67: Goodbye, teachers and students, a crisis is looming!

"Would it burst?"

A strange thought flashed through Ye Chen's mind.

He gave a light cough and shifted his gaze.

Sophie jogged over and stopped in front of him, breathing slightly, her youthful face flushed from the exercise.

"Ye Chen! You're back!"

"The car's paperwork is all done, and the keys and documents are in the car."

"The temporary license plates are on, and the permanent ones will be mailed in a few days."

Ye Chen took them and smiled. "Thanks for your hard work, old classmate."

"It wasn't hard work at all!"

Sophie waved her hands quickly, a smile spreading across her face. "It was my duty! Also... Manager Wang and Lin Mei were taken away by headquarters. I heard they might be prosecuted. Now, my colleagues at the shop are so polite to me..."

As she spoke, her voice gradually lowered, and she twisted the corner of her clothes unconsciously.

"Ye Chen, thank you so much."

"If it weren't for you, I might have been packed up and gone already, unlike now..."

Not only did she not lose her job, but she also became the store manager.

This kindness was too heavy.

Ye Chen saw her unease and smiled. "Don't overthink it; you deserve it. Keep working hard, and I believe you can do it."

"Mm!"

Sophie nodded vigorously.

She suddenly remembered something, lifted her face, her eyes filled with anticipation and a hint of shyness.

"Ye Chen, are you free tonight?"

"I want to treat you to a meal, as a thank you... and to celebrate my 'promotion'?"

"I don't know if you're available?"

Ye Chen checked his watch. "Now is fine, but I'm afraid I'm not free tonight."

Sophie blinked her large eyes.

"To accompany... a girlfriend?"

"No." Ye Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It's work. I drive for the CEO, and I have to be on call after work hours."

"You really are a driver?" Sophie's eyes widened even more.

Ye Chen nodded. "The real deal."

Sophie couldn't help but exclaim.

"To be able to drive for two such impressive CEOs at the same time..."

"You must be someone extraordinary."

Ye Chen smiled and didn't respond, turning the subject instead. "By the way, do you remember our high school homeroom teacher, Teacher Yi Yue?"

They were in the same class and were both students of Yi Yue.

"Of course I remember!"

Sophie nodded immediately, her expression nostalgic. "Teacher Yi Yue was so beautiful and gentle, and she was so good to us. Who in the class didn't like her?"

Ye Chen said, "That's perfect, I'll take you to eat at her restaurant."

"Ah?" Sophie was stunned. "Didn't Teacher Yi Yue marry the principal's son? She opened a restaurant?"

"It's a long story."

Ye Chen opened the car door. "I'll tell you on the way."

Sophie's eyes lit up. "Okay!"

The two got into the car.

Ye Chen drove toward Min Family Private Kitchen, briefly explaining Yi Yue's situation along the way.

After hearing it, Sophie was so angry that her little face turned red and her chest heaved.

"That's too much!"

"I heard before that the old principal had wandering hands and loved to grope female students, but I didn't expect his son to be even worse!"

"Not only is he gay, but he even wanted to give his wife away... What a rotten family!"

Ye Chen didn't say anything, but his expression was subtle.

That was true; they were indeed a rotten family.

If Sophie knew that Zhao Shousong's mother used to "interview" young hunks every few days, her eyes would probably pop out.

The car stopped at the entrance of the restaurant.

In the evening, warm yellow light shone through the glass windows, making the small shop look cozy and peaceful.

Ye Chen brought Sophie and pushed the door open to enter.

Yi Yue had just finished cleaning a table by the window. Hearing the wind chime, she looked up and saw Ye Chen. A gentle smile immediately bloomed on her face. "Ye Chen, you're here..."

Before she finished, her gaze fell on the petite figure beside Ye Chen, and she suddenly froze.

Immediately, surprise burst into her eyes. "Sophie? Is that you, Sophie?"

"Teacher Yi Yue!"

Sophie also recognized that gentle face. She trotted forward, her face full of joy. "It really is you! I've missed you so much!"

Yi Yue looked at her and smiled sweetly.

"It really is Sophie!"

"You've grown so big... I remember you used to sit in the third row by the window, so quiet, and now you're a grown woman!"

Sophie felt a bit embarrassed, her cheeks turning slightly red.

"Teacher, you haven't changed at all! You're still so young and beautiful!"

Yi Yue smiled and shook her head.

"What do you mean I haven't changed? It's been so many years."

"Don't call me Teacher anymore. I'm just a restaurant owner now."

"Order whatever you want to eat today; I'll cook it myself."

Little Ya and her father had left earlier in the afternoon due to some business.

Yi Yue was still staying.

The store had just been taken over, and there weren't many customers, so she wanted to get more familiar with it.

Sophie shook her head quickly and said seriously, "That won't do! I'm treating Ye Chen to this meal today to thank him for helping me so much so that I didn't lose my job!"

Hearing this, Yi Yue turned her beautiful eyes toward Ye Chen.

Ye Chen nodded with a smile.

"Yi Yue, let's do as she says."

"Come sit with us when you're done."

Yi Yue pursed her lips and smiled. "Okay, you two sit down first; I'll go prepare a few signature dishes."

She greeted the two to sit by the window, quickly served some clear tea, and turned into the kitchen.

Watching Yi Yue's busy back, Sophie lowered her voice and asked, "Ye Chen, you and Teacher Yi Yue... your relationship seems very good now?"

She remembered back in school, although Ye Chen's grades were good, he wasn't particularly outstanding, and the relationship between him and Teacher Yi Yue seemed to be just a normal teacher-student bond.

But looking at how they interacted now, it was clearly beyond the ordinary scope.

Especially...

The way Ye Chen called her "Yi Yue" just now was so natural and intimate.

Ye Chen picked up his teacup and was about to speak—

"Bang!"

The restaurant door was rudely burst open!

Five men wearing black tight T-shirts and looking ferocious barged in.

Their gazes were sharp, and without even looking at Ye Chen and Sophie, they headed straight for the kitchen.

Sophie was startled by this scene.

Ye Chen put down his teacup, his expression darkening. "Stop!"

The five men paused, and the buzz-cut man leading them turned his head and glanced at Ye Chen.

Then.

There was no then.

The five continued to barge into the kitchen...

Their target was very clear; they were coming for Yi Yue!

Ye Chen's eyes turned cold, his figure sprang up from his seat like lightning, blocking the five men in one step.

He looked up and said coldly, "I told you to stop, didn't you hear me?"

A fierce glint flashed in the buzz-cut man's eyes. He didn't waste words, stepped forward like an arrow, his right fist whistling with wind, aiming straight for Ye Chen's face!

The other four tacitly spread out half a step, blocking Ye Chen's left and right escape routes.

Their movements were clean and vicious; they were obviously professionally trained thugs, definitely not street hooligans...

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed, his figure sliding sideways like a ghost.

The fist wind grazed his nose tip. He used his left hand to guide the momentum, deflecting the opponent's force, and whipped his right leg out, precisely kicking the buzz-cut man in the abdomen!

"Bang!"

The buzz-cut man groaned, and his whole body flew backward as if hit by a truck, crashing heavily onto the checkout counter at the door!

The menu and pen holder on the counter scattered all over the floor.

The buzz-cut man curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach, unable to get up for a moment.

Seeing this, the other four had fierce looks in their eyes and almost simultaneously drew retractable knives from their lower backs and flicked them open!

"Ye Chen, watch out!" Sophie cried out in alarm.

The kitchen curtain was suddenly ripped open.

Yi Yue rushed out holding a kitchen knife. Upon seeing this scene, her face turned pale with fright. "Who are you people?"

Her voice trembled, but she still braced herself to stand in front of Ye Chen, the kitchen knife in her hand not held very steadily.

Ye Chen felt a warmth in his heart and pulled her behind him. "Yi Yue, stand back, don't get hurt."

Before he finished speaking, four knives had already stabbed from different directions!

The blade light intertwined, blocking Ye Chen's upper, middle, and lower paths.

This group cooperated tacitly, and their strikes were killing moves; they were obviously trying to resolve this quickly, even... willing to kill!

Ye Chen was completely enraged.

They could touch him, but touch those he cared about...

No!

The energy in his body surged, and instead of retreating, he advanced, cutting into the gaps of the blade light like a fish!

His left hand reached out like lightning, gripping the wrist of the knife that stabbed toward his chest first, twisting and snapping it!

"Crack!"

"Ah—!"

Amidst the scream, the man's wrist bent at a strange angle, and the knife dropped to the ground.

Ye Chen took the opportunity to pull him into his embrace and slammed his right elbow hard into his ribs!

Another dull sound of bone cracking, and the man collapsed softly.

Almost simultaneously, the knife wind from behind had arrived!

As if Ye Chen had eyes in the back of his head, he didn't even turn around, delivering a back kick to the side of the attacker's knee.

"Boom!"

The man's leg went weak, and he knelt on the ground, howling while clutching his twisted knee.

The other two saw their companions instantly disabled, their eyes filled with horror, but the knives were already swung, and they couldn't pull back!

Ye Chen's eyes were like ice; he no longer held back in his strikes!

His arms shot out rapidly, grabbing the wrists of the two holding knives, and he pulled them toward the center with great force—

"Thud!"

Two heads collided solidly, making a dull thud.

So much so that.

The two didn't even groan, rolled their eyes back, and collapsed softly onto the ground.

The buzz-cut man in front of the checkout counter saw the situation was bad and struggled to crawl up, but Ye Chen stepped on his neck, pressing him heavily back to the ground.

His face flushed red, breathing became difficult, and fear finally appeared in his eyes.

Ye Chen looked down at him and asked word by word, "Who gave you the guts... to barge into my shop???"