Chapter 158: Did She Miss Me?

Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Did She Miss Me?

Last time at her house, she had held him and cried just like this. Perhaps because Zhang Yun had come to her rescue during both of her breakdowns, Yang Xiaoyun had truly come to trust him. He stroked her hair gently, unsure of how to comfort her.

During their previous encounter, they had both been scantily clad, but this time, the layers of clothing between them kept any inappropriate thoughts at bay.

"Am I dreaming? This can’t be real," Yang Xiaoyun voiced her disbelief after crying for a while.

"You’re not dreaming," Zhang Yun said, reaching out to gently pinch her cheek.

Although he didn’t dare pinch the spot he actually wanted to, being able to pinch the cheek of Yang Xiaoyun—his former substitute teacher—felt like an unbelievable teenage dream come true.

Feeling a slight sting, she stopped crying. "Oh no, I’ve got your clothes all dirty..."

Zhang Yun wiped her face with a tissue and made a show of inspecting his shirt. "It’s fine. It’s just tears. You won’t be able to tell once it dries. Now, if there was snot..."

Yang Xiaoyun quickly sniffled, terrified that she might actually have a runny nose. "Do I look awful?"

Zhang Yun chuckled. "When a beautiful woman cries, she still looks stunning. What’s the phrase again? A weeping beauty."

Yang Xiaoyun shot him a feigned glare. "So young, yet such a smooth talker."

"Am I smooth?" Zhang Yun licked his lips, as if tasting his own words to see if they were oily.

His playful teasing helped Yang Xiaoyun relax a bit. She took a deep breath. "Why are you here?"

It still felt too surreal. She pulled Zhang Yun down to sit beside her and pinched his cheek. Only when she felt the very real flesh did she believe he was actually there in person.

"Well... it’s a huge coincidence for me too. But not as crazy as you think..."

"I don’t understand... What do you mean by coincidence and crazy?" Yang Xiaoyun asked, thoroughly confused.

"Don’t misunderstand, I wasn’t stalking you."

"That’s not what I meant..." she quickly shook her head.

She really hadn’t thought that, but she just couldn’t figure out how Zhang Yun, who lived all the way back in Tianxin Village, had suddenly dropped out of the sky to save her in her greatest time of need. Even if he were her silent guardian angel, he couldn’t have crossed thousands of miles in an instant.

"Short of stalking you all the way here, it really would be impossible to know which hotel and room you were staying in. But the truth is... I happened to run into Tang Zhiwei by coincidence and followed them here," Zhang Yun explained briefly.

At the mention of Tang Zhiwei, a wave of disgust washed over Yang Xiaoyun. She no longer harbored a single shred of affection for that man. To think she had naively believed he was bringing their child to see her, only for him to bring his mistress to humiliate her! Just moments ago, Tang Zhiwei had been the first to grab her hair! But the second Zhang Yun arrived, he had taken it upon himself to beat up the mistress!

"That bastard is less than human..."

"Let go of the past and start your new life. You don’t need to be involved with someone like that anymore. Constantly fighting over the child will only bring more pain, so just let them be."

Since Zhang Yun didn’t even have a girlfriend himself, it was easy for him to say such things without truly understanding the pain. However, from his perspective, there really was no need for her to have any further contact with Tang Zhiwei’s family.

Yang Xiaoyun fell silent for a moment before saying softly, "Thank you. Thank you for caring about me. You must have hated running into them, yet you followed them out of concern for me... And thank you for your advice. Even though you’re too young, I think you make a valid point."

"I’m not small!" Zhang Yun coughed awkwardly.

Yang Xiaoyun chuckled. "I meant you’re young in age."

Zhang Yun widened his eyes, feigning innocence. "I was saying that I’m not young in age either. What did you think I meant?"

Yang Xiaoyun glared at him. "Doing that on purpose, huh? Don’t you know how to respect your teachers?"

"You’re not that much older than me anyway, and you were the one who told me to just call you ’Sister’." Zhang Yun smiled.

A faint blush instantly crept up Yang Xiaoyun’s cheeks. The fact that this brat had specifically emphasized she wasn’t much older "in age" was definitely a veiled joke implying she was quite large in other areas.

"Back to business. You made that woman’s nose bleed earlier. Will she be okay?"

Zhang Yun didn’t mention that he had actually broken her nose. Instead, he simply smiled. "For a creature that bleeds for a week without dying, a little nosebleed is nothing. If I didn’t draw some blood, she wouldn’t have learned her lesson!"

"A creature that bleeds for a week without dying... pfft!" Yang Xiaoyun rolled her eyes.

"Let’s not talk about those two anymore. Let’s get to my business! I heard Tang Zhiwei say you sprained your ankle?" Zhang Yun pulled a bottle of medicinal oil from his pocket and squatted down.

Yang Xiaoyun stared at him in a daze and whispered, "You’re so thoughtful, so sweet..."

She had already taken off her shoes and socks while in the hotel room, and one of her ankles was slightly swollen.

Zhang Yun poured some medicinal oil into his palm, rested her foot on his knee, and began to gently rub the injured area.

"I don’t know much about massages, but let’s see if this oil helps soothe the muscles and improve circulation."

"Thank you..." The dark despair that had clouded Yang Xiaoyun’s mind had completely vanished. Her sprained ankle didn’t even matter anymore.

"Why did you come to the big city? And you’re dressed so handsomely. Are you attending a banquet?"

"No, I came yesterday to run some errands. I was originally just going to walk around today..." Zhang Yun replied as he massaged her ankle, only to suddenly realize they were in quite an awkward position!

Yang Xiaoyun was sitting on the edge of the bed while he squatted in front of her. Resting her injured foot on his knee had inadvertently propped up the hem of her skirt...

Although his current angle didn’t grant him a direct view of anything, it was like a slightly ajar door, tempting him to step closer, push it open a little wider, or lean over for a peek.

Since Zhang Yun couldn’t use too much force to begin with, he had only been gently rubbing the oil in. But now that inappropriate thoughts had entered his mind, his gentle ministrations suddenly felt more like he was fondling her!

However... as he caressed Yang Xiaoyun’s foot, Zhang Yun inexplicably found himself thinking of another pair of beautiful feet!

He wondered, "How is Mingruo doing? Did she go eat breakfast alone, or did she just go straight home in a fit of anger? What time did she go to sleep last night? Did they manage to stabilize the situation? Will Ouyang Qilin have any backup plans? If there’s another attack, will that security guard, Zhen Wei, be able to protect her? Is she... missing me?"

Zhang Yun smiled bitterly to himself. Despite his constant attempts to remain rational, it was inevitable. The experiences he shared with Ouyang Mingruo were things an ordinary person might not encounter in a lifetime. Naturally, they left a much stronger and more profound impact than the repetitive events of daily life. Earlier, he had intentionally used this misunderstanding to disappoint Ouyang Mingruo so she would stop pestering him in the future. Yet, rather than feeling a sense of relief, he was instead left with a lingering feeling of loss...

"What’s wrong?" Yang Xiaoyun asked, noticing a sudden dip in Zhang Yun’s mood as they talked about his life.

Zhang Yun snapped back to reality and chuckled. "Well..." He pointed at the propped-up hem of her skirt. "This makes me want to look, but I don’t dare. It’s just too awkward!"

Yang Xiaoyun stared at him blankly. He was just embarrassed? Even though she suspected it couldn’t be that simple, she didn’t overthink it, given the undeniable situation right in front of them.

As a mature woman rather than a naive teenage girl, her reaction was naturally different. She immediately reached out, but instead of pulling her skirt down, she tugged it open just a bit more.

"You want to look? Why don’t you dare?"