Change...Abnormal

"Yu... Yuxin? How could it be you?"

"Sob... sob..."

Su Yuxin was clearly startled by Li Mucheng. She had thought she would surprise her best friend, but instead, she ended up scaring herself.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Mucheng. I didn't tell you I was coming into your room. I'm really sorry..."

Seeing Su Yuxin on the verge of tears, Li Mucheng quickly stepped forward, held her hands, and pulled her to sit on the bed.

"Sorry, Yuxin. I didn't expect it to be you. If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have reacted like that."

"R-really?"

Su Yuxin lifted her cute little head, her eyes watery as she gazed into Li Mucheng's eyes, as if trying to confirm if she was telling the truth.

"Of course, it's true! We're the best of friends, after all."

Li Mucheng smiled and held Su Yuxin's hands tightly, changing the subject.

"By the way, Yuxin, why did you have time to come here today?"

"Well... My teacher had something to do and didn't come today, so I thought I'd come and play with you, Mucheng."

"Oh, I see. Well, shall we go out and play now?"

Li Mucheng's gaze inadvertently swept over her desk notebook, noticing that it hadn't been touched, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sure, but Mucheng, didn't you call out someone else's name when you first came in? It sounded like... Ye something..."

Thud.

Li Mucheng's heart skipped a beat when she heard Su Yuxin's words. She quickly blinked a few times and forced a strained smile. "How could that be? I thought a servant had come into the room. I had clearly told them not to clean my room, so I yelled. That Ye is the surname of one of my maids."

"Oh, I see."

Su Yuxin didn't suspect her best friend of hiding anything from her and happily went out with Li Mucheng.

......

"Good morning, Miss."

"Good morning, Teacher."

Before they knew it, the weekend had arrived, and Ye Feng greeted Li Mucheng as usual.

Just as Ye Feng was about to speak, Li Mucheng unexpectedly beat him to it. "Teacher, what kind of herbs are we identifying today?"

"Today, we're not going to the woods. We'll cover other topics."

"Not going? Why?"

Li Mucheng said discontentedly, as she had been waiting for this for a whole week.

"Miss, today we'll learn other knowledge, which is also part of my teaching curriculum."

"Fine, what are we learning?"

"Camouflage."

"Camouflage?"

......

Ye Feng led Li Mucheng to the outdoor garden and said to her, "Miss, camouflage is also a part of survival. If you master the skills of camouflage, you'll be less likely to be discovered in a crisis, which will greatly increase your chances of survival."

"Isn't that just hiding? What's there to learn?"

"Of course not. That's more like playing hide-and-seek. Camouflage is about blending into the environment, and the method of camouflage changes with the environment."

"I don't get it."

"That's good, Miss. How about we make a bet?"

"What kind of bet?"

"Let's bet on whether I can find you in this garden."

"What's the wager?"

Li Mucheng pressed.

"Hmm... how about this: if I win, you'll do whatever I ask. And if you win, I'll listen to whatever you say. How about it?"

"Deal! That's what you said!"

Li Mucheng thought it over and found that she had nothing to lose, so she agreed immediately.

"Then let's start the timer. I'll give you five minutes to hide, and if I don't find you within the next ten minutes, I'll consider myself the loser."

"Alright."

"Then, the timer starts."

As soon as Ye Feng spoke, Li Mucheng darted into the depths of the garden. The vast garden was so densely filled with plants that hiding among the flowers would be extremely covert. Li Mucheng's mind was already picturing the moment when Ye Feng would admit defeat.

After selecting for a while, Li Mucheng chose a flowerbed that matched the color of her clothes.

The girl's gentle breathing gently swayed the petals as she quietly waited for time to pass. Just as Li Mucheng thought she had the upper hand, she suddenly heard footsteps approaching her.

No... impossible! How did he know I was in this flowerbed? It must be a coincidence; he just happened to walk by here!

As the footsteps drew closer, almost to her position, Li Mucheng held her breath, not daring to breathe, hoping that Ye Feng would leave the area where she was hiding.

"Miss, stop hiding. I know you're here."

Unexpectedly, Ye Feng suddenly broke the silence, but there was still no movement from the flowerbed.

"Strange... did I go the wrong way?"

Seeing no response, Ye Feng scratched his head and slowly walked away. This action made Li Mucheng's heart settle, and she secretly rejoiced at Ye Feng's inferior skills.

Hmph! When I get back, I'll definitely tease you properly. Who asked you to always act so high and mighty in front of me?

Just as Li Mucheng was about to celebrate prematurely, a hand suddenly tapped her on the back.

"Who!!!"

(ŐдŐ๑)

Li Mucheng was so startled that she immediately stood up from the flowerbed and turned around to see Ye Feng smiling at her.

"Sorry, Miss, you lost."

Ye Feng's lips curled into a triumphant smile, as if mocking Li Mucheng.

"How... how is that possible! How did you find me?"

Li Mucheng was incredulous. She didn't expect Ye Feng to have found her so easily; it turned out that his earlier behavior was all an act, and he had already seen through her disguise.

"Miss, you exposed yourself from the very beginning. The muddy footprints on the bricks and... ahem..."

Ye Feng coughed at this point.

"And what?"

"And Miss..."

"Just say it."

"Your scent."

"My... scent?"

Li Mucheng was first stunned, then suddenly realized, and the confusion that had been captured was replaced by a strange sense of shame and anger. Her cheeks flushed red, and she stammered in a loud voice.

"Per... pervert! Ye Feng, you're a pervert!"

"......"

Ye Feng also realized that his words had a teasing tone, so he quickly raised his hands in apology.

"I'm sorry, Miss, it was disrespectful of me. However, I still stand by what I said; it was one of the ways I found you."

"Pervert..."

"Miss, don't misunderstand me. I wouldn't be interested in a little girl like you."

Ye Feng intended to defuse the situation, but he didn't realize he had stepped on Li Mucheng's trigger.

"Get lost."

The originally fun atmosphere suddenly turned cold with Li Mucheng's single word. In an instant, she seemed to revert to the initially ice-cold girl.

"Miss, I..."

"I told you to get lost!"

Li Mucheng screamed hysterically, venting her emotions. As for why she changed so drastically, only she herself knew.

"From today onwards, I don't need you as my teacher anymore. You can leave."

"......"

Ye Feng opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he simply replied with a "Fine" and turned to leave the garden.