked...
In that instant, he seemed to implicitly realize something.
Immediately following that, he silently activated the Ability he possessed.
Perfect Expression Management, activate!
But at the same time, feeling Yan Huan''s gaze, Sakuramiya Hitomi backed away a few steps as if she had been frightened, attempting to distance herself from him.
Her hesitant gaze swept over Yan Huan. For a split second, she even seemed to suspect that all of this was some twisted prank orchestrated by Yan Huan finally giving in to animalistic desires.
But after that, she seemed to recall Yan Huan''s past image and decided that he couldn''t possibly do something like this, choosing to trust him instead.
Yet even so, she still stood cautiously at a distance from Yan Huan, not daring to get closer. Her tone, compared to her usual calm demeanor, sounded incredibly frail and trembling, putting on a brave front,
"President... What... what on earth is going on?"
Looking at her completely unfeigned, incredibly natural reaction of a girl alone with a man, Yan Huan actually became a bit unsure of himself.
''She looks genuinely terrified that I locked the two of us in here to force myself on her...''
"Calm down, Sakuramiya. Don''t panic. Let me think about exactly what''s going on here..."
"Y-Yes. It''s fine, President. I was just..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi bit her lip and ultimately decided to believe President Yan.
''Could it be that Vice President Sakuramiya isn''t the one behind this?''
''Besides, Vice President Sakuramiya has always had a strong sense of boundaries and is very understanding. She is completely different from someone like Ye Shiyu, who clearly looks like a chosen Modifier Host...''
''Did someone else do this?''
''But, why?''
''Ye Shiyu used her Modifier out of a flare-up of possessiveness, to drive me out of the house.''
''Why would someone use it now?''
''And from the looks of it, this mysterious person used a Modifier to lock the two of us in here purely to hide in the dark and peep on us doing these transgressive acts?''
''What kind of weird fetish is that?!''
''Hiss, no, wait. Come to think of it, that actually is a thing.''
As Yan Huan thought about it, his heart suddenly gave a violent twitch. He nearly broke his perfectly controlled facial expression.
''Watching the person you like or have feelings for being intimate with someone else...''
''And then secretly hiding to watch them, actually finding it quite...''
Certain memories he shouldn''t have seen and shouldn''t remember began to assault him once more, giving him a slight migraine. For the first time, he felt that knowing too much was a sin.
At this moment, he truly understood the maxim of Cthulhu mythology: knowledge is a curse.
Right now, Yan Huan genuinely felt that humanity as a species was truly beyond salvation.
''You people will really read anything weird, won''t you?''
''But the problem is, which possibility is the right one?''
''Did Vice President Sakuramiya do this?''
''But what''s the motive?''
Yan Huan turned his head to look at Vice President Sakuramiya. However, she had already silently moved behind a crash mat on the side, seeming incredibly worried that Yan Huan might do something bad in this situation.
''But if Vice President Sakuramiya doesn''t have the Modifier...''
''Then who exactly is the one using the Modifier?''
''And what exactly is its effect?''
Clutching the note that detailed the way out, Yan Huan instantly fell into deep thought.
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