Noble Academy's Mob Character: Reborn as the Campus Heartthrob - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Chase

Tsk.

You Qinghe wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.

Should I tell my little brother I had a dream I can’t remember, where the only lasting impression was the back of a man, and because of that back, I feel like a piece of my heart is missing?

He couldn’t bring himself to bare his soul to others, not even to the subordinate who had always followed him.

Besides… the real reason You Qinghe didn’t want to mention it was that when he woke up this morning, the thought of that back had… had…

It was the first time You Qinghe had ever experienced something like this, and he was completely at a loss. He’d never been interested in that sort of thing before.

The tips of his ears, half-hidden by his hair, burned crimson. His heart hammered in his chest. Never one for shyness, he could only mask his embarrassment with anger.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The butler was used to his Young Master sleeping until noon.

So when he saw the Young Master up at the crack of dawn to attend the school’s opening ceremony, he felt like he was seeing a ghost.

But the most crucial detail was this: while the Young Master wore a scowl, projecting an air of foul-tempered anger, the butler—who had raised him since he was a child—could see the truth. Yes, there was fury, but beneath it simmered a distinct layer of shyness.

Could it be?

The butler smiled to himself but said nothing, afraid of provoking the Young Master into a full-blown tantrum.

The boy is growing up, he thought with a quiet sigh.

Watching the figure recede into the distance, Qi Yuan cautiously emerged from the bushes again. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and let out a silent sigh of relief.

Only then did he realize he was drenched in sweat from sheer terror.

It seems that dream really did a number on me, Qi Yuan thought. The fear had lingered, causing him to break out in a sweat just from seeing the dream’s protagonist in person. For now, at least, he wanted nothing to do with You Qinghe.

Too damn scary.

He didn’t dare linger, afraid the person who had just left might turn back.

He picked up his pace, moving much faster than before.

Far ahead, You Qinghe seemed to sense something and abruptly stopped, turning around.

He had always been acutely sensitive to being watched. As he passed a certain patch of bushes, he had clearly felt someone’s gaze on him. But You Qinghe hadn’t cared. As long as they didn’t get in his face, he simply ignored such people.

But now…

You Qinghe turned back, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the vaguely familiar back.

A sudden voice rose in his mind, urging him to give chase.

A playful smirk touched his lips, his interest piqued.

He wanted to see just who this person was, the one who stirred such strange emotions within him.

At that moment, You Qinghe didn’t notice that the irritation in his heart had vanished. Having made up his mind, he pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and sprinted toward the fleeing figure.

He left his underling standing there, dumbfounded. After a moment’s hesitation, the underling also gave chase.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!

That psycho!

Qi Yuan, who had been keeping a wary eye on his back, knew something like this would happen!

The sight of that figure hurtling toward him terrified him. At first, he’d tried to convince himself he was overthinking it, but he could feel that You Qinghe was coming straight for him!

The other guy ran, so he ran.

And as he ran, he cursed the bastard under his breath.

Thus, the quiet campus became the stage for a scene of chase and escape.

In the end, Qi Yuan, with his superior knowledge of the academy’s layout, successfully shook You Qinghe off and claimed victory.

Huff… huff…

Qi Yuan leaned against a wall, gasping for breath.

Ahhh!!!

He was seriously going to lose his mind!

He’d been an honest, law-abiding man in his past life, never wronged anyone. Why was this happening to him?

Whatever the reason, the immediate priority was to avoid being caught by You Qinghe.

Qi Yuan went to a public restroom and splashed water on his face. He always carried tissues, so after tidying himself up, he looked at his utterly unremarkable reflection in the mirror and breathed a sigh of relief.

After the opening ceremony, he was going straight back to make a voodoo doll of You Qinghe.

Seriously, he’d never been so humiliated in his life.

He took a deep breath, composed himself, and suppressed his annoyance.

The academy auditorium was massive, easily accommodating the entire student body and faculty. Weilika frequently hosted various events, most of which were held here. Wealthy outsiders interested in these events would often attend, so the auditorium had to be not only spacious but also decorated to befit their opulent status.

In his past life, while working for the Student Council, Qi Yuan had helped organize an event in this very auditorium. He recalled a senior mentioning that the walls were laced with gold.

Even with the considerable savings he’d amassed to support his little sister, the sight of the resplendent, gold-gilded hall still made him uncontrollably want to scrape some gold off the walls.

You really couldn’t blame people for hating the rich. If Qi Yuan’s mindset had been even slightly less balanced, he’d be right there with them.

Qi Yuan pulled out his phone and confirmed that his seat was the same as in his previous life. Once certain, he navigated through the rows of seats toward his spot.

To his surprise, the auditorium was already quite full. Acquaintances chatted amongst themselves, while those who didn’t know anyone sat quietly, engrossed in their phones.

Seating was random. Privileged students had previously caused a fuss, demanding that seats be assigned based on family status and position. However, the Principal himself held considerable social standing, so while he heard them out, whether he’d act on their demands was another matter entirely. No one could force his hand.

The Principal was a man who did as he pleased. In his past life, Qi Yuan had seen him only once, at the opening ceremony, and never again. He was a dashing, scholarly gentleman who seemed affable enough, yet during his time in the Student Council, Qi Yuan had overheard the privileged students refer to the Principal by a nickname: “Bige.”

Though Qi Yuan didn’t understand its meaning, his intuition told him it wasn’t a compliment.

It was precisely because of his low profile and diligent work ethic that these privileged students treated him as if he were invisible.

And that was perfectly fine. He quite liked being invisible.

The auditorium’s air conditioning was on, and his seat was directly beneath a vent. Having just broken a sweat, the cool air quickly chilled him, but it was still within a tolerable range.

Time ticked by, and by the time the opening ceremony was about to begin, everyone had arrived.

Including You Qinghe, who wore an expression that screamed murder.

His seat was up front, a good eight hundred meters from Qi Yuan’s. Qi Yuan had no idea why the guy was chasing him, and frankly, he had no desire to find out. For a poor, ordinary person like him, getting entangled with the young master of a top-tier family like You Qinghe was nothing but trouble.

He had no grand ambitions—only the simple desire to live a peaceful, ordinary life with his little sister.

Coveting things that didn’t belong to you always came at a price.

In his past life, Qi Yuan had seen countless people fall into bottomless abysses because of their greed.

The privileged wouldn’t go out of their way to provoke poor students for no reason, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t toy with those who willingly offered themselves up. What was a mere game to them could utterly crush a poor student.

As a result, similar incidents happened every year after new students enrolled at Weilika.

“Qi… Qi-tongxue, hello…”

A voice from beside him broke Qi Yuan’s train of thought.

It was a shy girl with glasses, clearly an introvert, yet she was making a concerted effort to greet him.

Qi Yuan remembered her.

She was Yao Yu—one of the few friends he’d kept in touch with after graduation in his past life.

“Hello to you too,” he replied with a smile.

Yao Yu was socially anxious; mustering the courage to greet a stranger in public had already drained all her energy. But she had no choice—aside from Qi Yuan, she didn’t recognize anyone around her.

Besides, she genuinely wanted to get to know him. Yao Yu and Qi Yuan had attended the same high school. He had always been ranked first, while she consistently held third place.

Yao Yu guessed he probably didn’t remember her, and she thought that was fine. She knew how busy Qi Yuan was—with his parents gone, he had to care for his little sister while working part-time. How could he have the time to remember everyone? It was only natural that he wouldn’t remember her.

“Qi-tongxue, can we… can we add each other as friends?”

She gripped her hands tightly, her knuckles turning white from the tension. In her nervousness, she completely forgot the introduction she had mentally rehearsed—she was supposed to introduce herself first.

“Of course, Yao-tongxue.”

Qi Yuan, well aware of her personality, immediately took out his phone, opened his QR code, and gave it a little shake, silently urging her to scan it quickly.

“Okay!”

Yao Yu fumbled for her phone. Only after successfully adding him did she realize that Qi Yuan had just called her “Yao-tongxue.”

And she had forgotten to introduce herself.

So!

So Qi-tongxue did remember her?

“Qi-tongxue, you… you remember me?”

Qi Yuan replied with a helpless sigh, “Of course. How could I forget such an outstanding high school classmate?”

The corners of her mouth curved upward in a smile she herself didn’t even notice.

Neither of them were particularly talkative. After a brief chat, the opening ceremony officially began.

It was the standard procedure—a long series of speeches and presentations that dragged on for hours. Most of the audience grew drowsy, including Qi Yuan.

He felt the pull of sleep but forced himself to stay awake, zoning out to pass the time.

Only when it finally ended did he feel like he had come back to life. Thunderous applause erupted, a clear sign that everyone was desperate for the tedious ceremony to be over.

People began filing out of the auditorium. Qi Yuan wasn’t in a hurry; he decided to wait until the crowd thinned before leaving.

Yao Yu had already left with her roommates.

Classes wouldn’t officially start until tomorrow. This afternoon, Qi Yuan had to register for his courses. He planned to take the same ones as in his previous life—subjects he had already mastered, so he wouldn’t need to spend much energy learning new material.

This would free up more time for work-study jobs.

The on-campus jobs offered a decent hourly wage. In his past life, he hadn’t spent an excessive amount of time on work-study, yet he had still managed to save tens of thousands of yuan.

There was no way he would pass up this opportunity.

After carefully avoiding You Qinghe and returning to his dorm, Qi Yuan spent the afternoon registering for his courses. He then went out to pick up his course materials and textbooks. The rest of the day passed without incident, and evening arrived.

He usually went to bed early because he woke up early, needing to maintain a full night’s sleep.

Qi Yuan set his alarm for 7 AM. His first class was at nine, in a building far enough away that he’d have to take the campus shuttle.

He closed his eyes.

This time, surely I won’t have any strange dreams, he thought.

But the Dreamscape didn’t care for his reluctance.

The moment he fell asleep, his consciousness plunged downward. Soon, the clear sound of a lecture echoed from ahead.

When he opened his eyes again, Qi Yuan found himself sitting in a classroom. His spirit seemed to die on the spot.

“Baby.”

The familiar voice and the intimate address whispered in his ear made him shut his eyes in despair.