Bathed in the gentle morning sunlight, Su Ke pedaled his brand-new bicycle to school, his heart uneasy. After that post on Tieba accusing a pervert of groping girls, he'd kept his head bowed, afraid someone might recognize him..
It was as if all the students around him had turned into Conan, each one looking him over with suspicion. After sneaking along the way, Su Ke finally made it safely into the classroom.
The class was already full. Although morning study was supposed to be time for students to review, in Class 3-8, a class near the bottom of the grade rankings, some students were copying homework, some were eating breakfast, and others were chatting quietly.
"Hey, Li Hui, did you check Tieba yesterday?" A boy named Ma Ke, wearing black-rimmed glasses and looking rather frail, asked his deskmate with shining eyes.
"What's up? I was gaming all day yesterday, so I didn't check Tieba. Anything new?" Ma Ke's deskmate was a short, chubby boy with plenty of meat on his frame.
"Heh, there's a pervert at our school who specializes in groping girls' butts. Tieba said he squeezed one girl's butt so hard it turned blue yesterday. If it hadn't been daytime, he probably would've raped her!"
"Huh? No way. That bad?"
"Yeah! That girl's got the whole school helping identify the pervert now. There's even a reward if someone catches him!" Ma Ke's voice carried to Su Ke, who was so scared he hardly dared breathe. He kept his head down and pretended to read.
Su Ke's heart raced, and his handsome face flushed red. What was he supposed to do? This had blown up! As Ma Ke told the story, the explosive news spread through the class, and it seemed everyone knew about the school pervert incident.
Su Ke spent the entire morning in a daze. Although he'd decided the night before to take action again for that 200 yuan and earn enough to cover his tuition, this disastrous turn of events immediately plunged him back into despair..
He had no idea what the teachers were saying in any of his morning classes. He even forgot to swipe his card when he went to buy lunch, earning several dirty looks from the cafeteria lady.
Su Ke's parents ran a small supermarket that needed someone there at lunchtime, so they made do with leftovers. That meant Su Ke ate at school every day. Luckily, although the cafeteria food was awful, it was cheap.
The school cafeteria mainly served boarders. No. 17 High School had just under two thousand students across its three grades, around six hundred of whom lived on campus. They came from the districts and counties around Langfang City.
His mind was full of wild thoughts. One moment he was determined to complete the task and earn the 200-yuan reward, and the next he was talking himself out of it. He kept going back and forth until, somehow, he found himself in the dormitory area.
The school was divided into two sections: the classrooms and the dormitories. After lunch, boarders could return to their dorms to rest for a while. Su Ke didn't have that privilege, and with his mind in turmoil and no desire to return to class, he wandered around aimlessly.
This was Su Ke's first time entering the dormitory area, but his biggest worry right now was the Flower Picking System. Though the system had appeared out of nowhere, its benefits were obvious.
Never mind that the cash rewards were genuine. The High School Math Mastery (Beginner) reward was real, too. If it could give him 100 yuan, it could just as easily give him 1,000. And if it could reward him with High School Math Mastery (Beginner), what about Chinese, physics, and chemistry? What about intermediate and advanced levels?
It seemed that as long as he kept completing tasks, he could save enough for college tuition. He might even get better grades from the rewards and make it into a key university. By then, his parents might be so happy they'd wake up talking in their sleep!
As Su Ke thought about it, a faint smile appeared on his face. Even the sunlight seemed warm. He naturally lifted his head and looked at the sky. It was a brilliant blue, with clouds shaped like cotton balls drifting in all sorts of forms.
Suddenly, his vision went dark. He had no idea what had fallen from the sky, but it landed right over his head and covered his eyes. He hurriedly reached up and grabbed it.
"Holy crap!"
Su Ke froze!
It was a bra, and it was sky blue, as pure as the sky itself. When it had fallen, its two little cups had covered his eyes, and a faint fragrance had wafted into his nose.
This wasn't the first time Su Ke had seen a bra, but it was the first time he'd held one in both hands. His palms rested right under the two little cups. There seemed to be a layer of foam inside, and it felt very soft.
Judging by the size of the cups, they were definitely smaller than Liu Mengmeng's—probably about the same size as Li Feifei's. Su Ke hurriedly shook his head, trying to banish the image of Li Feifei's little cups from his mind.
Just then, a cold, synthetic voice suddenly sounded in that strange space. Su Ke hurriedly checked the electronic screen, and sure enough, a new task had appeared.
"Task: Return the bra to its owner; Reward: High School Science Mastery (Beginner)."
"Oh my God! What am I supposed to do?" Su Ke was dumbfounded. In the past, he would've immediately tossed the bra away and run for it. But now, the reward that had appeared gave him pause.
He'd picked up a bra and now had to return it to its owner. How awkward and humiliating would that be? Just thinking about it made Su Ke blush, his arms and legs going weak.
But the Flower Picking System had issued it as a task, and the reward was High School Physics Mastery (Beginner). If he completed it, there was no doubt his grades would improve.
He'd just been thinking about using this system to improve his grades and get into a good school, and now this bizarre task had appeared.
At last, Su Ke made a difficult decision: he'd return the lost item and claim the reward. If it meant he could get into a good university, what did a little embarrassment matter?
He raised his head and looked up. Sure enough, he spotted a clue on a balcony on the third floor. Several girls' clothes hung from a line, including a sky-blue pair of panties that clearly matched the bra in his hands.
But how was he supposed to return it? Su Ke was immediately faced with another difficult problem.
"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly interrupted him. He looked over and saw the dorm supervisor standing at the entrance to the building, frowning at him. Su Ke was so startled he nearly turned and ran.
"Don't even think about running! Come here. Are you that thief who keeps stealing girls' underwear?" The dorm supervisor rushed over and grabbed Su Ke by the arm.
"Ma'am, I'm not a thief!" Su Ke's voice was as faint as a mosquito's. His face turned bright red as he stammered.
"Hmm? Then what's that in your hand?" The dorm supervisor clearly didn't believe him. She stared at Su Ke suspiciously, her eyes full of contempt.
"I—I picked up a piece of clothing and wanted to return it to its owner. If you don't believe me, look!" Su Ke couldn't worry about anything else now. If he were mistaken for someone who stole girls' underwear, he'd definitely be expelled.
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