“Click.”
As the heavy solid wood office door was locked from the inside, the noise from outside was instantly cut off.
A second ago, Xie Jingran still carried an overwhelming aura as he walked with confident strides. The next second it was as if the strength had been pulled out of his spine. His body swayed and he braced himself against the door with one hand.
“P-Professor Xie? What’s wrong with you?”
Chu Anhe was startled. She immediately dropped her backpack and rushed forward to support him.
At this moment, a thin layer of cold sweat covered Xie Jingran’s forehead. His face was even paler than it had been in the classroom earlier.
Those eyes that were usually icy now showed a trace of alarming bloodshot redness.
System Warning: More than 3 hours have passed since the last effective contact. Life value loss accelerating… Current remaining: 29 days 10 hours. Immediate high-intensity recharge recommended!
Damn it.
The side effects of this ridiculous System were becoming more and more obvious. Once it had tasted the sweetness of energy, the withdrawal after losing power was almost unbearable.
Gritting his teeth, Xie Jingran endured the stabbing pain spreading through his heart. He lifted his head and said hoarsely, his voice almost unrecognizable.
“Come here.”
Chu Anhe was frightened by his condition. Instead of approaching, she stepped back toward the corner of the wall.
“Professor Xie, if you’re not feeling well I’ll call the campus doctor for you. Or should I dial 120?”
“I don’t need a doctor.” Xie Jingran took a deep breath and slowly walked closer with heavy steps. “I only need you to fulfill the agreement.”
“The… agreement?”
Before Chu Anhe could react, a powerful presence carrying a faint cedar fragrance suddenly pressed toward her.
Xie Jingran placed one hand against the wall beside her ear, trapping her completely between himself and the wall.
Chu Anhe froze. Her eyes widened as she stared at the handsome face only inches away.
Too close.
Close enough for her to see each of his eyelashes clearly. Close enough to feel his slightly hurried breathing brushing against her neck.
“P-Professor Xie… this is the school office…” Chu Anhe’s voice trembled as both hands pressed against his chest, trying to push him away. “It wouldn’t be good if someone saw…”
“The door is locked. No one can come in.”
Xie Jingran’s voice was low and hoarse, carrying an indescribable thirst.
Not only did he not move away, he lowered his head into the crook of her neck and took a deep breath.
Ding! Intimate posture detected: Wall pin + neck inhalation. Charging efficiency increased by 200%!
Life value is rapidly recovering… +20 minutes… +40 minutes…
The sharp pain in his heart vanished instantly. In its place a warm current flowed through every limb. That feeling of being revived after near death made Xie Jingran almost groan in relief.
Like a traveler who had wandered through drought for years, he greedily absorbed Chu Anhe’s scent.
But from Chu Anhe’s perspective this looked like…
A middle-aged perverted professor sexually harassing a student on campus!
“Xie Jingran!” She was so anxious she even dropped the word “Professor.” Her face flushed red like a boiled shrimp. “D-don’t do this! If you keep acting like this… I’ll call someone!”
Hearing her call him by name, Xie Jingran regained a bit of clarity.
He did not step back. To conceal his loss of control and also extend the contact time, he immediately put on a stern expression. Even while doing this he spoke with the authoritative tone of an academic professor.
“This is the advanced version of the ‘adaptive training’ stated in the third clause of our agreement. A stress resistance test.”
Chu Anhe: “?”
Unbelievable. Making things up with a straight face. What kind of stress test involves burying your face in someone’s neck?
“Really?” Chu Anhe asked suspiciously, though her body remained stiff and she did not dare move.
“I’m the professor, or you’re the professor?” Xie Jingran continued his nonsense with absolute seriousness. “Just now in class, when facing Lin You’s provocation, your heart rate fluctuated too much and your expression control was poor. If you lose composure at a wealthy family banquet it will embarrass me.”
As he spoke, the hand that had been pressed against the wall slid downward. It wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her even closer.
“Now adjust your breathing. Feel this sense of pressure. Get used to it and ignore it.”
Chu Anhe: “…”
I want to ignore it too, but could your hand stop holding me so tightly? And Professor, your heartbeat sounds even faster than mine!
At the same time.
Outside the office door.
Lin You was unwilling to accept the humiliation of losing points and wanted to explain things to Xie Jingran. She secretly pressed herself against the door. Although the door was well soundproofed and she could not hear clearly, faint fragments of dialogue still leaked through.
“…Don’t do this…” Chu Anhe said anxiously.
“…Endure it for a moment. It’ll be over soon…” Xie Jingran’s voice sounded low and restrained.
“…It hurts…” Chu Anhe’s voice carried a hint of tears.
“…Don’t move… I’ll move…”
Boom!
Lin You felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She froze in place. The expression on her face was spectacular.
That dialogue!
That tone!
The door locked in broad daylight!
Heavens! The cold and abstinent Professor Xie was actually doing that with a female student in the office?! And the girl was that supposedly innocent Chu Anhe?!
So the so-called “academic discussion” was this kind of discussion?!
No wonder Professor Xie scolded her in class but treated Chu Anhe differently. So Chu Anhe had already seduced him!
Covering her mouth, the shock in Lin You’s eyes gradually turned into twisted excitement.
Big news. This was definitely a shocking scandal.
If she exposed this, Chu Anhe would be completely ruined at Haishi University.
Lin You’s hands trembled as she took out her phone. She opened the recording function and pressed even closer to the door.
Inside the office.
Chu Anhe’s hair had become tangled in the button of Xie Jingran’s vest, pulling painfully. The two of them fumbled awkwardly while trying to free her hair. Their physical contact lasted a full ten minutes.
Looking at the panel showing the rapidly increasing number, 30 days 12 hours, Xie Jingran finally released her in satisfaction.
He stepped back and adjusted his slightly messy collar. Instantly he switched back to the dignified and upright professor persona. Only his previously pale face now looked unusually flushed.
“This performance was acceptable,” Xie Jingran said while pushing up his glasses to hide the slight awkwardness in his eyes. “But your physical strength is too weak. You can barely stand steady. Increase your exercise in the future.”
At this moment Chu Anhe leaned against the wall. Her legs felt weak and she was breathing heavily. Her face was so red it seemed about to drip blood.
Listen to that nonsense.
He had just pressed most of his body weight on her!
“Since the test is over… Can I go now?” Chu Anhe wanted to escape this dangerous place as soon as possible.
“Wait.”
Xie Jingran walked to his desk and opened a drawer. He took out a brand new phone box and tossed it into her arms.
“Replace that broken phone. As my class representative I don’t want to call you and hear that your phone is turned off.”
It was the latest model of the Fruit phone. Pink. The same color as the slippers at home.
Chu Anhe held the phone and stared at him blankly. Although his behavior was strange and domineering, he actually seemed… rather considerate.
She bit her lip and said, “After school this afternoon, I want to go to the hospital to see my mom. Is that okay?”
“Of course. I’ll have the driver pick you up.”
The office door opened.
Lin You, who was hiding around the corner of the hallway, saw Chu Anhe walk out with her head lowered. Her hair was slightly messy and her cheeks were flushed.
Did it look like she had been “played with” and then scolded?
Or had some kind of leverage fallen into Professor Xie’s hands?
Either way, Chu Anhe’s appearance of being “badly bullied,” combined with the recording from earlier, would be enough to cause a storm on the school forum.
“Chu Anhe, you’re finished this time.”
Lin You stared at the slender figure and pressed the save button on the recording with a sinister smile.