Chapter Nine: Where to Go from Here

"The first activity of the Cyber Ghost Music Club is to help our new member, Kira, recover her memories!" Caldesia raised the pink-haired girl's hand, declaring with all the authority of a club president, even as Kira looked puzzled—"Wait, I'm a new member?"

The gray-haired young man was the first to protest, "Hey, isn't this a bit quick? She's joining without even a reason!"

Caldesia replied confidently, "The reason is that I think it's interesting!"

"Did you consider the opinions of the rest of us?!"

"Should we just leave this child alone, then?" The provisional president countered his complaints with a single sentence.

Caldesia pressed her fingertip to her hat brim. "That's not an option. A young girl, beautiful, clueless, homeless, and amnesiac. Her situation is as dire as when I first met Lianyi. Who knows what could happen if we leave her outside alone? Sure, the city's gotten safer these past years, but the bad guys haven't disappeared."

Shiyu forced a wry smile, waving his hand. "I wasn't that bad back then..."

The suited young man had barely opened his mouth when someone ruffled his neat black hair into a bird's nest.

"Lianyi was worrying back then, too. No common sense at all—imagine what would happen if some villain picked him up? I should really thank Lord Spencer, you know~"

"Haha..." The twin-tailed girl looked around curiously, while the imperial duo whispered to each other.

"Are you curious?" "I'm very curious."

Noticing their gaze, the suited youth gave a sinister smile, suggesting it was better not to ask about the details.

He shifted his focus away from the idiots' past, centering on the matter at hand. Fairly speaking, Caldesia was right. As a psychic, he knew well that control over abilities was closely tied to the mental state of the user, and amnesia was one of the worst possible conditions. Kira's current stability seemed linked to his companionship, but no one could guarantee she'd wield her apparent "cognitive interference" with the same ease alone.

Gongsun Ce was self-aware; he didn't believe the girl would show such closeness or affection merely for his looks or kindness. Kira's strange behavior was undoubtedly influenced by factors he didn't understand...

He recalled the first thing she had said.

"Hey! Can you see me?"

That likely related to his discovery of her presence.

This raised another issue. His psychic powers couldn't see through illusions; why had he been able to notice Kira, who interfered with people's perception?

The gray-haired youth decided to ask the only person who might know the truth.

"Miss Kira, why was I able to see you then?"

The pink-haired twin-tail jumped to her feet. "It must have been a fated encounter!" she declared excitedly. "Destiny brought us together!"

"You see, that's the look of disbelief upon hearing nonsense. Let's rule out this possibility." Qin Qianbai picked up a notebook, wrote "Destiny," and drew a cross through it.

No need for further words. If destiny could explain anomalies, everything in the world could be chalked up to fate. It's no different from saying, "It's all the gods' will," both being an abandonment of thought.

The psychic offered another theory: "Could it be the song? Can you sing that song again?"

"You mean 'Silent Snowy Night'? Actually, I didn't sing the original... The original tune was too sad, so I tweaked it to sound a bit more cheerful!"

"No problem, just sing it as before. But remember to make yourself invisible first."

Kira picked up her red guitar, standing between the coffee table and the TV, and began to sing.

"I lie upon the rooftop, where snowflakes fall ♪..."

The psychic listened to the girl's song. Her voice was sweet and clear, the guitar accompaniment perfectly balanced—enhancing her voice without overwhelming it. Setting aside any preconceptions about the singer, he thought it was quite well done, far above the level of ordinary enthusiasts. If any talent scout heard her on the street, they'd surely turn and strike up a conversation.

After the first verse, he began to observe the others' reactions.

Caldesia was looking around in confusion. "Why did everyone suddenly go silent? Is this some new prank?"

Gongsun Ce signaled his friend to stay quiet.

"Miss, help me out for a moment and I'll treat you to ice cream later. Walk to the center of the coffee table, then straight to the TV."

"Okay."

Qin Qianbai didn't ask questions. She walked to the table and stood; Kira was right in front of her.

Expressionless, the girl started moving. She didn't walk in a straight line as the young man had asked, but instead circled around the singing Kira, almost brushing against the pink hair as she reached the TV.

"Hmm...?"

Qin Qianbai seemed to sense something was off, too.

Shiyu Lianyi wrote "Sense of Discrepancy" in his notebook: "In my eyes, Qin Qianbai walked in a straight line. In my memory, we were just discussing the fifth club member... Then, for some reason, everyone fell silent."

The gray-haired youth nodded. "I see. Kira, come out."

Kira put down her guitar. She tiptoed over to Qin Qianbai, as if planning to startle her, but remembering the painful sofa incident just moments ago, the twin-tail girl shivered, turned, and crouched in front of Caldesia.

"Ta-da-da-boom!"

Kira laughed as she released her ability, hands posed like claws beside her ears.

"Huh?!"

Caldesia actually let out a rare cry of surprise, but even faster was the suited youth's reaction—Shiyu Lianyi instantly pointed at the attacker's head, gripping a pistol with the safety off.

The cold muzzle pressed against Kira's temple.

The pink-haired twin-tail, face twisted in terror, slowly raised her hands, afraid that moving too quickly would make him pull the trigger. "I... just wanted... to play a joke."

"Hey, Lianyi! Why such an overreaction!" Caldesia angrily grabbed her sidekick's arm. "Apologize to Kira now!"

The suited youth calmly put away his gun. "Sorry for frightening you."

The twin-tail girl, eyes brimming with tears, looked over. "Gongsun Ce..."

"This is why social distancing matters. Remember that, Miss Kira?"

"I remember... From now on, I'll only dare to approach you..."

The heiress crossed her arms in an X. "No, you must keep a safe distance from everyone."

Gongsun Ce picked up a notebook, starting to consider how to deal with this incident.

·

A dozen minutes later.

Gongsun Ce borrowed Caldesia's whiteboard and began writing with a black marker.

"Let's summarize. We tentatively assume Miss Kira's ability interferes with human perception in some way. When her power is active, everyone ignores her existence and her influence. Memories are automatically adjusted, and current actions are unconsciously distorted. If the ability is triggered suddenly, those present experience varying degrees of discomfort. Once the power is released, everything snaps back."

He drew a stick figure on the board.

"The only exception is me. I've always been able to interact with her normally. Moreover, my own power initially had no effect on her. Based on these two points, the conclusion is..."

"Gongsun is special." Shiyu shook his head. "That's the only explanation we can think of, but we don't have enough information. Solving Miss Kira's problem in a day seems unlikely."

Gongsun Ce tried using telekinesis on the twin-tailed girl; a lock of her hair floated gently.

Everything seemed normal, as if what he'd just witnessed was only a hallucination.

"Let's start investigating based on what we know now. The song and her identity are both directions to pursue, and there should also be rumors of such strange abilities..."

The blonde, hat-wearing woman snatched her board and interrupted the gray-haired youth without giving him a chance to finish.

"More importantly, where is this child going to stay? That's what needs solving urgently!"

Her words shifted the group from psychic deduction to the realm of sheltering stray children—or stray college students, in this case. Indeed, this was the most pressing problem. Kira herself was wary of official agencies and showed a certain dependence on Gongsun Ce. Where should she go?

They couldn't act like irresponsible adults, tossing people aside when they weren't useful.

"Can I stay at Gongsun Ce's place?"

No, absolutely not.

Mr. Gongsun didn't want to be gossiped about by the neighbors the next morning.

Mr. Gongsun also didn't want to be hunted down again by a certain blockhead.

Gongsun Ce gestured to the hat-wearing woman, and Caldesia shook her head repeatedly.

"My place is a bit cramped right now. I can't take her in. How about you, Lianyi..."

Kira wailed and clung to the gray-haired youth's arm. "No! I don't want to!"

Poor girl looked genuinely terrified.

It's understandable—anyone would be scared with a gun to their head—but that's not a reason to cling on. Let go, young lady! If you're grateful, don't put him in danger!

"Stay with me," Qin Qianbai, who had remained silent, spoke up.

"My house is right next to Gongsun's. But there's only one bed, so you’ll have to sleep on the floor."

Kira walked over, excitedly grabbing her hands. "Thank you, Miss Qin. You're so kind!"

What kind of world does she see?

It seemed like she believed whatever people told her, and a little kindness made her see someone as a saint. Even elementary school kids aren't that naive anymore.

The young man played along: "That's right, the heiress really is a good person, so you must listen to her. It's for your own good, understand?"

Kira nodded obediently. The heiress glanced sideways at him, looking a little uncertain. Gongsun Ce mouthed, "Just treat it like taking care of a child. Show some seniority."

"Mm, mm. You must listen to me, and don’t run off."

The issue of where Kira would stay was settled.

It was almost four o'clock. He remembered the blonde had a class in the afternoon, but she showed no signs of returning to campus. So Gongsun Ce had the computer float over, connecting it to the TV with a data cable.

"A classic school romance film recently hit its ten-year anniversary. I thought I'd rewatch it. Want to join?"

Five votes in favor; the proposal passed unanimously.

The next debate was over what drinks to order, with Caldesia and Qin Qianbai clashing fiercely.

The second activity of the newly formed Cyber Ghost Music Club was to watch a youth anime utterly unrelated to the club’s name.