Gaze

“Wrong. All wrong.”

Inside the acting studio, Jiang Li dispersed the illusions and shook his head repeatedly.

“Regarding the heroine’s emotions: it should be a mixture of feigned affection and internal hostility, topped with a hint of a heartbeat that even she hasn’t fully realized.”

He picked up the script from the side and flipped it open for Xiao Yuehua to see.

“But you? Out of those three emotions, you didn’t even fully embody one.”

“My apologies, Professor. I’ve done my best. Perhaps… I still need the Professor’s help to stimulate my emotions.”

Xiao Yuehua gave a polite bow. On the surface, she seemed no different from usual.

And yet…

【Something is wrong… something is definitely wrong!】

Jiang Li simply could not feel at ease.

Clearly, he was the professor and she was the student; he held the position of absolute dominance. Yet, for some reason, he felt a faint sense of palpitations.

It was as if he were a prey being watched by a predator in a dark forest—no matter how he struggled or fled, he couldn’t shake the premonition of approaching crisis.

But how was that possible?

Logically, his plan shouldn’t have any flaws…

Though Xiao Yuehua’s sudden outburst of questions today had exceeded his expectations and truly caught him off guard for a moment, in the end, she had accepted the script, hadn’t she?

It was just a close call.

Next, all he had to do was follow the script, guide her slowly from stranger to acquaintance, and use basic physical contact as a starting point to cultivate feelings. Then, he’d raise her favorability and complete the conquest, right?

That’s how Galgames worked!

Suppressing the doubt in his heart, Jiang Li was about to arrange for Xiao Yuehua to begin experiencing the most basic “feigned affection.”

However, a strong sense of crisis suddenly surged into his mind.

At the very last moment before the words left his mouth, his intuition forced him to change his mind.

“Since that’s the case, let’s stop here for today. Go back and contemplate the script yourself. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

To his surprise, Xiao Yuehua frowned.

“This early? It isn’t time yet, is it, Professor?”

“I have an appointment with someone else today. Something came up.”

Jiang Li casually tossed out a lie.

“Is it a woman?”

Xiao Yuehua suddenly spoke in a ghostly tone. Jiang Li didn’t hear her clearly for a moment.

“What did you say?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Xiao Yuehua shrugged and turned to leave, her expression normal.

For a moment, Jiang Li thought his eyes had played tricks on him. After all, how could Xiao Yuehua ever make such an expression?

“So annoying… Is this theoretical knowledge even meant for humans to memorize? There are so many messy, vague concepts mixed together. I used to understand it, but now I’m just confused!”

In the dormitory, Ning Rou wailed as she tossed her book aside. She rolled around on her bed in agony, her clothes becoming disheveled, revealing the trembling, surging curves of her chest.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuehua sighed and put down her pen.

“I told you long ago to take notes. Your attention during theory class isn’t something you can always control. You think you’ve listened to the whole lecture, but your brain is actually deceiving you.”

“Aiyah… it’s not that… I’m just not suited for theoretical study…”

Ning Rou buried her head under her pillow like a spoiled child. The next moment, as if remembering something, she suddenly looked up at Xiao Yuehua.

“Oh, right. Speaking of which, Yuehua, has something good happened to you lately?”

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s just… I see you smiling from time to time… You used to rarely smile.”

“Smiling?”

Xiao Yuehua froze for a moment, subconsciously reaching up to touch the corner of her mouth. Without her realizing it, her lips had indeed curled upward.

“I was actually… smiling?” she murmured in a low voice.

“Yeah, I was shocked when I saw it yesterday. After all, you usually don’t care about anything, Yuehua…”

As she spoke, Ning Rou suddenly wore a mischievous expression.

“Well? Tell me. Have you met someone you like?”

Someone I like?

The face of Professor Nangong subconsciously surfaced in Xiao Yuehua’s mind.

While she had indeed developed strange emotions toward him recently, she was certain it wasn’t love. If she had to put it into words…

Perhaps it was a slightly dark emotion—a mixture of investigative curiosity and possessiveness.

Thinking of this, she shook her head.

“No.”

“No? Then what could it be? Did you buy some Cloud Cookies?”

“You know I’m not interested in those.”

“Then what is it…”

Ning Rou’s curiosity was clearly piqued. She hopped off the bed with a heph and padded over to Xiao Yuehua’s side on bare feet, beginning to massage her shoulders.

“Tell me…”

The two had been close friends for years and shared almost no secrets. Logically, Xiao Yuehua shouldn’t hide things from her. But perhaps it was because her emotions were too dark to voice, or perhaps she simply didn’t want to share the secret.

“I just met a reliable senior sister and got some good advice.”

Xiao Yuehua lied without blinking. Ning Rou, failing to get any gossip, showed clear disappointment.

“Eh? Is it that ordinary? I thought it was some big news…”

“It’s not ordinary at all…”

“Eh?”

Ning Rou looked up, only to freeze in place.

Xiao Yuehua’s expression had changed. The smile she wore now was a radiance Ning Rou had never seen before. If one looked closely, behind that smile seemed to lurk a dark… seductiveness?

“For me, this is anything but ordinary…”

“Professor.”

“You’re here? Today’s new script is over there.”

As if having grown accustomed to it, Professor Nangong remained calm even when she interrupted him while he was enjoying his food. It was a stark contrast to how he used to be startled by her presence.

Thinking of this, a trace of imperceptible regret surfaced in Xiao Yuehua’s eyes.

【The Professor’s surprised expression was quite interesting, too.】

Following the Professor’s direction, she picked up the script. But after flipping through only a few pages, she sensed something was wrong.

“Professor, what’s going to this script?”

“The script? Is there a problem?”

“Why was it changed? Isn’t it The Masquerade?”

“I took your opinions from yesterday into consideration. I later realized it was inappropriate, so I specifically screened a new one…”

“Incorrect!”

Before he could finish, Xiao Yuehua cut him off with a wave of her hand.

“Didn’t the Professor say that the previous script was more complex and had more depth? Why the sudden replacement? Didn’t I eventually accept that script yesterday?”

“But the rumors…”

“Why should a tutoring session between a professor and a student worry about potential outside rumors? Shouldn’t it be enough that we have a clear conscience?”

“…That’s not what you said yesterday.”

“Could it be that the Professor has a guilty conscience?”

“Of course not.”

Professor Nangong rubbed his brow, showing a hint of powerlessness. In the end, he compromised.

“If you insist, then we shall continue with that one.”

He did not notice Xiao Yuehua’s hidden gaze—a gaze that remained firmly glued to his face, finding a strange delight in his display of weakness.