Forced to Do This

"Mm..."

Seeing Shen Mengli lingering in Ye Feng's embrace without letting go, Su Yuxin clenched her small fists, ready to step forward and pull them apart. Fortunately, Li Mucheng stopped her in time.

"Mucheng, look at her! This is clearly meant to humiliate us."

"Yuxin, don’t act impulsively. Shen Mengli is just trying to assert dominance. If we fall into her trap, we’ll be playing right into her hands."

"But... but doesn’t this bother you at all?"

"..."

Li Mucheng bit her lower lip and pulled Su Yuxin behind her. Though she no longer harbored the same obsessive, unhealthy emotions as before, witnessing Shen Mengli and Ye Feng being so intimate still left a bitter taste in her heart.

"Ahem..."

Li Mucheng let out a sharp cough, shattering the silence in the wooden cabin. Her voice was deliberately loud, as if meant for Ye Feng’s ears.

"Could we please focus on the matter at hand? We’re here to discuss something important, aren’t we?"

"!!"

Startled by Li Mucheng’s voice, Ye Feng finally snapped out of his daze from Shen Mengli’s sudden advance. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently pushed her away and stammered, "Mengli, are you okay? Why so sudden..."

"Wuu... I just missed you so much..."

Undeterred by being pushed away, Shen Mengli buried herself in Ye Feng’s chest, greedily inhaling his scent. Only after confirming he carried no trace of another woman’s perfume did she finally relax.

"Alright, alright. Just promise me you won’t do anything mischievous again, okay?"

"Okay~"

Once Shen Mengli settled down, Ye Feng turned his attention to the three women standing nearby. Their expressions were a mix of emotions, each unique in their own way. Breaking the silence, he spoke up.

"Please, everyone, take a seat. Let’s settle everything today, once and for all."

"Teacher..."

Li Mucheng glanced at Shen Mengli, who was still nestled in Ye Feng’s arms. At that moment, Shen Mengli shot her a sly look and nuzzled her cheek against Ye Feng’s chest.

"Mucheng, let’s sit and talk."

"Of course, Teacher."

Li Mucheng exchanged a meaningful glance with Su Yuxin and Xie Yuyan, and the three of them took their seats around the table. Once everyone was settled, Ye Feng initiated the conversation.

"I had a feeling this meeting would happen. Why don’t you ask your questions first? I’ll do my best to address your concerns."

Hearing the weight in Ye Feng’s voice, the women hesitated, as if waiting for someone to take the first step. In the quiet that followed, Xie Yuyan, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"I... I’ll go first."

"Go ahead, Xie Yuyan."

With Ye Feng’s permission, Xie Yuyan gave a slight nod.

"Ye Feng, back then... did you really jump into the river intending to leave this world?"

Her question struck like a hammer, reverberating in everyone’s hearts. Even Shen Mengli, still clinging to Ye Feng, froze. Though she already knew the answer, hearing it again stirred something deep within her.

"Ah, that..."

Feeling the weight of four pairs of eyes fixed on him, Ye Feng sighed deeply and slowly nodded.

"Yes, Xie Yuyan. You’re right. At the time, it wasn’t some elaborate plan with Mengli. I truly wanted to end it all."

"H-how could you...?"

Li Mucheng stammered, struggling to process his words. In her heart, she would have preferred it if this had all been an act between Ye Feng and Shen Mengli.

The thought that Ye Feng could have died because of it—she would have carried that guilt for the rest of her life.

"I’m sorry. Back then, I... I didn’t know what else to do. I tried my best to keep things balanced, but in the end, I only made everything worse."

Ye Feng exhaled helplessly, his gaze meeting Shen Mengli’s.

"Mengli?"

"Xiao... Xiao Feng... it’s... it’s okay."

Shen Mengli reached up, gently cupping his cheek with her small hand, her voice soft and reassuring.

"Xiao Feng, you mustn’t think like that. Look, everything is still fixable, isn’t it? Promise me you’ll never have such thoughts again, okay?"

"Mengli..."

"That’s right! Brother Ye Feng, you still have me too! I know I was lost before, and I did terrible things, but I’ve come to my senses now! As long as you don’t push me away, I’ll stay by your side!"

Su Yuxin’s voice suddenly rang out, and Ye Feng turned to her, moved by her words.

"Yuxin... thank you."

"A-and me!"

"Me too!"

Xie Yuyan and Li Mucheng quickly chimed in.

"Everyone... I appreciate your kindness, but I think we’ve reached the end of the road here. It’s time to draw the line."

"Wait, Teacher! We still have questions. You can’t say things like that yet."

Li Mucheng cut in urgently, her eyes flickering toward Shen Mengli as if silently pleading for her to join the discussion.

Shen Mengli understood the unspoken request, but she had no intention of helping Li Mucheng—or any of the others. Why should she, when she could have Ye Feng all to herself? Besides, they were the ones who had driven him to this point. She wasn’t about to throw him back into the fire. So she deliberately ignored Li Mucheng’s gaze.

Seeing Shen Mengli’s indifference, Li Mucheng didn’t react with anger. If she were in her place, she’d likely do the same. But something still nagged at her—a feeling that Ye Feng was hiding something.

"Alright, Mucheng. If you have more questions, go ahead."

"Okay..."

Li Mucheng took a deep breath.

"Teacher, I want you to explain why you approached us in the first place."

"Approached you? Mucheng, do you mean...?"

"The kidnapping."

"Ah, that..."

Ye Feng had expected this. Clearly, they had compared notes about their experiences with him, and the most suspicious part was undoubtedly his act of kidnapping.

"So you’ve all figured it out. At this point, I might as well tell you everything. The truth is, I did it because... I had a mission I couldn’t ignore."

"Mission? Teacher, what do you mean by that? I don’t understand."

"Well... how do I explain this...?"

Just as Ye Feng was about to mention the system within him, the usually quiet Shen Mengli suddenly spoke up.

"Xiao Feng was forced into it!"