65: Your body is saying yes.

Qin Lu froze on the sofa, the alcohol making her reactions a beat slower.

But the meaning of those words was too blunt; it was impossible for her not to understand.

She turned her head to stare at Yu Heng, trying to find any trace of a joke on his face.

"You..." Qin Lu opened her mouth.

She felt a wave of absurdity, along with a certain sense of offended shame.

But strangely, she didn't seem to feel any anger.

Perhaps it was because the alcohol had numbed her emotions.

Perhaps it was because the blow she took this afternoon was too great.

She was actually seriously considering those words.

No, that's not right.

She shook her head violently, trying to shake the thought away.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" She turned her face away. "Are you making a joke at your teacher's expense?"

Yu Heng looked at her, leaning forward slightly with his elbows on his knees, closing the distance between them.

"How am I talking nonsense?" Yu Heng's voice carried a hint of seduction. "He can find someone else, so why can't you?"

Images from the afternoon flashed through her mind.

Lin Liyan had been shielding that young girl tightly, his gaze toward her filled with nothing but annoyance and indifference.

That girl was indeed young, with firm skin.

Her eyes were full of panic and fragility—was that why Lin Liyan protected her so much?

"I'm not young anymore," she said self-deprecatingly. "I'm thirty-eight. Who would be interested in me?"

"I am." He answered without a moment's hesitation. "I've always been interested in you. Haven't you felt it?"

Qin Lu snapped her head back, finally meeting his eyes.

"You..." she forced the words out with difficulty, "do you even know what you're saying?"

"Of course I do." Yu Heng leaned even closer, their knees almost touching. "I'm very interested in you."

"Qin Lu." For the first time, he called her by her full name, omitting any titles. "I want you."

Hearing those words, Qin Lu felt the blood rushing to her head.

"Are you drunk too?" Her voice trembled. "How can you say such things?"

Yu Heng smiled, his fingertips lightly tapping her calf.

Qin Lu tried to pull her leg back as if she'd been electrocuted, but Yu Heng loosely held her ankle in place.

He didn't use much force, but it was enough to keep her from moving further.

"I'm very sober," Yu Heng said. "And you must have felt it long ago, right?"

"Felt what?" Qin Lu's voice was as soft as a whisper.

"Felt my gaze, my thoughts," Yu Heng said unhurriedly. "You didn't used to wear stockings much, did you? At least, the few times I went to your office to find you, I never saw you wearing them."

"But," Yu Heng continued, "ever since that time I complimented you on how good you look in stockings, you've worn them almost every day."

"Nude ones, black ones, ones with patterns... all sorts of styles." Yu Heng pursed his lips and smiled, looking at her. "Today, for your trip to the city, you even specifically wore such a sheer pair of black stockings."

"Stop it!" Qin Lu interrupted him, her voice rising. "How could me wearing stockings be because of you!"

"Is that so?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. "Then why couldn't it be because of me?"

"Qin Lu, you want it too, don't you?" His voice grew even lower. "Your heart, your body... they've been lonely for too long. That man doesn't cherish you, so why not let someone else do it?"

"I can't!" Qin Lu tried hard to pull her leg back. "Yu Heng, we can't! I'm so much older than you, I have Qin Ya, I'm not even divorced... we can't..."

Yu Heng listened quietly until she finished, and then he let go of her ankle.

Just as Qin Lu thought he was going to give up, Yu Heng stood up.

He looked down at her as she huddled on the sofa.

Her nightgown was messy, her long hair was disheveled, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were frantic and watery.

In this state, where was the usual capable and serious woman?

Yu Heng's heart rate quickened a few beats; he knew he was playing with fire, testing an extremely dangerous boundary.

But the sight before him—her fragile resistance, the hint of wavering in her eyes—made him take a step forward and kneel on one knee on the carpet in front of the sofa.

"If I come over now," Yu Heng looked at her, asking word by word, "will you push me away?"

The distance was too close.

Qin Lu's body instinctively leaned back, her mind a complete blank.

Push him away?

Yes, she should push him away.

Forcefully, without hesitation.

And then she should scold him harshly and make him leave immediately.

In the end, she didn't push him away, only murmuring dejectedly, "Stop saying such seductive things..."

"If you don't refuse," Yu Heng's voice grew a bit raspy, "I'll take it as your silent consent."

"Yu Heng! No... who taught you these things..."

"Does this need to be taught?" he countered. "A man naturally knows how to handle the woman he wants."

"Qin Lu, here... and here... they're both saying yes."

"You..."

Just as Qin Lu started to speak, Yu Heng interrupted her.

"Don't talk, listen to me finish," Yu Heng continued. "Do you know that every time you come to the Villa to drop off Qin Ya, I'm watching you?"

Qin Lu's breath hitched for a moment.

Yu Heng spoke bluntly, without any embellishment: "I've counted; you've worn seven different types of stockings. You wear the nude ones most often, but I like the black ones with the patterns best."

"You..." Qin Lu's voice was shaking. "How can you..."

"Why can't I?" Yu Heng interrupted her. "I'm a man, and you're a woman. I look at you because you're beautiful, and because I want you."

"But I'm your teacher..."

"So?" Yu Heng smiled. "A teacher isn't a woman?"

His hand slid from the side of her neck to her shoulder, his fingertip hooking the thin strap of her nightgown.

Qin Lu's whole body shuddered.

"Yu Heng, don't..." She raised her hand to push him away.

"Don't what?" Yu Heng pressed her hand back onto the sofa. "Don't touch you? Or don't say the things you've actually thought about in your heart?"

Qin Lu's pupils dilated slightly.

Had she thought about it?

Of course she had.

In those late nights spent alone, how could she not have?

But she couldn't admit it now, not to a boy more than ten years younger than her.

"I haven't..." she murmured.

"You have." Yu Heng's tone was categorical. "Every time you come to the Villa, you actually subconsciously look for my reaction. You care about whether I'm looking or not, don't you?"

Qin Lu opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound.

Everything he said was right.

Every detail, every little movement she thought was a secret.

He had seen them all.

She closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling.

About a minute passed.

Perhaps longer, before Qin Lu opened her eyes again.

"Yu Heng," her voice was soft but clear, "I'm thirty-eight years old."

"I know."

"I have a daughter, sleeping in the room next door."

"I know."

"I'm not divorced yet; legally, I'm still someone else's wife."

"I know."

Qin Lu took a deep breath. "Then why are you still..."

"None of that matters," Yu Heng said word by word. "Tell me, do you personally think those things matter?"

Qin Lu's breathing became rapid.

Yes, what did it matter anymore?

The marriage was already broken, existing in name only.

What did the age difference matter?

She had a daughter and had been married; could she really expect to grow old with him?

Just as he said, the pleasure between a man and a woman was enough.

"Qin Lu, look at me." His voice carried a forceful insistence that allowed no refusal. "Tell me, do you want it?"

She looked at his young yet aggressive face.

"I..." She opened her mouth, her voice raspy. "I don't know..."

"You do know." Yu Heng stared at her. "Your body is trembling; it's waiting in anticipation."}]}``` The traces of a joke at the bottom.</s>` -> `She turned her head to stare at Yu Heng, trying to find any trace of a joke on his face.` (Already in JSON) - No new terms. Wait, I should check the whole text for new terms. Let's do a pass. Stockings (stockings) is common noun. letter (letters/patterns) common. City (city) common. nightgown (nightgown) common. carpet (carpet) common. law (law) common. wife (wife) common. marriage (marriage) common. Next room (next door room) common. Aggressiveness (aggressive) common. expect (anticipation) common. No new specific proper nouns/entities found. Stockings is item but usually generic. I will leave the new glossary terms empty as no specific names/locations/techniques were introduced beyond the mandatory ones. Wait,