Su Ke was so anxious that his eyes had gone red. His voice trembled as he hurriedly explained everything in one breath, then pointed to the third-floor balcony to prove his innocence.
"Oh!" The dorm supervisor looked up. Sure enough, one item was missing from the clothesline on the third floor. Her expression softened a little. "You're going to return it to its owner?"
Su Ke really wanted to hand the bra straight to the dorm supervisor, but he was worried he might not see its owner and fail that damned task. He steeled himself and forced a single word through his clenched teeth.
"Yes!"
"Then come on in!" The dorm supervisor still seemed a little uneasy, so she pulled Su Ke directly into the dorm office on the first floor. As they walked, she muttered, "It must belong to Room 306!"
Su Ke followed close behind as the dorm supervisor led him into the girls' dormitory. Then he watched her pick up the phone and dial a number. "Hello! Room 306? Yes, this is the dorm supervisor downstairs. Someone's clothes fell from your room. Have one of you come downstairs and pick them up!"
After hanging up, the dorm supervisor looked Su Ke up and down again. "Someone will be down in a moment. Wait here. I just mistook you for a thief stealing underwear. Don't take it to heart!"
In the short time they'd spent together, Su Ke's behavior had convinced her. After all, a handsome, delicate-looking boy who liked to lower his head when he spoke and blushed for no reason probably wouldn't do something so lecherous.
Su Ke forced a smile. "It's fine! I didn't take it to heart!" But another layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. He was about to face the most awkward encounter of his life.
Other people returned lost valuables without a second thought. What about him? Did this count as returning a lost bra without a second thought?
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Footsteps echoed down the stairs. Su Ke tried to steady his breathing and took a deep breath, but he still nervously lowered his head.
"Auntie, the clothes that fell were mine. Thank you!" A girl pushed open the door and spoke in a bright, clear voice, like a lark singing in a secluded valley.
"Don't thank me. This student found them!" The dorm supervisor didn't take credit for it, but pointed to Su Ke, who was standing off to the side.
Only then did Su Ke slowly raise his head. First, he saw a pair of little feet in slippers—pink and delicate, with neat toes and a slender shape. A Snoopy pattern on the slippers made them especially cute.
Looking higher, he saw well-defined ankles and slim, rounded calves that were quite lovely. As his gaze continued upward, he realized the girl had run downstairs in her pajamas. Her pink cotton pajama top hung down to just above her knees, and it had a big Snoopy printed on it too.
Su Ke slowly raised his head, both hands holding out the sky-blue bra. The girl was looking him over at the same time.
Her long black hair fell over her shoulders. Her face was delicate and lovely, and her eyes were big, curved, dark, and bright, with long lashes. She was beautiful, like a porcelain doll.
But the moment the girl recognized Su Ke, her smiling eyes widened. Their gazes met, and Su Ke was even more horrified.
"It's you!"
"It's you!"
They spoke in unison.
Su Ke's mind buzzed. The world seemed to spin, and his vision went dark for a moment. But he quickly came to his senses, shoved the faintly fragrant bra into the girl's hands, bolted through the door, and vanished in the blink of an eye.
The dorm supervisor was stunned too. She turned to the girl and asked, "What's going on? You two know each other?"
Li Feifei turned around and forced out a smile, gritting her teeth as she replied, "Yes, we know each other!"
Some feuding foes just couldn't avoid crossing paths!
How could Su Ke have guessed that the bra's owner was Li Feifei? He'd touched her butt before, and he was a lecher who was supposed to touch it again!
Su Ke was covered in sweat. He ran all the way back to his classroom, his legs weak. He collapsed over his desk, his heart pounding. Only after making sure he was safe did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"That was terrifying. I almost walked right into a trap. Good thing I ran fast!" Su Ke could only calm himself down like that before entering the strange space.
"Task: Return the bra to its owner (Complete); Reward: High School Science Mastery (Beginner)."
"Claim reward!"
Su Ke immediately chose to claim the reward. A cool white light shone, and his body suddenly felt wonderfully comfortable. At the same time, a vast amount of physics knowledge appeared in his mind: impulse and momentum, electric currents and magnetic fields, the periodic table, organic compounds. In the blink of an eye, he understood it all. He closed his eyes and took it in. The knowledge seemed to have taken root in his mind.
He casually opened his science workbook and worked through one problem after another before checking the answers. The more he looked, the more excited he became. The problems weren't among the hardest, but he'd gotten every single one right.
"Whew! This reward really works!" Su Ke finally let out a sigh of relief. After testing it, he could tell that High School Science Mastery (Beginner) was already paying off. That meant he was one step closer to getting into a top university.
He'd ventured into danger and risked getting caught to return the sky-blue bra to its owner. At least it hadn't been for nothing. Then Su Ke remembered that the strange space had seemed to display a notification while he was doing science problems.
He entered the space and checked the electronic screen. Su Ke was taken aback: the task of returning the bra to its owner had disappeared. The only task still on the screen was, "Task: Touch Li Feifei's butt."
But the reward had changed. The screen clearly displayed, "Reward: Military Boxing Mastery."
"What happened to my 200 yuan?" Su Ke was horrified. In his mind, he'd already put that 200 yuan in his wallet. Now, though, the duck that was almost cooked had flown away, replaced by Military Boxing Mastery.
What use was military boxing? His instructor had taught him those few basic forms during freshman military training. How could that compare with 200 yuan? The strangest part was the word "Mastery"!
Su Ke racked his brains. The reward had changed because he'd completed the task of returning the bra. The most likely reason was that Li Feifei was its owner. That hadn't just made things more complicated; it had also made the task more difficult and dangerous, so the reward had changed accordingly.
In other words, the new reward had to be more valuable than the original 200 yuan. But what use did he have for military boxing? Cash was far more practical!
He frowned, clearly unhappy. As he wavered between regret and resignation, the class bell rang. Su Ke could only put the matter aside for now, because the teacher for this class was truly terrifying. The English teacher, known as the terror of the school, walked into the classroom with a lesson plan and textbook tucked under her arm.
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