Chapter 45 Ointment

Chapter 45: Ointment

Cheng Feng's legs felt a bit numb, and he walked with a slight limp as he slowly shuffled to the cafeteria entrance. Looking up, he saw that familiar figure again—Xu Zhiyan was standing near the entrance, looking around as if searching for something.

As soon as she spotted Cheng Feng, she quickly ran over.

"Cheng Feng, you're so late for dinner tonight," she said with a smile. "Is Young Master Shang keeping you very busy?"

Although Cheng Feng was young, he wasn't completely clueless about matters of the heart. Having been a girl in his previous life, he was quite perceptive and had noticed Xu Zhiyan's excessive attention toward him.

Cheng Feng scratched his head and smiled, deciding to be direct.

"Sister Zhiyan, I'm fourteen this year."

Xu Zhiyan's expression instantly froze, her shock no less than if she had seen the sun rising from the west. Her smile didn't even have time to fade, remaining fixed on her face.

She opened her mouth, struggling for a long moment before squeezing out a few words:

"You... you... how are you so young? I... I..."

She had always assumed he was already an adult.

After all, he was so tall, with an upright posture, and his actions and speech seemed mature.

No wonder the English words he was memorizing were from middle school textbooks. No wonder she sometimes felt a childlike air about him. It turned out he wasn't just "looking young for his age"—he actually was young.

Xu Zhiyan wished she could vanish on the spot. Her cheeks burned bright red, and even her ears flushed with embarrassment.

Gritting her teeth, she forced out a strained smile:

"Uh... well, Cheng Feng, have you eaten? Let me treat you to a meal."

Cheng Feng shook his head, reminding her, "No need, the food here is free."

That made it even more awkward.

Xu Zhiyan desperately wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Her fingers tightly clenched the hem of her clothes at her sides, and it took her a long while to finally stammer out:

"Then... uh..."

She pulled out her phone, pretending someone had called her. Glancing at the screen, she seized the opportunity to say to Cheng Feng:

"Cheng Feng, I have something to take care of. That dog is being disobedient again; I need to go check on it. See you tomorrow, bye."

"Goodbye, Sister." Cheng Feng waved at her retreating back.

By the time he entered the cafeteria, the pain in his knees had lessened considerably.

He casually got some food, found a corner seat, quietly finished his meal, and then slowly made his way back to the dormitory.

On the dormitory balcony, Fang Xuran was leaning against the railing, reading a book.

Hearing the door open, he glanced back. Seeing it was Cheng Feng, he put down his book and smiled at him:

"How was school today?"

If he ignored the outrageously expensive lunch that morning and being punished by kneeling by the Young Master in the afternoon, today had actually been quite enjoyable.

Cheng Feng paused: "It was good. The classmates were all quite friendly."

Fang Xuran hummed in acknowledgment.

"At that kind of school, you need to be careful about your privacy. Never tell anyone your background. If someone asks, just make up a reason or simply don't answer."

"Okay." Cheng Feng nodded, thinking to himself that it seemed Brother Ran had also attended a prestigious school before and knew some of the rules there.

Returning to his room, he first took a shower, washed the clothes dirtied by sweat and dust from the day, and hung them on the balcony to dry.

After finishing these tasks, he walked to his desk, spread out his textbooks one by one, and began reviewing what he had learned that day. He also previewed the lessons for tomorrow and completed the assigned exercises. For the problems he couldn't solve, he circled them in red pen, planning to ask the teacher at school tomorrow.

Time quickly passed, and it was already 10 p.m.

The door was gently knocked twice.

Fang Xuran pushed the door open and entered, holding a small jar of ointment.

"For you."

Cheng Feng was taken aback and looked up at him.

"Brother Ran, what is this?"

"Brother Li gave it to you," Fang Xuran placed the ointment on his desk. "He said the Eldest Young Master had Butler Liu send it to you."

Cheng Feng's heart gave a slight jolt, feeling a sense of being unexpectedly honored. He hadn't imagined that someone like the Eldest Young Master would specifically have ointment delivered to him.

Fang Xuran looked at the ointment jar, then at him, his brows slightly furrowing.

"Why would they give you ointment? Are you injured somewhere?"

Cheng Feng nodded, not hiding it: "Young Master Shang punished me by making me kneel today."

Fang Xuran was momentarily stunned, clearly surprised.

He had often heard Sister Caiyun say that Cheng Feng was quite favored by the Young Master and had hardly ever been punished. He hadn't expected that on the very first day of accompanying the Young Master to school, Cheng Feng would suddenly be punished.

He was silent for a few seconds.

"In the future, try not to oppose the Young Master, or you'll suffer a lot."

Cheng Feng knew he meant well and nodded seriously.

"I understand, Brother Ran."

Cheng Feng gently applied the ointment to his knees. A cool sensation spread across his skin, instantly soothing the dull pain that had been there.

He moved his knees a bit, confirming they were no longer so stiff, then sat back down at his desk and read for a while longer.

After putting away his books and stationery, he climbed into bed, sat up against the headboard, and picked up his phone nearby.

As soon as he turned on the screen, he saw a message from Butler Liu.

He opened it—it was the Eldest Young Master's contact information.

He then remembered that Butler Liu had mentioned earlier about sending him the Eldest Young Master's WeChat.

He clicked to add as a friend.

After the "Friend request sent" notification popped up, the screen stayed on the "Waiting for the other party to accept" interface.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

There was no response from the other end.

The Young Master was probably already resting at this hour and definitely wouldn't accept his friend request.

Just as he was about to put his phone down and lie down to sleep, his phone suddenly chimed.

He grabbed his phone and opened it.

"Shang Xu has accepted your friend request."

He clicked on Shang Xu's profile picture—it was a photo of the Young Master.

It must have been taken by someone else. The Young Master was standing beside a large tree, his head slightly bowed as he read a book.

In the photo, he looked much younger than he did now, his cheeks still carrying a hint of baby fat. He was wearing a clean school uniform, full of youthful energy, completely unlike the cold, distant, and intimidating authority he radiated now.

This must have been a photo from a few years ago.

Looking at this slightly youthful photo, Cheng Feng felt a wave of relief for some reason. So the Young Master also had this ordinary, boyish side—maybe he wasn't so scary after all.

Shang Xu still hadn't sent any messages.

Cheng Feng hesitated for a moment, feeling that since the Young Master had helped him, he should at least express his gratitude and show his appreciation. He opened the camera, snapped a picture of his bandaged knee, and sent it over:

"Thank you, Young Master. It already hurts less after applying it."

Not long after, the other side replied with a single word:

Okay.

Cheng Feng stared at the Okay, unsure how to respond for a moment. After thinking it over, he felt that not replying would seem impolite, so he sent a thank-you sticker in return.

Cheng Feng tapped on Shang Xu's profile picture, wanting to check his Moments on WeChat.

But as soon as he entered, he saw it.

The Moments background was also a pure white, pristine, much like the vibe he gave off—cold, restrained, and a bit mysterious.

Did the Young Master have no little everyday things to share? Not even a selfie, a meal, or a complaint?

He shouldn't pry into the Young Master's business. Without dwelling on it further, he exited WeChat, placed his phone by the pillow, and was out like a light.

Early the next morning, before the alarm even rang, Cheng Feng woke up naturally.

Today was his day to work.

After getting ready, he checked the time—the cafeteria was just opening.

He quickly changed his clothes and dashed to the small supermarket next to the cafeteria, picking out a lunchbox that looked fairly sturdy.

He glanced at the price: over fifty yuan.

Cheng Feng's heart sank, and he winced at the price.

He hadn't expected an ordinary lunchbox here to be so expensive, but there was no time to go outside to buy one. If he drove out and back, he would definitely miss the time to take care of the Young Master.

Gritting his teeth, he bought the lunchbox anyway, then rushed to the cafeteria to get the food.

With the lunchbox in one hand and breakfast in the other, he ate his breakfast on the jog back toward the dormitory villa.

His backpack swayed gently with his movements. By the time he arrived, panting, at the entrance of the Young Master's villa, Cai Yun was already standing there.

Cai Yun glanced at the time, then at him, surprised that he was late—after all, he had always arrived earlier than her before.

"Cheng Feng, where did you run off to? You're a minute late today. Did you oversleep?"