Lu Cheng looked at Ji Ling's cold eyes, the smile on his face growing wider.
He didn't answer the question directly.
Instead, he pulled her closer, directly scooping Ji Ling, who was sitting on his lap, into his arms in an irresistible embrace.
Ji Ling's body instantly tensed.
"Warning: Target behavior pattern has entered an unknown domain."
"Physical contact analysis: Non-aggressive, non-defensive. Intent... unable to parse."
Lu Cheng carried her, walking step by step towards the lounge prepared for him inside the study.
"That's a very good question."
His voice echoed in the quiet study, carrying a hint of condescending laziness.
"But the art of pleasing is the highest form of art."
"You won't learn it just by talking."
"Bang."
He closed the lounge door with his foot, cutting off everything from the outside.
He gently placed Ji Ling on the soft, large bed, his tall figure towering over her.
"So, today."
"I'll personally give you your first lesson."
"The name of the course is Observation and Imitation."
Ji Ling lay on the bed, the soft sensation making her slightly uncomfortable. She instinctively wanted to sit up, but Lu Cheng's gaze made her abandon the thought.
"Analysis: Enclosed space, target's strength unknown, possibly higher than mine."
"Danger level: Extremely high."
"...However, this is the only way to obtain core data samples for 'pleasing'."
"Mode switch... entering deep learning mode."
Lu Cheng watched with satisfaction as she gave up her futile struggle, then walked to the wall and pressed a button on the remote control.
On the wall, a huge high-definition screen silently lit up.
But what began to play on it was not some blockbuster movie.
Instead, it was... Xia Qinghe's daily life.
There she was, in the Modu University library, diligently reading professional books, while secretly sketching Lu Cheng's profile with a pencil in the corner of her scratch paper... After finishing, she guiltily erased it, but couldn't help the corners of her mouth from curving upwards.
There she was, in her dormitory, after a tiring day, taking out a fountain pen Lu Cheng had given her from her drawer, gently rubbing it against her cheek, and smiling foolishly at the pen all by herself.
There she was, practicing her smile in front of the mirror, over and over again.
"Will Brother Cheng like it if I smile like this?"
"Or... is this sweeter?"
In the video, all of the girl's actions were filled with an extreme, pure, and blush-inducing love.
Lu Cheng sat by the bed, observing Ji Ling's reaction with interest.
He narrated to her, right by her ear.
"Look, this is affection, a most basic emotion."
"Her gaze, her smile, are all trying to... get my attention, to make me happy."
"This is the most primitive and purest form of pleasing."
He paused, then asked.
"Do you understand?"
Ji Ling's brain attempted to parse this behavior pattern, which completely defied logic and efficiency.
"Analysis report: Target Xia Qinghe's behavior leads to a significant increase in dopamine, endorphin, oxytocin, and other hormone levels, thereby producing neural signals known as happiness."
"Conclusion: Unable to simulate this complex emotion."
"No."
She answered honestly.
"Good, I like your stupidity."
Lu Cheng chuckled and pressed the switch button.
This time, the person appearing on the screen was Anya.
The scene was no longer the innocence of a campus, but the backstage of a world-class concert hall.
Anya had just finished a perfect performance, bowing to thunderous applause.
But when she returned alone to the empty backstage, the pride and radiance of the violin queen instantly faded from her face.
In its place was a complex look... She simply took out her phone, looked at Lu Cheng's photo on the lock screen, and her eyes reddened.
Another scene was in the Lu Family Manor's music room.
She was playing the violin for Lu Cheng alone, that wholehearted devotion, that sense of dependence that made her regard him as the center of her entire world, could be clearly felt through the screen.
"Look, this is called dependence."
Lu Cheng's voice sounded again, guiding her.
"She built her world entirely around me."
"So, her violin playing is no longer cold technique, but the sound of her soul, played solely to please me."
He stared into Ji Ling's eyes, giving a new command.
"Now, I order you to imitate her gaze."
Imitate?
She looked up at Lu Cheng, starting to precisely control every muscle in her face.
She tried to make her gaze as "deeply affectionate" and "dependent" as Anya's.
However, the result was... she presented an extremely bizarre expression, somewhere between "about to burst into tears" and "facial nerve paralysis."
Those beautiful eyes were hollow, devoid of any emotion, with only forcibly twisted muscles, looking comical and pitiful, like a broken puppet.
"Pfft..."
Lu Cheng finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
He reached out and pinched Ji Ling's stiff cheek, giving an unsparing "critique":
"Wrong."
"No emotion."
"This isn't adoration, it's ocular muscle dysfunction."
"Reason for failure: Core emotional module missing, unable to produce effective output."
Just then.
"Thump, thump, thump."
The lounge door was gently knocked.
The smile on Lu Cheng's lips deepened.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open.
Dongfang Yue, dressed in a tight cheongsam that perfectly accentuated her figure, walked in carrying a cup of warm milk.
She had clearly been given some command by Lu Cheng in advance via the Love-Binding Gu, and her incomparably beautiful face carried a hint of reluctant shyness and blush, adding a breathtaking beauty.
"Yue'er, come here."
Lu Cheng waved at her, his tone as natural as if calling his pet.
Dongfang Yue bit her lower lip; due to the coercive power of the Love-Binding Gu from a soul level, she dared not disobey.
She walked to the bed and handed the milk to Lu Cheng.
Just as Lu Cheng reached out to take the cup.
"Ah!"
Dongfang Yue exclaimed, her body seeming to suddenly lose its balance, her feet giving way, and she "just happened" to fall directly into Lu Cheng's arms.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes shy and slightly moist, and her voice became soft and sweet, with a hint of grievance.
"I... I didn't mean to..."
Lu Cheng naturally wrapped his arm around her soft waist, feeling the warm, fragrant jade in his embrace, but his gaze was fixed on Ji Ling on the bed, and he chuckled:
"Did you see that?"
His voice, like a key, unlocked the last door in Ji Ling's logical world.
"This is a... complex art mixed with obedience, shyness, accident, cunning, and... a desire to be punished."
Ji Ling on the bed remained motionless.
Her visual module had completely recorded everything that had just happened.
So... that's how it is.
So "pleasing" wasn't just simple imitation, but a... performance.
Lu Cheng helped Dongfang Yue up and waved his hand.
"Go."
Dongfang Yue, as if granted a great pardon, glared fiercely at Lu Cheng and fled the lounge as if escaping.
In the room, only Lu Cheng and Ji Ling remained again.
Lu Cheng looked back at Ji Ling on the bed, his eyes full of anticipation for the results.
"Lesson over."
"Now, it's your turn."
He gave the final command.
"Use what you've learned tonight to please me."
Ji Ling sat on the bed, silent.
A full thirty seconds passed.
Only then did she find an "anchorable sample" from Dongfang Yue's "live demonstration."
She slowly raised her head, looking at Lu Cheng again.
This time, she didn't attempt any clumsy muscle imitation.
Instead, she extended her fair, slender hands and grasped the corner of Lu Cheng's clothes.
Her voice, for the first time, took on a completely new tone, mixed with "tentativeness."
"I... can I learn to feed you milk?"