A police officer walked over to Chen Zhiye and Su Muzhi with a form in hand and patiently explained:
“Su Jingzhou wants to settle this privately. My suggestion is that you agree to a settlement. Even if you insist on pursuing the matter, he’ll only be detained for a few days at most. You might as well take some compensation. Think it over carefully.”
“We’ll settle! We’ll settle!”
Neither Su Muzhi nor Chen Zhiye had spoken, but a lavishly dressed noblewoman suddenly rushed over, shouting frantically.
The moment Su Muzhi saw her, her entire body began trembling uncontrollably. Her hands slowly clenched into fists.
Tears streamed down her face.
She had sworn long ago that she would never shed another tear for that family, yet tonight she had broken that promise twice.
Choking back sobs, she said:
“No. I won’t settle.”
Only then did the noblewoman, Li Jin, seem to notice Su Muzhi sitting there. Her surprise quickly turned into fury as she gritted her teeth.
“You again! We gave you that name so you would remember that you only entered our family because of Zhizhi, that you became a daughter of the Su family because of her! You should spend your entire life being grateful to her and grateful to the Su family!
“But what about you? Not only have you bullied her time and again, now you want to send your own brother to jail. You ungrateful little wolf!”
The more Li Jin spoke, the more agitated she became. By the end, she even tried to attack Su Muzhi.
Fortunately, Chen Zhiye and the police reacted quickly and stopped her.
“I’ve already returned all the money. We have nothing to do with each other anymore. You said that yourself.
“There’s absolutely no way I’ll agree to a settlement. I have other things to do, so I’ll leave the rest to the officers.”
After saying that, Su Muzhi turned and walked away without sparing Li Jin a single glance.
Chen Zhiye hurried after her, afraid she might do something rash.
[It hurts…]
A faint voice caught Su Muzhi’s attention.
She suddenly turned around and saw an unfamiliar police officer stopping Chen Zhiye.
“Station Chief Chen, what a coincidence. We just got back from raiding Scarface’s hideout. We confiscated a bunch of animal pelts and organs.
“We also found an injured fox and a large bird. We were about to send them to your center, but since you haven’t left yet, that’s perfect. You can take them with you directly.”
Instead of agreeing immediately, Chen Zhiye first walked over to Su Muzhi and asked for her opinion.
“How are you feeling? Want to go take a look? If not, I’ll send them to Old Huang first. I can get you a room for the night and pick you up tomorrow morning.”
“Yes. The animals are more important than my personal problems.”
Having seen Scarface’s cruelty firsthand, Su Muzhi knew exactly what that meant.
The blind eagle and the injured animals were living proof.
She couldn’t let her own troubles delay their rescue.
The unfamiliar officer led them deeper inside.
As they entered a small courtyard, the pained cries in Su Muzhi’s ears became louder and clearer.
With a creak, the door opened.
Su Muzhi and Chen Zhiye finally saw the two animals inside.
A snow-white fox lay trembling on the floor. One of its legs was stained dark red with blood.
Beside it stood a large bird with a hood over its head, one foot tied down.
When the fox saw people enter, it instinctively tried to retreat into a dark corner.
But its injured leg prevented it from moving far.
All it could do was curl itself tighter, desperately seeking a shred of security.
The hooded bird, however, reacted very differently.
Hearing people arrive, it showed no fear at all. Instead, it seemed eager to approach them.
Seeing this, the fox couldn’t help warning it.
[Idiot, are you stupid? You can’t even see them, and you’re already trying to get close. You don’t even know whether they’re good or bad!]
[You’re the stupid one. I can feel it. Good people came. And it’s definitely a beautiful lady, hehe!]
Su Muzhi raised an eyebrow.
This was the first time she had encountered such a shamelessly flirtatious animal.
[You’re insane!]
The fox cursed and stopped paying attention to the foolish bird, shrinking farther into the shadows.
Chen Zhiye stepped forward to examine the fox’s injury.
Meanwhile, Su Muzhi was more curious about what kind of bird could say something like that.
Just as she took a step forward, the police officer warned her:
“Be careful. Quite a few of our officers have already been attacked by it.”
Su Muzhi gave him a reassuring look.
She refused to believe this perverted bird was actually dangerous.
Without hesitation, she reached out and removed its hood.
[Hehehe! It really is a beautiful lady!]
[Pretty lady! Cuddles!]
The bird immediately began drooling the moment it saw Su Muzhi.
A long string of saliva dripped onto the floor.
Then it tilted its head and started rubbing against her affectionately.
Before it could get any closer, Chen Zhiye pulled Su Muzhi behind him.
“Careful. It’s a vulture. They can be aggressive.”
Su Muzhi still wanted to pat its head, but Chen Zhiye firmly refused.
Left with no choice, she turned her attention back to the fox.
After all, she couldn’t exactly tell him that the vulture was only aggressive because it was a shameless flirt.
Who would believe that?
[How dare you stop me from looking at the pretty sister! I’ll teach you a lesson!]
The moment the vulture finished thinking that, it lunged forward and opened its beak, preparing to take a bite out of Chen Zhiye’s leg.
Before Su Muzhi could stop it, Chen Zhiye dodged and casually slapped the bird across the face.
Su Muzhi expected the vulture to become angry or hold a grudge.
Instead, its eyes suddenly became crystal clear, like a newborn child awakening to the world.
All traces of lust disappeared.
[This familiar feeling… this familiar strength… this familiar slap… It’s definitely my dad!]
[Dad! I missed you so much! While you were gone these past two days, I even ate two fewer rats!]
The vulture immediately rushed over and started rubbing itself against Chen Zhiye’s leg.
Startled, Chen Zhiye staggered backward several steps.
“W-What… did I hit it so hard that it went crazy?”
Knowing the whole truth, Su Muzhi stood there dumbfounded.
So animals could have masochistic tendencies too.
The bird had even mistaken Chen Zhiye for its father.
“Maybe it just likes being hit.”
The moment she said that, both the police officer and Chen Zhiye looked at her as if she were the crazy one.
[What a lunatic.]
The neglected fox muttered weakly from the side.
The officer explained the animals’ backgrounds as they walked out.
“According to Scarface, he found this vulture by stealing it from a nest and raised it from the time it hatched. He kept it as a pet.
“As for the fox, they only recently captured it and were planning to contact a buyer.”
The officer then led the two people and the animals outside.
Despite it being the middle of the night, the police station remained lively.
Li Jin was still standing in the lobby, desperately pleading with the staff.
Beside her stood Su Zhizhi, crying so hard she could barely speak.
Su Muzhi only glanced at them briefly before looking away.
Yet that single glance was enough.
It was as if Su Zhizhi had a radar installed.
She immediately turned around.
Fortunately, Chen Zhiye reacted quickly and stepped in front of Su Muzhi.
“Let’s go. Don’t let certain people latch onto you again.”
Su Muzhi looked up at him briefly.
Then she lowered her head and hurried outside.
Only after getting into the car did she softly say:
“Thank you for what you did today.”