Our Exclusive Date

Staring at the towering, endlessly rotating Ferris wheel before her, Su Yuxin had, through a twist of fate, ultimately followed Ye Feng to this place. Perhaps it was because a stubborn hope still lingered in her heart, or maybe she simply wanted to see what tricks Ye Feng had up his sleeve—only Su Yuxin herself could say for sure.

"Yuxin, let's go up. I'll explain everything to you slowly, okay?"

"......"

Su Yuxin didn’t respond, but when the next gondola arrived, she stepped inside. Ye Feng followed closely behind.

The moment Su Yuxin sat across from Ye Feng, a shadow flickered at the edge of her vision. Following its movement, her gaze landed on a mascot costume standing motionless in the distance, its pitch-black eyes fixed on her.

But she quickly averted her eyes from the window. For some reason, her heartbeat began to race.

"What’s wrong, Yuxin? If you’re feeling unwell, I can take you down right now—"

"Keep going!"

Su Yuxin’s sharp tone cut Ye Feng off mid-sentence. Her expression now perfectly embodied the word "determined."

"Tell me everything you have to say."

"Alright..."

Ye Feng settled back into his seat, closing his eyes as he voiced his concerns.

"Truthfully, I did all this because I didn’t want you to get dragged into this mess, Yuxin. Everything… everything is just the consequences of my own mistakes."

"Your mistakes? So now you realize you were wrong?"

"Maybe. Perhaps I never should have clung to the hope of survival at the cost of hurting all of you."

Ye Feng let out a bitter laugh, his hands clenching into fists so tight his knuckles turned white.

"Hope of survival? What… what do you mean, Ye Feng?"

"I made a mistake—a huge one. I thought wounds could be healed just by patching them up. But when you finally peel back the bandage, you realize the scars never truly fade. That means… I wasn’t fixing things for you. I was just hurting you all over again."

His voice trembled slightly. At first, Su Yuxin thought he was just putting on an act—until she saw him clutching the strawberry plushie she had once given him, holding it tightly against his chest.

"I’m sorry… Yuxin, I’m so sorry… I really… I don’t know what to do anymore. I just wanted you all to live better lives because of the ways I tried to make up for my mistakes."

"But I was too idealistic. When I finally took that step, I realized I was tangled in threads, wrapped up so tightly that they’ve turned into knots I can’t undo…"

"Ye… Ye Feng, what are you talking about? I don’t understand any of this!"

Su Yuxin’s heart ached as she met Ye Feng’s sorrowful gaze, as if an invisible force had shattered the gloom inside her. Without thinking, she moved to his side, clinging to his arm just like she used to.

"Yuxin, the truth is… Mu Cheng and I, even now… I still feel guilty toward her."

"Wh-what do you mean? Are you saying the Li family helped you?"

"It wasn’t the Li family. It was Mu Cheng who helped me. But by the time I realized what I’d done, it was already too late to turn back…"

"Ye Feng…"

"Yuxin, a while ago… Mu Cheng and I… we slept together. At the time, I wasn’t in my right mind. By the time I came to my senses, it was already…"

"Wh-what?! You’re saying Li Mucheng just… just forced you to—"

Su Yuxin clamped her mouth shut, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"No, Yuxin. Maybe I was the one who took advantage of her in my confusion. But what’s done is done. I can’t just walk away from this…"

As the pressure on his arm grew tighter, Ye Feng tried to pull free, but Su Yuxin clung to him like an octopus. Watching her pensive expression, a sense of foreboding rose in his chest.

So that’s it!!!

No wonder Li Mucheng could bind Ye Feng to her so tightly—no wonder she could always earn his forgiveness, no matter what she did. The reason for all those privileges was this… Why hadn’t I realized it sooner?

Of course. Knowing Ye Feng’s personality, if something like that really happened, he’d never run from it. Why didn’t I figure this out before?

But since Ye Feng is telling me this now, it means he still trusts me completely. I was the one who misunderstood him.

Su Yuxin lowered her head, lost in thought for a moment, before suddenly looking up to meet Ye Feng’s eyes.

"Ye… Ye Feng, I’m sorry… I had no idea this was what happened behind the scenes… I even got angry at you over it. I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!"

Her voice choked with tears as she buried her face in Ye Feng’s chest, her hot tears soon soaking through his shirt.

"......"

"It’s alright, Yuxin. I just wanted to clear things up between us. I never blamed you. I never planned to tell you about Mu Cheng, but to prevent more misunderstandings because of me… I had no other choice."

Ye Feng sighed. After everything he’d been through, he recognized the signs—Su Yuxin’s earlier demeanor had been the prelude to one of her dark moods. He had to stop it before it escalated. The last thing he wanted was another round of being locked in that dark room.

"Sniff… sniff…"

Su Yuxin inhaled deeply, the familiar scent of Ye Feng soothing her sorrow.

"Alright, now that we’ve cleared the air, don’t be sad anymore, okay? The whole reason I came today was to fulfill our promise, wasn’t it? Just seeing you happy is enough for me."

Ye Feng gently patted her head, his eyes warm with relief.

"Now, Yuxin… could you maybe loosen your grip on my arm? It’s getting a little… too warm."

"No way!"

Su Yuxin shook her head vigorously, her twin ponytails swaying like golden silk ribbons. The coldness in her expression had melted away, replaced by her usual lively charm.

"I want to… I want to stay close to you, Ye Feng! I want to make up for it too!"

"Make up for what? What do you have to make up for?"

"Because… because I ruined our rare chance for a date…"

"A date?"

"Yep~ A date just for the two of us~"