What the hell???
Bella didn't show it on her face, but her mind was spouting nonsense.
Actually no, her heart was churning like a stormy sea:
"I only acted for a few seconds and he saw right through me? With my acting skills, I'd at least be a Best Actress candidate in the domestic entertainment industry, but in front of him, I'm this terrible?"
Before she could finish complaining inwardly, the man's patience had clearly run out.
"If you won't come over, then I'll just have to come to you."
If the enemy moves, I stay still—this was her final stubbornness as a "doll."
Until that breathtakingly handsome face magnified in front of Bella's eyes without any warning, his cold breath brushing lightly against the tip of her nose.
Bella's first reaction was—too close, way too close.
This distance had already broken through her psychological defenses.
Never before had a member of the opposite sex been so close to her, so close that she could even see he didn't have a single visible pore on his face.
So jealous~
It was exactly this zero-distance visual critical hit that made Bella's heart instantly explode:
So handsome ahhhh!
Really so handsome!
Does this level of attractiveness really exist?
(Crawling darkly) (Roaring) (Turning into a monkey) (Flying into a banana grove) (Swinging wildly on vines) (Crashing into two kissing monkeys)
Bella's eyes didn't even ripple.
Ye Jinzhi reached out and unhurriedly picked up the "doll," holding her steadily in his broad palm.
He made no extra movements, just staring straight at her face.
His gaze was so focused it bordered on fanatical, yet he didn't say a word.
Bella subconsciously held her breath, like an old monk in deep meditation.
She had made up her mind—even if God himself came down, he couldn't make her move a muscle.
But during this stare-down, without Bella even realizing it, a highly bizarre and unnatural flush slowly crept up from the base of her delicate ears.
"...Heh."
Ye Jinzhi suddenly let out a light chuckle.
Gradually, the laughter grew louder, as if he couldn't hold it back anymore, even laughing until he coughed endlessly.
At this extremely close distance, it made Bella's scalp go numb.
As if he had discovered some peerless treasure, the pad of his finger ambiguously rubbed against that slightly hot earlobe.
The man suddenly leaned in close, his lips brushing past her ear, as if casually yet deliberately taking a bite.
His low, husky voice followed right after—
"Bella, you are so cute."
Her eardrums felt as though they had been lightly tickled by a feather; his voice was so damn nice to hear.
Clear, yet grinding out a somewhat deep, textured huskiness.
Bella almost broke character, calmly and tightly clenching her back teeth.
She couldn't keep her apple cheeks flat anymore ahhhh!
The man raised an eyebrow, hooking a mischievous smile, staring at how the other party tried hard to maintain the wooden expression of a doll.
Bella's inner monologue: "Tsk tsk, he's already this much of a cheat code now, what will happen in the future?"
Hmm?!!!
What was she just thinking?
"What will happen in the future?"
"Future?"
Her body completely stiffened; this time she was truly frozen in place.
It seemed, like, perhaps, maybe, she had arrived at the wrong point in time?
Her heart began to roar wildly, praying it absolutely wasn't what she thought it was.
"Buzz—buzz—buzz"
The phone in Ye Jinzhi's pocket suddenly started vibrating.
Glancing at the screen, he didn't loosen the hand supporting Bella. Instead, he forcefully tucked her into his chest and pressed the answer button.
Bella's entire doll body was instantly pressed against his left chest, her nose filled with the extremely faint scent of gardenias on him.
This scent smelled like flowers and also like perfume. He was a guy, how could he have this kind of smell on him?
The worst part was, her right ear was pressed tightly against his chest.
Thump, thump.
It was his strong, highly vital heartbeat.
"Hello, Mr. Li."
Bella had to prick up her other ear to eavesdrop on the phone call.
The man's voice had changed.
The previously low and husky voice vanished completely, replaced by a cold, polite tone:
"Yes, okay, I will participate in this year's Math Olympiad. I've already read the materials... Okay, goodbye Mr. Li."
Hearing the words "Mr. Li" and "Olympiad," the little flame named 'hope' in Bella's heart was instantly doused with a basin of freezing water.
After hanging up, the cold quietness Ye Jinzhi had when facing his teacher instantly dissipated.
He reached out and, like teasing a kitten, unhurriedly ruffled Bella's curly hair, before lazily placing her back on the desk.
He leaned over, his tone carrying a trace of wicked coaxing:
"Bella, are you getting a bit bored waiting?"
"Don't rush, wait obediently. Later... I'll wash you squeaky clean."
After saying that, he straightened up and turned to walk toward the walk-in closet.
???
What does being bored have to do with taking a bath?
Psycho...
Only now did she finally have time to observe the man.
Actually no, she should call him a youth.
The youth's skin was excessively pale, exuding an air of pampered nobility.
He had a straight nose bridge and a well-defined jawline, carrying a hint of the slender leanness that belonged to a young boy.
Moving her gaze down, it landed on the left chest of his high-quality shirt.
Several letters were embroidered in low-profile silver thread, arranged in a circular pattern.
Because of the angle, and the fact that as a doll, she couldn't tilt her head and didn't dare to glance sideways, she could only desperately try to catch the characters within her extremely limited field of vision.
"College"
This word squeezed into her sight.
This face, this physique, this "college"—he was sixteen or seventeen at most.
Sixteen or seventeen, how nice, such youth.
Nice? Nice my ass.
All signs indicated that Bella had arrived during Ye Jinzhi's high school years.
The second half of that novel.
She originally still held onto a sliver of wishful thinking.
It was as if she had just skimmed through the entire novel last night; she remembered all the plot points and everything.
Not only did she not turn into a human, but now she didn't even have the plot to rely on. How was she supposed to rewrite her destiny?
Rewrite my ass.
Yes, in the original work, the author only stingily provided descriptions of this third male lead during two time periods:
When he was classmates with the male and female leads, and when he was in his twenties and single-handedly forged a business empire that left the leads in the dust—the head of a financial conglomerate.
As for his growth history spanning over ten years in between, the author never mentioned this character at all.
A! Complete! Blank!
Moreover, she remembered the clear words on the transparent screen: "Male Lead Ye Jinzhi."
So, when did Ye Jinzhi become the male lead?
Could it be that she transmigrated into a fake book?
Bella felt so distressed that she subconsciously twitched the corner of her mouth downward, then returned to normal.
The lack of plot meant she was completely clueless about the current Ye Jinzhi.
According to that damn system's mission, she had to make physical contact with him.
If she were facing the eight or nine-year-old Ye Jinzhi, this task would be so easy.
Given his possessiveness over the doll, a hug or a kiss could easily max out their intimacy level.
But now?
Her only extravagant hope now was to pray that the current Ye Jinzhi still had feelings for the doll.
Ye Jinzhi unhurriedly walked back and forth between the walk-in closet and the bathroom, but his attention hadn't shifted away from the "doll" on the desk for even a single second.
He was waiting.
Sure enough, just as he passed by the desk again, he sharply caught her subtle change in expression.
Ye Jinzhi's footsteps paused for a fraction of a second before he smoothly continued into the bathroom, his expression betraying nothing.
A sudden gleam of light flashed across his deep, dark eyes.
The corners of his lips curled upward uncontrollably. His smile was no longer the playful teasing from just a moment ago, but rather one of pure, unadulterated joy.
[I! Caught! You!]
