The Stubborn President and the Silly Little Secretary

"Take this."

"What is it?"

Before Dongfang Zhixia could respond, Ye Cheng had already tossed the item over—something limp, cold, and squirming.

A snake.

Dongfang Zhixia: "???"

"Ah—!"

The moment Dongfang Zhixia caught the snake, she flung it away. Ye Cheng reacted swiftly and snatched it mid-air.

"President, what are you doing? If this thing bites you, we’ll need this 'spicy strip' to find the antivenom later. Neither of us knows what kind of snake this is. If it slithers away, do you really think we’ll have the luck to catch it again?"

Ye Cheng’s tone was exasperated.

Dongfang Zhixia knew all this, of course. But knowing and acting were two entirely different things.

Snakes were something most people feared.

Only a weirdo like Ye Cheng could casually refer to it as a "spicy strip" without a hint of fear. He even tied the snake in an artistic knot—one with a distinctly Japanese flair.

Frankly, the snake now looked somewhat indecent.

Strangely suggestive, even.

Dongfang Zhixia knew she was in the wrong but refused to let Ye Cheng have the upper hand. She muttered defensively,

"Of course I know that! But you threw it at me out of nowhere—anyone would be startled!"

"Alright, then hold it properly, President. I need to carry you now and don’t have any free hands."

Ye Cheng wasn’t lying.

He had briefly considered draping the snake around his neck but quickly dismissed the idea, fearing he might experience a "boa constrictor’s embrace."

So, the task fell to the president.

Seeing the neatly tied "spicy strip" Ye Cheng handed over, Dongfang Zhixia’s eyes flashed with terror.

"Oh no, oh no. Could it be that our mighty president is scared of snakes?" Ye Cheng feigned shock.

Dongfang Zhixia: "..."

"Shut up! Who’s scared? Not me!"

Dongfang Zhixia was stubborn by nature. Losing face, especially to Ye Cheng, was out of the question.

She grabbed the snake firmly, its cold, slithering body coiling around her wrist the moment she touched it. The eerie sensation sent shivers down her spine, but she clenched her teeth and held on.

"Is that all? Let’s go. We’re wasting time."

Her voice trembled, as did her body.

The only thing still firm was her mouth.

Exactly the reaction Ye Cheng wanted. He hoisted her onto his back and began descending the mountain.

......

"Miss! Miss, where are you?"

The petite secretary panted heavily, exhausted after just a few steps.

In a way, she was "carrying extra weight" uphill, so her fatigue was understandable.

But in Dongfang Zhixia’s eyes, it was just useless flab!

Suddenly, the secretary squinted, spotting something in the distance. After a moment of scrutiny, her face lit up with joy.

"Miss!"

But her delight was short-lived.

Her expression froze as she saw her young mistress being carried down the mountain by a shirtless man.

The secretary’s pupils shrank.

Her mind instantly conjured a series of scandalous, pixelated scenes—none of them appropriate for public viewing.

Her face paled. "Will Miss silence me to keep this secret?"

Panicked, she clapped a hand over her mouth, then switched to covering her eyes, muttering under her breath.

"I didn’t see anything. I know nothing. Wuwuwu..."

From Ye Cheng’s back, Dongfang Zhixia glared at her airheaded secretary, irritation flaring.

"Get over here! What are you standing around for?"

"Ah? Oh..."

The secretary flinched at her mistress’s sharp tone, turning around but keeping both hands firmly over her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Dongfang Zhixia frowned, a question mark practically floating above her head.

The secretary stammered, "I—I didn’t see anything, Miss."

Dongfang Zhixia: "???"

"President, your secretary must’ve funneled all her meals straight to her chest. How is she all body and no brain?"

Ye Cheng shook his head and nudged the eye-covering secretary.

"Your Miss got bitten by a snake. Her foot’s swollen like a pig’s trotter, and you’re pretending not to see it?"

"Huh?"

Confused, the secretary lowered her hands and finally noticed the dark, swollen bite marks on Dongfang Zhixia’s foot.

"AHHH!!"

"Miss! Wuwuwu... What happened?!" Her eyes welled up instantly, her face a picture of distress.

Dongfang Zhixia: "..."

This idiot.

"Stop crying and get your Miss to a hospital. You’ll have plenty to cry about if she kicks the bucket." Ye Cheng sighed.

Fortunately, the secretary wasn’t completely hopeless.

A quick call on her emergency line summoned a swarm of doctors and bodyguards—along with a stretcher—within five minutes.

Ye Cheng handed the prickly young mistress over to the medics, swiped a jacket from a bodyguard, and slipped away unnoticed.

A true unsung hero!

Doing good deeds without expecting rewards—society needed more positive role models like Ye Cheng!

...Or so he’d like to say.

In reality, he was afraid the president might come to her senses and have him detained if he lingered. Then he’d really be stuck.

Ye Cheng wasn’t naive enough to think today’s incident would magically warm her up to him.

Come on, this wasn’t some cheesy novel where rich heiresses fell for nobodies after one rescue.

That was just delusional wishful thinking—the kind that got you chopped into mincemeat.

Tonight’s mess was technically his fault, even if it was an accident. Still, he’d sucked out the venom and carried her down. That should balance the scales, right?

Surely the president wouldn’t hold a grudge over this?

...Right?

Ye Cheng stretched, humming a tune as he strolled back to his dorm.

Exhausted. Time to sleep!

......

Meanwhile, in the girls’ dormitory.

"Miss, I’ve sent you the files." A pleasant female voice came through the phone.

"Mm. Got it. Rest early." Shen Qinghan was about to hang up.

"Miss... the family head hopes you’ll visit home..." The voice hesitated, laced with unease, as if bracing for rejection.

Shen Qinghan sighed. "I know. I’ll go back in a couple of days. I’m busy now."

"Thank you, Miss!" The voice brightened instantly.

After hanging up, Shen Qinghan opened the files on her phone.

"Ye Cheng, eighteen years old..."