"Heh, and here I was thinking I was too ugly for you to look at directly. So, would you call this a punishment or a reward?" Xiao Yaoyao said with a smile that only enhanced her charm, revealing the full allure of a mature woman to Ye Tian.
Ye Tian quickly averted his gaze. 'I really can't stare at this vixen.' Her every move possessed an invisible magic that could easily provoke an... unusual reaction in him.
"Instructor Xiao is a stunning beauty. Any man would find it hard to look away. I wouldn't dare be disrespectful, so I can't just stare. That said, I'm more than willing to accept your punishment," Ye Tian said with a smile.
A pang of disappointment went through Xiao Yaoyao when she saw Ye Tian look away. 'What a strange guy.' All the other students who had come in earlier had stared right at her, their gazes lingering longest on her most alluring curves.
"Ye Tian, the academy has its rules, and what I'm doing is technically showing favoritism. But I'm willing to bend those rules for you. Do you know why? And another thing—you need to remember to call me Sister Yaoyao. I like the sound of it!" Xiao Yaoyao said with a smile.
Ye Tian's heart skipped a beat. 'Xiao Yaoyao's tone... it's like a woman flirting with a man. But there's nothing between us. What is she getting at? Is she testing my self-control?'
'My heart already belongs to Ye Feifei. No matter how much she tries to provoke me, nothing can happen. Besides, getting involved with her is dangerous. It's playing with fire, and I'm not about to do something so stupid.'
After a moment of thought, Ye Tian said, "I'm a bit slow, so I don't quite understand what you mean, Instructor Xiao. Could you please be more direct?"
"I told you to call me Sister Yaoyao. Are you ignoring me on purpose? The reason I'm doing this is because you're a rare genius, someone with the potential to become a true powerhouse. The academy must give you special attention and resources. As for the other reason... I'm not telling you just yet!" Xiao Yaoyao said with a smile, though a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
Ye Tian, however, missed the blush. He truly didn't dare look at her face, keenly aware of the crisis his Pure Yang Qi could trigger at any moment.
Just then, Lin Ling walked in. She was surprised to find only Ye Tian and Xiao Yaoyao there. "What? You kept him behind? He's the one who injured Tang Jun, isn't he? Shattering his arm into several pieces with a single punch... that's some serious force."
"Lin Ling, is Tang Jun going to be okay?" Xiao Yaoyao asked.
"He's all patched up. With a few days of Cultivation, he should make a full recovery. The academy's Healing Elixirs are quite potent. So, how are you punishing this troublemaker?" Lin Ling said, looking at Ye Tian.
Ye Tian shot Lin Ling a look. 'This woman wants to punish me the second she walks in the door. I don't even know what I did to offend her. I ought to pounce on her and give her a good bite to teach her a lesson.'
"It's a minor issue; let's just move past it. I'm going to send him over to my father's office later. Dad specifically told me to look after him," Xiao Yaoyao said.
"Oh, so that's how it is. It seems Dean Xiao values him highly! That's quite rare," Lin Ling remarked, her eyes on Ye Tian.
But Ye Tian was now staring straight at her. Their eyes met. His gaze was odd, tinged with a strange sort of affection that made Lin Ling immediately look away.
'I'm doing this on purpose,' Ye Tian thought, 'just to annoy her. Serves her right for wanting to punish me the second she walked in.' Yet, as he looked into her eyes, he saw a surprising clarity, a pureness in her gaze.
Lin Ling's face flushed, and her cheeks burned from his stare. 'His gaze is too intense,' she thought. 'I can't meet it... especially not when he's looking at me so strangely.'
'It's such an annoying, disrespectful stare. But I can't lose my temper with Xiao Yaoyao here. I'll have to find another chance to teach him a lesson. No man has ever looked at me like that before, even if he's still just a boy.'
"Ahem. Lin Ling, why don't you take Ye Tian to my father's office? I've told the other students he's being punished with seven days in the Detention Chamber. After the seven days are up, you can just pick him up from there," Xiao Yaoyao said.
"Alright. I'll take him over now. Any other instructions?" Lin Ling asked.
"No, that's all. I'll just record today's events so the students can learn from it tomorrow," Xiao Yaoyao said. But when she noticed that Ye Tian's gaze remained fixed on Lin Ling the entire time, she felt an odd, unnamable emotion.
Ye Tian and Lin Ling left. Once they were outside, Lin Ling snapped, "Ye Tian, what is wrong with you? Am I growing flowers on my face? Do you not know how rude it is to stare at a woman like that?"
All along the way, Ye Tian kept his eyes on Lin Ling. It wasn't that he had any real interest in her; he just wanted to tease her, like a prank. It was probably because her immediate desire to punish him had left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Don't beautiful women enjoy being admired? What's the matter? Are you shy, or are you scared?" Ye Tian said, stopping in his tracks.
"Scared of what? You think you can do something to me? With your level of strength, I could knock all your teeth out whenever I please. Don't forget, I'm your instructor. In my eyes, you're just a little brat!" Lin Ling said, her expression turning angry.
"Heh, so you are scared after all! HAHAHAHA!" Ye Tian laughed and then strode ahead, feeling quite pleased with himself for getting her riled up.
Lin Ling said no more. 'That arrogant brat. I'll have to find a chance to teach him a lesson and make him suffer a little. But he's a genius the Dean has his eye on now, so I'll have to pick the right moment.'
After passing through two Teleportation Gates, Ye Tian and Lin Ling arrived at Dean Xiao Wenjie's private area. Xiao Wenjie and Guan Tianshui were currently engrossed in a game of chess and paid the newcomers no mind.
Ye Tian and Lin Ling stood quietly to the side, not daring to interrupt. After a long moment, Xiao Wenjie looked up, glanced at them, and addressed Lin Ling. "Instructor Lin, what brings you here with Ye Tian? Has he finally come around?"
"Dean, Ye Tian broke the academy's rules. Instructor Xiao sent him here to receive his punishment. It's supposed to be for seven days. As for the specifics of the punishment, that's up to you. I'm just responsible for picking him up in seven days," Lin Ling explained.
"Punishment? What rule did he break?" Xiao Wenjie asked. Across the board, Guan Tianshui also turned to look at them.
"He broke another student's arm with a single punch. And he's incredibly arrogant!" Lin Ling said, deliberately emphasizing the word "arrogant."
Ye Tian was fuming internally. 'When was I arrogant? Just because I stared at her on the way here?'
'Though, to be honest,' he mused, 'this Lin Ling has an amazing figure. She's curvy in all the right places, enough to rival Ye Feifei's. And her mature aura is even more captivating. If my heart didn't already belong to Ye Feifei, I could easily see myself being completely mesmerized by her.'
'I just don't get why the academy insists on having two beautiful, provocative female instructors for the honors class. Can't they just teach the male and female students separately?'
"Ye Tian, you broke the academy's rules," Xiao Wenjie said with a smile. "What kind of punishment do you think you deserve...?"