The Young Lady in Distress, Crying

What kind of wondrous chemical reaction would occur when greasy pork knuckles collide with an elegant underworld princess?

The answer is: Ye Cheng nearly ended up bursting at the seams.

It’s unclear whether Shen Qinghan was too prideful to eat such food in the classroom or simply disliked greasy dishes.

In the end, she didn’t touch a single bite of the "luxury lunch" Ye Cheng had brought.

She only sent him to the vending machine outside to grab something light to fill her stomach.

The young woman had a flawless figure—aside from being slightly flat-chested, she was practically without flaw, her beauty beyond reproach.

Ye Cheng had also gotten a close-up look at her delicate feet before.

They surpassed even the student council president’s in perfection.

Ye Cheng’s rating? Full marks!

Edible!

A top-tier delicacy!

"Could you stop looking at me with those disgusting eyes? It’s ruining my appetite."

Shen Qinghan’s icy voice cut through the air, matching the murderous glare she shot his way.

"Huh? Really? Must be your imagination. I wasn’t looking at you—it’s just that my line of sight happened to land where your legs were."

Ye Cheng’s face radiated sincerity.

Shen Qinghan: "..."

Karma struck faster than expected.

The words Shen Qinghan had thrown at him yesterday came boomeranging back at her today.

She glared at Ye Cheng and silently pulled her legs back.

But as her long legs retreated, Ye Cheng’s eyeballs followed like magnets.

Shen Qinghan: "..."

"Do you want to be chopped into mincemeat?" Shen Qinghan asked calmly.

Ye Cheng immediately spun back around, whistling innocently while muttering under his breath,

"This eraser sure is… eraser-y."

Shen Qinghan snorted lightly and resumed eating the eight-treasure porridge Ye Cheng had fetched for her.

Time flew by.

Evening arrived.

The bell for the last class rang, and this time, Ye Cheng had learned his lesson—he waited until someone else moved before bolting.

He wasn’t the first to stand, but he was the first out of the classroom, launching himself forward like a rocket.

The entire class was stunned.

Shen Qinghan, still lost in thought, turned her head only to find Ye Cheng already gone.

Shen Qinghan: "..."

Silently, she pulled out her phone.

"Look someone up for me..."

——

The sports field.

Ye Cheng arrived at the spot where he’d agreed to meet the buyer.

"Where are they? Class not over yet?"

He craned his neck, scanning the surroundings.

Buzz.

His phone vibrated.

Buyer: "Walk straight ahead for 50 meters, then turn right..."

Ye Cheng: "Got it!"

Following the GPS-like instructions on his phone, Ye Cheng trudged forward.

"Straight 50 meters, right 30 meters, then straight again..."

The further he walked, the more secluded the area became.

By the time he snapped back to reality, he realized he’d wandered into an undeveloped section of the campus.

Buyer: "Turn around."

Ye Cheng: "Turn around?"

He obeyed, spinning on his heel—only to come face-to-face with two figures.

Dongfang Zhixia and her assistant.

Ye Cheng: "..."

He immediately spun back around.

"Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have come out at night. Now I’ve run into something filthy," Ye Cheng muttered, patting his chest in self-comfort.

"Demons, begone! Demons, begone!..."

Dongfang Zhixia: "..."

Assistant: "..."

Ye Cheng chanted his bizarre exorcism spell while sidestepping away—first in small steps, then abandoning all pretense as he broke into a full sprint.

He looked like a frenzied bullfrog.

Assistant: "Young Miss, he… seems to have run away."

Dongfang Zhixia: "..."

"Do I need you to point that out? Chase him! If you can’t catch him, you’re fired!"

"Waaah! Nooo, Young Miss! Waaah..."

Thus began a comical chase.

The trio dashed from the barren, undeveloped area all the way to the back hills.

The assistant was the first to collapse, sprawled on the ground like a half-dead ragdoll.

"Young Miss… I… can’t run anymore."

"Useless! All that food went straight to worthless fat! If you don’t start training when we get back, you’re fired!"

Dongfang Zhixia glared at her assistant in frustration.

The assistant pouted, glancing down at herself—well, she had been eating a bit more lately.

But at least the fat had gone to the right places. It wasn’t completely wasted.

Panting heavily, Dongfang Zhixia continued chasing after Ye Cheng.

Today, she would catch that bastard!

How dare he sell her belongings!

The audacity!

The pursuit dragged on, but Dongfang Zhixia soon noticed something odd.

Instead of slowing down, Ye Cheng seemed to be picking up speed!

"Is this guy part rabbit?!"

Gasping for breath, she leaned against a tree, glaring at Ye Cheng’s retreating figure in frustration.

What she didn’t notice was the faint rustling in the nearby bushes.

A triangular-headed snake slithered out silently—then sank its fangs into Dongfang Zhixia’s foot!

"Ah—!"

She cried out in pain, collapsing to the ground.

The snake, still coiled around her leg, refused to let go.

The cold, scaly sensation sent shivers down her spine.

"AAAAHHH!!!"

Hearing the scream, Ye Cheng skidded to a halt.

"Wait… is this a trap?"

He turned back warily—only to see the mighty Dongfang Zhixia in tears, her eyes red as she weakly batted at something with a stick.

Was that… a spicy noodle?

"Holy crap, since when do snakes hang out here?!"

Ye Cheng immediately reversed course, sprinting toward her.

Hearing the commotion, the snake released its grip and slithered toward the bushes.

"Oh no you don’t! You don’t get to bite someone and slither off!"

Ye Cheng stomped on its tail.

The snake writhed, twisting back to strike—but Ye Cheng dodged, seizing it by the neck.

Its body coiled around his arm like a spring, the cold, unsettling texture making his skin crawl.

He stripped off his jacket, wrapping the snake up in a makeshift straitjacket—complete with a gag—before tossing it aside.

Now, it was time to deal with the humiliated Young Miss.

The Dongfang Zhixia before him was a far cry from the haughty, untouchable figure he’d seen at the freshman assembly.

Though she still clung to her pride, her tear-streaked face and trembling lips painted a pitiful picture.

No matter how composed she tried to be, being bitten by a snake for the first time was too much—tears spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Ye Cheng crouched down to examine the injury on Dongfang Zhixia's foot.

"Holy crap, that's one hell of a swollen foot!" Ye Cheng gasped.

Dongfang Zhixia's ankle had ballooned into a grotesque lump, with two bloody puncture marks glaringly visible. Her once fair skin had turned a sickly purplish-red—clear evidence that the snake from earlier was venomous, and its poison seemed potent.

Dongfang Zhixia: "..."

Already on the verge of breaking down, Dongfang Zhixia burst into tears the moment Ye Cheng made his remark.