Caught by Wu Changkong

Lin Chen and Gu Yuena walked side by side onto the street, arriving shortly at the most famous snack street in Eastsea City.

It was currently the peak hour for foot traffic, and the entire street was brightly lit.

Lin Chen turned his head to look at Gu Yuena and asked softly, "Is there anything you want to eat?"

Gu Yuena nodded, her purple eyes gazing at him quietly, and replied, "Anything is fine, you choose."

Lin Chen led her straight to a stall not far ahead, bought a portion of crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside fried pork, and handed it to Gu Yuena.

She took a small bite, the savory flavor blooming on her tongue, and an undisguised smile appeared in her eyes.

The evening breeze stirred his loose hair, and her white skirt swayed slightly with her steps, unaware that two figures were following behind them.

Tang Wulin scratched his head and lowered his voice to say to Xie Xie beside him, "Xie Xie, we snuck out too, isn't it a bit bad to follow them? What if Lin Chen and Gu Yuena find out? How awkward that would be."

Xie Xie immediately rolled his eyes, looking righteous and indignant. "Awkward? What's wrong with this?"

He curled his lips, his gaze locked on the figures walking side by side ahead, and grumbled sourly, "If you ask me, Lin Chen is just being uncool. He snuck out with Gu Yuena to enjoy all the good food without bringing us along, not even saying a word. He's putting romance before friendship."

Tang Wulin looked troubled and whispered, "But it was so hard for them to sneak out alone. What if we get caught by Teacher Wu too..."

"Oh, what are you afraid of!" Xie Xie grabbed Tang Wulin's arm, lowered his posture, and carefully followed behind the crowd. "Don't worry, Teacher Wu won't find out. Besides, we're just following from a distance; we won't disturb them."

No sooner had he spoken than Lin Chen, up ahead, seemed to sense someone following and cast a casual glance backward.

Seeing this, Xie Xie felt a jolt in his heart and hurriedly dragged Tang Wulin into the dense crowd, terrified of being caught on the spot.

Lin Chen simply withdrew his gaze calmly, silently calculating that he would have to give Xie Xie a good beating later.

Gu Yuena, beside him, noticed Lin Chen's movement, stopped, and turned her head. With a hint of confusion in her purple eyes, she asked softly, "What is it, Lin Chen?"

Lin Chen leaned into Gu Yuena's ear. "There are two sneaky guys following us behind."

Hearing this, Gu Yuena swept her peripheral vision toward the back and quickly spotted the two of them in the crowd.

Gu Yuena tilted her head slightly and asked softly, "Should we go find them?"

"No need." Lin Chen shook his head. "Let's keep walking and see how long these two intend to follow."

As he finished speaking, Lin Chen and Gu Yuena used the surging crowd on both sides to quickly disappear into the sea of people.

Xie Xie hid behind the crowd, and after not seeing the two for a long time, he exclaimed in his heart, "Oh no, we lost them!"

Anxious, he stopped worrying about being careful, grabbed Tang Wulin, and strode toward the spot where the two had just been standing.

Standing in place, Xie Xie looked left and right, unable to help but reach up and scratch his hair, his face full of annoyance.

Tang Wulin, meanwhile, had his soul snatched away by the snacks, his gaze never leaving the stalls.

Two figures appeared silently behind them.

Lin Chen applied a little force to his feet and kicked Xie Xie squarely in the backside.

"Ouch!" Xie Xie lost his balance, stumbled forward a few steps, and turned back, clutching his rear in shock, only to see Lin Chen standing behind him with a half-smile.

And Gu Yuena, whose eyes were filled with fury.

Tang Wulin, who had turned around to ask Xie Xie to buy something tasty, saw Lin Chen and Gu Yuena and his eyes widened instantly, his face full of embarrassment.

Xie Xie squeezed out a smile uglier than a cry and said, "Hi, what a coincidence."

"It really is quite a coincidence, isn't it?" Lin Chen gave Xie Xie a round of "loving" attention. When it was over, Xie Xie stood there dejectedly with bruises on his face, his eyes darting away.

Gu Yuena stood with her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on Xie Xie, and asked with clear annoyance, "You two, why were you secretly following us?"

Xie Xie stammered for a long time without being able to say a complete sentence; he secretly elbowed Tang Wulin beside him, trying to get him to help smooth things over.

Tang Wulin could only scratch his head awkwardly and whisper the whole truth.

Seeing this, Xie Xie simply stiffened his neck and, with a look of righteous indignation, snatched the conversation back: "It's because Lin Chen is being uncool! It's obvious he's putting romance before friendship!"

He then channeled his inner Oscar-winning actor: "He snuck out to go on a date with Gu Yuena, leaving us two starving friends behind without even a word." He even wiped away a few fake tears.

Lin Chen's mouth twitched slightly, and a faint blush immediately appeared on Gu Yuena's face; she subconsciously turned her head away to avoid everyone's gaze.

Lin Chen's ears also quietly dyed a hint of red as he glared at Xie Xie. "Stop talking nonsense. We're just out to browse the snack street."

Seeing the two like this, Xie Xie gained confidence and muttered, continuing to tease, "It's a date, obviously. Otherwise, why would you leave us behind?"

Tang Wulin stood to the side, coughing awkwardly, and could only pray silently for Xie Xie: "Xie Xie, you are walking further and further down the road to death. I hope you survive."

Lin Chen originally wanted to teach Xie Xie another lesson, but he silently consoled himself, A prime minister's heart can hold a boat. He waved his hand and said, "Since you're already here, let's walk together."

Xie Xie's eyes lit up instantly, the grievance on his face swept away, and he leaned in with a cheeky grin: "Wouldn't it have been better to just say that earlier!"

Tang Wulin beside him also breathed a sigh of relief, the embarrassment fading from his face as his eyes drifted toward the fragrant snack stalls nearby.

Gu Yuena glanced at the still-boisterous Xie Xie, pursed her lips helplessly, and walked on, staying by Lin Chen's side.

The group stopped dwelling on the small interlude and merged into the bustling crowd together.

Xie Xie looked around the whole way, not forgetting to chatter about wanting to eat this and taste that, while Tang Wulin ate a few skewers he was holding.

Taking advantage of Xie Xie and Tang Wulin excitedly crowding in front of a grilled squid stall, Gu Yuena asked softly, "Lin Chen, we snuck out—what if Teacher Wu finds out?"

"Don't worry, Teacher Wu must have been asleep long ago. We'll just sneak back in later, won't we?"

It wasn't until the night was deep that the four of them headed toward the academy.

Dodging the patrolling teachers, they snuck back into Eastsea Academy like thieves.

The moment he stepped through the gate, Xie Xie could no longer hold it in and let out a long, relieved sigh: "Ouch, I ate way too much tonight."

Lin Chen swept his gaze around without changing his expression, shielding Gu Yuena at his side. Only after checking behind the school gate and finding nothing unusual did he finally relax.

As they neared the dormitory, Lin Chen watched Gu Yuena's figure fade into the distance. Just as he was about to head upstairs, he noticed a silhouette leaning under a dim streetlamp in the distance. Icy blue hair fluttered slightly in the night breeze, and those eyes were fixed quietly upon the three of them.

"Teacher Wu." Lin Chen froze in place. Xie Xie's face stiffened instantly, and Tang Wulin, seeing Wu Changkong, muttered: "Brother Lin Chen, Xie Xie, I think we've been caught..."