"It seems you need a... more 'professional' teacher."

After leaving behind this pointed remark, Xie Chen departed the apartment and did not reappear for two days. His absence did not diminish the invisible pressure; instead, it weighed heavily on Su Nian's heart like a gathering dark cloud.

A more "professional" teacher? Does it refer to professional piano skills, or... something else entirely? Is it a "cleaner" sent by the Main God Space, or an extension of the will of that "divine fragment"?

Su Nian felt as if she were trapped in a shrinking trap, with the walls slowly closing in. She tried to contact System 088 to get more information about the upcoming "teacher," but the system's response was still filled with static and vague.

"External interface request detected... Permission verification in progress..."

"Target [Xie Chen] has authorized new visitor [Gu Lin] to enter the safe zone..."

"【Gu Lin】Identity Information: Senior Art Consultant, Pianist..."

"Deep scan blocked... Warning: Target carries unknown shielding field..."

Gu Lin? A completely unfamiliar name. Senior Art Consultant? This identity sounded impeccable, but the phrase "unknown shielding field" instantly put Su Nian on alert. This was definitely not an ordinary piano teacher.

Panic, like a fine spiderweb, silently coiled around her heart. She knew that what was coming had finally arrived.

On the afternoon of the third day, the doorbell rang. Aunt Mei went to open the door and led a man in.

Su Nian was sitting on the sofa in the living room when she heard the sound and looked up.

The man appeared to be around thirty years old, dressed in a well-tailored light gray suit. He was tall and slender, with a gentle and refined demeanor. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, behind which his eyes held a warm smile, and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, giving him a warm and approachable air. He was handsome, but unlike Xie Chen's cold and hard good looks, his appearance was more scholarly and refined.

This is Gu Lin? He seems... harmless?

However, Su Nian's anxiety only intensified. The more harmless something appears, the more dangerous it often is. Moreover, she noticed a detail—when Gu Lin entered, his gaze swept across the entire living room with an extremely natural ease. His look wasn't one of curious observation, but rather more like a… quick, professional environmental assessment. His gaze lingered on Su Nian for a moment, his smile unchanged, a slight nod in greeting, polite yet distant.

"Hello, Ms. Lin. I am Gu Lin. I have been entrusted by Mr. Xie to instruct you in your piano lessons over the next period of time." His voice was also very pleasant, clear and melodious, with a steady tone.

"Hello, Teacher Gu." Su Nian stood up, trying her best to make her expression look only a little reserved and shy like a stranger, but in her heart, alarm bells were ringing.

Xie Chen entrusted it? He really did get involved.

Gu Lin's teaching was indeed "professional." He explained music theory clearly and thoroughly, demonstrated fingering techniques with standard and beautiful strokes, and could pinpoint and patiently correct the mistakes Su Nian made in her practice. He never overstepped his bounds, always maintaining just the right distance, speaking gently, and his attitude was impeccable.

But beneath his perfect professional facade, Su Nian sensed a cold, inhuman feeling. Every smile, every glance, seemed meticulously calculated, so perfect it didn't seem like a real human being. Moreover, he would occasionally ask seemingly casual, yet actually tricky, questions.

"Miss Lin has a very insightful understanding of music. It seems... she's not a complete beginner?" he casually remarked during a break in instruction.

Su Nian felt a chill run down her spine, but on her face she showed an embarrassed expression: "Maybe... I watch too many movies and listen to too much music, so I have a feeling about it."

Gu Lin smiled, not delving into the matter, and instead steered the conversation towards some obscure debates in classical music history regarding the relationship between "divine revelation" and "human inspiration." His words were full of quotations and logically rigorous, as if he were merely discussing academic matters, but Su Nian vaguely felt that he was using these metaphors to test her understanding and attitude towards "supernatural" forces.

What made Su Nian even more uneasy was that Gu Lin seemed to have an extraordinary interest in the piano itself. Before and after lessons, he would carefully examine each part of the piano, his fingers gently brushing across the body, and occasionally a very subtle, focused glint, like that of a testing instrument, would flash in his eyes.

What is he looking for?

As the day's lessons came to an end, the streetlights outside the window were already on. Gu Lin packed up his sheet music and prepared to leave.

Just then, Xie Chen, who had been silently staying in the study (Su Nian could sense that he was home today), came out.

He seemed to have just finished a video conference, his face still bearing traces of fatigue and the coldness of someone recovering from business negotiations. When he saw Gu Lin, he merely nodded slightly as a greeting.

Gu Lin remained respectful and professional when facing Xie Chen: "Mr. Xie, Miss Lin is very talented and is making rapid progress."

Xie Chen's gaze swept over Su Nian, finally landing on Gu Lin, and he said in a flat tone, "Thank you for your hard work."

A strange atmosphere flowed between the two. It didn't seem like a simple employer-employee relationship, but more like... a tacit understanding, a sense of cooperation with some shared purpose.

Gu Lin smiled slightly and said meaningfully, "It is my honor to serve you and Miss Lin. However... even the most exquisite musical instrument will be affected by discordant 'impurities' if there are any inside. Sometimes, a more in-depth... 'tuning' is needed."

"Impurities"? "Tuning"?

Su Nian's heart sank! This definitely wasn't referring to the piano!

Xie Chen's gaze shifted almost imperceptibly as he looked at Gu Lin, his eyes deep: "Are you confident?"

Gu Lin pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light: "Theoretically feasible. But we need to find the resonant frequency of the 'impurities,' which requires... closer observation and a little... stimulation." His gaze seemed to casually sweep over Su Nian.

A thrill?! Are they trying to force out the system within her body, or confirm her status as an "anomaly"?

Su Nian felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head! She could barely control the expression on her face.

Xie remained silent for a moment, and then did something that made Su Nian feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

He looked at her, his tone devoid of emotion, as if he were merely stating a predetermined arrangement: "Starting tomorrow, Teacher Gu will be staying in the guest room for easier guidance."

Move in?! That means surveillance will be everywhere! She will completely lose her last bit of privacy and buffer!

Su Nian's face paled instantly. She subconsciously looked at Xie Chen, trying to find even a trace of hesitation or reluctance in his eyes. However, there was none. His eyes were calm and unwavering, containing only an almost cold decisiveness.

He chose to cooperate. To cooperate with this mysterious Gu Lin, to conduct a more thorough "test" and "adjustment" of her!

Was it because he didn't trust her? Or was it because... the influence of that "divine fragment" made him instinctively want to eliminate her as an "unstable factor"?

"It seems Miss Lin is a little nervous?" Gu Lin's gentle voice rang out, filled with concern, yet his eyes, like a scalpel, precisely captured every change in her face. "Don't worry, it's just for better teaching results."

Su Nian clenched her fists tightly, forcing herself to calm down through the pain. She lowered her head, avoiding their gazes, and whispered, "...Yes, thank you, sir, thank you, Teacher Gu."

She couldn't resist, couldn't show any abnormality. Otherwise, it would be an admission of guilt.

Gu Lin's luggage was quickly brought to the guest room. With the addition of a seemingly gentle but unpredictable "guest" in the apartment, the atmosphere suddenly became incredibly oppressive.

That night, Su Nian lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She could sense extremely faint footsteps and energy fluctuations in the living room and hallway, sounds different from the usual bodyguard patrols. Was Gu Lin active? Or was he setting something up?

She tried calling System 088 to discuss countermeasures.

"088, this Gu Lin was definitely sent by the Main God Space! What should we do?"

However, this time, the system's response was delayed. After a long while, it finally sounded intermittently, the voice weaker than before, with more background noise.

"High-intensity shielding and interference field detected..."

"System external communication... is severely hampered..."

"Core computing power...is being suppressed..."

"Warning... Unable to effectively analyze the target [Gu Lin]'s] true intentions..."

"It is recommended that the host... activate... the silence protocol... and minimize... interaction as much as possible..."

A silence protocol? Reduced interaction? This means the system's assistance will be minimized, leaving her almost entirely to face Gu Lin's probing and Xie Chen's tacit approval alone!

Just as Su Nianxin's heart sank to the bottom, the system notification sounded again, with an unprecedented urgency and... a trace of distorted noise, revealing a fragmented message:

"Attempting to break through the interference... intercepted... fragments of encrypted information..."

"Keyword recognition... [Container purification]... [Anchor point removal]..."

"Repeat... [Anchor point stripping]..."

Anchor point... stripped?!

Su Nian's pupils suddenly contracted! A chilling fear instantly gripped her entire body!

They weren't trying to confirm, they weren't trying to control... they wanted to completely "strip" her, this "core anchor," from Xie Chen's side, from this world?!

The suspense in the story reaches a new peak at this moment—a new character, Gu Lin, arrives with a dangerous purpose, the male lead's attitude is ambiguous, the system's functions are severely limited, and the terrifying plan of "anchor point stripping" pushes the female lead to the brink of despair! How will this silent battle unfold next? Everything awaits to be revealed.