Chapter 68

"Brother Feng, aren't you coming to practice? Teacher Xia has instructed us to go through the process one last time, as the exam is next week."

Chu Yuan, dressed in a black combat uniform, was putting on his holographic goggles for actual combat when he turned around and saw Ye Feng, dressed in a school uniform, sitting idly on the monument at the entrance to the physical fitness assessment combat exercise, playing games.

"Mind your own business, practice your skills." Ye Feng's finger movements were lightning fast, dominating the game.

Li Xiao, who was already fully armed, chuckled and said, "You talk too much. Our Brother Feng doesn't need to practice at all. What's the point of a perfect scorer practicing? If it weren't for the timed training cards before the exam, Brother Feng might not even have come."

This week, apart from the necessary academic classes, the most scheduled activities every day are practical exercises. Class 3 is using the exercise field for this class, and the other students have already gone in one after another.

Feng Xiao gave the props inside the combat suit one last check. "Cheng Mo, hurry up!"

Cheng Mo calmly raised his bracelet. "No rush, I'll set a timer."

"You're so slow, it takes you twenty minutes to put on your gear." Feng Xiao said, and went in first.

"drop!"

Just as Cheng Mo raised his wristband, his communication device rang.

"Hey Uncle, where are you going? Oh, Ye Feng is next to me, I'll ask him if he wants to come along."

After hanging up the call, Cheng Mo, who had been dawdling until the very end, checked his equipment and took two steps toward the standee. "Old Ye, my uncle invited me to the old capital. Do you want to come along?"

"Why did you suddenly decide to go to that place?" Ye Feng asked without looking up. "Who were you with?"

“My uncle said that he was with Anna, Anna’s new boyfriend Lin Xiang, Lin Keli, Xia Xia and Teacher Xin, the same group of people who hang out together in their office.”

What kind of event is this? Why are there so many people?

Ye Feng paused. Based on his understanding of Chi Xia, she wouldn't get involved in such a large group trip. It was more likely that the cheerful and outgoing Anna would drag Chi Xia, who was trying to keep a low profile, along. Ye Feng looked up and relaxed his brows. "Let's go."

Cheng Mo replied to his uncle's message and went inside as well.

The exercise began, lasting a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 2 hours. Cheng Mo was the last to enter, calmly and skillfully completing all the tasks, emerging covered in sweat. He scored full marks on all tasks, with a time of 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 52 seconds.

When Cheng Mo came out, Ye Feng had already clocked out and left, but left a message for him. Cheng Mo went to the bathhouse to find someone and take a shower. After Cheng Mo, Feng Xiao and Tong Yue entered the bathhouse one after the other.

When they met near the flower shop by the side gate of the college, Chi Xia was dumbfounded—

After finishing their drills, the boys walked arm in arm, chatting and laughing, toward the flower shop across the street. Ye Feng walked in the middle, casually dealing with Feng Xiao and Cheng Mo, who were talking to him the whole time. Tong Yue walked quietly beside Cheng Mo, smiling as she looked at the teachers waiting ahead.

Lin Keli was meeting Anna's new boyfriend for the first time, gossiping about something, when she suddenly saw the boys walking towards her and froze. "What's going on? We said we were only taking Cheng Mo out to play, how come there's a whole group? Exams are next week, if we take them out to have fun, what if they fail and burn out? We can't be responsible for that, can we?"

Cheng Yang only invited Cheng Mo, since he was his own nephew and he could take care of him himself. He hadn't expected so many people to come. He wasn't particularly interested in these kinds of activities anyway, and now he covered the lower half of his face in frustration, saying, "We've gone too far. Maybe we shouldn't go."

Anna hooked her arm around Lin Xiang's and bumped Cheng Yang's shoulder with a laugh. "You're dreaming. If you can't speak properly, then shut up." As she spoke, she whistled at the boys. "They're all in the same class. Maybe they heard Cheng Mo say he was going to play, so they came along. We used to form gangs like that when we were in school. They're here, so it's more fun with more people."

Lin Keli rolled her eyes at Anna. "The others are one thing, but look at all these people who have come. The Yu family, the Cheng family, the Feng family, and the Feng family are all rich. Any one of them could shake the New Territories. Let alone if they all come together, who can afford to pay for any damages they might cause? Let's send them all back quickly."

Chi Xia noticed that when Lin Xiang saw the young masters opposite him, his expression became slightly unnatural for a moment, but he quickly adjusted and lowered his eyes slightly.

This may not have been his intention, but it was an unconscious behavior, a professional instinct, to avoid people or things that attract too much attention and to distance himself from the crowd.

They were all from Class 3. As their homeroom teacher, Chi Xia stepped forward to greet them. After the boys greeted her first, Chi Xia said calmly, "I'm not taking you. Go home and take the exam on time next Monday."

The teenagers looked at each other and smiled, seemingly expecting this outcome.

However, the group finished the exercise first and had already come up with a plan while chatting in the shower. Cheng Mo pointed to his uncle Cheng Yang and said, "Look, he's the one who called me."

After saying that, Cheng Mo walked towards his uncle. Tong Yue's bracelet vibrated, and when he looked up, he saw a familiar car stop in the alley near the flower shop. He smiled and walked towards the car, "My brother is here. I'm going with my brother."

Before Chi Xia could react, Ye Feng pulled Feng Xiao into his arms and said, "I'm an adult, I'll take Feng Xiao with me."

Anna leaned on Lin Xiang's shoulder, laughing uncontrollably. "See? The kid knew he'd be stopped by you old fogies, so he came prepared with his guardian. Let's go, stop dawdling, I'm starving."

Xin Ran's bracelet rang, and he took two steps to the side to answer it.

Chi Xia walked towards Feng Xu's car. When Feng Xu saw her coming, he got out of the car and said, "Tong Yue said she was going to the old capital with her classmates, and I was worried about her, so I came along."

Chi Xia glanced at Tong Yue, who was already sitting in the passenger seat with his seatbelt fastened, and said, "I'm not going out to play."

Feng Xu's eyes were gentle, as if he couldn't take his eyes off Chi Xia once he saw her. "I know, I'll go to the warehouse with you then."

The temperature in the old capital was much lower than in the new territory. Chi Xia saw the black leather jacket hanging on Feng Xu's seat, which clearly indicated that the other party had made a decision, so she didn't say anything more. "Okay."

Feng Xu glanced at the group of people over there. "Would you like to ride in my car?"

Tong Yue rolled down the car window and shouted happily, "Teacher, come on in quickly!"

Chi Xia nodded, "I'll go tell them."

Xun Jiang also arrived. Xin Ran got into Xun Jiang's car, Feng Xu and Chi Xiatong took another car, Cheng Yang took Lin Keli and Cheng Mo, Anna and Lin Xiang led the way in another car, and Ye Feng called a bodyguard/driver to take him and Feng Xiao to bring up the rear.

And so, the five cars lined up and got on the highway to the old capital.

Anna quickly created a group chat for a weekend trip to the old capital, added everyone who was going with her that day, and then posted a long list of two-day itineraries for the old capital, asking for everyone's opinions.

This was something she did in her spare time today. I have to say, Anna did a great job planning. Considering that some time would be spent on the road, she only arranged three attractions: the Unnamed City, also known as the Palace That Never Sleeps, the Seed Mountain of the Old Capital, and then the Qingye Plain on the way back.

Anna posted in the group: Does anyone have any better suggestions?

The bottom line is blank.

Anna was satisfied: "Then it's settled."

Feng Xu was driving, and Tong Yue, who was sitting next to him, happily relayed the message and responded on behalf of their car.

Once on the highway, with the windows closed, the advantages of a luxury car were its comfort and powerful air conditioning, making it not feel stuffy at all. Feng Xu glanced at Chi Xia in the rearview mirror and asked, "What are your plans?"

Tong Yue was confused and turned to look at his brother with a frown. "Brother, who are you asking about? My teacher?"

Feng Xu: "You can hang out with your classmates this time, while your teacher and I have other plans."

Tong Yue: "Can't I be with you? But I want to be with you."

Feng Xu shook his head slightly, "No, you can't go where we're going."

Tong Yue: "Isn't that dangerous? But if it is, taking me with you can reduce the risk by half, right?"

Chi Xia didn't want the two brothers to bicker in the car, so she interrupted, "Tong Yue, you'll be going hiking with Ye Feng and the others tomorrow. I'll guarantee your brother's safety."

Tong Yue was still worried, so she looked at Chi Xia again and said, "Teacher, I can help."

Chi Xia: "I know, but I want you to stay with Ye Feng and the others. Pay close attention to Lin Xiang, who is also Anna's boyfriend. If anything seems unusual, discuss it with Ye Feng immediately."

Tong Yue: "Anna's boyfriend? That tall, handsome guy? I didn't look closely, is there something wrong with him?"

Chi Xia: "The ringleader who caused trouble at Old Madam Cheng's birthday banquet last time is surnamed Xu, and he is Lin Xiang's colleague."

Tong Yue's eyes widened, and her hand unconsciously tightened around the seatbelt. "How did someone like that become Teacher Anna's boyfriend?"

Chi Xia said calmly, "They're just employees working for their own masters. As long as he behaves himself and plays the role of Anna's boyfriend, I don't plan to touch him."

Hearing Chi Xia's words, Feng Xu frowned. "Bai Yu, who was persecuted by them, is still in ACU under special care. What kind of credibility and conscience do these people have? Or are they only getting close to Teacher Anna for another purpose? You..."

From Feng Xu's perspective, he is an open-minded businessman, armed with ideals and a spirit of saving lives. He cannot understand what principles or bottom line a person who would harm others and disregard human life for money could possibly have.

But he swallowed his words halfway through, because the other side that Chi Xia had shown seemed to have no clear black-and-white distinction. Behind her was an endless abyss, but she did not escape the abyss; she even stood above the abyss and looked down.

It was precisely this kind of Chi Xia that captivated him.

Seeing the awkwardness between the two, Tong Yue chuckled and said, "Since the teacher has assigned me a task, I will definitely complete it well."

Feng Xu looked at Chi Xia in the rearview mirror and asked, "Is there any danger?"

Chi Xia: "I've seen the bodyguard Ye Feng brought. He's the second-in-command of the Yu family's guard team. With him around, everything will be fine."

Feng Xu: "Chi Xia, I'm not..."

Chi Xia interrupted, "It's okay, I understand."

Tong Yue glanced at the two of them discreetly. With his "keen eyes," it wasn't hard to see his brother's feelings for his teacher. Each time they met, the feelings deepened. From the initial curious inquiries to the awkward avoidance later, and now the direct expression, it was all very obvious.

Feng Xu softened his tone, "You haven't told me about our operation yet."

Chi Xia: "Tonight, the basement of Weiming City is a mixed bag. Let's go together. Tomorrow, they'll go hiking, and we'll go to the warehouse. Xin Ran will join us then, and we'll meet up on Qingye Plain."

Feng Xu glanced at Chi Xia's thin work clothes in the rearview mirror and said, "Whatever you say. It's getting a bit chilly in the old capital now that it's autumn. How about we go buy some clothes first?"

"drop!"

Anna just happened to send a message in the group chat.

Tong Yue pointed and said, "Teacher Anna said that there's a street where we're going to eat, and we'll go shopping there later."

"drop!"

Chi Xia's bracelet also beeped, and then a notification flashed that her salary had been deposited into her account. Chi Xia opened it and saw that her basic salary plus various allowances and subsidies totaled 19,350, which was not bad.

Chi Xia posted a message in the group: I got paid, I'm treating everyone tonight, thank you all for taking care of this newbie.

The screen was flooded with various emojis. Feng Xu switched to driving mode and fiddled with the wristband a few times.

"drop!"

Chi Xia's bracelet rang again, indicating that 100,000 yuan had been transferred to her account. "President Feng, why did you transfer money to me?"

Feng Xu smiled and said, "Shopping, please buy one outfit for me and one for Tong Yue, thank you."