Chapter 7 : Call Him ‘Brother’ Once More, And You Won’t Be Leaving His Bedroom Tonight.

After dinner, Song Zhiyi was on the balcony, talking to Su Hong on the phone. They briefly discussed an article she had posted that evening. About half an hour later, Song Zhiyi hung up and went to prepare for a bath.

When she went to grab her change of clothes, she saw a small box on the bedside table. Judging by its shape, it seemed to be a ring box.

But… when did this get here?

She hesitated for a moment, then opened the box. Inside was a pure silver ring with a teardrop-shaped sapphire set in it, simple and delicate, clearly designed for women.

Underneath the sponge, there was a small card with Chen Mo’s handwriting:

“Happy Birthday.”

Was this Chen Mo’s birthday gift for her?

Song Zhiyi was a little surprised, but more delighted. She quickly grabbed the box and ran to Chen Mo’s bedroom.

Bang—

Excited, Song Zhiyi pushed the door open so quickly that it slammed loudly against the spring.

“?”

At that moment, Chen Mo had just finished showering. He was wearing only a pair of casual home shorts, with his bare torso on display, showing off his eight-pack abs right in front of Song Zhiyi.

“Sorry, sorry… I was being rude.” Song Zhiyi quickly closed the door again and politely knocked three times.

Chen Mo: Actually, it wasn’t necessary.

“Come in.”

Song Zhiyi opened the door again, not even pausing to appreciate his abs. Holding the ring box in her hand, her face flushed with excitement, she asked, “This… when did you give it to me?”

“Last night.” Chen Mo looked at the item in her hand, paused for a few seconds, then added, “Before midnight, but you were already asleep.”

Meaning he remembered her birthday, but she had missed it because she was asleep.

“…”

That’s probably because of the punishment stance he made her do, right?

But with this birthday gift, the punishment of standing at attention didn’t matter anymore!

“Thank you, Brother Chen Mo.” The young girl thanked him sweetly, her cat-like eyes turning into crescent moons, and a faint dimple appeared on her lips.

“…You’re welcome.” Chen Mo’s voice was a little hoarse, his deep eyes staring at her.

If she calls him ‘brother’ again… she won’t be leaving his bedroom tonight.

“Are you going to sleep now? I won’t disturb you. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Song Zhiyi happily retreated, carefully closing the door behind her. She was going to keep the ring Chen Mo gave her well!

The next day.

Song Zhiyi arrived at the office. Lin Qiqi was looking at her phone, her eyes practically spitting fire.

“Zhiyi, look at the article our competitors just published!” Lin Qiqi angrily pulled Song Zhiyi over, shoving her phone in her face. “This is disgusting!”

Song Zhiyi looked at the online headline: “The Border Town Dismemberment Case, Female College Student Murdered Late at Night.”

The article suggested that the female student went out to play in the evening, was assaulted by a man on her way back to school, and was killed after being raped. The article also included photos of the girl before her death, dressed in makeup and a white sleeveless dress.

She was very beautiful.

But apparently, that beauty was her original sin.

There were also comments from morally questionable netizens.

[It’s not always bad girls who go out late at night, but good girls definitely wouldn’t be out at that hour!]

[Can’t blame the criminal, can you? Dressing like that is just asking for trouble.]

[She’s really pretty, looks like someone who knows how to have fun… Heh~ Which school is she from? I might go take a look.]

[It’s 2202, and you’re still blaming the victim? What kind of feudal remnants are we dealing with here? Would you wear a winter coat in the summer?]

[Do your family not have any women? Get some morals, alright!]

[Girls, take a look at yourselves. Why do victims always end up being blamed? It’s their own fault, right?]

[Upstairs reported, don’t mention it! Smiling.jpg]

“Are these netizens orphans? Didn’t they have mothers!” As a woman, Lin Qiqi was naturally furious at the comments. “What are these idiots saying!”

Even though some witnesses had confirmed the victim was attacked while out that night, it’s still a different era. Just because someone went out to have fun doesn’t mean they deserve to be victimized!

“The article publisher is also at fault. Look how many times they emphasize ‘out late at night’ and ‘dressed pretty,’ clearly trying to guide the readers,” Song Zhiyi carefully read through the news article.

Though the article itself wasn’t wrong, it had a subtly suggestive tone.

“Exactly!” Lin Qiqi was fuming. “That’s why I think our competitors are disgusting… Damn, I wrote an article too, but my views aren’t going up. They must have stolen all the attention.”

The article was sparking a wave of comments, and in just a few hours, there were already over 20,000 responses.

“How about you, Zhiyi?”

“Me?” Song Zhiyi was initially confused, then remembered the report that had already been published around 9 p.m. last night and took out her phone to check.

Well, well!

38 views, 0 comments.

Lin Qiqi leaned over to take a look and laughed somewhat unkindly. “Sorry… I still have over 2000, I didn’t expect you to have even fewer.”

“…” Song Zhiyi puffed her cheeks, but she didn’t want to write a controversial article just for the sake of views and exploit the deceased.

Looking at the news report that was still “buzzing” with increasing comments, the more comments, the more people with incorrect views there were.

Song Zhiyi really wanted to retort to those people, but then she realized that the more she argued, the more traffic it would generate. She didn’t want to contribute any of her own views to the shameless opposition!

“Forget it, the internet is like this.” Lin Qiqi saw that Song Zhiyi typed a few words on her phone and then angrily deleted them, comforting her.

While Lin Qiqi was still cursing the “idiotic opponents” and “go to hell,” Song Zhiyi’s harshest words were usually just “shameless.”

She really didn’t know how to curse!

She didn’t want to end up being the one who got upset.

“Don’t get mad, wouldn’t they just laugh even harder if you get worked up?”

“I’m not mad.” Song Zhiyi took a deep breath, put her phone away, and said, “Once I catch the killer, I’m going to post it, without any mosaic!”

“Well said!”

Lin Qiqi clapped her hands in applause.

But…

She probably wouldn’t be able to post it without a mosaic, would she?

Tomorrow was the weekend.

Just as Song Zhiyi was about to finish her work, she received a message from Chen Mo.

Chen Mo: [What time do you finish work? I’ll come pick you up.]

Song Zhiyi: [At exactly 6.]

Chen Mo: [Okay, I’ll wait for you.]

At exactly 6 p.m., Song Zhiyi packed her bag and walked out of the newsroom with Lin Qiqi.

“Zhiyi, are you free for dinner tonight? I know a great barbecue place,” Lin Qiqi asked. Both of them were interns, and in the editorial department, they were at the bottom of the food chain.

They comforted each other.

“Not today, someone is picking me up,” Song Zhiyi said, seeing the SUV parked outside the newsroom. She waved to Lin Qiqi, “Next time, okay?”

“Okay…” Lin Qiqi stared blankly at Song Zhiyi walking toward the car, skillfully opening the passenger side door.

Oh no~

Turns out Zhiyi little darling has a boyfriend.

Of course, with her looks and sweet, gentle personality, who would let such a little rabbit go?

But…

The car her boyfriend was driving seemed a little too ordinary. It felt like it didn’t quite match Song Zhiyi.

…

Once she got in the car, Song Zhiyi fastened her seatbelt.

Chen Mo glanced at her hand and noticed she still wasn’t wearing the ring he gave her.

Wasn’t she very happy when she received it last night?

“Don’t you like the birthday gift I gave you?” Chen Mo casually asked, glancing away, one hand on the steering wheel.

“I like it.”

“Then, why aren’t you wearing it?”

“I sometimes have to go out for interviews, I’m afraid I’ll lose it…” As a reporter, Song Zhiyi was always running around, so she was worried about losing the ring.

She’d really cry if that happened.

“A ring is meant to be worn,” Chen Mo said. “If you lose it, I’ll just buy you another one.”

“No need…” Song Zhiyi bit her lip, “That would be such a waste of money.”

She thought it was fine just looking at it at home!

Chen Mo: “…”

Did he lack money to buy a ring for his wife?

This girl really didn’t know how to chat.

Seeing that Chen Mo wasn’t saying anything, Song Zhiyi cautiously looked at his profile. His sharply defined jawline was slightly tense, and he looked like he might be angry.

But Song Zhiyi felt her own logic was sound.

She looked out the window at the rapidly retreating scenery and suddenly said, “Hey, this doesn’t seem like the way home.”

“Mm, Grandpa said he wanted us to have dinner at his house.”

“Ah…?”

So suddenly?

But she hadn’t prepared anything!