[Keyword Search: “Campus Belle”]

“An unremarkable and unknown man, Long Qitian, was tasked by a mysterious figure to act as a personal bodyguard for the campus belle^[1]校花 – the prettiest girl in the school, also known as school beauty queen/prom queen. of S University, Chu Jie. The top student who aimed for an easy life wanted to skip decades of hard work, the sleazy and creepy male teacher, and the cocky social elite. Anyone daring to lay a hand on the campus belle faced a swift, no-nonsense punch from Long Qitian—no exceptions.”

“The innocent campus belle, the fiery hot female teacher, the cold and aloof daughter of the school director, the tsundere A-list actress, a loving yuri couple… As more and more women gather around him, how will he make his choice? Apologies—there’s no need to choose. He’ll take them all, of course!”

“……”

At a table by the window in a café just outside the campus, a moment of silence fell.

A cute university boy reading the novel description, a cold, aloof woman wearing black-rimmed glasses, a three-and-a-half-year-old girl with big, blinking eyes hugging a milk “bucket”, and a young man propping his head lazily in one hand, half-closing his eyes. The four of them quietly finished their coffee (or milk tea) in that silence.

The woman struggled to grasp the logic. “If he’s supposed to be unknown and unremarkable, why is he so good at fighting and attracting so many goddesses?”

[Reverse-harem male  protagonist troupe, obviously!] A childish voice echoed in the minds of the three adults. The three-and-a-half-year-old girl was still sipping her milk tea through a straw, without opening her mouth. The others, accustomed to this, didn’t even spare her a glance.

The boy reading the novel quickly flipped through the AI-generated highlights of the novel. “Actually, Long Qitian is a top-tier fighter from a mysterious family!”

“……”

The woman pulled up the relevant information about their suspected target on her laptop. “Wang De, male, 21 years old, height 171 cm, weight 88 kg, left eye 555° and right eye 750°. Top-tier fighter?”

They had only noticed Wang De’s unusual behavior last night. On the surface, he seemed like the most ordinary of students. But what stood out was the fact that he was the boyfriend of A University’s campus belle.

That alone wasn’t so strange. What caught their attention, however, was an online post revealing that not only was he dating the campus belle, but he was also involved with three other beautiful women.

It sounded exactly like the setup for the protagonist of a cheesy reverse-harem novel.

The three looked toward their team captain, Duan Chunshui, who was propping up his head with his hand.

He looked as though he had just been dragged out of bed and was ready to collapse back into sleep. One hand supported his head in a barely presentable posture, while the other lazily waved a finger upward, like a sleepy cat swiping its paw. The sunlight streaming through the checkered window caught a faint glimmer on his faintly pink-tinted nails.

“Next,” he said.

Continuing to browse the world’s most comprehensive internal website for novels, filtering for the keyword “campus belle” under popular harem, Xiao Xu read aloud the summary of the next novel:

“Long Yutian is reborn in that golden era, determined not to ruin his life for a single woman this time. By trading stocks and buying land, he gradually built his business empire. Only then does he realize that, back in the entertainment industry’s heyday, even the goddesses of the silver screen didn’t compare to the unique charm of the campus belle intern by his side.”

“……”

Xiao Xu didn’t wait for anyone to comment before speaking up himself, “This one’s even more unrelated.”

“This one! This one!” Xiao Xu exclaimed, looking at the next novel. “This one is campus-related— ‘My Campus Belle Cousin’.”

“Long Datian never expected the campus belle among the freshmen to be his distant cousin. He also didn’t expect her mother, whom he’d only met once as a child, to have such a—”

“Stop, stop, stop!” The woman with glasses couldn’t listen any longer and interrupted him.

She turned to their captain, whose eyelashes looked as though they might sweep his cheeks any second. “Wang De is very likely under the aura of a stud-horse novel^[2]種馬文- stud-horse novel: A genre where the male protagonist attracts multiple love interests, often in exaggerated and comedic ways. The term often carries a mix of critique and amusement, as it … Continue reading male lead. If we arrive even a little late, he might end up ruining another girl’s life.”

Duan Chunshui rubbed his brow twice before pushing off the table to stand. As that lazy frame straightened, the others realized he was much taller than they’d expected, with a posture surprisingly upright.

“Let’s go then,” he said.

Xiao Xu immediately closed his laptop. He too felt these kinds of novels weren’t worth wasting their time on—even if knowing one’s enemy was part of the plan.

The little girl was the last to hop down from her chair. Hugging her oversized milk-only milk tea bucket, she jogged to catch up.

——————————————

It was a bright early-autumn morning. The sunlight poured down everywhere, warm but tolerable. At the gates of A University, Duan Chunshui stood squinting slightly against the glaring sunlight, surveying the campus ahead.

A University was a first-tier university, but in Shangcheng, a city filled with elite institutions, it was considered rather average. Its gates, however, stood out—a pair of black marble archways connected together, twice as tall as the surrounding walls, making them very conspicuous.

Xiao Xu, holding a work badge, was speaking with the security guard at the gate. After a short exchange, he waved to the group.

“The guard recognizes our department’s work badges, so the situation isn’t too serious,” Xiao Xu said while leading them toward the school’s sports field.

“Wang De has a PE class this morning, so he should be finishing up about now. We can go straight to the field.”

Before they reached the sports field, they heard a cringe-worthy voice coming from a small grove nearby.

“Ugh~ You’re so naughty~”

“……”

Their extensive work experience made all of them pause at the same time.

Duan Chunshui glanced down at the three-and-a-half-year-old girl, who immediately declared, “This is a campus. There’s nothing inappropriate for kids here!”

Xiao Xu shook his head and sighed. “You don’t understand stud-horse novels.”

Seeing that Duan Chunshui was about to act, the little girl quickly put on her black, heart-shaped sunglasses, which had been hanging around her neck.

“Now can I go in?” she asked.

Duan Chunshui replied, “You’re just covering your ears while stealing a bell^[3]掩耳盜鈴: Used to describe the behaviour of lying to yourself..” 

He bent down and picked up a small stone. After twirling it in his hand for a moment, he flicked it lightly with his fingers. With a sharp “whoosh,” the stone flew into the small grove, followed by a loud yelp of pain.

Not long after, a man and a woman emerged from the grove.

The man, as expected, was Wang De, the person they’d seen in the photos. His face was filled with rage, sweat beading on his forehead, though it was unclear whether from pain or some other reason.

His eyes were small, his nose was low, and his average features were slightly distorted by the grease of his chubby face. And yet, he exuded a peculiar, inexplicable charm.

Xiao Xu quickly shook his head, trying to drive away the strange thoughts forming in his mind.

He had almost been influenced by the protagonist’s aura.

The woman clutched the wide collar of her shirt, her face flushed bright red. Her beautiful, large eyes seemed glued to the man in front of her, filled with shy affection and overflowing with deep attachment.

The woman with glasses frowned. According to the files, A University’s campus belle, He Jun, was not only stunningly beautiful but also highly talented. She had won a national scholarship, was one of the top ten debate speakers, and had earned the Gold Idea Award in a business startup competition. Every moment of her college life had been dedicated to meaningful pursuits.

But now, she had become someone who couldn’t tear herself away from a man.

“Who threw that at me?” Wang De demanded angrily, glaring at the four people outside the grove. His small eyes carried an air of arrogance—a kind of smugness that seemed out of place on his face, more like the pride of a poor man who’d suddenly gotten rich.

“Which one of you is the culprit?” he sneered, looking them over.

[You’re about to get punched by Duan Chunshui.]

A sweet, childish voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Wang De turned his gaze toward the only one who could possibly have made that sound—a small child.