166: That's ridiculous - 2

As Jiang Ye walked, he sank his consciousness into his mind, once again confirming the details of the mission [Guidance of Lost Items].

Mission Content: Help a woman with a charm value > 80 recover a lost item of great significance to her.

The mission description specifically emphasized: Help her regain that precious memory or emotion.

Coming here this time, his primary goal was naturally to complete the monthly mission.

According to his deduction, the key to the mission was not "finding the lost object," but "recovering the memory lost due to the item's disappearance, or soothing the emotions unsettled by the item's loss."

Well, the "chastity" Ye Cheng mentioned earlier... for a girl, that was certainly an extremely important "item" with special meaning, perfectly fitting the mission criteria.

Although this thing definitely couldn't be physically retrieved once lost, the focus of the mission description was on "regaining memory or emotion"!

Then, as long as he used a "symbolic object" with special significance to represent that precious memory and emotional belonging, and made Ye Cheng feel the cherish and intention behind this "recovery," wouldn't the mission be completed?

Hmm... no problem!

I'm such a little genius! This logic is simply impeccable!

The two walked to a secluded bench deep in the small garden, surrounded only by a few old trees draped with residual snow.

Ye Cheng crossed her arms and looked at him leisurely. "Alright, Master Jiang, what on earth are you up to? Please, start your performance."

Jiang Ye took a deep breath, his face shifting into an unprecedentedly solemn and affectionate expression as he slowly spoke:

"Cheng Cheng, I came here today to help you find something."

Ye Cheng was taken aback and instinctively patted her pockets. "Find something? I haven't lost anything."

"No, you have."

Jiang Ye's tone was incredibly certain, his gaze burning as he stared into her eyes. "Something very important, incredibly precious, and unique to you!"

Ye Cheng felt a bit creeped out by his gaze and couldn't help but rub her arms. "...Speak plainly."

Jiang Ye took a step forward, his gaze focused, emphasizing every word:

"Chas. Ti. Ty."

Ye Cheng: "???"

Her face instantly flushed red—not just from embarrassment, but mostly from anger.

She glared at him with a mix of shame and annoyance, growling in a low voice:

"Jiang Ye, are you a pervert?! I was joking on WeChat at noon, just teasing you! You actually took it seriously? You specifically ran to the school to help me find... find... find what the hell? Where are you even going to find that?"

"Don't be in a hurry! Don't be in a hurry! Cheng Cheng, listen to me!"

Jiang Ye quickly waved his hands to prevent her from truly blowing up. "I know you were joking then. But! What I want to say is, in a sense, from a philosophical and emotional level, this thing hasn't really been 'lost.' It just... changed its form of existence and became imprinted in our lives and relationship in a more profound way."

Ye Cheng felt goosebumps all over her body. She quickly scanned the surroundings, feeling incredibly fortunate that she had the foresight to bring this guy to a corner where no one passed by.

"And so? Great Philosopher Jiang, are you trying to tell me that my chastity is with you now, being kept safely like some family heirloom?"

"...Hmm?"

This time it was Jiang Ye's turn to be stunned. "Oh? How did you know?"

Ye Cheng was completely speechless. She held her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"Big brother, I'm begging you, can you stop? Although I consider myself to have a strong mental capacity, this is just too cringe... too abstract..."

Before she could finish, Jiang Ye had already taken off the backpack from his shoulders and "zip," pulled open the zipper, lowering his voice mysteriously:

"Cheng Cheng, look... I brought it for you."

Ye Cheng's subsequent words were suddenly stuck in her throat.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the backpack in disbelief, her voice changing pitch. "You said... you brought what?"

Jiang Ye clicked his tongue. "What do you think? I told you I've been keeping it safe!"

He paused, his hand slowly and extremely solemnly reaching toward the opening of the backpack, as if it contained some rare treasure. Word by word, his voice was filled with a sense of ceremony:

"Now! I! Shall! Return! It! To! Its! Original! Owner!"

Ye Cheng's gaze was instinctively drawn to his movements, her heart rate inexplicably accelerating.

As Jiang Ye's hand slowly pulled out from the backpack, she saw it—a square object carefully wrapped in kraft paper, looking like a picture frame.

When Jiang Ye began to cautiously unwrap the kraft paper, revealing a corner of white fabric within the frame, Ye Cheng's pupils suddenly constricted!

Although she hadn't seen the whole thing yet, an extremely ominous premonition instantly shot through her entire body!

Her brain was sounding a frantic alarm, cutting off any specific associations, leaving only one thought: Stop him!

"Wait! Wait a second!"

Ye Cheng lunged forward, her hand firmly pressing down on Jiang Ye's hand that was unwrapping the package!

Her mouth hung open as she stared at him in a daze, her face flushing crimson from extreme shame and indignation, then turning from red to purple, and from purple to black!

Looking at the smugness and expectation filling her man's eyes, Ye Cheng's molars were almost crushed from grinding. Unable to bear it any longer, she let out a low growl, her other fist raining down on him like raindrops!

"Jiang Ye! Do you want to die?! You actually! You actually really framed it?! You, you, you! You even brought it to show me! You pervert! I'll kill you!"

Jiang Ye cried out "Ouch, ouch" as he was hit, feeling a bit embarrassed himself.

But... for the mission! It wasn't shameful!

He saw his chance and grabbed Ye Cheng's flailing fist. With a slight pull, he drew her, who was limp from agitation, into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Hey, don't hit me, don't hit me! What's there to be shy about? We're an old married couple!"

Jiang Ye cleared his throat, paying attention to the mission progress in his mind. "Ahem... how about it? Does this... count as me finding it for you?"

"..."

Ye Cheng was held tightly in his arms, feeling as if her entire body no longer belonged to her.

Shame, embarrassment, the urge to laugh, and annoyance were all intertwined, making her feel like she was about to explode.

She had thought that playing the "helpful passerby" at the entrance of the Comprehensive Building was the limit of Jiang Ye's cringe, but she hadn't expected this guy's outrageous moves to have no upper limit. He could even pull out this kind of "nuclear weapon"!

She instinctively glanced at the picture frame half-wrapped in kraft paper. That night in the Conrad Hotel room, the dim lights, the scorching breath, the intertwined body heat... those chaotic yet profound memories flooded into her mind like a tide, every detail becoming incredibly clear.

"You bastard! I'll bite you to death!"

Driven to the peak of shame and annoyance, Ye Cheng could find no other way to vent. She lowered her head and bit down on Jiang Ye's neck!

"Hiss—! Holy crap, you really bit me!" This time, Jiang Ye truly cried out in pain.

At the same time, the system notification sound, like heavenly music, finally rang out clearly in his mind—

[Ding! Monthly Mission "Guidance of Lost Items" has been completed!]