Hey! Your Whisper!

Su Ke had been dawdling so long that his legs had gone weak from pacing, yet he still hadn't made it to the feminine hygiene aisle. He had no idea whether Lin Xiaobai was already waiting herself sick with worry, feeling every second drag by like a year...

"Whatever, I'm doing this!" Su Ke felt his bladder tightening after all that pacing, and he was starting to need the bathroom. If this went on any longer, he'd probably wet himself before he could finish the task.

He took a deep breath, as if inhaling a hefty dose of courage, clenched his fists, lowered his head, and charged inside. There really was no other choice now. He'd just have to pretend no one else was there!

As soon as he stepped inside, he caught a faint fragrance. Shelves all around him were packed with sanitary pads in every imaginable package, size, and color. Su Ke was dumbstruck. It took him a long moment to remember what Lin Xiaobai had told him.

"Right! Whisper, dry and close-fitting!" he muttered, darting glances around. But for Su Ke, finding it was still like searching for a needle in a haystack. There were far too many brands, and each one had countless varieties: daytime, nighttime, or all-purpose; longer, thinner, or with more pads in the pack. He was completely overwhelmed.

Su Ke knew he'd drawn people's attention. After all, a man—well, a boy—had suddenly appeared in the women's products section, standing out like a sore thumb. He even felt people pointing at him and whispering. His heart pounded, his legs went weak, and his breathing grew ragged. He was like a ravenous wolf driven mad with hunger.

"Sofy, Anle, ABC, Jiaoshuang, Space 7!" Su Ke muttered as he walked along. Whenever he passed a brand, he checked its name; if it wasn't the one he wanted, he moved on at once.

"Whisper! Finally, I found you!" Su Ke felt as if he'd waited through a long night and finally seen the moon emerge. The area in front of him was all Whisper products, a dazzling riot of colors. But now that he'd found the right brand, he was already halfway to success...

His gaze raced over the shelves. By the time Su Ke reached out and touched the package of pads, his palm was already slick with sweat. This was the first time he'd ever found shopping so agonizing. It felt like being tortured.

He let out a long breath and finally relaxed. Looking at the pack in his hand, he saw that it did indeed say "dry and close-fitting," just as Lin Xiaobai had requested.

"Finally, I found you!" Su Ke wanted to get out of there immediately. He didn't want to stay a second longer. He turned to leave.

"Thump!" Su Ke felt something soft bounce against his chest. It even carried a faint fragrance. The unexpected collision made the pack of pads slip from his hand and hit the floor.

"It's you!"

"It's you!"

Su Ke and the girl in front of him exclaimed in unison.

The girl pointed at Su Ke with one hand while covering her chest with the other. Her expression was complicated: surprised, confused, and a little contemptuous.

"Pervert!" The girl in the shirt with the character "舞" on it gave a soft snort and rolled her eyes at Su Ke.

"Hey! What's your problem? What did I ever do to you? I even told you that you dropped something, and somehow I'm in the wrong?" Su Ke was thoroughly exasperated. He frowned. This woman was like a bad penny—wherever he went, he ran into her.

"Hmph!" The girl in the shirt hadn't expected Su Ke to snap at her like that. Remembering that she really had misunderstood him earlier, her expression softened a little.

"Hey, your Whisper!"

The girl pointed to the pack of pads Su Ke had dropped. There was a hint of teasing in her voice. A man wandering around in this section had already drawn plenty of attention; her remark made every eye in the place turn toward Su Ke.

Su Ke felt like he was about to spit blood. The looks from the women around him made his face burn, and even the corners of his mouth began to twitch.

"Those aren't mine!" Su Ke forced a smile that looked even worse than a grimace, then weakly explained to the girl, "They're my sister's, okay? Her Whisper pads!"

Meeting the girl's gaze, Han Feng finally got a good look at her for the first time. She had a delicate oval face, large double-lidded eyes, a high nose, and thin lips. She looked a little like an actress named Jing Tian. Seeing Su Ke's chagrined expression, the girl now had a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Ha ha, all right, I know they're your sister's. You couldn't enjoy that kind of treatment even if you wanted to!" The girl in the shirt seemed to feel better after seeing Su Ke get flustered. She smiled slightly, her eyes bright and captivating.

"Then why'd you call me a pervert?" Su Ke bent down and picked up the pack of pads again, looking a little annoyed.

"Sorry, I'm in a bad mood today. You just happened to get in my line of fire. Besides, why'd you have to use such a corny line? You could've just said I dropped something. And look where you are right now! Of course I'd think you were a pervert!" The girl smiled, her face suddenly lighting up.

"You think I want to be here? My sister needs these urgently! I have to go. You can get back to picking out yours." Su Ke didn't want to argue with her here. After saying that, he turned to leave.

The girl had indeed come to buy pads, but hearing Su Ke say it so bluntly made her feel awkward too. Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she nodded in reply.

But just as Su Ke passed her, she suddenly spoke again. "Hey! Why do I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

Su Ke had no choice but to stop again. He turned around with a helpless look. "Ma'am, that pickup line is pretty corny too!"

"Pfft! Who's hitting on you? I really do think you look familiar, like I've seen you somewhere before!" The girl furrowed her brows as she tried to remember. Then her eyes lit up. "You're the one who caught that thief, right? Su Ke, was it?"

Su Ke was startled. He hadn't expected her to recognize him. That video really had gone viral. He was a little pleased with himself, but still pretended to be nonchalant. "Yeah, I'm Su Ke!"

"I knew it! All right, let's be friends. I'm Zheng Mo, from the Music Academy at Langfang Teachers College!" Zheng Mo held out her hand as she spoke.

Su Ke shook Zheng Mo's hand and could clearly feel how long and delicate her fingers were, warm to the touch. "Hello, I'm Su Ke, from No. 17 High School. Nice to meet you!"

Just then, Su Ke heard another notification from the space inside the Flower Picking System. He opened it to check the electronic screen, where a new task had appeared.

"Task: Help Zheng Mo resolve what's troubling her; Reward: Mastery of high school computer skills."

"Damn, another task! Counting this one, I've got nineteen now. Even without the task to get Wei Lan's first kiss, that makes eighteen. I should be able to unlock the Help option pretty soon, right?" At the thought, Su Ke's eyes lit up, and a smile curled at the corners of his mouth.