Chapter 49: The Atmosphere is Tense, Unable to Tell Who Betrayed Whom (Two-in-One)

Restricted Fantasy Invasion

After discussing it with Sakuramiya Hitomi, Yan Huan realized she did not understand much about Two-Dimensional culture, so he decided to take her to the entertainment area for a while to gently introduce her to the environment.

It was only just past nine o''clock anyway, so Bai Yi''s event would not need to be considered until after noon.

Before that, wandering around the venue with Sakuramiya Hitomi was also a good choice.

Opportunities like this were rare. Although the Student Council members spent time together every day, they rarely had a proper Team Building activity.

Coming to the anime convention today was one such occasion, and the previous one was last semester when they went to Sakuramiya Hitomi''s house to see her kitten.

"Hello there, you two. Before entering the entertainment area, each person can draw a prize once. You have a chance to win dolls, free facility tickets, and other rewards."

As a result, they were stopped at the entrance of the entertainment area by a staff member holding a raffle box.

"There is such a good thing?"

Yan Huan glanced at the entertainment facilities inside. A few were free, but most required the purchase of additional Tickets to enter.

Sakuramiya Hitomi nodded, taking the initiative to step forward and reach her hand into the box.

While rummaging around, she turned her head to look at Yan Huan and asked,

"President, if you do not mind, shall I draw for you as well?"

"OK."

"Then..."

Sakuramiya Hitomi pulled out two slips of paper. Unfolding them, she saw that each had three different rewards written on it.

"It seems we won a prize."

Yan Huan took a look and muttered,

"We can both go to the Haunted House for free once. As for the rest, one slip gives a free divination and ten claw machine coins, while the other gives fifteen shooting range bullets and five claw machine coins."

"We have quite good luck, President."

Sakuramiya Hitomi covered her mouth and chuckled as she said this.

''Such scheming.''

In reality, Nara had stuck the two slips of paper to the inner wall of the prize box long ago, and one only needed to feel upwards to retrieve them.

Moreover, to avoid showing any flaws, Sakuramiya Hitomi had deliberately set different prizes to make the raffle look more authentic.

After all, they were traveling together, so they would inevitably end up going together anyway. There was absolutely no need to worry.

"Indeed we do. Shall we go check out this so-called divination first?"

"No problem."

Sakuramiya Hitomi gave a polite smile, but her inner thoughts were completely different from the expression on her face.

''I suppose the President will be able to see it soon, right?''

She had made all the preparations. Whether it was divination, shooting, or playing the claw machine, she had arranged various psychological suggestions.

A divination result emphasizing that "true love is right beside you," followed by Nara interpreting the fortune and saying things like "with a little effort, you will finally become a couple."

The claw machine would easily yield a couple''s grand prize—two matching kitten dolls whose tails formed a heart shape when put together.

Through all these methods, as long as the suggestions were deepened silently, the seeds of love would be planted in the President''s heart.

Then, it would completely burst forth in the Haunted House!

The dark and cramped school space, the ghost NPCs following like shadows, the oppressive and tense atmosphere.

At that time, she only needed to subtly make physical contact with the President. When he paused slightly and looked over...

''President, I... I am a little scared. Can I hold onto you for a moment?''

Following behind Yan Huan, Sakuramiya Hitomi''s inner "just as planned" smile had already gradually twisted into something far more perverse.

''Soon the President will be with me, and by then, it will be only natural for him to invite me to his rented apartment as a guest, right?''

''That way, I can place the second Room Barrier in the President''s house, completely filling in the last piece of the puzzle that is the President''s life...''

''What a beautiful future.''

Just as Sakuramiya Hitomi was already fantasizing about what to name their first child, Yan Huan suddenly stopped in his tracks ahead of her and took out his Mobile Phone.

"It seems Yabashi Ki and the others are done on their end. They want us to meet up at the fan merchandise area now."

"..."

Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi still maintained the smile on her face.

But that smile seemed to have rusted, appearing incredibly stiff.

''Haha, Yabashi-kun, you really know how to pick the perfect time.''

''Could it be that raising those digital potted plants has completely ruined your sense of time?''

''Just you wait. Afterwards, I am absolutely going to hack your game account and dismantle all the weapons and materials you farmed for your virtual wives!!''

"Is that so..."

The clouds moving overhead blocked the sun shining through the exhibition center''s glass ceiling, casting a cloud-shaped shadow across the venue.

In the shadow, Sakuramiya Hitomi merely turned her head with an understanding look and said to Yan Huan,

"Then let us go meet up with Yabashi-kun and the others now."

Hearing these words, Nara, standing in the shadows, sighed silently.

''Sure enough, it always ends up like this.''

''As long as one puts on a mask and does not take it off, no matter what their true expression is, others will only see the face of the mask.''

''But perhaps the Eldest Miss is not unaware of this truth. It is just that the expression beneath the mask is truly unacceptable to the world, so she has to hide it.''

''It cannot be helped.''

''Unless the outside world is made to accommodate that ugliness, or even turn that ugliness into common sense.''

''But that is impossible.''

''All that effort was for nothing.''

Nara blinked and picked up her Walkie-Talkie, intending to issue a retreat order to the secretly prepared staff.

However, in the venue, Yan Huan, holding his phone, looked at Sakuramiya Hitomi smiling in the shadow before him.

After pondering for a second, he suddenly said,

"Regardless, we walked all this way to get here. It would be a real pity not to play anything, especially since we won a prize."

"..."

Sakuramiya Hitomi, maintaining her polite smile, froze slightly, and Nara, who was pressing the button on her Walkie-Talkie in the dark, also looked over.

One in the light and one in the dark, two gazes silently fell upon Yan Huan.

''Young Yan Huan, it is exactly because you are always like this that the Eldest Miss stares at you with such obsession.''

''When you get eaten clean by the Eldest Miss, you will only have yourself to blame.''

''Well, although he knows absolutely nothing about it anyway.''

Nara sighed and released the Walkie-Talkie button.

Sakuramiya Hitomi blinked and reached up to tuck a strand of black hair behind her ear.

This was a small habit she only exhibited when her emotions fluctuated. Even while wearing a hypocritical mask, such physical movements were inevitable.

In front of Yan Huan, such movements were particularly frequent.

"Will it make them wait too long?"

"It is fine. We waited so long for them earlier, so now it is their turn to wait for us."

Yan Huan turned his head and scanned the surrounding entertainment facilities, discovering that the Haunted House was the most expensive at ninety-nine per person, and they had just happened to draw free passes.

"We can just pick one or two things to play. It will not delay us for too long. Sakuramiya Hitomi, have you ever played in a Haunted House or anything like that?"

"No, I have not, but we could give it a try."

"Alright, let us go take a look."

Yan Huan sent a message to Yabashi Ki, telling him to wait a moment for them.

The other side replied with an "OK" Two-Dimensional beautiful girl sticker, along with a message:

"No problem, President. We will also stroll around nearby."

Seeing this, Nara smiled slightly from the shadows. She picked up her Walkie-Talkie again and spoke,

"Personnel at the Haunted House, get ready. Double-check the traps and mechanisms. The operation will begin immediately."

"Understood."

The clouds slowly shifted, and the sunlight poured down again, covering the queuing entrance of the Haunted House.

It seemed they would have to wait a while.

Sakuramiya Hitomi followed behind Yan Huan. The sunlight fell upon them, making Yan Huan''s back shine brilliantly.

However, she just felt it was a bit too sunny, so she opened her parasol again, thoroughly blocking out the sunlight.

"Please wait here for a moment, you two. Space inside the venue is limited, and we can only accommodate two groups of eight guests at a time. Once enough people are gathered, a staff member will guide you inside."

At the entrance on the first floor of the Haunted House, a smiling young female staff member handed a pair of blindfolds to Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi while explaining,

"Also, for the sake of the experience, please put on your blindfolds. We will begin the background introduction shortly."

Yan Huan had played escape rooms and the like in his past life, and this process was very similar, so he was quite familiar with it.

Turning his head, he found that Sakuramiya Hitomi had already put on her blindfold.

She adjusted the position of the blindfold and asked curiously,

"President, if we cannot see anything like this, how are we supposed to go in later?"

"A staff member will probably lead us in."

"I see..."

As she spoke, the lights in the waiting room suddenly dimmed.

Subsequently, eerie and terrifying music sounded, accompanied by a woman''s voice.

"I am Saito Rina from Class 1-A of Kyotou High School. The story I am going to tell is about Kyotou High School, and about my good friend Manako..."

The atmosphere was set perfectly. The emotionless, corpse-like first-person narration made even Sakuramiya Hitomi, who knew the arrangements beforehand, inevitably tense up.

Seeing Sakuramiya Hitomi wearing the blindfold and subconsciously pursing her pink lips, Yan Huan smiled slightly and put on his blindfold as well.

The surrounding temperature seemed to have dropped by more than a degree. After the final line of dialogue concluded, Saito Rina''s voice sounded once again.

This time, however, it sounded as if it were right behind Sakuramiya Hitomi.

"You two, please hold hands and enter Kyotou High School together."

Sakuramiya Hitomi swallowed hard, not daring to move an inch.

Yet in front of her, a large, Warm and Cozy hand reached over and grasped her icy little hand in its palm.

"Let us go, Sakuramiya Hitomi."

"Alright, President."

''The President''s hand feels so large...''

''And it is so warm. It feels really comforting to hold.''

She subconsciously rubbed against his palm, but quickly froze, terrified that he would notice her little movement.

"Go slowly, Sakuramiya Hitomi. I can feel the door ahead opening. There is a breeze blowing out, so we should just inch forward little by little."

"Okay, President."

But Yan Huan obviously did not notice these subtle movements from Sakuramiya Hitomi. He merely pulled her forward, officially beginning their Haunted House trip for the day.

Meanwhile, behind the night-vision monitors, Nara was watching the situation unfold inside.

She held her Walkie-Talkie in hand, ready at any moment to communicate with the staff responsible for each segment.

But before she could even issue an order, a frantic and anxious female voice came through the Walkie-Talkie first.

"Sister Nara, this is bad! There are two young girls trying to force their way in at the entrance! They said they do not want to wait in line and are going straight inside."

"What?"

Nara paused in shock, quickly sat up, and frowned as she said,

"We went through so much trouble to clear out the inside. You cannot let anyone in! Even if you have to pin them down, you pin them right where they are!"

"We already tried pinning them! We cannot hold them down!! That blonde girl is built like an ox; her strength is terrifying! Let alone pinning her, just trying to pull her caused Ah Qiu to be dragged down to the floor!"

Hearing this, Nara blinked in disbelief and cursed,

"Are you all useless?! So many of you, and you cannot even hold back a little girl?!"

"No, Sister Nara, it is mainly because..."

Nara, however, could not be bothered to listen to any more explanations. She just switched the monitor feed to look at the entrance, while simultaneously picking up the audio coming from the surveillance feed.

She only saw two staff members half-crouching on the floor, clutching their hands. Their wrists, which had previously tried to pull the girl back, seemed to be throbbing with severe pain.

"Ouch..."

And right in front of the camera, a blonde girl, leading a young girl carrying several black bags behind her, was rushing toward the Haunted House.

She even conveniently scanned a QR code at the nearby ticket booth to purchase two Haunted House tickets on the fly.

"Two tickets, hurry up."

"Umm, Spencer... how about... how about you go in and play in the Haunted House, and I will just wait for you outside..."

"Scared?"

"...Mhm."

The blonde girl called "Spencer" wore a wicked grin on her face as she looked at the timid-as-a-mouse girl beside her.

"However, I refuse."

"Whimper..."

Initially, Nara suspected that some petty criminals might be targeting Sakuramiya Hitomi. To knock over bodyguards so effortlessly meant the newcomers probably had malicious intentions.

But looking at the scene on the monitor, she felt that was not the case at all.

She could not even be mad. They genuinely just wanted to play in the Haunted House.

"..."

What was she supposed to do now?

Nara turned her head to look at the other side of the monitor, at Sakuramiya Hitomi and Yan Huan''s situation.

Because they were wearing blindfolds and Sakuramiya Hitomi was a bit frightened, Yan Huan, who was holding her hand, was inching forward very slowly.

This meant that when the door to the waiting room behind them was thrown open by Spencer, they had barely made any progress at all and had not fully entered the Haunted House yet.

"Whoa, so this is the ghost... Huh?"

Spencer stood with her hands on her hips, just about to declare some idiotic statement about "charging straight ahead," but as soon as she walked in, she saw the two of them holding hands.

Even with them wearing blindfolds, the faint, lingering intimacy between the handsome boy and beautiful girl was still entirely palpable to Spencer.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, the expression on her face instantly became over ten thousand times more excited.

"Ehhh~"

Spencer''s face broke out into a meaningful, wicked grin.

An Le, standing behind her, did not have as good a constitution as Spencer. Having followed Spencer all the way from the Adult Entertainment Industry doujin expo to the entertainment area while wearing a Face Mask, she had been keeping her head down and was completely out of breath.

"Haha... um, Spen..."

Therefore, she was a step slower than Spencer in noticing the two people inside.

It was just a few seconds'' delay, but her raised gaze was equally drawn to the handsome young man wearing a blindfold right in front of them.

!!

''Xiao...''

''Xiao Huan!?''

Excitement, joy, exhilaration, anxiety, shock, worry...

A mix of emotions detonated like a bomb inside An Le''s heart. On her shoulder, Little Finger, who had been lethargic all day, also suddenly shone with an eerie light in its eyes, as if it had just witnessed the national soccer team winning a match with a 2-to-1 lead.

"Holy crap! We actually ran into him?! An Le, quick! The opportunity has come!!"

"Eh?"

An Le''s little heart beat wildly. She never expected that the reunion and recognition scenario that Little Finger had been building up for so long would leap out of her imagination and become reality so quickly.

That surge of emotion drove her to want to speak up, to reveal her identity to Xiao Huan.

"Umm..."

But out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi''s tightly clasped hands.

''Eh?''

''His hand...''

''Xiao Huan''s hand has already been taken by that Sakuramiya Hitomi...''

An Le stared blankly for a second, her brain instantly short-circuiting.

Meanwhile, Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi also heard the voices behind them, especially since the voice sounded so familiar.

The two of them frowned simultaneously, like two mecha pilots with one hundred percent synchronization, and then they took off their blindfolds at the exact same time.

What entered their vision was a terrifying monster that seemed to have invaded this world from a rift at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Code name: NTR!

"It is you?!"

The two spoke in unison.

Yan Huan knew the other party was an extremely dangerous Modifier Host, and Sakuramiya Hitomi was also highly wary of this absolute freak who could shatter her barrier with a single kick.

As a result, the auras of the two in front merged seamlessly into a solid, impenetrable wall, together resisting the uninvited guest that was Spencer.

This feeling made Spencer both displeased and excited. She crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and said,

"What a coincidence. I did not expect to run into you here, President~"

Once again, the meaningful, drawn-out tone on the word "President" sent an inexplicable chill down Sakuramiya Hitomi''s spine.

Just as Yan Huan was about to speak, the staff member at the door walked in and said with a forced smile,

"Um, if you want to enter the Haunted House, you need to wear your blindfolds, and after listening to the background story, you must hold hands to go inside."

Hearing this, Little Finger hurriedly stretched out its tail to slap An Le''s cheek, scolding,

"Stop standing there like a fool! They are only holding hands because they are going into the Haunted House! That Sakuramiya Hitomi has not succeeded yet; you still have a chance!"

"Is... is that so?"

An Le finally recovered from her brain freeze. She blinked and looked ahead, finally seeming to realize that the atmosphere at the entrance of the Haunted House was a bit volatile.

Even the staff member had quickly retreated after coming in to say just one sentence.

''Eh?''

''Why do Xiao Huan and Spencer always seem to be so antagonistic towards each other?''

''Ah, I remember now...''

''Because of the whole Study Group thing from before!''

''They almost started fighting back then, and I had good intentions but ended up doing something bad, injecting Xiao Huan with an excessive amount of Pleasure.''

''I am sorry, Xiao Huan. It is all my fault.''

"Um... you guys..."

An Le spoke up softly and meekly, just like a Small Animal at this moment, seemingly trying to dissuade the two opposing sides.

It was not until An Le spoke up that Yan Huan over on the other side realized there was another girl standing behind Spencer.

He cast a scrutinizing gaze over. After all, Yan Huan was quite curious about what kind of existence could actually hang out with someone like Spencer.

Consequently, An Le, who was just about to say something, had her courage instantly snuffed out by Yan Huan''s gaze.

"Whimper..."

Her face flushed bright red, and she immediately lowered her head, shrinking her body further behind Spencer''s back.

Thus, Yan Huan only caught a vague glimpse of her wearing a Face Mask and hugging several black bags to her chest; he could tell absolutely nothing else about her.

"You useless trash!! What are you doing? Why the hell are you hiding! Step out there! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Little Finger was once again approaching an Overheated state. In the past, such words would probably have gone straight through the cowardly An Le''s ears.

But this time, perhaps because it was the first time she had stood so openly in front of Xiao Huan, a sudden surge of courage swelled within her out of nowhere.

Thus, she silently stepped back to stand beside Spencer, rather than hiding behind her.

"Spencer, right? Students of our Far Moon Academy are not usually this lacking in manners, are they?

"Interrupting a game that others are about to start and barging in selfishly to ruin the mood—no matter how you look at it, this is not something a normal person would do."

Sakuramiya Hitomi''s expression turned cold as she looked at Spencer.

As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to remember something, covering her lips to mock her.

"...Ah, I forgot. You are a transfer student, so you probably never took the Far Moon Academy aptitude exams, did you? I guess you didn''t properly take the IQ test either, right?"

Spencer frowned and let out a cold laugh of her own.

She didn''t care what else people said about her, but she seemed to truly despise it when others called her stupid. "I—"

Just as she was about to retort, An Le beside her blushed and apologized.

"I-I''m sorry, we didn''t mean to do that. Sorry, we apologize..."

As she spoke, she tugged at Spencer''s sleeve, trying to dissuade her from fighting with Xiao Huan and the others anymore.

"Hah?!"

But this time, Spencer was having none of it. She stared at An Le in utter disbelief.

''You idiot, you obviously like Yan Huan too, don''t you?''

''And yet you don''t dare to say a single thing in front of this Sakuramiya Hitomi?''

''What is even the point then?''

''And you actually dared to betray me and speak up for the other side...''

It had been so long, yet this was the very first time Spencer had tasted the feeling of being betrayed by someone, even if it was just a tiny bit, because An Le''s original intention was not like that.

Still, Spencer''s expression turned hostile, looking like she was on the verge of exploding.

Her blonde hair seemed to inexplicably become even brighter, and an invisible ripple emanated outward, imperceptibly enveloping the few people in the waiting room.

No one realized what had just happened; they merely felt a sudden, inexplicable chill.

"Hah? Vice President, what do you mean we are interrupting you? You guys haven''t even gone in yet. Each group is supposed to have a few people anyway, so what is wrong with me coming in?"

Yan Huan, who knew everything about the Modifiers, was the first to sense that something was wrong.

Although he did not know that Spencer''s Ability had already been activated, seeing a Modifier Host in a bad mood meant that he could guess with his toes that she would not let things go easily.

Most importantly, the innocent Sakuramiya Hitomi was still here. He could not let Sakuramiya Hitomi get involved in this.

"Sakuramiya Hitomi, ignore her. Let us go."

Yan Huan pulled Sakuramiya Hitomi''s hand, intending to pull her behind him.

This was a subconscious movement born from a desire to protect others, but he had not expected that Sakuramiya Hitomi was currently exerting the exact same force.

She also wanted to pull Yan Huan behind her to protect him and keep him far away from the Spencer standing before them.

Both of them privately knew that Spencer was incredibly dangerous, and both of them assumed that the other was innocent and needed protection.

As a result, at this very moment, they unexpectedly made a synchronized movement once again!

Furthermore, because of this sudden turn of events, their nerves were tense, and they completely failed to realize that their clasped hands had still not let go of each other.

Spencer narrowed her eyes, looking at Yan Huan who had suddenly spoken up, and said with a wicked grin,

"President, do not forget what you said to me earlier, alright?"

''Said...''

''Right, I did promise her one condition. If things continue like this, it will probably affect Sakuramiya Hitomi.''

''Why not just let her join us...''

Yan Huan blanked for a second as this thought suddenly popped into his head.

Meanwhile, Sakuramiya Hitomi was startled upon hearing this, but immediately afterward, another thought crossed her mind:

''What was said earlier?''

''Could it be about the Study Group?''

''Or perhaps the President is hiding something from me, and privately he and this Spencer...''

''No, that is not right.''

''I have to trust the President. That Spencer probably would not...''

Thinking up to this point, Sakuramiya Hitomi also froze slightly, not knowing why such a thought had suddenly emerged in her mind.

A moment later, the exact same furious roar exploded in both of their hearts:

''How could I possibly have such a thought?! This bastard!!''

Sensing the "NTR vibe", Sakuramiya Hitomi''s expression grew even more vigilant, her gaze chopping down toward Spencer like the edge of a blade.

"I do not care what you said to the President, wrong is wrong! Besides, there were clearly so many people lining up behind us. Even if they had to add people, it would not be you two! Please leave immediately!"

However, Spencer remained completely unmoved. She did not even bother to pay Sakuramiya Hitomi any mind; she merely kept her wicked grin fixed squarely on Yan Huan.

That unblinking, covetous gaze, that raw greed, completely disgusted Sakuramiya Hitomi.

Meanwhile, An Le''s gaze remained locked on Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi''s tightly holding hands, entirely unable to tear her eyes away.

''That is enough, right?''

''Xiao Huan, Vice President Sakuramiya Hitomi...''

''You guys are arguing now, which means you do not need to go into the Haunted House just yet. So, there is no need to keep holding hands anymore!''

''Eh?''

''Why are you holding on even tighter just because you are arguing with Spencer?!''

''Are your fingers intertwined now?!''

''Is this...''

''The feeling of husband and wife sharing the same heart?''

The light in An Le''s eyes vanished in an instant.

Happy memories from their childhood came flooding back.

She still remembered them going to the park in the South Ward to catch cicadas together, and when she tripped, fell, and cried, it was Xiao Huan who made silly faces to make her laugh.

She remembered how they used to share a bed together. The next day, when Mama called them to wake up, she would cling onto Xiao Huan because she wanted to sleep in, refusing to let him get up no matter what.

But these memories were like a sheet of paper that had been violently crumpled up by Sakuramiya Hitomi''s invisible hand, crushed into a tight wad, and tossed straight into the trash can.

An Le felt as if she could see Sakuramiya Hitomi sneering at her, holding Xiao Huan tightly in her embrace.

From that moment on, Xiao Huan''s gaze would never return to her.

Instead, he would look whole-heartedly at his new lover.

An outstanding Vice President who had fallen from the sky, someone he had known for merely half a year.

Yes, at this moment, An Le also felt the painful sensation of being NTR''d by Sakuramiya Hitomi.

Her heart twisted in agonizing pain, and she was on the verge of tears.

But right then, Yan Huan''s voice echoed out once more.

"Enough, Spencer, you idiot. Did you also forget what I told you?"

Hearing this, Spencer froze momentarily.

Then, she suddenly remembered that she had promised Yan Huan: she could not let Sakuramiya Hitomi know about any of this.

Yet just now, in a moment of hot-headedness, she had blurted it out.

Although it was veiled, it was already treading dangerously close to crossing the line.

Spencer guiltily crossed her arms, but the oppressive pressure of Yan Huan''s aura continued to pour down upon her.

"This is our break time. We do not have the time to argue with you, and we have other things to do."

Although Yan Huan was clearly speaking to Spencer right now, the sheer absolute rejection in his tone still stabbed at An Le, making her feel incredibly aggrieved.

Because ever since that day, she had always viewed Spencer as her one and only friend.

''I...''

''I obviously never wanted it to be like this.''

''Whether it was cutting the line, or arguing with Xiao Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi...''

''I clearly just wanted to reveal myself to Xiao Huan. Acting like this is only going to push him further and further away from me.''

Thinking of this, An Le gently reached out and grabbed onto Spencer.

"Spencer, please... please stop arguing. We cut the line to get in here in the first place, so we are the ones in the wrong..."

"Let us go... if... if you want to play, I will line up with you again. At the very least, we cannot..."

Keeping her head down, she nonetheless miraculously voiced out a whole string of words, causing Spencer, who was about to say something else, to simply stand there with her mouth agape.

''You idiot...''

Spencer gritted her teeth, the irritation in her heart becoming increasingly impossible to suppress.

''I obviously chose to help you because you had absolutely nothing! Whether it was buying the Tickets or bringing you here to play, if I hadn''t taken pity on you, I never would have done any of this!''

''Besides, you liked Yan Huan in the first place, did you not?''

''And yet here you are, opposing me at every turn and speaking up for others, when they don''t even care to look at you. You are just drowning in self-pity and self-satisfaction.''

She did not care if she was disliked by the entire class. After all, nobody had ever liked her since she was a child.

''But you... you clearly want to be friends with others, and you clearly hate being bullied...''

''It was precisely because I saw you like that that I decided to be a busybody!''

Looking at An Le trying to stop her, Spencer also felt the stinging Pain Sensation of being betrayed by a friend. It made her face turn ugly, leaving her entirely speechless.

"..."

Right now, at the entrance to the Haunted House.

Because of Spencer''s aggressive stance, Sakuramiya Hitomi felt a burning anger that the President was going to be stolen away from her...

And An Le, due to Sakuramiya Hitomi and Yan Huan holding hands, felt a bone-deep terror that everything from her childhood with her childhood friend was going down the drain...

And Spencer, because An Le was taking Sakuramiya Hitomi and Yan Huan''s side instead of hers, was experiencing the deep sorrow of being betrayed by a friend...

For a moment, it was impossible to tell who had actually betrayed whom.

Perhaps she had betrayed her, or perhaps she had been betrayed by her.

Perhaps everyone had been betrayed, or perhaps no one had ever been betrayed at all.

It was a philosophical question, at least within the currently tense atmosphere.

It was unclear; truly impossible to decipher.

But no matter how intensely strained the air grew, once things reached a boiling point, an end had to be brought to it.

The one who stepped up to end it was Yan Huan.

"Spencer, stay far away from us today."

After delivering that line, Yan Huan pulled Sakuramiya Hitomi along, turning around to walk straight into the Haunted House. He did not spare another glance at Spencer and her unidentified friend behind them.

Spencer watched Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi''s seemingly deepening "bond," feeling incredibly depressed inside while simultaneously growing dissatisfied with the Modifier.

If only this so-called Modifier could become a bit more powerful, it would be great.

Spencer turned her head to look at An Le beside her. Frowning, she was just about to voice her grievances, when she suddenly noticed that the hand gripping her clothes was trembling.

"..."

She opened her mouth and looked at An Le, only to see that her eyes were already brimming with tears.

"I am sorry, Spencer... I... I really tried my best to go along with you. Whether it was cutting the line, or getting into conflicts with other people..."

"I knew these things were wrong, but I still wanted to stand by your side as much as possible. I did not want to let down the kindness you showed by helping me... but..."

As she spoke, she raised her hand to wipe away her tears, completely unable to finish the rest of her sentence.

Spencer stared at An Le standing before her. Seeing the tears stream down her face while she still looked back up at her, that heavy knot of frustration that Spencer had been preparing to unleash remained firmly trapped inside, unable to burst forth.

Dense as she was, Spencer only now finally realized that perhaps An Le was not taking their side because she liked Yan Huan.

The real reason was simply that she was fundamentally incapable of siding with Spencer.

Because she had nothing, because she followed the rules to the letter, because of her pure kindness that could not bear to hurt others, because she excelled at wronging herself...

Everything about her was entirely contradictory to Spencer''s own habits and ways of handling things.

This was the reason An Le had always been bullied.

And it was also the exact reason Spencer could not simply stand by and watch when she saw her getting bullied.

"Tch."

Spencer scratched the back of her head in immense irritation. She turned to look in the direction of the Haunted House, and then glanced back at An Le, who was wiping away tears before her.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something to comfort her, but she could not find the words.

Even if she could speak, nothing good would come out of her mouth.

Finally, instead of doing anything else, she simply gnashed her teeth, crossed her arms, and said,

"Alright, stop crying! I get it, I was the one who was wrong!"

"..."

Carrying her bags, An Le looked pitifully at Spencer.

Only to see her turn her head away, highly reluctantly opening and closing her mouth.

Eventually, as if forcing the words out from the depths of her soul, she mumbled as quietly as a mosquito,

"I-I-I am sorry..."

"Eh?"

An Le blinked, looking at Spencer, who had whipped her head back around.

"Alright! That is it!"

Having shouted those words with a flushed red face, Spencer crossed her arms and stormed ahead.

It was the direction leading into the Haunted House, and she merely left An Le with the sight of her retreating back.

"Anyway... anyway, we already cut the line to get in! Let us just leave it at this for this time. We will go in first, and I will not cut in line anymore in the future..."

"And... do you not like Yan Huan? Everything that happened just now was all me, it has nothing to do with you. If there is anything you want to do or anything you need to accomplish, just do it. If you need my help, just ask!"

An Le blinked. She did not leave immediately, but instead walked up beside Spencer and said softly,

"Then let us go in together, Spencer... I am sorry I did not speak up for you earlier..."

Spencer looked as if she did not care in the slightest, merely stating,

"Whatever, I am used to it."

"...I am sorry, Spencer. Then... Spencer, when we get inside, could you help me distract Vice President Sakuramiya Hitomi? I have some things I want to say to Xiao Huan..."

"..."

Spencer did not state whether she agreed or disagreed. She merely walked inside first, casually throwing a remark back at An Le,

"Hmph, let me get this straight. I am only going in because I want to play in the Haunted House. Helping you is just a side task."

"Yes. Thank you, Spencer."

Following that, as if mustering her courage, she followed Spencer into the Haunted House.

Both sides temporarily ceased their conflict, leaving only the spectating Little Finger and Nara stunned in absolute disbelief.

''Wait, what exactly did we come here for again?''

''Weren''t we supposed to be targeting Yan Huan?''

''Why did they suddenly start sprouting incomprehensible nonsense about camaraderie and friendship before walking right into the Haunted House?''

''I just do not understand.''

Nevertheless, both Little Finger and Nara believed this was merely a minor interlude. There was still plenty of room to maneuver.

From Nara''s perspective, the Eldest Miss had successfully entered the Haunted House. In fact, due to this little interlude, Yan Huan and the Eldest Miss were now even more united.

She only needed to order the stationed staff and manipulate the Haunted House mechanisms to keep Spencer and her companion far away from Yan Huan and the Eldest Miss.

From Little Finger''s perspective, at least they had run into Yan Huan. Plus, with a friend like Spencer, who possessed monstrous strength and a simple mind, creating a situation for An Le to be alone with Yan Huan would be a walk in the park.

As long as they bulldozed forward with the Modifier activated and gently recounted the past to him, would that not generate a tremendous amount of Desire?

Little Finger and Nara, despite never having met, simultaneously revealed expressions of wicked schemes on the verge of success.

''No matter how you look at it, the chance to be alone has arrived. The advantage is mine!''

''Next, I just need to arrange things properly in the Haunted House, and I am guaranteed to win!''

"I hate it so much... I hate it so much..."

After entering the main door of the Haunted House, there was a convoluted school corridor. Both Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi harbored the mindset of protecting each other, doing everything they could to get as far away from that Spencer as possible.

As a result, the two of them held hands and rushed forward blindly. It wasn''t until a good while later that they finally realized they had wandered into some unknown abandoned Classroom.

The surroundings were pitch black. Ghostly whispers echoed from all directions, and blasts of freezing air washed over their faces, making them shiver uncontrollably.

Subconsciously seeking warmth, Sakuramiya Hitomi gripped Yan Huan''s hand tighter.

"Sakuramiya Hitomi, your hand."

It was only then that she finally realized what she was doing.

"!"

She almost failed to maintain her carefully crafted Persona. Quickly letting go of Yan Huan''s hand, she apologized to him,

"President, I am so sorry. It was because of that Spencer earlier..."

"It is fine."

Yan Huan smiled faintly, though the true expression hidden beneath his Perfect Expression Management was far from pleasant.

He truly had not expected Spencer to suddenly appear here.

Originally, he had come here to see if he could push the progress on Bai Yi''s Modifier. But instead, he ran headfirst into an incredibly troublesome Spencer, giving him a massive headache.

It was like cooking a meal for one table, only to have two tables of guests show up. How was anyone supposed to eat?

Furthermore, if Bai Yi and Spencer met prematurely, who knew if it would trigger an early Linmen Holy Grail War.

''What a nightmare...''

Seeing no unusual expression on Yan Huan''s face, Sakuramiya Hitomi let out a quiet sigh of relief. Glancing around the eerie abandoned school building, she took the initiative to change the subject.

"This Haunted House seems incredibly large, and there are no signs or guides. I heard that we need to find the exit and its key, and as long as we make it out, we win."

Yan Huan also snapped back to reality, temporarily burying the matters regarding Bai Yi and Spencer to focus on the task at hand.

"However, it shouldn''t be set too difficultly. They will likely place some ''weak guidance'' markers. Look over there, Sakuramiya Hitomi."

Sakuramiya Hitomi looked in the direction Yan Huan pointed, and saw a line of bloody text written on the blackboard of the Classroom they were currently in:

"She is hiding in the Equipment Room!! Kill her! Do not let her escape!"

Sakuramiya Hitomi withdrew her gaze and smiled at Yan Huan.

"It seems we need to find the Equipment Room first."

"Yes, let us go outside and try to find the way first. And we should try our best not to bump into that crazy girl."

He was referring to Spencer.

"Understood, President."

Sakuramiya Hitomi smiled, nodded, and walked out with Yan Huan.

While inspecting the room numbers on the Classrooms, Sakuramiya Hitomi seemingly tried to ease the oppressive atmosphere of the Haunted House by initiating a conversation.

"By the way, President, there is something I want to ask you."

"...Mhm?"

"Just now, it seemed like you and Spencer both said some things privately to each other, right?"

Yan Huan was momentarily taken aback. He turned his head to look at Sakuramiya Hitomi following behind him; her eyes were filled with concern.

This concern was not faked.

Earlier, during her standoff with Spencer, that thought had once again strangely emerged in her mind.

The feeling of wanting to unconditionally trust Spencer and the President, of relaxing her vigilance and stopping her resistance.

With this happening time and time again, Sakuramiya Hitomi grew increasingly certain that Spencer possessed some special superpower, just like she did.

Moreover, through those faint thoughts that would suddenly pop into her mind, she deduced that the President, who lacked any abilities, was definitely being influenced by it as well.

If this continued unchecked and ignored, the President would...

For some unknown reason, an image suddenly flashed into Sakuramiya Hitomi''s mind: Spencer holding the President tightly in her arms, while he wore a hesitant expression, his eyes darting away in guilt.

Spencer would tilt her head up, looking down at her haughtily from above, laughing wildly with that signature Canine Tooth of hers bared.

"Ehehehahahaha! The President is mine!"

Then, when she looked at the President, his expression would be incredibly dim, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

"I am sorry, Sakuramiya Hitomi... I... I can never go back..."

"!!"

Sakuramiya Hitomi suddenly shuddered. Her disgust towards Spencer grew even deeper, reaching the absolute boiling point of hatred.

''No, I have to deal with Spencer without letting the President know!''

"Ah, I am sorry, Sakuramiya Hitomi, I hid it from you earlier. Remember when she secretly took a photo of us? I had to pull a little trick to make her delete it."

"A little trick?"

"That is right."

Yan Huan smiled faintly, turning his head to look at Sakuramiya Hitomi, and said,

"In exchange for her returning the photo, I promised her one condition."

Hearing these words, Sakuramiya Hitomi''s pupils shrank bit by bit.