Marks

“Professor, you went on a date with Ning Rou yesterday, didn’t you?”

“Did you have a good time?”

A smile played on Xiao Yuehua’s face, but her tone carried a bone-chilling frost.

Not good. This is very, very bad!

Jiang Li’s heart rate spiked instantly, and alarm bells shrieked in his mind. Despite his 【Poker Face】 skill, he couldn’t stop his expression from flickering under Yuehua’s sudden assault.

She caught the change immediately.

“Heehee, why does the Professor look so pale? Are you feeling unwell? Or perhaps…”

Her eyes turned icy in an instant; the very air around them seemed to freeze.

“Are you trying to think of an excuse to brush me off?”

“It… it wasn’t a date…”

“Oh?”

“…We just went out for a meal together.”

Jiang Li struggled to maintain a facade of composure.

“Just. Went. Out. For. A. Meal.”

Xiao Yuehua repeated his words slowly, syllable by syllable. As she spoke, she stared deep into his eyes as if trying to pierce through to his soul.

“The Professor makes it sound so simple… We’ve known each other for so long, yet I’ve never had the experience of being invited out for a meal by you.”

“Then… next time I’m free…”

“I don’t want to.”

“What?”

Jiang Li stared at her, stunned.

Her beautiful face was half-hidden beneath her smooth black hair. She looked terrifyingly calm; her eyes were like deep pools, masking whatever darkness lay within.

“The Professor hid things from me, and now you want to compensate me with a mere meal?”

“Then… what do you want?”

“I want something more special.”

Xiao Yuehua’s voice was like ice.

Something special? Before Jiang Li could even begin to process what would qualify as “special” to her, her voice rang out again like a death knell:

“Now, close your eyes, Professor.”

“What?”

Jiang Li looked at her in disbelief. What on earth was this girl trying to do?

But Xiao Yuehua seemed utterly unaware of how shocking her words were. She simply repeated herself coldly:

“Close your eyes, Professor.”

Buzz—

His brain hummed, and his thoughts stalled. Jiang Li felt a wave of vertigo as if he were being sucked into a whirlpool, dizzy from the chaotic, out-of-control scene before him.

For some reason, he found himself instinctively obeying her commanding tone.

As his eyes slid shut, he felt a soft kiss pressed against his lips.

Following that…

“Hehe…”

Xiao Yuehua’s chilling laughter echoed in his ear.

“An obedient Professor really is the cutest…”

【What?】

Jiang Li snapped his eyes open, his heart filled with shock. Was the cold, mocking woman before him really Xiao Yuehua?

The Xiao Yuehua he knew was a resilient, hardworking commoner genius. She was a normal girl who laughed, cried, and would vulnerably ask for his help. Even though he had long since lost his dignity and authority as a mentor in front of her, she was still Xiao Yuehua. Her essence hadn’t changed; she was quiet and kind.

But what was this?

This bizarre psychological pressure, this dark, heavy tone…

Sensing the eerie atmosphere, Jiang Li felt his skin crawl. He tried to pull away from the embrace, but his body wouldn’t listen.

Under his struggle, a slight tremor was felt by Xiao Yuehua, who was pressed tightly against him. She let out a low sneer.

“Why is the Professor trembling with fear like a little baby…”

Her icy fingertips traced down his neck to his collar, then his collarbone, poking him lightly.

“Behaving like this is practically playing foul…”

Xiao Yuehua leaned in until their noses touched. Jiang Li could almost feel the sticky, physical sensation of her burning gaze.

“How about it? Professor, will you date me?”

“This… this isn’t the proper decorum for a professor and a student, Yuehua…”

Jiang Li clung to his remaining logic, speaking almost through gritted teeth.

“There it is again, there it is again… the Professor is always like this!”

Xiao Yuehua knit her brows, her voice laced with obvious irritation.

“Every time I get close, you run far away. But every time I’m sad and helpless, you come crawling back like some meddling ‘Mr. Nice Guy’!”

Xiao Yuehua shoved Jiang Li roughly against the wall, aggressively wedging her leg between his thighs.

“Is the Professor toying with me? Are my feelings that laughable to you?”

“…”

Jiang Li remained silent for a long time before finally speaking with difficulty. “That was not my intention.”

From a certain perspective, Xiao Yuehua was absolutely right. The process of “conquering” her and Ning Rou was essentially toying with their emotions. Regardless of his intent, his actions were objectively causing these girls real harm.

But he had no choice. If he didn’t want to die a miserable death in the Main World, if he didn’t want to burden his sister Jiang Yun for the rest of her life, he had to play the villain.

An icy hand stroked Jiang Li’s face.

“Professor, I’m not saying this because I want you to repent. I just want you to recognize reality.”

“Reality?”

“Yes. The reality that I can no longer leave you, and it is impossible for you to cast me aside.”

“…”

She bit his earlobe again, leaving a shallow tooth mark.

“Just like this. You have my mark on you now. You belong solely to me.”

Jiang Li turned his head, not daring to meet her eyes. “You’ve gone mad, Yuehua.”

“Hehe. You say that, Professor, but you’re excited too, aren’t you?”

A bizarre light flickered in Yuehua’s eyes as one hand slipped beneath Jiang Li’s clothes.

“Look at your heart. See how fast it’s beating.”

“…I can get angry too, Yuehua. Move.”

Jiang Li tried to put up a final struggle, but Xiao Yuehua was completely unfazed by his feigned anger.

“The Professor is lying again. Your body clearly likes me, so why are your lips always so heartless?”

“I’ll say it one last time. Move.”

“So cute…”

“What?”

Jiang Li’s eyes widened in surprise, only to see that Xiao Yuehua’s face was now flushed with a morbid, sickly crimson.

“The Professor throwing a childish tantrum… is just so cute…”

“I’m sorry, Professor, but Yuehua really can’t hold back anymore…”

With heavy, ragged breaths, Xiao Yuehua grabbed Jiang Li’s face. Their soft lips met once more.

But this time was different from any before. Her nimble tongue was clumsily yet aggressively invading his space.

Passion surged within the heated, silent room, constantly enticing Jiang Li to sink into the abyss of desire. Using the last of his reason, he tried desperately to turn his head to the side, attempting to dodge her fiery love, only to be pinned down by her long, slender arms.

There was a strength hidden within this girl’s body that far surpassed her appearance. In this sticky embrace, she had seized absolute dominance.

A long time passed.

Just as Jiang Li was about to suffocate from the struggle and lack of air, Xiao Yuehua finally released her hold, satisfied. She let him lean against the wall, gasping for breath.

Looking down at the disheveled Jiang Li, she wore a radiant, brilliant smile.

“So, does the Professor understand now?”

“You are mine.”