Caught by Wu Changkong

Lin Chen and Gu Yuena walked side by side onto the street. Before long, they reached Eastsea City's most famous snack street.

It was the busiest time of day, and the entire street was brightly lit.

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

Gu Yuena nodded. Her purple eyes rested quietly on him as she replied, "Anything's fine. You can choose."

Lin Chen led her straight to a stall not far ahead, bought a serving 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 bloomed across her tongue, and her eyes shone with undisguised delight.

The evening breeze stirred his long, loose hair, and the hem of her white skirt swayed gently with each step. Neither of them knew that two figures were following behind.

Tang Wulin scratched his head and lowered his voice to Xie Xie beside him. "Xie Xie, we sneaked out too and followed those two. Isn't that kind of wrong? What if Lin Chen and Gu Yuena catch us? That'd be so awkward."

Xie Xie immediately rolled his eyes, looking utterly indignant. "What's awkward about it? What's wrong with that?"

He pursed his lips and fixed his gaze on the figures walking side by side up ahead, grumbling sourly, "If you ask me, Lin Chen's the one who's out of line. He sneaks out with Gu Yuena to eat and drink his fill, but doesn't bring us along or even tell us. He's choosing romance over friendship."

Tang Wulin looked troubled and tried to dissuade him in a quiet voice. "But they went to all that trouble to sneak out alone. What if Teacher Wu catches us too..."

"Oh, what's there to worry about!" Xie Xie grabbed Tang Wulin by the arm, crouched low, and cautiously followed behind the crowd. "Relax. There's no way Teacher Wu will find out. Besides, we'll keep our distance and won't bother them."

Just then, Lin Chen up ahead seemed to sense someone following them. He casually glanced over his shoulder.

Xie Xie's heart leaped. He hurriedly dragged Tang Wulin into the thick of the crowd, terrified they'd be caught red-handed.

Lin Chen merely turned his gaze away, silently planning to give Xie Xie a good beating later.

Gu Yuena noticed Lin Chen's movement. She stopped and turned her head, a hint of confusion in her purple eyes. "What's wrong, Lin Chen?"

Lin Chen leaned close to her ear. "There are two sneaky characters following us."

Hearing this, Gu Yuena glanced back from the corner of her eye and quickly spotted the two of them in the crowd.

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

"No need." Lin Chen shook his head. "Let's keep looking around and see how long those two plan to follow us."

With that, Lin Chen and Gu Yuena slipped into the crowds surging on either side and soon disappeared into the sea of people.

Xie Xie hid behind the crowd. After a long while without seeing the two of them, he exclaimed inwardly, Oh no, we lost them!

In his anxiety, he forgot all about being discreet. He grabbed Tang Wulin and hurried toward the spot where the two had stopped earlier.

Standing there, Xie Xie looked frantically from side to side, then reached up to scratch his head, his face full of regret.

Tang Wulin, meanwhile, had been lured away by the snacks. His gaze never left the stalls.

Two figures appeared silently behind them.

Lin Chen put a little force into his foot and planted a precise, hard kick on Xie Xie's rear.

"Ow!" Xie Xie lost his balance and staggered forward a few steps. Clutching his backside, he spun around in shock—and found Lin Chen behind him, wearing a faintly amused smile.

And Gu Yuena, whose eyes were blazing with anger.

Tang Wulin turned around, about to ask Xie Xie if he'd bought anything tasty. The moment he saw Lin Chen and Gu Yuena, his eyes widened, and his face was filled with embarrassment.

Xie Xie forced a smile more painful than a sob. "Hey! What a coincidence."

"Yeah, what a coincidence." Lin Chen gave Xie Xie a thorough demonstration of his affection. By the time he was done, Xie Xie's face was black and blue. He stood where he was with his head hanging and his eyes darting around.

Gu Yuena folded her arms across her chest and fixed Xie Xie with a hard stare. Her voice was clearly annoyed as she demanded, "Why were you two secretly following us?"

Xie Xie stammered for a long while without managing to get out a complete sentence. He secretly jabbed Tang Wulin with his elbow, trying to get him to bail him out.

Tang Wulin could only scratch his head awkwardly and quietly tell the whole story.

Seeing this, Xie Xie simply stuck out his chest and cut in, acting as if he were completely justified. "Why else? Lin Chen's just out of line. He's obviously choosing romance over friendship!"

Then he got into character like an award-winning actor: "He sneaks out to go on a date with Gu Yuena and leaves the two of us starving friends behind without so much as a word." He even pretended to wipe away a couple of tears.

Lin Chen's mouth twitched slightly. A faint blush immediately rose to Gu Yuena's cheeks, and she instinctively turned her face away from everyone's gaze.

The tips of Lin Chen's ears also turned faintly red. He glared at Xie Xie. "What nonsense are you spouting? We're just out for a stroll around the snack street."

Seeing them both like that, Xie Xie grew bolder and muttered teasingly, "But it is a date. Otherwise, why leave the two of us behind?"

Tang Wulin stood awkwardly to one side and coughed twice. He could only pray for Xie Xie in silence. Xie Xie, you're going farther and farther down the road to your own doom. I hope you survive.

Lin Chen had originally wanted to give Xie Xie another scolding, but he silently reminded himself, A great mind can bear a boat's worth of trouble. He waved a hand. "Since you're already here, we might as well look around together."

Xie Xie's eyes instantly lit up. All traces of grievance vanished from his face as he sidled up with a grin. "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Tang Wulin also let out a sigh of relief. The awkwardness disappeared from his face, and his gaze drifted toward the fragrant food stalls around them.

Gu Yuena glanced at Xie Xie, who was still making a racket, and pressed her lips together helplessly. In the end, she stayed by Lin Chen's side as they walked.

The group stopped dwelling on the little incident and joined the lively crowd together.

Xie Xie kept looking around as they went, chattering about what he wanted to eat and what he wanted to try. Tang Wulin quietly munched on the skewers in his hand.

While Xie Xie and Tang Wulin eagerly crowded around a grilled squid stall, Gu Yuena spoke softly. "Lin Chen, what if Teacher Wu finds out we snuck out?"

"Don't worry. Teacher Wu must have gone to bed already. We can just sneak back later."

It was already late at night when the four of them finally headed toward the academy.

They avoided the patrolling teachers and crept back into Eastsea Academy.

As soon as they'd crossed the outer gate, Xie Xie couldn't hold it in any longer. He let out a long sigh. "Whew, I ate way too much tonight."

Lin Chen subtly swept his gaze around and kept Gu Yuena close at his side. He looked beyond the school gate, and only after seeing nothing did he finally relax.

When they were almost at the dormitory, Lin Chen watched Gu Yuena's figure gradually fade from view. Just as he was about to go upstairs, he spotted a figure leaning beneath a dim yellow streetlamp in the distance. Ice-blue hair stirred gently in the night breeze, and a pair of eyes watched the three of them in silence.

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