Ye Feng's Judgment

After finishing breakfast, Li Mucheng and Ye Feng arrived at a rather secluded room.

"Mucheng... what's all this?"

Ye Feng glanced around, taking in the windowless, airtight chamber. For some reason, an uneasy premonition crept into his heart.

Noticing the confusion in Ye Feng's eyes, Li Mucheng quickly settled onto a sofa in the dimly lit room and switched on the projector in front of her.

Moments later, an image of a topographic map of Shu City appeared on the wall.

"Don’t worry, Professor. The reason I brought you here is because I need your help."

"My help? Mucheng, you mean..."

"Yes. I was hoping you could help pinpoint Xie Yuyan’s possible whereabouts. After an entire day of searching, we’ve found no leads at all. If this continues, we’ll waste too much manpower and resources, and the people of Shu City will grow restless."

"I see..."

Ye Feng realized he had been overly paranoid. If he reacted too strongly in front of Li Mucheng, he might hurt her feelings—especially when she had treated him so well, while he still harbored distrust toward her...

As Ye Feng sat down on the sofa beside her, a faint smile tugged at Li Mucheng’s lips.

He still trusts me after all. If I persist... maybe one day...

"I’m sorry, Professor. My skills are lacking... I’ve embarrassed you."

"Don’t say that, Mucheng. Even if I were to guess Xie Yuyan’s location now, I might not be able to figure it out either."

Resting his chin on his hand, Ye Feng studied the structural diagram on the projector intently. According to the map, Xie Yuyan had disappeared near the welfare institute.

"Mucheng, can you pull up the surveillance layout of Shu City’s main roads?"

"Of course."

Well-prepared, Li Mucheng pressed a button on the remote, and soon, another image—a surveillance map—overlaid the previous one.

"Hmm..."

With the surveillance map now displayed, Ye Feng furrowed his brows, scrutinizing possible routes Xie Yuyan might have taken. After careful consideration, he identified two likely escape paths.

"Mucheng, look here!"

Ye Feng pointed to a desolate, undeveloped stretch of land not far from the welfare institute. It was a place devoid of electronic surveillance—or even people.

"This area has no monitoring devices. Xie Yuyan might have chosen this route. If she escaped here, finding her would be next to impossible."

"Don’t worry, Professor. Even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I’ll drag her out! I won’t let anyone who harms you get away with it!"

Ahem.

Ye Feng felt the conversation was veering off track and cleared his throat deliberately before shifting his gaze elsewhere.

"Another possibility is that Xie Yuyan fled into the old streets downtown. But that’s less likely—first, because she’d have a high chance of being spotted in the city, and second, evading surveillance would take considerable effort. The fact that there’s been no news so far suggests she didn’t take this route."

"You’re absolutely right, Professor."

Li Mucheng nodded thoughtfully, comparing the map on the wall with Ye Feng’s analysis. Seeking his help had been the right decision—without direction, their search would have been as aimless as a headless fly. She couldn’t afford to mishandle such a strong hand again.

"Professor, how about this? We’ll deploy a large team to search the outskirts, while in the city, we’ll keep a low profile, stationing people discreetly in every corner. Once Xie Yuyan shows herself, we’ll close the net. What do you think?"

"Mm, that’s a solid plan."

Ye Feng nodded in approval. But as he spoke, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Mucheng..."

"You’re going to ask me not to hurt Xie Yuyan if we catch her, aren’t you?"

"!!!"

Ye Feng, who had been struggling to find the right words, looked up abruptly.

"How did you know, Mucheng?"

"Your eyes gave it away..."

Li Mucheng rested her chin on her hands, murmuring softly.

"I know, Professor. Even now, you still have lingering feelings for her. Because I know someone like you—sincere, earnest in everything you do. That’s why I want to stay by your side."

"Mucheng..."

"Don’t worry, Professor. I won’t lay a finger on her. But if she remains stubborn and refuses to change, I won’t hesitate to teach her a lesson—regardless of what you say."

"Alright."

"Oh, and Professor, the director of Hope Welfare Institute is scheduled to visit the manor this afternoon. I’ll remind you when he arrives."

"Got it. Thanks for your hard work, Mucheng."

This time, instead of expressing gratitude, Ye Feng used the phrase "hard work" to convey his concern for her.

Heh, this is what I should be doing~

Li Mucheng smiled faintly when she didn’t hear the usual thanks, then rose from the sofa.

"Professor, if you’re bored, feel free to wander around the manor. I’ll go brief the team and be back soon."

"Alright, Mucheng. Be careful."

"Will do~"

......

"What’s the big idea, Dad?! Why are you grounding me?!"

Su Yuxin slammed her chopsticks down, pouting angrily at her stone-faced father, Su Wanli.

"I’m sorry, Yuxin. Shu City isn’t safe right now. I can’t let you visit Ye Feng. But I promise he’s fine. Once things settle down, you can go, okay?"

"There’s no danger! The one in danger is Brother Ye Feng! Instead of protecting him, you’re locking me up—how am I supposed to see him now?!"

Su Yuxin shouted in frustration, hoping to sway her father with his usual doting affection. But this time, Su Wanli seemed resolute—he shook his head silently, refusing to budge no matter how much she protested.

"Hmph! I hate you, Dad!"

Stomping her little leather boots in fury, Su Yuxin stormed upstairs to her room.

Sigh...

Only after Su Yuxin had left did Su Wanli exhale heavily, his face etched with exhaustion.

"Are you alright, dear?"

Liu Yue, sitting beside him, gently placed a hand on his arm, her voice soft with concern.

"I’m fine. It’s just... Yuxin. I’ve never seen her so heartbroken before. The way she looked at me... it was different."

Su Wanli spoke with palpable sorrow.