Chapter 15

Figure drawing is a fundamental course at the art academy. Teachers regularly hire models, and once, when a model was unavailable, the teacher personally took off his clothes and drew the figure. That's how dedicated the artists at Horton are—they're almost ready to emulate Leonardo da Vinci and take their students into the anatomy lab for in-depth human anatomy studies.

A good teacher produces outstanding students. What haven't these students seen? As a top student, Su Yue has seen all kinds of naked bodies, regardless of height, weight, age, or gender.

But he had never seen Noah with such a... sculpted physique.

What's even stranger is why his face is flushed? His mouth is dry, he feels tightness in his chest and shortness of breath... Could it be that he has a sudden attack of asthma that even Dr. Snow couldn't detect?

No, this is so unprofessional! Su Yue gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly: Attitude! Show some professionalism!

Just then, Noah looked at him intently, his hands on his waistband:

"Should I take my clothes off down there?"

Su Yue: "..."

His blood rushed to his head, and he was momentarily speechless.

From a professional standpoint, those cumbersome pants should definitely be taken off, otherwise it would just be a "half-human figure sketch." But looking at Noah holding up his waistband, seemingly wanting to take them off but not quite, Su Yue felt... taking them off would cause trouble.

Noah waited patiently for a few seconds, then suddenly said:

"Hey, you have a nosebleed."

It took Su Yue four hours to complete this "half-human figure sketch".

When he finally succeeded, he was exhausted and clung to the wolf king for comfort.

Noah, seeing that he was extremely tired, offered to frame the painting as encouragement—because only well-painted works are worth framing.

"Mm." Su Yue nodded.

Honestly, this was probably the most painstakingly crafted painting he had ever created; it's truly unique. He couldn't have done it again, so this piece is a rare find and deserves to be framed.

Su Yue still insists on purifying Noah once a day.

Ever since he drew that sketch, as if encouraged, he started to procrastinate for longer periods each time—from twenty minutes to thirty minutes, forty minutes…

Every time the time ran out, Noah's face would darken. Su Yue pretended not to see it, but kept holding onto Noah's hands tightly, sometimes even rubbing his face against him.

This was a new trick he'd learned from the wolf king. The wolf king would often rub his big head against him, and while he'd verbally complain about how annoying it was, his heart was inwardly true. To increase his interaction with Noah, he put this trick to use.

Moreover, with his face pressed against her arm, he naturally couldn't see the other person's dark expression, so you can imagine that the other person was enjoying it too...

hey-hey.

It wasn't just cheating. With more practice, he gradually adapted to the discomfort of the black mist entering his body, and the purification power generated within him also increased, naturally allowing him to last longer.

After the dark mist was dispelled from Noah's body, the remaining energy was pure and warm, like a gentle hand caressing his entire body...

It's really comfortable.

It's addictive.

There are only four days left until the end of January.

That morning, Noah informed Su Yue that he was taking Wolf King and Da Bao elsewhere for a "physical examination".

The wolf king and Da Bao's actual ages far exceed the records of their kind—it is said that the wolf king is already fifty years old, and the silly Da Bao is over seventy. Besides their good fortune and having the right master, the main reason is that the Crystal Clan has a set of high-tech methods to extend the lifespan of animals.

Therefore, Noah needed to take them to that place regularly, and it would probably take a whole day to return.

He had prepared all three meals and put them in the refrigerator, reminding Su Yue to remember to get them. Like a conscientious cafeteria director, he was always worried that students would be lazy and not eat.

Actually, you're overthinking it. Although Su Yue is thin, she has a big appetite; she's just naturally thin.

Su Yue obediently complied with all of Noah's instructions.

As Noah turned and left, leaving him alone in the entire stone building, a sly smile appeared on his face, one that seemed out of place for his age.

Finally, I have the chance... to explore that little dark room!

He already knew the entire building by heart. Noah had shown him around every room earlier, including the studio—except for that little dark room.

He wasn't sure if it was a "dark room," because the door was completely black, hidden in the deepest, darkest corner of the basement, and extremely inconspicuous.

When Noah showed him around the house, he intentionally or unintentionally overlooked that door.

At the time, he was completely captivated by the cool studio, which resembled Iron Man's lair, and had no time to look at anything else. But as the hype died down, and he grew increasingly bored with just eating and waiting for the day to end, his curiosity and desire to explore that door grew wildly like weeds.

Perfect timing, since Noah isn't here today.

Who doesn't have a bit of an adventurous streak?

A top student whose body has just reached adulthood but whose mind is still that of a ten-year-old, decides to do something exciting after obediently recuperating for more than half a month.

Let's get right to it.

He first pretended to practice still life drawing in front of the vase on the table. An hour later, after confirming that Noah would not come back because of the lost item, he immediately put down the easel and went straight to the basement.

He bypassed the dazzling studio and went straight to the black door.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the door was fitted with a black box-shaped lock—it looked like a fingerprint lock.

But it's actually a genetic lock. Noah set strict access restrictions, allowing only himself and Claire to bypass it.

But high school students don't understand these things. They think that getting an A+ makes them know everything.

He stared at the fingerprint lock with a sigh of despair.

No need to test, his fingerprints were definitely not recorded.

Su Yue bit her nails, feeling as if ten kittens were scratching at her heart.

What exactly did Noah hide inside? Why did he need such a sophisticated lock?

Could it be... a prop from *Fifty Shades of Grey*? ...Ahem, he "accidentally" watched it by mistake. Hearing that the film was quite educational, he and Martin and John downloaded a pirated copy to "study," and the result was quite an eye-opener...

Did Noah also have such secrets?

Su Yue imagined some scenes, unconsciously replacing the faces of the male and female protagonists with her own and Noah's, and her heart raced and her blood boiled.

But he quickly came to his senses and poured cold water on his own thinking: What's the use of overthinking? I can't open it anyway.

He poked at the damned fingerprint lock with his paintbrush, and in a fit of pique, stuck his finger in to pry it open—his fingertip suddenly stung, and when he pulled it back, he saw that he had been pricked and was bleeding.

"Damn it, this broken recognition device is not only broken, it also hurts people..."

Before the words were finished, there was a soft click, and the door opened.

Su Yue froze, looking at her fingers, then at the lock, and cursed inwardly: "Looks intimidating, but it's been broken for a long time. It even pricked me; I should have just pushed the door open."

As the door opens, the indoor light source turns on, and soft white light spills out from the door crack.

Looking inside, his heart suddenly started pounding again.