The Allure Effect Begins to Show, Heartbeats Are About to Speed Up~

Dongfang Family Villa.

Little Secretary woke up from her daze with two crumpled paper balls stuffed in her nostrils, the sound of running water still audible in the house. Dongfang Zhixia was washing dishes—tasks that should have been Little Secretary’s responsibility, given that the enormous villa housed only the two of them. Dongfang Zhixia disliked having other people in her living space, so she could only tolerate sharing it with Little Secretary. Naturally, all the messy chores fell onto Little Secretary’s shoulders.

But this time, Little Secretary had overthought things to the point of fainting, and now Dongfang Zhixia had to take care of her instead.

Dongfang Zhixia untied the apron around her waist and hung it on a nearby hook. As she turned to dry her hands, she noticed a pair of big, sparkling eyes staring fixedly at her.

Dongfang Zhixia: "…"

"If you’re awake, hurry up and get ready. We still have class later!" Dongfang Zhixia glared at Little Secretary.

Only then did Little Secretary snap out of her daze and start gathering the things Dongfang Zhixia needed for class. An outsider might have mistaken Dongfang Zhixia for the one assigned to take care of Little Secretary.

"All set, Miss!" Little Secretary trotted over with a handbag packed with the day’s study materials, handing it to Dongfang Zhixia before striking a stiff, at-attention pose.

But with her adorable looks, there was no trace of seriousness—just pure, clueless cuteness.

Normally, the two didn’t interact like this. However, Little Secretary had recently been binge-watching idol dramas and, inspired by the suave bodyguards in those shows, had adopted their mannerisms when attending to her young mistress.

Dongfang Zhixia was already used to it. Just the other day, Little Secretary had insisted on kissing her twice before they left the house, claiming, "That’s how they do it in the dramas! I can’t do worse than them…"

"Honestly, cut back on the TV. Read more when you have time. Or maybe you should just come to class with me?"

Dongfang Zhixia sighed in resignation.

The moment Little Secretary heard the word "class," her head shook like a rattle drum, her eyes instantly welling up with pitiful tears. "Wuwuwu… Miss, I won’t understand anything anyway, wuwuwu…"

Over the years, Little Secretary had studied whatever Dongfang Zhixia studied—no favoritism there.

Unfortunately, Little Secretary was a bit slow. No matter what she learned, she struggled. Though she did take the college entrance exam, her final score was a staggering 249—barely enough to scrape into a decent vocational college.

But as Little Secretary put it:

"Phew, almost became a 250… Glad I dodged that bullet." She patted her soft chest, her tone laced with faint relief.

Dongfang Zhixia nearly choked on her own anger. She had expected Little Secretary’s results to be lackluster, but not this bad.

If she had to work a regular job, she’d probably starve to death.

Since Dongfang Zhixia and Little Secretary were inseparable, and Dongfang Zhixia was attending school here, Little Secretary—who couldn’t even manage vocational college—had her enrollment arranged through the chairman’s influence.

Great Sea City Noble Academy didn’t accept external applicants. Even internal recommendations required terrifyingly high scores—unless, of course, one had the right connections.

Little Secretary had "adorably bluffed" her way in, securing a spot to keep studying alongside her young mistress. Otherwise, her education would’ve ended at high school—not that academic credentials mattered much to her anyway.

Already slow-witted, she naturally couldn’t follow the lessons. Hence, the mere mention of class sent her into despair.

"Memorize fifty words today. I’ll test you when I get back. Miss one, and you skip a bite at lunch!"

Dongfang Zhixia put on her fiercest glare, while Little Secretary pouted, too timid to argue. She mumbled incoherently for a while before settling on a pitiful stare.

Dongfang Zhixia: "…"

"Forty."

"Miss…"

"Thirty."

"That’s still so many…"

"Final offer—twenty. Not one less. For every word you miss, you run an extra kilometer tonight!"

Dongfang Zhixia deflated like a punctured balloon, compromising yet again while maintaining her "strict" facade. Seeing no room for further negotiation, Little Secretary nodded vigorously.

"Mm-hmm! Twenty words! I’ll definitely finish the mission, Miss!"

She patted her chest—soft and squishy—reassuring Dongfang Zhixia with utmost determination.

Dongfang Zhixia: "…"

Only after Dongfang Zhixia left did Little Secretary flop back onto the sofa, her baby-fat cheeks sinking into a pillow as her eyes curled into contented waves.

"Study a bit… watch some drama… study a bit more… watch some more…"

Time slipped away unnoticed. Little Secretary completely forgot about Ye Cheng—and the vocabulary list—lost in her "just a little more" cycle.

……

Classroom.

Ye Cheng was stuck in his usual routine:

Pondering what to eat for lunch, what to eat for dinner, and how to perform "surgery" on his eraser later.

Shen Qinghan seemed unusually focused today. Every time Ye Cheng tried to strike up a conversation to lighten the mood, he was met with icy indifference.

Ye Cheng was furious!

Did he really have to be the one chasing after her? Did he really have to keep humiliating himself like this? Did he really—

Ye Cheng raged… and then raged no further.

Back to contemplating lunch, dinner, and the eraser…

The morning passed in a daze, eerily quiet and dull. His masculine sixth sense warned him—today, something big was coming.

Based on his many years of reincarnated life experience, whenever things seemed too smooth, trouble was brewing.

It wasn’t true peace—just "Life" lying in ambush around the corner, waiting to elbow him the moment he let his guard down.

Ye Cheng couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off today, though he couldn’t pinpoint what.

What he didn’t notice was Shen Qinghan stealing subtle glances at him from the corner of her eye.

Or rather, observing him.

Shen Qinghan never used to do this—if she looked, it was openly, followed by accusing him of staring. But today was different.

Strange.

So strange. How had he suddenly become… better-looking overnight?

The thought had crossed her mind earlier when she was draped over him. Ye Cheng never buttoned the top two buttons of his uniform—it was more comfortable that way.

And with the jacket on, it didn’t seem too revealing.

Of course, to those around them, Shen Qinghan had a clear view from her angle at the time—not intentionally, but Ye Cheng was running so fast that she had to lower her head to avoid the rushing wind.

And then she caught sight of Ye Cheng’s absolutely sculpted muscle definition.

Shen Qinghan froze for a moment. She didn’t remember Ye Cheng’s muscles being this pronounced before. Upon closer inspection, she also noticed that he seemed paler and… more attractive?

Ye Cheng’s looks were originally an 8 out of 10, but his odd behavior had docked him a point, bringing him down to a 7. In reality, if he just stood there quietly without speaking, he’d still be an 8. But now, the system had gifted him those striking muscle lines, pulling his charm up by nearly another point.

Not quite a 9, but infinitely close—already at the level of a walking succubus.

People like Dongfang Zhixia and Shen Qinghan, whose charm was a solid 9, had countless admirers and pursuers no matter how bad their temper or personality was.

Now, with Ye Cheng’s charm inching infinitely closer to a 9, the effects of his succubus-like allure were beginning to show.

Back when Ye Cheng had barged into the girls’ dormitory to borrow someone, it hadn’t caused nearly as much chaos as it did today.

Looking past the surface, the real reason was Ye Cheng’s charm at work—Shen Qinghan just hadn’t realized it yet. She, too, couldn’t escape the bewitching effect, just as Ye Cheng couldn’t refuse Shen Qinghan’s demands.

Like two magnets, they were either drawn together or repelled.

Shen Qinghan had no classes all morning and spent the time sneaking glances at Ye Cheng.

Her icy, indifferent act was just that—an act. In truth, her heartbeat had already begun to quicken without her realizing it.

That guy… was he always this good-looking?

Shen Qinghan asked herself this question again, sensing that something was off about her current state. She needed to calm down.

Back when Ye Cheng had clung to her leg before, she hadn’t reacted much. But today…

Lost in thought, she barely registered when Ye Cheng’s hand landed on her thigh—and then gave it a squeeze.

Shen Qinghan: "…"