Shi Miao remembered him.
The man was about thirty-five years old and worked at a construction site. Two months ago, he had brought an elderly person in for treatment, and because he couldn’t afford the fees, Shi Miao had softened for a moment and paid two thousand yuan of his medical bills.
This wasn’t the first time Shi Miao had covered a patient’s medical expenses. She just never imagined that this kindness would invite the man’s harassment.
Not far away, a luxury car sat silently parked, like a beast lurking in the dark night.
The man’s gloomy gaze was locked firmly on that slender, thin figure.
Shi Miao looked at Chen Zhigao warily, still cold. “Is there something you need?”
Chen Zhigao stared at Shi Miao’s pretty face. Her skin was smooth like a freshly peeled egg, white and tender—who knew what it would feel like to touch?
Just thinking about it made Chen Zhigao burn with heat. ”Dr. Shi, you take such good care of yourself. Women your age rarely have skin this nice.”
Shi Miao already felt intense discomfort. The way the man looked at her was blatantly obvious.
“Please step aside.”
There weren’t many people around; even passing cars were rare.
Not only did Chen Zhigao not step aside, he took two steps closer, rubbing his hands together. “Come get a late-night snack with me, big brother. Rice balls have no nutrition at all. I’ve also called a few of my buddies over—they all want to meet you…”
“No need. I don’t know you well.” Shi Miao walked right past him toward the road, wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible.
Chen Zhigao was enraged by Shi Miao’s cold attitude. He chased after her in a few strides and grabbed her wrist, his ugliness fully exposed. “Stupid woman, what are you acting all high and mighty for? You took my flowers and my milk tea, and now you’re pretending you don’t know me?”
“I get it now—you look down on me!” Chen Zhigao’s expression twisted. “You look down on me because I’m from the countryside, because I only have an elementary school education, because I haul bricks at a construction site, right?”
“I thought you were an honest woman. I even talked with my mom about marrying you and bringing you home as my wife. I never expected you to be just as materialistic and hypocritical as those women who worship the rich and scorn the poor!”
Shi Miao hadn’t even said anything yet, but Chen Zhigao had already imagined an entire storyline in his head, growing more agitated and angrier as he went on.
The difference in strength between a man and a woman was vast. Shi Miao couldn’t break free no matter how hard she struggled, and her fear and unease grew.
“Let go of me, or I’m calling the police!”
Shi Miao lifted her leg and drove her knee toward the man’s lower body.
Chen Zhigao doubled over in pain.
Shi Miao seized the chance to break free, then slammed the bag in her hand against his head, again and again, panting, “Let me tell you—I never took your flowers, and I gave your milk tea to my coworkers. Who do you think you are? You think giving out cheap little favors means everyone should like you? Delusional man!”
After venting her anger, she turned and ran toward the unmanned convenience store. There were surveillance cameras there, and she might even be able to call the police.
How could Chen Zhigao accept this? He wanted to chase after her, and an even filthier thought even sprouted in his mind—dragging Shi Miao into the bushes and having his way with her. “Dr. Shi, don’t go, I really do like you—ah!”
A blinding burst of light suddenly shot from behind, so bright it made eyes impossible to keep open.
Chen Zhigao instinctively raised a hand to shield his vision, staggering to a stop.
Shi Miao was also startled by the sudden light and froze in place.
The next second, a black Bentley came speeding toward them at a terrifying pace.
It was about to crash into Chen Zhigao—he could even feel the wind kicked up by the front of the car.
Screech—!
A sharp, piercing screech of brakes suddenly tore through the silent night. The tires scraped against the ground, leaving two black marks.
Chen Zhigao was scared out of his wits. His legs gave out and he collapsed on the spot.
The car had appeared out of nowhere—he’d had no time to prepare himself.
The car door opened, and the three-dimensional winged emblem was reflected on the ground, gleaming with cold light.
A pair of polished black leather shoes stepped out first, trouser creases razor-straight, pressed without a single wrinkle.
The door slammed shut with a bang. Song Hanzhou walked straight up to Chen Zhigao, looking down at him with eyes like he was regarding a piece of disgusting garbage.
Chen Zhigao swallowed hard and scrambled up from the ground. “Who are you? What are you acting so high and mighty for?”
Song Hanzhou pulled a business card from the inner pocket of his suit and flicked it at Chen Zhigao’s face, his voice cold without a trace of warmth. “Get lost.”
Chen Zhigao saw the words “Huatuo Capital” on the card. The construction site he worked at was funded by Huatuo Investments.
This man looked young—maybe some kind of manager. Even so, he wasn’t someone a lowly laborer like Chen Zhigao could afford to offend.
“I’m s-sorry, I’ll get lost right now, right now…”
Chen Zhigao fled, scared out of his pants.
Shi Miao stood under the streetlight. Her eyes met Song Hanzhou’s, and neither of them said a word.
The air fell suddenly quiet.
Shi Miao was still holding the dinner she’d bought from the convenience store. With the danger gone, she relaxed all over, feeling lightheaded and unsteady. She didn’t want to think about why Song Hanzhou had appeared here.
Without the feigned politeness of daytime, she silently turned and walked into the shadows.
Behind her, Song Hanzhou’s flat voice drifted over on the evening wind.
“He got one thing right.”
Shi Miao froze. She could clearly feel his gaze settling on her, full of scrutiny and mockery.
“You really are a hypocritical woman.”
Shi Miao slowly turned around, looking at the man standing in front of the car. The headlights were too bright—she couldn’t make out his expression.
“I could never compare to President Song, so chivalrous, so fond of playing the hero rescuing damsels in distress.”
She had called him Second Young Master, Mr. Song, Big Bastard. But this “President Song”—it was the first time she’d ever used it.
Song Hanzhou’s mouth twisted without expression. “Don’t flatter yourself. I was just passing by and decided to clear away some garbage blocking the road.”
That eyesore of “garbage” probably included her too.
Shi Miao’s head ached, her temples throbbing. She didn’t want to argue with him and just kept her head down, walking on.
There it was again—cold violence the moment he got upset.
Song Hanzhou: “Stop.”
Shi Miao pretended not to hear.
Song Hanzhou strode forward on his long legs and was quickly at her side, precisely seizing the woman’s wrist, his voice carrying a resentment even he himself hadn’t noticed.
Like a stone sunk at the bottom of a well for years, finally surfacing.
“Do you really hate seeing me that much, Cheng Shimiao!” Song Hanzhou tightened his grip. “Is it that you don’t want to see me—or that you don’t dare to?”
The words had barely left his mouth when a warm, soft body suddenly crashed into his arms.
The fragrance and softness rushing toward him instantly enveloped Song Hanzhou.
All his anger, all his accusations, froze in that moment—then crumbled to nothing.
Song Hanzhou’s body went rigid, maintaining the cold hardness on his face as he said through slightly gritted teeth, “Cheng Shimiao, don’t think that doing this will make me forgive everything you’ve done. I will never—”
His voice cut off abruptly.
Song Hanzhou lowered his gaze and saw that Shi Miao’s eyes were closed, her cheeks flushed with a sickly pallor of fever, her breathing rapid and faint.
She had fainted.
Song Hanzhou’s heart clenched sharply.
Her forehead was frighteningly hot, her head resting weakly against his shoulder, her body still sliding downward.
Song Hanzhou reached out in time to wrap an arm around her waist, his other hand cradling the back of her head. Carefully, he drew her up a little, his fingers trembling slightly.
From a distance, in the halo of the streetlight, the two figures leaning against each other looked just like a couple locked in an intimate embrace.
The night was deep and dark, the evening wind sweeping up fallen leaves with a soft rustle.
A barely audible sigh dissolved into the silent night.