"Ding Ling"
As the doorbell of the cake shop chimed, Ye Feng stepped into the familiar cake shop he had visited before. Just as he was about to head home with two cakes he had previously bought, a sudden exclamation sounded behind him.
"Ah!"
When Ye Feng turned around, he saw that the source of the voice was none other than Su Yuxin, whom he hadn’t seen in days.
"Teacher!"
"Yuxin?"
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
Ye Feng realized that this was the exact time Su Yuxin had come to buy cakes the last time, and it was quite a coincidence that they had run into each other here again.
"Teacher!"
Su Yuxin, upon seeing Ye Feng, immediately rushed into his arms. Having not seen him for days, she had lost her appetite for anything and had even thrown a small tantrum at home. It was only after being comforted by her father, Su Wanli, and her mother that she had managed to calm down.
Now, seeing Ye Feng again, she couldn’t resist the temptation and completely forgot about proper etiquette, clinging tightly to him without letting go.
"Wuwu... Teacher, why haven’t you been teaching? Do you know how sad I’ve been this past week?"
"Uh... Yuxin, could you let go for a moment? I’m still holding the cakes."
Ye Feng, worried that the cakes in his hands might get squashed, raised them above his head while trying to stop Su Yuxin from fidgeting around him.
"This is a public place after all. If there’s anything you don’t understand, let me explain it to you slowly, okay?"
Su Yuxin, after secretly giving Ye Feng’s abs a quick touch, noticed the shop clerk behind the counter blushing as they watched the scene. Realizing that this might not be the best look, she reluctantly let go of Ye Feng.
After taking a few steps back, Su Yuxin curtsied like a princess and then began to apologize. "I... I’m sorry, Teacher. I... I was being improper..."
"It’s alright, Yuxin. I didn’t expect to run into you here today."
"Hehe, I didn’t expect to see you either, Teacher. It reminds me of the first time we accidentally met in this very shop~"
Su Yuxin giggled, convinced in her heart that fate had destined her to meet Ye Feng here.
"So, Yuxin, how have you been lately?"
"Of course... not well!"
Su Yuxin bit her lip, revealing a dissatisfied expression.
"Without your classes, I’ve been drifting through the days this past week. If I hadn’t run into you today, I would’ve eaten three strawberry ice cream cakes!"
"Three, huh..."
Ye Feng hadn’t expected Su Yuxin to use the number of cakes she’d eat to express her dissatisfaction, but then again, it made sense that such a cute girl would express herself in such an adorable way.
"By the way, Teacher, what have you been up to these past few days? I asked my father, and he said you had something important to take care of. Was it... were you spending time with Li Mucheng?"
Su Yuxin’s eyes darted to the side as she voiced her little suspicion. Her main concern was whether Ye Feng had been spending time with Li Mucheng instead of her. Whenever she thought about this, she couldn’t help but clench her fists in frustration.
"Well... it’s not that. I was just... sick, so I couldn’t teach."
"Eh? Sick? Was it serious, Teacher?"
Hearing this, Su Yuxin immediately asked with concern, her eyes clearly showing her worry for Ye Feng.
"Thank you for your concern, Yuxin. I’m fully recovered now. It wasn’t anything serious, just a cold. I didn’t want to risk spreading it to you, so I asked Mr. Su to postpone the classes."
Ye Feng followed up with the explanation Su Wanli had given Su Yuxin, and the naive girl immediately believed him. Hearing this, most of her resentment faded away, replaced by genuine concern for Ye Feng.
"Are you really okay? Do you need me to call our family’s medical team to give you a check-up? That way, I can feel at ease."
"Thank you, Yuxin, but don’t worry. I had a full check-up before I was discharged, and the doctor said I’m fine."
"Well, okay... My father is so annoying! Why didn’t he tell me you were sick? Otherwise, I could’ve visited you."
Su Yuxin stomped her foot in frustration, clearly upset that Su Wanli had kept this from her. After all, it would’ve been a great opportunity to get closer to Ye Feng.
"Alright, Yuxin, I should get going now. And remember, don’t eat too many cakes today, or you might gain weight."
"I... I won’t!"
Su Yuxin blushed and immediately retorted after hearing Ye Feng’s words.
"I was just joking. I’ll only eat two at most..."
"Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. Yuxin, I’ll see you in the next class, okay?"
"Mm! Goodbye, Teacher~"
Su Yuxin happily waved her hand at Ye Feng. Seeing him today had made her day. However, she was determined to have a serious talk with Su Wanli when she got home.
......
Meanwhile, in a high-end apartment, Li Mucheng took a sip of her freshly made hot chocolate before walking into her room and turning on the monitor she had brought from the manor. After the kidnapping incident, she couldn’t return to the manor for the time being and was temporarily staying in a private building purchased by Li Jing.
"Hmm... Teacher is so annoying. He hasn’t even sent me a message these past few days. Let me see what you’ve been up to..."
Li Mucheng stared at the map on the screen, which showed the location of the cake shop. She was momentarily stunned. It seemed Ye Feng had been there before, but why would he go back so soon? It was suspicious...
Maybe I should send someone to investigate... No! I’ll go check it out myself!
......
"How could this be..."
Ye Feng had searched every corner of the room but still couldn’t find any trace of Xie Yuyan. After examining the room more closely, he deduced that Xie Yuyan must have left after he had gone out.
On the sofa, he noticed a phone, the same model he had bought for Xie Yuyan. Underneath the phone was a sticky note, which he picked up and read carefully.
[Just use your fingerprint to unlock it. I secretly recorded your fingerprint while you were sleeping. Don’t forget to check the memo I left for you~]
"Xie Yuyan... what are you up to?"
Ye Feng unlocked the phone and opened the memo app, where he found a long message left by Xie Yuyan.