The Girl Who Sprained Her Ankle by the Pool, Mission Reward, Big Big Bubble Gum

Ye Cheng twitched on the ground, foaming at the mouth for a good while, but when no one paid him any attention, he simply got up on his own.

He couldn’t keep up the act anymore.

Ah, these truly were times of moral decline—even a handsome young man "poisoned" and collapsed on the ground couldn’t get anyone to help him!

With a pained expression, Ye Cheng pointed at the girl washing her feet across the pond.

"Have you no sense of public decency? Washing your feet here, of all places!"

It was only then that Ye Cheng got a proper look at the girl. She was unbelievably beautiful—long, straight black hair, large, captivating eyes, and an icy aloofness in her gaze.

But it was different from the cold arrogance of the Student Council President earlier.

Dongfang Zhixia’s aloofness was the kind that looked down on people, a disdainful stare that would probably excite certain… special individuals.

This girl, however, was different.

Her coldness was indifferent, frigid—as if the person standing before her wasn’t a human being, just an insignificant object.

Hearing his voice, the girl finally reacted.

"I’m not washing my feet."

Her voice was pleasant, melodious—though it would’ve been even better if she weren’t so expressionless.

"You’re not? Then what are you doing right now?" Ye Cheng raised an eyebrow, staring at her in disbelief.

He smirked. Let’s see how she’d try to talk her way out of this ironclad evidence.

The girl glanced at the pond, then at her feet, now wet from the water.

After a brief silence, she spoke.

"I’m just cooling my feet with cold water. The water happens to flow over them and back into the pond."

Ye Cheng: "…"

"Buddy, do you even hear yourself?"

"Yes. I said, I’m just cooling my feet with cold water, and—" The girl nodded, her pleasant voice continuing.

"Alright, alright, fine! My bad, okay?"

Seeing the girl about to repeat herself blankly, Ye Cheng felt a headache coming on and quickly cut her off before she could finish.

He needed to make a quick escape. The orientation event would end soon, and the Student Council President would likely come after him.

If he didn’t hurry, he’d be in trouble.

A nobody like him couldn’t possibly go up against these young mistresses.

Wouldn’t it be better to just coast through life, take on small jobs here and there, and live a little longer?

No—he wanted to live to a hundred!

As Ye Cheng turned to leave, the girl’s awkward voice called out from behind.

"Hey… come here for a second."

Ye Cheng scoffed.

You call, and I come running?

What did she take him for?

Was he that kind of pushover?

Ignoring her, he continued toward the student dormitory. Right now, he just wanted to go back and rest.

With an extra year of life to enjoy, he had to make the most of it!

"I’ll pay you. Ten thousand."

The girl’s voice came from behind, still calm, but this time with a hint of confidence instead of the earlier awkwardness.

Ye Cheng executed a perfect reverse parking maneuver.

He returned to his original spot, then backed up all the way to the girl’s side.

"Young Mistress, how may I be of service?" Ye Cheng put on his most gentlemanly demeanor, his eyes now sparkling with purity.

No ulterior motives—just pure, unadulterated greed for money.

What could he do? Ye Cheng was broke. To survive in the exorbitantly expensive coastal city of Dahai, he had to work nonstop.

Ten thousand yuan would let a slacker like him lounge around comfortably for a good long while!

This wasn’t some spoiled rich girl—this was his sweet, kind-hearted honey!

Ye Cheng’s face changed so fast that the girl froze for a moment before snapping out of it. She pointed at a single black leather shoe on the ground.

It was part of the school uniform—mandatory for all students upon enrollment.

For boys, it was leather shoes and a suit; for girls, little leather shoes, a pleated skirt, and a blazer.

Worth noting: the uniform also included optional stockings—wear them or don’t, no one cared.

This girl clearly belonged to the rebellious "no stockings" faction, though she followed the rest of the dress code.

A little rebellious, but not too much.

Both her shoe and sock had been taken off, clearly because something was wrong with her foot.

Upon closer inspection, a dark bruise stood out starkly against her pale ankle, swollen and inflamed.

A sprain.

Oh… so that’s what this was about. No wonder she was "washing her feet" in broad daylight.

She really was just icing it, like she’d said.

In the middle of summer, walking to the convenience store or infirmary with a sprained ankle wasn’t practical. The quickest way to reduce swelling was to find cold water—hence the nearby pond. And then…

"Are you done staring?"

The girl’s icy voice snapped him back to reality.

Ye Cheng quickly averted his gaze.

[Daily Good Deed: Help the girl reach the infirmary!]

[Reward: One permanently replenishing random-flavored Big Bubble gum1]

[Failure Penalty: Randomly contract one known disease in existence.]

Ye Cheng: "???"

Daily good deed?

A piece of bubble gum as a reward versus a randomly applied death debuff—are these even remotely balanced?

This was like holding a gun to a millionaire’s head and asking if they’d like to donate all their money to charity.

"Daily good deed"? Screw that—was there even a choice here?!

"How am I supposed to help if I don’t look at your injury?" Ye Cheng’s tone shifted, turning serious.

This damn cheat system was messing with him. A randomly assigned disease? A cold would be fine, but if it was something terminal, wouldn’t that just be raising a death flag inside his body?

You kidding me?!

He could guarantee that if he tried anything funny with this girl, he’d be labeled a creep.

Who knew? One day, he might just get jumped in an alley, ending his life at the tender age of nineteen.

"You know how to treat this?" The girl sounded surprised, the coldness in her eyes fading slightly.

Ye Cheng puffed out his chest, putting on his most impressive air.

"What, do I not look like a doctor to you?"

The girl nodded honestly. "No, you don’t."

Ye Cheng: "…"

"Has anyone ever told you you’d make no friends talking like that?" Ye Cheng’s lips twitched.

The girl paused, then turned her head to gaze at the pond, as if lost in thought.

Ye Cheng stepped forward and took hold of her foot.

The moment he touched her, she flinched, resisting slightly before going still.

A flicker of pain crossed her face, quickly suppressed. She stubbornly clenched her teeth, not making a sound.

A faint blush also crept onto her pale, cool cheeks.

"Are you sure you know how to set a sprain?" The girl eyed him doubtfully.

"Of course! I used to do this for Da Huang all the time!"

Ye Cheng spoke with absolute confidence. The girl nodded and fell silent.

Ye Cheng got to work. Now, about bone-setting… well, some touching was unavoidable, right? A little groping here, a little squeezing there—perfectly normal in the process.

Snap!

After some careful maneuvering, a crisp sound rang out.

"Ugh..." A muffled groan of pain escaped the girl's lips, so quiet it was almost inaudible. Her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red.

"Alright, there shouldn’t be any serious issues now. Just make sure to rest for the next few days." Ye Cheng wiped away nonexistent sweat from his forehead, putting on an exaggerated show of exhaustion.

In a way, it really had taken considerable resolve.

He couldn’t help feeling reluctant—the sensation had been so satisfying. Why did it have to end so quickly?

Truly, he was far too kind a doctor.

"Come on, I’ll take you to the infirmary to get it properly treated." Ye Cheng crouched down, gesturing for the girl to climb onto his back.

After a brief hesitation, she picked up her fallen black Mary Janes and settled onto his back.

The two of them headed toward the infirmary.

As if suddenly remembering something, the girl—her face still faintly pink—spoke again in her cool, detached tone.

"Who’s this ‘Big Yellow’ you mentioned earlier? It sounded... odd."

"Oh, that?" Ye Cheng chuckled. "Big Yellow’s a stray dog from my neighborhood. He’s always getting bullied by other dogs. Whenever he sprains his leg running away, I’m the one who sets it for him!"

The girl: "???"