Bella reached out without hesitation.
Her slender fingers gripped his chin firmly, deliberately rough as she tilted his face upward. She turned his head from side to side, scrutinizing him from every conceivable angle.
Finally, she shoved the camera right into his face. For a moment, the bedroom was filled with the rapid clicking of the shutter.
"Click! Click!"
Especially those newly formed marks.
Caught in the flash, that flush of red exuded a decadent, fragile beauty. It was stunning.
Bella casually scrolled through the preview images on her camera.
The messy marks on his shoulders, the flush of shame spreading across his cheek, and the unconcealable arousal lingering around the tips of his ears...
Every single shot was brimming with tension, especially the way the man looked into the lens.
Even through the screen, those dark eyes radiated a ravenous desire, looking as if he wanted to crush her and swallow her whole.
"Tsk..."
Bella stared at those eyes, her fingertips gently tracing Ye Jinzhi's gaze on the camera screen as she narrowed her eyes slightly.
Not enough.
It still wasn't enough.
While this look was certainly thrilling, it was still missing a little something.
After a moment of thought, she smoothly slung the camera around her neck and reached out, hauling the man up from where he was kneeling on the bed.
With less-than-gentle movements, she dragged him off the mattress and shoved him all the way over to the nearby sofa.
"Sit."
She deliberately cast her gaze downward, looking down at him with a tone that sounded like she was training a handy plaything. He had to be absolutely submissive to earn her favor.
The man was surprisingly obedient.
His dark, heavy eyes remained glued to her. He followed her without a word, letting her do as she pleased, and obediently sank into the plush cushions of the sofa.
"Young Master..."
Bella let out a soft, sweet laugh as her fingertips hooked under his chin once more.
She leaned in close, her nose almost brushing against his. Their warm breaths tangled together, but just a second before their lips could meet, she playfully turned her head away.
Her soft lips barely grazed the corner of his mouth before she smoothly leaned in toward his already crimson ear.
She wickedly blew a cool breath against his skin, feeling his spine stiffen, before she finally spoke in a slow, languid drawl:
"What we just did was, at best, a little 'appetizer.' For the 'main course' coming up, you'd better... hold on tight. Don't disappoint me."
"Let's begin. Cross your legs like this..."
Bella directed him with effortless fluidity, her tone tinged with a spoiled arrogance.
Ye Jinzhi crossed his legs, resting his left elbow on the armrest while his long, elegant fingers casually propped up the side of his face that still bore the red marks.
"Right, just like that... look at me."
Gripping her camera, Bella boldly dropped down onto her stomach in front of the marble coffee table right before him.
Resting her knees on the thick plush carpet, she propped her arms on the surface of the coffee table, her slender waist dipping into a seductive curve.
Tilting her head up slightly, Bella raised the camera and locked onto the man before her through the viewfinder.
From the man's elevated vantage point, the young woman looked like an innocent yet tantalizing cat, playfully swishing her tail as she admired her prize.
Ye Jinzhi stared at her graceful curves. His breathing hitched instantly, and his Adam's apple bobbed along his pale throat.
"Not quite."
Bella lifted her eyes from behind the camera, her gaze crashing into his turbulent dark eyes.
"Young Master, you're not allowed to look at me like that."
Wrinkling her cute, perky nose in dissatisfaction, she tapped the camera lens, her tone laced with playful disdain.
"Reel it in a bit. What I want is... a condescending look, like you're looking at trash. Make it colder, more disgusted. Got it?"
The hand that was propping up his face moved to cover his eyes. His voice was so hoarse it was barely a whisper:
"Baby... with you kneeling like that, how exactly am I supposed to reel it in?"
"No excuses."
Seeing him try to make excuses, Bella simply reached up and draped a small throw blanket from the bed over her shoulders.
"There. Now you can't see anything."
With that, she shifted away from the marble coffee table and moved right next to his legs.
He stared down at Bella, who was kneeling by his legs. Even though she was the one looking up at him, her fox-like eyes were brimming with the sly amusement of someone who had just gotten her way.
"Like I'm looking at trash?"
The man's voice carried a hint of madness, like a man pushed to his absolute limit.
He adjusted his posture and slightly lowered his pitch-black eyes. Forcing down the burning desire in his gaze, he replaced it with an icy, aristocratic sense of detachment.
Slouching elegantly against the sofa, his gaze pierced past the lens, falling coldly upon Bella like a god looking down on an ant.
"Click!"
Bella snapped the shot.
The stark contrast between this "superiority" and the lingering red marks on his cheek was perfect. Staring at the viewfinder, Bella smiled brightly.
"Tsk... that trash-gazing look, paired with that marked-up face of yours..."
"Alright, let's try something else."
Bella adjusted the shutter settings, her fingertips clicking dials on the camera body.
She peeked up from behind the lens again, her eyes filled with a wicked, teasing light.
"Come on, Young Master..."
The corners of her lips curled up as she spoke in a soft, airy whisper, "Cry for me. Right now."
The air in the room completely froze.
This time, Ye Jinzhi was genuinely stunned.
"...Cry?"
He repeated the word in a low murmur, his long eyelashes fluttering down as if he were recalling something.
Bella, however, didn't think her request was the least bit outrageous. Maintaining her seductive pose, she rested her chin on her crossed arms and gazed up at him across the coffee table, her eyes sparkling.
"Yep. I want that... restrained look. Red rimmed eyes, tears teetering on the edge of falling—that ultimate fragile vibe. It'd be even better if you looked a little wronged, like you've been bullied mercilessly."
Freeing one hand, she pointed a finger through the air at his reddened, slightly swollen cheek. Her tone was sickeningly sweet:
"Young Master, you look so incredibly beautiful right now. It would be an absolute tragedy not to pair that face with a tear or two."
Bella muttered, completely oblivious to the danger she was courting.
Ye Jinzhi looked at her mischievous little face. Instead of complying like he had before, he slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
In that split second, all his docility and feigned obedience vanished into thin air. A dangerous, suffocating aura surged forward like a violent undertow. The beast that had been lying dormant had finally bared its fangs.
He opened his eyes again.
"Baby, are you sure you want me to cry? ...I'm afraid you won't be able to handle the consequences."
Bella watched his entire demeanor shift, and her internal danger radar started blaring.
Her survival instincts kicking in, she immediately plastered on a flattering smile and let out a dry laugh.
"Uh... well, I suppose you don't absolutely have to cry. Haha, let's try something else. Something else."
Under the man's intense, unwavering gaze, Bella swallowed hard and quickly tossed out a new instruction:
"Then... unbutton your shirt. Yeah, give me a deep V-neck look."
She watched as the man's long, elegant fingers deftly undid his collar buttons, revealing a sliver of pale, taut chest underneath.
Bella's playful spirit was instantly reignited. Gesturing with a hint of dissatisfaction, she added,
"Pull it... pull it open a little lower."
