Noble Academy's Mob Character: Reborn as the Campus Heartthrob - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The Newcomer’s Welcome Party Concludes Perfectly

Upon waking, Qi Yuan found himself drenched in sweat, completely enveloped in his thick quilt from neck to toe.

He struggled free of the suffocating blanket, sat up, and scratched his head. He grabbed a fresh set of clothes from the closet and headed to the bathroom for a shower, scrubbing away the sticky feeling left by the sweat.

Qi Yuan had always maintained a remarkably stable mindset. Even bizarre dreams couldn’t disrupt his resolve to live each day to the fullest. Or perhaps it was simply that he was so relentlessly busy that he had no time for dwelling on anxiety-inducing thoughts.

Adhering to the philosophy that the past is past and the strong never look back, he consciously avoided revisiting the embarrassing details of his dream. The memories only resurfaced when he encountered the person at the heart of it.

Of course, Qi Yuan wasn’t entirely passive. Whenever the memories threatened to surface, he would immediately flee—a form of avoidance that could hardly be called anything else.

And so, several days passed, culminating in the day of the Newcomer’s Welcome Party.

The campus streets were now bustling with activity, transforming the usually tranquil grounds into a hive of commotion.

The weather was clear and sunny, with fluffy white clouds drifting across the azure sky.

Emerald-green trees swayed in the breeze, their leaves rustling softly like whispers. Sunlight filtered through the foliage, casting dappled patterns on the ground.

The official ceremony was scheduled for the evening, but rehearsals were held throughout the day to ensure flawless execution.

Wearing his staff badge, Qi Yuan weaved through the backstage area, his brow furrowed in concentration as sweat streamed down his cheeks.

When the break finally came, he accepted a tissue from Hu Xiang. The two exchanged weary glances, both looking thoroughly disheveled.

“Thanks,” Qi Yuan said, removing his glasses to wipe the sweat from his face, paying particular attention to his forehead hidden beneath his bangs. He brushed the fringe aside, revealing refined features and completely oblivious to Hu Xiang’s ghost-stricken expression.

“Qi… Qi Yuan,” Hu Xiang stammered. “You’re… you’re actually really good-looking!”

Hu Xiang realized his words sounded awkward, but unsure how to clarify without making it worse, he awkwardly scratched his head and clammed up.

“Was I ugly before?” Qi Yuan teased, amused by Hu Xiang’s embarrassment.

“No! I mean… you were… also… good-looking.”

He struggled with the last phrase, clearly a novice at lying. The hesitation betrayed his inner conflict.

Such was the nature of honest men—even those with cheerful personalities still needed to toughen up their thick skins.

Qi Yuan patted his shoulder, feigning disappointment. “Alright, you don’t have to flatter me. I get it.”

Hu Xiang: “………”

If he still hadn’t realized Qi Yuan was teasing him, he might as well be a pig.

After a short break, the two continued working diligently until dinnertime, when they removed their work badges and headed to the cafeteria.

Hu Xiang looked like a walking corpse.

“I’m so exhausted, I don’t think I can make it to the end,” he groaned, pinching his philtrum in a desperate attempt to revive himself.

Qi Yuan: “Hang in there, persistence pays off. Just think about the bonus we’ll get after this is over. Say what you will about the school, they’re certainly generous with money.”

“If nothing goes wrong, we’ll each get at least ten thousand yuan.”

He whispered enticingly to Hu Xiang. As expected, when Hu Xiang heard about the possibility of getting so much money, he suddenly came back to life.

“I can persevere!”

That evening, the official freshman welcome party commenced, with college leaders and students taking their seats.

The program featured class performances and individual acts.

Qi Yuan and Hu Xiang each held a plastic cup filled with lukewarm water.

They had secured a prime spot backstage, allowing them to clearly see the stage while remaining hidden from the audience below.

Since they weren’t needed until later, they could openly slack off.

“Qi Yuan, do you know who Young Master You is looking for?” Hu Xiang asked, his tone dripping with gossip.

“I saw on the forum that Young Master You is offering a 300,000 yuan reward for finding someone he chased near the artificial lake early on the second morning of freshman orientation.”

“They’re offering 30,000 yuan for any leads.”

“What a filthy rich bastard.”

“Too bad I was dead asleep that morning and almost late for the opening ceremony. Otherwise, I’d have taken a bite of that pie falling from the sky myself.”

“Sigh.”

He sighed regretfully before turning to Qi Yuan.

“Qi Yuan, do you have any leads? Did you see who it was? I remember you usually wake up pretty early.”

Qi Yuan: “………”

Would he dare claim to be the “main subject” of that day?

He wouldn’t.

Only now did Qi Yuan realize that You Qinghe, that idiot, was actually running a bounty hunt. The realization nearly made him faint.

Damn rich bastards! Damn rich bastards!

Watching thirty thousand yuan slip through his fingers, his heart felt like it was about to burst from the pain—a pain that pierced to his very core!

It would have been better if I’d never found out.

He took a deep breath, terrified he’d succumb to the temptation and confess.

Qi Yuan skipped the last question and asked Hu Xiang, who was at the front, about the “language bug” mentioned earlier.

“Chasing after someone? Young Master You doesn’t know if it was a man or a woman?”

Hu Xiang pulled out his phone and scrolled through the forum. “There’s no answer there. He probably doesn’t know. There’s only one blurry photo of a figure from behind—you can’t even tell if it’s a person or a tree.”

Hearing this, Qi Yuan felt a flicker of relief.

“I see. Too bad I don’t know anything either.”

He then asked curiously, “Did they say why they’re looking for this person?”

“Did this person offend Young Master You?”

Hu Xiang shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.

“There’s no useful information on the forum. No one seems to know much.”

“If it were anyone else, rumors would be flying the moment the reward was announced. But this is Young Master You—no one dares spread rumors. Those who don’t know keep silent, and those who know a little only mention seeing someone being chased near the artificial lake that morning.”

Qi Yuan was completely relieved.

After a brief chat, the two immersed themselves fully in their performance.

Meanwhile, beneath the stage, in the center seat of the front row, sat a young man in a tailored suit. The performance before him seemed to hold no interest for him whatsoever.

His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, and in his boredom, he recalled a student he had met some time ago in a café in Weilika—a bespectacled, unremarkable young man.

For reasons he couldn’t quite fathom, You Yuanxiu found himself wanting to see this student again. Perhaps guided by some inexplicable impulse, he had canceled a meeting to attend this lackluster freshman welcome ceremony.

Did he regret it?

You Yuanxiu never regretted anything.

Lost in their performance, Qi Yuan remained completely unaware of the complexities swirling in You Yuanxiu’s mind.

The gulf between them was simply too vast.

By the time the event concluded and the crowd dispersed, Qi Yuan had returned to his dormitory without ever meeting You Yuanxiu face-to-face. Their paths had merely brushed briefly as they passed each other in the crowd.

Exhausted, Qi Yuan drifted off to sleep, his body too weary to even twitch—even in his dreams.

As luck would have it, his dream self was also in bed—a luxuriously soft and comfortable bed, worlds apart from the wooden planks of his academy dorm.

He closed his eyes, feigning deep slumber, but the rustling behind him instantly put Qi Yuan on alert.

The door creaked open, and a figure climbed onto the bed, wrapping their arms tightly around him from behind.

“Heh,” the man chuckled softly.

“Baby, I know you’re not asleep.”

“My brother just left, and here I am, already in your bed. Wouldn’t you say this counts as cheating?”