Influenced by the memory of Professor Wei's flustered expression from her teasing the previous day, Liu Fengying had underestimated her, viewing her as a "paper tiger" who quickly lost her nerve the moment she encountered opposition.
However, much to her surprise, not only were her words unable to make Professor Wei blush in the slightest, but the teacher also launched a fitting counterattack:
"To be honest, I hadn't really noticed. Not only did you disagree with my suggestion to focus on physics, but apart from your first year, you haven't participated in any other competitions..."
Professor Wei's accusation made Liu Fengying feel a bit guilty; well, not necessarily because of her lack of involvement in the subject Professor Wei taught, but rather because, over the past two years, she truly hadn't given her a second thought.
"Ahem, then I guess I have no choice but to try harder in the future...", Liu Fengying said, trying to maintain a defiant attitude. After all, Professor Wei held a position of power over her due to their teacher-student relationship, so just like standing in front of a bear, she couldn't show any signs of weakness. Although the consequences wouldn't have been as severe (on the contrary, she would more than likely be thrilled to be 'eaten' by Professor Wei), she might no longer have been taken seriously by her, which would damage the progress their relationship had made.
However, Professor Wei seemed to have no intention of dropping the subject so easily. Just like a shark, in whose vicinity it only takes a single drop of blood for someone to be targeted, it took only a split second of hesitation from Liu Fengying to prompt the teacher to keep attacking from the same angle:
"Well, although it's a bit late now, I think you still have a chance. What would you say if you finally chose to go to a physics college?"
"........", Liu Fengying was left speechless for a few moments. More precisely, she didn't understand why her admiration for Professor Wei had to be intertwined with an admiration for physics. Professor Wei might have had a celestial aura, but it wasn't possible for her to be an avatar of the goddess of physics, right?
Was Liu Fengying willing to spend the next four years studying things she would probably almost never use, just to impress Professor Wei? If she believed it was the only way, perhaps; it wasn't as if it would be that difficult for her. Besides, it wasn't a situation similar to Hua Shu being forced to choose a mathematics college, which would have made her hate every single moment she would spend studying; she actually found a few concepts in physics interesting.
Still, she was confident she could win Professor Wei over without making such a compromise; after all, majoring in physics required much more dedication compared to a degree in economics. Moreover, since she wanted to start a business, the latter would be more useful to her.
"Unfortunately, I've already made up my mind about my future plans, so this option is no longer on the table...", Liu Fengying finally rejected Professor Wei's idea.
However, seeing the look of sheer disappointment on Professor Wei's face, she thought of offering a compromise:
"But it's not as if I can't still study physics on my own. Yes, as a hobby. And if I have any questions, I'm sure you won't turn me down if I ask for your help, right?"
Professor Wei could hardly contain her laughter, seeing that she had actually managed to put Liu Fengying in a tight spot; honestly, she was beginning to understand why Liu Fengying was so obsessed with teasing. Naturally, seeing how well things were going, she had no intention of stopping.
"Is there really no way I can convince you?" she persisted, biting her lower lip with reluctance but with a gaze full of determination; she seemed ready to endure any injustice from Liu Fengying, if only it would sway her.
However, the one thing Professor Wei hadn't accounted for—being completely new to the whole game of teasing—was that less is more. Seeing her overly "provocative" reaction, how could Liu Fengying not realize that the teacher was just putting on an act? She would have to be dead drunk to believe that Professor Wei was willing to pay with her own body just for the chance of gaining one more elite member in the field of physics. Where had anyone ever seen such professional dedication?
The only perspective that could have left room for any doubt about the truthfulness of that reaction was if Professor Wei had been actually looking for a moral excuse to cross the boundaries between them; however, Liu Fengying was well aware they hadn't reached that stage yet.
'It seems Professor Wei has become a bad woman...', Liu Fengying complained to herself, thinking that the teacher really enjoyed testing her self-control.
She also felt a bit sorry that Professor Wei had built up an immunity to her teasing so quickly, feeling as though she hadn't seen enough of her cute, flustered expressions. She told herself she should have teased her more the previous day, back when Professor Wei was still innocent.
'No, it's not like I didn't try; it's all the fault of that damn assistant principal...', Liu Fengying corrected herself, remembering how things had actually gone the day before. She promised herself that if she had to deal with the assistant principal again before graduation, she would show him exactly how delightful it feels to have someone ruin all your plans.
Of course, the current situation wasn't worse, just different. Flirting back and forth, circling each other like two foxes tickling each other's noses with the tips of their tails, was an incredibly thrilling game.
Besides, even if Professor Wei had developed a sharp tongue, Liu Fengying was convinced that things wouldn't hold up the same way when it came to actual actions; therefore, she was certain there would still be plenty of opportunities to make her blush again.
And a very good opportunity to try pushing the boundaries of her interactions with Professor Wei was right then and there. After all, if she didn't let herself get carried away a little, it would be an insult to how tempting Professor Wei was at that moment, wouldn't it?
So, out of every possible way to remove the stocking from Professor Wei's leg, Liu Fengying chose the absolute boldest. She guided both hands up the calf until they were swallowed by the heavy skirt at the knee. There, under the guise of finding the stocking's hem, she ventured further upward, her fingertips teasing the warmth of the thigh.
"Honestly, I can think of a few ways...", Liu Fengying said with a deeply infatuated expression, as if in a trance induced by a powerful aphrodisiac, right at the exact moment her fingers finally brushed against the velvety, slightly damp skin—whether from sweat or condensation—no longer covered by the stocking.
"But I'm afraid you're not ready for that...", she continued after a mere second's pause, locking eyes with Professor Wei, who had been left completely stunned. Then, she began to withdraw her hands, pulling down the stocking they had caught by the rim, while making sure the pads of her index fingers left a long, fiery trail on the completely bare skin revealed in their wake.
'Dammit...', Professor Wei cursed in her mind; Liu Fengying's deeply sensual gesture was far too stimulating for her. It was as if a powerful fire had ignited within her core, threatening to consume both her flesh and her reason. Since this was the first time she had ever felt anything like this, she had absolutely no idea how to calm herself down.
In fact, there was a solution: to give in to the instincts screaming at her to pounce on the person in front of her and make her take responsibility for provoking her. After all, whoever lights a fire should also be responsible for putting it out. However, even ignoring the fact that her hands were tied until their teacher-student relationship came to an end, Professor Wei, despite being extremely attracted to Liu Fengying, hadn't yet considered whether there could be more between them than just flirting and occasional teasing; therefore, such a reaction was completely out of the question.
Liu Fengying was not in a much better position either. Had she succeeded in making Professor Wei blush, just as she wanted? Perhaps she had, but the energy the teacher emanated was not at all what she had anticipated—one full of shyness and nerves. With her ragged breathing and a gaze heavy with desire, Professor Wei seemed rather dominated by a primal "urge to mate." Facing such a temptation, how could it be easy for her to remain rational?
Liu Fengying thought that, at that moment, they resembled two starving people who hadn't eaten for days, passing a candied apple back and forth, knowing full well it was poisonous, just to lick its sweetness once or twice. Was it pleasant? Yes, it was intensely pleasant. The problem, however, was that such a gesture could never satisfy their hunger, and the forbidden fruit tempted them more and more to sink their teeth into it; in the end, the whole game was destined to become a form of torture.
Looking at the tips of her index fingers, "glazed" by the prolonged contact with the steaming skin of Professor Wei's thigh, Liu Fengying swallowed hard a few times, while an extremely indecent thought took root in her mind: what if she tasted them?
Then, placing her saliva-coated fingers on the hot ankle of the leg in her lap...
'No, no... That would be too dangerous...', Liu Fengying tried to snap out of it, realizing she had been on the verge of taking a path from which there would be no turning back. Professor Wei was already tempting enough in her current state; to also see her bare leg glistening with her own saliva would truly be far too much for her to maintain any self-control.
As for Professor Wei's completely bare leg, even if it had lost some of the aura of mystery provided by the black stocking, it more than made up for it by becoming even more inviting due to the tenderness of the skin; it looked simply perfect to bite into. Taking into account that she might very well have developed a foot fetish after visualizing the slow peeling of the stocking from the skin, honestly, Liu Fengying no longer knew how she would manage to focus on the treatment.