Everything Is Alright Now

Noticing the door being opened, Li Mucheng turned her head mechanically to gaze at Xie Yuyan standing at the entrance. A face of unparalleled allure and a curvaceous figure came into view, but what captivated most were her fiery red hair and striking light blue eyes. Xie Yuyan’s worried gaze remained fixed on Ye Feng, never wavering for even a moment.

"I see..."

Li Mucheng lowered her head in dejection, finally realizing just how thoroughly she had lost. Her unfocused pupils gradually sharpened, and her initially blurred vision cleared. Turning back to look at Ye Feng, who was staring at her, she opened her mouth as if to speak but no sound emerged.

"Ye Feng!"

Xie Yuyan leaped down the stairs, shoving Li Mucheng off Ye Feng in one swift motion. She then draped her own coat over Ye Feng’s body, gently caressing his face with her warm palm before whispering softly into his ear.

"I’m sorry... I came too late..."

"It’s alright, Yuyan. I’m just glad to see you now."

Ye Feng offered a reassuring smile to the visibly distressed Xie Yuyan, his eyes filled with relief as he looked at her.

"It’s fine. You’re here now, and that’s what matters."

"Mhm."

Xie Yuyan smiled faintly before turning her gaze toward Li Mucheng, who had collapsed to the floor in despair, her expression laced with disgust.

"Where’s the key?"

"......"

Li Mucheng seemed to have fallen into an abyss, showing no reaction as she stared blankly at the floor.

"I asked you where the—"

Before Xie Yuyan could finish, Ye Feng reached out and grasped her wrist, subtly gesturing toward the floor beside the bed with his eyes.

"Alright..."

Seeing the exhaustion on Ye Feng’s face, Xie Yuyan held back her words and walked over to the bed alone, picking up the key and unlocking the shackles binding him one by one.

Clink.

Only after removing the last chain from Ye Feng’s body did she carefully help him sit up.

"Are you okay, Ye Feng? Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"

"N-no..."

"That’s good. Let’s get out of here quickly. We can talk about everything later, alright?"

"......"

Ye Feng glanced sideways at Li Mucheng, who remained slumped on the floor in utter desolation, before sighing and shaking his head. With Xie Yuyan’s support, he slowly made his way out of the dimly lit room.

Just as the two reached the doorway, Xie Yuyan turned back, her eyes scanning the room’s layout as if piecing something together in her mind.

"Yuyan? Let’s go."

"Ah! R-right."

Ye Feng had assumed Xie Yuyan was glaring at Li Mucheng out of hostility, trying to intimidate her, and so he spoke up to stop her. Little did he know that Xie Yuyan hadn’t spared Li Mucheng a single thought—she hadn’t even looked at her. The reason for her glance back was solely focused on the shackles that had bound Ye Feng. For some reason, the sight of him helplessly restrained on the bed, powerless to resist, had made her heart race uncontrollably. But seeing Ye Feng’s reaction, she could only bury this emotion deep within.

As they walked down the corridor outside the room, Ye Feng spotted Ah Fu and Su Yuxin standing by the entrance, stepping aside to let them pass. Exhausted, he merely exchanged a silent look with them before leaving the nightmarish place behind.

"Ah Fu! How could you—"

A nearby bodyguard, seeing this, was about to lash out in anger, but Ah Fu’s sharp glare silenced him before he calmly explained, "I did this for everyone’s sake. This was the only way to ensure Ye Feng’s safety while preventing the young mistress from taking any more dangerous actions."

"But... what if the young mistress finds out we didn’t put up any resistance before letting them in...?"

"Didn’t you see Miss Su was with them? The master and Chairman Su are old friends. What if you ended up harming Miss Su?"

"......"

Only when the bodyguard fell silent did Ah Fu exhale in relief, turning his attention to Su Yuxin, who was watching Ye Feng’s retreating figure.

"Miss Su, my apologies for the scene. May I ask why you came today?"

Hearing Ah Fu’s voice, Su Yuxin finally tore her gaze away. Though her heart was filled with countless grievances, she knew she had to bide her time.

"Where’s Li Mucheng?"

"The young mistress is inside... Miss Su, if you could, please try to talk some sense into her. I need to report today’s events to the master."

"Fine."

......

Tap, tap.

The sound of light footsteps reached Li Mucheng, still seated on the floor, but she remained motionless. Only when a figure blocked the light in front of her did she finally lift her head slightly.

"Who would’ve thought someone as cold as you could wear such a look of despair?"

"You..."

Li Mucheng’s voice was hoarse, devoid of any vitality, as if she had lost all hope for the future.

"Pathetic, isn’t it? I could’ve stayed by his side, watching over him, maybe even exchanging a few words. But... I ruined everything."

"I never expected you to go this far. You’re nothing like the person I used to know."

"I don’t know why either... There was a voice deep inside, whispering in my mind, telling me to keep him here—to keep the teacher by my side, no matter the cost."

Li Mucheng stared at her own hands before shifting her gaze to the bed with its discarded shackles. Finally, she pushed herself up using the wall for support.

"That woman... was Xie Yuyan, right?"

"Yes. A formidable opponent."

Su Yuxin crossed her arms and took a deep breath. She had come for two reasons: first, to rescue Ye Feng—doing so would naturally improve his impression of her—and second, to gauge the capabilities of this woman who had somehow captured Ye Feng’s undivided attention.

"I’ve looked into her."

Li Mucheng spoke through suppressed sobs.

"Her identity is shrouded in mystery. There’s no background information on her, and her combat skills are on par with the teacher’s. I don’t even know when he met her."

"Who told you about her?"

Su Yuxin narrowed her eyes at Li Mucheng. She hadn’t anticipated that even with Li Mucheng’s family resources, Xie Yuyan’s origins remained untraceable. Was this woman some kind of phantom?

"Another... rival."

"Another rival?"

......

"There... there. It’s all over now."

Back at home, Xie Yuyan helped Ye Feng into bed before finally letting out a sigh of relief. Seeing him so physically and emotionally drained pained her deeply. The only thing she could do now was stay by his side, soothing the wounds of this ordeal.