Bella was completely unaware that she had already been exposed.
If you asked why she was so confident, it was entirely because she had worked as an extra before.
Back in her freshman year of college, she had dragged Chen Xiaoxiao along to enthusiastically participate in the filming of a web-series-style anti-Japanese war movie.
In it, she played a colonel's...
Subordinate soldier.
She remembered it vividly; all the extras in that movie were college students.
When "killing the enemy," everyone was highly enthusiastic, each more excited than the last. Even when they were "shot," they stubbornly refused to fall.
The director kept shouting, "Fall down, fall down!"
"Watch your safety!"
"Everyone, fall down!"
Bella's thoughts were much simpler: she could get paid just for lying there, so why not?
Therefore, compared to the other extras, the director was extremely satisfied with these few obedient ones.
After yelling "Cut!", he gave Bella, Chen Xiaoxiao, and the others a thumbs-up with his megaphone in hand, praising their excellent acting.
This kind of praise gave her a tiny, teeny, little bit of confidence in playing the role of a doll well.
Noticing Ye Jinzhi walking toward her, Bella cleared the stray thoughts from her head and continued her act.
He reached out, carefully supported Bella, held her securely in his arms, and then turned to walk into the bathroom.
The bathroom was filled with mist, warm steam rising in the air.
He didn't walk toward the bathtub, but instead took out a pink washbasin from under the shelf.
When Bella's gaze swept over the pattern at the bottom of the basin, she felt utterly speechless.
It was clearly custom-made—
A chibi version of Ye Jinzhi holding a chibi version of her in an intimate posture, his arms wrapped around her so naturally, as if they were meant to be there.
Floating around the design was an unapologetic circle of hearts.
This kind of thing usually appeared on the phone cases or screensavers of couples deeply in love...
Yet right now, it was printed on the bottom of a washbasin filled with water, quietly waiting for her to be placed inside.
[Good heavens... Ye Jinzhi actually went and custom-ordered something like this?!]
"Bella, look, this is us."
Ye Jinzhi murmured softly, his tone very light.
So light that it didn't sound like an introduction, but rather a confirmation.
His movements were extremely patient. He first tested the water temperature, and only then did he use his wet fingertips to pinch Bella's stiff cheek.
Placing her gently on a bath towel, his nimble fingers began to skillfully unbutton her lace dress.
"Dirty clothes must be taken off right away."
To be honest, Bella was not just nervous right now; her whole body felt like it was about to catch fire.
The faint sound of the fabric being peeled away bit by bit made Bella so embarrassed she wanted to die on the spot.
It was so shameful.
Although reason told her that this body was made of silicone and she had merely transmigrated into it.
Yet whenever Ye Jinzhi's distinct, bony fingers brushed past an inch of the doll's "skin," the depths of her soul felt like they were exploding, sending waves of tingling shivers through her.
The sensation of warm water submerging her body, the pressure of his fingertips gliding down her back with body wash, and even the slight tickle when the pads of his fingers inadvertently brushed past sensitive joints...
This process, which should have been a simple cleaning of a doll, was infinitely magnified in the cramped bathroom.
The quietness, the intermittent sound of water, and the overly close distance made everything feel inappropriate.
Even though there were no transgressive actions, an undeniable sense of ambiguity was born in this private space—
Slow, oppressive, observant, and even carrying a bit of inescapable torment.
"Bella, you are so good."
"Not noisy, not fussy. I really hope you can stay this good forever..."
He lowered his head, his scalding breath spilling onto her forehead.
[Oh my God, who exactly is being tortured here? Hurry up and finish, why do you need to wash it so clean!]
Ye Jinzhi seemed to notice something, and the movements of his hands paused slightly.
Those eyes, gleaming with a sickly obsession, narrowed slightly as he stared at the "well-behaved" doll in his hands. His voice was so low it sounded like coaxing:
"Bella, why do you... seem to be turning red?"
His fingertips stopped on her cheek, and Bella noticed a flash of mischievousness in his dark eyes.
He was teasing her.
As soon as this thought popped up, Bella's heart skipped a beat.
The conversation between Klee and the butler flashed through her mind almost simultaneously.
[He's bluffing!]
[He's definitely bluffing me!]
[I'm a silicone doll, where would I get blood circulation? Blushing my foot!]
[Bella, hold steady, hold steady!]
She forcefully suppressed all her reactions, even making herself silently recite positive core values:
[Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony... (knocking on a wooden fish)
Freedom, equality, justice, rule of law... Ye Jinzhi is just doing chores, he's just a high school student who loves cleanliness...
Patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendliness... (knocking on a wooden fish)]
As long as she played dead and didn't move, she was still "safe."
Positive energy was truly great; it instantly brought her back to her oppressive senior year of high school, making her entire doll persona practically drop dead on the spot.
The faint trace of life in her eyes was forcefully suppressed, returning to an empty and wooden stare.
Ye Jinzhi stared at her for a full half-minute, his thumb repeatedly rubbing against her cheek.
"Is the water temperature too high?"
He chuckled softly and finally withdrew his hand.
He scooped up a handful of cold water and, without warning, poured it over Bella's face.
His tone was unhurried. "Then let's... cool down together."
Before Bella could even react to this baffling sentence, she saw Ye Jinzhi's fingers already resting on his shirt buttons.
His slender fingers deftly flicked them open, the first, the second, the third...
Accompanied by the rustling of fabric, the white shirt slid off his shoulders.
[Wait a minute!!! Wait, wait! Cooling down is cooling down, why are you taking off your clothes???!]
Before Bella had time to protest in her heart, her soul was practically shocked out of her body by the sight before her.
Beneath the school uniform shirt was a highly powerful upper body.
It looked nothing like the lean frame one would expect at his age; the muscle lines were smooth and distinct, as if carefully polished by the greatest sculptor.
What made Bella's pupils quake the most was an eight-pack.
Underneath that thin, cool-white skin, the abdominal muscles were clearly defined, rising and falling slightly as he bent over, brimming with wildness.
[Holy cow, holy cow, holy cow... I'm stunned.]
Bella let out a speechless scream in her mind: [Ahhhhh, is this really a high school student? These serratus anterior muscles, this V-line, these external obliques...!]
Bare-chested, he slowly turned around.
Those pitch-black eyes looked down from above at the "wooden" doll in the basin, seemingly very satisfied with Bella's "sluggish" reaction, carrying a hint of teasing.
"What, are you stunned?"
As he spoke, a large hand had already grabbed her by the waist, placing her dripping wet body onto the wooden rack spanning the bathtub.
He adjusted Bella to an angle so that her back was facing him.
Her vision was cut off.
Bella immediately seized the moment to relax, blinking rapidly to soothe her sore eyes.
However, her sense of hearing was magnified countless times in that instant.
[Rustle...]
The faint sound of a zipper seemed exceptionally clear and piercing in the quiet bathroom, followed by the rustling of fabric rubbing against skin.
[Help! That sound! What is he doing behind me?! He is taking off his pants! He is absolutely taking off his pants right behind me, aahhh!]
Bella could even picture the expensive uniform trousers sliding down his long legs and pooling on the cold tile floor.
[This is not cooling down at all; this is roasting me over an open fire! Oh my God! I am begging you!]
Soon after, the sound of steady, slow footsteps came from behind her.
Splash—splash—
It was the sound of a body breaking the surface of the water.
Ye Jinzhi unhurriedly stepped into the bathtub that was only half-filled with warm water. The water sloshed against the sides of the tub, making a muffled sound.
As he entered the water, droplets splashed onto the doll's bare back.
Sitting on that narrow shelf, Bella could clearly hear him let out a long sigh of relief.
She could even feel the powerful, scalding, and intensely aggressive body right behind her.
Terrified, Bella immediately started reciting Buddhist scriptures in her head:
[O Sariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, and emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is form. The same is true for feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness...]
Ye Jinzhi leaned against the edge of the bathtub, his long fingers resting on the edge of the shelf, tapping lightly.
His voice pierced through the mist, carrying a damp, husky tone.
"Bella, do you want to turn around and look at me?"
