Open Your Heart

Before Shen Mengli could finish her sentence, the masked man snatched the craft knife from her hand, stuffed a white cloth into her mouth, and quickly bound her with a rope.

"Mm..."

The masked man was clearly skilled in his craft, restraining Shen Mengli in just a few swift movements.

Shen Mengli hadn’t expected a stranger to appear in the welfare home. The sudden turn of events made her want to alert everyone in the facility immediately.

"Mm... mmm!"

Shen Mengli desperately tried to scream, but the cloth in her mouth muffled her voice, making it too faint to wake anyone who might be nearby.

Seeing that his plan had succeeded, the masked man lifted Shen Mengli as if she were a small chick and began walking toward the garden wall.

Shen Mengli noticed that the masked man’s actions seemed to target only her, and her mind grew foggy with confusion.

Who... who is this person? What does he want? Why has he come for me?

Before Shen Mengli could make sense of her thoughts, another black cloth was tied over her eyes.

The masked man moved with agility, and in an instant, Shen Mengli was taken away from the welfare home...

"Click..."

[Ding]

As the sound of the door closing echoed, a system notification rang in Ye Feng’s mind.

So that’s it! The system’s kidnapping task required the victim to be unaware of the kidnapper’s identity. That’s why the system hadn’t confirmed the task earlier when he tried to exploit a loophole to kidnap Su Yuxin. Now everything made sense.

After locking the door to his room, Ye Feng turned his attention to Shen Mengli, who was now limp and barely making any noise, as if she had resigned herself to her fate.

This girl... good thing I came back this afternoon, or things could have gone terribly wrong.

Ye Feng sighed in frustration and dropped Shen Mengli onto the sofa. He then reached out to untie the cloth around her head.

"Hmph..."

A bright light flooded Shen Mengli’s eyes. As she slowly adjusted, she began to take in her surroundings.

Where... where is this? It looks like someone’s home... What does he want?

Ye Feng looked down at Shen Mengli, his gaze lingering on her captivating crimson eyes. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He lightly chopped the top of her head with his hand.

"Mm..."

The chop wasn’t forceful, but it stunned Shen Mengli. She looked up at Ye Feng with disbelief in her eyes.

"Hmm? (Little Feng?)"

"Looks like you’re not completely clueless," Ye Feng said, his voice calm as he reached out to remove the cloth from Shen Mengli’s mouth.

"Haah... ahh..."

A thin, translucent string of saliva stretched as the cloth was pulled away. Shen Mengli coughed a couple of times before urgently asking, "Why? Why is it you, Little Feng?"

"What? Are you surprised?"

Ye Feng removed the phoenix mask he was wearing, revealing the handsome and youthful face beneath.

"It really is you... Why? Why would you do this?"

Shen Mengli stared at Ye Feng in disbelief, her face pale from the ordeal.

"I’d like to ask you the same question," Ye Feng said, smoothing his hair before sitting down beside Shen Mengli.

"You promised me something. Why did you break that promise?"

"I didn’t! It’s just... I didn’t have the chance to fulfill our agreement..."

"Was it really that hard to decide whether to stay or leave? Aren’t we friends? Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because..."

Shen Mengli’s voice grew softer, and she lowered her head like a timid little quail.

"Because I didn’t want to be a burden to you."

"So, because you didn’t want to be a burden, you decided to leave without considering your friend’s feelings?"

"I know what I did was wrong, but..."

Tears the size of beans fell from Shen Mengli’s eyes onto the back of her hands.

"But it was the only solution I could think of."

"You..."

Ye Feng handed her a small teddy bear.

"Didn’t you say it yourself? Little Feng will always be with you."

"Little... Little Feng?"

"That’s right. Isn’t this teddy bear named Little Feng?"

Ye Feng smiled and shook the teddy bear in his hand.

"So... Little Feng won’t leave you, and you shouldn’t leave him either."

"Little Feng..."

Shen Mengli took the teddy bear with both hands and looked up at Ye Feng.

"Little Feng will always be with me, right?"

"Right."

"Even if I become a burden?"

"You’re not a burden. You’re Little Feng’s friend."

Seeing Shen Mengli cautiously open her long-closed heart, Ye Feng responded in a gentle tone.

"Little Feng... Little Feng..."

Shen Mengli finally let go of the darkness in her heart and buried herself in Ye Feng’s arms, crying like a child.

"Waaah... I’m sorry... I’m so sorry!"

......

"Are you really okay with this?"

"Mm... it’s fine... Wenwen often stays with me too."

It was late at night, and Ye Feng found himself in a dilemma as Shen Mengli clung tightly to the corner of his shirt, refusing to let go.

After helping Shen Mengli open up, Ye Feng had carried her to his room. He had planned to sleep on the sofa for the night, but Shen Mengli suddenly grabbed him and asked to sleep together.

"But... I’m a guy, after all..."

"Aren’t we friends?"

In the dim light, Ye Feng couldn’t see Shen Mengli’s expression clearly, so he couldn’t gauge her current state of mind. If he accidentally said the wrong thing, it could set her off.

"Of course we’re friends, but..."

"So Little Feng is disdaining me. You must hate this incomplete version of me."

"Stop! Don’t say that! I... I’ll agree, but let me wash up first, okay? I’ve been watching over you all night to make sure nothing bad happened."

"P-promise?"

Only after hearing Ye Feng’s assurance did Shen Mengli finally let go, though she still threatened him.

"If... if you dare trick me... I’ll strangle the teddy bear!"

With that, Shen Mengli grabbed the teddy bear by the neck and lifted it up.

"......"

"Alright, alright, I mean it. Trust me, okay?"

"Okay~"