"Okay, I need to get going now. Goodbye, Professor Zhan," Xiong Miao nodded. Zhan Zifeng's words added a touch of warmth to the chilly night.
"Wait a minute."
Xiong Miao turned around just in time to see Zhan Zifeng taking off his overcoat and walking towards her.
He draped the overcoat over her. His body heat still lingered on it, enveloping Xiong Miao.
"Professor Zhan," Xiong Miao was flattered. "This isn't good."
How could she wear his coat?
"Look at you, shivering and covered in goosebumps. Just wear it. When you get a chance, you can return it to me. Let me take you home," said Zhan Zifeng, his eyes sparkling with kindness.
"I can take a taxi," Xiong Miao replied, embarrassed.
"No problem, I don't have anything to do right now. And I want to leave that boring banquet early anyway."
Xiong Miao could not refuse.
However, she couldn't let Zhan Zifeng go to her house and definitely couldn't let him know about her six precious ones.
When she was in school, she had kept her children a secret, not letting anyone she knew find out.
And now, knowing Zhan Zifeng was part of the Zhan family, it was even more critical he didn't find out about the children.
If he found out, wouldn't that mean Zhan Yeling would know too? She couldn't take any risks. So, she named a different residential complex.
Zhan Zifeng drove the car, and Xiong Miao sat in the back seat.
Despite their mentor-student relationship, Xiong Miao had always been distant from Zhan Zifeng.
Now, knowing he was from the Zhan family, she felt even more reluctant to speak to him.
Feeling bored, she pulled out her phone to pass the time.
"Ding!" Her phone chimed, signaling an incoming message from an unknown number. Usually, Xiong Miao would ignore any messages from unfamiliar numbers, but this time, for some inexplicable reason, she decided to open it.
"Add me on WeChat. My phone number is my WeChat ID." The message was short and commanding.
The style seemed so familiar... Blinking her eyes twice, Xiong Miao obediently added the sender on WeChat. The search yielded a WeChat username: Ye
Ye? Could it be Zhan Yeling?
Driven by curiosity, Xiong Miao sent a friend request.
Immediately, a new chat box popped up on her WeChat interface: I am now your friend. Let's chat.
Intrigued by WeChat's push notification system, Xiong Miao was staring at the chat box when suddenly, a money transfer notification popped up.
The sender had transferred money to her. The initial figure was two, followed by four zeroes. Oh my gosh, he transferred twenty thousand to her just after becoming friends!
What in the world! Xiong Miao was confused for a moment, then she remembered Zhan Yeling had promised to pay her twenty thousand for attending the banquet as his companion.
Hadn't she mentioned that she only wanted two thousand five hundred?
To her, the figure of twenty thousand was a symbol of humiliation, the blatant price tag Duong Hongjie had put on her body.
The two thousand five hundred, on the other hand, was earned through her hard work, a standard tip!
All she wanted was to get back the two thousand five hundred yuan that Zhan Yeling had casually tossed aside.
Xiong Miao didn't accept the transfer.
Instead, she typed "2500" into the chat box.
Just as she was about to send it, she felt it was too blunt.
So, she added a smiley face emoji.
It seemed better now, and she hit send.
Staring at her phone for quite a while, she saw no response from the other end.
"Xiong Miao..."
Inside the car, a gentle male voice broke the silence.