Su Ke felt his heartbeat had reached its limit. His breathing had grown ragged, and his chest rose and fell sharply as his legs mechanically carried him forward. Though he kept his head down, he knew the girl was less than ten meters away. If he just picked up the pace a little, he could catch up to her...
A bead of sweat slowly slid down his forehead and seeped into his eye. The stinging sensation made him quickly rub it, and he took the opportunity to sneak a glance ahead.
First, he saw a pair of long legs as smooth and white as jade. Looking higher, he saw a pair of denim shorts, just the right size to snugly encase her round bottom. As she walked, it swayed like two bouncing balls. She wore a sky-blue cotton T-shirt with short sleeves, and Su Ke could even make out the white straps of her bra.
"What should I do? What am I supposed to do?" Just that one glance had left Su Ke so nervous he felt dizzy. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, then another.
"To hell with it!" Su Ke quickened his pace and broke into a jog. His arms swung naturally like pendulums, his palms slick with sweat. Closer and closer: six meters, three meters, one meter.
Smack!
Just before passing the girl, Su Ke swung his right hand, and his palm landed squarely on the left side of her bottom. It was soft, yet firm and springy. Before his hand bounced away, he clearly felt the curve of her buttocks, like an upside-down bowl.
"Ah!" the girl cried out, then hurriedly covered her mouth. She immediately spotted the culprit who had groped her and shouted, "You, stop right there!"
The instant Su Ke's palm touched the girl's bottom, his mind went blank, as though he'd been electrocuted. His body's momentum carried him a few steps farther, but when he heard the girl's voice, he stopped dead like an idiot. He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn't move...
"You just touched my butt!" The girl's voice trembled with anger, and even her breathing had grown heavy.
Su Ke kept his head bowed. He didn't even have the courage to look up, and he had no idea how to face this situation. His legs felt weak, like they could give out at any moment. But he knew he had to defend himself now, or he'd never be able to clear his name. Besides, besides, he really had touched her butt.
"I-I didn't!" Su Ke forced the words through clenched teeth, his voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"What's your name? What grade are you in? Lift your head so I can see who you are!" The girl fired off three demands in quick succession, then fell silent.
Su Ke slowly raised his head. His face felt like it was on fire, and he thought it might be as red as a monkey's rear, but he didn't dare disobey her. Sweat streamed down his face. He already regretted what he'd done. If the disciplinary office found out, they'd call his parents. They'd expel him.
He was being a pervert!
"I-I really didn't touch you!" Su Ke felt like he was about to cry. He'd been completely bewitched just now.
"Then who did?" The girl's voice suddenly turned stern, making Su Ke shudder.
"It wasn't me, it wasn't me!" Su Ke shook his head vigorously.
"If it wasn't you, then fine!" The girl said this and started to walk away. Su Ke finally relaxed and let out a breath.
"My butt's pretty springy, right?" The girl turned her head and asked casually.
"Yeah!" Su Ke blurted out, then immediately realized what he'd said. He saw the girl's face change drastically as she instantly turned into a furious whirlwind, ready to pounce on him.
Su Ke's face went deathly pale. He thought, This time, I'm done for.
Just then, the bell rang.
The normally irritating class bell sounded like heavenly music. The girl hesitated briefly, then immediately turned and ran off, shooting Su Ke a furious glare as she went.
"May I come in?" Su Ke felt drenched in sweat as he stood at the classroom door. The math teacher raised an eyebrow and stared at him, so he hurriedly lowered his head.
After a minute or two, Su Ke could feel the entire class staring at him. It made his skin crawl, as if ants were crawling all over him. Then he heard the math teacher's impatient voice: "Come in!"
Head down, he hurried to his seat, pulled out his textbook, and looked at the blackboard. Seeing that Su Ke was at least behaving himself, the math teacher said nothing more and continued the lesson.
Just as Su Ke sat up straight and focused intently on the blackboard, a strange space suddenly appeared in his mind. At the front stood something like an electronic screen. A cold, synthetic voice accompanied a line of text appearing on it.
"Mission: Touch Li Feifei's butt (complete). Reward: 100 yuan." "Flower Picking System successfully activated. Additional reward: High School Math Mastery (Beginner)." "Please claim your reward!"
Su Ke already knew about this strange electronic screen. Every day, its text had prompted him to complete the mission of touching someone's butt. He'd gone from being terrified at first to finally steeling himself to try it today. Just as expected, the text had changed.
Claim reward!
A flash of white light flickered through the strange space. Su Ke shivered, and a wave of comfort washed over him, like drinking an ice-cold soda on a sweltering day. Then, then he let out a loud burp.
But in the next instant, a piece of paper appeared in the right hand he'd kept inside his desk. He took it out and saw that it was bright red, printed with the image of one of the most important men in his life: the beloved Chairman Mao.
He secretly took the hundred-yuan note in his hand and checked it for security features, but found nothing unusual.
"It's real, it's real! This Flower Picking System is real!" Su Ke desperately suppressed the urge to shout, but his delight made him laugh aloud despite himself.
"Su Ke!" The math teacher suddenly noticed Su Ke grinning foolishly, and his face darkened. He tossed the chalk in his hand straight at Su Ke's desk with impressive accuracy—a feat that took three to five years of practice to master.
"Su Ke, how do you solve this problem?" The math teacher's eyes were already bulging. If looks could kill, Su Ke would already have been riddled with holes.
"Huh?" Su Ke immediately stood up. Looking at the mass of numbers on the blackboard, his mind went blank again. Math had never been his strong suit; he could barely scrape by on exams. Now, under the math teacher's glare, he was even more flustered.
"You're late to class and you're not paying attention. Did you come here to study, or to get fat? You're wasting your own time and letting your parents down. If that's how you're going to act, you might as well not come in at all!" The math teacher seemed genuinely furious now. The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. Su Ke's innocent expression only made him angrier. He pointed at the classroom door. "Get out! Now!"
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