Whack-a-Mole, A Girl's Blush Outshines All...

Noon.

On the way to the cafeteria.

“Miss, what are we having today?” Ye Cheng, carrying Shen Qinghan on his back, sped down the path to the cafeteria. As always, he strode with the wind at his heels — a brisk pace that left everyone else merely watching his retreating figure.

There was even a campus legend brewing at Great Sea City Noble Academy about a “mysterious lunch robber,” who was always seen carrying an indistinct woman with her head bowed.

The story had grown elaborate over time: the two were once a young couple many years ago, but tragically died in an earthquake on their way to lunch. Ever since, every noon…

Ahem.

In short, it was ridiculous.

Still, there really was such a tale pinned on the confession wall at Great Sea City Noble Academy, treated as a genuine campus myth.

No surprise — Ye Cheng ran so fast it was absurd, reaching world-class levels. What made it even more unbelievable was that he was carrying someone on his back.

Those who were overtaken by Ye Cheng could directly feel the terrifying speed he possessed. If Ye Cheng represented Longguo in a competition, what chance would athletes from other countries even stand?

They’d have to retire on the spot!

The only downside was the risk of being kidnapped by some unknown organization for human experiments after the race.

As for the other half of the legend — the “Miss Shen” on Ye Cheng’s back — she always kept her head down because Ye Cheng ran too fast for her to keep her eyes open, and the wind would mess up her hair.

Of course, that was the usual situation. Today, Shen Qinghan wasn’t bowing her head to protect her carefully styled bangs from the wind, but because she was looking at Ye Cheng.

More precisely, she was admiring the extraordinary muscle lines on Ye Cheng’s body. This time, she could see it clearly — it was real!

What she saw rushing this morning wasn’t an illusion. Someone actually had such a perfect figure. Had he always been like this?

Why hadn’t she noticed before?

In recent days, Ye Cheng had carried Shen Qinghan on his back countless times. Unless she was in class, Ye Cheng was her personal “mount.” The time they’d spent together in these days alone surpassed all the time Shen Qinghan had ever spent with any other male in her eighteen years of life.

Even Shen Qinghan’s father never carried her as much as Ye Cheng had in these past days. When she was little, she was raised mostly by the family’s nanny and her mother. As for her father… well, he was almost a ghost figure.

The Shen family’s situation was quite different from that of a typical wealthy heiress. Although officially the head of the family was Shen Qinghan’s father, everyone in their social circle knew the real head was her mother.

Shen Qinghan’s father, Shen Ming, was the CEO of the Shen Group. But just by the Shen Group’s status alone, he wasn’t quite on the same level as the Dongfang family’s eldest daughter.

At best, he was a somewhat high-end tycoon, but not quite a true noble family. However, once you factored in Shen Qinghan’s mother’s side, it was a different story — they were fully qualified, rivaling the Dongfang family without a hint of inferiority.

Great Sea City, the Du family, only daughter, Du Wanyi.

The world has changed now. Had it been a hundred years earlier, the entire Great Sea City would have been under the Du family’s control.

Even though times have changed, the saying “a dying camel is still bigger than a horse” holds true. Everyone in the highest circles knows that Shen Qinghan’s family harbors a powerful old dragon behind the scenes. It’s just that this dragon’s glory days are behind it—not dead, just past its prime.

No one dares to lay a hand on the Du family in Great Sea City. Shen Qinghan, as the product of two super family heads united, carries a status that “noble” can hardly capture.

If someone were to slash a person on the street, turning them into minced meat, they’d face the death penalty at the first trial—and at the second trial, their QQ account would be suspended for a day.

This is what true power looks like.

As for Shen Ming, the public head of the Shen family, his standing within the family is worse than that of a dog. The family hierarchy goes like this: Du Wanyi and Shen Qinghan share the top tier, followed by the various pets Du Wanyi keeps, then the flowers and plants she favors, and finally... Shen Ming.

When Shen Qinghan was a child, her mother strictly forbade Shen Ming from holding her, citing the old saying that men and women should not have physical contact. This rule extended even to grandparents on that side of the family. Du Wanyi was absolutely unwavering on this point.

Du Wanyi’s strictness meant that Shen Qinghan had almost no contact with the opposite sex growing up. She had plenty of interaction with females, mainly her mother, who always found excuses to be close to her.

The double standard was written all over her face.

In truth, Du Wanyi wasn’t heartless. Her ban on her daughter’s contact with males only applied until Shen Qinghan developed self-awareness—before she could speak or control her own actions.

Once Shen Qinghan gained her own consciousness, Du Wanyi stopped policing these interactions. She didn’t want to be a mother who made her daughter’s life miserable.

The result...

Shen Qinghan grew up with a withdrawn, flawed personality. She simply didn’t like being around peers and couldn’t connect with them.

Even as a baby, she rarely cried. When hungry, instead of wailing like other infants, she would quietly crawl to her mother or to her bottle and start feeding herself.

When tired, she’d just fall asleep.

Her quietness was almost eerie—completely unlike a normal child.

As she grew older, her introversion deepened, reaching the point where she outright avoided socializing. It was only under Du Wanyi’s insistence that she was sent to school to make friends and develop social skills, with hopes that her personality would improve.

Despite all the preparations—a private villa just for her—Shen Qinghan refused everything. She didn’t want any special treatment and chose to live in the girls’ dormitory just like everyone else.

The Du family’s villa on campus was reserved specifically for Shen Qinghan, but she turned it down.

A lonely child like that made a certain beautiful, still graceful lady worry inexplicably. That lady could only pin her hopes on the school, wishing someone—male or female—would appear and capture her daughter’s heart.

That's right, Mrs. Du had already reached the point where she didn’t care about gender preferences anymore. She even started to wonder if there was something off about her daughter’s orientation—otherwise, why hadn’t she gone through puberty yet at this age?

Not only was she completely unrebellious, but she also never talked back to her mother. Forget about liking any boys, she didn’t even have a crush on anyone. What was going on? Could it be that the Du family line was going to end right here?

No way, right?

Mrs. Du planned to give her daughter a little “surprise” sometime soon. Of course, this “surprise” was only considered a surprise by Mrs. Du herself. For Shen Qinghan, whether it would be a shock or a delight was anyone’s guess.

“Miss, what do you want for lunch today?”

“Miss? Miss, are you even listening to me?”

Ye Cheng’s slightly puzzled voice echoed in Shen Qinghan’s ears. She snapped back to reality and lifted her lowered head. Her originally fair face flushed with a faint, awkward blush, and her ears felt warm.

Her heart inexplicably started to race.

“Shut up,” Shen Qinghan’s cold voice came through. If you listened carefully, you’d notice it wasn’t as harsh and indifferent as usual; there was a hint of embarrassment mixed in.

“Huh? Miss, what did you say? Speak up, I can’t hear you…” Ye Cheng shouted at the top of his lungs.

*Thud!*

Ye Cheng: “...”

He felt a sharp pain in his head.

Ye Cheng shut up, though he had no idea why the miss seemed so distracted today. Maybe she hadn’t eaten enough. He decided to reward her with a couple extra sea cucumbers later to make up for it!

“Miss, hold on tight, you might fall off later,” Ye Cheng warned kindly, glancing at the long legs clad in black over-the-knee stockings dangling from his waist.

*Thud!*

“Shut up,” Shen Qinghan’s voice came again, cold as ever.

Ye Cheng: “...”

His well-meaning reminders were met with ruthless beating from the black-hearted miss.

Today, the black-hearted miss seemed like she’d eaten explosives. It was better to say less.

*Thud!*

“Hey, dude, you’re going too far. I didn’t even say anything and you already…”

*Thud, thud, thud…*

Ye Cheng: “...”

Alright then, Miss, whatever makes you happy.

Shen Qinghan was like a whack-a-mole, repeatedly punching Ye Cheng’s head with her little fists. Fortunately, Ye Cheng’s head was “smooth” without any wrinkles—otherwise, after so many hits, he’d probably be dumber than ever. But as long as he was already dumb, he couldn’t get any dumber!

Ye Cheng carried Shen Qinghan on his back as they quickly made their way toward the cafeteria. Thinking about the black-hearted miss behind him who was “hangry” and in a bad mood, Ye Cheng quickened his pace.

He nearly left behind the miss who was only holding onto his clothes for dear life.

Shen Qinghan hurriedly clung tighter, burying her head in Ye Cheng’s shoulder. She could smell the scent coming from him.

Hmm… it was just a very plain smell, like cheap laundry detergent—something Shen Qinghan had never smelled before. But for some reason, this scent made her feel comfortable.

At least, unlike with others, it didn’t make her uncomfortable.

It wasn’t sudden, as if the two had been this way since the very first day they met. Back then, Shen Qinghan hadn’t felt any aversion to Ye Cheng’s scent, though it was only at the stage of simply not disliking it.

But now…

*“Bang!”*

Ye Cheng: “……”

Ye Cheng felt that if this knocking continued much longer, his front teeth might just grow longer, turning him into a groundhog. Meanwhile, some mischievous young lady was standing behind him, hammering his head with a little mallet—*bang bang bang*.

Well, whatever, he decided to give in.

Knock all you want; after all, the spot behind his head was pretty soft, so he wasn’t losing out…

Out of Ye Cheng’s sight, a faint blush, one rarely seen on Shen Qinghan’s usually composed face, appeared. The girl’s blush was more radiant than any other…