C26 His Online Name Was Ye

"Alright, I need to head back now. Goodbye, Teacher Zhan." Xiong Miao nodded, feeling the warmth in Zhan Zifeng's words that softened the chill of the night.

"Hold on a second."

Turning around, Xiong Miao saw Zhan Zifeng removing his coat and approaching her.

He placed the coat over her shoulders, its fabric still holding the warmth of his body, enveloping Xiong Miao in its embrace.

Xiong Miao was taken aback, "Teacher Zhan, I really shouldn't."

How could she possibly wear his coat?

"You're shivering with cold; just wear it for now and return it when you get the chance. Let me drive you home," Zhan Zifeng offered, his eyes twinkling with kindness.

"I can just grab a taxi," Xiong Miao protested, still feeling awkward.

"Don't worry about it. I'm free right now, and I'd rather leave that dull party sooner rather than later."

Xiong Miao found herself unable to decline.

But she couldn't let Zhan Zifeng come to her place, nor could she reveal the existence of her six little ones.

Back in her school days, she had kept her child a secret from everyone who knew her.

Now, with Zhan Zifeng being part of the Zhan family, it was even more crucial to keep the children a secret.

If he found out, wouldn't that mean Zhan Yeling would know too?

She couldn't afford to take any chances.

So she gave the name of a different neighborhood.

It was a neighborhood she passed on her way home. Zhan Zifeng could drop her there, and she could take a taxi the rest of the way.

Zhan Zifeng drove, while Xiong Miao sat quietly in the back seat.

Their relationship had always been that of teacher and student, but Xiong Miao had never been particularly warm to Zhan Zifeng, even less so now that she knew of his connection to the Zhan family.

To pass the time, she pulled out her phone.

A "ding" signaled an incoming text message from an unknown number.

Normally, Xiong Miao would ignore messages from strangers, but on impulse, she opened it this time.

"Add my WeChat, my phone number is the same as my WeChat ID."

The text message was concise, yet it carried a commanding tone.

Why did this style seem so familiar?

Xiong Miao blinked twice and obediently added the contact on WeChat.

The name that appeared was: Night.

Night?

Could it be Zhan Yeling?

Driven by curiosity, Xiong Miao sent a friend request.

Almost instantly, a new chat window popped up on her WeChat: I am now your friend, let's chat.

The way WeChat notified her was quite astonishing.

As Xiong Miao was looking at the chat window, a notification for a money transfer appeared. The sender had transferred money to her.

The first digit was a two, followed by four zeros.

Goodness, just for adding a friend, she received a transfer of 20,000 yuan!

What on earth!

Xiong Miao was momentarily confused. Then she remembered that Zhan Yeling had offered her twenty thousand yuan to attend a banquet as his date.

Hadn't she said she would only take 2,500 yuan?

To her, the 20,000 yuan was a degrading figure, the exact amount Duan Hongjie had offered for her body.

But the 2,500 yuan was an honest tip earned through her labor!

All she wanted was to reclaim the two thousand five hundred yuan that Zhan Yeling had discarded.

Xiong Miao didn't accept the transfer.

Instead, she entered the figure 2,500 into the chat box.

Ready to send, she felt it was too plain and added a smiley emoji.

That seemed better, so she hit send.

She watched her phone intently, but there was no reply.

"Xiong Miao..."

A gentle male voice filled the car.