Chapter 42: Hands On

"Listen to me, let me explain! It’s not what you think!” Tanya hurriedly stopped her scandalous actions and rushed to defend herself to Chu Ning.

Faced with Chu Ning’s strange look, Tanya’s skin was not thick enough to ignore the gossip of others and remain calm in her own world.

“No need to explain. I get it! I understand everything!”

Chu Ning pretended to be nonchalant, averting his gaze while Tanya hastily straightened her sister’s clothes. Inwardly, he mused that the times had truly changed.

The generational gap between them was simply too great. Today’s shock had left him unsettled—the scene he’d just witnessed nearly blinded him.

Such behavior was reminiscent of the infamous villain of old, but even he would have to admit that Tanya had surpassed him. The world was indeed progressing in leaps and bounds.

This was her own blood-related elder sister, after all—moreover, a lifeless corpse. The sisters looked nearly identical, which meant that, in a sense, she was desecrating herself.

The moment Chu Ning entered, he saw Tanya bent over her sister’s body, her hands roaming restlessly over the exquisite form.

Her translucent fingers glided softly across her sister’s pale skin, gently lifting the garments binding her, and, combined with the ropes encircling the body, traced out her graceful figure.

To be honest, Chu Ning had seen countless such scenes before; after all, he was a studious young man, and he knew a bit about these obscure matters—he had a few terabytes’ worth of knowledge, at least.

But the sight of Tanya biting her lip, her brows knitted in distress, lent her an air of delicate pitifulness. Especially with another woman of identical appearance beneath her, the scene became all the more alluring.

When Chu Ning first witnessed this, he made a point of watching a little longer, if only to avoid wrongly accusing Tanya. He couldn’t bring himself to ruin this beautiful tableau, so he simply endured.

“Shut up and listen to my explanation! Did you hear me?” Tanya, seeing the lust-clouded look in Chu Ning’s eyes, was furious. The lewd words spilling from his mouth were simply too much!

“First of all, let me clarify that I am not some loose woman. The truth isn’t what you saw—sometimes, what you see with your eyes is not what’s real.”

Tanya took a long, calming breath, suppressing her anger. She wanted to clarify everything, to prove her innocence.

One cannot let others soil a clean name out of thin air!

“I only wanted to examine the extent of the modifications to the corpse, to study the latest technology and investigate the progress of corpse modification techniques…”

The official explanation that came from Tanya’s lips completely elevated her motives. Her original intention was simple: to check if anyone had tampered with her sister’s body.

Besides, who wouldn’t be interested in the rare opportunity to examine one’s own body up close? Such chances are almost unattainable—some may never get them in a lifetime.

Chu Ning nodded in agreement. “It’s for learning—nothing shameful about that! I completely understand. I’ve delved into these obscure topics myself. But, to be honest, this issue is a bit beyond my depth.”

“It’s only natural to feel a bit lost at first, so please forgive me. I’ll be sure to study harder, broaden my horizons—my perspective was far too narrow before!”

Hearing Chu Ning’s insinuations, Tanya could no longer control her emotions and growled at him in a low voice, “Idiot! It’s really not what you think—did you hear me?”

“I get it, I get it—it’s all my fault! These eyes of mine are just too much trouble!” Chu Ning replied with a hint of a smile. He found that teasing Tanya lightened the mood quite nicely.

Tanya shot Chu Ning a resentful look and sighed, “Now I couldn’t clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River!”

“The Yellow River isn’t exactly… Never mind, I’ll shut my mouth now!”

Seeing Tanya gripping a nearby stick, veins bulging, her gaze murderous, Chu Ning promptly zipped his lips.

Truly, one cannot be too honest in this world.

After a round of negotiation, Chu Ning swiftly let go of what had just happened, ceasing his teasing at just the right moment, lest things go too far.

After all, Chu Ning was preparing to devote himself to a greater cause—getting hands-on with Tanya’s sister. For the advancement of humanity and the pursuit of scientific truth, he felt that a little hardship was a small price to pay.

However, Tanya fiercely opposed this idea, making her seem a bit petty as she did everything she could to obstruct Chu Ning’s efforts.

In the end, Chu Ning abandoned his plan, grumbling that Tanya was exercising double standards: officials are allowed to set fires, but commoners can’t light a lamp. They were both scientists, so why the favoritism? There was simply no fairness to speak of.

“Keep your distance—and give me those tools!” Tanya blocked Chu Ning’s way, making sure he couldn’t sneak in a touch.

At first, Tanya thought her actions had provoked Chu Ning, making him lose control. But Chu Ning quickly explained himself, saying he was a proper gentleman and would never steal another’s pleasure. He was an upstanding man.

Though he did want to give every girl a warm home, he knew his own limitations—he could only dream about it.

At present, he was not a man of loose morals!

But then, Chu Ning’s next move made Tanya urgently stop him—he really did want to get hands-on!

And it was literal: Tanya would not allow anyone to tamper with her own corpse, even if it had likely already been violated once. Though such things only ever happen once or countless times, Tanya still couldn’t accept it.

Hearing the whir of the drill, Tanya could not imagine having a hole bored right through her body then and there.

Chu Ning’s own goal was rather wild—he wanted to investigate the modifications to the corpse’s left palm, and its unique means of movement. Dissecting the special parts and unraveling the ingenious modification, he felt that meddling with Tanya’s sister was justifiable.

Unfortunately, Tanya ultimately refused his earnest request.

“Ah, what a pity! Don’t you want to know the secrets hidden in the corpse?” Chu Ning gazed longingly at the body, unwilling to give up so easily.

Tanya rejected Chu Ning’s unreasonable request without a moment’s hesitation. Ever since discovering Chu Ning’s particular talent for disassembling things—so much so that even experienced experts in assembly couldn’t put his work back together—she had no intention of granting his wish.