The Great Shoe Rescue Mission

The scene rewinds to a few hours earlier.

Flame City Private School, a gathering place for the children of the elite, naturally provides professional chauffeurs for its students.

Cornelia was no exception. Although her family background wasn't particularly prominent at the school, as the daughter of a foreign diplomat, her family was still quite well-off.

Her father, a diplomat, always put the nation first.

Her mother, a renowned lawyer in Flame City, was constantly working overtime, often so busy that she barely had time to eat. She rarely came home, maybe only a handful of times a month.

As a result, Cornelia had very few opportunities to spend time with her parents. At home, her meals were usually taken care of by the housekeeper, or she was driven to school by a hired chauffeur.

Her education had significant gaps, and she naturally became a girl addicted to the internet.

But recently, her internet addiction had been overshadowed by another obsession.

……………………

On the street, Cornelia sat in a luxurious black car, slowly cruising down the wide road.

Her gaze wandered through the scenery outside the window, but her mind kept drifting to a black-haired boy riding a bicycle.

She was anticipating something.

But she also knew this anticipation was impossible.

Because she knew Su Cheng was currently at a club activity, and she also knew he had a competition coming up, so there was no way he would be back home so soon.

Yet, despite this, she still held onto that hope.

Soon, the car arrived at the apartment building where Su Cheng lived. She looked up at his balcony, where a pair of slippers were being relentlessly washed by the rain.

These slippers were etched in her memory.

They had been handed to her by Su Cheng himself.

At the thought, she withdrew her gaze, leaned back in her seat, and a smile crept onto her lips, as if she had recalled something amusing.

But the next second, as if she had realized something, her eyes widened in shock and horror.

"No!"

She screamed, bolting upright from her seat, pressing her face against the window as she stared at the slippers on the balcony, her face filled with panic and anguish.

"Miss, what's wrong?"

The driver, seeing her reaction, quickly stopped the car and asked.

"Quick, drive into this neighborhood!"

Cornelia urgently instructed.

The driver, hearing this, immediately started the engine and prepared to head into the neighborhood.

"Ah, I forgot, I don't have a key!"

Cornelia suddenly remembered that even if she went to Su Cheng's place, she wouldn't be able to save her slippers.

What should she do?

"Let's just go home for now."

Cornelia slumped back into her seat, exhausted.

The driver didn't hesitate and sped up to head back.

Cornelia took out her phone, found Su Cheng's chat window, and immediately started typing: "Are you there?"

However, even after waiting for over ten minutes, by the time she got home, Su Cheng still hadn't replied.

This made her pace back and forth in front of her house, her mood utterly ruined.

She guessed that the slippers had been cleaned by Li Guanqi, so Su Cheng was likely unaware of them and hadn't bothered to put them away, leaving them abandoned on the balcony.

Now she was anxious because she thought of something serious.

If she didn't do anything, her slippers might get ruined by the rain or blown away by the wind…

She was restless at home because Su Cheng hadn't replied to her message at all.

So, by four o'clock, she couldn't take it anymore and decided to wait at the entrance of his apartment for him to return. Then, using her clever mind, she would retrieve the slippers without Su Cheng knowing.

By the time she arrived at the apartment entrance, it was already five o'clock. The rain had stopped, and the air was damp and cold, making her shiver. She raised her arm to shield her forehead.

Just then, her phone vibrated. Thinking it was a message from Su Cheng, she was overjoyed.

But when she looked, it turned out to be Ailiya.

"What's up?"

Cornelia asked, lowering her head. However, as she was on the phone, a bicycle sped past in the distance.

A big yellow dog also tagged along, but she didn't notice.

After finishing the call, she looked up and saw that Su Cheng still hadn't returned. Instead, she noticed a group of dogs playing in the distance, including the big yellow one.

She watched for a while, then turned her attention back to waiting.

She waited until 5:30.

Still, there was no sign of him, and he hadn't replied to her message, which made her increasingly frustrated. She stomped her foot in irritation.

So, she decided to take action…

She took out her phone and ordered takeout.

Fifteen minutes later, a delivery guy on an electric scooter headed towards the villa area. At the same time, the big yellow dog from the group of dogs started chasing after the delivery guy's scooter.

Cornelia, who had been watching this whole scene, smiled as if everything had gone exactly as she had predicted.

But just as she was about to follow the big yellow dog—

"Damn it! Are you out of your mind?!"

A familiar voice rang out, making her heart leap with joy. She hurried towards the source of the sound.

However, when she reached the apartment gate, she didn't see Su Cheng. Instead, there was a security guard standing there, looking dazed, and a big orange dog wearing strange pants.

"That's weird, I could've sworn that was Su Cheng's voice."

Cornelia muttered to herself.

As she continued to search, the big orange dog suddenly dashed past the gate and sprinted forward at an incredible speed.

"Wow, that dog is fast!"

Cornelia exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief. But her gaze remained fixed on the orange dog, though she couldn't quite make out what it looked like.

Luckily, the dog didn't get far before it was surrounded by a pack of larger dogs. They sniffed at the orange dog, seemingly very interested in it.

This allowed her to get a better look at the orange dog.

"Huh, why does this dog remind me of Su Cheng?"

Just as she was pondering this, the dog leaped like a horse, using its hind legs to kick one of the larger dogs away. Then, with ghostly speed, it darted into the street and quickly disappeared.

This scene left her completely stunned. She wore an expression of amazement and muttered to herself, "I guess dogs these days are all full of tricks."

After saying this, she turned her head and saw the big yellow dog holding the takeout in its mouth, running in the direction where the orange dog had vanished.

"Hey, wait for me!"

She hurriedly followed.

A few minutes later, she and the dog arrived at a road. They jogged along the fence, side by side.

"Su Cheng isn't home. What is he doing in a place like this?"

Cornelia panted, her face red and neck flushed, as she chased after the dog and complained.

By now, her white knee-high socks were stained with mud, making her look quite disheveled.

The once pure white socks now resembled cow-patterned socks.

But she didn't mind at all and continued to follow the big yellow dog. About ten minutes later, she spotted a motorcycle parked at an intersection, with an adult man squatting beside it.

He was covering his face, crying, and muttering, "Ahhh… I lost to a dog! I lost, ahhh…"

"Lost to a dog?"

Hearing this, Cornelia's face immediately showed confusion, but she didn't engage with the man. Instead, she kept following the big yellow dog.

A few minutes later, she followed the dog to an alley.

At the entrance of the alley, a dog was barking furiously into the alley. Feeling a bit scared, she stopped in her tracks. But the big yellow dog placed the takeout on the ground and pounced on the barking dog, and the two began chasing each other.

Just as she was unsure what to do, something surprising happened.

A figure emerged from the alley…

"Su Cheng!!"

Cornelia exclaimed in delight.

She had only intended to give it a try, but she actually found him!

So, she couldn't help but shout out in excitement.

"Huh?"

Su Cheng, who had just stepped out of the alley, was startled. When he saw Cornelia not far away, his expression changed slightly.

After all, he had just turned into a dog. If Cornelia had seen that, he wouldn't be able to explain it even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

"When did you get here?"

Su Cheng walked up to Cornelia, trying to sound casual.

"I didn't come here specifically to find you. I was chasing a dog that stole my takeout and somehow ended up here."

Cornelia blushed and quickly pointed at the takeout on the ground, explaining.

Looking at the takeout on the ground, Su Cheng’s mouth twitched, but he also breathed a sigh of relief. At least Cornelia hadn’t seen anything.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have reacted like this.

“Let’s go back together.”

Su Cheng glanced at the disheveled Cornelia and spoke.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Cornelia interrupted him.

“What’s wrong with your neck?”

Cornelia suddenly noticed that Su Cheng was wearing a pillow and asked curiously.

“Nothing, just a stiff neck.”

Su Cheng brushed it off casually, then waved at her, signaling her to follow.

But as Su Cheng approached, Cornelia froze in place, her face turning red as she pointed at him, too shocked to speak.

“What’s wrong?”

Su Cheng frowned and asked.

“Su Cheng, you… you’re wearing your underwear on the outside!”

Cornelia stammered, her face filled with embarrassment and shock.

Su Cheng immediately looked down at himself and was stunned. The boxer shorts that had been on the dog earlier were now worn over his pants!

“This… I was just cosplaying as Superman!”

He explained awkwardly.

“Cosplay?”

Cornelia was stunned, then noticed that the shorts looked exactly like the ones the big orange dog had been wearing. This made her even more shocked, and her sharp mind led her to exclaim, “I remember these shorts were on the dog!”

Hearing this, Su Cheng froze. Had Cornelia seen him when he turned into a dog earlier?

His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to explain.

At that moment, Cornelia spoke again, “So, you stole the dog’s shorts?!”

Su Cheng had once fought with a dog over takeout, and her sharp mind immediately connected the dots.

Moreover, this was Su Cheng’s little secret.

“…”

Hearing this, he lowered his head, then raised it again and sighed, “As expected of you. You guessed it. Yes, I just stole its shorts and put them on. It’s my trophy!”

As he spoke, he proudly tugged at the boxer shorts, looking quite triumphant.

Seeing this, Cornelia’s cheeks burned, her pretty face flushed red.

He actually admitted it outright.

She had only said it offhand, thinking it might just be a coincidence.

But she never expected Su Cheng’s tastes to be so… peculiar.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why are you laughing?!”

Hearing Cornelia’s laughter, Su Cheng pretended to be displeased.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Cornelia suppressed her smile and said seriously.

This was a secret between the two of them.

“Let’s go back.”

With that, Su Cheng tore off the boxer shorts and threw them into a nearby trash can.

“Isn’t that your trophy?”

Cornelia looked at him, confused.

“Let’s go.”

Su Cheng didn’t respond further and just walked ahead.

Seeing this, Cornelia quickly followed, her white-stockinged legs keeping pace, a satisfied smile on her face because she had discovered a side of Su Cheng that no one else knew.

Soon, the two encountered a motorcyclist.

Seeing the motorcyclist, both Su Cheng and Cornelia froze because the rider was chasing a big yellow dog, shouting, “One more time! This time I won’t lose to you!”

A strange expression appeared on Su Cheng’s face because he knew the motorcyclist had mistaken the yellow dog for him.

“What’s wrong with that guy?”

This time, Cornelia couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“Probably at the barber shop. Let’s ignore him and go.”

Su Cheng didn’t pay attention and continued walking.

“Oh.”

Cornelia didn’t ask further and followed Su Cheng’s steps.

When they reached the apartment entrance, Su Cheng noticed that Cornelia was still following him, even looking like she wanted to say something, which made him feel puzzled. He asked, “What? Do you still have something to say?”

It was still daylight, so he didn’t need to escort Cornelia home.

He just wanted to eat, then return to the dojo to practice. He didn’t have time to play ‘house’ with Cornelia.

However, Cornelia was also feeling anxious. She had followed Su Cheng all the way to his apartment, yet he didn’t even invite her in for tea or something.

She wanted to retrieve her shoes, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it directly.

What if Su Cheng went to get them and they were soaked or ruined? What if he just threw them away?

Fortunately, she had thought of a solution in advance.

So she said, “I left something at your place last time. I want to go look for it.”

Hearing this, Su Cheng raised an eyebrow at her and said, “Alright, come with me.”

With that, he led Cornelia through the door.

Once inside, Su Cheng walked in and said, “There are slippers in the shoe rack. Take a pair yourself.”

After saying this, he headed to the bathroom to drain the water.

“Got it.”

Cornelia quickly crouched down and searched for the spot where Li Guanqi had placed her slippers last time.

Soon, she found them.

She put them on and walked in, only to find that Su Cheng wasn’t in the living room but seemed to have gone to the bathroom.

“Perfect opportunity!”

She carefully made her way to the balcony, intending to take her shoes home to dry. As she walked, she pulled out a plastic bag she had prepared in advance from under her skirt.

When she reached the balcony, she noticed many of Su Cheng’s clothes hanging there, but her target wasn’t them. It was a pair of shoes outside the window.

She tiptoed, reached out, gently opened the window, and skillfully retrieved the shoes.

The shoes were heavy from being soaked in the rain, and she gritted her teeth, using one hand to carry both shoes inside until she placed them in the plastic bag, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

“Phew…”

After finishing this, she planned to leave the bag by the shoe rack and take it with her when she left.

But unexpectedly, because she hadn’t closed the window, a strong gust of wind blew in, causing the hanging clothes to rustle loudly.

“Oh no!”

Cornelia was startled and quickly turned to close the window, but the next second, something strange yet sacred covered her face, blocking her vision.

The plastic bag in her hand also fell to the ground.

“Mmm… help…”

Cornelia struggled desperately, but her eyes were completely covered, and she couldn’t see anything. She reached out with one hand to pull the cloth off her face, instinctively wanting to see who was ambushing her.

But when she looked, her entire body felt like a thermometer thrown into a volcano, turning red and about to explode.

In her hand was Su Cheng’s underwear.

She was about to hang it back when she noticed Su Cheng standing nearby, looking at her with great interest.

In that instant, her cheeks turned so red they seemed about to bleed, and her head was practically steaming. She frantically hid the sacred item behind her back.

“So, the thing you left behind was my underwear?”