Bella's gaze froze on those loose grey sweatpants for a second, feeling her eyelids twitch wildly.
"Extra large, honest to God," the young man repeated, his tone sincere.
Doing a tactical lean back, Bella rested against the sofa and covered her face for a moment.
She turned to look at Shen Wenjing, noticing the other woman had even forgotten to swirl the wine glass in her hand. "Sister Jing, snap out of it."
Taking a sip of wine, Shen Wenjing shook her head, averted her eyes, and looked elsewhere before spitting out a single phrase, "It's a thermos."
The young man wasn't shy at all; instead, he took another small step forward, showing it off openly.
"Sister, want to try?"
"Try what?" Bella looked up warily. "Opening a bottle cap, or...?"
The young man gave a shy smile and pointed to his abs, which had just performed the feat. "Try the hardness. Opening a bottle cap is just the basics, it can also let Sister's hand..."
As he spoke, he deliberately took a deep breath and flexed his stomach, his abs slowly rising and falling with his breathing.
"Sink in, and never want to come out."
"Pfft."
Shen Wenjing completely spat out the wine she had just sipped, giving a thumbs up while grabbing some tissues.
"As long as Sister wants, it can be hard or soft."
He added in a low, suggestive voice, his gaze locked firmly onto her.
Bella's curiosity was indeed piqued. Although she called herself an "old monk," her hand reached out very honestly.
However, before touching him, to verify the suspicion in her mind, she threw out a joke:
"Don't rush, let me test you with a brain teaser. Three guys are missing one for mahjong, and they want to call Xiao Ming to join the table, but Xiao Ming absolutely can't play. Why?"
The young man froze, maintaining his shirt-lifting pose. His expression was extremely weird for a moment. After holding it in for a long time, he tentatively asked, "Because... Xiao Ming doesn't know how to play?"
Bella shook her head calmly.
Shen Wenjing joined the fun, guessing blindly from the side, "Because he's a good student?"
Bella kept staring at his handsome face, curled her lips, and slowly said, "Because... Xiao Ming is a zero."
The air stilled for a second.
Shen Wenjing understood instantly. A mouthful of wine choked in her throat, and then she burst into earth-shattering laughter, slapping the sofa until it thumped.
The young man's face instantly flushed red all the way to the base of his neck. His original confident show-off vibe dissipated cleanly in a flash. His eyes darted away, actually revealing a bit of bashful annoyance from being teased.
Seeing this, Bella smiled exceptionally brightly and radiantly.
She hesitated no longer. Her fingertips poked him generously, her tone teasing, "Alright, don't be mad. Come on, didn't you want me to touch? Let Sister see if this bottle opener of yours is actually any good."
Shen Wenjing was amused watching from the side, glancing sideways at Bella. "What's this, Great Buddha Bella, planning to return to secular life?"
Bella raised her hand without changing her expression. "What return to secular life. I am researching human anatomy aesthetics."
She didn't just touch and withdraw; instead, she pressed down along the lines. It was elastic, not rigidly hard.
"Not bad."
After saying that, her fingertips lightly scratched over it. The young man's breathing deepened, his abs subconsciously tightening, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
Seeing him like this, Bella's playful mood soared.
She wasn't in a hurry to pull her hand back, instead sliding up along the contours of his mermaid line.
"What's the fun in just touching? I have to leave something behind."
Bella raised her eyebrows, her fingernails deliberately dragging forcefully across his skin.
Following her movement, a light red mark looked especially eye-catching on those pale abs.
The young man's body trembled, and a muffled groan spilled from his lips.
Shen Wenjing watched from the side, whistling continuously, smiling wickedly. "Oh, how come Great Buddha Bella is performing a live consecration?"
Bella withdrew her hand, rubbing the residual warmth on her fingertips. Looking at that red mark, she smiled like a sly fox who had gotten her way:
"It's not a consecration, just leaving a quality inspection certificate. Since it's a bottle opener, how can it not have some marks?"
Bella knew when to stop and quit while she was ahead.
For some reason, she felt a chill down her spine, her right eyelid kept twitching, and she even felt a bit of inexplicable panic.
Her heart felt fuzzy with dread, always feeling like something bad was going to happen.
She looked around warily, her gaze sweeping across the ceiling before finally freezing on the pitch-black security camera in the corner.
"Is that... turned on?" Bella pointed and asked in passing.
Before the young man could speak, Shen Wenjing, who had seen enough of the show beside them, spoke up.
She casually picked up a bottle cap from the table, threw it accurately at his stomach, and revealed the truth with a tone of disgust:
"Alright, Gu Yunzhou, stop playing around."
Bella: ?
Having his identity exposed, Gu Yunzhou wasn't embarrassed either.
Shen Wenjing scolded with a smile, "If you keep playing, I'm really afraid she'll break you, and I won't be able to explain it to your brother."
He neatly dropped the hem of his shirt, covering the conspicuous red mark. His previous frivolous demeanor vanished completely, and his whole person exuded a bit of the lazy aura of a wealthy young master.
He casually glanced at the camera, his tone certain:
"Don't worry, Sister, I picked this private room specifically. Usually, these places have them on, but I turned this one off before I came in."
He spoke frankly, and Bella nodded, looking back at the camera one last time.
Gu Yunzhou casually ran a hand through his hair, revealing a mouthful of bright white teeth, and shamelessly leaned closer to Bella:
"Sister is really pretty. Just call me Azhou, it sounds more intimate."
He leaned in slightly, his tone carrying the unique arrogance of a rich young master. "Since Sister was satisfied with the quality inspection just now, then tonight's expenses will be my treat for Sister, okay?"
Bella didn't reply, just subconsciously pressed her still-twitching eyelid.
She looked at the mineral water by her hand. Hearing this sentence, the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
"No need to treat." Bella picked up her bag, her gaze a bit evasive.
She grabbed Shen Wenjing's arm and lowered her voice, "Are we leaving or not? It's past twelve, and there are classes at school tomorrow morning. I don't want to show up with dark circles under my eyes."
"Alright, whatever you say."
"Sister, leaving so soon?"
Gu Yunzhou didn't stop them. He openly took out his phone, swiped his finger, and brought up his WeChat QR code, offering it to Bella:
"Next time you want to see a bottle opener, call my name anytime."
Under Shen Wenjing's teasing gaze, Bella bit the bullet and scanned the code.
With a "ding".
"Added."
Bella quickly put away her phone, moving so fast it was as if she were doing something shady. "Let's go, let's go."
The three of them walked out of the private room door. As the cold wind in the hallway blew, Bella finally felt that little bit of discomfort in her heart dissipate a little.
The moment the private room door closed, the room fell into complete silence.
In the corner, that camera which Gu Yunzhou claimed was turned off, flashed a red light twice rapidly without warning.
The young man behind the screen slowly reached out his hand. His fingertips rubbed against the cold screen, caressing Bella's slightly guilty face, and let out a soft, low chuckle.
"Bella, you are truly disobedient."
