Chapter 142: Badminton

The school, indoor gymnasium.

Qiu Ye felt like he had seen a ghost.

He had actually been actively invited by Bai Yao to play badminton!

Wasn’t this girl supposed to be a homebody?

Especially when it came to physical activities.

Last time he tried to drag Bai Yao hiking, he practically had to pull her along.

This time, she actively invited him to play badminton?

“Hey, handsome~ Wanna play?”

What kind of weirdo was this?

Qiu Ye was sitting on the bench at the edge of the badminton court waiting for Bai Yao.

Hearing someone hit on him, he rudely shot back.

But when he looked up, he saw Bai Yao standing beside him, looking down at him expressionlessly, wearing a long-sleeved sports top and shorts.

“…Not you, not you.”

Qiu Ye hurriedly stood up, trying to joke his way out of it.

Bai Yao actually didn’t mind, but seeing Qiu Ye nervous, she deliberately put on an angry face, snorted, and turned her head away, her Cupid’s bow pouting high, looking puffed up with anger.

‘Is this how all girls get angry?’

“It’s a habit, just showing you how it’s done. When you’re not around, how else do I practice dealing with girls hitting on me?”

Qiu Ye threw an arm around Bai Yao’s shoulders, pulling her towards the bench.

“Pretty perfect performance, right?”

Qiu Ye shamelessly took out his phone.

“You know the password.”

Bai Yao took the phone, too lazy to check the chat history, and casually opened Qiu Ye’s Private Vault, sending all the newly saved risque pictures and adult anime to herself.

But there were actually several photos of her in the vault too…

Leg shots, sleeping face, and even her maid outfit from a couple of days ago.

‘Feels like my photos aren’t much different from the risque ones~’

“Why are you saving these?”

Bai Yao asked, feeling a bit guilty as she looked away.

“And you took pictures of me sleeping?”

“Who else can see inside the Private Vault?”

Qiu Ye glanced at Bai Yao’s outfit.

It was rare to see her go out in shorts.

Even though they were knee-length, hiding her thighs, the exposed calves were straight and slender.

They were just a bit too thin, making one worry she’d break a bone if she fell.

Especially the calves, fair and tender, wobbling like tofu.

“Alright, here.”

After sending all the new stuff from the Private Vault to herself, Bai Yao finally returned the phone to Qiu Ye.

Qiu Ye rolled his eyes, unsurprised.

“You little pervert.”

Outwardly so aloof, yet inwardly lewd to the core.

If she hadn’t become his girlfriend, he probably would never have discovered it.

‘Not at all… give me the racket.’

Since she couldn’t take on a part-time job, the winter break job fell through, and The System tasks had been fewer lately.

Of course, Bai Yao had to find other ways to make money!

Like the long-term exercise task—just half an hour of exercise to earn a hundred!

Although there were side effects like an increased bust and a better figure.

The old Bai Yao couldn’t stand it, but now she didn’t care.

Picking up the badminton racket, Bai Yao swung it awkwardly a few times and hopped in place.

It had been a while since she exercised, but her body felt more energetic than before.

Mainly The System’s credit, nothing to do with her.

Qiu Ye also stood up, following Bai Yao onto the court.

“How about a little wager?”

“A wager, huh…”

Bai Yao thought for a moment, her face suddenly flushing, her cold expression tightening even more.

Seeing her expression, Qiu Ye knew her thoughts weren’t exactly pure.

“What if I win?”

Bai Yao asked.

“Buy you a little toy?”

“N-no need for that!”

“Then if I win—”

Qiu Ye lewdly rubbed his chin, looking Bai Yao up and down, chuckling twice.

Bai Yao narrowed her eyes in disgust, turning sideways to avoid his gaze.

“Pervert.”

“Help me wash my clothes. They’ve piled up for days; the school washing machine is broken.”

Qiu Ye walked to the other side of the court with his racket, thinking he’d go easy on Bai Yao first, leisurely serving a high, deep shot.

The shuttlecock soared high, then drifted slowly down towards Bai Yao, something even a child could return.

Bai Yao stood on her tiptoes, raising her racket high, and swung with all her might.

Even though she was playing badminton, she felt like Ryoma from The Prince of Tennis, super cool!

Unfortunately, her arm ached from the swing, and the shuttlecock’s trajectory remained slow and leisurely.

Having roughly gauged Bai Yao’s skill level, Qiu Ye relaxed.

He’d thought she’d chosen a sport she was good at and almost believed she was skilled.

He started toying with her, deliberately hitting left and right, making Bai Yao run back and forth until she was panting heavily.

Occasionally, he’d miss one or two shots, and Bai Yao would jump for joy, her cold expression crumbling.

He’d even pretend to be annoyed and curse a couple of times.

If Bai Yao got too carried away, he’d strike back hard, with a few smashes that would make her submit.

Half an hour later, The System’s task prompt sounded right on time.

[Task completed. Your cardiovascular function and physique have slightly improved. You have obtained 100 Cash.]

Bai Yao immediately deflated, too tired to even lift her racket.

She picked up the shuttlecock from the ground and ran to sit on the bench at the side.

“My arm hurts so much…”

Her hair was sticking to her cheeks, feeling awful.

But glancing at the bank deposit notification on her phone, she immediately cheered up again.

“Not playing anymore?”

Qiu Ye only had a light sweat, strolling over leisurely.

“Too tired, need a break.”

Bai Yao tugged at her collar to fan herself.

A thin layer of sweat covered her neck and collarbones, her skin gleaming with a dewy, pearlescent sheen under the lights.

“Water.”

Qiu Ye handed her the water he’d bought earlier.

He sat down next to Bai Yao.

Having worked up a sweat, the faint, delicate fragrance on this girl became even more noticeable and intense.

Just smelling it made him feel a bit restless.

“Wanna play more later?”

“Let’s rest a bit first.”

Bai Yao tilted her head back, gulping down half the bottle of water in one go, letting out a long sigh and leaning back against the chair.

She couldn’t help but complain.

“My arms are sore and achy, and I’m covered in stinky sweat.”

‘This is why I don’t like exercise. It’s better to just sit and play computer games, clean and fresh.’

If it weren’t for the money!

Just after completing the task, she felt a slight pain in her chest again.

The development that had almost stalled had started once more.

“I think exercising and sweating a bit is good, actually.”

“Stinky sweat.”

“Where? Let me smell?”

Seeing Qiu Ye lean in close, sniffing, Bai Yao quickly scooted away.

“You’re acting like a creep, okay?”

And if they got too close, what if classmates saw?

Bai Yao gave him a cold, disdainful look.

But Qiu Ye just felt refreshed.

“Then do you want to go back and shower first? After that, where do you want to go?”

“Hmm…”

Bai Yao thought for a moment.

Considering finals were approaching, she asked, “The library?”

To cram last-minute, especially for English.

It had been almost a whole semester since school started, and she hadn’t studied seriously at all, always getting scolded by her roommates.

“Sure, I’ll tutor you.”

“Are you even capable?”

“I self-studied to get into this university, you know.”

Bai Yao finally remembered that.

She was actually quite envious of Qiu Ye—good at studying, handsome, not bad at sports, good at games, stronger and better at fighting than the average person, and even…

Especially that last part, Bai Yao could only look at him with admiration.

Qiu Ye thoroughly enjoyed that look from her, feeling smug.

‘Feels like I can do anything in front of Bai Yao.’