Chen Feng wanted to comfort Yin Feng but wasn’t sure how to ask—who knew what he’d done to You Mingxu this time? After a thought, he suggested, “Should we invite Miss Yu over to try our new chef’s cooking?”

Before Yin Feng could answer, Tu Ya stood up: “I’ll go pick her up.”

Yin Feng suddenly flared up, saying coldly, “Nobody’s going anywhere. Let’s see how long she can keep this up!”

Dead silence fell.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Yin Feng poured himself another glass and downed it in one go.

Yin Feng rarely got drunk—in all these years, Chen Feng had only seen it happen once or twice. When Yin Feng did get drunk, he’d simply fall asleep, causing no fuss—quite well-behaved actually. He and Tu Ya exchanged glances, both thinking: Let him be.

But unexpectedly, more people came to join the party. Old Nine and Xiao Yan appeared at the study door, peering in. When discovered, they walked in with a smile, saying, “Teacher Yin, how could you drink without inviting us?”

Yin Feng smiled, and Chen Feng added two more glasses. Everyone avoided mentioning You Mingxu. Old Nine talked about his hometown, all smiles. Tu Ya started bragging about his underground fighting days. Soon after, Champion also caught wind of the gathering and, seeing the situation, said, “I have good wine.” Besides being skilled at growing flowers, making drugs, and hacking, he also brewed his wine. His villa had a room full of his homemade rice wine that he usually refused to share.

Old Nine laughed, “Don’t give us anything weird to drink.”

Champion retorted, “Why would I drug a bunch of men? What would be the point?”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Yin Feng laughed too.

If You Mingxu were here, she would see a Yin Feng she’d never seen before. Uninhibited and casual, though smiling, his whole being emanated a coldness, even sharing that same air of decadence as the others.

If she saw this, she would probably just watch him in silence.

Night fell.

Only Old Nine, Tu Ya and Chen Feng remained drinking at the table. Xiao Yan and Champion, the lightweights, had long since passed out.

Yin Feng was the third to fall. Several empty bottles surrounded him as he lay slumped over the table, head buried in his arms, motionless—passed out drunk.

Chen Feng and the others weren’t worried about him at all. Teacher Yin was most docile when drunk; they could just throw him in bed later, and he wouldn’t make a sound.

Chen Feng’s group was also half-drunk. Champion’s homebrew went down smoothly but packed a punch. They were all feeling happy and excited, discussing plans to play hide-and-seek in the garden later.

The three were trading boasts—one talking about how quickly he could cut off ears, another claiming he’d experimented with 42 suicide methods, the third bragging about breaking someone’s spine with one punch…

In the dim night light, a figure slowly raised his head at the table.

“Little Feng…”

Chen Feng, in his daze, felt a shiver run through his body. He looked over and met a pair of crystal-clear eyes filled with hurt. Tu Ya and Old Nine were also stunned, watching Yin Feng stumble to his feet.

“Where is she?” Yin Feng asked, tears almost welling up in his eyes. His hands were tightly clenched into fists, looking both obedient and stubborn.

Even the three old perverts beside him couldn’t handle this shock. Chen Feng gathered his wits, trying to shake off his drowsiness, and tentatively asked, “Teacher Yin? Yu Yingjun?”

The person before them had sensed something. He nodded slightly: “I’m Yu Yingjun, not…” He didn’t finish, suddenly turning and running out of the study.

The remaining three looked at each other in bewilderment. Chen Feng made a quick decision: “After him!”

When they rushed downstairs, they saw Yin Feng had taken a car and sped away. Tu Ya immediately got another car, and the three gave chase.

The destination was obvious.

They quickly followed him to You Mingxu’s residential complex. The multi-million yuan Bentley was left by the roadside, doors wide open, engine still running, but the driver was nowhere to be seen.

Tu Ya hesitated: “Should we go up?”

Chen Feng, now completely sobered by shock, thought for a moment and said, “Let’s wait here for now.”

—

You Mingxu had parted ways with Yin Feng on bad terms today and returned home feeling angry. She didn’t want to argue with him, but the current Yin Feng was even more stubborn than her.

Nothing like before… when she’d just slightly furrowed her brow, Yu Yingjun would immediately give in, terrified of making her unhappy, afraid she wouldn’t want him anymore.

She let out a long internal sigh.

Tomorrow she would meet Luo Yu again—another tough battle to fight. You Mingxu knew she needed to put these messy emotions aside, so she did what she usually did: open her tablet to watch trashy dramas to decompress. Whether it was Yin Feng or Yu Yingjun, they could wait behind the mindless melodrama.

Finally, just as she was achieving mental clarity and focus, she suddenly heard some soft noises at the door. She looked up, completely unalarmed, thinking: Could it be a burglar? Must be blind to dare mess with me.

Interesting.

She waited patiently.

With a “click,” the door opened.

A familiar figure stood in the doorway, backlit, expression unclear.

You Mingxu’s heart skipped a beat, but her voice turned cold: “What are you doing here? Who said you could break into my home?”

“Axu…”

A soft, tearful voice.

You Mingxu felt like she’d been struck by lightning, rendered speechless. She wondered what was happening—was this Yu Yingjun this time? But… maybe it was just that old rogue playing a trick, deliberately toying with her, wanting to make her look foolish.

But that voice, that tone.

She sat there like a statue, watching him approach step by step.

He was still wearing his clothes from earlier but reeked of alcohol. His face was slightly flushed, eyebrows tightly knitted, lips pursed high, hands clenched into fists at his sides, standing straight as a bamboo stalk.

You Mingxu’s tears burst forth: “…Yu Yingjun?”

He nodded vigorously and threw himself at her, embracing her: “Axu… oh, Axu…” He cried, burying his face in the crook of her neck, tears falling onto her pajamas.

You Mingxu’s heart was a chaos of urgency, pain, and confusion, but her body reacted automatically, hugging him back tightly—so tight it hurt them both, yet neither let go. Her voice hoarse, she asked, “What’s happening? What’s going on? You…”

He remained silent, tears still flowing. You Mingxu didn’t know that in his foggy mind, the moment he touched her neck, those intense, long-suppressed emotions seemed to explode. Following his instincts, he began to nibble and suck on her neck, his voice becoming muffled: “Axu… Axu… I’ve missed you so much, I’ve missed you so much…”

You Mingxu buried her face in his shoulder, wiping away tears. His silence at her questions—was it because he didn’t know, or didn’t understand?

Suddenly, Yin Feng’s words echoed in her mind:

“Yu Yingjun was my final escape. An escape from their harm, and also from the true self deep within.”