When Chen Zhiye arrived at the police station, Su Muzhi had just finished her statement. She turned around and saw him out of breath, waving at him with a smile.
“Station Chief Chen, over here!”
Chen Zhiye walked over and quickly scanned her from head to toe. Seeing no obvious injuries and no fear on her face, he finally let out a long breath of relief.
“Officers, I’ll leave this matter to you. We’re heading off now.”
After speaking, Su Muzhi pulled Chen Zhiye away.
Only after leaving the police station did she fully relax. The moment her guard dropped, a sharp stomach pain hit her—she had barely eaten anything all day.
Looking at the night market nearby, the evening wind carried food aromas that flooded her senses. She grabbed Chen Zhiye’s arm before he could open the car door.
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat something first.”
Seeing her eager expression, Chen Zhiye couldn’t refuse and followed her to a stall.
“Boss, two bowls of clam noodles. We’re eating here—he’s paying!”
She sat down at a small table in the back, casually wiping it with tissue paper.
Chen Zhiye soon brought the two bowls over. Without even looking at him, she picked up her chopsticks and ate half of it quickly.
Warmth spread through her stomach and limbs before she finally spoke again.
“Earlier today after you left, someone came asking for the feed payment. I covered it first—2,300 total. Remember to transfer it back to me.”
“Also, how are things on your side?”
“The ‘Fly-Not-Good’ one is in much better condition than ‘Can’t See’. Its injuries are lighter and its mental state is better too.”
Su Muzhi immediately realized these were again names he had casually made up, similar to “Can’t See,” but she felt reassured nonetheless.
She then recalled what the police had told her.
“The police said both ‘Fly-Not-Good’ and ‘Can’t See’ were injured by the same group of people today. There’s a high chance they have accomplices. They’ve already targeted our rescue station. We need to be careful recently.”
Chen Zhiye nodded, pushing his empty bowl aside. He looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
“Su Muzhi—”
Someone interrupted him first.
She immediately recognized the voice and lowered her head, refusing to respond.
The person didn’t give up, walking over and grabbing her shoulder to force her to turn around.
A man in a suit stood there, completely out of place in the night market. Beside him was a girl in a pale pink dress standing obediently.
“Su Muzhi, didn’t you hear us? Is this how your parents raised you?”
Su Jingzhou spoke impatiently.
Su Zhizhi tugged his sleeve softly.
“Brother, don’t scold her. She’s probably embarrassed seeing her sister out with her boyfriend.”
Her eyes carried undisguised mockery.
Su Jingzhou, oblivious, nodded and turned to Su Muzhi with disappointment.
“When are you going to be as sensible as your sister? And you even found such an embarrassing boyfriend.”
From beginning to end, Su Muzhi kept eating calmly, as if they weren’t even talking about her.
Instead, Chen Zhiye stood up.
“What’s wrong with my appearance?”
He hadn’t even done anything wrong—just a bit dirty from work.
But before anything could escalate, Su Jingzhou’s confidence visibly shrank under Chen Zhiye’s presence.
Just then, Su Muzhi finished her meal. She stood up, looking down at Su Zhizhi, then at the timid Su Jingzhou, and let out a cold laugh.
“With your narrow worldview, seeing a man and woman together means they must be a couple. Fine—then I’ll learn from you. You two must be a couple too. What a match. You stink together.”
“You—!”
Su Jingzhou couldn’t even finish before being silenced by Chen Zhiye’s cold stare.
Su Zhizhi immediately switched tactics, tearing up within three seconds.
“Sister, how can you talk like that? Mom and Dad would be heartbroken if they saw you like this after leaving home…”
“I’m an orphan. What parents are you talking about? I don’t dare recognize them—I might end up in debt again.”
Her tone was full of sarcasm.
Su Zhizhi tried to grab her sleeve again, but Su Muzhi slapped her hand away. She staggered back dramatically as if injured.
Enraged, Su Jingzhou suddenly swung his hand toward her face.
The slap landed before she could react—sharp pain exploded across her right cheek.
The sound drew the attention of everyone around.
For a moment, she froze. Tears welled up uncontrollably.
Her first instinct was to strike back—but she forced herself to stop.
She had suffered losses like this too many times before. This time, she couldn’t give them any leverage.
Chen Zhiye hung up his call and immediately stepped in, shielding her behind him and grabbing Su Jingzhou’s wrist.
“Call the police.”
Su Muzhi gritted her teeth and said it clearly.
The words enraged Su Jingzhou even further, but before he could strike again, Chen Zhiye casually threw him aside with overwhelming force.
Su Zhizhi panicked.
“Don’t call the police! It was just a moment of impulse—this is family, we shouldn’t involve the police!”
But Su Muzhi didn’t even look at her.
“Say whatever you want to say. Tell it to the police.”
The officers arrived quickly and took everyone back to the station.
During the wait, Chen Zhiye somehow found an ice pack wrapped in a towel and handed it to her.
“It’s clean. Use this—it’ll help.”
She tried to take it, but her hands were still shaking. With a sigh, he placed it against her face himself.
“Forget it. Don’t move. I’ll hold it for you.”
After calming down, she even managed a bitter joke.
“Our rescue station really is cursed. First day on the job, Eldest Princess put me in my place. Second day I went to the police station twice and got slapped.”
“On your first day, saving Eldest Princess was actually a good start.”
Chen Zhiye tried to lighten the mood.
Though he didn’t know their exact relationship, he could clearly hear their hostility toward her.
She twitched her lips.
If Eldest Princess heard that, it would probably be furious.
Thankfully it didn’t talk like Blackie. Otherwise, she couldn’t imagine what kind of chaos Chen Zhiye would be dealing with.