The pretty little follower gets targeted by the crazy guys at the elite academy

Li Ruo also had no idea how long she had been sitting.

Ten minutes?

twenty minutes?

In this study, time seems to stand still.

There is no clock, no window, no sunrise or sunset.

Only the ever-burning fire in the fireplace, and the person I can never truly understand.

Finally, Fu Chenzhou turned the last page.

He closed the booklet and looked up again.

That gaze fell upon her.

This time, Li Ruo almost couldn't keep her expression in check.

Those gray eyes, when viewed up close, were even more terrifying than the eye on the door.

They are not simply gray.

It is an abyss from which all emotions have been drained, leaving only a deathly silence.

At this moment, those eyes are fixed on her.

From top to bottom.

From the ends of the hair to the eyebrows and eyes.

From the tip of the nose to the lips.

From collarbone to waistline.

Inch by inch.

Carefully.

slowly.

It's like admiring a painting.

It's like dissecting a living creature.

It's like deciding the final ownership of a collection.

I dissected her from head to toe.

[Inch by inch... I feel like I'm being stripped naked just by looking at him through the screen!!]

[I'm not admiring the painting; I'm deciding which display case to put it in.]

[This guy's mental fortitude is truly remarkable; I would have been trembling like a leaf by now!]

"You cut your hair."

Fu Chenzhou spoke as a summary after conducting an assessment.

"Yes."

Li Ruo met his gaze.

There was no flinching, no hesitation, not even a tremor in her eyelashes:

"Doesn't Mr. Fu appreciate the ultimate in beauty?"

Fu Chenzhou did not answer.

He just looked at her.

My gaze moved from her hair, across her eyebrows and eyes, past the tip of her nose, and stopped at her lips... I actually lingered there for two seconds.

Then continue downwards, following the curve of the neck, to the collarbone, to the shoulder line, to the waistline, and so on...

He was measuring her again.

[There was a two-second pause!!! What happened in those two seconds!!!]

[Exquisite beauty... Li Ruo is cleverly playing to his tastes!]

But wouldn't being scrutinized by that kind of gaze give you nightmares?!

Li Ruo suddenly understood.

This time, he was probably considering which cabinet to put her in.

"The person who recommended you said you are the perfect sacrifice."

Fu Chenzhou finally spoke.

He casually tossed the closed booklet aside.

The actions were careless, just like the more than one hundred lives recorded inside—nothing more than a pile of insignificant scraps of paper.

"But I think that's not entirely true."

Li Ruo's heart tightened.

I really have to thank Xia Qinghe for this.

The girl who had a gentle smile and spoke softly has now been placed on the altar.

Without her, she might have just let her stunning beauty rot in some shady ravine in the slums, devoured by vultures and wild boars.

But Xia Qinghe helped her choose a beautiful way to die.

No, that's not how you die.

It is the collection number.

It's a glass display case.

Is it in a saved state: Excellent?

Of course, it could also be good.

After all, Fu Chenzhou's standards are too high.

Li Ruo suppressed all her emotions.

She raised her eyes, staring directly into those gray abysses, and asked softly:

"Mr. Fu, do you think I'm not qualified?"

Staring straight into the abyss!!! The tool is truly brave!!!

This question was a matter of life and death!

[She asked calmly... I'm in awe of her composure, sister!]

[Not qualified? Then all those who were qualified before me have become number 137...]

Fu Chenzhou did not answer.

He stood up.

Li Ruo's eyelashes trembled slightly.

He is tall.

When he was sitting there, I felt his imposing presence, but when he stood up, I realized that he was as tall as a mountain.

The bathrobe wrapped around his slender and upright body, and the loose sleeves revealed a section of his wrist with smooth lines and visible blue veins, and his fingers with distinct and slender knuckles.

He walked up to Li Ruo and looked down at her.

Li Ruo did not move.

She didn't lean back either.

She simply looked up at him.

[So tall it's like a mountain...the sense of oppression is instantly overwhelming!!]

[Sitting is already suffocating, imagine what it would be like to stand up!]

[He can even exude this kind of aura in a bathrobe, is Fu Chenzhou even human?!]

[Those hands...hand fetishists should be drooling! This is the ultimate setup for a refined scoundrel!]

[Her well-defined fingers were already beautiful enough when flipping through booklets, but now they're even more...]

[Li Ruo's act of looking up and meeting my gaze is truly courageous; I would have looked down at my toes long ago.]

The distance is too close.

Li Ruo was so close that she could clearly see the curve of his brow bone, the shadow of his eyelashes, and the fine blood vessels on his eyelids.

Li Ruo was so close that she could smell his scent.

It's not perfume.

It was an ancient and stale scent that had been sealed away for too long.

Like the underground vault of a museum, like the air when a thousand-year-old tomb is first opened.

It has a sour smell like rotting paper, an astringent smell like oxidized pigments, and a bloody smell.

The complex scent is faint.

It's as if it's been deliberately covered up, but it can never be completely cleaned up.

The air when the ancient tomb was first opened... that description sends chills down my spine!

[Rotting paper + oxidized pigments + the smell of blood—what a bizarre trio of odors!]

[Holy crap! What is he going to do?!]

Fu Chenzhou extended his hand.

He lifted her chin with his fingertips.

That hand was very cold.

Through her skin, Li Ruo could feel her blood freeze in that instant.

His thumb pressed against the curve of her jawbone, gently lifting it upwards to force her to tilt her head back, fully exposing the curve of her neck.

Like a sacrificial offering.

Like prey waiting to be slaughtered.

"You got a haircut."

Fu Chenzhou looked down at her, his voice coming down from above.

His gaze slid down her neck, as if admiring a perfect curve:

"I took off my makeup and wore the simplest clothes."

His thumb moved slowly, tracing her jawline from the tip of her chin to her earlobe, and stopped there:

"You're deliberately catering to my aesthetic tastes."

Li Ruo's eyelashes trembled slightly.

But she didn't hide.

They didn't even hold their breath.

She just looked at him.

"But pandering is itself a form of imperfection."

Her eyelashes trembled, but she didn't flinch! Her mental fortitude is truly terrifying!

[His breathing didn't even falter; what level of composure is that?!]

[To remain calm under that kind of gaze, Li Ruo, you're my goddess!!]

Fu Chenzhou lowered his head.

Those gray eyes were right in front of me.

So close that Li Ruo could see her own tiny reflection in that cold, gray expanse:

"True, ultimate beauty should be natural and effortless, without seeking to please anyone."

He let go.

Take a step back.

To become that unattainable existence once again.

Li Ruo's heart was pounding violently in her chest.

She could feel her pulse, pounding against her throat, her temples, and her fingertips.

But she didn't show any expression on her face.

She even slightly raised her chin.

Make the lines of the neck more graceful, and make the touched curve more distinct.

[My heart is pounding in my throat, yet she still has no expression on her face. Has Li Ruo studied facial management?!]

The gesture of slightly raising the chin is so beautiful; it's not provocation, it's composure!!

[Li Ruo's neck is absolutely stunning! She maintains her beauty even in this situation; she's flawless from every angle! The supporting actress's looks are truly amazing!!]