"Have you sorted out your work affairs?" Zhu Yaya tried hard to divert her attention.
"Not much yet." Yan Heng's eyes darkened. "During this period, you need to be a little careful and pay attention to your safety."
A sweet sorrow welled up in Zhu Yaya's heart; Yan Heng really resembled Zhu Jianjun a bit now. "I know."
Yan Heng looked around and lowered his voice. "Did Duan Zong come looking for you this morning?"
Speaking of this, Zhu Yaya felt very helpless. "He did. Ah! This damn, boundless charm of mine!"
Then, Zhu Yaya noticed Yan Heng's expression become very subtle, and she felt a little embarrassed. "What's wrong? I was just being a bit narcissistic just now."
Yan Heng stayed silent for a moment before saying softly, "It's nothing. Stay away from Duan Zong. He is very dangerous."
Zhu Yaya just assumed he was jealous and gave him a reassuring smile. "Understood. I will. Don't worry!"
Looking down at Zhu Yaya's grinning face, Yan Heng knew she didn't take it to heart. He sighed slightly, thinking, forget it, he would protect her anyway. It was better for her not to know about these things.
After saying goodbye to Zhu Yaya, Yan Heng walked upstairs towards Senior Class 27. After climbing a few flights of stairs, he sensed someone watching him and quickly locked onto the person's location.
It was Duan Zong.
He leaned against the handrail of the fourth-floor corridor, looking down at Yan Heng on the stairs with a gentle smile on his face.
When Yan Heng saw him, his eyes narrowed dangerously, and the cold glint in them deepened.
"Don't come to Daffodil."
"Duan Zong has his eyes on you."
"He won't let it go easily."
"Protect the people you care about well; be careful he might strike from there."
...
Bai Peng's words from the morning seemed to echo in Yan Heng's ears again. Yan Heng's left hand clenched into a tight fist.
His face revealed nothing; expressionless, he continued up the stairs, silently passing by Duan Zong.
Just as the two were about to brush past each other, Duan Zong reached out and stopped Yan Heng. In his hand was a photograph.
Yan Heng looked down and cast a cold glance at the photo, but his gaze became fixed.
It was a photo of Zhu Yaya.
It captured Zhu Yaya stalking Xu Chun.
Yan Heng snatched the photo from Duan Zong's hand. "What do you want?"
Duan Zong shrugged with an innocent look. "I didn't do anything. As everyone knows, I really like Junior Zhu." He deliberately emphasized the word "like."
Duan Zong continued gently, "I really want to know everything about the person I like. So, I investigated her. However, Yan Heng, I discovered something very interesting."
He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Yan Heng. "Junior Zhu's previous life trajectory seems very normal, with various archives and records proving her past. But out of curiosity, I went to ask her former elementary school classmates, only to be told they didn't know anyone like Junior Zhu. Some of her relatives and neighbors also have very vague memories of Junior Zhu's childhood."
His voice was gentle, but to Yan Heng's ears, it sounded like a snake soaked in a honey jar. "I also found out that, except for last October, Junior Zhu has no previous photos. Don't you think Junior Zhu seems to have just popped out of nowhere? Moreover, why is she paying so much attention to Xu Chun and Murong Beichen? As Junior Zhu's suitor, I am completely baffled."
At this moment, Yan Heng's pupils shrank sharply. He suddenly recalled the conversation between him and Mother Yan, who had not yet passed away at that time—
"Zhao Jing was pregnant with a child, several months along, and they said it was a girl. But an accident happened, the child was lost, and Zhao Jing's health was ruined, making her unable to ever have children again. Fortunately, Zhu Jianjun is a good man." (Chapter 26 transition)
"So what?" Yan Heng still maintained his calm and breezy appearance on the surface.
Duan Zong's eyes became slightly glazed; he just liked this Yan Heng who remained calm no matter what. He said softly, "I think we should find a quiet place to have a good chat about Junior Zhu. Tonight at ten o'clock, I'll wait for you on the fifth floor of the Daffodil Club."
"I don't know this club."
"Oh, really?" Duan Zong smiled mysteriously. "Then let's meet at the Duxing Building of Scott High School!"
"Alright."
Yan Heng agreed.
Duan Zong smiled in satisfaction. He pulled the photo back from Yan Heng's hand. "Yan Heng, be there or be square."
"Be there or be square." Yan Heng's tone deepened, a cold light shining in his slightly narrowed eyes.
After Duan Zong left, Yan Heng's heart did not calm down.
"Don't you think Junior Zhu seems to have just popped out of nowhere?"
Duan Zong's words kept echoing in his ears.
Yaya.
Yan Heng kept silently repeating Zhu Yaya's name in his heart.
After returning to his class, he remained deep in thought. Finally, he reached out and patted the shoulder of Li Hao, who was sitting in front of him. "Li Hao, can you help me check something?"
Li Hao turned his head, his expression strange. Yan Heng was asking him for help?
"Sure!"
Most of Li Hao's relatives were teachers at Scott High School. Yan Heng asked him to help fetch Zhu Yaya's enrollment records. The records were very detailed, but they happened to be missing Zhu Yaya's one-inch ID photo.
"Oh, this isn't right. Where is Little Junior's one-inch photo? All new students' enrollment records are supposed to have a one-inch photo attached," Li Hao wondered.
Yan Heng's eyes became complex. "Put everything back. Don't mention this to anyone."
"Got it, Brother Yan."
Zhu Yaya knew nothing about this. After classes ended in the afternoon, she ran upstairs to Senior Class 27 again. She sat grinning in the seat next to Yan Heng, her eyes seemingly inadvertently glancing at Murong Beichen and Xu Chun, who were showing off their affection not far away.
Yan Heng observed Zhu Yaya closely, his gaze terrifyingly focused. Zhu Yaya felt a bit unaccustomed to Yan Heng suddenly looking at her like this and blocked her face with her hand. "Brother Yan, what's wrong?"
Yan Heng remained silent, continuously staring at Zhu Yaya. After a while, he reached out his hands and pulled down the hand Zhu Yaya was using to block her face. His eyes were serious, and his hands carefully traced Zhu Yaya's face. Starting from the forehead, his hands slowly slid down, to her eyebrows, eyes, nose...
"Yan Heng, what's wrong?" Zhu Yaya was startled by Yan Heng's sudden action, but out of trust in him, she didn't dodge. Instead, she sat there obediently, looking as if she were at his disposal.
Li Hao's expression looked as if he had been force-fed five pounds of dog food.
Yan Heng's hands were large, and because he often worked, they were a bit rough. As he touched Zhu Yaya's face, even though he kept his movements light, Zhu Yaya still felt a slight tickle on her face. Her face turned completely red, and even her neck was flushed with a faint pink.
Zhu Yaya bit her lip slightly. How could Yan Heng touch her face in front of so many people! It was so embarrassing! Fortunately, most of the people in Senior Class 27 had their attention focused on Murong Beichen and Xu Chun.
