Chapter 55: She Said Sorry

Restricted Fantasy Invasion

"Oh, Xiao Huan, come in, come in."

Zuo Jiangqin''s face was coated with powder, causing her facial complexion to be a shade lighter than her neck. This difference was especially obvious against the backlight.

"Pardon the intrusion, Auntie."

"It''s fine, not an intrusion at all. I got these tickets especially for you, after all."

Zuo Jiangqin chuckled, pulling Yan Huan into the room.

Yan Huan glanced at the smile on her face and the hand holding his, inevitably feeling a bit puzzled.

''Isn''t she being a bit too enthusiastic?''

Zuo Jiangqin even brought over a chair for him herself. Yan Huan thanked her as he sat down, looking at Bai Yi''s back view in front of the vanity mirror.

"Yiyi."

To Yan Huan''s surprise, her face held no lingering traces of tears.

She seemed to have composed herself, putting on a smile. Only in the depths of her eyes could he catch a hint of the exhaustion caused by her mother.

Her black hair cascaded down, and a head ornament resembling angel wings adorned her right ear.

The crystal embellishments dangling from the ornament perfectly complemented her flawless makeup, making her look pure and beautiful.

She wore an idol-style dress in a mix of white and gold, sparkling radiantly under the lights.

Just as the media often commented, Bai Yi possessed breathtaking beauty.

"President Yan."

She smoothed her hair and took a deep breath.

Thoroughly suppressing the fatigue and sorrow in her eyes, she brought out one hundred percent of an idol''s vitality to greet him.

Yan Huan looked at Bai Yi, who was feigning composure and smiling at him, while the water-drop-like clock sound continued to tick in his ears.

"Tick... tock..."

Yan Huan did not show anything on his face, merely offering a smile.

"Just call me Yan Huan."

Zuo Jiangqin also pulled up a chair and sat down to the side, nodding in agreement.

"Exactly, young people shouldn''t be bound by so many formalities. Sit, sit."

Yan Huan glanced at Zuo Jiangqin and smiled, but did not reply.

Instead, Zuo Jiangqin scanned Yan Huan from head to toe before suddenly asking,

"Say, Xiao Huan, Auntie has something she wants to ask you."

"Go ahead, Auntie."

"Well, last week, didn''t Ye International set up a scholarship at your and Yiyi''s school? That''s not a rumor, right?"

Yan Huan nodded and replied,

"It is true, Auntie. I heard that Ye International''s scholarship will even cover miscellaneous expenses beyond tuition. There are many slots, and they also offered student internship positions during the holidays..."

Zuo Jiangqin smiled upon hearing this. In reality, she did not understand much about these things, nor did she care about what the scholarship covered.

She just shot Yan Huan a glance, deliberated over her words, and asked,

"Oh, is that so... Actually, Auntie wanted to ask, what exactly is your relationship with Ye Lan from Ye International? I heard from your principal''s secretary that she specially came to the school to look for you last week?"

Hearing this, Yan Huan suddenly seemed to understand why she was being so unusually enthusiastic toward him.

His facial expression did not change, but Bai Yi behind him suddenly cried out,

"Mom!"

Zuo Jiangqin rolled her eyes at Bai Yi, then turned her head back to Yan Huan with a face full of smiles.

"It''s like this. Yiyi''s uncle, the man I remarried, used to be CEO Ye''s junior under the same mentor. He recently returned to work in Maritime Gate, so Auntie is just asking out of curiosity."

"It''s fine, Auntie. Last week, Aunt Ye did indeed come to the school to find me, and I spent the weekend at her place."

"Ah, so it''s like that..."

Although Yan Huan did not explain everything explicitly, Zuo Jiangqin could clearly sense that his relationship with Ye Lan was far from ordinary.

Yan Huan likewise guessed that her reason for asking about his relationship with Ye Lan had to do with her new husband.

"That CEO Ye is currently single, right? I heard her ex-husband used to treat her and the child terribly. If there''s a chance, Auntie can see if she can introduce a suitable match for her..."

Yan Huan looked at Zuo Jiangqin, not saying a word, simply maintaining his smile.

"Mama!"

But behind him, Bai Yi let out a low growl, looking as though she couldn''t tolerate this any longer.

Zuo Jiangqin frowned and glanced back at Bai Yi, then looked at Yan Huan with a wide smile again as she stood up.

"It''s nothing, Xiao Huan. Make sure to keep in touch with Auntie and Yiyi in the future. I won''t interrupt you young people from chatting anymore. I''ll go out to check on the preparations. Yiyi, remember to keep an eye on the time."

Zuo Jiangqin waved at Yan Huan. The more she looked at this handsome and bright young man, the more she liked him.

Right before she left, she even lightly patted his shoulder, finally walking out of the room completely satisfied.

"Click."

The door shut tight, leaving only the two of them in the room along with the persistent ticking of the clock.

"Tick... tock..."

Yan Huan turned around to look at Bai Yi, who was forcing a cheerful appearance. She pointed at the door and smiled apologetically.

"My mom is a little... you know, President Yan."

"Just call me Yan Huan."

"Ah... Yan... Yan Huan."

Yan Huan nodded and breathed a sigh of relief as he told her,

"I''m not very good at dealing with elders, but for the sake of my idol, I had no choice but to brace myself and come. This is my first time backstage, so it''s pretty novel to me."

"Idol, you say..."

Bai Yi blushed slightly at his words, but her nose tilted up almost imperceptibly, looking quite pleased with the praise.

Yan Huan looked at the girl in front of him, then abruptly asked,

"So, Bai Yi, will you be singing today?"

"..."

Hearing this, Bai Yi opened her mouth slightly, the joy from the compliment slowly receding from her face into her eyes.

She pursed her lips and gave Yan Huan another forced smile.

"Um... not today."

Yan Huan blinked and simply asked,

"Does the stage not allow it? Since it''s a gaming and two-dimensional culture exhibition..."

"Not exactly... The Jinshi Group doesn''t heavily restrict the guests'' performances, as long as it''s reported in advance. It''s just... how should I put it? Artists have many paths they can take, but often, we have to choose one and stick with it..."

The smile on Bai Yi''s face faded as she continued,

"My mother chose one of those paths for me. It''s probably the version of me that other people like, right?"

She tossed her hair slightly. When she looked at Yan Huan, she deliberately brightened that fading smile, making it radiant once more.

"Most of the time, fans don''t care about the real you. They only want to see the idol they wish to see.

"As long as she is pretty and fits the persona they like, maybe that''s enough?"

Looking at her beautiful smile, Yan Huan became increasingly certain that she was putting on this smile specifically for him.

''Why?''

In the next second, Bai Yi turned around, grabbed a USB drive, and handed it to Yan Huan.

"As for singing, maybe there''ll be a chance to sing again later as a hobby.

"On music platforms, those fans are always asking things completely unrelated to the songs themselves: when I''ll film a new movie, or why I did something in a particular variety show..."

As she spoke, she smiled, lifting her eyes to look at him, and said softly,

"After all this time, you are the very first fan to say you are a music fan who looks forward to my new song...

"So, in order not to let your expectations down, I recorded my new song and its accompaniment and put them on this USB drive, along with the lossless versions of my old songs.

"Consider it my very first album, even if there are only a few songs on it."

To answer the ''why'' from earlier:

It was because Bai Yi deeply cherished Yan Huan as one of her few genuine music fans.

Therefore, even if she had just fought with her mother and quietly cried moments ago, she could quickly adjust her expression.

Therefore, even if her mother displayed such ugly behavior in front of him, she would shatter the embarrassment and anger welling up in her heart and swallow it down.

But looking at the USB drive she handed over, Yan Huan''s expression—hidden beneath his perfect expression management—faltered slightly.

Everything made such perfect sense.

But only he and Myau-chan knew the truth:

He wasn''t a music fan of Bai Yi at all. He wasn''t even a regular fan.

This was all a lie, a scheme he had fabricated to resolve the modifier.

"..."

Yan Huan raised his eyes to the smiling Bai Yi and the USB drive in her hand.

After a moment of silence, he reached out and took it.

His perfect expression management made his performance seamless. Feigning an overjoyed expression, he told her,

"This... this is too precious! I will definitely take good care of it!"

"You don''t have to treasure it that much."

Bai Yi waved her hand dismissively. Looking at Yan Huan, she bit her lip, and her eyes suddenly dropped to the hem of her dress, not daring to meet his gaze anymore.

Twiddling her fingers in hesitation, she suddenly spoke up.

"Um, Yan Huan..."

"What is it?"

"Actually... well... I wanted to apologize to you. I''m sorry..."

Yan Huan froze slightly, Bai Yi''s face reflecting in his eyes. On the surface, however, he just asked in confusion,

"Apologize?"

"It''s just..."

Bai Yi looked up at him, her words sounding sluggish and rusty.

"Actually, before this... I had always, always been jealous of you."

"Jealous of me? Why?"

"You participated in Yasaka Company''s trial training before and passed on your first try, right? And not only that, your grades and reputation at school are also incredible..."

Bai Yi lowered her head again, her faint smile still looking stunning.

"To be honest, you are exceptionally handsome, smart, hardworking, and you treat people with such sincere friendliness. So all this time, my mother has always compared me to you, hoping I would learn from your example.

"But what child in the world wants their mother to praise someone else every day instead of themselves? Over time, I grew incredibly jealous of you. I hated you.

"But in reality, none of it had anything to do with you. You didn''t do anything wrong. I was just being far too narrow-minded... That''s why I want to apologize.

"I''m sorry, Yan Huan."

Yan Huan blinked, then proceeded to ask,

"So that was it. But why apologize? As the saying goes: a gentleman judges by actions, not intentions. Even if you thought that way, since you didn''t do anything, there is no need to apologize, right?"

"I..."

''I definitely wasn''t...''

''...doing nothing at all.''

''The paint on your desk, the small pebbles thrown at you, secretly following you...''

''I did all of those things. You just never knew.''

But how could Bai Yi admit to doing these things with the help of the pocket watch? Wouldn''t that expose the existence of the Indifference modifier?

Thus, as the words reached the tip of her tongue, she choked up.

Ultimately, she could only respond sheepishly,

"Anyway, I''m just apologizing..."

Yan Huan actually knew exactly what she was apologizing for, considering he was well aware that those incidents were her doing using the modifier.

He was genuinely surprised. After all, if he possessed a modifier, let alone apologizing, it''d be a miracle if he didn''t make his targets'' lives a living hell...

But Bai Yi had actually done it.

He looked at Bai Yi, feeling as though he was only just now truly getting to know her. He gave a helpless smile.

"Alright then..."

"At first, when I found out that the person I was so jealous of was actually my fan, I felt a little secretly pleased. But thinking about it carefully later, the real me is nowhere near good enough to be your idol, right?" Hearing Yan Huan speak, a look of relief finally washed over Bai Yi''s face.

Smiling, she looked at the young man and extended her hand toward him.

"So, from now on, you don''t have to see me as an idol. Just treat me as a normal classmate, or rather... a friend?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Yan Huan smiled faintly. He did not say whether he agreed or not, simply reaching out to shake her hand.

With that done, it was as if a heavy stone had finally been lifted from Bai Yi''s heart.

The cheerful smile she forced for him could no longer mask the fatigue and suffering inside her. Driven by the exhaustion, she let out a long sigh.

Seeing this, Yan Huan asked,

"Are you tired, Bai Yi?"

"Ah, just a little bit, maybe? After all, I''m going on stage very soon. I''ve rehearsed this many times, so there shouldn''t be any problems. I just have to go up, answer a few simple questions from the host, and interact with a few planted audience members below..."

"That''s it?"

"That''s it. But for some reason, I still feel a little anxious. Lately, every time I step on stage, I get this intense feeling of nervousness. The gazes from the management down below, the audience''s eyes, and my mother''s glare..."

By the last sentence, the smile on her face had completely vanished.

But since she had to look at Yan Huan, she forced a smile back onto her face once again.

"I really want to find a place where no one can ever find me, and hide away forever."

"..."

As she spoke, Bai Yi''s expression brightened up again.

"It seems like I''ve been venting a lot of my frustrations to you. Sorry about that. Oh right, how about you listen to the new song I recorded right now?!"

"Huh?"

Yan Huan held up the USB drive at Bai Yi. At first, she looked confused, but then it belatedly dawned on her that he hadn''t brought a computer. How was he supposed to plug a USB drive into his phone to listen to music?!

"Sorry, sorry! I forgot I gave you a USB drive. It''s fine, I have a backup on plane. I''ll send it to you."

With that, she hastily picked up her phone, forwarded a file to Yan Huan, and looked at him full of anticipation.

Yan Huan raised an eyebrow as he looked at the file named "A" she had sent over.

Then, he took out a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, put them on, and tapped the play button.

"..."

The music began to play. After listening for a few seconds, Yan Huan suddenly lifted his eyes to look at Bai Yi, who was wearing a hopeful smile.

"..."

Several quiet minutes passed in the preparation room. It wasn''t until the nearly four-minute song finished playing that Yan Huan finally took off his earbuds.

Bai Yi bit her lip, growing increasingly nervous inside.

She was just about to ask him how the new song was, but Yan Huan slowly placed the earbuds back into their case and abruptly asked,

"Bai Yi, during the rehearsal earlier, roughly how many minutes did those interactions take?"

''Eh?''

''Wh...''

''Why isn''t he saying how the new song is?''

''Is it because it sounds terrible?''

Looking at Yan Huan, Bai Yi''s breathing hitched. It felt as though a ringing had suddenly erupted in her ears.

Following that, it wasn''t just the tinnitus. It was also the day-to-day dismissals of her mother, Zuo Jiangqin:

"Your amateurish singing? Forget it!"

"Can''t you just obediently listen to my arrangements?"

"The persona! Maintain the persona!"

Those blade-like words of negation rang out like clashing metal in her ears. From the initial noisy and bustling cacophony, they eventually quieted down bit by bit, adopting a rhythmic pattern.

Transforming into the sound of a ticking clock, dripping like water droplets.

"Tick... tock..."

Bai Yi''s eyes grew somewhat dim, and her mind went blank. Even her reply to Yan Huan seemed entirely outside her own control.

"A-about seven and a half minutes..."

"Got it."

Yan Huan nodded. Just as he was about to say something, the door was suddenly thrown open, revealing Ji Lin standing outside.

"Yiyi, are you ready? You need to head to the backstage waiting area soon to prepare for the stage."

"R-ready."

Bai Yi snapped back to reality. Her consciousness, newly freed from the endless ticking of clocks, was muddled and confused. Even her face had turned ghastly pale.

She took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at Yan Huan.

"Then, Yan Huan, I''ll go to work now?"

"You don''t look so well."

Bai Yi hastily shook her head and said,

"No, it''s just that the AC is a bit cold... I-I''ll get going."

"...Alright."

Yan Huan watched Bai Yi''s back as she left the room. Once the door closed, his expression gradually shifted into complete impassivity.

He pulled out his phone and opened the plane profile of his newly added contact, An Le.

After a moment''s hesitation, he opened An Le''s Moments.

A few sparse posts hung on her Moments page, under which sat her bio:

"The muttering of a lone person."

Yan Huan scrolled down his phone screen, reading them one by one.

"Xiao Huan is at this school too! He''s become so handsome and so outstanding. I can''t help feeling a bit ashamed of my own inferiority. After all these years, I still can''t do a single thing right. I wonder if Xiao Huan has already forgotten about me? Or maybe, even if he remembers, he wouldn''t dare admit he knows the current me?"

"I got into Far Moon Academy! Mom and Dad are so happy. It''s just that I heard all the students there are super rich and talented. I''m afraid it''ll be even harder for someone like me to make friends there, hehe~"

"Today, I saw a pregnant woman getting her money robbed. I don''t know what I was thinking at the time, but when the robber ran past me, I grabbed him and refused to let go. I almost got stabbed. Thank goodness other people came over to help pin him down. Thinking back on it tonight makes me so scared. If I had died, I would feel so sorry toward Mom and Dad... Also, I still want to see Xiao Huan."

"I got framed by my classmates for stealing something back in the Dragon Country, but I really didn''t do it. None of the classmates around me spoke up for me. It makes me a little sad."

"Mom and Dad both had to work on my birthday this year, so I spent it all alone. To save money, I didn''t buy a cake~"

"..."

Looking at the posts on his phone, Yan Huan lowered his eyes, remaining silent.

On his shoulder, a black cat suddenly materialized and meowed at him.

"When An Le added you on plane, she probably forgot that her Moments still contained quite a few posts about you, meow~"

Yan Huan stared at the final post on his phone—a selfie of her spending her birthday alone in a cramped apartment in the Dragon Country, without even a cake.

In the photo, she wore a paper crown meant for birthdays, sporting a silly yet thoroughly contented smile.

Just looking at that smile, Yan Huan abruptly locked his phone screen.

He took a deep breath, tilted his head back against the chair, and muttered,

"She used to be exactly like this—careless."

"Meow~"

"...Myau-chan, actually, all along, I''ve been the one who only sees what I want to see, haven''t I?"

"Meow?"

"Ever since I was targeted by the modifiers, it seems I''ve been treating them—the modifier hosts—as the modifiers themselves."

Yan Huan looked down at the USB drive Bai Yi had given him. There was actually a piece of tape with a handwritten line attached to it:

"For Yan Huan~"

"Bai Yi"

Yan Huan''s grip tightened around the USB drive bit by bit as he continued,

"So, I treated them like enemies capable of destroying my life.

"That is why, when An Le became the host of that modifier, I felt an unprecedented sense of being completely lost.

"But, Myau-chan, my view of them is highly likely just my own one-sided assumption...

"Before the modifiers chose them to be hosts, they were just themselves—people living in this world, exactly like me."

Yan Huan looked at Myau-chan, whose tail was perked up, and smiled as he spoke.

"Bai Yi has been pushed into a corner by her mom with almost no way out, and An Le was just as lonely after we separated... Even Ye Shiyu—Bai Yi''s mom mentioned just now that she had a father who treated her terribly."

"To them, the modifier is a tool of temptation and destruction. But casting aside the filter of the modifier, I still need to verify for myself whether they truly are that evil."

Myau-chan blinked and looked at Yan Huan.

"What about Spencer?"

"..."

Yan Huan also blinked. After a moment of silence, he said,

"Spencer is an exception."

"Meow?"

Myau-chan''s long black tail brushed past Yan Huan''s neck. In the next second, Yan Huan finally let out a long breath.

He unlocked his phone, opened a chat window on plane, and took the initiative to text An Le.

First, he sent a smiley cat emoji.

"Did you find Spencer?"

After a brief silence on the other end, she quickly replied,

"I already found her, Xiao Huan! We''re planning to come to the main venue to watch a bit of the performance before leaving. Spencer seems to be feeling a little unwell."

''Unwell?''

''That Spencer who''s as strong as an ox is actually feeling unwell?''

"That''s good. The Student Council will probably be team building until tonight. Be careful on your way back. I''ll see you at school tomorrow."

Then, Yan Huan typed out another message:

"From now on, your Moments won''t just be the mutterings of a lone person."

"!!"

It was only now that An Le realized Yan Huan had already read all the embarrassing posts she had made over the years.

There were no more replies from her end. Given her personality, she was probably utterly ashamed by now.

Looking at those Moments, she''d be torn—deleting them would feel wrong, but leaving them up would feel just as bad...

''So cute, An Le.''

Closing his phone, Yan Huan held onto the USB drive and stood up, rubbing his shoulder.

"Meow~"

On his shoulder, Myau-chan let out a soft meow, looking at him with deep curiosity.

"Bai Yi is about to go on stage. What are we going to do now, meow? Go out and meet up with Sakuramiya Hitomi, Yabashi Ki, and the rest?"

"No."

"Meow?"

Yan Huan smiled slightly. His handsome face seemed to shed its earlier confusion and fatigue. His eyes met Myau-chan''s, revealing his familiar, confident gaze.

"We are going to resolve the modifier now. But perhaps, we can resolve more than just the modifier."

Myau-chan couldn''t understand, but still chose to trust Yan Huan.

At this moment, the handsome youth''s hand was already resting on the door handle of the preparation room.

"If only... for the sake of her apologizing to me."

In the next second, he effortlessly pushed the door open, revealing the corridor outside that was especially busy due to the upcoming event.

"Make way, make way!"

"Where is the person in charge of Group B?!"

"Lighting technician, come over here!"

"Media director, I''ll leave the audio equipment to you. There''s not much to do, so you can handle it alone, right?"

"Everyone! Keep an eye on the time!! Follow the rehearsal sequence!!"

Yan Huan closed the door behind him. Bringing Myau-chan along, he stripped away the surrounding noise and stepped into a corridor where only a single sound echoed...

It was the rhythmic ticking of a clock, dripping like water droplets.

"Tick... tock..."

"Tick... tock..."