Classic Reimagined, The Great Deception, Can't Help but Transform into a Frenzied Bullfrog

Second floor.

In the bathroom.

"Hehe... slurp, slurp..."

The water vapor that had originally filled the bathroom had completely dissipated over time, and the hot water in the bathtub had gone cold. The only sound that could be heard was the Little Secretary's "wise" laughter echoing in the bathroom.

A little snot was already running down her nose, but the Little Secretary herself didn't notice it at all. The hot water she had been soaking in had gone cold, yet she was still giggling foolishly, secretly delighted that the President had been gone for so long and hadn't returned, meaning she could watch short videos for a long time.

"Hehe..."

Downstairs.

Ye Cheng bared his teeth, obediently keeping his hands behind his back like an elementary school student. His face was full of "honesty." It was worth noting that there was a fresh bite mark on his head.

The force of this strike... oh wait, the force of this bite was no lighter than Tang Yuyao's. If Ye Cheng's "brain" wasn't so tough, his head would have been cracked open by now.

Yeah... tough in the literal, physical sense.

"Where is the phone?" Dongfang Zhixia sat on the sofa with a dark expression, her chest heaving. She had her legs crossed, swinging her foot, and with every swing, she kicked Ye Cheng in a very rhythmic manner.

Faced with such humiliating treatment, Ye Cheng got angry, and in a fit of rage, he... just stayed angry for a second.

You just remember this! You provoked me today, and I am very angry! Nothing is going to happen afterwards, but you better remember it!

Between being a coward and getting angry, Ye Cheng chose to combine the two and opted for cowardly anger. However... Ye Cheng really was in the wrong today, and he was already prepared to be chewed out by the President.

Silently, Ye Cheng handed over his own cheap, commoner's phone—which had somehow charged to fifty percent battery in less than five minutes—to Dongfang Zhixia.

Dongfang Zhixia: "???"

"Smack!"

Dongfang Zhixia slapped Ye Cheng's outstretched paw. "I want the phone I just gave you, not this piece of junk!"

"President, what are you saying? How is my phone a piece of junk? Do you think it's just a simple phone? It's my family! I can't believe you called it a piece of junk. You're going too far!" Ye Cheng spoke with righteous indignation.

He seemed extremely angry, as if he had suffered some tremendous "humiliation," looking very much like he was about to fall out with Dongfang Zhixia.

Dongfang Zhixia paused, stunned.

Were her words really that out of line?

Frowning, Dongfang Zhixia thought for a moment. She knew that Ye Cheng's reputation for being "poor and cheap" was well-deserved. Having investigated his past deeds, she found that each one was more outrageous than the last.

Things like "elbow-striking" a shady landlord to avoid paying for a single kilowatt of electricity, or bringing two hundred-pound batteries to work every day just to "grab a little charge," or working long-term as a human "forklift" at a shady logistics company just to steal their electricity...

All of these were solid proofs that Ye Cheng's "poor and cheap" persona was by no means an exaggeration.

However, Dongfang Zhixia couldn't quite understand it. With Ye Cheng's brains, making money should be incredibly easy. Why did he always make himself look so miserable and hardworking? Furthermore, he specifically targeted those "shady" bosses.

In a way, it was a mutual attraction. The shady bosses tried to exploit Ye Cheng, and Ye Cheng elbow-struck the shady bosses. Both sides felt like they were getting the better end of the deal...

Unlike Shen Qinghan, who stopped looking into him after reading a basic resume of his past, Dongfang Zhixia's investigation had never ceased.

Moreover, as her interactions with Ye Cheng deepened, the intensity of her investigation grew, with more and more manpower, material, and financial resources poured into it.

The logistics department of the Dongfang family would compile the collected information and the latest developments every day, then send them to Dongfang Zhixia.

Surface-level information didn't take much effort to uncover, but there was only so much useful information on the surface. To know more, they had to dig deeper, and that was when the real effort was required.

Fortunately, the effort paid off. Recently, Dongfang Zhixia had learned quite a few new things. But the more she knew, the more things she couldn't understand.

It seemed... Ye Cheng's donations to the orphanage weren't simply out of "blind loyalty" or "hypocrisy." Rather, it was purposeful. What the purpose was, Dongfang Zhixia couldn't yet see. It was as if a layer of fog was obscuring the truth.

Furthermore, Ye Cheng had a partner?

The former president of the Lin Group, Lin Tianxiong. Similarly, he was a remnant of the old era, the father of a certain outdated childhood friend who only deserved to eavesdrop at the door.

Dongfang Zhixia didn't believe that Lin Tianxiong would choose to stand by and do nothing after seeing Ye Cheng's situation. The few interactions between the two over the years were enough to explain the problem.

Could it be... it wasn't that Lin Tianxiong didn't offer money, but that he did, and Ye Cheng refused it?

At this point, Dongfang Zhixia was completely confused, feeling as though she was getting to know Ye Cheng all over again. After all, the most prominent label he had given her from the very beginning was "greedy for money."

Of course, there were other traits, like being petty, having strange little fetishes, liking to be... well, things like that. But without a doubt, greed was absolutely his most obvious label.

Yet, the results of the current investigation showed that Ye Cheng was actually a person with "clean hands." How was he a corrupt official? He was a damn righteous official!

Yeah... she just couldn't figure him out.

But it didn't matter. What Ye Cheng wanted to do wasn't very important to Dongfang Zhixia. What mattered was that she found herself increasingly interested in him.

Novelty is always the most terrifying opponent in a relationship. As the saying goes, the biggest hurdle in a relationship between a man and a woman is the "seven-year itch," which, to put it bluntly, is when the novelty has completely faded.

It had nothing to do with whether they liked each other or not. As long as two people were together, the novelty would eventually run out. Of course... that applied to normal people.

For a talent like Ye Cheng, who pulled off some crazy stunt every few days, the issue to consider wasn't about novelty. The issue was how to make his behavior seem more like that of a normal person.

The more she couldn't understand him, the more interested and fond of him Dongfang Zhixia became. At the very least, she felt that with Ye Cheng, she would never experience the feeling of being "bored."

A "treasure trove" that could never be completely excavated... how could she not like him?

Hehe...

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way," Dongfang Zhixia apologized with a very sincere tone.

Indeed, her words had been a bit too harsh. This was especially true considering Ye Cheng had grown up in an orphanage and had always lived in poor conditions. What kind of phone he used was often not something he could decide for himself.

Particularly when Dongfang Zhixia saw that Ye Cheng was still using a phone that was battered to such an extent, recalling her comment about his "piece of junk," she felt even worse.

Dongfang Zhixia was indeed the eldest daughter of a noble family, and she was indeed high and mighty, but she wasn't completely out of touch with the real world. She might be arrogant, but she wasn't domineering...

If she made a mistake, Dongfang Zhixia would never stubbornly refuse to admit it. She would apologize and even say some softer words.

This was already the maximum extent of what Dongfang Zhixia could do.

You don't need to say it, I understand, I know it all... President, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. Ye Cheng forced a very strained smile, his back suddenly looking much more hunched, as if he had realized something in an instant.

Dongfang Zhixia frowned, feeling an inexplicable sense of discomfort in her heart, especially seeing Ye Cheng's vitality completely shattered. Their relationship had suddenly shifted from equal footing to a clear hierarchy.

Simply put, it was like:

Brother Runtu!

Master...

It pricked Dongfang Zhixia like a needle, making her inexplicably annoyed.

But she had clearly already apologized, so why was it still like this!

Before Dongfang Zhixia could say anything, a sneeze came from upstairs.

Achoo!

Hehe... Then came the silly, happy laughter of the Little Secretary.

Dongfang Zhixia froze, her pupils shrinking. She finally remembered that a certain idiot in their house was still soaking in the bathtub. Now... more than ten minutes had passed, and the water was cold!

And judging by that sneeze just now... she had probably caught a cold!

Dongfang Zhixia hurriedly stood up from the sofa and rushed upstairs. Reaching the second-floor staircase, she seemed to remember something. Looking down at the somewhat hunched Ye Cheng on the first floor, she gritted her teeth and said:

You stand right there, don't you dare leave!

Unlike her usual self, Dongfang Zhixia's tone this time wasn't as tough. It didn't sound like her usual demands and orders, but rather more like the harsh words exchanged between a young couple having a lover's quarrel.

Step, step, step... Dongfang Zhixia's footsteps gradually faded away. From the second floor, one could occasionally hear Dongfang Zhixia's angry reprimands and the Little Secretary's cowardly voice.

Idiot, the water is cold, why didn't you say anything!

Ah... oh, I, I didn't notice. I'm sorry, Miss...

How can you be careless about this kind of thing? You're really going to anger me to death, you idiot. What if you catch a cold? What if you get sick? You... hmm? What are you hiding in that hand?

No, nothing, Miss, I'm not hiding anything... I wasn't looking at my phone...

Dongfang Zhixia: ???

Hand it over!

Wuwuwu...

What followed was the time for the Little Secretary to be thoroughly disciplined by the President. If the usual Dongfang Zhixia was fiercer than a dog, then the current Dongfang Zhixia was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a female T-Rex, opening her jaws wide, baring her fangs, and constantly breathing fire!

Listening from downstairs, Ye Cheng broke out in a cold sweat.

Hamster, good job!

Ye Cheng's previously depressed, inferior, and inexplicably heartbroken demeanor vanished instantly, and his hunched figure straightened up.

Phew...

Ye Cheng let out a breath, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. A smile of having survived a disaster appeared on his face. He really was a genius!!!

He actually managed to turn around such a certain-death situation!

Wuhu!!!

Ye Cheng always kept in mind his identities blessed by various buffs: vulnerable group, orphan, cyber parents, eligible for poverty assistance, weak water three thousand...

Pulling out any of these identities could quickly build up his character, making him a master at playing the victim. However, he had to pay attention to the timing.

If he had used this trick right at the beginning when he first met the dear President, he would likely have been carried away with a dismissive expression and a look of disgust.

But now it was different; he had buff enhancements!

Unfortunately, this trick could only be used once. If he used it a second time, he would get elbowed, and with the President's IQ, she would realize she had been fooled.

But... once was enough!

He survived, wuhu!!!

Prepare the dinner by the bonfire to celebrate surviving another day...

Don't leave?

If you say don't leave and I don't leave, wouldn't I lose a lot of face!

Ye Cheng sneered. He then found a pen and notebook in the living room and began to write his disclaimer.

President, eh... perhaps it would be more appropriate for me to call you Eldest Miss Dongfang? Miss Dongfang, seeing this letter is like seeing me. By the time you read this, I will already be gone...

Blah blah blah, he wrote a whole bunch of nonsense, as if he were writing a suicide note. He appealed to emotion and reason, even more impressive than the little essay Lin Baizhi had written before.

The college entrance examination graders would call him a professional upon seeing it... 666, he wasn't even acting anymore. This was true emotion, this was a true perfect-score essay!!!

Ye Cheng only needed to make a slight effort to easily pull out templates like That day I was sick, it was raining heavily outside, and my mom carried me on her back... While other kids were still watching Makka Pakka, Ye Cheng was already preparing for a manned lunar landing.

Coupled with the fact that Ye Cheng had obtained the opportunity to learn breaking human limits, master-level and above skills from his unreliable... oh wait, biological father's golden finger, Ye Cheng was destined to go further and further down the path of the non-human.

Spending two and a half minutes leaving Dongfang Zhixia a college entrance examination perfect-score essay template, Ye Cheng just ran away like that.

The moment he put down the pen, Ye Cheng felt the taste of freedom and couldn't help but turn into a crazy bullfrog...

Wuhu!!!

Ye Cheng let out a ghost-like howl, activated his rapid-walking skill, and fled from Dongfang Zhixia's villa. Of course, when he left, he also took the remains of the new premium phone that the dear President had prepared for him.

Although it exploded, it could still be used after some extreme modifications. And it had to be fixed, otherwise he would be beaten into a beef meatball by the angry President, and then he would behave.

As for going to class... screw class. The most pressing matter right now was to take a taxi to the nearest computer city and second-hand phone market to scavenge for parts and borrow tools to rescue the premium phone his dear President had given him!

If he couldn't rescue it, he should prepare to eat an elbow strike.

Ye Cheng turned into a blur, running faster and faster. It took him less than half a minute to run out from the top of the villa area where Dongfang Zhixia lived, heading straight for the school's main road!

A few minutes after Ye Cheng left, upstairs, Dongfang Zhixia finally got the Little Secretary out of the bathroom. The Little Secretary was now huddled on the bed shivering like a quail, wrapped in a blanket, with a runny nose...

Sniff, sniff... Miss, I was wrong, I'm sorry...

Dongfang Zhixia snorted coldly: Don't call me Miss, you are my Miss, hmph!

Dongfang Zhixia walked to the second-floor staircase, preparing to call Ye Cheng over for a lecture and clarify what had just happened, but as a result...

Where is he?

Dongfang Zhixia looked at the empty first floor and the half-open front door, falling into silence.

Bastard!!! A moment later, the dear President let out a sharp, ear-piercing scream.