Mature Fantasy Power Invasion

Chapter 98

Inside the stairwell, Yan Huan reached toward Spencer's crown until his shadow slid across her fear-streaked face.

"Mm."

Spencer squeezed her eyes shut like an ostrich, too terrified to watch whatever came next.

"..."

But his hand froze an inch away.

Usually she'd be weaving hand-signs by now—so why the statue routine today?

Flushed and eyes still closed, Spencer drifted forward, half-dazed, as if drawn by an invisible thread. When nothing happened, she jolted awake, swallowed hard, and glared up at him.

Yan Huan let his hand drop a fraction, wrestling reason back from irritation. Through the gaps of his fingers he studied the oddly subdued Spencer in front of him.

Who swapped her keybinds? This isn't the rampaging cheat-code I know.

"...You feeling sick?" he asked after a long beat.

"Mm."

The sound snapped Spencer from dazed to defensive. She bared her teeth at him.

"N-no way, ah-ha. Just... elective class wore me out, ha."

"..."

Yan Huan kept his vantage point, gaze calm enough to peel her layers. The stare should have made her skin crawl—yet every spot it touched burned and itched, as though the look itself had texture.

Unable to bear it, she snapped, "What are you staring at?"

Silence stretched until Yan Huan laughed—an ugly sound in Spencer's ears.

"Didn't we bet five rounds for you to prove you're better than Sakuramiya? I'm free right now. Let's go."

Spencer turned her head with a huff.

"T-today you get a pass, trash-mob."

The bravado was patchy, threaded with warm breaths—loud but hollow.

Then Yan Huan's palm landed on her head, ruffling her fluffy hair hard.

"Chance wasted."

"Argh!"

She lunged to bite the offending hand; he slipped back just in time, her teeth clacking shut.

He glanced at the spot he'd barely saved. "What are you, a puppy?"

"You trash-mob! Sneaking up while I'm weak—just wait till I'm better!"

Smack!

Mid-rant, his smile vanished. A hand clamped over her cheek, cutting her off.

"Mm!"

She swung a fist; froze when his face, blank and inches away, filled her vision. His breath brushed her skin.

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The faint scent was a narcotic. Her mind blanked; the raised arm wilted to the floor.

"So now you admit you feel awful?"

"Ngh..."

Her glare stayed fierce, but the sound melted like cotton candy. She squirmed; his grip only tightened.

"And at school you call me President. Keep barking 'trash-mob' and see what happens."

"Tra—"

More pressure on her cheek cut off the word.

Stubborn idiot. Looks miserable yet won't shut up.

Fine.

"Our deal stays between us. Dragging An Le into your schemes at lunch—clever. I haven't settled that score." He squeezed harder.

Spencer, even dazed, sprouted a giant question mark.

An Le helped me? I was the one helping her! And all she did was poke you once—unfair!

Still, the backhanded praise made her chest puff.

"Tr—ow-ow-ow!"

Before the nickname left her mouth, his fingers dug in. Spencer bit down on reflex—no strength. It felt more like a kitten's lick.

He glanced: Spencer gazing up, foggy yet defiant. A jolt shot from his wrist to his gut; the place below his navel flared like Red Cliff.

"Tch!"

Meow-chan, look what you've done! Attribute points, my foot!

Eyes narrowing, Yan Huan's palm cracked across her back.

Smack!

Normally armor-plated, Spencer yelped, eyes wide.

"Tra—"

Smack!

Another before she could speak.

"Ngh..."

She scooted back, half-lying now, palms shielding her spine. A tear glimmered. Yet her blush deepened, breath quickening.

Yan Huan wiped his hand, then loomed over her retreating form.

"What did I tell you to call me at school?"

"D-don't come closer!"

"Go on, say 'trash-mob' again. Let's see if your mouth's tougher than your hide."

"I—"

His hand rose; she flinched, eyes shut.

"I was wrong! P-President!"

"..."

The blow halted mid-air above her huddled head.

Never thought I'd see the day. The tyrant, helpless.

Whoever did this—good job.

"That's better. If your family won't teach manners, someone has to."

Spencer didn't answer—only panted harder. Then she lifted her face, flushed and dazed, crimson from forehead to collar.

Yan Huan froze for a heartbeat. Just as he started to ask her something, Spencer's body suddenly went limp and she collapsed against him.

Thump-thump.

Her head rested on his shoulder. At this close range he could make out every ragged breath, every racing heartbeat.

"Haha..."

After a second's hesitation, the arm hanging at her side inched upward until it wrapped around him.

"...Running this hot?"

Yan Huan muttered. On his other shoulder Meow-chan flickered into view, eyeing Spencer.

"Her condition looks weird, meow. Not your average fever."

"Yeah."

He eased the girl upright. The motion jarred a tiny drool string loose; it landed on his collar.

"Meow."

"Tch."

Meow-chan cocked her head. Yan Huan immediately shifted Spencer's head farther away with undisguised disgust.

He gave her a gentle shake, but she gave no clear response. He sighed.

Across the campus the sun was sliding toward the horizon; his face soured.

"Let's dump her in the infirmary first. Ugh, anywhere but that place..."

"You're scared of doctors, meow?" Yan Huan rolled his eyes while supporting Spencer. "You'll see."

"Meow?"

Yuanyue Academy, faculty building, infirmary.

Click—

"Sorry to intr—huh? Not here?"

Yan Huan nudged the unlocked door open with Spencer in his arms. The room was huge. A medicine cabinet covered one wall; opposite it, a half-open window. White curtains framed the three beds used for boys and girls to rest.

Empty. Yan Huan's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Thank goodness."

"So who's the scary person, meow? You just relaxed like you dodged a bullet."

Yan Huan's smile stiffened. He steered Spencer toward the section labeled GIRLS while sending a mental reply.

"The nurse in charge is Ye Lina. Long story short—keep away from her or you'll regret it."

A shiver ran down his spine at the memory.

"But you brought Spencer here to see her. If the nurse is gone, what's the point, meow?"

"That woman barely treats anyone. Minor scrape? Iodine and go back to class. Internal anything? Straight to the phone to call Mom and Dad."

He swept aside the curtain marked GIRLS. Three neat beds appeared. With a grunt he lowered Spencer onto the nearest one and wiped his brow.

"Thing is, Ye Lina's office has every student's landline. The council only gets emails."

He rolled his shoulders and walked toward the cluttered desk, hunting for the phone book.

Before he reached it, a warm little hand shot out and clamped around his wrist.

He froze. So did Meow-chan. Spencer lay on her side, eyes unfocused, yet her grip was iron.

Broken sobs slipped out between breaths.

"Don't... don't go..."

Yan Huan inhaled, raised one finger like a lecturing parent.

"Let go. I'll count to three—three, two, one—off. Hear me?"

The sudden command seemed to cut through her fog. She lifted her head, meeting his eyes.

For a moment they stared. A single tear rolled down Spencer's cheek; otherwise she stayed motionless, gazing up at him.

Then, timid and small:

"Don't leave."

Yan Huan spun, trying to pry her fingers off with both hands.

The next second Spencer whimpered like an abandoned kitten, voice soft and babyish.

"Don't go... Mommy..."

Yan Huan froze. For an instant Spencer seemed to see her mother in his place.

Then his face darkened and he tugged harder.

"I'm your dad, got it?"

But Spencer grew frantic. Gasping, she watched his wrist sliding free and shook her head.

"No-no..."

Her breath quickened; her soft body tensed as if sudden super-strength flooded her.

"NO!!"

Eyes shut, she yanked like a sulking child.

That instant Yan Huan remembered the terror called Niu-niu.

"Meow!"

He was yanked clean off his feet. Meow-chan, still perched on his shoulder, flailed in midair before hitting the floor. Yan Huan landed on the mattress—beneath Spencer.

Eyes wide, he stared up at the blonde pinning his right wrist, smiling innocently. She patted his stomach, smoothed the wrinkles on his shirt, then tilted her head.

"Shrink... shrunk?"

Shrink THIS!

Yan Huan's face went black, but before he could swear Spencer nestled on his chest, clutching it with both hands, voice full of grievance.

"When are you coming to Linmen to visit me?"

Meow-chan hopped onto the headboard and paced the rail, recording every embarrassing detail.

Yan Huan wasn't short, but Spencer was tall for a Westerner, and curling up like a toddler made her weight impossible to ignore.

The scent of sea-salt body wash rolled across the bed; every breath drew it deeper. The more he smelled, the faster he breathed—until it looped into sensory overload.

"Sp-Spencer..."

Veins popped along his arms.

As if sensing his limit, Spencer's golden hair lifted in a halo of light despite her dazed state.

Then Yan Huan remembered—Bai Yi was still waiting at the milk-tea shop. They'd promised to sip tea and plan the weekend MV shoot.

Instead, here he was, pinned behind infirmary curtains by a feverish blonde.

Guilt toward Bai Yi. Thrill of sneaking around. The memory of Bai Yi shining onstage flashed across his mind—she'd be radiant in the MV.

His affection for Bai Yi surged.

Yet his body treacherously admitted that Spencer clinging to him felt... nice.

Mind screaming no, body voting yes.

Yan Huan drew a shaky breath and stared into Spencer's unfocused eyes.

Right now she still knows nothing, and Bai Yi still knows nothing.

Since nobody knows at the moment—only Heaven and Earth, you and I—why not steal a little pleasure together?

Just as Yan Huan reached out to fold Spencer's stunning, irresistible body into his arms, the girl in his embrace murmured again,

"I don't want to stay in Linmen anymore. I don't want to grow up with nothing but AIs."

AI?

The word jarred him. Yan Huan's mind snapped awake, yanking him out of the quagmire titled "The Beginning of a Cheating Fall into Depravity." He blinked, realizing he'd just been completely hijacked by Spencer's Modifier.

He'd forgotten—she's a pure stat monster. A second longer and he would have convinced himself it was all perfectly reasonable.

No good. He had to get her off him now.

This girl's Modifier can trigger itself even when she's not aware of it?

"Meow-chan."

The instant he opened his mouth to call for the AI butler, the white curtain in front of him was yanked aside a few inches.

Framed in the gap stood a tiny blonde child—smaller even than Sakuramiya Hitomi—wearing a miniature white lab coat like an expensive porcelain doll. In one hand she held a thoroughly censored doujin, apparently just finished reading.

She took one look at the bed: two bodies tangled together, clothes askew.

"Mommy... no, don't..."

Hearing Spencer's kittenish whine, Yan Huan froze; then his face went pitch-black.

Because he suddenly knew exactly who this "doll" was. He stared at the petite figure.

"Ye—"

The girl raised a hand, cutting him off.

Then, shaking her head with a clear, bell-like voice, she said,

"Wait right here; I'll fetch you a baby bottle."

"No, wait, Teacher Ye Lina, I—"

"Ah, I understand perfectly."

The girl—addressed as Teacher Ye Lina—shook her head in sympathetic wisdom.

"After all, you're at the age when boys grow fast and needs are big. I get it."

"Just a moment, I'll bring the bottle right over, new dad Student-Council President Yan~"

Yan Huan nearly vaulted off the bed to throttle her.

But Spencer's weight still pinned him down, so all he could do was watch Ye Lina hop toward her cluttered desk.

On that chaotic desk—where Yan Huan hadn't noticed before—a Golden Lion cufflink lay overturned, wobbling faintly, as though its owner had only just set it down.

"Now, where did I put that thing...? Ah, here's a sleeve—no use; here's lube—also no use—"

The next second, as Ye Lina rummaged for the bottle, her small hand casually scooped up the cufflink and slipped it into her pocket.

"Got it! Here we go, President Yan, let's give this a try—"

"Try my foot! Get over here and rescue me, Teacher Ye Lina!!"

(End of Chapter)