However, Chen Feng showed no expression on his face and didn't even glance at Yin Feng, speaking directly to You Mingxu: "Boss, Ding Xiongwei and several leaders are coming to visit Teacher Yin. They'll be here shortly."
You Mingxu observed that Yin Feng seemed in good spirits—after all, he had been quite energetic during their earlier kiss—so she nodded in agreement. She felt no embarrassment staying here; everyone knew about their complicated relationship. She and Chen Feng prepared several cups of tea together just as Ding Xiongwei and the leaders entered.
You Mingxu stepped aside.
Ding Xiongwei glanced at her with a perfectly measured smile before approaching Yin Feng's bedside with the other leaders.
You Mingxu noticed how well Yin Feng could perform in front of others. Gone was the tsundere demeanor—sometimes cute, sometimes cool, alternating between warmth and aloofness—that he had shown her earlier. Though pale, he now wore an appropriate smile, handling the situation with neither humility nor arrogance, responding with ease.
After the leaders expressed concern about the writer Yin's injuries, they asked several questions about the Punisher. Yin Feng answered each one patiently. As for the fact that the Punisher's leader was his own brother, neither the leaders nor he brought it up, and everyone tactfully avoided the subject.
Before leaving, the leaders noticed You Mingxu—they all knew her—and one said: "Mingxu, take good care of Teacher Yin." Each offered warm smiles.
You Mingxu nodded in acknowledgment.
As they filed out, You Mingxu prepared to see them off when she caught Yin Feng watching her thoughtfully with a slight smile. She thought to herself that with the leaders' explicit endorsement, his pride would surely skyrocket. Deliberately avoiding his gaze, she walked out.
Ding Xiongwei, walking last, asked her: "Back together?" His tone hovered somewhere between pleased and disappointed.
It was rare for Ding Xiongwei to gossip. You Mingxu hummed in response, then decisively added: "We never stopped being together."
Ding Xiongwei gave her an indescribable look.
Then he said: "You need to return to the team tomorrow. With several members injured, we need to wrap up this case and handle other ongoing work. Can you come back to Xiangcheng with me tomorrow?"
You Mingxu paused briefly before immediately replying: "Yes."
After seeing them off, You Mingxu returned to the hospital room to find Yin Feng staring intently at her.
As she approached, a smile finally surfaced on his face. "Your superior, your superior's superior, and your superior's superior's superior all told you... to take good care of me."
So that's what he was gloating about. Just polite formalities.
You Mingxu remained silent for a moment before stroking his cheek. "Lao Ding just said I need to return to Xiangcheng tomorrow for work. I have to go back."
Yin Feng stared at her for several seconds before saying coldly: "You're leaving?"
You Mingxu disliked his tone but restrained herself. "Many team members are injured now. Jing Ping and Xu Mengshan can't leave yet. There's extensive follow-up work for this case, plus other cases. Lao Ding has no one else. I can't not go back. Yin Feng, I'm a police officer."
Yin Feng turned away, presenting only his sharply defined profile.
"With these injuries, I'll need at least a month before I can leave this bed," he said. "Fine, go ahead. I have Chen Feng."
His tone could have frozen water. Had they not been so familiar with each other, You Mingxu would have mistaken him for the Yin Feng who first woke up—that cold, stubborn man.
You Mingxu felt both amused and tender. She took his hand, but he didn't respond.She said, "I'll come see you as soon as I have time. I'll call you."
He let out a light, almost mocking scoff, as if he didn't take her words seriously at all.
You Mingxu leaned closer and whispered, "Ah Feng, you've been acting spoiled with me all day—isn't that enough?"
Yin Feng didn't speak, but the hand holding hers suddenly tightened, and his cold profile flushed crimson once again.
"What did you say?" he slowly ground out through clenched teeth.
You Mingxu gently patted his unusually flushed handsome face and said, "Although I don't know exactly what you're being so stubborn about... call me when you figure it out."
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