Three Hearts as One

After briefly recounting to Xie Yuyan how she and Ye Feng had first met, Li Mucheng finally managed a faint smile.

However, she naturally left out the part about Ye Feng kidnapping her—though even now, she still had many unanswered questions about it.

For instance, why had Ye Feng kidnapped her in the first place? His motives seemed almost arbitrary, as if he’d done it purely for the sake of it, which left Li Mucheng deeply puzzled.

But after the incident at the cliff, the pieces of Ye Feng’s abduction of her seemed to fall into place in her mind, as if connected by some unseen thread.

Xie Yuyan, observing carefully, caught a fleeting clarity in Li Mucheng’s eyes before it was quickly concealed.

"Xie Yuyan, surely you can trust me now? I genuinely want to work with you to find our teacher. I’ve always believed he’ll be alright!"

"I feel the same way... but I’m terrified. Terrified of facing the truth, terrified that Ye Feng might really be gone forever."

"But don’t we have to face it eventually? You don’t want this shadow hanging over you forever, do you?"

"I hope so... I just don’t know what to do anymore."

Xie Yuyan’s tone was laced with self-reproach. She knew all too well that she was the primary culprit behind the cliff incident. Expecting a victim to forgive the perpetrator? What a cruel joke.

"Ding-dong."

Just as their conversation lapsed into silence, a crisp chime echoed from the manor’s front gate. As the door swung open, Su Yuxin strode in briskly, dressed in athletic wear.

"Mucheng, I went back to the mountains today—"

The moment Su Yuxin reached the sofa, she spotted Xie Yuyan sitting beside her. Instantly, her expression twisted with disgust, her teeth clenched as she glared daggers at Xie Yuxin.

"Xie Yuyan! You’re the one who hurt Brother Ye Feng! How dare you show your face here!"

Hearing Su Yuxin’s furious words, Xie Yuyan bowed her head in remorse. "I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have done what I did."

"Sorry doesn’t change anything! Brother Ye Feng is missing because of you! If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have left us like this!"

"......"

"Yuxin, enough. Arguing won’t solve anything."

Only when Li Mucheng intervened did Su Yuxin let out a cold huff and sit down beside her.

Li Mucheng knew Su Yuxin’s hostility toward Xie Yuyan wouldn’t fade anytime soon. Still, given the gravity of Xie Yuyan’s actions, she chose to step in at the critical moment.

"Alright, since you’re back, Yuxin, tell us what you found today."

"Mm..."

Su Yuxin pursed her lips, first shooting Xie Yuyan a wary glance before casting a questioning look at Li Mucheng.

"It’s fine, Yuxin. Xie Yuyan is on our side now. I believe she’ll work with us to find our teacher."

"Hmph... Who knows if she’ll just use me again like before?"

"Yuxin, right now our focus should be—"

Before Li Mucheng could finish, Xie Yuyan suddenly stood up from the sofa, drawing both Li Mucheng and Su Yuxin’s attention.

"Xie Yuyan, you—"

"I’m sorry!"

Xie Yuyan bowed deeply to Su Yuxin, her light blue eyes calm and unwavering.

"Eh?!"

Su Yuxin was the most startled by this gesture. She never expected the usually arrogant Xie Yuyan to apologize to her. After all, Xie Yuyan had always acted as though no one but Ye Feng mattered to her. This complete reversal left Su Yuxin momentarily speechless.

Thankfully, Li Mucheng reacted quickly, nudging Su Yuxin with her elbow to snap her out of it.

"So, Yuxin? What do you think?"

"Ugh..."

Su Yuxin’s face flushed red. With a huff, she stood up as well, stomping her foot in frustration.

"F-fine! I’ll let it go! Just stop with that cold expression, okay? I... I was just mad you tricked me. If you’re really sorry, then I won’t say anything more."

Hesitantly, Su Yuxin stepped forward and helped Xie Yuyan straighten up. Looking up at the taller girl, she extended her hand.

"Let’s work together to bring Brother Ye Feng back."

Seeing Su Yuxin’s earnestness, Xie Yuyan couldn’t help but smile slightly. For someone who had always been a loner, having two allies—even temporarily—felt surprisingly nice.

"Alright. Thank you for giving me this chance."

"You should thank Mucheng, not me."

Su Yuxin quickly retreated to her seat, and Li Mucheng gave a nod, signaling the start of their first official meeting.

"Ahem..."

As the first to speak, Su Yuxin cleared her throat before addressing the group calmly.

"Today, I checked the woods below the cliff. The river’s current is still strong. Based on the search reports from the past few days, the only viable leads would be in areas where the water flows slower. If Brother Ye Feng lost consciousness in the river, those are the most likely spots to find him."

"That makes sense. I’ll direct the search teams to focus on the calmer stretches you mentioned."

Li Mucheng then turned to Xie Yuyan, who seemed deep in thought.

"Xie Yuyan, do you think we’ve missed anything?"

"......"

Xie Yuyan closed her eyes, weighing the possibilities, before speaking.

"Your approach isn’t wrong, but the efficiency is too low. I suggest splitting into two teams—skip the upstream and position one team at each of the calmer sections downstream. Then, place another team at the river’s endpoint. Have both teams converge toward the middle. That way, we cover more ground without missing anything from the past few days, and we’ll find Ye Feng faster."

Li Mucheng nodded thoughtfully, exchanging a glance with Su Yuxin before assigning the teams accordingly.

It seemed her instincts were right—as long as the three of them worked together, they could find a way forward.