Forcibly Taken by My Student’s Mother - Chapter 24.1

Chapter 24.1: Inside the Camisole, There Seems to Be…

Lately, Su Xiaowan’s motivation for class had been quite high; she was no longer slacking off or playing with her phone at every turn like before. Tao Yao had relaxed a lot, and the two could finally maintain a surface-level harmony between teacher and student.

Just as the afternoon session ended, Auntie Zhang, the nanny, brought over a freshly washed fruit platter—exquisitely cut mango chunks, blueberries glistening with water droplets, and peeled red pomelo arranged in a crystal bowl. It looked incredibly inviting.

“Teacher Tao, have some with me.”

Su Xiaowan sat cross-legged on the carpet, her eyes glued to her phone screen, while her hand naturally reached for the fruit bowl.

Tao Yao didn’t stand on ceremony either. She sat down on the single armchair and picked up a fork, popping a few blueberries into her mouth.

The sweet and sour juice exploded in her mouth, refreshing and fatigue-cutting.

“Your dictation accuracy was 70% today,” she said while eating. “That’s a huge improvement.”

Su Xiaowan raised an eyebrow triumphantly: “Of course. When this young lady gets serious, even I’m afraid of myself.”

“Keep it up.” Tao Yao smiled and ate another blueberry.

The two chatted sporadically, and the atmosphere was rare in its relaxed nature. But this ease didn’t last long before Tao Yao’s phone vibrated.

She put down her fork and took out her phone. Her breath hitched instantly.

The message was from Lu Xuelan.

The content was concise: “Teacher Tao, is class over? If it’s convenient, come to my bedroom for a moment. I have some enrollment materials regarding Xiaowan that I need you to look at.”

Tao Yao stared at the screen, her fingers tightening.

It was happening again.

Using Su Xiaowan as an excuse, using work as a reason—perfectly dignified so that she couldn’t refuse.

She grumbled inwardly: What kind of trouble is she stirring up now? Can’t she just give it a rest for one day?

But her fingers had already honestly started typing: “Okay, Director Lu. I’m heading over now.”

After pressing send, a wave of irritability washed over Tao Yao.

She took a deep breath and said to Su Xiaowan, “Your mom has something to talk to me about. I’m going over for a bit.”

“Oh.” Su Xiaowan didn’t even look up, fully focused on scrolling through social media. “Go ahead, go ahead.”

Tao Yao stood up, trying her best to look composed before walking out of the study.

The master bedroom was at the very end of the hallway; the door was left slightly ajar.

Tao Yao raised her hand, hesitated for two seconds, and knocked softly.

“Come in.” Lu Xuelan’s voice came from inside; muffled by the door, it sounded somewhat blurry.

Tao Yao pushed the door open and entered.

The bedroom was larger than she had imagined, decorated in a minimalist modern style dominated by black, white, and gray with sharp lines. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was a magnificent view; the sun was currently setting, dyeing the sky a warm orange.

Lu Xuelan was not in the bedroom.

Just as Tao Yao was wondering where she was, she heard the sound of pitter-pattering water coming from the direction of the bathroom. The frosted glass door was covered in a layer of steam, and the silhouette of a tall, slender figure was vaguely visible.

She… was taking a shower?

Tao Yao’s heart leaped violently. She immediately averted her gaze, standing in place awkwardly, caught in a dilemma. She couldn’t leave, and she couldn’t stay comfortably; she could only stand stiffly, staring at the patterns on the carpet.

Finally, the sound of water stopped.

After a while, the bathroom door was pushed open.

Heat, carrying the fresh fragrance of body wash, surged out as Lu Xuelan walked out.

She was wearing only a bathrobe—pure white silk fabric. The belt was loosely tied at her waist, and the collar was wide open, revealing clear collarbones and a patch of fair skin. Her wet long hair was draped over her shoulders, the tips still dripping water that slid down her neck and disappeared into the collar of the bathrobe.

Her skin had a faint pink tint from the steam of the hot water, and her features looked much softer in the hazy mist, losing some of their usual sharp edge.

“Teacher Tao is here.” She looked over, her tone as natural as if she were greeting someone in an office. “Sorry, I just finished my shower.”

Tao Yao’s throat felt dry. She didn’t know where to put her eyes, so she just stared at the corner of the wall: “It’s… it’s fine. Director Lu said there were materials to give me?”

“Mm.” Lu Xuelan walked to the walk-in closet door, took out a tablet, and pointed toward a few exquisite paper bags piled next to the lounge chair by the bed. “But before that, I’d like to ask for a small favor.”

Alarm bells rang in Tao Yao’s head: “What kind of favor?”

Lu Xuelan sat down on the edge of the bed; the hem of the bathrobe opened slightly with the movement, revealing a section of her long, straight calf. She picked up a paper bag and pulled out a… black lace camisole nightgown.

The fabric was pitifully sparse—straps so thin they looked like they’d snap with a tug, a low-cut design, a hemline short enough to reach the base of her thighs. The whole thing was semi-transparent black lace, with the skin-toned satin lining vaguely visible underneath.

Tao Yao’s face turned red instantly, and her eyes went wide.

What—what on earth is this?!

“A sleepwear brand I’m collaborating with recently sent over a lot of new arrivals and asked me to provide some feedback.” Lu Xuelan’s voice was calm and steady, as if she were holding a perfectly ordinary shirt. “But I don’t know much about the preferences of young people. I wanted to ask you to help me choose which styles fit the tastes of the youth today.”

As she spoke, she unfurled the black lace nightgown and held it up in front of herself to gauge the fit: “This one—what do you think?”

Tao Yao’s mind went blank.

What did she think? What could she think?

This wasn’t sleepwear; this was clearly… lingerie!

What kind of serious sleepwear brand would send this kind of stuff?

Wait.

Black lace camisole… low-cut… short style…

Why did this style look more and more familiar the longer she looked at it?

Tao Yao’s heart constricted. A terrifying thought surged up. This was almost identical to one of the “teaching material” images she had sent to L under the identity of “Tao Zhi Yao Yao.”

Was it a coincidence?

It had to be a coincidence, right? With so many styles out there, there were bound to be similarities…

But it was a bit too similar.

Cold sweat began to break out on Tao Yao’s back. She stared intently at the nightgown, trying to find a difference, but the more she looked, the more she panicked—even the complexity of the lace pattern was highly similar to the image in her memory.

“Teacher Tao?” Lu Xuelan’s voice pulled her back from her chaotic thoughts. “What do you think of this one? Is it… too exaggerated?”

Tao Yao snapped back to reality, meeting Lu Xuelan’s calm, questioning gaze.

That gaze was completely open, as if she really were just asking for fashion advice.

“It’s… a bit…” Tao Yao’s voice was tight as she struggled to maintain her composure. “It is a bit exaggerated. It might not be suitable for daily wear.”

Lu Xuelan nodded thoughtfully, set the nightgown aside, and pulled another one out of a different bag.

This one was a wine-red silk camisole dress. The V-neck was cut extremely deep, almost reaching her navel—completely unviewable, and the back was entirely backless, held together only by two thin crisscrossing straps.

Tao Yao’s breath hitched again.

Wine-red, deep V, backless…

The style of this piece was also eighty to ninety percent similar to another image she had sent.

Coincidence. It had to be a coincidence.

Tao Yao frantically comforted herself: If someone of Lu Xuelan’s status actually knew I was “Tao Zhi Yao Yao,” she would have dealt with me long ago. How could she be this calm? And with this… this style of sleepwear? These are popular classic styles to begin with; it’s just a coincidence that they match.

“What about this one?” Lu Xuelan lifted the dress and turned sideways, holding it up against the full-length mirror.

The mirror reflected her figure—wet hair over her shoulders, bathrobe slightly open, holding that extremely sexy wine-red nightgown. The strong color contrast, the blend of laziness and temptation, formed an incredibly impactful image.

Tao Yao felt her face must have turned as red as a monkey’s butt.

“It’s… it’s okay…” she said incoherently. “The color is quite… quite skin-brightening.”

“You like this color?” Lu Xuelan turned to look at her, a hint of inquiry in her eyes.

“I…” Tao Yao was choked up. What could she say? Say she liked it? Wouldn’t that make it seem like she was very familiar with this style? Say she didn’t? But she had just said it was skin-brightening…

“I think the style is quite unique.” She eventually chose an ambiguous answer. “It’s just that the back might be a bit cold.”

Lu Xuelan laughed softly and set the wine-red nightgown aside as well: “Then which one does Teacher Tao think I should try on first?”

None of them are decent, okay?

Tao Yao grumbled wildly in her heart. The words reached her lips, but she was so cowardly she didn’t dare say a word.

Her gaze swept haphazardly through the pile of clothes. Finally, she saw a dark green nightgown that seemed to have enough fabric. She quickly reached out, took it, and handed it over: “This one! This one looks good. Dignified and elegant.”

“Then I’ll try this one first. Sorry to trouble Teacher Tao to wait a moment.”

As Lu Xuelan spoke, she walked toward the closet.

Tao Yao watched her slender back; the belt of the bathrobe swayed gently with her steps. Her mind was in total chaos.

Does she or does she not know that “Tao Zhi Yao Yao” is me?

Is she teasing me right now? Is it fun to watch me panic here like an idiot? Or did Lu Xuelan really listen to “Tao Zhi Yao Yao” and buy these nightgowns to seduce me?

The two thoughts pulled at Tao Yao’s brain, making her restless.

Just as her thoughts were running wild, Lu Xuelan finished changing and came out.

Tao Yao then discovered—d*mn it—that although this nightgown had enough fabric, it didn’t cover the places it was supposed to cover at all! That long fabric was actually just for decoration.

At this moment, her smooth back was completely exposed to the air. The lines of her shoulder blades were clear and beautiful, her waist was slender, and her skin shimmered like pearls under the light. There were no blemishes on her back; it was amazingly smooth.

Tao Yao’s breathing was completely disrupted. She quickly lowered her head, her cheeks flushed a bloody red.

What was even more disastrous—it was a halter-neck design, requiring a tie behind the neck.

And Lu Xuelan was lazily holding the two straps, saying with quite a bit of distress: “Teacher Tao, can you help me tie the straps behind my neck? I can’t reach.”

Tao Yao: “…”

She had truly shot herself in the foot. Why did she hand over this one just now?!

But it was too late for regrets. Tao Yao took a deep breath and forced herself to step forward.

Lu Xuelan stood with her back to her. The dark green silk clung to the curves of her body, and the two thin straps at the back of her neck hung down. Tao Yao reached out, her fingers trembling as she pinched the straps. Her fingertips inevitably touched the skin at the back of Lu Xuelan’s neck.

Slightly cool, delicate—like the finest suet jade.

Tao Yao’s hands shook even harder. She tried to concentrate, attempting to tie the two straps together. But the more nervous she was, the less her fingers obeyed, and the straps slipped out of her grasp several times.

“Don’t rush.” Lu Xuelan’s voice was right next to her, carrying a slight post-shower huskiness. “Take your time.”

Tao Yao bit her lower lip and pinched the straps again.

This time, her gaze accidentally flickered downward. Because the neck hadn’t been tied yet, the collar was slightly open. From her angle, she could see a small patch of fair skin, and… inside the camisole, there seemed to be nothing.

She was going commando?!

Tao Yao’s head exploded with a boom. Her fingers loosened, and the straps she had just grabbed slipped away again. Not only that, because she had let go too quickly, the straps brushed across Lu Xuelan’s shoulder as they fell, causing the already loose collar to open up even more.

“Ah, sorry!” Tao Yao hurriedly apologized, her eyes shut tight, not daring to look again.

Lu Xuelan let out a low laugh, the sound carrying the vibration of her chest: “It’s okay. Teacher Tao seems very nervous? Have you never helped someone put on this kind of clothing before?”

“N-no…” Tao Yao denied flatly, but her voice was incredibly weak.

She took a deep breath and told herself: Calm down, Tao Yao, calm down. Just treat it like helping a lifeless clothing store mannequin tie a knot. Don’t think too much, don’t look too much.

She reached out again. This time her eyes were closed, and she relied on her feelings to find those two straps. Her fingertips fumbled against the skin at the back of Lu Xuelan’s neck; the warm touch transmitted through her fingertips made her heart thunder.

Finally, she found them.

She fumbled to cross the straps and tied a messy knot.

Because her eyes were closed, her movements were clumsy and slow, and her fingers brushed against Lu Xuelan’s skin several times.

With every touch, it felt like a faint electric current was surging through her.

“Is it done?” Lu Xuelan asked.

“A-almost…” Tao Yao hurriedly tied another knot. Once she was sure it was tight, she snapped her hands back and retreated several steps, opening up the distance.