Chapter 39

"Put me down!"

Arthur's breath brushed against her face, making Ella feel weak all over.She pushed against his chest with all her might, desperate to get out of his grip.

But Arthur just tightened his hold on her waist.

He carried her into a room and kicked the door shut behind them.

"You!"

Arthur loosened his arm, and Ella tried to break free and run, but he yanked her back and pinned her against the door.

"Is this mask glued to your face orsomething?"

Arthur teased. hooking her chin with his finger.

Ella's eyes widened in fear, and she quickly covered her face with her hands. "What do you want? It wasAva who started it!"

"This has nothing to do with her!"

Arthur's voice was cold as he held her waist tightly, their bodies pressed together. "I'm just curious about the face under the mask."

"No!"

Ella realized what he was about to do and started trembling.′′I2m hideous;you'll be scared!"

"But what if I want to kiss those lips?"

He leaned in close to her ear, his voice low and seductive.

Arthur's presence was overwhelming.

Ella whispered, "I..."

"Ill give you a chance to make it up to me! I'll forget about what happened today."

"So you brought me here just to get back at me for Ava?"

Ella laughed bitterly, her anger rising. "I told you, it wasn't our fault!"

Arthur didn't respond. Instead, he sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and touched his lips with his slender fingers, clearly waiting.

Ella swallowed her anger. "Then close your eyes!"

"Alright."

Arthur replied softly, leaning back on the sofa and closing his eyes.

Ella knew he wouldn't break his promise. So she took off her mask and slowly approached him.

"Hurry up! You know I don't have much patience!"

Hearing those familiar words, Ella's heart pounded,her eyes locked on Arthur's handsome face.

'Does he know who I am? Maybe he's just messing with me?

A million thoughts raced through her mind, slowing her down.

Seeing Arthur's impatient expression, she quickly walked over,bent down.and kissed his lips, then tried to pull away.

But a strong hand wrapped around her waist.

The next moment, she was pulled into a firm embrace.

"You..."

"Don't worry, I won't open my eyes!"

Arthur's voice was rough and undeniable. He held her waist with one hand and her head with the other, kissing her deeply.

Their lips and breaths mingled.

Arthur's kiss was intense and passionate,like he wanted to consume her.

Ella's body went weak, but she kept her hand over Arthur's eyes.

Her slight movement made Arthur angry, and he bit her lip.

The sharp pain made Ella gasp.

The taste of blood filled her mouth, and Ella glared at Arthur, not understanding what had gotten into him.

Feeling Ella's resistance, Arthur got even angrier and pinched her waist."Focus on me!"

"You..."

In her fury, Ella bit his lip hard.

They hurt each other.

Ten minutes later, they walked out of the room with swollen lips.

Ella wore a hat and mask, making it less noticeable.

Arthur shot Ella a teasing look and held out his hand.

Ella blinked, confused. "What do you want?"

"The mask! Do you want me to show up in front of everyone looking like this?"

His lips were clearly injured, and it would be obvious to everyone what had happened.

Ella didn't want any gossip with him, so she tossed a mask at him."If you're that worried. stay away from mne next time."

Arthur smirked and walked off in the opposite direction without another word.

Ella headed back to the small studio.

Lily and Ava's eyes were on her the moment she walked in.

Lily looked worried. "What happened? Did that jerk..."

"Who are you calling a jerk?" Ava snapped, quickly moving closer to Ella and sniffing her.

The familiar scent hit her, and her expression changed. "Why do you have..

She stopped mid-sentence and reached out to pull Ella's mask off.

Ella stepped back and grabbed her wrist. "Cut it out. We're partners. If we can't work together, I'll ask the director for a new partner!"

"You..."

Ava was fuming and about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"Ms. Worry-Free, the other groups are done. The director wants to know how you're doing."

"We're finished!"

With the measurements taken, Ella and her team retürned to the hall.

The director's team seemed impressed. "Alright, all three groups have completed their measurements. Next, our designers will draw their designs live and interact with the audience during the process."

To avoid any interference, they went back to the studio for the live broadcast.

Ella had had some rough interactions with viewers earlier, so Lily took over the task of engaging with them.

Ava,being cute and petite, had a lot of fans tuning in just for her.

On the way back to their studio, the comments were full of praise for Ava.

Lily rolled her eyes, which sparked a flurry of comments.

[Who is this? Why is she rolling her eyes when we're praising Ava?Jealous much!]

[Look at her face, all that makeup. Her foundation must be as thick as a wall! She would look absolutely ugly without it.]

Reading the comments, Lily felt her anger rising.

She was about to clap back when Ella grabbed her hand and spoke to the

camera. "Don't say that. Lily is really beautiful! She'll do a live makeup removal for you."

Then she turned to Ava. "Our group has the least popularity. How about giving the fans some benefits?"

Ava smiled awkwardly and changed the subject. "Of course, I have a fan meeting coming up. I'll give out some benefits then. I hope everyone can join!"

Ella thought, 'So shameless.'

The benefit was supposed to be makeup removal.'

But Ava took the chance to promote herself.

Ella pursed her lips, not planning to let her off that easily. The grudge of having her hair pulled was still fresh.

After all,staying up late every day made her lose a lot of hair. Having her carefully nurtured hair yanked out was unacceptable.

She warmly linked arms with Ava. "You always call your fans babies. How about this, show them your bare face?"