Bella looked at his posture that practically screamed, "If you don't hug me, I'm going to stand here and not leave," and felt completely speechless.
How was this asking for a thank you? This was clearly extortion!
Seeing his unrelenting attitude, Bella glanced at the busy corridor, gritted her teeth, and made up her mind.
"Fine, come with me."
She didn't dare to cause a scene at the office door, so she turned around, leading Ye Jinzhi quickly down the corridor, bringing him straight to a blind corner by the stairs.
The lighting was a bit dim, but it was a blind spot that even the surveillance cameras couldn't reach.
Once Bella stood still, she suddenly spun around.
However, seeing his deadpan expression, Bella couldn't suppress the mischievous streak in her heart and wanted to mess with him a little.
Instead of hugging him, she boldly reached out and pinched the arm he claimed was "sore."
Bella deliberately acted generous and nonchalant to cover up her guilty conscience, completely missing the fact that the moment Ye Jinzhi stepped into this blind spot, the dangerous gleam in his eyes was no longer hidden.
Summer short sleeves didn't cover much, and her fingertips pressed against the bare skin of his arm without any obstacles.
"Oh, isn't this quite firm?"
Bella deliberately pressed hard on that taut forearm with her fingertips, teasing him with a smile.
"Classmate Ye, your uneven force didn't affect the feel of this at all. Or are boys nowadays just this fragile?"
She thought she was calling his bluff, but she didn't notice that the moment her fingertips touched his arm, Ye Jinzhi's breathing hitched for a fraction of a second.
The girl's soft palm felt like a ball of fire, burning a trail from his forearm straight into his heart.
In an instant, a closed-off valley was suddenly thrown open, and endless, howling winds wrapped in heat waves blew in, turning the empty wilderness of his heart into a roaring prairie fire—burning hotter and hotter, impossible to extinguish.
The warm, vivid touch made the look in Ye Jinzhi's eyes flicker slightly.
He didn't pull away. Instead, he cooperatively relaxed his muscles, allowing her to knead his arm back and forth as much as she pleased.
Ye Jinzhi lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling greedily on Bella's sly and playful face, bright with the thrill of getting her way.
His Adam's apple bobbed obscurely, and his voice dropped a fraction:
"Have you pinched enough?"
He didn't say "it doesn't hurt," nor did he say "stop pinching." He just stood there quietly, letting her wreak havoc. The indulgence in his eyes, upon closer inspection, was brimming with dark obsession.
"Haven't tested the effect yet?"
With their skin touching, Bella was momentarily stunned by the scorching heat of his large hand.
Ye Jinzhi clasped her restless wrist. He didn't use much force, but before she could react, she was pulled forward, tumbling right into his embrace.
"Then get a little closer and test it properly."
Midsummer clothes were already thin, and their bodies collided, fitting perfectly together.
A sweet, clear rose fragrance from Bella instantly filled his senses. Like a man utterly starved of oxygen, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, secretly taking a greedy, deep breath.
The two warm, soft mounds from her chest were pressed flush against his own.
Upon realizing what they were, the young man stiffened for half a second. The tips of his ears looked as if they had been singed by fire, turning completely red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Reacting with pure, youthful innocence, the boy slightly restrained his breathing and lowered his eyes to hide his desire.
Bella wasn't thinking that much into it. Treating it like a mandatory task to check off, she silently counted down in her head:
"One, two, three."
As soon as the three seconds were up, she tried to push away and retreat, but the hand on her waist suddenly tightened, squeezing her so hard she could barely breathe.
Immediately after, a scorching breath sprayed against her ear without warning, accompanied by a low chuckle.
Before Bella could even let out a scream, a warm, moist kiss landed on the side of her neck.
The tip of his tongue, carrying a mischievous intent, even gave it a slow, deliberate lick.
"Mmh!"
Bella violently shuddered, the wet, tingling sensation shooting through her entire body like a jolt of electricity.
This yandere was actually taking advantage of the situation to cop a feel!
"What are you doing!"
Bella shrank her neck back, her voice trembling with lingering embarrassment and shock.
Ye Jinzhi pulled back slightly, but his lowered gaze remained fixed on her.
He gently wiped the corner of his lip with his thumb, his tone as calm as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
"Didn't you say I was the one who left it?"
He took another step closer, his tall figure enveloping her once more, his voice somewhat muffled:
"Since I'm already taking the blame for it, wouldn't it be a loss if I didn't actually leave something behind?"
Ye Jinzhi stood up straight, his tone entirely unapologetic about "confirming the charges," giving Bella a massive headache.
Bella understood now; he was talking about what happened after school yesterday.
"You!"
She shoved her hands hard against his chest. She thought he wouldn't budge an inch, but to her surprise, Ye Jinzhi yielded to her force and slowly took two steps back.
He stood in the shadows, watching her with leisurely amusement.
Bella had wanted to throw out a few harsh words, but the warning bell for class suddenly rang out.
"You're ruthless!"
Bella spat through gritted teeth, not daring to look back at his current expression.
She spun around and bolted down the corridor without looking back, like a frightened little rabbit.
Fortunately, she didn't run into Ye Jinzhi again after that.
Sitting quietly in her seat working on a test paper, she cringed just thinking about what the history teacher had said when she visited the office at noon.
As soon as she had walked in, the teacher adjusted the black-framed glasses on his nose and spoke to her with earnest gravity:
"Bella, I saw your history grades from before you transferred, but compared to this placement exam, you've slipped quite a bit. Young people need to rein themselves in and focus when the semester starts."
Bella had kept her head down, awkwardly tugging at the hem of her shirt, and mumbled in reply:
"Your Majesty... ah, no, Teacher, please don't worry. I have been a bit slack. From now on, I will definitely 'turn over a new leaf' and study hard."
The rest of the day's classes involved going over incorrect answers and reviewing concepts, and the day passed surprisingly peacefully.
During that time, Bella managed to get to know all her surrounding classmates, thanks to the girl sitting in front of her.
The reason being that the girl sitting directly in front of her looked quiet, but her head was actually filled with dirty jokes.
The girl turned around, enthusiastically telling a crude joke to the circle of people around her:
"So an ice cream and a refrigerator are a couple. One day they got into a fight, and the ice cream ran away from home in a huff. But as it walked, the ice cream started to melt, so it had no choice but to scurry back to the fridge in defeat.
Take a guess—what was the first thing the fridge said when it opened the door and saw it?"
A few boys and girls nearby exchanged glances, instantly getting the punchline, and scrambled to answer.
"I know! The fridge definitely said: 'Get on top and freeze yourself!'"
"Ugh, that's too cliché," another chimed in. "I think the fridge would say: 'Baby, why are you dripping so much water?'"
"That's too gross!" The student at the back desk leaned in to offer their own twist. "It should be: 'Can you stop leaving every time you get a little cold!'"
Finally, someone added in a deadpan voice: "'It's only been a minute, how did you get soft already?'"
Bella had been taking a sip of water, and upon hearing that last line, she couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing.
Seeing Bella smile, the girl who had been telling the jokes lit up, her eyes sparkling as she unleashed her ultimate social butterfly energy.
She slapped a hand down on Bella's desk and, acting as if they were already old friends, pulled her in to introduce everyone one by one:
"Girl, I just knew you had good taste! Come on, come meet everyone. We are this area's official bad joke appreciation squad."
After spending some time with her, Bella found that she really liked this girl named Ma Xin'er.
At the school gates, bathed in the perfect glow of the setting sun, Ma Xin'er walked backward for a few steps, waved her hand, and winked her left eye. "I'm heading out, comrade! Tomorrow we continue fighting side by side!"
Watching her skipping and bouncing away into the distance, Beibei couldn't help but laugh out loud.
That night, Bella was reviewing her study materials according to her schedule. She glanced at her phone and saw it was nearly midnight. She stepped out to use the restroom, but when she opened the bathroom door to leave, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
A man was kneeling on the floor.
Mamma mia! And he was kneeling in a three-piece suit!
A dark waistcoat outlined his broad back. Even though he was kneeling on the ground in such a sorry state, his hands handcuffed behind his back, the taut lines of his shoulder blades still exuded a fiercely captive wildness.
His head hung low. In the dim light, only the stretch of cold, pale skin at the back of his neck stood out glaringly, making him look exactly like a wild beast whose chains had been drawn tight, forcing it into total surrender.
