Early Morning
5:00 AM
Su Cheng woke up right on time.
He sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his aching forehead, then stood up to look at the gradually brightening sky outside his window.
Yesterday, after burning books and burying scholars, he came back to shower and rest.
Unable to fall asleep, tossing and turning, he thought of Liu Qingyue.
So he decided to invite her over as a guest.
After getting up, his first task was still his usual routine - washing up and getting dressed, then preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Breakfast was simple; he planned to make two servings of mushroom chicken leg noodles.
Two fried eggs, and two glasses of milk.
This was his luxury meal set that he usually only allowed himself on his birthday.
"So, is this milk expired or not?"
Su Cheng couldn't help muttering to himself as he looked at the carton of milk in his hand.
The date on the milk showed it was expired.
But since it had been stored in the system space, where the concept of time didn't exist,
Everything inside remained static.
Things came out exactly as they went in.
"Whatever, I'll drink it myself."
Saying this, he lifted the milk to his lips and drank. The milk flowed down his throat with a rich, mellow flavor, melting in his mouth at just the right temperature.
The milk was indeed fine, though it was all thanks to technology and extreme measures.
"Splash~"
The next second, he accidentally dropped the milk on the floor, so he quickly grabbed some tissues to clean up the spill.
He marinated the chicken legs and soaked the mushrooms in water.
Then he needed to wait for half an hour.
So, he walked out of his home towards the 24-hour fresh food supermarket outside the residential complex.
After entering
He grabbed a shopping cart, walked to the large freezer, took out some milk that only had 'fresh milk' listed in its ingredients, then headed to the produce section to select vegetables.
Among the rows of shelves, he picked fresh vegetables and a box of beef.
Then, he checked out and returned home.
6:00 AM
Everything was ready, and he took out his phone, opened WeChat, and messaged Liu Qingyue: "Senior, when will you arrive?"
Ten minutes passed...
Liu Qingyue still hadn't responded.
Was she not awake yet?
But that couldn't be right.
Last time she had arrived at 6:30.
He frowned and waited a while longer, but still no response.
At 6:40, Su Cheng was still waiting for Liu Qingyue.
"Never mind, she probably forgot. I'll eat by myself."
Saying this, he carried his bags into the kitchen.
He worked quickly, bustling around the kitchen.
Soon after, he brought out a steaming bowl of noodles and sat down at the table to eat.
7:00 AM.
After cleaning up, he had just walked out the door with his bag when he heard an urgent voice: "Junior!"
He turned around to see a girl running up the stairs, out of breath.
She was wearing her school uniform with her signature black knee-high socks. Her cheeks were flushed red, sweat beading on her forehead, and her almond-shaped eyes were wide open, looking quite cute.
This was the first time he had seen Liu Qingyue looking so disheveled in front of him.
It was quite surprising.
"Isn't there an elevator?"
"The elevator isn't as fast as me."
Hearing this, Su Cheng opened the door: "Come in first."
"Take a rest."
"Okay!"
Liu Qingyue took off her shoes at the entrance, walked in wearing her black stockings, and plopped down on the sofa, looking completely exhausted. She looked at Su Cheng standing there and sighed helplessly, then said, "Sorry, I overslept this morning."
"I'll prepare breakfast for you, it'll be ready soon!"
With that, Su Cheng walked into the kitchen.
"Thank you, junior. Looks like I'm in for a treat today," Liu Qingyue said with a smile, watching his back.
"Senior, do you prefer firm or soft noodles?"
"Are you making noodles for me today?"
Su Cheng nodded in the kitchen: "Yes."
"Then firmer, please."
"Alright."
"Thank you for the trouble."
After saying this, Liu Qingyue began observing her surroundings. When she noticed a large pile of crumpled tissues in the trash can near the dining table, she paused.
The tissues were wet, but not with water - it looked more like shampoo.
"So unrestrained?"
Then, she looked at Su Cheng busy in the kitchen, then back at the tissues in the trash can. She wiggled her cute little nose, trying to catch a scent.
Unfortunately, the kitchen smells were too strong for her to detect anything else.
For some reason,
At this moment, her curiosity was stronger than ever before.
Even more intense than when she was trying to uncover Su Cheng's secrets.
She stood up and walked over to the trash can with her black stockinged legs.
Seeing that Su Cheng had his back turned, she bent down to look at the pile of tissues.
Then, she quickly squatted down and reached out to grab one of the tissues.
But before her fingers could touch the paper, her instincts warned her of danger, so she quickly stood up straight.
Sure enough, the next second Su Cheng suddenly turned around.
She smiled and said, "I'm feeling better now, need any help?"
"No need."
Su Cheng said as he brought the noodles and various side dishes to the table in front of her, then said, "Senior, please try my breakfast and see if it suits your taste."
"Thank you, junior!"
Liu Qingyue sat down and her eyes lit up at the sight of the sumptuous chicken leg and mushroom noodles.
"Wow, this is amazing!"
She was generous with her praise, then picked up the bowl and took a sniff, assuming a very professional posture.
Seeing this, Su Cheng became nervous, as this was the first time he had cooked for a girl.
Naturally, he hoped for her feedback.
"It smells wonderful."
Liu Qingyue said, licking her pink lips with the tip of her tongue.
"Senior, please eat while it's hot, don't let the noodles get soggy."
"Mm, then I won't stand on ceremony."
Liu Qingyue said as she picked up the bowl and started rotating it to smell the aroma.
Su Cheng watched, completely bewildered.
Seeing his expression, Liu Qingyue explained, "Oh, it's like this - theoretically, when eating noodles, you need to find the spot where the aroma is strongest, as that's where the most authentic flavor is. I'm looking for that spot now, to taste the first spoonful of soup."
"?"
Though Su Cheng didn't understand, he was deeply impressed.
"Right here."
Liu Qingyue said, then scooped up a small spoonful of soup.
"Like this, mixing with the air, let's have a taste."
Then she closed her eyes and took a small sip, immediately opening them again with an expression of pure bliss, "Wow, this is absolutely amazing! The soup stimulates all my brain's sensory receptors, driving my sense of smell and taste wild. I give it 100 points!"
"..."
Su Cheng's cheeks turned slightly red, clearly embarrassed by Liu Qingyue's effusive praise.
"Junior, I'm going to eat the noodles now!"
With that, Liu Qingyue began eating earnestly, continuing to praise between bites: "This is so delicious, I wish I could eat junior's noodles for the rest of my life!"
"Senior, you're too kind."
Su Cheng couldn't handle any more praise and quickly stood up: "I'll go back to my room to prepare some things, take your time eating, there's no rush."
"Okay."
Liu Qingyue nodded in agreement, then unconsciously glanced at the trash can beside her.
Her plan was simple: praise Su Cheng until he felt uncomfortable and left.
Then she could secretly investigate the trash can.
Though to be fair, Su Cheng's noodles were indeed excellent.
Especially the mushrooms, which burst with soup when bitten into.
Absolutely perfect.
Seeing Su Cheng enter his room, Liu Qingyue quickly put down her spoon and reached into the trash can, soon grasping a ball of tissue in her palm.
She treated it like a treasure, carefully bringing it to her nose for a sniff.
Then, her eyes suddenly widened.
It was cheap milk...
She shook her head in disappointment and threw the tissue ball back into the trash can.
"Sigh..."
Liu Qingyue sighed, then finished all the noodles and drank every last drop of soup.
Just as she finished, Su Cheng opened his door and came out.
He sat down on the sofa, in the same spot where she had been lying earlier.
She was drinking milk when she glanced over, and nearly spat it out the next second. She saw Su Cheng sitting on the sofa with his back to her, head down doing something, with one hand...
Even with all her worldly experience, seeing this scene made her draw in a sharp breath.
"What is he doing..."
Liu Qingyue swallowed hard, his current behavior...
"That's impossible!"
She shook her head.
Suddenly—
"Ah!"
A sound suddenly came from the sofa.
Liu Qingyue: "........"
"Senior, would you like an apple?"
Su Cheng stood up and handed Liu Qingyue an apple he had just peeled.
Liu Qingyue hesitated for a moment, glanced at the apple rolling on the ground, and then at the one in his hand, finally deciding to take it: "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Take a rest after eating."
Su Cheng said as he picked up the apple from the ground and began to clean up the dishes.
"I can do it myself."
"No need."
………………
At eight o'clock,
"Dinglingling~"
Su Cheng arrived at the classroom right on time. He looked around and found that all the students were already there, except for him. As soon as he walked in, half of the class's attention was focused on him.
He had no choice but to sit in his usual spot and open his class notes, planning his confession target for today.
Yesterday, Ji Qingyi had warned him not to approach her with any ulterior motives.
So, he had to use up his confession quota before going to the club.
As for today's confession target?
S-level, it must be an S-level!
The timid starve, the bold thrive!
But today, he wouldn't confess to Ji Qingyi.
The mental pressure she had given him yesterday hadn't eased up yet, and he didn't dare to provoke her again.
Li Zhaohao was also not on his list.
The only other known S-level girls left were the president of the E-sports Club and the head of the Social Practice Club.
He planned to start with these two.
However, he needed to gather some information first before taking action.
Thinking of this, Su Cheng suddenly turned to look at Wang Guancong, who was sitting behind him and listening to the lecture attentively.
Wang Guancong was quite familiar with these two S-level girls.
The former was the club president, and the latter was someone he admired greatly.
"Dinglingling~"
The bell rang, signaling the end of the first class.
"Su Cheng, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I got so excited that I forgot I was on duty and left you to clean up alone."
As soon as the class ended, Wang Guancong came over to Su Cheng, a bit embarrassed: "How about I treat you to lunch today?"
"I understand, you had something important to deal with yesterday. Don't worry about it, and no need for lunch."
Su Cheng quickly waved his hand and said with a smile.
"Alright."
Wang Guancong laughed heartily and didn't say much more.
"By the way, how did yesterday's matter turn out?"
Su Cheng asked, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"Well, the student council was handling it at first, and the club president asked me to wait for that guy to come out, telling me to bring him to the E-sports Club. In the end, he came and gave himself a slap, then apologized to Chai Hao in front of the whole club."
Wang Guancong said, his tone excited.
"Originally, Chai Hao was dead set against joining the E-sports Club. After yesterday's incident, I'm afraid he'll join today."
Gao Ye suddenly appeared from somewhere and said.
"I've been asking Chai Hao to join the E-sports Club, but he refused, saying everyone in the club had a problem with him."
Wang Guancong took over the conversation.
"Had a problem with him?"
Su Cheng asked, puzzled.
Wang Guancong couldn't help but laugh: "It's because his mouth is too tough, often making the other club members laugh, so he thought everyone in the club had a problem with him."
"However, yesterday, all the club members stood up for him, and he was so moved that he almost cried."
Gao Ye said, also laughing.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the door.
Su Cheng turned to look and saw it was Chai Hao from the next class.
His face was still swollen.
It looked a bit funny, but his mood seemed quite good.
Soon, he joined the conversation.
However, the four of them didn't notice that in the corner of the classroom, a long-haired girl with black hair was reading a book. Although her pitch-black eyes were on the book, she was actually eavesdropping on the men's conversation.
"By the way, is your club president easy to get along with?"
Su Cheng suddenly asked.
"Don't let her usual impatience fool you; she's actually very soft-hearted and easy to get along with."
Chai Hao immediately became a little fanboy and answered, then looked at Su Cheng: "You're not thinking of joining the E-sports Club too, are you?"
"He's now the personal disciple of Senior Ji from the Archery Club!"
Wang Guancong reminded from the side.
Apparently, he had learned about Su Cheng's movements from his sister.
"What?"
"Personal disciple?"
Gao Ye and Chai Hao were both stunned.
This meant that Senior Ji would personally guide Su Cheng?
Su Cheng felt a headache coming on. He had originally wanted to inquire about the president of the E-sports Club, but now the topic had been pulled to himself by Wang Guancong.
"Why would Senior Ji personally guide you?"
Chai Hao quickly asked.
"Yeah, as far as I know, she's never done that before."
Gao Ye also chimed in.
"I really don't know."
Su Cheng shook his head.
"Come on, don't hide it."
"Tell us quickly."
Unable to do anything else, Su Cheng joked: "Well, I guess it's because she thinks I have extraordinary bones and am a once-in-a-million archery prodigy!"
"Pfft~"
With his words, a female voice suddenly burst out laughing in the classroom, catching the attention of the four. They turned to look and saw Xuan Ying covering her mouth, her delicate and cute face turning red from holding back her laughter.
Next to her, Zhao Yan quickly sat back in her seat.
Seeing this, Xuan Ying also quickly lowered her head and pretended to be reading.
She just couldn't help it and laughed out loud, as this was the first time she had heard Su Cheng say something so joking.
The contrast was too big.
Su Cheng had always been serious and even a bit stern in front of her, so how could he say something like this?
Su Cheng turned his gaze to Xuan Ying.
Xuan Ying still kept her head down, looking like a guilty thief.
Finally, he withdrew his gaze and subconsciously looked at Li Guanqi in the corner, who was still reading attentively.
Indeed, she was a literary beauty.
She didn't waste any spare time.
But...
What she usually read were various documents.
Only today...
"Campus Conquest System"
This style...
It just felt a bit unbearable to look at.
So out of character...
"Don't take advantage of your low presence to read such things in the classroom as if no one else is around!"
Su Cheng couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
It seemed that she noticed Su Cheng's gaze and looked up at him, nodding slightly to greet him.
She also lightly shook the book in her hand, as if asking him: "Do you want to read it?"