Long Time No See, My Dear

"Let's go, Yuxin. It's about time we left."

As Ye Feng stepped out of the Ferris wheel and prepared to say goodbye to Su Yuxin, she suddenly reached out and tightly grasped his wrist.

"Yuxin?"

"Ye... Ye Feng, run... it's dangerous..."

Ye Feng was momentarily baffled by her abrupt change in demeanor. He had been about to head toward the amusement park exit but instead turned back to her and whispered, "What's wrong, Yuxin? Why are you saying this all of a sudden? Did something happen?"

Just as Su Yuxin opened her mouth to explain, a massive figure emerged on the path behind Ye Feng. The moment she saw it, her pupils constricted sharply, as if she had glimpsed something horrifying. Without hesitation, she grabbed Ye Feng’s arm and pulled him in the opposite direction.

"Hurry! Ye Feng, run!"

"Yuxin, what—"

Ye Feng studied her panicked expression and followed her gaze behind him. Sure enough, he spotted a humanoid mascot approaching them from a short distance away.

The mascot swayed playfully in a way Ye Feng found endearing. Upon noticing the two of them, it even bounced cheerfully and waved its tiny hands in greeting.

Isn’t this just a regular mascot? Probably one of the amusement park’s staff in costume.

"Yuxin, you’re really overreacting. What’s so scary about a mascot? Is this another one of your pranks?"

"N-no! Ye Feng, run! The person inside that mascot... it’s Xie Yuyan!"

Su Yuxin had initially planned to keep her pretense of not knowing Xie Yuyan. But as the mascot drew closer to Ye Feng, her guilt overwhelmed her desire to win him over. At the last moment, she chose to reveal the truth. She knew full well that Ye Feng might later realize this had all been a setup between her and Xie Yuyan. But after learning that Ye Feng hadn’t intentionally distanced himself from her, her mindset had shifted. She couldn’t let Xie Yuyan have him—if that happened, the Ye Feng she cherished would be lost to her forever.

......

Thud.

Su Yuxin’s desperate shout struck Ye Feng like a hammer to the chest, leaving his mind reeling.

W-what? What did Yuxin just say? The person inside the mascot... is Xie Yuyan? No way... There’s no way Xie Yuyan would be here...

While Ye Feng stood frozen in shock, the mascot continued bouncing toward him. But its previously waving arms now hung limp. As it closed the distance, a gleaming silver blade suddenly pierced through its stomach, followed by a loud rip. The deflated mascot suit collapsed, and as the costume crumpled to the ground, a hauntingly familiar figure stepped into view.

"Hehehe~ Long time no see, darling~ Did you miss me?"

Beep beep beep.

The system’s frantic alarm blared in Ye Feng’s ears. His pupils trembled—he hadn’t been prepared for Xie Yuyan’s sudden appearance. Even the system’s warning only activated the moment she revealed herself. That meant she had concealed her killing intent all along, unleashing it only when she made her grand entrance.

Under the blood-red sunset, Xie Yuyan’s silhouette eclipsed the crimson-stained ground. Her tall shadow stretched across the pavement at Ye Feng’s feet, and an overwhelming tide of terror crashed over him. Unconsciously, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He never could have guessed that Xie Yuyan had been lurking so close all this time.

"Xie Yuyan... long time no see."

"Oh?"

Xie Yuyan hadn’t expected this reaction. She’d assumed Ye Feng would bolt the second he saw her. Instead, he greeted her like an old acquaintance.

"Indeed, it’s been too long, darling. I’ve gone through so much trouble just for you~"

Su Yuxin, still standing beside Ye Feng, had never experienced such a tense situation. But thinking of his safety, she stealthily pulled out her phone while Xie Yuyan’s attention was diverted. With just one tap on the emergency button, fully armed security would swarm the park within minutes to protect Ye Feng.

But as she moved with painstaking slowness to retrieve her phone, a sharp whoosh cut through the air. Before she could react, a throwing knife struck her phone, sending it clattering to the ground.

"Su Yuxin, you’ve truly disappointed me. I thought our plan was flawless, yet you betrayed me at the last moment. Did Ye Feng promise you some impossible fantasy? Were you really so easily swayed by sweet words?"

Xie Yuyan’s mocking tone dripped with amusement as she took in Su Yuxin’s ashen face.

"Oh well. Not like I ever considered you a real partner. You were just a pawn to get closer to Ye Feng."

"W-what?! A... a pawn..."

Hearing Xie Yuyan lay out the entire scheme, Su Yuxin stood frozen, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. She never imagined that Xie Yuyan had been using her from the very beginning. She wasn’t the first to "taste the crab," as the saying went—whether it was winning Ye Feng’s love or his person, she would never truly have him. Instead, she’d become nothing more than a stepping stone for Xie Yuyan.

Now that the truth was out, Su Yuxin couldn’t even bring herself to look at Ye Feng. No matter the outcome, it no longer held any meaning for her. Externally, she’d lost any chance of claiming Ye Feng—in fact, she’d practically delivered him to someone else. Internally, Ye Feng now knew she’d been part of the plot. He would surely resent her for it. She had nothing left...

"A plan..."

Ye Feng glanced sideways at Xie Yuyan, who stood motionless beside him. Piecing together Li Mucheng’s sudden appearance and Su Yuxin’s earlier odd behavior, he had already formed a rough understanding.

So that’s how it is. I was the one kept in the dark all along. No wonder Yuxin’s words and actions felt so different today. But... if the plan was already in motion, why did she change her mind halfway?