"Swish-swash!"

Today's rain in Lin Gate is exceptionally heavy, as if the sky god has hoisted the ocean into the sky, allowing the people of Lin Gate to savor the taste of being fish.

The bus from Yuanyue Academy to the South District plows through the water, pushing the currents to either side of the road, leaving behind ripples in the shape of tree rings on the surface of the street.

"Something big seems to have happened at Golden Lion Group; I linked to Aria's room through the AI channel at noon today but couldn't find her.

"Good timing, Golden Lion Group has asked me to attend a meeting at the Golden Lion Building tomorrow; I will go and confirm what exactly is going on...

"Don't act rashly on your own; wait for my message."

On the school bus, Yan Huan sat by the window, frowning at the text from Yelena on her phone.

Unable to reach Spencer, the first person Yan Huan thought of was the "artificial intelligence" Yelena hidden within the campus.

She was once Spencer's mother's personal doctor and is now Spencer's guardian on campus, holding a not insignificant position.

Unexpectedly, even she didn't know what had happened there.

Yan Huan didn't believe that such a large enterprise's major move would be directly related to Spencer, the foolish heiress withdrawing from school, unless perhaps her mother was a slight possibility.

But after all, Yelena said Spencer was not at the Golden Lion Building now; who knows if her mother had someone take her to stay somewhere else.

It seems, what Spencer said about being able to return to Yuanyue Academy occasionally even after dropping out was nothing but wishful thinking.

More likely, this departure means she won't return to her whole high school life.

"..."

For some reason, upon this thought, Yan Huan suddenly felt somewhat irritable.

Maybe it was because of today's utterly awful weather.

Maybe because she was worried about how her modifier would develop behind her back.

Maybe because...

"Ding-dong~"

At this moment, the school bus had already reached the stop near the public rental housing.

Yan Huan rubbed her lips, withdrew her gaze from the window, and got up from her seat.

"See you tomorrow, President."

"Bye, President."

"Mhm."

Yan Huan nodded, bidding farewell to her fellow students on the bus.

Then, she opened her umbrella and stepped into the vast curtain of rain.

"Swish-swash~"

The large raindrops beat against the umbrella, creating an uneven surface that would recover in a second, bringing with it a drumbeat of restless thoughts.

Yan Huan exhaled warm breath, not wanting to linger in the rain-soaked world that overflowed her shoes and quickly walked towards the direction of the public rental buildings.

Originally, she had planned to visit Sister Tong today since it had been a long time, and she owed her thanks for treating her and the student council to a good meal before.

But with this weather, she probably wouldn't want to open up shop, right?

"Patter~"

Running to the first floor of the public rental housing, Yan Huan folded and shook off the raindrops from her umbrella, simultaneously unlocking her phone to glance at her plane.

Sure enough, the message from Tong Yingying that stood out on the screen:

"Raining, closed for the day."

See, no one knows Tong better than Huan.

Tong Yingying's nature, Yan Huan understood all too well.

Sighing helplessly, Yan Huan reached into her satchel, intending to fish out the keys to unlock the door.

Unexpectedly, just as she turned onto the staircase to the second floor, a blonde girl sitting on the steps, daydreaming, entered Yan Huan's field of vision.

Next to her sat a suitcase, but no umbrella in sight.

So unsurprisingly, she still carried the moisture of being soaked in rain that had not yet dried.

Her golden, slightly curled hair clung wetly to her fair skin, even her eyelashes still hang with tiny droplets of water.

From a distance, her eyes appeared crystal clear.

"Snap!"

The moment Yan Huan saw the girl, her grip involuntarily loosened...

Turns out, her heartbeat had skipped a beat.

The key that was pulled out fell to the ground, making a crisp collision sound.

That collision sound, like a bell, awakened the daydreaming girl.

"Ah?"

She lifted her sky-blue eyes, immediately spotting Yan Huan.

Then visibly, her previously vacant pupils brightened up appealingly, and even her expression grew happier,

"Yan Huan, you're here, ah!"

"...Spencer?"

Yan Huan slightly stunned, began to regain some composure from the shock, quickly picked up the keys from the ground, and asked,

"Hey!"

Spencer patted off her bottom and stood up, looking at Yan Huan, thinking he was puzzled about how she found this place, and started explaining on her own,

"It's me, ah! Remember I sent you home before? So I know you live here. But I don't know which room specifically, so I just waited here..."

"I didn't ask how you found your way here..."

Yan Huan climbed the staircase, originally wanting to continue speaking, but as she got closer, the rain-fresh scent of her shower gel invaded his nostrils again, causing him to pause for a moment.

A second later, he looked at the suitcase beside her and asked,

"Is this you, running away from home?"

"Yeah, ah."

"...You say it so casually, as if you're quite experienced."

"No, it's my first time running away; I've never done it before."

Spencer stood confidently with her hips akimbo, her posture both proud and exhilarated.

Then, she remembered the morning incident when she was ordered to leave by the teacher, and with a pout, she complained,

"I was planning to stay at Yuan Yue, after all... you said you hoped I would stay, right..."

Towards the end, she peeked at Yan Huan.

"But, my mother disagreed with me staying, ah, so I argued with her. Now... I sneak out while they weren't paying attention."

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