He Yan stayed at the hotel for five days and only dared to return home on Sunday night. When she entered, Liang Yuanze was in the study using the internet. Upon hearing the noise, he came out and leaned against the door with a slight smile on his handsome face, but said, "You brat, you finally remembered to come back?"
She stood at the door without saying a word, her eyes slowly turning red with tears.
Liang Yuanze was taken aback and gave up pretending to be cool. He quickly went to her, hugged her, and gently patted her back, coaxing her softly, "Sweetheart, it's my fault, I was wrong."
The familiar scent, the tender voice, all made He Yan feel at ease, but also made her feel more wronged, her tears uncontrollably streaming down. Liang Yuanze was frightened by her reaction, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumb and asking her concernedly, "What's wrong? Yan Yan, what happened?"
She really wanted to tell him everything, but she didn’t dare, not because she was afraid he would detest her, but because she didn’t want to involve him in danger again. No husband can tolerate his wife suffering such harm and indignity, even as gentle as Liang Yuanze, he couldn't. What would he do? And that bastard Fu Shenxing, how would he deal with him?
He Yan dared not imagine, and even just thinking about it made her tremble with fear. If she had been dragged into the dark hell by Fu Shenxing, she would, in any case, keep Liang Yuanze in the light. With tearful eyes, she tightly embraced her husband's neck and murmured, "I miss you, Yuanze, I just miss you so much."
He missed her too, very much. He had been away from home for more than half a month, and she had been gone for five days since he returned. This was the longest separation since they met, and he felt like he was going crazy with longing. He held her, comforted her, and as his hand caressed her back, it continued downward.
"You've lost weight!" he lamented.
She didn't dare to tell the truth, just giggled foolishly, "I'm dieting."
"Diet my a**!" Liang Yuanze couldn't help but curse, but he was impatiently removing her clothes.
They entangled and stumbled from the hallway, only to collapse on the sofa.
One was passionate, the other almost frantic, and in the end, he had to hold her waist to restrain her. He Yan blushed, sobbing and pleading, "Kiss me, Yuanze, kiss me everywhere, don't leave any place untouched."
She wanted him to kiss her, to expel the traces of those bastards with his breath, to cleanse her soul.
The couple was wild in the middle of the night. The next morning, He Yan found herself sore, her gait unsteady, making Liang Yuanze burst out laughing. He tied his tie, preparing to go out, took a few steps, then turned back to look at her, and with a teasing smile, asked, "Can you still drive? Do you want me to take you to school?"
She momentarily forgot all the sadness and suffering, grabbed a hair band from the side and threw it at him, saying angrily, "Get lost! If you have the guts, come back for another round at night and see who's afraid of who!"
He turned back with a smile, walked to the table, and gave her a long deep kiss, savoring the taste, "The orange juice today isn’t sweet enough, we’ll get it from a different store next time."
"Got it, I’ll remember," she solemnly replied, also reminding him, "Try to come back early tonight, let's go to my parents' for dinner."
After seeing Liang Yuanze off, He Yan drove to school, first reporting her return from leave and then attending a meeting for the student council to arrange the new year's party. Someone mentioned that Xu Chengbo sang well, and the class monitor looked hesitant, "He has a lot of part-time jobs and isn’t very enthusiastic about participating in group activities, I'm afraid he won't agree."
He Yan nodded slowly, jotting down the suggestions made by the student council, and explained for Xu Chengbo, "It may be because he’s too busy, after all, he has several jobs, it's not easy. Tell him to come and talk to me when he has time, I’ll try and speak with him."
The class monitor agreed, and at noon, Xu Chengbo came to the office to find He Yan.
There was nobody else in the office at the time, so she locked the door from the inside and carefully took out two mobile phones, comparing and examining their internal structures. They looked the same, and after careful observation, she basically confirmed that Fu Shenxing hadn't planted any listening devices in her phone, but was controlling it with software.
She had a rough idea in mind and quickly reassembled the phones and turned them back on. Just then, Xu Chengbo's call came in. She was startled at first, but once she saw the caller ID, she breathed a sigh of relief and told him to come directly to the office.
In a short while, Xu Chengbo arrived, but he seemed somewhat unnatural, looking down and asking, "Teacher He, what's the matter?"
Due to her own experience, He Yan was extremely sensitive in her interactions with others, even slightly suspicious, and she quickly noticed Xu Chengbo's unusual demeanor. While talking to him about the New Year's party, she watched his expression closely and suddenly asked when he wasn't paying attention, "How did you get a job so far from the school?"
Xu Chengbo's eyes twitched slightly, and this subtle expression didn't escape He Yan's observation. She probed further, "Is it because of what happened at the Fu's company?"
Xu Chengbo was silent for a moment and replied, "Yes. I don't want to have any contact with the people from that company anymore."
He Yan had always been suspicious of the previous events and, upon hearing his response, she assessed him, "I haven't had the chance to ask you about it yet. What happened with that? Did you know the secretary before?"
"I didn't know her before. She had ordered takeout several times recently, and I delivered it each time. That's how we got acquainted, but I didn't notice anything before. Then suddenly, that day, she made advances on me, which surprised me, so I ran away," Xu Chengbo awkwardly replied.
"You fled in panic," He Yan smiled.
Xu Chengbo couldn't help but laugh too, and his demeanor became much more natural.
He Yan took the opportunity to ask him again, "Did she know that you were a student at our school before this?"
"She probably didn't know, I'm not very sure," Xu Chengbo replied. Perplexed as to why she was asking, he explained further, "Later, someone from the company's security department asked me about my school, and that's when I gave them your number. Teacher He, I didn't mean to cause you trouble."
This was clearly a trap within a trap, with the ultimate target being her, and Xu Chengbo was simply the bait to lure her in. But where did Fu Shenxing find Xu Chengbo and how did he use him? He Yan wondered silently. She smiled and said, "It's nothing, you are my student, and it's natural for you to come to me if you need something. Not a trouble at all."
After pausing for a moment, she casually asked, "Does anyone in the class know that you work at that fast-food restaurant?"
"Many people do," Xu Chengbo replied.
He Yan raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised. "Oh?"
Embarrassed, Xu Chengbo explained, "I often post photos of my work on my social media, so many classmates know that I work as a delivery person. Teacher He, I'm poor, so I have to work multiple jobs to earn money, but I don't think it's embarrassing."
He Yan felt moved and praised him, "Xu Chengbo, you're great."
Suddenly, she realized that Fu Shenxing must have investigated her, and it was inevitable that he would look into the class she was currently teaching. Online investigation was indeed a convenient method, just like how she had previously searched for his information online.
With this in mind, Xu Chengbo might have really been used, or perhaps his acting skills were just that good.
For now, He Yan didn't plan to ask further. She didn't want to raise any suspicions and simply smiled, saying, "Alright, it's nothing. You carry on with your work. By the way, a professor from the management school needs a translator. It's not very difficult, but the pay is good. If you're interested, I can recommend you."
Xu Chengbo was pleasantly surprised, "Can I do it?"
"I think you should be able to," He Yan replied, then added, "So, I'll recommend you, and you can give it a try. How does that sound?"
Xu Chengbo readily agreed and thanked He Yan.
He Yan waved to him with a smile, signaling him to leave quickly, "Go to your class, don't disturb me while I'm working."
Xu Chengbo finally got up and left. When he reached the door, he stopped and turned back to look at her. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Teacher He, you and your spouse have a good relationship, right?"
He Yan was momentarily stunned by his question and instinctively raised her eyebrows, "Hmm?"
Xu Chengbo looked a little awkward and said, "I heard from the girls in our class that your spouse is very handsome. They said you've been in love since high school and got married after a long courtship of about ten years. Everyone admires your relationship."
Not knowing why he was bringing this up, He Yan nodded slowly and said, "Yes."
"I also feel envious when I hear about it," Xu Chengbo spoke a bit aimlessly, took a deep breath, as if gathering courage, and then continued, "I think in today's society, having such a relationship is particularly rare and should be cherished."
"Thank you," she detected an underlying message in his words and slowly withdrew the smile on her face, asking him, "What exactly are you trying to convey?"
Xu Chengbo looked straight at her, with the stubbornness of a young man in his eyes, "Teacher He, I don't think Mr. Fu is a good person."
He Yan was momentarily perplexed and then realized that he must have misunderstood her relationship with Fu Shenxing. She didn't find his almost preachy words offensive; on the contrary, it warmed her heart a bit. This was a stubborn and kind-hearted boy. She gazed silently at him and then said after a long time, "I'm not familiar with Mr. Fu. He is Yu Jia's cousin and I got to know him when he came to the school to arrange for Yu Jia's leave of absence."
"Yu Jia's cousin?" Xu Chengbo's face revealed surprise, "Yu Jia has a cousin like that?"
He Yan felt a jolt and asked him, "Are you familiar with Yu Jia?"
Fu Shenxing used two of her students to get close to her without leaving any traces. It seemed like Xu Chengbo was simply being used, so what about the girl Yu Jia? She didn't believe that he was truly Yu Jia's cousin. How did he persuade her to drop out of school? This was no small matter – was it coercion or enticement?
If she could get to the bottom of this, could it be evidence to expose his true identity in the future?
Xu Chengbo turned back and replied, "Not very familiar."
This answer disappointed He Yan a little.
"However, I did meet her when I was working," Xu Chengbo said halfway, then paused, seeming to hesitate for a moment before continuing, "Teacher He, Yu Jia might have been a hostess at a bar. I don't want to speculate too much, and I'm not certain, but I did bump into her twice."
This unexpected news surprised He Yan, but upon reflection, it seemed quite plausible.
Xu Chengbo didn't know what kind of person Fu Shenxing was, and continued, "If Yu Jia had a cousin like Mr. Fu, how could she have done that? And Mr. Fu wouldn't have allowed it."
He Yan's mind was in disarray and she urgently needed some time alone to carefully consider this whole matter. Moreover, if Xu Chengbo was simply being used by Fu Shenxing, she didn't want to involve him in this matter. She looked at him and said thoughtfully, "Why don't you go back first and not tell anyone about this matter."
"Teacher He, think about it. If Mr. Fu is not Yu Jia's cousin, but pretends to be her cousin to help her with her leave of absence, doesn't that prove that he's not a good person?" Xu Chengbo seemed to be trying hard to convince her that Fu Shenxing was not a good person.
Naturally, He Yan knew that Fu Shenxing was not a good person, he was not just not a good person, but downright despicable. She smiled and said, "I will handle this matter. You don't need to worry about it, just focus on your studies."
Xu Chengbo seemed to want to say something but ultimately closed his mouth and left with his head down.
Throughout the afternoon, He Yan kept thinking about how to investigate Fu Shenxing. There was very little information available online, so she had to start with the real world. But where should she start? With Yu Jia? Would Fu Shenxing notice? Or should she start by investigating Fu Shenxing secretly? But she was being monitored by Fu Shenxing, and her phone would expose all her movements. Any carelessness would alert him.
And if she couldn't do it, who else could she trust without arousing Fu Shenxing's attention and suspicion? For a moment, He Yan was at a loss.
At the end of the workday, she received a call from Fu Shenxing, with a simple request, "Teacher He, accompany me to a social event tonight."
The black car was still parked outside the school. It wasn't until He Yan lifted one leg into the car that she noticed Fu Shenxing was sitting in the back seat as well. She hesitated for a moment, but then just got in.
Fu Shenxing glanced at her and casually threw a paper bag to her, saying, "Change into this."
She opened the bag and found a black evening dress and a pair of black high heels inside. He Yan remained silent, placing the bag between them, then turned to look out at the street scene. The night had descended outside, with flashing neon lights and hurried pedestrians rushing home.