As expected, Song Cili heard her call.
He looked toward the source of the voice, but with the crowd moving about, he couldn’t clearly make out who it was.
“Comrade Song Cili, it’s me, Su Meier!”
At that moment, Su Meier only felt that the crowd was in the way and preventing her from calling for help.
“It’s Little Sister Su, Brother Song!”
This time, Shen Jianyang heard her clearly.
No wonder the voice had sounded strangely familiar.
“Brother Song, let’s go take a look.”
He reached out to pull the person beside him, only to realize that Song Cili had already started walking toward the commotion.
“Wait for me, Brother Song!”
He hurried after him.
“You two just wait to rot in prison! My husband is here!”
Su Meier shouted threateningly at the men.
The triangular-eyed man’s expression immediately tightened.
He hadn’t expected this young woman to have a husband.
Things suddenly seemed much more troublesome.
“You shameless woman! Sneaking around behind my back with another man! I’ll beat you to death!”
As he spoke, he lunged toward Su Meier.
Before he could get close, a large hand with distinct knuckles grabbed him and lifted him off the ground.
“Who is it? Who dares touch me?!”
The man struggled and roared.
“Husband, these two blocked us in that alley and tried to rob us and take advantage of us.
If I hadn’t been strong enough to kick them away and escape, I wouldn’t even be able to see you right now.”
Her soft voice carried a mischievous edge.
Meanwhile, Song Cili continued holding the shifty-eyed man aloft with one hand.
Tilting his head slightly, he looked at Su Meier.
His thin lips parted slowly.
“Husband?”
His cool voice revealed neither anger nor amusement.
Su Meier immediately leaned closer and whispered,
“It was an emergency. Please forgive me. Let’s deal with him first.”
When he remained silent, she gritted her teeth.
“Fine. At worst, I’ll only take half of the snacks in your room.”
“No need.”
He truly didn’t care about the snacks.
On the other side, Shen Jianyang had no time to be surprised by her choice of address.
He had already subdued the second suspicious-looking thug with his bare hands.
A moment later, he reported,
“Brother Song, he confessed. This guy is a drifter who moves from city to city committing petty crimes.
Judging by how experienced he is, this definitely isn’t his first time.”
Shen Jianyang threw the bruised and battered skinny man onto the ground.
The man immediately knelt and begged for mercy.
“Sirs, we won’t do it again. Please let us go this once.”
Today they had truly kicked an iron plate.
Not only had they failed, but now they were going to be arrested.
Suddenly, something occurred to him.
His eyes lit up.
“We were encouraged by someone! Yes, someone put us up to it!
A woman came to us and said these two girls were rich, telling us to rob them. That’s why we got greedy.”
He hurriedly continued,
“But those girls were so beautiful that Boss got distracted by lust.
That’s how everything ended up like this.”
His tone was full of grievance.
If they had simply robbed them and run, they wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state.
“Wang Deshun! Shut up!”
The triangular-eyed man bellowed furiously.
Wang Deshun ignored him.
“Boss, just give in already. Stop being stubborn.”
He didn’t want to be beaten anymore.
It hurt too much.
“Boss and I really won’t do it again. We’ll turn over a new leaf. Please spare us!”
He cried pitifully, tears and snot running down his face, making it seem as though he were the victim.
The surrounding crowd was immediately dissatisfied.
“These two criminals can’t be let off!”
“Lock them up for several years!”
“They can’t be allowed to keep harming people!”
Everyone still felt shaken by what they had witnessed.
If the victims had been their own wives or daughters, what then?
“Better yet, execute them! Society doesn’t need scum like this!”
Several people took advantage of the crowd and secretly kicked the men a few more times.
Song Cili gave Shen Jianyang a glance.
Shen Jianyang immediately understood and nodded.
Before long, he had tied up the skinny man.
“Wait here. I’ll go get the police.”
Realizing there was no longer any chance of escaping punishment, the man being held suddenly tried to fight back and flee.
But Song Cili seemed to have anticipated the move.
With a powerful motion, he slammed the man onto the ground.
Before the thug could react, another kick sent him flying.
Only after the man was completely unable to get up did Song Cili calmly begin straightening his shirt.
Seeing the criminals fully subdued, Tong Youyi finally relaxed.
Only then did she remember what Su Meier had called him earlier.
With uncertainty, she asked,
“Meier, when did you get married?
And you didn’t even tell me?
Am I still your best friend or not?”
Su Meier glanced around at the crowd and lowered her voice.
“Youyi, it’s a long story. It’s not what you think.
Once this is over, I’ll explain everything.”
Hearing the explanation, Tong Youyi immediately smiled brightly.
“I knew it. You wouldn’t lie to me.”
Then she suddenly put on a stern expression.
“When you do get married, don’t forget me. Otherwise, I’ll be angry.”
“Alright, alright. There isn’t even a groom yet. You’ll have to wait a long time.”
Tong Youyi thought she had touched on a painful subject and wisely dropped the topic.
Meanwhile, Su Meier thought about everyone she knew.
She hadn’t offended anyone except Zheng Qingning, whom she had recently cut ties with.
Whether it was really her still needed verification.
She walked over to the immobilized criminal and lightly kicked him.
“Hey, answer me.
Was the woman who told you to rob us wearing a white shirt, black cotton trousers, and two shoulder-length braids?”
Tong Youyi immediately pulled her backward.
“Are you crazy? Why are you standing so close to him? It’s dangerous!”
“It’s fine. He’s already been beaten flat.”
Su Meier reassured her.
Then Tong Youyi suddenly realized who that description matched.
Covering her mouth, she whispered,
“Meier, you think it was her?”
Su Meier nodded.
“The skinny one said a woman encouraged them.
Now that we know the person was female, it’s not unreasonable to suspect her.”
If it really was Zheng Qingning, a trip to prison would be unavoidable.
Tong Youyi already knew Zheng Qingning had poor character.
What she hadn’t realized was just how vicious she could be.
A chill ran through her.
“Good thing you cut ties with her when you did.
People with hearts that dark should be kept far away.”
The man on the ground carefully recalled the woman’s appearance.
“I think she was wearing white and had two braids. I don’t remember the pants.”
“If we brought her here again, would you recognize her?”
Su Meier felt they needed a face-to-face identification.
The man hesitated.
He wasn’t entirely sure.
And where would they even find her?
At that moment, Song Cili stepped forward.
His appearance remained refined and elegant, yet the pressure he exuded was impossible to ignore.
The man lying on the ground suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Terrified, he began coughing violently.
“Cough, cough—”
“I’d recognize her! I definitely would!”
Wang Deshun looked at his boss’s frightened expression.
The man had surrendered even faster than he had.
These two men hit far too hard.
Nobody could withstand that kind of beating.
Soon, Shen Jianyang returned with two police officers.
“Officers, these are the men.”
The officers immediately stepped forward and handcuffed the criminals.
“Officers, there’s also someone behind this.
If you bring that person in for questioning and confrontation, the truth will come out.”
Su Meier quickly reminded them.
Before the police could respond, Song Cili spoke.
“Do as she says. Make sure the mastermind is caught.”
His deep, measured voice carried the unmistakable weight of an order.
The two officers exchanged a glance.
Their attitudes immediately became respectful.
“Yes, Comrade Song. Please rest assured.”
On the way there, Shen Jianyang had already explained what happened as well as Song Cili’s background.
As someone from Beijing with significant influence, Song Cili was well known among local officials.
None of them dared offend him.