"Idiot!"
Cornelia, realizing what had happened, turned red with embarrassment and frustration, yelling, "I meant a bandaid!"
Friendly reminder: Wound-healing strips and band-aids are different. The former is breathable, the latter is not.
"Is that so?"
Su Cheng pretended to suddenly understand and patted his head.
Cornelia, hearing this, pouted beside him and said, "You have no common sense at all."
Su Cheng nodded: "Thank you for the information. Otherwise, I thought..."
"Shut up!"
Cornelia's cheeks turned even redder, almost like they were going to bleed, but she couldn't find the right words to scold Su Cheng, so she stomped her foot in anger: "How can you be like this? You're so perverted!"
"How am I perverted? I was about to say that I thought both were breathable."
Su Cheng explained calmly.
Cornelia was so angry that she clenched her teeth.
She had clearly seen Su Cheng's weird and astonished gaze scanning her chest, but now he refused to admit it, making her want to strangle him.
Just as the two were at a stalemate, the sound of hoarse cawing filled the air, and the crow continued to attack a group of elementary school students from above.
Soon, the crow chased the students and disappeared from the park.
It was then that Cornelia remembered that the crow was controlled by Su Cheng, so she stared straight at him with her beautiful eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Su Cheng, noticing her expression, asked curiously.
"How... how can you make the crow listen to you?"
Cornelia hesitated for a moment before finally asking with curiosity.
"This is the White-browed Crow from Mount Changbai. It can understand human language," Su Cheng explained seriously.
"So it's from the same place as Big Yellow."
Cornelia instantly understood, but then she suddenly realized something and glared at Su Cheng in frustration: "You're fooling me again!!"
"I went back to the countryside last time and brought it back with me," Su Cheng said calmly, not feeling any guilt about his fabricated lie.
He didn't tell the truth because she couldn't keep a secret, and making up a lie was the most sensible choice.
“But I always feel like you’re hiding something from me,” Cornelia said, her chest heaving as she looked at him with grievance.
Su Cheng was a bit surprised.
He didn't expect Cornelia to no longer be easily fooled and to be able to sense that he was lying. She really was quite clever!
"I don't dare. I'm your chef and playmate!!"
Su Cheng coughed awkwardly.
Cornelia puffed out her cheeks in frustration, then looked at Su Cheng haughtily and said, "Then spend the weekend playing games with me."
"That won't work. I have plans this weekend," Su Cheng waved his hands, rejecting Cornelia's request.
"What plans?"
"I promised someone I would visit her house."
"Is it a guy or a girl?"
"Li Guanqi."
"Huh? Why did you agree to that?"
"She invited me to her house last time when I was at her place. You were there too."
Cornelia was momentarily speechless, then muttered unhappily, "So was I not also inviting you?"
"Then I'll go to her house on Saturday and yours on Sunday," Su Cheng, the master of time management, said.
Just as Cornelia was about to say something more, a crow flew in from a distance and landed on Su Cheng's shoulder. She was startled and only reacted a few seconds later.
"The crow..."
Cornelia looked at the crow on Su Cheng's shoulder with some fear.
"Don't be afraid, it's my friend," Su Cheng said, gently stroking the crow's back.
"Caw~"
The crow then nestled comfortably on his shoulder, flapped its wings, and happily called out, clearly enjoying itself.
"Um... can I touch it?"
"Go ahead."
Cornelia swallowed and stretched out her soft, white hand, tiptoeing to gently touch the crow.
However, the next second, the crow seemed to be frightened and suddenly flew away.
It circled in the air and then landed on the other shoulder of Su Cheng, seeming unwilling to be touched by Cornelia.
Cornelia's face turned pale as she bit her lip: "Does it hate me?"
"No, it's just shy," Su Cheng shook his head and stroked the crow's head.
Cornelia then felt relieved.
After all, the big yellow dog used to bite her as well, so she was confident she could make this crow her friend too.
"Let's go back," Su Cheng said, throwing the crow back into the sky and looking at Cornelia.
Cornelia obediently nodded, but she still looked up at the crow, noticing that it was circling in the sky, seemingly following them.
"What about Big Yellow?"
Cornelia suddenly thought of Big Yellow and asked worriedly.
"It went home to write 'The Peach Blossom Source'," Su Cheng explained, having sent Big Yellow back home earlier.
"It really knows a lot."
Big Yellow had previously written 'The Preface to the Hall of the Prince of Teng', so it was only natural that it could write 'The Peach Blossom Source'.
Although she couldn't understand why Big Yellow was so intelligent, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed it.
"Yeah, you should take it to the exam next time."
"You're crazy! How can I take a dog to the exam!"
"Then leave your homework to it next time."
"Hmm."
"You're serious?"
The two chatted and laughed all the way back to their apartment.
After playing two games, Su Cheng sent Cornelia home.
The first thing Su Cheng did when he got home was to open the window on the balcony. Within a few seconds, a crow flew in from outside and landed on his shoulder.
He decided to keep this crow.
Crows are omnivorous and don't require much money to raise, and they can also find their own food.
After all, who would refuse a crow that could understand human language?
"This is the toilet. You'll use it here from now on, and remember to flush when you're done!"
Su Cheng didn't care if the crow understood or not and just started teaching it everything.
The crow on his shoulder slightly swayed its head, its tiny black eyes looking at his face, obviously deep in thought.
Seeing this, Su Cheng demonstrated how to flush the toilet.
The crow then flapped its wings and flew above the water tank, aiming its beak at the flush switch.
"Whoosh~"
"Smart!!"
Su Cheng's eyes lit up with appreciation. He then took out a piece of beef jerky without beef from the system space and threw it to the crow.
"Caw~"
The crow flapped its wings, opened its mouth, and caught the jerky, swallowing it in one go.
After eating, its black eyes glimmered with a faint light as it looked at Su Cheng more affectionately.
Then, Su Cheng began teaching the crow how to take a bath and other such things, which the crow obediently followed.
Su Cheng's eyes showed a hint of satisfaction.
It seemed this crow was much smarter than ordinary crows, even able to think for itself.
It had to be said, the talent ability was quite powerful.
Previously, he hadn't used it because he was on the verge of death and had no time to consider these things. But now that he had survived and had some leisure, naturally, he should develop the potential of this ability.
"What should I name you?"
Su Cheng fed the crow another piece of beef jerky as he thought about this.
Previously, for a horse in his equestrian class, he had named it 'Flame City Emperor'.
Of course, he wouldn't call it that when other students were around; instead, he would call it 'Little Yellow'.
"Hmm, let's call you Crow Crow," Su Cheng pondered for a while before making his decision.
"Caw caw~"
The crow seemed to understand, happily flapping its wings and letting out joyful cries.
"I'm going to sleep. You find a place to stay."
Su Cheng looked at the time and found it was almost midnight, so he decided to rest and walked towards the room.
"Caw~"
The crow floated in the air, watching Su Cheng's back. After he completely entered the bedroom, it flew to the balcony and quickly flew out the window, disappearing into the night.
...
Late at night
Su Cheng was sleeping soundly when he suddenly felt something land on his chest. He instantly opened his eyes.
But when he saw the scene in front of him, he was completely dumbfounded, nearly peeing the bed.
Because there was a crow standing on his chest, its beak holding a caterpillar, and it was trying to force it into Su Cheng's mouth.
"Holy crap!"
Just as it was about to touch his lips, he immediately jumped up and landed on the bed, glaring at the crow, "What are you doing!"
"Uh-uh."
The crow opened its beak, and the caterpillar fell out, shrinking its neck and looking at Su Cheng with an expression of utmost grievance.
"You..."
Su Cheng looked at the pitiful crow in front of him, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say. Eventually, he fell into deep thought.
Soon, he understood what was going on.
He was almost moved to tears by this 'filial piety.'
The crow was 'returning the favor.'
The crow had been feeding him, and caterpillars were the crow's favorite food, so this was the crow showing its 'respect' to him.
"I really appreciate it," Su Cheng said, calming down and rubbing the crow's head, his tone softening.
"But I don't eat caterpillars. Just keep them for yourself. I don't need you to prepare my food."
Su Cheng smiled, patting the crow's feathers again, not caring whether the crow understood or not.
The crow, seeing this, showed a satisfied expression, then swallowed the caterpillar in one gulp and flew out.
...
The next day
Su Cheng, as usual, went to the parking lot to get his bicycle. However, this time was different: a crow suddenly flew over, holding a pink wallet in its beak, and landed on his shoulder, leaving him stunned.
"What's going on here?"
Su Cheng was bewildered, took the wallet, and opened it, only to freeze at the sight of an ID inside, with a very familiar name—Nishizono Shizuko.
This was the former discipline committee head.
The one with incredibly high stamina and the skill to wield a hatchet.
The shock in Su Cheng's heart lingered.
Eventually, he scolded the crow severely, telling it not to bring anything back in the future, not to approach him without permission, and to stay at home or play outside.
He didn't care if the crow understood or not, just leaving it with a bunch of instructions. Then, he got on his bicycle and left the parking lot.
The crow, seeming to vaguely understand, flew a couple of circles in the sky before returning to the balcony, where Su Cheng had left a pile of beef jerky and other food.
...
Su Cheng's mood was indescribable.
This was just...
As Li Guanqi and Liu Qingyue would say,
This crow had advanced the plot, creating unnecessary connections between him and the former discipline committee head.
However, he didn't want any connections with such a woman, so he was thinking about how to return the wallet.
If he claimed he had found it,
This would lead to unnecessary interactions.
But if he told the truth, the crow that had 'stolen' the wallet must have been trained, which would make others think he had trained the crow to steal wallets.
In the end, he decided to use the 'Third Power.'
When he arrived at the classroom, the first thing he did was look at Li Guanqi's seat.
She was sitting there, also looking at Su Cheng.
After a glance, Su Cheng quickly looked away.
Then, he sat down and sent a message to Li Guanqi, and they both left the classroom, heading to a secluded spot on the lawn, far from any cameras.
There, Su Cheng recounted the whole story.
Upon hearing this, Li Guanqi suddenly understood. Then, looking at Su Cheng, she said, "Leave it to me."
"Thanks," Su Cheng nodded slightly, filled with gratitude, as he truly didn't want any entanglement with Nishizono Shizuko.
So, he looked around, took the wallet from his system space, and handed it to Li Guanqi.
She reached out to take it, but her gaze lingered on Su Cheng's wrist for a moment, startled, before putting the wallet back into her skirt. Without a word, she turned and walked toward the third-year classrooms in the main building.
She felt it wasn't the right time to discuss this; they needed to first resolve the trouble.
"Whew—"
Su Cheng let out a sigh of relief; at least this matter was temporarily resolved.
Then, he too walked back to his classroom, where most of the classmates had already arrived.
As soon as he sat down, Wang Guancong and Gao Ye surrounded him, and it took some effort to get rid of them.
"Hey, why's there another small elastic band on your wrist?"
Gao Ye, observant as always, noticed a new elastic band on Su Cheng's wrist and couldn't help but ask.
With these words, the entire class seemed to react as if by chain reaction, all turning to look at Su Cheng's wrist.
Especially Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan, who were both shocked, their faces full of disbelief.
The previous elastic band Su Cheng had explained was a gift from a friend.
So, who did this new golden one belong to?
"So, this one was from your girlfriend, right?" Wang Guancong teased, smiling, clearly already knowing the truth.
At that moment, a figure appeared at the classroom door—Li Guanqi, returning, taking her seat and turning to look at Su Cheng, waiting for his answer.
In fact, she had already guessed it was from Cornelia, but she still wanted to hear what Su Cheng would say.
"Ahem."
Su Cheng coughed awkwardly, then explained, "It's also from a friend. Just a regular friend; no relationship beyond that, so don't jump to conclusions."
"But this is a personal..." Gao Ye started to say but was cut off by Su Cheng.
"Don't misunderstand."
Su Cheng cleared his throat and continued, "Since President Ji gave me this as a token of friendship, other friends also gave me these as a gesture of friendship. It's not what you think."
After saying that, Su Cheng lowered his head to tidy up his desk, successfully diverting the focus.
"By the way, there were rumors yesterday that you were walking together intimately."
"Now it seems the rumors were true."
"You have a great relationship with President Ji, huh?"
Hearing this, the two guys, envious, showed their admiration.
They didn't think there was anything special between Su Cheng and Ji Qingyi.
After all, the difference in status was too vast.
"Ding-ling-ling~"
The bell rang, and the two could only suppress their curiosity, returning to their seats.
But others continued to look at Su Cheng.
Like Xuan Ying, who was thoughtfully observing him.
And Zhao Yan, who was also looking at Su Cheng, wondering what was on her mind.
As for Li Guanqi?
Her beautiful eyes were on Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan, slightly frowning, not sure what she was thinking.