The tall man’s face was shrouded in the shadows of the light as he looked at her, without agreeing.
Qin Shuzhi’s heart, which had just barely relaxed, tightened again.
She understood people’s reluctance to get involved for the sake of a stranger, but her hand hurt so much right now, and she was so tired—she really couldn’t run anymore.
If those two caught her again, her fate would be miserable.
“Please, I’ll just stay for a moment, then I’ll leave right away, okay?”
The woman’s pleading voice trembled with tears.
Shi Yuanxing snapped back to attention, his gaze finally settling on her in detail.
Her hair was disheveled, the collar of her dress torn open, revealing a patch of fair skin. Beneath, her delicate bare feet were exposed—she didn’t even have shoes on.
His gaze flickered to her left hand, which she kept clutching. Shi Yuanxing’s eyes darkened. “Your hand is injured?”
Qin Shuzhi followed his gaze and only then realized that her left arm had been cut with a deep, long gash, blood seeping out.
It was better not to look—now that she saw it, it hurt even more.
“Come inside with me.”
Shi Yuanxing led her into the house and took out a first-aid kit to treat her wound urgently.
“Sir, could I borrow your phone? I want to call the police.”
Shi Yuanxing, still tending to her wound, pulled out his phone from his pocket and handed it to her.
Qin Shuzhi immediately dialed the police and explained the situation.
“Your wound looks like it was pierced by sharp, rusty iron. It’s quite deep—if it’s not professionally treated, it could get infected.” Shi Yuanxing looked at her. “Let me take you to the hospital first.”
She hadn’t expected him to be willing to help, and Qin Shuzhi felt both surprised and grateful.
“…Alright, thank you.”
Shi Yuanxing glanced at her, then quickly looked away. “Wait a moment.”
Qin Shuzhi watched him go into the inner room, and when he came back out, he was holding an elderly woman’s shawl and a pair of men’s slippers.
“This is all I have. You… make do with it?”
Qin Shuzhi looked down at her torn collar and bare feet, then looked up at him with a grateful smile. “This is already more than enough. Thank you.”
Just as her wound was being treated at the hospital, Shi Yuanxing received a call from the police station, saying the two men involved had been brought in and that Qin Shuzhi needed to come give a statement.
So Shi Yuanxing drove Qin Shuzhi to the police station.
The police had recovered her bag and phone, but only one of her high heels was found.
As for the two men—
There happened to be surveillance footage of the incident. The entire process of them harassing Qin Shuzhi and pushing her down the slope had been captured on camera, leaving them no room to deny it.
They had been drunk, and late at night in that kind of environment, seeing a pretty girl alone had stirred evil intentions—a crime of opportunity.
Now, sobered up by fear in the police station, they kept apologizing, begging Qin Shuzhi to forgive them and settle out of court.
Qin Shuzhi had zero tolerance for such acts of violence against women. She refused the settlement and requested that the police punish them to the fullest extent of the law.
Stepping out of the police station, Qin Shuzhi stood by the roadside and suddenly looked up, silently gazing at the stars in the night sky.
“What time is it now?”
She asked softly.
Shi Yuanxing glanced at his phone. “Almost midnight.”
Qin Shuzhi’s long lashes fluttered as she looked down at herself.
She had dressed up beautifully tonight, intending to go out—but look at her now—
She was draped in a gray, dark-patterned old lady’s shawl, wearing a pair of oversized men’s slippers, with her left arm wrapped in gauze.
She looked utterly disheveled, as miserable as could be.
At that moment, she finally broke down.
Seeing her suddenly crouch down and cover her face as she wept, Shi Yuanxing was taken aback for a moment, then quickly bent down to ask, “Does your wound hurt?”
Qin Shuzhi buried her face in her arms and shook her head as she cried.
Shi Yuanxing said, “Then… what’s wrong with you?”
“Today is my 25th birthday, yet I’m spending it so miserably…”
Her sobbing voice came through from between her arms:
“On the night of my birthday, I was ditched by my boyfriend, went through a breakup, ran into a hooligan, ended up in the police station, and even hurt my hand—who else in this world could have a worse birthday than me… wuwu…”
Qin Shuzhi cried for a long time, and only when she had vented enough did she wipe away her tears and lift her head.
But when she looked around, there was no one beside her.
Oh no.
She had cried away all the kind people.
The emotions Qin Shuzhi had barely managed to compose collapsed again.
She couldn’t help but cover her face and cry once more…
After a while.
“Alright, stop crying.”
The man’s voice came from beside her ear. Qin Shuzhi paused, then abruptly looked up to see Shi Yuanxing holding a piece of cake in his hand, gazing down at her.
“That cake shop across the street happened to delay its closing time tonight.”
He pointed to the cake shop across the road. “And it just so happened there was still one slice of strawberry cake left.”
He crouched down and held the triangular slice of cake out to her. “Happy birthday.”
Qin Shuzhi’s damp lashes trembled slightly as she stared at him in a daze.
“All those bad things you went through tonight—none of it was your fault. Why ruin your birthday over those people and things?”
Hearing this, Qin Shuzhi’s heart trembled, and she felt what he said made perfect sense.
Shi Yuanxing led her over to a roadside bench and had her sit down, then stuck a candle into the cake and lit it with a lighter.
After that, he raised his wrist to check the time, then held the cake up with both hands in front of Qin Shuzhi.
“There are still nine minutes left. Little birthday girl of 25, care to make a wish?”
Qin Shuzhi looked at the cake with the lit candle, then glanced at the man. Feeling warmth in her heart, she smiled and nodded, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and made a wish.
After making her wish, she opened her eyes and looked up at the man. “Thank you for giving me a birthday cake.”
Shi Yuanxing looked at her. The surroundings were somewhat dim, and by the candlelight, her delicate features looked exquisite and beautiful. Because she had just been crying, the tip of her nose was flushed red, and those peach-blossom eyes seemed washed clean by water, glistening and bright.
Unlike the radiant charm she had when he saw her two years ago, at this moment, her face carried a kind of shattered, poignant beauty.
He withdrew the pity from his gaze, glanced at the candle, and reminded her gently, “You haven’t blown out the candle yet.”
Oh, right.
After making a wish, you have to blow out the candle.
Qin Shuzhi lowered her head and blew out the flame.
The man removed the candle and handed her the fork. “Go ahead and eat.”
“Thank you.”
Qin Shuzhi took the cake, scooped up a bite, and put it in her mouth.
The sweetness of the cream and cake spread through her mouth, and she instantly felt much better.
She hadn’t expected that after going through such a terrible ordeal, she could still enjoy a bite of her own birthday cake.
Noticing a small white fork resting at the base of the cake, she scooped up a spoonful of cake with it, then offered it to the man beside her.
Inviting him, she said, “You have some too.”
Shi Yuanxing was a little surprised, but he still reached out to take the fork without hesitation, a gentle smile spreading across his face. “Thank you.”
Qin Shuzhi looked at him, momentarily stunned.
Just now she had been in a terrible state, her mind preoccupied with the troubles of the evening. It seemed that only at this moment did she truly take notice of this man’s appearance.
Under the gentle glow of the streetlamp, she could clearly see his face—smooth in contour, handsome and refined.
His eyes were deep, his nose straight and striking, his brow bone prominent. His features could be said to be so handsome that there was not a single flaw to be found.
Especially when he smiled—he became even more attractive.
Seeing him look over, Qin Shuzhi smiled and said, “I should be the one thanking you. Thank you for spending my birthday with me.”
At this moment, she felt that perhaps this evening wasn’t entirely terrible after all. There was still a little… bit of good fortune in it.
At least—
When she had been at her most helpless, she had met a kind person and received a birthday cake.
In the last ten minutes of her twenty-fifth birthday, there was someone who spent them happily with her.
The cake wasn’t large, so Shi Yuanxing didn’t take much of the girl’s share.
But on top was a strawberry cut in half, and Qin Shuzhi shared one piece with him.
The two of them shared a single strawberry.
After finishing the cake, Shi Yuanxing drove Qin Shuzhi back to her residence.
In the car, he watched until she had safely entered the residential complex before withdrawing his gaze—yet a trace of anger rose in his eyes.
Just what kind of scumbag was her boyfriend?
He had abandoned her on her birthday and left her in such a remote place late at night without a care.
He lifted his gaze once more toward where she had disappeared, his eyes deep with thought.
A phone ringtone sounded in the car. He lowered his head to glance at the caller ID, then answered.
“Mr. Shi, that batch of goods has already flowed into the underground market in Country T.”
A shadow of darkness flickered across Shi Yuanxing’s eyes as he said in a low voice, “Keep a close watch. I’ll come over tonight.”