As soon as Shen Zhiyi parked her bicycle at the entrance of the police station, a police jeep drove up. Zhou Muchuan, sitting in the passenger seat, spotted her immediately.
“Stop the car, Xiao Wu!” Zhou Muchuan tapped the door.
Screech! The jeep came to a halt less than a meter away from her.
Shen Zhiyi was startled by the sudden stop.
Zhou Muchuan shot the driver, Xiao Wu, a warning glance. Xiao Wu silently turned his head toward the window and stuck out his tongue.
They had already received complaints that Team Leader Zhou was having an inappropriate relationship with a married woman, yet he still didn’t know how to be more discreet.
Was their boss really that forgetful?
This time he was sent to South City on a special assignment for a week. If he got complained about again, they might send him to guard the border, and he’d be gone for way longer than a week.
“Shen Zhiyi!” Zhou Muchuan jumped out of the car and called out to her as she was about to walk in.
Shen Zhiyi turned around. “Officer Zhou, haven’t seen you in a week. You look even darker than before!”
“…”
Could this woman ever say anything nice?
What was wrong with a man being a bit tanner?
“What are you holding?” Zhou Muchuan was more interested in the box in her hands.
“Cola Chicken Wings. It’s a new dish I created. It’s selling like crazy at Fumanlou. Everyone’s talking about it haven’t you heard?”
If he had heard and still didn’t come to support her, then what was the point of knowing him?
“I was sent to South City on official business and just got back today. Where would I get the chance to try it? You… didn’t come all the way here just to give this to me, did you?” Zhou Muchuan didn’t dare assume too much.
“Yep, exactly. Here, try it,” Shen Zhiyi handed the box over.
“Thanks.” Zhou Muchuan took it.
Even though Lu Yusheng had maliciously reported him for having an improper relationship with Shen Zhiyi, he decided to let it slide for now, considering he had helped operate on Lu Yusheng’s father.
Besides, he and Shen Zhiyi had clean consciences. They were only in contact because she wanted to reopen her case. Since he took the case, their meetings were purely professional. It was perfectly normal.
He had nothing to hide, so why wouldn’t he accept the food?
“You’re welcome. If you like it, come to the restaurant tomorrow. The promotional price is 8 yuan per plate, but tomorrow is the last day. After that, it goes up to 9 yuan.”
“9 yuan? That’s daylight robbery!” Driver Xiao Wu couldn’t help but interject, eyes wide.
“Not robbery, you get what you pay for. The portion is huge. For bachelors like you, it’s more than enough to fill you up,” Shen Zhiyi replied with a smile.
Xiao Wu was speechless.
Wasn’t she just a cook?
Could she also read faces?
How did she know he was single?
Was it written all over his face?
“Park the car properly inside!” Zhou Muchuan snapped at him.
“Alright, I’m leaving too. Since you just got back, get some rest.”
“Wait, Shen Zhiyi. Here, I brought these back from South City. They’re already peeled. Take them home to eat.” He handed her a bag of sugarcane.
“Okay, thanks, Officer Zhou.”
“No problem. Oh right, your application hasn’t been approved yet. My master said it’s better to find actual evidence first. And… back to the same question. You said you never went to the reservoir that day. Is there really no witness at all?”
“Not a single one?”
“…”
There it was again.
Her sister, Shen Zhilan, had asked her the same thing. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall anything from that night.
Now Zhou Muchuan was asking again.
Wait… how had the original Shen Zhiyi answered this before?
“Have you asked me this before?” Shen Zhiyi asked instead of answering.
“Of course.”
“Then… what did I tell you before?” she pressed.
Since she couldn’t find the answer in the fragmented memories she inherited, maybe the original owner had mentioned something to Zhou Muchuan before.
Following this clue might help her find a witness and prove the truth.
Lu Village wasn’t that big. Everyone lived their lives around the reservoir; there was nowhere off-limits. So what exactly had the original owner been doing that day?
“You never answered. You just stayed silent. Now look at you, actually asking me back.”
“Silent?” Shen Zhiyi was stunned.
She had been framed so badly, yet she chose to stay silent? What was she thinking?
If you don’t fight for yourself, no wonder people like Lu Yusheng walked all over you.
What was going on in that girl’s head?
“Shen Zhiyi, are you still unwilling to talk?”
“It’s not that I won’t. But while I was inside… I was bullied by other inmates. In the first year, they dragged me and slammed my head against a wall. Some things… I just can’t remember anymore.”
“What? You were bullied? Why didn’t you tell me when I visited you that year?” Zhou Muchuan was furious. As a law enforcer, he could not tolerate this.
“Sigh… it wasn’t worth talking about, so I didn’t mention it,” Shen Zhiyi sighed. She was actually feeling frustrated on behalf of the original owner.
Now she understood why her life had turned out that way.
“You really… I don’t even know what to say to you.”
“Then don’t say anything. I’ll think about it carefully these days. Maybe I’ll remember everything in a dream one day.”
“Alright. I’m going now.”
As Shen Zhiyi went to get on her bike, Zhou Muchuan thought for a moment and walked over again.
“Shen Zhiyi, has Lu Yusheng been bothering you lately?”
“Yeah. At noon today, he came to Fumanlou with Jiang Ruochu and her daughter, trying to show off and make things difficult for me.”
Actually, they hadn’t really succeeded. They wanted to extort money from her, but luckily Boss Wei was very protective of his staff. She didn’t lose out at all.
In fact, she was starting to suspect that the “fly” was something they had brought with them on purpose to frame her. It wouldn’t be the first time they had done something like that.
“He has the nerve… Do you know why I was suddenly sent to South City for a week?”
It was officially “business,” but really, it was to cool off and keep him busy so he wouldn’t just sit around thinking.
“Huh? Why?” Shen Zhiyi genuinely didn’t know.
“Because Lu Yusheng complained to my master. He said I had an improper relationship with you. So my master sent me away to ‘protect’ me.”
“Us? Improper relationship?”
Shen Zhiyi almost burst out laughing, nearly losing her grip on the handlebars.
“That jerk has a child with another woman! What right does he have to say we are improper?”
“They have a child? You mean Tongtong? Tongtong isn’t even Lu Yusheng’s daughter. Don’t tell me you forgot that too? Your memory is so messed up, do you need to see a doctor? I can ask my mom to recommend a good specialist in South City.”
Zhou Muchuan was genuinely worried about her mental state.
“No need. Okay, I get it now. Don’t worry about it. I’m heading back, it’s almost time for work.”
“Alright. I’ll come eat tomorrow.”
“Sure.”