Afternoon's slanting sun poured through the glass windows into the office, leaving the room quiet and still.
Mu Jin abruptly stood up from her stool, her voice pitching sharply as she cried out in astonishment:
"What! You actually possess the Ultimate Ice!"
With this sudden surge of emotion, her chest rose and fell slightly. The blue-and-white, gold-trimmed uniform she wore made her look exceptionally striking, and her neat short hair swayed gently with that cry of surprise.
Chen Jie stood right before the office desk.
Mu Jin's gaze locked dead onto the youth. Her usual cold and composed demeanor instantly shattered, her eyes filled with sheer disbelief.
Having taught so many cohorts of students, she had never witnessed such top-tier talent in an outer courtyard freshman.
No wonder he could suppress Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire, and no wonder Dean Yan was willing to take out such precious resources specifically to groom him.
Mu Jin stepped forward, reaching out as if to grab Chen Jie's hand. Her movement was rushed, and as her body leaned forward, she accidentally brushed against Chen Jie's chest.
She spoke earnestly: "Chen Jie, you hid yourself far too well. Ultimate Ice, even placed across the entire Shrek, is top-tier talent! You must know that since our academy's founding, it has only produced three Soul Masters with the Ultimate Attribute, and every single time, they rescued the academy from dire straits. No wonder Dean Yan even gave you a privilege card from the Treasure Gathering Pavilion."
A subtle ripple stirred in the depths of Chen Jie's heart, and he thought to himself that Teacher Mu Jin was quite soft, the tactile sensation of that recent contact still lingering on his body. His gaze swept inadvertently across her chest, the atmosphere in the office turning subtle in an instant, before he spoke: "No wonder the Dean values me so greatly."
The shock in Mu Jin's eyes intensified.
Mu Jin's breathing grew slightly hurried. Sensing Chen Jie's gaze vaguely, a trace of heat flushed across her cheeks.
Looking at her, Chen Jie spoke up: "Do you remember the wager the two of us made earlier? With my current strength, securing first place among the freshmen is only a matter of time, not to mention that I possess the Ultimate Attribute. Can you advance what you promised me and fulfill it right now?"
Mu Jin's cheeks burned slightly. Her gaze darted away for a split second before she raised her eyes to look at Chen Jie: "A wager is a wager, and logically it should wait until the dust settles on the outcome. Yet looking at the potential you've displayed right now, it isn't entirely out of the question."
Without a word, Chen Jie leaned over, swept Mu Jin up horizontally in his arms, and gently set her down upon the wide office desk.
Mu Jin's body stiffened, her hands instinctively propping herself against the desktop. The unexpected action made her heart race rapidly.
Chen Jie leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed straight on Mu Jin as he spoke with a hint of stubbornness in his tone: "May I?"
The roots of Mu Jin's ears burned red in an instant. She gently bit her lower lip, her thoughts in turmoil, and shrank back slightly with a somewhat troubled expression:
"That sort of thing won't do, but I can still help you with other things."
Chen Jie's eyes lit up. Instead of retreating, he remained leaned over right in front of her, his tone carrying a trace of urgency: "Then what are you waiting for! I'm running very hot right now!"
Mu Jin's heart gave a violent jolt. Her body instinctively scooted back across the desktop, her back coming to rest gently against the edge of the bookcase directly behind the office desk.
Her breathing turned slightly ragged, and a pair of eyes gazed toward Chen Jie with a hint of panic: "You... you mustn't be like this, someone could come over here at any moment."
Watching her flustered and shy appearance, Chen Jie feigned complete innocence, his gaze clean and open-minded as he spoke in earnest:
"You've already finished listing the benefits, so what about the drawbacks?"
Hearing this, Mu Jin froze on the spot. Without needing a closer look, just hearing his deliberately solemn tone let her instantly catch onto his little scheme.
Still seated upon the broad desktop at that moment, her cheeks instantly burned piping hot. She raised a hand to gently thump Chen Jie's chest, equal parts shy and exasperated: "Oh, you! You're actually teasing me on purpose!"
Mu Jin sat upon the spacious office desk, her body straightening slightly with lingering shyness still coloring her expression.
Chen Jie stepped forward to close the distance to Mu Jin, his expression earnest and sincere: "Teacher, there were some parts of the physical-technique force-exertion tips taught in class that I didn't quite understand. I'd like to spar and have Teacher guide me a bit."
Hearing this, Mu Jin reined in the blush on her face, leaped lightly down from the desktop, bent her knees, and squatted directly in front of Chen Jie.
She reached out to support Chen Jie's waist, devoting her full concentration to teaching. She helped him straighten his posture bit by bit, patiently explaining the secrets of waist-driven force exertion and painstakingly correcting every single detail of his movements.
Oh~ ho ho ho~
Following a round of earnest instruction, Mu Jin prepared to lift her gaze and give her final cautions on the key points.
Right at that moment, Chen Jie feigned a stumble with his feet, his palm precisely grasping her dark, smooth long hair and pulling it downward with moderate force.
Caught off guard, Mu Jin instinctively lowered her head, freezing in place instantly. Their breaths mingled, the distance between them growing intimately close to the extreme.
Chen Jie quickly released his hand, a sliver of triumphant, mischievous cunning hidden deep within his eyes while his face assumed a look of guilt and panic, falsely apologizing: "Teacher Mu, I'm sorry, I lost my footing."
The sudden, intimate contact caused Mu Jin's heart to give a violent shudder.
Having spent the last while leaning over to teach, she was already feeling feverish; now, with her thoughts panicked and tense, a heavy sweat broke out all over her in an instant.
Crystal-clear sweat crawled across her forehead, cheeks, and neck, densely soaking the wisps of hair by her temples and causing them to cling damply against her fair skin.
Keeping her head lowered the entire time, her long eyelashes trembled rapidly, her earlobes burned scarlet, and her breathing turned slightly ragged. Forcibly suppressing the palpitations and panic in her heart, she spoke in a soft, gentle, and soothing tone: "It's fine, accidents happen to anything, and being nervous is only natural."
In the quiet office, an ambiguous atmosphere spread thoroughly.
Drenched in fragrant sweat, Mu Jin feigned composure, yet she couldn't hide the tension throughout her entire body, having long been thrown into emotional turmoil by the youth's deliberate little trick.
With her head lowered and her long lashes fluttering, her fair cheeks were covered in fine beads of sweat, damp wisps of hair clinging to her skin. Her breathing rose and fell lightly, the whole person exuding a flustered, soft, and distressed vulnerability.
Chen Jie quietly lowered his head to look at her shy and helpless appearance, the triumphant, mischievous smile in his eyes growing all the more intense while on the surface he continued to put on an earnest and well-behaved act.
Ceasing his feigned panic, he stepped forward and gently wrapped both arms around Mu Jin's waist. His movement was gentle yet carried an inescapable strength, steadily lifting and carrying her up horizontally from her crouch on the floor.
Caught off guard, Mu Jin felt her body grow light, instinctively grasping his sleeve as her heart tightened abruptly.
With steady strides, Chen Jie carefully placed her back onto the broad, flat office desk, slowly relaxing his arms before stepping back slightly to stand upright. Raising his eyes to look at Mu Jin-who sat upright upon the desk, coated in a thin layer of sweat and flushed of face-he spoke in a humble and respectful tone that harbored an untamable playful teasing:
"Many thanks to Teacher for the patient instruction. The explanations just now were exceptionally detailed and clear, and I grasped the greater half of it all at once."
As his voice trailed off, he bowed slightly with the air of an obedient disciple: "Next, I invite the disciple to personally demonstrate the physical-technique force-exertion tips from just now for Teacher. I kindly ask Teacher to sit right here, carefully oversee me, and point out any issues."
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