"Manager Ou, what a coincidence," Zhong Yun greeted with a smile. The acquaintance was none other than the manager of the Mingzhu Tower, Ou Feng.

"Zhong Yun." Ou Feng quickly realized his loss of composure. He was entertaining someone here, and his female companion was startled by his shriek.

"You go back first, I have something to attend to," Ou Feng whispered to his companion.

"Sir, are you alright?" The restaurant's lobby manager approached, and the security guard at the entrance also glanced over. He had already caused a disturbance to the other guests.

"I'm fine." Ou Feng was indeed an elite figure who had navigated the corporate world; his expression quickly returned to normal. He chuckled, "Just startled to see an old friend who was presumed dead. My apologies for disturbing anyone."

Perhaps because his attitude was sincere enough, the lobby manager gave him a slight warning, "Please be more mindful next time," then waved off the security guard.

Seeing his companion leave, Ou Feng walked over and sat down at Zhong Yun's table, staring intently at him.

"Is there something on my face?" Zhong Yun asked with feigned surprise.

"There are no flowers on your face," Ou Feng shook his head. "However, if anyone saw a person they thought was dead greeting them alive and kicking, I imagine they'd react just as I did."

"Manager Ou, you're being unkind," Zhong Yun pretended to be displeased. "I considered you a friend, and yet you cursed me to death."

Ou Feng wasn't about to be easily fooled. He looked into Zhong Yun's eyes. "If I recall correctly, you should have been on the ill-fated Tongguang."

"You mean that?" Zhong Yun acted enlightened, then grew slightly curious. "Where did you hear about that? Very few people should know."

"Don't concern yourself with how I heard," Ou Feng didn't want to dwell on trivialities. He only wanted to know why Zhong Yun was here. "How did you survive the Tongguang incident?"

Zhong Yun found this somewhat amusing. "Who said I boarded the Tongguang?"

"You didn't board it?" Ou Feng was highly skeptical.

"Mm. No. I did board it," Zhong Yun slapped his forehead.

"Did you or didn't you?" Ou Feng felt intense frustration at his evasiveness, wishing he could grab his neck and force him to tell the truth.

"It was a narrow shave, truly. I had already boarded the ship—who knew such a massive, advanced starcruiser could just vanish," Zhong Yun said with palpable emotion.

"It's all thanks to Yunqi. If I hadn't suddenly received news that she was ill and rushed frantically off the ship to see her, I’d probably be nothing but dust scattered across the vast cosmos now," Zhong Yun's face showed a mix of lingering fear and relief.

Ou Feng finally understood. His meaning was that he had boarded the Tongguang, but then secretly slipped off, thus escaping disaster.

Immediately, a giant question surfaced in his mind: could it really be that coincidental? Furthermore, to abandon such a golden opportunity—to participate in the Star Youth Martial Arts Competition—just because a woman was sick. Securing one of the mere hundred spots in Dawo was incredibly difficult.

It didn't add up, but thinking a little deeper, considering Zhong Yun's age, right in the prime of reckless youth, such actions might be understandable.

Ou Feng then remembered the girl sitting at the table. He looked up, and the first glance brought awe, the second brought shock.

The Princess of the Yang family?

As the General Manager of Mingzhu Tower, he possessed a unique ability: he could recognize anyone he had met. Given the intelligence-gathering capabilities of the Yidao Group, in Mingzhou, anyone of significance could be identified even if they merely brushed past on the street.

The Princess of the Yang family was such a major figure. Although Ou Feng had never met her in person, updated full-body photos were circulated annually. How could he not recognize her?

"Is she your girlfriend?" Ou Feng was deeply practiced in hiding his emotions; despite his inner turmoil, nothing showed on his face.

Zhong Yun beamed with evident pride. "She is my girlfriend."

Ou Feng turned his gaze back to Liu Yunqi. Seeing her eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter and noting her lack of denial, he instantly fell silent.

"You don't know how frantic I was when I heard Yunqi was sick aboard the Tongguang. Yunqi has always been perfectly healthy, never ill before. Heart-stricken, I finally found a chance to slip off before the ship departed. If Yunqi hadn't been only slightly ill, and if I hadn't escaped this catastrophe, wouldn't this be fate?" Zhong Yun continued, seemingly still celebrating his narrow escape from death.

Liu Yunqi, sitting beside him, chimed in. She couldn't let Zhong Yun carry the whole performance alone. "Yes. Later, when Yun and I heard the news of the Tongguang's disaster, we were truly terrified. At first, I blamed him for giving up such an opportunity for me. Now, it seems everything was predetermined by fate."

Speaking of fate, she recalled the moment she heard about the Tongguang crash—the entire world seemed to lose its color, leaving only lonely black and white.

Then, she remembered the instant she suddenly heard Zhong Yun was alive, and the world erupted in color again; she felt as if she had been revived.

In those brief five months, she had tasted the deep agony of separation, living like a walking corpse immersed in memories. If her father hadn't awakened her with the news of Zhong Yun, she didn't know when she would have emerged from her sorrow.

Only now did she realize how deeply she had sunk. She didn't know when she had fallen for him, nor did she care to find out.

"Where have you been for these five months?"

Ou Feng was nearly convinced by Zhong Yun's story. Indeed, if it was the Princess of the Yang family, recalling her devastating beauty, he could understand why Zhong Yun would risk everything to slip off the Tongguang. Still, out of instinct, he pressed for one more detail.

Zhong Yun seemed slightly awkward and murmured, "Well, secretly leaving the team... that seems to violate military law, doesn't it? I was afraid the military would pursue it, so Yunqi and I went to a small island. We didn't even dare tell our parents. We cut off communication, intending to wait until the Tongguang returned before saying anything. We only heard news recently and came back to Mingzhou a few days ago."

Ou Feng nodded. He pieced together the narrative: hearing his girlfriend was sick, he panicked and disregarded everything to jump ship; after she recovered, he realized the gravity of his mistake and hid with her on an island, daring not tell anyone; only five months later did they accidentally hear about the Tongguang's fate, prompting their return to Mingzhou...

Though bizarre, it sounded reasonably logical, perfectly explaining why Zhong Yun was present here. Otherwise, Zhong Yun should have been the media darling, just like that Zhang Xiao.

Yet, for some reason, a deep-seated doubt lingered in Ou Feng's mind.

"Then we certainly must celebrate this," Ou Feng smiled, beckoning a waiter for a bottle of wine and three glasses. He poured one for each of them. "A toast to Zhong Yun escaping death."

Ou Feng was tactful. After finishing his glass, he left, allowing them their private moment. He then hastily returned to his car and used a secure line to report the situation to Zhao Tingjian.

On the other end of the line, Zhao Tingjian was not particularly surprised, merely saying, "I see." He had spoken with Xiao Ruo yesterday; she couldn't keep secrets, and within a few simple questions, he had extracted the truth that Zhong Yun was alive. Now, he finally understood why Zhong Yun was alive.

In truth, Zhong Yun's story wasn't without flaws, but primarily, no one would have expected Zhong Yun to possess an advanced spaceship. Then, with the golden signboard of the Yang family attached, people instinctively hesitated to question authoritative statements. Moreover, they couldn't fathom a reason for Zhong Yun to lie.

Thus, following Yang Yunrong, the two extremely astute figures, Ou Feng and Zhao Tingjian, were also deceived by Zhong Yun.

After lunch, Zhong Yun and Liu Yunqi leaned into each other as they returned to Mingzhu School. Zhong Yun deliberately took paths with fewer people. "I apologize for dragging you out to act as a banner; I hope you aren't angry."

"Why should I be angry?" Liu Yunqi retorted, not waiting for his answer before adding, "It's just that you didn't discuss it with me beforehand, and I almost couldn't keep up with the story."

Zhong Yun shrugged. "I made it up on the spot. Who expected a knowledgeable acquaintance to suddenly appear? Good thing I reacted fast, or we would have exposed ourselves." He looked relieved.

"Your acting is quite good," Liu Yunqi said with a wry smile. "You almost fooled me too."

"Oh? So Yunqi is easily fooled? I always thought you were sharp as a needle, that nothing could escape your notice," Zhong Yun teased.

"Hmph!" Liu Yunqi let out a small, indignant sound. "If you dare lie to me in the future, I'll..." She paused, unable to decide on a suitable punishment.

"You'll do what? Bite me?" Zhong Yun grinned mischievously. "I'll bite you." Seeing his smug look, Liu Yunqi felt a spark of temper and genuinely opened her mouth, revealing pearly white teeth, and gave his ear a gentle nip.

It felt like a jolt of several hundred volts coursed through his body, and Zhong Yun shivered violently. "Alright, you really dared to bite me!" Saying that, he reached out to grab her.

Liu Yunqi gave a light push, and she darted away like a butterfly flitting through blossoms, turning back with a provocative smile. "Stop!" Zhong Yun chased after her.

The quiet path was filled with the cheerful laughter of a man and a woman.

"Caught you!" After running about a hundred meters, Zhong Yun lunged like a fierce tiger, catching Liu Yunqi's arm, then swept her up around the waist, growling fiercely, "Still running?"

"Put me down..." Liu Yunqi, seemingly ticklish, laughed and squirmed in his arms.

"Not letting go." Zhong Yun bared his teeth slightly, moving his hand upward, away from the sensitive curve of her waist.

"Let go of me," Liu Yunqi stopped struggling, her eyes clouded as if veiled in mist, her voice soft and sweet, sending a tingling sensation down Zhong Yun's spine.

"Not letting go," Zhong Yun tightened his grip. "Who told you to bite me?"

"Just biting you, you big rogue," Liu Yunqi again flashed her white teeth.

Zhong Yun gently touched his forehead to hers. Seeing a wooden lounge chair beneath a large tree ahead, he carried Liu Yunqi toward it and settled down.

"What are you doing?" Liu Yunqi blushed, twisting uncomfortably in his hold.

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