The fluorescent lights of her corner office cast a sterile glow over the mahogany desk as Luo Xueqi's slender fingers glided across the keyboard. The document on her screen contained words that would determine the fate of a multinational conglomerate, but her expression remained as unreadable as jade. Her silver-gray hair was pulled back in an immaculate bun, not a single strand out of place, and her tailored suit jacket strained subtly across her chest as she leaned forward to review the final clause.
Her phone buzzed. A soft, almost musical chime that cut through the silence of the office.
She ignored it at first, her focus unwavering. The pen in her hand continued its precise dance across the margin notes. But the phone buzzed again. And again. Three notifications in rapid succession, each one more insistent than the last.
With a sigh that carried the weight of a woman who had argued before the Supreme Court and won, Luo Xueqi picked up her phone. The screen glowed with an email notification. The sender address caught her attention immediately—a domain she had never seen before: destinyadultuniversity.edu
She almost dismissed it as spam. Her thumb hovered over the delete button. But then she saw the subject line: "An Invitation Worthy of Your Potential."
Curiosity, that fatal flaw of the intellectually superior, won out.
She opened the email. The message was simple, almost elegant in its minimalism:
*"Ms. Luo Xueqi,*
*Your extraordinary talents have been observed. Destiny Adult University invites you to join our faculty as a female instructor. Your students are waiting.*
*Do you have the courage to become who you were meant to be?*"
A chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning ran down her spine. She had never heard of this institution. A background check would be necessary. She would have Ye Rose run a full investigation—
Her thoughts were interrupted by a second notification. A video file had been attached to the email. Without conscious decision, her finger tapped the play button.
The screen filled with an image that made her breath catch.
A woman stood at a podium, her posture radiating absolute confidence. She was beautiful—devastatingly so. Her hair cascaded in perfect waves over shoulders that seemed to glow under the stage lights. Her figure, barely contained by a tight-fitting dress that hugged every curve, was the kind that made men forget their own names.
But it was her expression that held Luo Xueqi captive.
The woman's eyes were half-lidded, a dazed, ecstatic smile playing on her lips. She was speaking, but the words were distorted, muffled, as if underwater. Her hands moved across her own body with a possessiveness that should have been obscene, but somehow appeared... natural.
Pornographic. The word surfaced in Luo Xueqi's mind unbidden. This was pornographic.
She should close the video.
She should delete the email.
She should report this to the authorities.
Instead, she watched.
The woman on screen turned slowly, presenting her profile to the camera. The dress clung to her figure like a second skin, and her movements were fluid, hypnotic, like a snake charmer casting a spell. Students sat in the audience before her—dozens of shadowed faces—but their gazes were fixed on her with an intensity that bordered on worship.
The woman's lips moved, and this time, the words came through clearly:
*"A true female teacher gives herself completely to education. Body and soul. Every inch of her existence becomes a lesson."*
Luo Xueqi's vision swam.
The office around her seemed to dissolve, the edges of reality blurring like watercolors in rain. The fluorescent lights dimmed, replaced by a warm, golden glow that emanated from the screen. The woman's voice became layered, echoing, as if speaking from inside her skull.
*"You want this.*"
She blinked. Her head felt heavy.
*"You've always wanted this.*"
The pen slipped from her fingers, clattering against the desk. She should be outraged. She was Luo Xueqi, China's most beautiful female lawyer, a partner at a top firm, a woman who had never bent to any man's will. She had crushed opponents in court, reduced arrogant CEOs to stammering wrecks with a single raised eyebrow.
She was untouchable.
She was invincible.
She was—
*"Imagine standing on that stage.*"
The image on the screen shifted. Suddenly, impossibly, the woman at the podium had silver-gray hair tied in an immaculate bun. She wore a suit jacket that strained across E-cup breasts. Her phoenix eyes held the same cold authority that had made juries tremble.
It was her.
It was Luo Xueqi.
The woman on screen—herself—smiled with a warmth she had never expressed in her life. Her hands rested on her own hips, fingers tracing the curve of her waist with an intimacy that made Luo Xueqi's breath quicken.
*"Imagine them watching you. Hungry. Desperate. Wanting.*"
Her heart pounded against her ribs. A warmth spread through her abdomen, unfamiliar and unsettling.
*"Imagine giving yourself to education.*"
The image flickered. The woman on screen was no longer wearing a suit. Her attire had changed to something tight, revealing, the fabric shimmering under the lights. Her breasts were barely contained, her waist exposed, her legs long and bare.
She looked... happy.
Not the cold satisfaction of winning a case. Not the pride of professional achievement. Something deeper. Something primal.
*"Join us.*"
Luo Xueqi's hand moved to her chest. Her fingers pressed against the fabric of her blouse, feeling the rapid beating of her heart beneath.
*"Become a female teacher.*"
The words echoed in her skull, bouncing off the walls of her consciousness, refusing to fade.
She shook her head, trying to clear the fog. What was she thinking? This was clearly some kind of scam, a trap designed to prey on vulnerable women. She should delete the email, block the sender, and forget this ever happened.
Her hand reached for the delete button.
It hovered.
Trembled.
She pressed the back button instead.
The video closed, returning her to the email. Her eyes scanned the words again: *"Destiny Adult University invites you to join our faculty as a female instructor."*
She was going to the office tomorrow. She would have this investigated. She would find whoever sent this and make them regret ever targeting her.
Absolutely.
Without question.
Tomorrow.
She locked her phone and placed it face-down on her desk, then resumed reviewing the legal document. Within thirty seconds, she had lost her place three times.
Her gaze kept drifting to the dark screen of her phone.
*Become a female teacher.*
She shook her head again, harder this time. The motion sent a dull throb through her temples. She needed rest. That was all. A long, stressful day and an unusual email had combined to create a moment of weakness.
She gathered her things, slipped her phone into her briefcase, and walked out of the office. Her heels clicked against the marble floor of the corridor, each step carrying her toward the elevator, toward the parking garage, toward home.
But the image of herself on that stage, those students watching with hungry eyes, that dazed smile of ecstasy on her lips—it followed her.
It followed her all the way home.
It followed her into her bedroom.
It followed her into her dreams.
When she woke the next morning, the first thing she did was reach for her phone. The email was still there. The video was still attached. She had not deleted it in a fit of rational clarity during the night.
She should delete it now.
She opened the email.
She read the invitation again.
She pressed reply and typed a single sentence:
*"Where can I find this university?"*
Her finger hovered over the send button for only a heartbeat before pressing down.
The response came within seconds—a map coordinate and a single line of text:
*"We have been waiting for you, Ms. Female Teacher."*
Luo Xueqi stared at the screen for a long moment. The fog in her mind seemed to clear, replaced by something new. Something that felt suspiciously like anticipation.
She was supposed to be at court at nine.
She called in sick instead.
Her assistant's voice carried genuine concern through the phone: "Is everything alright, Ms. Luo? You've never called in sick before."
"I'm fine," she said, her voice steady. "Just need a day to rest."
She hung up before her assistant could ask further questions.
The coordinate led to a location on the outskirts of the city—an area she vaguely remembered as being home to an abandoned industrial complex. She dressed carefully that morning: a simple white blouse, a pencil skirt that hugged her curves, and low heels. Professional but not imposing. Approachable.
She did not ask herself why she wanted to be approachable.
The drive took forty minutes. The buildings grew shorter, the streets narrower, the trees denser as she left the city center behind. Eventually, she pulled up to a gate that should not have existed in this forgotten corner of the city.
The gate was ornate, wrought iron with intricate patterns that seemed to shift and dance in the morning light. Above it, arched in golden letters: "Destiny Adult University."
A man waited by the gate. He was tall, with a robust physique that his simple uniform did nothing to hide. His eyes were dark, cold, assessing. When he smiled, it did not reach his eyes.
"Ms. Luo Xueqi," he said. His voice was smooth, hypnotic. "We have been expecting you."
She should turn around. She should get back in her car and drive away and never think about this place again.
Instead, she stepped forward.
"I came to investigate," she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "This university... I've never heard of it."
"You will find it very educational," the man replied. He opened the gate with a gesture that felt ceremonial. "Please, come inside. The orientation is about to begin."
Luo Xueqi walked through the gate.
Behind her, the iron door swung shut with a sound like a prison cell closing.
She did not look back.