I Ate It All

"Ye Feng, you should eat more of this too. I learned a lot from the masters when I was at Mu Cheng’s estate!"

With that, Xie Yuyan placed a piece of beef into Ye Feng’s bowl, her eyes brimming with anticipation as she watched for his reaction.

"Okay... thank you, Yuyan."

Ye Feng swallowed hard, feeling the weight of their intense gazes. He pursed his lips, suddenly unsure whether to eat the beef or the spare ribs first.

As he glanced sideways, hoping to distract himself from the awkwardness, he noticed that both Shen Mengli and Xie Yuyan were still fixated on his bowl. Clearly, tonight’s dinner wasn’t going to be a relaxed affair.

While watching Ye Feng, Xie Yuyan and Shen Mengli’s eyes inadvertently met. The brief exchange carried a faint trace of tension, as if an unspoken challenge had passed between them.

But what no one expected was for Ye Feng to pick up both the beef and the spare ribs at the same time with his chopsticks. Under their stunned gazes, he stuffed them into his mouth.

"Well? Are you both satisfied now?"

Ye Feng shot them a triumphant look, secretly proud of his quick thinking. However, before he could even spit out the bone, he looked down to find his bowl already piled high with more beef and ribs.

"......"

After an exhausting effort to finish the meal, Ye Feng slumped in his chair, clutching his stomach. He had never imagined eating could be so draining.

"Xiao Feng, make sure to stay safe on your way, okay?"

Shen Mengli, who had been helping Xie Yuyan clean up, dried her hands and walked over to Ye Feng. She gently massaged his head from behind.

"Don’t worry, Mengli. It’s really nothing serious. Just... please don’t make me eat so much next time. My stomach feels numb now..."

"Heh..."

Shen Mengli giggled sheepishly, unsure why she had acted so impulsively. Fortunately, both she and Xie Yuyan had realized they’d gotten a bit too carried away and toned it down afterward.

"I understand."

"Mmm... alright, Mengli. It’s about time for me to leave. The sooner I go, the sooner you two can stop worrying."

After resting for a moment, Ye Feng stood up and turned to face Shen Mengli, who was clearly concerned for him. He reached out and patted her head lightly.

"Be good and wait for me at home, okay?"

"Okay. Stay safe on the road, Xiao Feng~"

"Mm."

After saying goodbye to Shen Mengli, Ye Feng approached Xie Yuyan, who was still tidying up in the kitchen. Xie Yuyan noticed his presence immediately, her heart fluttering with excitement at his approach.

"Yuyan?"

Ye Feng stepped closer, taking the cloth from her hands before she could react. He then moved to the sink and began meticulously wiping down the counter.

"Ye Feng, what are you doing? I can handle this myself!"

Realizing he was trying to help, Xie Yuyan reached out to snatch the cloth back, but Ye Feng’s sharp glance stopped her in her tracks.

"Yuyan, take a break. You’ve been working hard all night. Let me take care of the rest."

"Ye Feng..."

"Yuyan, trust me, okay?"

"Of course I trust you... but I’m scared."

With that, Xie Yuyan threw herself into Ye Feng’s arms, her small hands clutching his waist tightly as she basked in his warmth. Meanwhile, Shen Mengli, standing behind Ye Feng, caught sight of Xie Yuyan discreetly slipping a small black device onto him.

"......"

"O-okay... Ye Feng, you should go now. I’ll wait for you at home, just like Mengli."

Seeing that Xie Yuyan seemed reassured, Ye Feng gently pulled away from her embrace. Just then, his phone rang, reminding him it was time to leave.

"That’s my cue. I’ll be back soon. If anything comes up, just call me, alright?"

"Mm."

They nodded in unison, escorting him to the door. As they watched his retreating figure, Shen Mengli finally closed the door behind him.

"Xie Yuyan, earlier you..."

"I placed a tracking device on Ye Feng. It’ll make it easier to monitor his location."

After Xie Yuyan’s explanation, Shen Mengli finally understood.

"I see... but where did you get this device?"

"Well... Mu Cheng gave it to me."

"Eh? Mu Cheng?"

"Yes. Back then, we were planning how to find Ye Feng, so we prepared a lot of things. I never thought it’d come in handy now."

"Oh... so what do we do next?"

Xie Yuyan handed Shen Mengli a phone. "This has an app that tracks Ye Feng’s location in real time. If anything happens or if there’s anything you need to relay, contact me through this. I’ll be carrying a portable communication device, so you can reach me through its signal too."

With that, Xie Yuyan hurried to the balcony. Once she saw Ye Feng exit the apartment building, she quickly made her way out.

"Alright... stay safe, Yuyan..."

Left alone in the room, Shen Mengli slowly walked to the sofa and sat down. Staring at the signal on the phone, her heart swelled with worry for Ye Feng and Xie Yuyan. She murmured softly, "I hope nothing goes wrong this time..."

Meanwhile, as Ye Feng reached the street, he spotted Ah Fu waiting for him.

"Ye Feng, you’re finally here. President Li has been expecting you. Hurry and get in."

"Ah Fu? Wait!"

Just as Ah Fu was about to open the car door, Ye Feng stopped him.

"Do you know why President Li wants to talk to me?"

"I’m not sure. He suddenly decided today that he wanted to meet with you. But my guess is it’s probably about the young miss."

"About Mu Cheng?"

"Yes. But that’s just my assumption. You’ll have to hear it from President Li himself when we arrive."

"Then... alright."

Ye Feng nodded blankly and finally got into the car. Whatever awaited him, he was ready. This time, he wouldn’t let things spiral out of control like before.