Inside the main hall, pounding music and dazzling lights blended together, giving the whole place a slightly unreal, dreamlike vibe.
At the center of the floor, members of the football team were putting on a show—goofy dances, handstands, anything they could think of—to grab the girls' attention.
In a corner, Little George was being clever, chatting up a girl with fairly average looks who was wearing a cheerleader uniform. They were talking about today's game.
Meanwhile, Mike—the biggest reason the team had won—became the focus of attention the moment he stepped into the hall. Eyes turned toward him from every direction.
A lot of people knew it: after how he played today, Mike was very likely about to become a "celebrity" at school, maybe even around town.
A good-looking, strong, high-performing guy like that? What girl wouldn't want him?
Earlier, as soon as Mike arrived at the party, Regina had dragged him off to a room, so he hadn't really crossed paths with many people there.
Now that he was back out by himself, a lot of girls felt like their chance had finally arrived.
"Mike~"
Before any of the girls could make a move, Captain Aaron beat them to it and handed Mike a bottle of beer.
As team captain, that gesture made his appreciation and approval pretty clear.
Then, noticing the way the girls were practically ready to devour Mike with their eyes, Aaron wisely added, "You're the star tonight. Go enjoy your moment."
In a way, Aaron was a solid captain. He cared about winning games, not micromanaging his teammates' private lives.
That suited Mike just fine. Since he'd brought protection with him tonight, he had no intention of taking it back unused.
Regina was already in the past, completely pushed out of Mike's mind. Right now, he had his eye on two new targets: Katie, drinking alone in the corner, and Karen, somewhere in the crowd.
Earlier, both girls had watched Regina pull Mike away and assumed they were out of luck for the night. No one expected things to turn around like this.
Katie had already had several cocktails. Her pale face was flushed, and the moment she saw Mike again, she couldn't sit still anymore.
On the other side, Karen leaned in and whispered to Gretchen, "Can you go stop Katie for me? I need to talk to Mike about something."
As part of the same "perfect body" clique, Gretchen immediately understood what her friend was thinking. She stared at her in disbelief. "Are you crazy? You're going to betray Regina?"
"Don't say it like that. I'm not trying to steal Mike," Karen said casually. "I just want a little taste first…"
She wasn't hiding it—she was openly attracted to Mike.
Then she added a fake threat, lowering her voice. "Gretchen, don't think I don't know you've been paying attention to Mike too. You wouldn't want Regina to find out about that, right?"
When a guy is as good-looking as Mike, even someone as cool and composed as Gretchen couldn't stay completely immune.
After all, appreciating beauty isn't just a guy thing.
"You…"
Caught off guard, Gretchen—already dealing with all the chaos of puberty—rarely showed embarrassment, but now her secret had been exposed, and it showed on her face.
"Relax," Karen said with a mischievous grin. "Once I've had my fun, I'll create an opportunity for you too."
Then she kept pushing. "And of course, it'll be our little secret. As long as we don't say anything, Regina will never find out."
"I…"
Gretchen hadn't expected her friend to say something so bold. But imagining that kind of situation, the tips of her ears turned red.
Even someone who always played the good girl had a wild side deep down.
"Don't hesitate. Go," Karen urged, nudging her forward. "If Katie gets to Mike first, she won't be as generous as I am."
While the two of them were whispering and scheming, Katie was already just a few steps away from Mike.
Egged on by Karen, Gretchen felt a thrilling sense of breaking free from her restraints. Her body moved before her mind could catch up.
She walked up to Katie and grabbed her arm. "Katie, can I talk to you for a second?"
Katie tried to pull free, but after drinking, she didn't have much strength. She was dragged off to the side anyway.
Right on cue, Karen stepped up behind them and gave Mike a subtle wink. "Mike, it's way too stuffy in here. Want to step outside for a bit?"
As she spoke, she deliberately licked her lips, the flirtation obvious.
Mike, having just witnessed the whole "best friends forever" act, didn't really care whether Katie or Karen ended up winning.
He smiled, politely ignored the hints from the other cheerleaders, and followed Karen out of the hall.
Walking ahead of him, Karen had fair skin, a pretty face, and a killer figure to begin with. And right now, she had all three essentials: stockings, a short skirt, and twin ponytails.
Not long after, under Karen's lead, the two of them arrived at the villa's basement.
It was Amy's family's wine cellar, but there was also a full sofa set nearby, clearly meant for resting.
Mike guessed this was probably one of the clique's secret hangouts.
"Want something to drink?"
Karen bent down and rummaged through the wine cabinet by the door.
From the side, her curves were impossible to miss.
Mike gently closed the door, then slowly stepped up behind her.
Sensing someone close, Karen blushed slightly, but still turned around naturally and wrapped her arms around Mike's neck.
…
More than an hour later, the dust finally settled.
The [Demon Body (Trait)] Mike had picked up before had been a black orb of light, but this new [Weather Forecast (Trait)] glowed a pale blue.
After crushing the orb, Mike felt a vague new ability awaken inside him—like he could somehow sense changes in the weather.
"Karen, do you have some kind of weather-predicting ability?" Mike asked curiously.
"How did you know…?"
Karen rolled over and lay flat on the sofa, lazily touching herself as she spoke. "I feel like I can predict the weather sometimes, but I've never told anyone."
Mike didn't respond to that and just kept asking, "How accurate is it?"
"Maybe one or two times out of ten," Karen shrugged. "I always thought it was just my imagination."
"I see…"
Compared to Demon Body, this weather ability felt kind of underwhelming to Mike.
Still, something was better than nothing. Who knew—it might come in handy someday.
Another half hour passed. Mike ran his fingers through Karen's blonde hair and said, "Want me to walk you back?"
It was Karen's first time going through something that intense. She looked mostly normal now, but her stamina clearly hadn't fully recovered.
"No need. You should go first. I'll head back up and check how things look…"
After the craziness, Karen was feeling a little guilty again.
After all, the Queen Bee was still upstairs.
"Alright."
Feeling relaxed and satisfied, Mike didn't feel like going back to the second floor anyway.
Watching Karen leave, Mike sighed to himself, thinking she was a good girl. He made up his mind that if he ever got the chance, he'd definitely make sure she got to enjoy herself even more.