The others were startled when they saw an unfamiliar woman come up. You Mingxu, with her bare face, thick down jacket, jeans, and sneakers, stood out awkwardly from her surroundings.

Ignoring their appraising looks, she walked straight toward Yin Feng. Each step was measured, neither hurried nor slow, steady and powerful.

Yin Feng looked up at her, suppressing the chaos of emotions that had just surged within him. He pushed away the woman against him and smiled, “Why are you here? I told you I had friends coming over.”

Seeing this, the others backed away. Someone beckoned Lisa over. The surroundings cleared.

You Mingxu asked, “What were you doing just now?”

Yin Feng picked up a nearby wine glass and took a sip, answering, “Just chatting. Since you’re here, join us. Let me introduce you.” He walked over to put his arm around her shoulders.

You Mingxu sneered but didn’t move. As Yin Feng watched her expression, his hand made contact.

Quick as lightning, You Mingxu grabbed his hand and executed an effortless side throw. Yin Feng’s eyes widened in disbelief as he lost his balance, the world spinning—he had been thrown to the ground by a woman! His head hit the floor with a painful thud.

The others jumped in shock, two of them rushing to help him up: “What happened? How did you fall?”

Some who had seen the whole thing stood frozen in amazement.

Yin Feng’s face darkened. This was utterly humiliating. He glared at You Mingxu, shrugging off their helping hands. As he was about to push himself up, the instigator crouched before him.

“You Mingxu, do you know what you’re doing?” Yin Feng growled.

You Mingxu stared at him, lightly patted his face twice—a gesture of utter contempt—and whispered so only he could hear: “Trash.”

Yin Feng’s eyes grew darker.

As You Mingxu stood to leave, Yin Feng got up and grabbed her arm. She shook him off, but he grabbed her again, this time wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her toward him.

You Mingxu’s expression grew even colder. “Do you want to be thrown again in front of everyone?”

His face was smudged with dirt, yet he managed a cold laugh, saying, “Haven’t had enough? How far are you going to take this over someone who means nothing? You Mingxu, know when to stop.”

You Mingxu looked at his face—still handsome, dark, clearly showing traces of impatience. She found it all utterly ironic, too nauseating to even be angry about, finding even looking at him revolting and unnecessary. Yet his arm remained firmly around her waist as if it belonged there.

A sharp “crack” rang out as her palm connected with his face. Everyone around them froze in shock.

He raised his eyes to look at her, red marks quickly appearing on his face, his sinister eyes gathering thick mockery.

“What, looking down on me?” he said softly, “Yet you can’t leave me, neither body nor heart.”

You Mingxu gave a cold laugh, broke free from his grip, and walked away. She heard footsteps behind her—he had abandoned everyone on the balcony to follow her.

Just as they reached the bottom of the balcony, Yin Feng shouted, “Stop her!”

Wei Lan, who had remained in place and likely heard most of what had happened on the balcony, stepped forward to block You Mingxu’s path. He lowered his voice, “Miss Yu, please talk things through with Teacher Yin. He didn’t mean it that way.”

Yin Feng heard this and roared, “Shut up!”

Wei Lan lowered his head.

But how could Wei Lan truly stop You Mingxu? He didn’t dare use real force, and after exchanging a few moves, she slipped past him. She hadn’t expected that this cook had such solid martial arts skills, evident from their brief exchange.

Wei Lan stepped aside, but his interference had given Yin Feng time to catch up with You Mingxu.

You Mingxu couldn’t understand how everything had gone so wrong. Yesterday had been fine, even giving her hope, but today had devolved into this melodramatic farce. Or perhaps, after witnessing that scene and delivering that slap, Yin Feng’s inherently dark and malicious nature had finally surfaced.

She ignored him completely, striding downstairs. He followed in silence, their rapid steps creating quite a commotion, causing several people at the bottom of the stairs to peek out.

You Mingxu didn’t know what he wanted. If he loved playing around, and couldn’t bear to give up his vast forest of options, then he should go play. After being beaten twice, if he was so furious, he shouldn’t follow—have some dignity! What was this supposed to be? Yin Feng, you bastard, fooling around outside while refusing to let me go? How shameless can you be?

By the time they reached the second-floor landing, her anger had nearly reached its breaking point. She suddenly stopped and turned to give him a cold look. Before she knew it, Yin Feng’s hand was against the wall beside her, and he dove in for a forceful kiss.

He bit her lips savagely, his arm tight around her waist, desperately pulling her against him. You Mingxu’s eyes blazed red as she bit back, the taste of blood spreading between them. A wicked gleam flashed in his eyes, and he held her tighter, kissing her more fiercely with undisguised desire.

“Trust me,” he whispered softly in her ear.

You Mingxu froze.

Feeling her stop struggling, he released her but kept both hands pressed against the wall beside her head. “Go to the study. Give me ten minutes to explain. With everything between us, you’re ready to leave me just like this?”

You Mingxu stared at him coldly as his gaze became deep and unreadable again. She turned and entered the study, with Yin Feng following. At the doorway, he looked back—Wei Lan was on the stairs, Xiao Yan had returned, and Chen Feng, Tu Ya, Lao Jiu, and Guan Jun were all at the bottom of the stairs. Their commotion had been heard by everyone.

Yin Feng said, “Guan Jun, bring some tea.”

Everyone froze.

When Guan Jun caught Yin Feng’s dark, gloomy gaze, for some reason, it excited him. He said, “Sure,” and turned back to his room to get his things.

Yin Feng slowly closed the door, his face extremely cold, even carrying a hint of ruthlessness.

Chen Feng and the others finally came out from the first floor, with Wei Lan hurrying down to join them. Chen Feng frowned and asked, “What just happened?”

Wei Lan, always reserved and cautious, considered carefully before answering, “You Mingxu suddenly arrived and saw Teacher Yin embracing a girl. She threw him to the ground and slapped him. But Teacher Yin wouldn’t let her leave.”

They all exchanged looks.

Everyone knew Yin Feng’s proud nature—when had a woman ever treated him like this, let alone slapped him in public? This was serious.

Thinking of Yin Feng asking Guan Jun to prepare tea—what good things could Guan Jun possibly have? And Yin Feng’s expression just now, when had he ever been this angry? Chen Feng said, “This is bad. Something’s going to happen.”

Tu Ya mumbled, “I… I’ll try to talk to Teacher Yin.”

Lao Jiu stopped him, saying coldly, “You think you can persuade him? Who are you to persuade him? Let Teacher Yin do what he wants. Whether in the past or now, he’s always revolved around this woman. I knew something would happen one day.”

Xiao Yan’s face was also flushed as she asked, “What will Guan Jun give her to drink? Don’t let it go too far.”