Seducing Him - Chapter 20

He seemed to realize he might have been too cold, and softly asked her, “Do you want me to talk to you to help you fall asleep, sister?”

Ci YiYang came back to her senses. “No.”

“Hm?” His tone rose.

The voice reaching her ears was so soft it was almost too intimate. Ci YiYang suddenly regretted wearing headphones; the magnetic male voice seemed to be kissing her eardrum.

“No, I mean… don’t hang up the phone. You don’t need to talk,” she explained.

Actually, she rarely stayed on the phone for long with anyone. She remembered hearing Ming Ying flirt with someone before—those calls would last all night, sometimes over ten hours.

“Oh, I see.” He didn’t refuse. “Okay.”

She had thought leaving the phone on meant sleeping together, but it turned out all he did was sleep—simply sleep—next to her.

Ci YiYang could sense a faint, unspoken regret in his tone and wondered if he didn’t want to be there.

Regardless of whether he wanted it or not, she pretended not to notice.

She removed her headphones and tucked them under the pillow, then quietly muted her side of the call, put on a sleep mask, and went to sleep.

He had “feared” sleeping together, but secretly isolated all sound, leaving himself alone in the dark night, his body burning from her earlier words.

She couldn’t hear, yet he was beside her…

So whatever he did now, she could not hear it.

In the dark, the boy’s suppressed voice murmured passionately into the phone—words she could not hear:

“Sister… sister… sister…”

Last night, she wasn’t sure if she accidentally pressed the hang-up button while sleeping; in the morning, her phone only showed seven hours of call time.

After the call ended, he didn’t call again.

Ci YiYang glanced at it, then got up to wash up and head to class.

Because of online attention, Teacher Wang was summoned by the school director. Peking University is a prestigious school; any small incident associated with it could be blown up easily, let alone something like this.

After a few days of investigation, they finally found the person that afternoon.

It was a male student. At the time, he was in class, but not a Peking University student.

Classmates were surprised to see him escorted out. He often accompanied his girlfriend to class, and recently, they had broken up. People thought he was just auditing the class.

When confronted by the school, he didn’t deny anything and admitted to his actions. He had done this because, after breaking up, he was unwilling to let go. Knowing the girl liked cats, he wanted to scare and control her, preventing her from ending the relationship.

He even checked her class schedule and stalked her daily.

The girl, suspecting it was her ex because of the cat-related incidents, didn’t dare attend class and reported everything anonymously to the school.

“This is terrifying,” Xiaoxiao, listening from the administration office, couldn’t help but comment. “Especially when Teacher Wang asked him if he considered the consequences. He was totally indifferent, saying he hadn’t broken the law. He’s naturally evil. I feel like he might try other ways to harass her.”

Ci YiYang nodded. The boy showed no remorse, even thinking the girl shouldn’t have broken up with him.

“Meeting someone like this, better to run away immediately,” said her senior, shaking his head from behind. “He’s psychologically unwell.”

Xiaoxiao agreed and told Ci YiYang, “We’re going to ask Teacher Wang about previous assignments, so we won’t go to the Media Lab. You can upload the videos you edited to the school website yourself.”

The scripts and videos were already edited, so it wasn’t difficult.

“Okay,” Ci YiYang nodded.

Parting ways with Xiaoxiao and her senior, she walked toward the Media Lab.

Just as she entered, she saw Jing Zuoyuan standing at the door.

“Why are you here?” Ci YiYang asked, surprised. Even a simple white T-shirt looked noble on him.

Jing Zuoyuan raised his chin, pointing inside, and said helplessly, “Waiting for my sister.”

Following his gaze, Ci YiYang saw the freshman girl who had just finished class.

Ci YiYang turned to ask, “Isn’t your sister really young?”

As soon as she spoke, a girl with a ponytail, wearing a bunny hair tie and a cute Lolita dress, ran out and hugged Jing Zuoyuan’s arm. “Brother, long time no see!”

Yun Jiayi then noticed the girl across from her. Her first impression: beautiful, gentle, non-threatening.

“This…”

Yun Jiayi looked at Ci YiYang and, blinking, said, “Aren’t you the girl from that photo in the room?”

Before she could finish, Jing Zuoyuan covered her mouth.

She stammered, unable to speak properly.

Ci YiYang watched them, confused.

It turned out she had met Jing Zuoyuan’s younger sister before. The little girl in front of her now was new to her but clearly had a good relationship with her brother.

Jing Zuoyuan, seeing her behave, released her and apologetically said, “This is my cousin Yun Jiayi. She studied outside the province before, so you haven’t met her yet. She’s also studying journalism.”

Yun Jiayi wiped her mouth, checked her lipstick in a mirror, and began, “Senior Ci YiYang, hello, I’m Jing Zuoyuan’s cousin, I’ve heard a lot about you… uh—”

Her words were interrupted again, forced to plead, “Brother, I was wrong, I won’t say anything again. Please release me.”

Jing Zuoyuan explained calmly, “She’s always liked to talk, don’t mind her.”

Usually polite and reserved, he was uncharacteristically losing his composure. Ciyi Yang smiled faintly, shaking her head.

Jing Zuoyuan, realizing his loss of decorum, reminded her, “You have something to do, right? Go ahead.”

Ci YiYang nodded, entering the lab.

Once the girl’s delicate figure disappeared, Yun Jiayi was released and given a warning glance.

“Don’t say random things,” Jing Zuoyuan warned.

Yun Jiayi ignored it, gazing at Ci YiYang enviously. “No wonder brother treasures her so much, even secretly putting her high school photos in his room. She’s even prettier in real life.”

Now living in the Jing family, she had glimpsed Jing Zuoyuan’s bedroom once, noticing the girl’s photos, surprised, and was kicked out. She hadn’t expected that the Peking University journalism student was Ci YiYang herself.

Yun Jiayi, thinking of this, curiously scrutinized Ci YiYang. Her brother was elegant, outstanding, always noticed. Without pursuing, he naturally had admirers, yet he hadn’t yet confessed?

“What’s wrong?” Jing Zuoyuan raised an eyebrow.

“Brother, are you a schoolkid? Copying people’s crushes?” Yun Jiayi frowned. “No, kids today don’t crush secretly. They just say it. You’re worse than a schoolkid.”

Jing Zuoyuan: …

“Didn’t I cover your mouth?” He smiled, taking out his phone. “I’ll tell aunt we’ll be home at seven.”

“Ah—” Yun Jiayi tried to snatch the phone. “Brother, I was wrong, I won’t talk, really!”

He retrieved it; his smile faded.

She was right—he hadn’t confessed because he wanted to maintain dignity in front of her.

Ci YiYang checked the title and format of the post. After half an hour, she finished, thinking Jing Zuoyuan had left, but the two were still there.

Yun Jiayi, seeing her, came over to introduce herself again.

“Can I call you Sister Yiyang? I feel like we’re connected in a past life,” she asked, blinking innocently.

Jing Zuoyuan gave her a warning glance.

Ci YiYang paused, then nodded. “Sure.”

Yun Jiayi ignored the warning, hugging Ci YiYang. “Sister Yiyang, my brother and I are going out to eat. Want to join?”

Ci YiYang, unaccustomed to being so close to someone she just met, blushed and politely declined. “Not today, maybe another time. I have things to do.”

“Ah, okay.” She looked disappointed but let go, waving.

Ci YiYang watched them leave, then returned to her dorm.

It was late; the teaching building was quiet.

She suddenly stopped, feeling someone behind her.

Recalling her previous stalker, she sped up.

Sure enough, someone followed and revealed themselves, grabbing her wrist and covering her mouth against the wall.

“Ci YiYang, don’t scream. It’s me.”

It was the same person who had stalked her before, now blocking her way.

She staggered back, pressed against the wall, eyes flickering with fear. “Who are you?!”

“Who do you think I am?” Wan Wei, filled with jealousy, stared at her.

He had liked Ci YiYang since freshman year, constantly messaging her, buying all the products she advertised, trying to get close.

Now, seeing her with another man, he realized why she kept their relationship secret—she had been teasing him while flirting with Jing Zuoyuan.

“Ci YiYang, I bought you so many products! How can you say you don’t know me?!” Wan Wei sneered.

“What products? What boyfriend? Let go! I don’t know you. I’ll call the police if you continue.” Ci YiYang frowned at his breath, smelling of alcohol.

“Police?” Wan Wei grabbed her shoulders. “I’m your boyfriend! You’d call the police on me? I could expose us!”

He forced her to log into social media to publicly declare their relationship.

Ci YiYang, using the school’s official account, hesitated. If she posted, the entire school would see.

“I’ll do it later. This isn’t my phone. Mine is in the dorm,” she coaxed.

Wan Wei didn’t believe her. “If you don’t post, I’ll do it myself. Today we go public.”

As he tried to grab her phone, someone intercepted him.

A tall, slender hand grabbed his, and a cracking sound followed. Wan Wei screamed in pain.

Looking up, he saw who it was—Lu Jin, the boy he could never challenge.

Lu Jin casually let go; Wan Wei fell, gasping.

Thinking he could get away with calling it a lovers’ quarrel, Wan Wei said, “We were just having a disagreement.”

But Lu Jin laughed.

He stepped on Wan Wei’s face, smiling faintly. “Your girlfriend? Didn’t she just say she doesn’t know you?”

Wan Wei turned pale, nearly shouting.

“Shh, too loud,” Lu Jin warned kindly. “I remember you turned off the hallway cameras when you came?”

Wan Wei froze—he had, planning to control Ci YiYang.

Lu Jin bent slightly, noticing the girl cowering in the corner, her hand frozen.

He seemed concerned for her, though regret flickered in his eyes.

He wanted to kill Wan Wei, but couldn’t in this country, especially in front of his “sister.”

Seeing Lu Jin release him, Wan Wei scrambled downstairs, nearly terrified to move.

Lu Jin ignored him, kneeling to look at Ci YiYang with faint compassion.

“You look so pitiful, sister,” he said softly.

Ci YiYang, recovering, looked at the boy, heart still racing from what she had witnessed.

“Are you okay, sister?” He helped her up, checking for injuries.

“I’m fine,” she shook her head, legs weak, half-leaning on him. “What are you doing here?”

“The teaching building. Just happened to be here,” he said.

It was normal for him to be here.

She felt faint; he had arrived just in time.

Lu Jin, sensing her suspicion, gently said, “I’ll walk you downstairs.”

She nodded.

Almost at the bottom, Ci YiYang’s foot slipped. Startled, she grabbed him.

In a reflex, she pressed him against the railing.

In a girl-on-top position, her lips brushed his jaw and stopped at his Adam’s apple.

She felt it moving slightly.

“Lu Jin?” She looked up, black eyes still anxious.

He half-lowered his eyes to meet hers, his neck slightly bowed, and asked softly:

“Sister, I want to know… have you ever kissed someone in the teaching building hallway?”