27 Wan Xue

Sighing lightly, Li Mo Shang was made to refrain in the lecture hall now devoid of students, facing Wan Xue as she continued to gesture towards him, indicating for him to step towards her podium. Watching his unchanging deadpan expression as he slowly made his way down the auditorium acting as if he had no care in the world's affairs, Wan Xue's smirk became even more pronounced. This student, she would enjoy abusing him today!

As he stopped two meters before her, Wan Xue spoke, her gentle voice causing slight chills to run through Li Mo Shang's spine. Without noticing, Li Mo Shang was trapped within her psychological trap, his attention forcefully captured by her captivating voice.

"Did you have fun, doctoring your examination? Perhaps playing with your teacher is a favorite pastime, do you have naughty thoughts of me stressing over your intentionally botched answers?"

Li Mo Shang could not help but gaze deeply within Wan Xue's eyes. Every detail was captured, including each grain of color forming her azure irises, her pupils acting as endless voids as they sucked Li Mo Shang within.

Her question was completely unnoticed by Li Mo Shang as an uncomfortable yet inevitable blankness encroached into his mind, blurring several of his thoughts and attempts to free himself. Suddenly, the spiritual core shook, and a powerful pulse of spiritual qi traveled through his mind, repelling the psychological wormhole and freeing him from the mental illusion.

Maintaining an indifferent expression, Li Mo Shang could not help but experience slight feelings of terror as he recalled how easily he had fallen for a hypnosis attack.

Staring back towards Wan Xue with his usual deadpan expression, Li Mo Shang expressed his confusion through silence. He knew that his slight movements as he freed his mind was captured under Wan Xue's investigative gaze, and he awaited her to repeat the question, thinking of several methods he could adopt to extricate himself from the uncomfortable situation. Sure enough, Wan Xue repeated her question once more, her soft voice emitted from those parted, delicate lips akin to a siren's song.

"Why did you doctor your examination? This isn't your first time either, you've pretty much debased your answers on every test. Is being a perfect student that unappealing to you?"

Li Mo Shang remained silent, before speaking in a quiet voice. After carefully deliberating, he decided to play dumb, acting as if he had merely made stupid mistakes during the examinations from nervousness.

"I don't know what you mean by doctoring my examination papers. I was merely guessing the answers since I didn't know which one was correct."

Wan Xue frowned, her delicate eyelashes quivering as she stepped closer towards Li Mo Shang. With each step, she easily blurted out Li Mo Shang's past without a single care for his feelings or thoughts.

"Li Family's son of Li Yuan and Jiang Lanying. At the age of five, began studying medicine under the tutelage of many famous doctors and medicinal practitioners, including Bei Zhong's famous Tai Zi Hua. Attended Nan Qing National Institution of Primary Education until the age of seventeen, of which you went on a nation-wide medical examination trip with Te Zi Yuan, Nan Qing's Imperial doctor. At school, you would be a reticent yet good-natured hardworking student, embodying no external personality and devoted towards learning. Outside of the learning environment, you would be the opposite, with frequent adventures into the nearby woods." She paused, her eyelashes fluttering at Li Mo Shang's increasingly cold countenance.

"Surprised?" She questioned. "Should I go further? Hm, how about a free diagnosis on your sociability?"

"No need." Li Mo Shang interjected, intending to cut off Wan Xue's speech and never let it resurrect.

He would understand if Blue Rose University's databases possessed detailed knowledge on his life and upbringing, but how did Wan Xue obtain such information with her identity as a professor for first-year students? It seemed her background was not ordinary compared to the regular university professor. "Just what do you need, Professor Wan, that you need a single student to remain after school?"

"Why did you pass on that note to that Li Zhen Yue girl? After all, you possess no affectionate sentiment towards that young maiden, nor do you have a reason to help. Are you attempting to be the hero saving the beauty, university examination style? Tsk tsk."

Wan Xue's smirk returned in full force, causing Li Mo Shang to adopt a deadpan expression once more. Unfortunately, his attempt to display disinterest failed, as Wan Xue quickly launched into another spiel.

"If we look at your personality, isn't it quite strange? You're thrown into a room of three absolutely stunning beauties, all ready for you to savor and enjoy! Yet all you do is head off to your room without sparing them a glance, then later carry out these miniature acts of currying favor. Shopping with that Su girl, giving assistance through notes to that Li Zhen Yue maiden during every examination, weekly teatimes with Lin Shi Meng, you're quite the popular male, aren't you? But you don't have even the slightest interest in them, acting like a machine-"

"Professor Wan." Li Mo Shang rudely interrupted. "Could it be that you were stalking your own student, to go and personally investigate his or her personas and habits? I didn't know that Blue Rose University's rules allowed for such conduct of a professor."

Wan Xue lightly giggled, her laughter ringing like soft bells on a beautiful spring morning. "Blue Rose University's rules and regulations?" She laughed once more. "Dear student, did you know that when I was contracted to teach here, they specifically handed me a draft exempting me from any rules of this university?"

"Oh? Then why would you personally investigate a specific student on your own accord? You couldn't be planning to discover the extensive social networks of the younger generations in Blue Rose City?"

"Because I got news of the Li Family's grandson attending Blue Rose University. I just had to find out what he looked out, it's a pity that he resulted to be such a disappointment. How did you alter your appearance though? Even modern cosmetic procedures and products can't achieve such drastic and instantaneous change."

Wan Xue inquisitively stared at Li Mo Shang, her large eyes locked firmly onto his, not letting him avert his gaze. Such cosmetic effect was the envy of all women, as it surpassed the effects of the Yin Restoration Pill, the astronomical monstrosity that not even she could afford without heartbreak. Obtaining the secrets would be best but unfulfillable due to Li Mo Shang's instinctive vigilance towards her, it seemed that she would have to settle for blackmailing him!

"Who knows? Perhaps I was blessed by the fortunes of the gods for my meritorious duty in past lives."

Li Mo Shang swiftly bade a student's goodbye towards Wan Xue, before hoisting his bag and striding towards the door. He felt that talking to Wan Xue any further would not result in any positive or beneficial, as she seemed to possess ulterior motives, and Li Mo Shang had no desire in getting involved.

Just as he reached the door, Wan Xue swiftly manipulated her terminal, locking the doors of the auditorium. Angered and irritated by her persistence in locking him here, Li Mo Shang could only face Wan Xue once more, his displeasure expressed clearly on his countenance.

"Could it be that Professor Wan possesses some ulterior motive in keeping me here? Perhaps a salacious misdemeanor under a moment of muddle-headedness, or you just appreciate tormenting students and wasting their lunch break? Just why must I remain here in this auditorium with its locked doors, perhaps you wished to carry out a scene best hidden from public?"

Facing Li Mo Shang's scathing remarks, Wan Xue smiled before activating the projector on the podium. As the large holographic screen appeared, Li Mo Shang saw a replay of the most recent examination, with the camera focused directly above the test-taking Li Mo Shang. Even the answers on the paper were displayed on the projection. Pacing around the holographic projector and angling her head towards Li Mo Shang, her melodious voice rang forth, causing Li Mo Shang to stiffen and stare at her in displeasure.

"Just two and a half hours ago, you were answering the question on the 'fall of the Dai Tian Empire and its possible reasons', and the answer you provided was completely correct. The Dai Tian Empire did fall under a poisoning case involving the appearance of the Tower of Babel phenomenon, which crippled the bloodline of the Dai Imperial Family. A century-long famine crippled the empire until it had become nothing more than a pile of haystacks and brigands, with absolutely no governmental structure or hierarchy. Yet, thirty minutes after, you changed your answer to a similar but slightly incorrect one, stating that they fell under mismanagement of governmental power following a case of malapportioned food-borne poisoning."

The video presented on the hologram switched camera angles, displaying Li Mo Shang's deadpan expression. "Why did you change your answer to something that would only receive partial credit? Just from analyzing your facial expressions and physical activity, it was impossible for you to have been guessing at the answer."

She manipulated the projector to display a scene from two weeks ago, then three weeks prior, and finally a month before. Flipping through each scene, she continued to offer her comments, as Li Mo Shang's expressions gradually became more unsightly before concluding with an indifferent mask. He could easily infer Wan Xue's purpose in explaining such scenes to him, and was not appreciative of her absolute advantage as a professor not bound by Blue Rose University's academic protocol.

"Looking at these previous examinations, the same thing happens with all of these examinations as well! The study of authority via a literary perspective; the analysis and theories behind the decomposition of complex functions; the foundations and flaws of society; all of these examinations, you altered several answers to ensure a high passing grade just barely short of a perfect score. And every time, you would pass a small outline detailing the correct answers to that Li Zhen Yue maiden, could it be that you're still unaware of it? That excuse doesn't really work facing fully interactive recording technology, no?"

"Just what do you want?" Li Mo Shang sighed. He was unable to discover a quick and peaceful method of escaping the situation, and now that it had come to this, it would be considerably better to bite the bullet and consider Wan Xue's demands.

"I want medical service for my sister, Wan Ning! A physical restoration for her trauma, and a Yin Restoration Pill to enhance her beauty!"

"Absolutely not!" Li Mo Shang coldly snorted. Did she think that the Li Family would give such high-quality service towards a famous professor's family just because of minor blackmail? Even he as the grandson of Li Shao Qing was unable to properly gauge even half of the Li Family's strength and influence over Blue Flame World, who knew just how powerful the Li Family was?

"Go apply on the service provider webpage established by the Li Family. You can register to participate in the next auction the coming month. A Yin Restoration Pill and a physical makeover, the Li Family does not distribute for free!"

"You really won't consider it? Even if your Li Family is all-powerful, it would leave a stain on your academic record if I reported to the Board of Directors that you were willfully manipulating information and improperly assisting fellow students during examinations. Can't we do it very peacefully?" Wan Xue dropped her smirk, replacing her gloating expression with one of pleading, her delicate appearance and frail demeanor attempting to incite pity. "Even if my sister direly requires such a medical treatment?"

"Do think once more, Professor Wan Xue. Creating each of the pills you demanded require an exorbitant consumption of financial resources and time, hence only an extremely few amount would be sold a year. How could our family sustain such a loss on a casual request? And the Yin Restoration Pill is purely for cosmetic needs, how is it that your younger sister requires it at such an age?"

Wan Xue sighed lightly, before fiddling with her terminal to unlock to doors and shutting off the projector. Heading towards the exit and gesturing for Li Mo Shang to follow, she lightly spoke, this time without any gloating or superior attitude. "I'll buy you lunch and talk later. Afternoon lectures are canceled."