Is There a Bug in the Progress

"Thud."

With the sound of a fall, Ye Feng could no longer control his body as he collapsed to the ground.

When Ye Feng realized he had failed to restrain Xie Yuyan's hand, it was already too late. Given Xie Yuyan's abilities, she had probably already...

"Huh? Wh...why...can't I see anything?"

Ye Feng opened his eyes to find complete darkness, and his breathing was unusually labored, as if his face had been buried in a pile of cotton.

Wh...what’s going on? What on earth...

Just as Ye Feng was puzzled, he heard Xie Yuyan’s muffled whimper.

"Mmm..."

"Xie Yuyan? What’s wrong?"

Ye Feng tried to get up from his fallen position, but as he attempted to lift himself, a pair of hands tightly wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer with a force that seemed intent on melting him into her embrace.

"Mmmph! Xie Yuyan, what are you doing? Let go of me!"

Ye Feng struggled fiercely, his hands flailing as he tried to break free from Xie Yuyan’s grip.

"Ah! Wh...where am I?"

It wasn’t until Ye Feng’s hand accidentally brushed against Xie Yuyan’s cheek that her eyes snapped back from the void of darkness.

"Huh? In my arms..."

Xie Yuyan looked down to find Ye Feng tightly locked in her embrace, making muffled sounds.

"Ye Feng? I...I’m sorry! I’ll let you go right now!"

Panicked, Xie Yuyan immediately released her grip, freeing Ye Feng from her arms.

"Phew...phew...phew!"

Ye Feng sat on the floor, gasping for air. If he had been trapped for even a second longer, he might have passed out from suffocation. What on earth could block air so effectively? Did this woman have some kind of handkerchief on her?

Ye Feng glanced over Xie Yuyan’s body but saw no sign of a handkerchief or anything similar. In an instant, he realized what that cotton-like substance had been.

Sinful... truly sinful!

"Xie Yuyan, what were you doing?"

Xie Yuyan looked down at her chest, her face turning red as she covered herself with her hands and averted her gaze. "I...I’m sorry, Ye Feng. I...I don’t know what came over me. I just lost consciousness..."

"Lost consciousness? What exactly happened?"

"I...I don’t know..."

Xie Yuyan hung her head, too ashamed to look at Ye Feng, her heart filled with guilt. All she remembered was feeling furious when she realized Ye Feng carried the scent of another woman, and then she blacked out.

"Sigh... let’s get up first. Let’s sit on the couch and talk, okay?"

"Okay..."

Xie Yuyan nodded numbly, her mind replaying the moment Ye Feng’s face had been buried in her...

Ugh... just thinking about it makes me so embarrassed... but... why is my heart racing so fast?

Ye Feng helped Xie Yuyan up and guided her to the couch, where she sat with her head still bowed in shame.

"Are you okay?"

"I...I’m fine. I think I just... remembered something bad from the past."

Something bad from the past?

Ye Feng thought about it and realized it was possible. After all, Xie Yuyan had once been an assassin, and it was likely she had some unresolved trauma. Perhaps this had been a stress response, but now everything seemed back to normal.

"I see... are you feeling better now? Is there anywhere you’re feeling unwell?"

"Ye Feng..."

I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...

Xie Yuyan’s earlier embarrassment was quickly replaced by tears as Ye Feng’s kind words broke her down.

Why... why are you so good to me... when I was thinking of... of doing something terrible to you... Sob...

"Waaah... Ye Feng..."

Xie Yuyan kept wiping away her unstoppable tears, her heart filled with guilt for deceiving Ye Feng and harboring such inappropriate thoughts.

It seems she’s been through a lot of hardship in the past. I need to help her overcome this mental block, or it could lead to bigger problems later.

Watching Xie Yuyan cry her heart out, Ye Feng silently vowed to help her overcome her psychological struggles. If something like this happened again, he might not be as lucky as he was today.

"It’s okay. I’m here with you now. Everything will get better, right?"

Ye Feng reached out and gently stroked Xie Yuyan’s crimson hair, his warm touch soothing her troubled heart.

"Ye Feng..."

Xie Yuyan called his name softly as she leaned her head on his shoulder, her tears gradually subsiding.

"Pr...promise me... you’ll stay with me... when I need you..."

"I promise."

"Mmm~"

"Ye Feng."

"What is it?"

"Nothing~"

I just want to hear your voice a little longer~

......

That evening, after handling everything, Ye Feng lay quietly in bed, staring at the ceiling lost in thought.

When did this progress bar appear?

Ye Feng looked at Xie Yuyan’s profile in the system, noticing that beneath her 60% progress bar was another one showing 10%. He vaguely remembered not seeing this bar before.

Moreover, the progress bars for Su Yuxin and Li Mucheng were a jumbled mess of code, while Xie Yuyan’s was clear. The system hadn’t given him any explanation for this.

Could it be a bug?

After much deliberation, Ye Feng couldn’t find any clues about this progress bar and decided to treat it as an anomaly for now.

Oh well, I should get some sleep. I have to teach Li Mucheng tomorrow.

As Ye Feng closed his eyes, the image of his face accidentally buried in cotton earlier that day flashed in his mind, causing his cheeks to flush and his heart to itch like a kitten’s scratch.

So sinful, utterly wicked!!!

Meanwhile, Xie Yuyan, who was sleeping on the couch, curled up under the blanket in the dark night, her body trembling slightly. Faint gasps could be heard from her.

"Ye...Ye Feng... I like you... I really like you..."

"Haah... haah..."

Not long after, Xie Yuyan threw off the blanket, a wave of heat escaping as she clutched the jacket Ye Feng had worn during his teaching session earlier that day, trying to infuse it with her scent.

"That should do it... this is what a proper jacket should be like. Those shameless little brats trying to steal my man? Dream on! Once these obstacles are out of the way, I’ll make sure to teach them a lesson. How dare they set their sights on my man at their age? No way!!!"