After taking a bite of the tomato and egg dish Xie Yuyan had prepared, Ye Feng's eyes lit up, and he gave her a thumbs-up, praising, "Xie Yuyan, your cooking skills are getting better and better. I never knew you had such a talent!"
"Hehe~"
Xie Yuyan bit the tip of her chopsticks and smiled at Ye Feng.
"I'm glad it suits your taste. I’m just doing small things to help you."
Then, her tone shifted slightly as she narrowed her eyes at Ye Feng. Seeing him focused on eating, she didn’t want to disturb him and eventually put down her chopsticks, quietly waiting for him to finish.
"Huh? Xie Yuyan, why are you staring at me like that?"
Ye Feng asked, puzzled, after swallowing a mouthful of food and noticing Xie Yuyan’s gaze.
"Ye Feng, is there something you haven’t told me yet?"
"Ah, are you talking about why I came back late today?"
"What else?"
Xie Yuyan’s sultry voice was like a seductive melody, one that could easily captivate someone with weaker resolve.
"Ahem... The reason I came back late today is that something happened with one of my students."
"Something happened?"
Being sharp, Xie Yuyan knew there was more to Ye Feng’s words. Based on her persistent understanding of Ye Feng, he was currently tutoring two students: Li Mucheng, the daughter of the CEO of Li Corporation, and Su Yuxin, the daughter of the CEO of Su Corporation.
Judging by the timing, today’s incident must have been related to Li Mucheng. Even though Xie Yuyan had searched for recent news about Li Corporation on her smartphone while Ye Feng was away, she hadn’t found anything significant. This meant the matter was serious enough to require a private meeting.
"If it was just a minor issue, it shouldn’t have required you to work overtime, right?"
Xie Yuyan’s expression showed a hint of anger, likely upset that Ye Feng hadn’t told her the full truth.
"Well... It’s probably not a big deal. I just received information that a criminal group might be targeting Li Corporation. The CEO asked me to ensure Li Mucheng’s safety, that’s all."
"That’s all?"
At this, Xie Yuyan couldn’t hold back anymore, frowning and looking at Ye Feng with displeasure.
"Ye Feng, do you know how dangerous these criminal groups are? To achieve their goals, they won’t hesitate to take lives or reason with anyone. Anything standing in their way will be eliminated. They’re just as dangerous as the Dark Palace Organization!"
As she spoke, Xie Yuyan moved closer to Ye Feng, placing her hand on his, her tone softening slightly, her eyes filled with concern.
"Ye Feng... I don’t want to see anything happen to you. Please, promise me you’ll cut ties with Li Corporation, okay? If this continues, you’ll get hurt!"
Ye Feng knew Xie Yuyan’s reaction stemmed from her concern for him, but he had reasons he couldn’t back down. With a calm expression, he said, "I’m sorry, Xie Yuyan, but I can’t promise you that."
"You... can’t promise me?"
For a moment, Xie Yuyan felt as if all the energy had been drained from her body. She leaned on Ye Feng’s chair, barely able to stand steady.
Why? Why can’t you even promise me this? I’ve been trying so hard... Why won’t you give me even a chance? Why is this happening?!!!
Is it because that girl is prettier than me? Or does she make you happier? Even if... even if you just looked at me... just once, I’d...
Hearing the slight tremor in Xie Yuyan’s voice, Ye Feng didn’t know how to explain himself, but he also felt uneasy inside. Just as he turned to comfort the emotionally unstable Xie Yuyan, he noticed her looking at him with an eerie smile.
"Xie Yuyan?"
"Ye Feng... is she that important to you?"
"Huh?"
Before Ye Feng could finish, Xie Yuyan sat on his lap, her face almost touching his.
"Is she really that important in your heart?"
"Xie Yuyan, I think you’re misunderstanding something..."
"Answer me... yes or no..."
Ye Feng hesitated for a moment, then sighed deeply, looking directly into Xie Yuyan’s eyes. "She’s important, but you’re more important."
"If she’s more important, then... huh?"
Xie Yuyan’s other hand had been quietly reaching toward her back, but when she repeated Ye Feng’s words, she froze. Her mind replayed his sentence over and over, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d heard.
It wasn’t until Ye Feng repeated that she was more important that Xie Yuyan’s thoughts finally snapped back.
"Huh?"
Xie Yuyan’s face turned visibly red, her earlier fierceness completely gone, replaced by the flustered and awkward demeanor of a teenage girl.
"W-what did you say? I... I’m more important? H-how... how could that be? I... I thought..."
Stammering and unable to form a coherent sentence, Xie Yuyan’s reaction made Ye Feng chuckle. Relieved, he said, "What? Did you really think I didn’t value you?"
"N-no, that’s not it..."
"Ah, Xie Yuyan, your words really hurt me."
Ye Feng turned his head away, putting on a show of being deeply hurt, his acting skills impressively convincing.
"After I turned down the CEO’s offer to personally protect Li Mucheng and insisted on coming home today, fearing something might happen to you, I come back to this? I could’ve accepted his generous offer, but I chose to come back for you. And this is how you treat me? I’m truly disappointed."
With that, Ye Feng tried to push Xie Yuyan off his lap, but just as she was about to fall, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself into his chest, and began apologizing frantically.
"I’m so sorry, Ye Feng! I didn’t know the real situation! I’m sorry for saying those hurtful things. Please forgive my unreasonable behavior, okay? I’m really, truly sorry!"
Xie Yuyan’s voice was almost on the verge of tears, but Ye Feng, wanting to teach her a lesson about controlling her emotions, continued to push her away.
"Ye Feng... please, don’t ignore me. I apologize for what I did earlier. I just... I just got so scared thinking you might leave me..."
Her voice gradually became choked with sobs, as if she was regretting her earlier actions. Seeing this, Ye Feng finally dropped his cold demeanor.
Unbeknownst to Ye Feng, his actions had been teetering on the edge of pushing Xie Yuyan into a dark place.