Chapter 128: Bai Yi? Hand it Over!!

Chapter 128: Bai Yi? Hand it Over!!

“Hmm.”

“Spencer, are you okay?”

Hearing the soft call from An Le beside her, Spencer opened her eyes uncomfortably.

She glanced to the side and hazily saw a cute pink Q-version pig looking at her with concern.

Next to that pink pig stood a blue pig wearing black-framed glasses and two downcast green pigs, all about the same height as a person.

“Hey, Comic Club, are you guys competing or not? If nobody goes, I’ll just consider you lost.”

“Well, Senior Jiang has already participated in two matches, and I’ve attended a few as well. Arakawa, Nino, do you think you can…”

By the bedside, An Le looked at Spencer, who was still not in good shape despite losing glucose, and exchanged a somewhat distressed glance with the two boys sitting nearby.

The two hesitated, exchanged looks, and eventually stood up to walk toward the boy from the other clubs at the door.

That boy seemed to recognize Nino; he glanced at them with a faint expression of disdain.

“Just you two?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Ha, fine. Just a reminder: don’t ditch halfway through to watch someone’s girlfriend again, Nino.”

“…”

Watching the two green pigs being led away by a Q-version magpie of the same height as a person, Spencer felt slightly more awake, rubbed her eyes, and sat up.

The pink pig—no, An Le—was happy to see Spencer sitting up.

“Spencer, you’re awake!”

“Mm.”

“How do you feel?”

“My head is so dizzy, ugh, that Ye Shiyu!”

Seeing Spencer still fixating on the fact that she lost to Ye Shiyu, An Le couldn’t help but advise her,

“Stop thinking about Senior Ye and just get some rest.”

Spencer held her head, glanced at the door, and asked,

“What did that person say just now?”

“I don’t know.”

“I know a little…”

Beside her, the blue pig—no, Jiang Yun—took a breath and casually said,

“That Nino has been promoted to Far Moon Academy’s [External College] together with another girl from the same district, and their relationship is somewhat ambiguous—friends but not lovers, you know.

“I heard he confessed and is waiting for a response from the girl.”

Spencer was baffled, but An Le seemed to realize something, her expression subtly changing.

Sure enough, the next second, Jiang Yun continued,

“But that girl suddenly got together with a senior from [Internal Academy] last semester. He couldn’t just let it go, so he keeps seeking her out, even acting out in public.”

An Le bit her lip and murmured,

“So…”

“So he got labeled as a pervert for harassing someone’s girlfriend.”

“…”

Spencer looked at Jiang Yun, finally realizing what had happened, albeit way slower than An Le.

“Students from the Internal Academy, except for that Vice President Sakuraguchi Kyoko, the sudden transfer student Spencer, and Ye Shiyu, many have known each other since childhood—they stick together.”

Jiang Yun shrugged and smiled slightly,

“So the news spreads quickly, and those who don’t know the situation avoid him, often mocking him for it, so he ended up in this awkward position.”

Spencer clicked her tongue in annoyance and scoffed,

“How did your lousy school manage to create this so-called division between ‘Internal’ and ‘External’ academies? Is nobody regulating this bullying?”

Jiang Yun looked at Spencer and countered,

“Is not talking to you bullying? Is not playing with you bullying? Is laughing at you from the side bullying? People tease you in the name of friendship; how’s that bullying? No one cares how you feel.”

“…”

Spencer fell silent, while Jiang Yun gave a self-mocking smile,

“You’re all the juniors of the 47th session; be grateful. Things are much better than before. At least the outright bullying has lessened.”

Seeing the atmosphere quiet down, An Le quickly stepped in as a lubricant, waving her hands with a smile,

“More importantly… Spencer, is your body okay?”

“Ugh? I’m fine.”

Spencer came back to her senses, glanced at the time on her phone, and asked,

“Is it almost after school? I’ve slept for so long. How did our club’s matches go?”

“…”

An Le awkwardly scratched her cheek and didn’t respond.

Jiang Yun, who had been expressionless beside her, bluntly stated,

“We lost all of them.”

“Hah?! Lost… Lost them all?! How many matches did you even play?!”

Spencer’s eyes widened as she froze in place.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yun shook his head, showing no signs of regret on his face,

“Give us a break; we’re all weaklings. Besides, we faced too many clubs; even the Model United Nations, which was already on the sidelines, came over to crush us.”

“…”

Spencer swallowed hard, unsure of what to say.

At that moment, she felt as if she had just ace-killed in a game, only to turn around and find her remaining four teammates getting turned into spinning top toys by the enemy.

An Le noticed the tension in the atmosphere and quickly consoled them with a bright smile,

“But still, overall, thanks to you winning a lot of matches in the morning, we actually gained some points.”

“Just by one point.”

“Jiang Jiang!”

An Le’s face turned crimson, making a pitiful sound.

But Jiang Yun simply adjusted his black-frame glasses, speaking with his usual sharp tongue.

Just when An Le didn’t know what to say next, Nino rushed back in a hurried manner, calling out to An Le and Jiang Yun,

“Hey, everyone, the event we drew needs four people, so An Le, Jiang Yun, you two…”

“Alright! We’re on our way!”

An Le stood up quickly, and Jiang Yun bounced up from his chair, reminding Spencer as they headed out,

“We’re not earning a single point now.”

“Jiang Jiang!!”

An Le pushed Jiang Yun and hurriedly ran out of the infirmary, turning to Spencer with a smile,

“Spencer, just rest here for now; I’ll call Teacher Ye Lina!”

“…”

Spencer furrowed her brows, looking at her slightly weak hands.

No, relying on snatching the spoils of the defeated is too slow.

Her physical ability is a shortcoming, and this way, the energy she gains won’t keep up with her consumption.

And it might not just be her imagination; she realized something about her super ability.

In the past, she enjoyed trading for things like money and equivalents—so considered forced exchanges.

Typically, the amounts Spencer offered were hard for the recipients to refuse.

That kind of behavior also yielded that so-called energy needed to enhance her power, just like how she took You Anli Na’s camera this morning.

However, it was far less than what she could gain if she didn’t give any compensation afterward.

“…”

After her blood sugar dropped, Spencer’s body was at its weakest, but for some reason, her mind was sharper than usual.

Suddenly, she thought:

If she could snatch more unimportant people’s belongings tomorrow, she would surely become even stronger once again!

This way,

Victory would come effortlessly!

As she thought about this, it felt like she had opened up her internal passages, and a devilish smile crept across her face, sweeping away her fatigue.

After all, she was only robbing that group of bullies; what could be wrong with that?

“Click~”

Just as Spencer was contemplating, the infirmary door suddenly opened.

She thought it would be that annoying Ye Lina but looked up to see a familiar blue peacock stepping inside.

“Wah?”

It was Yan Huan.

“Awake?”

He carried a bag of items, glancing at Spencer, who was grinning like a fool for some reason, unsure if she had entered a “super silly mode” again due to low blood sugar.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to be a person of integrity; I promised you I would help increase the chances of calling your mom, but since you ask…”

After confirming that she was okay, Yan Huan then asked,

“Should I leave?”

Spencer was momentarily stunned. She wanted to hear more about Yan Huan’s so-called method to “increase the chances” of reaching out to her mom, but saying something to redeem herself felt too embarrassing.

So, just as Yan Huan was about to turn to leave, a small, mousy voice came from her side,

“Don’t go…”

Yan Huan leaned against the door, glancing at the blushing, evasive-eyed Spencer, a smile creeping onto his face.

He hadn’t planned on leaving anyway.

He walked toward Spencer’s bed, placing the items at his feet, and asked,

“How’s your body feeling?”

“I’m alright; that Ye Shiyu, losing to her is really irritating!”

Every time she thought of Ye Shiyu’s annoying face, Spencer felt miserable.

But upon noticing Yan Huan in front of her, a wicked thought popped into her mind.

She wanted revenge on Ye Shiyu.

Feigning indifference, she looked out of the infirmary window while subtly glancing at Yan Huan, reminding him,

“Today, what I said on the athletic field isn’t a lie; you better be careful.”

She meant that “Ye Shiyu’s gaze towards you isn’t normal.”

Wow, so Sister Shiyu turned out to be like that; I’m so shocked!!! (expressionless)

Revealing that Sakuraguchi Kyoko wasn’t exactly a fool would surely leave Yan Huan stunned—he hadn’t recovered from that.

But Ye Shiyu?

It had always been a mess; there was no surprise there.

No matter how deep underground she sank, Yan Huan wouldn’t bat an eye at all.

“You’d better stop talking nonsense; are you listening or not?”

“Wah?”

Spencer turned around, feeling a bit disheartened that her “divisive tactic” didn’t work.

Huh? Why didn’t it have any effect?

But looking at Yan Huan, she couldn’t divulge any more details.

Because unlike Sakuraguchi who was in plain sight, she had no solid evidence against Ye Shiyu.

Even though she was certain that Ye Shiyu had some wicked intentions toward Yan Huan.

Hmph, ungrateful Yan Huan.

When that Ye Shiyu seizes the opportunity to take advantage of you, don’t say I failed to warn you!

“All right, let’s get to the point.”

Yan Huan took out his phone, glanced at the time, and explained to Spencer,

“Do you know what time difference is, Spencer?”

“What’s that?”

Yan Huan, feeling helpless, could only explain it per the textbook.

“That is…”

“That is, right now, the time you and your home, Eagle Country, are in is different at the same hour. Your home has double time zones; it’s currently daylight saving time.”

Yan Huan looked at the time and said to Spencer,

“Linyi Gate’s time is 12 hours ahead of Eagle Country; it’s currently 16:38 here, making it 4:38 AM in New York, the headquarters of the Golden Lion Group.”

“Wah wah!”

Spencer’s mind finally switched on as she excitedly sat up, looking at Yan Huan,

“So that means whenever I call my mom, she’s usually asleep on the other end!? That’s why she doesn’t pick up?!”

“… There is that possibility.”

Yan Huan put it quite politely.

Time differences do objectively hinder the communication between two distant parties, yet, with 24 hours in a day and people sleeping for about a third of that time, there will always be overlapping time zones.

So, despite the differences in schedules, there ought to be certain hours available to connect.

Meaning that no matter what, one could get through with a phone call.

However, Spencer’s situation seemed quite delicate.

Multiple sources indicated she was the only daughter of the Golden Lion Group’s CEO, and Yan Huan sensed the unprecedented emphasis the group placed on her.

Spencer is a fool; she may not comprehend the time difference.

But how could her mother, who sits at that high position, fail to grasp it?

If she could, she should easily calculate her daughter’s schedule while at Linyi Gate.

Even making an effort to call wouldn’t leave Spencer so desperate to connect with her mom.

Thus, Yan Huan figured: there is likely more at play than just a time difference.

Fortunately, Yan Huan was cautious. The promise he made to Spencer was to “help increase her chance of connecting with her mother”; otherwise, later on, should he fail to get her through, explaining why would be difficult.

Spencer displayed an excited smile as she held her phone, lying back on the bed, calculating the time,

“Let’s see, my mom usually gets up at seven or eight in the morning. Back home, it’s 12 hours ahead, so if it’s seven or eight there, then here it’s…”

As she calculated, her smile gradually faded.

“Evening… seven or eight.”

“…”

Yan Huan sat in the chair, watching her slowly lock her phone and place it across her chest, falling silent.

Most surprisingly, instead of wearing an expression of deeper confusion after realizing this, her face simply showed sadness.

Yan Huan vaguely sensed: Spencer actually knew the reason her mother never called her.

Did she follow the traditional trope where her mother is too busy working to care for her?

Is that why she had been lacking discipline growing up, leading to her current state?

But that completely made no sense.

Each time Hemi spoke about Spencer, his expression would turn into that of Agni’s infamous smile, he was obviously overwhelmed by the pressure.

Hemis may be money-minded, but he was very shrewd, adept at picking up the subtleties.

If Spencer was a child neglected by her mother, given her background, even quitting Far Moon wouldn’t leave her short of schools to attend in Linyi Gate, and Hemis would have plenty of excuses to placate the Golden Lion Group.

Yet he demonstrated a “If something happens to Spencer, I’m done too” kind of fear.

This situation only points to one possibility: the boss of the Golden Lion Group, Spencer’s mother, personally contacted him.

This made Hemis realize how extraordinarily crucial Spencer was to her mother; hence he could predict the severe consequences of neglecting her.

“…”

It’s contradictory.

Truly, it’s too contradictory.

Do the wealthy families have this complex?

Or is mine simple?

A single person eats well; everyone eats well.

Yan Huan watched her staring dazedly at the ceiling while holding her phone and hesitated for a moment, just as he was about to speak, a knock suddenly came at the door.

“Bang bang bang~”

Spencer snapped back, incredulously staring at the door, wondering aloud,

“No way? Did they lose so soon?!”

She thought it was her Comic Club members who had returned empty-handed.

Yan Huan opened his mouth to let the person in,

“Come in.”

The door swung open, revealing the Taekwondo club president who looked bright-eyed again.

“President! I’m here!”

“Great, wait a moment.”

Yan Huan busied himself opening the bag at his feet while Spencer was confused, directing her puzzlement at the person.

“Wait, why did you let this defeated scrapper come? To watch me make a fool of myself?!”

“…”

Yan Huan didn’t bother to respond, simply pulling out the black belt that had been snatched from Spencer and handing it over.

“Yay! My black belt! Thank you! Thank you, President!!”

“No problem, off you go.”

The Taekwondo club president hadn’t even finished rejoicing when he turned around, seeing Spencer, whose eyes were wide open and whose expression grew ominously terrifying, startled him thoroughly.

He quickly thanked Yan Huan and sped off.

“What are you doing?! That’s my trophy!!”

Yan Huan shot a glance at the flustered Spencer, gauging if she had become weaker after losing her spoils.

But a quick look revealed she actually seemed more energized from her anger.

“…”

On his shoulder, Black Cat Meow-chan appeared ghost-like, addressing Yan Huan,

“Your assumption is incorrect, meow~”

“… Indeed, it is.”

Yan Huan ruffled his black bangs, slightly dejected beneath his mask.

He initially intended to test the mechanism of the modifier she had with testing returned stolen items, as she had thrown a shot-put record for men with over twenty tries—definitely related to her modifier’s power.

Without high hopes, though—normally, the plot of a dumb blonde doesn’t lean toward holding a culprit in gentle hands like a princess, cherishing them.

Wait, if returning stolen items doesn’t diminish the power level, wouldn’t snatching again yield more benefits?

Yan Huan suddenly remembered this, thinking he might have accidentally discovered a “perpetual motion machine” for the host to siphon off the modifier’s energy.

He glanced at Spencer, who sported an innocent expression, relieved she was foolish enough not to consider this deeply.

If Spencer had just a shred of common sense, she would have probably already blasted Ye Shiyu into pieces that day.

“…”

Thinking of this, Yan Huan, concealing any anomaly under his perfectly managed expression, casually retorted,

“Which rule set by the Student Council during the club battle ever states that you can claim spoils after a win?”

“… Hmph, what rules? It’s all nonsense, a scam targeting fools!”

“Ha-ha.”

Spencer glared at Yan Huan in annoyance but noticing her body hadn’t grown weaker, she opted to disregard him.

At that moment, silence returned, as Yan Huan quietly sat in the chair, waiting for the aggrieved owners to come collect their items.

“Click~”

The door opened again, and Yan Huan turned back to see Sakuraguchi Kyoko walk in.

“President.”

Yan Huan looked at Sakuraguchi Kyoko, slightly taken aback, his face showing a familiar smile,

“Sakuraguchi, has everything wrapped up on your end?”

Spencer, seated on the bed, peered at Yan Huan’s smile, blue eyes reflecting his current demeanor.

The next second, her expression shifted to one of strong disdain, her brows knit tightly together.

“Yes, the last match of the day has concluded. Yabashi and others have uploaded the scores of each club to the website. President, you…”

Sakuraguchi Kyoko walked into the infirmary, prepared to continue explaining, but her gaze fell upon Spencer, lounging on the bed.

Her smile disappeared in an instant as she frowned at Spencer.

“What’s she doing here?”

“Uh, she…”

Yan Huan hadn’t begun to explain when Spencer turned her disdainful glare from Yan Huan towards the green peacock before her, bluntly retorting,

“What does my presence concern you?”

“You!”

Is she on some kind of steroids?!

Yan Huan glanced curiously at the flaming Spencer and then back at the suddenly shadowed Sakuraguchi Kyoko.

Alright, you despicable Spencer, is this your attempt at taunting?

Is confrontation a must wherever you go?

Previously against Ye Shiyu, you got outplayed so easily, and you’re already eager to throw down with Sakuraguchi Kyoko, even before recuperating?

Yan Huan couldn’t just sit and enjoy this anymore, as he sensed Spencer was genuinely fired up.

Unlike the earlier subtle banter in public, it was now just the three of them—this might actually escalate into a serious battle with their modifiers.

“Alright, Sakuraguchi is honestly not here to see you.”

Yan Huan decisively took action, grabbing a bag nearby and walking toward Sakuraguchi Kyoko.

Turning back, he glanced at that suddenly flaring golden-haired lion and grabbed Sakuraguchi’s hand before departing,

“The day’s matches are all concluded, and your members should be back to check on you soon. Goodbye.”

“…”

Spencer didn’t even bother to look at Yan Huan, turning her head toward the window instead.

Yan Huan led Sakuraguchi out of the infirmary, stepping outside just in time to bump into An Le and the others returning.

An Le’s eyes lit up upon seeing Yan Huan, only for her expression to slightly freeze the next second as she spotted him holding Sakuraguchi’s arm.

“Um…”

Her smile stiffened slightly, and her words got stuck in her throat.

“President.”

“Hello, President.”

The rest took turns greeting Yan Huan.

Yan Huan briefly smiled at An Le, his face lighting up,

“An Le, we have other matters to attend to.”

“Ah, okay. Take it slow, Little Huan.”

An Le’s face flushed as she gazed at Yan Huan, then smiled before leading Sakuraguchi in another direction.

Other club members headed inside the infirmary, and only An Le watched their figures disappear completely before retracting her gaze.

“How did the matches go?”

Facing the returning members, Spencer at last turned her head back.

“Lost.”

“…”

Not surprising at all.

A quick glance revealed a bloodstain on Nino’s sleeve, prompting her to ask,

“What happened?”

Nino waved his hand and replied,

“It’s nothing.”

But Jiang Yun sighed, looking at Spencer,

“The one we faced was his rival; they targeted him during the match.”

That rival was the senior from the Internal Academy who claimed, “he’s harassing my girlfriend.”

“… It’s nothing. I’ll just wipe it a bit.”

Nino appeared to have grown accustomed to the situation, remaining expressionless as he spoke.

“Tsk.”

Jiang Yun said nothing more, pulled out his phone, and continued,

“The points have been uploaded by the Student Council people. The Athletics Club is in first place, with over ten points. To make it to the finals or even win, our club needs to enter the top eight for Spencer not to get expelled.”

Arakawa Kyoji glanced down nervously at Spencer and said, “But Spencer’s health…”

Hearing this, Spencer bit her thumb, her expression looking far from good.

The Comic Club’s points had reset, neither losing nor gaining points, similar to a day wasted.

To enter the top eight, they must keep winning before the points of other clubs get snagged by the more powerful ones.

Yet with her current stamina…

Recognizing this, Spencer’s earlier determination solidified even more.

“I’m alright! Just wait; tomorrow I’ll reclaim all the points!”

She clenched her teeth, her expression gradually overtaken by a chilling, illusory shadow.

She would employ her super ability to seize more from others.

The next morning,

Bai Yi donned her Bluetooth earphones, humming a tune while carrying a gift prepared for Yan Huan, bouncing with joy down the corridors of Far Moon Academy heading to the battlefield for today’s club battle.

“…”

Just as she passed an intersection, behind her, a gray-sweater-wearing Spencer, with her hands in her pockets, quietly trailed Bai Yi.

“Tap, tap… tap.”

“Hmmm~”

As the music blared in her Bluetooth earphones, she hummed along when suddenly she felt someone bump her shoulder.

Slightly surprised, she took off her earphones and looked curiously behind her,

“Eh? Who’s there?”

As she turned, her eyes caught sight of Spencer’s golden hair slipping out from under her hood.

Then entering her view was Spencer’s face, twisted into a wicked grin.

“!!”

A chill ran down her spine, and she instinctively stepped back, trying to escape.

But Spencer’s grip was like iron, holding her shoulder tightly, rendering her immobile.

Gazing at the pale-faced Bai Yi, Spencer leaned in a bit closer, noticing the delicate gift bag in her hands. She spoke up,

“What’s this treasure you’re carrying? Let me take a look!”

“Spencer?! W-what do you want?!”

Bai Yi’s face turned pale, and she quickly hugged the gift bag closer.

However, that protective measure was laughably feeble in Spencer’s eyes; the more Bai Yi resisted, the more excited Spencer became.

“I’m not doing anything; I just want to see what such a precious item is.”

T-this… it’s my new song and a gift!

The new song was meant to be heard by Yan Huan first!!

“I don’t believe you! L-let me go!”

“Ha-ha, it’s not up to you to believe or not.”

Spencer chuckled maliciously, shadows creeping across her face.

She merely reached out her free hand, inching closer to Bai Yi’s gift bag.

“Just hand it over!!”