Repentant Ah Fu

"Mm..."

Shen Mengli watched as Ye Feng closed his eyes, still feeling a bit worried. She raised a hand and waved it slowly in front of his face to confirm he hadn’t noticed before finally withdrawing it.

"Xiao Feng, are you sure you’re not peeking?"

"I really won’t open my eyes, Mengli. Just hurry up and get it over with—I’ve got things to do later."

Ye Feng recalled the text message Ah Fu had sent him earlier, which he hadn’t had a chance to read yet. It was probably something related to Li Mucheng again.

"Stupid Xiao Feng... always ignoring me..."

Seeing Ye Feng rush her, Shen Mengli’s carefully built-up mood instantly evaporated. She narrowed her eyes and slowly leaned toward Ye Feng’s head.

"Hm?"

As Shen Mengli drew closer, Ye Feng caught a familiar fragrance—there was no mistaking who it belonged to. But the scent made him uneasy because it meant she was extremely close. He couldn’t help but urge her again.

"Mengli... are you done yet?"

"......"

After waiting for a while, only silence answered him. The prolonged lack of movement made Ye Feng suspicious, and he cautiously cracked his eyes open just a sliver.

Through the narrow gap, he could faintly make out Shen Mengli’s face right in front of his—so close that the slightest movement would make their heads touch.

"Mengli?"

He called her name softly while discreetly observing her reaction.

Sure enough, Shen Mengli remained motionless, her mesmerizing eyes fixed intently on him.

Sensing the atmosphere growing oddly tense, Ye Feng finally opened his eyes fully. But instead of getting angry at him for breaking their agreement, Shen Mengli pulled back slightly and smiled.

"Mengli? Why didn’t you—"

"I’d never do something like that to Xiao Feng. So I wasn’t going to go through with it."

Her words warmed Ye Feng’s heart. Shen Mengli’s gentle nature always brought him comfort.

"Mengli, thank you."

"Alright, why are you getting sentimental all of a sudden? Didn’t you say you needed to reply to a message? I won’t keep you then. I’ll go take a bath in the meantime."

"Okay. Do you need any help?"

"It’s fine, I can manage on my own."

Shen Mengli shook her head but then stretched out her arms toward him.

"But right now, I really need a hug from Xiao Feng. Otherwise, poor me will have to crawl onto the wheelchair by myself."

"Leave it to me."

Ye Feng wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and Shen Mengli slowly looped hers around his shoulders, their bodies pressing close together.

"Ahem... Mengli, shouldn’t you tilt your body a bit? This way is harder for me to hold you."

"Is this position not okay? I think hugging face-to-face is much easier than a princess carry!"

Shen Mengli insisted, though the truth was she preferred being embraced this way. It let her stay close to Ye Feng and satisfied a little flutter in her heart.

"Well... alright."

After some awkward maneuvering, Ye Feng finally managed to settle Shen Mengli into her wheelchair. After a quick goodbye, he stepped out onto the balcony alone.

Just as he pulled out his phone to check Ah Fu’s message, a call came through.

"Hm? Could it be Mucheng calling?"

But when he checked the caller ID, it wasn’t Li Mucheng—who had hung up earlier—but Ah Fu, the one who had sent the text.

Seeing Ah Fu’s call, a faint sense of foreboding crept into Ye Feng’s chest. If Ah Fu was calling directly, it meant the situation was serious.

Bracing himself, he answered.

Beep.

The moment the call connected, Ah Fu’s frantic voice spilled out.

"Ye—Ye Feng, are you there?"

"I’m here. What’s wrong, Ah Fu? You sound panicked."

"Didn’t you see my text?! Something’s happened—something really bad!"

"What’s got you so worked up? I’ve never seen you like this before."

"Quit joking around! This is serious!"

Hearing the gravity in Ah Fu’s tone, Ye Feng dropped the casual act and waited for him to continue.

"Miss Li found out about Miss Su attending your classes. I tried to warn you earlier, but your line was busy—no matter how many times I called, it wouldn’t go through. That’s why I sent you that text!"

"What?! Mucheng knows? Since when?!"

Ye Feng’s mind raced. So that was why Li Mucheng had called him out of the blue. Her earlier remarks must have been because she’d discovered he was teaching Su Yuxin—she’d wanted him to confess. And from the very first response, he’d already messed up...

Damn. This was bad. Really bad.

Realizing the severity of the situation, Ye Feng pressed Ah Fu urgently.

"When exactly did she find out? And how?"

"Ah..."

Ah Fu let out a heavy sigh, as if blaming himself while also apologizing to Ye Feng.

"To be honest, it’s my fault. Miss Li had been feeling like you were distracted whenever you were with her, so she asked me to look into your whereabouts."

"After I reported back, she zeroed in on a dessert shop. Upon digging deeper, she found out Miss Su had been a regular there for a while. After that, Miss Li... changed. She started investigating everything, and today, she finally pieced it all together."

Ah Fu’s voice grew more guilt-ridden. He’d reported Ye Feng’s activities honestly because he’d hoped Miss Li and Ye Feng would end up together—a personal wish of his. But he never expected his meddling would backfire so badly.

"Sorry, Ye Feng. I should’ve warned you sooner."

"No—this isn’t the time for apologies. How is Mucheng now?"

"She’s been staying in her apartment almost every day. I’ve been keeping watch downstairs, which is why I finally got the chance to call you."

"But when I tried calling her, her phone was off. Ah Fu, go check on her right now—"

Before Ye Feng could finish, a burst of noise crackled through the line, followed by Ah Fu’s voice cutting in.

"Y-young Mistress?! What are you doing here!"