“Are you out of your mind? W-what the hell did I say?!” Che Xingde propped himself up with one hand while struggling to break free from Sang Yan’s grip with the other, slurring his words. “I-I just came here to drink! Who’s picking a fight with who?!”
Sang Yan released him, his expression unreadable as he stared down at him.
“Is this how you treat your customers?” Che Xingde managed to sit up, rubbing his head in pain. “Goddammit, you just wait, you fucking piece of shit…”
As if disgusted, Sang Yan said nothing and stood up.
Che Xingde looked up at him, his forehead smeared with dust and a few scrapes. Baring his yellowed teeth, he smirked triumphantly. “Oh, I get it now. You’re pissed because I touched your woman, huh?”
At this, Sang Yan’s eyelids lowered slightly.
“What’s the big deal? You’re a man—you should understand, right?” Che Xingde continued grinning. “And it’s just a woman. First Frost is nothing but—”
Before he could finish, Sang Yan kicked him hard in the stomach.
Caught off guard, Che Xingde’s body slammed into the wall behind him with a loud thud. He immediately collapsed to the ground, hands bracing himself as he retched uncontrollably.
Sang Yan stared at him impassively, his bangs falling over his forehead, obscuring the emotions in his eyes.
“You motherfucker…” Che Xingde’s voice trembled with pain, but noticing the deserted street, he didn’t dare provoke him further. “I’m calling the cops…”
Sang Yan crouched down again, gripping his hair viciously and yanking him up.
“Call the cops for what?”
“…”
“You just got drunk and fell, didn’t you?” Sang Yan’s lips curled slightly, his tone indifferent. “I was just trying to help you up. How ungrateful.”
With that, Sang Yan stood, effortlessly hauling Che Xingde up before slamming him into the wall again.
Che Xingde’s body collided with the unyielding concrete, feeling as though his insides were being crushed.
Sang Yan’s gaze bore into him, his hostility unrestrained. Watching Che Xingde’s wretched state, his expression remained unchanged as he spoke evenly, “Lost your balance again?”
“…”
“Che Xingde?” Sang Yan recalled his name, his words slow and deliberate, as if forced through clenched teeth. “Still need my help getting up?”
Che Xingde couldn’t speak, only waving his hands weakly as he scrambled away.
Just then.
Sang Yan’s phone buzzed. His lashes flickered as he paused, casually pulling it out to glance at the screen.
A message from Wen Yifan.
Wen Shuangjiang: When are you coming home today?
Wen Shuangjiang: I’m already back. My colleague dropped me off downstairs after the interview.
Sang Yan stared at the messages for a few seconds before replying: Late tonight.
Sang Yan: Go to sleep first.
After sending the texts, he rolled his neck, idly spinning his phone. He made no further moves, simply standing there, looking down at Che Xingde with cold dominance. “I really hope this is the last time you see me.”
Terrified, Che Xingde felt the man before him was nothing short of a demon—one he stood no chance against. Instinctively, he raised his arms to shield his head in a defensive stance.
“Otherwise,” Sang Yan’s voice was icy, his tone almost casual, “you’ll only suffer more.”
…After Sang Yan had walked away, Che Xingde sat on the ground for a while. Only when he had recovered somewhat did he slowly pull himself up, leaning against the wall. His expression was vicious, and he muttered curses under his breath as he walked along the street, eventually hailing a taxi to go home.
After moving out of Zhao Yuandong's place, Wen Liangxian's family rented a small apartment in a shantytown in Nanwu. The location was decent, with plenty of foot traffic, but the only downside was the poor security in the area.
When he got home, Che Yanqin opened the door for him. Noticing the injuries on his face, she frowned. "What happened?"
Che Xingde immediately erupted in anger. "It's that ill-bred bastard that First Frost hooked up with! I just went to his bar for a drink, and he dragged me out and beat me up! Sis, you have to help me—"
From the master bedroom, Wen Liangxian roared, "Can you stop making so much noise?!"
Che Xingde immediately fell silent.
Che Yanqin's expression was also grim as she suppressed her anger. "Dezai! Didn’t I make it clear to you before? Stop causing trouble everywhere. How long has it been since you got out? Because of this, your brother-in-law has already argued with me so many times!"
Che Xingde mumbled, "I just can’t swallow this."
"Let it go. Don’t go looking for them anymore." Due to Che Xingde's behavior, Che Yanqin had suffered the consequences too, making life at home unbearable. "That wild girl First Frost is heartless, an ungrateful wretch. What can we do about it?"
Che Xingde spat in disgust.
Che Yanqin curled her lips and added sarcastically, "She works at the TV station now—she’s got power. We ordinary folks can’t compete with her."
"..."
The two sat back on the sofa.
Noticing the delicate woman sitting on the other side of the sofa watching TV, Che Xingde's anger gradually faded, and he forced a smile. "Xiao Lin, you're back?"
A flicker of disgust passed through Zheng Lin's eyes, but she said nothing.
Just then, Wen Ming came out of the bathroom. His expression was gentle as he walked over and sat beside the woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Uncle, what happened this time?"
Zheng Lin scoffed. "Went to pick on your cousin again."
"Uncle," Wen Ming's expression darkened. "Please stop doing things like this."
Che Xingde finally averted his gaze, grumbling unhappily, "Why is everyone blaming me? What trouble did I cause? Look at the injuries on my face!"
Zheng Lin didn’t respond, just glanced at Wen Ming and rolled her eyes.
On the way home, Qian Weihua stopped by a roadside fruit stall to buy a watermelon. Seeing this, Wen Yifan also bought one. After arriving home, she put the watermelon in the fridge and went to her room to shower.
When she came out, she returned to the kitchen, intending to make some watermelon juice.
Just as she took the watermelon out, there was movement at the front door.
Wen Yifan continued with her task.
Soon after, Sang Yan entered the kitchen and watched her actions. "What are you doing?"
Wen Yifan answered honestly, "Making watermelon juice. Do you want some?"
Sang Yan raised an eyebrow. "Sure."
"Is half enough? This watermelon’s a bit small." Wen Yifan rinsed the kitchen knife and gestured with it. "By the way, what did you go to 'Overtime' for today?"
Sang Yan took the knife from her. "Meeting Qian Fei."
Wen Yifan paused. "Did he show up this time?"
"Yeah."
Wen Yifan tilted her head. "Did you hit him?"For her first reaction, Sang Yan found it absurd: "Am I some kind of violent maniac?"
"Sang Yan," Wen Yifan didn't comment on his words directly. After carefully choosing her phrasing, she earnestly advised, "Don't resort to violence to solve problems. We live in a society governed by law now."
Hearing this, Sang Yan's lips curled slightly: "Even if it's someone I really despise?"
As if recalling something, Wen Yifan fell silent for a few seconds before still insisting, "That applies too."
"..."
"Don't hit people anymore. It's not good." Wen Yifan watched as he started cutting the watermelon and continued her admonishment, "Qian Fei and Duan Jiaxu haven't done anything too outrageous either, and they're both your fri—"
Sang Yan stuffed a piece of watermelon into her mouth: "Got it."
Wen Yifan's remaining words were effectively silenced.
Seemingly unconcerned about the matter, Sang Yan's tone was lazy.
"I'm being careful."
Perhaps the police report had some effect, as Wen Yifan didn't see Che Yanqin or Che Xingde again for quite some time afterward. Whether it was her imagination or not, after clearing things up with Sang Yan, everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction.
By late October, Wen Yifan received a WeChat message from her landlord.
The gist was that the landlord's daughter was getting married soon and needed to reclaim the apartment as a wedding home. They were asked to move out before March of the following year, as per the contract terms.
Seeing this message, Wen Yifan suddenly realized she and Sang Yan had been living in this shared apartment for nearly two years. She snapped out of her thoughts and quickly replied with an "Okay."
Su Tian, sitting beside her, struck up a conversation: "Yifan."
Wen Yifan looked up: "Hmm?"
"I just remembered something." Su Tian propped her chin on her hand and asked, "Weren't you sharing an apartment with a guy before? Now that you're dating the Sang Duck King, doesn't your roommate have any objections?"
Wen Yifan paused before admitting outright: "He is my roommate."
"..."
After a long silence.
Su Tian finally swore under her breath: "Damn, where did you find a roommate like that? I want one too."
Wen Yifan chuckled: "Aren't you afraid Lin Xun will hear you?"
"He's used to it by now," Su Tian giggled. "Hey, so does that mean you two are cohabiting now?"
Wen Yifan thought about it: "Not really."
Su Tian: "How is it not? Don’t you two sleep in the same room?"
"Yeah." Wen Yifan answered honestly. "We still sleep separately."
"..." Su Tian was shocked, completely unable to believe it. "I remember you two have been together for a while now... Are you still in the Platonic stage?"
Wen Yifan didn’t answer directly: "We’re just not cohabiting."
Su Tian: "Why not?"
Wen Yifan said righteously: "It's not legal."
"..."
After processing this, Su Tian found it amusing. She laughed to herself for a while before adding, "So when do you plan to make it legal? Have you met his parents yet?"
Wen Yifan instinctively replied, "No—" but before finishing, she suddenly corrected herself: "I’ve met his mom."
"Huh?"
Before Wen Yifan could explain further, her phone on the table suddenly rang. Seeing the caller ID was "Qian Weihua," she told Su Tian, "Hold on a sec," and answered the call.
Qian Weihua's voice came through the line: "Are you at the office now?"
Wen Yifan: "Yes."
Qian Weihua: "Where’s Da Zhuang?"
Hearing this, Wen Yifan glanced to the other side: "He’s writing his draft over there."Qian Weihua said briskly, "Alright. Head downstairs and call Da Zhuang to come along. We're going on a business trip to Beiyu."
...
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. The two of them smoothly gathered their equipment and went downstairs.
Wen Yifan habitually took the passenger seat and asked, "Teacher, what kind of emergency happened in Beiyu?"
Qian Weihua started the car while explaining, "We just received a tip. The police are still keeping the details under wraps. There was a missing college girl case in Beiyu four years ago. Recently, a woman came to the police station with a recording to report on this case."
As she listened, Wen Yifan opened her laptop and began typing notes.
"That college girl was actually raped and murdered. They've already found her body in the mountainous area behind Beiyu's suburbs," Qian Weihua continued. "A special investigation team has been formed, and they're currently hunting down the suspect."
At this point, Qian Weihua suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, Yifan, you probably know this suspect too."
Wen Yifan paused her typing and looked up: "Hmm?"
"It's that guy who used to constantly cause trouble for you," Qian Weihua glanced at her briefly while driving, "Che Xingde."
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