Chapter 12 : You’re Hurt, Who Bullied You?

The next day.

Chen Mo had a meeting at the bureau.

He got up early.

Although the meeting didn’t require him to wake up as early as usual for work, since he was the only one in bed, there was really no reason to stay in bed.

“I might not come home for dinner tonight,” Chen Mo said to Song Zhiyi, who was having breakfast.

“It’s fine… I made plans with Meng Yu to go to my old apartment to pack up some things. We’ll eat out,” Song Zhiyi replied.

“Mm, don’t stay out too late, come home early.”

“Got it.”

Song Zhiyi met Meng Yu at the university gate.

Meng Yu was studying medicine, a five-year program.

“Yiyi~” As soon as Meng Yu saw Song Zhiyi, she happily ran over and linked arms with her, standing on tiptoe to kiss her cheek. “I missed you so much!”

“We haven’t seen each other for a month,” Song Zhiyi said, covering her cheek.

“I miss you even if it’s just one day! You don’t know, ever since you started your internship, the dorm has been so quiet.”

B University allowed dorm room swaps, so despite Meng Yu being from the medical department, she could still live with Song Zhiyi, who was from a different department.

“Don’t go out tonight, the criminal is still on the loose, it’s dangerous.”

The girl who died last week was from the B University Dance Department. Meng Yu was also beautiful, so it was hard not to worry she might be the next target of a pervert.

“I won’t go out tonight, don’t worry,” Meng Yu reassured her. The dance department girls were all beautiful, and after this incident, the students there were especially scared. No one dared go out, not even outside their dorm rooms!

“Still, you’ve just started your internship and you often work late. It’s so dangerous for you to go home alone at night. We should focus on catching the criminal,” Meng Yu said, feeling that Song Zhiyi was at greater risk than herself.

With her obedient yet alluring looks, it was hard not to become a target for criminals!

“The security around the newsroom is pretty good,” Song Zhiyi linked arms with her. “Let’s go, I’ll help you pack your things and then treat you to dinner.”

“Sure, sure!”

Her best friend had a salary now, so why not enjoy a nice meal?

Half a year ago, Song Zhiyi had started her internship and, to avoid disturbing her roommates by coming home late, she rented a cheap apartment.

It was a one-bedroom apartment.

The old-style building was in an alley, somewhat dim because there were buildings on both sides. When they entered, they ran into a few boys, the leader of whom had a cigar in his mouth and was dressed in branded casual wear.

When he saw Song Zhiyi, his eyes flashed with admiration.

His gaze then dropped to her hand resting on her bag, her fingers white as jade, delicate like young shoots, causing him to glance at her again.

“…”

The boy’s gaze was intense, making Song Zhiyi feel uncomfortable, so she instinctively put her hand in her pocket.

“Shen Shao, what are you looking at?” one of the boys asked from behind.

“Nothing,” he replied, but he thought to himself… he had just seen something he wanted to keep.

Meng Yu had visited Song Zhiyi’s rented apartment before. It was an old-style building, a bit run-down, and the hallway ceiling still had clothes drying on it.

Song Zhiyi opened the door to apartment 404. It had been half a year since she last came, and a thick layer of dust had settled.

“Yiyi, why don’t you just throw these clothes away?” Meng Yu said as she opened the wardrobe, pulling out a pair of jeans. “The mice chewed on them.”

Song Zhiyi: “…”

“I looked, most of your clothes are chewed up by rats. Even the ones that aren’t chewed have rat droppings on them. Maybe it’s better to just throw them out.” Old-style apartments were full of rats and cockroaches. Luckily, Chen Mo had taken her away, or it would have been such a hassle to live here.

“Well, I have to clear them out, it’s still my rented place,” Song Zhiyi said as she cleared out the wardrobe, packed the clothes, and took out a small photo album from the drawer and placed it in her bag. The album wasn’t big, just photos of her and Song Qi.

That was the reason she came back to the apartment this time.

Song Zhiyi returned the keys to the landlord, and with one big bag each, she and Meng Yu went downstairs.

There was a trash dump at the corner of the apartment. Song Zhiyi threw the things into it. As she turned around, she saw a middle-aged man walking towards them.

The man pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter. After taking a deep drag, he looked up and met Song Zhiyi’s gaze.

“Yuyu, let’s go,” Song Zhiyi immediately said, pulling Meng Yu along to leave.

“Eh…?”

Meng Yu had just raised her hand to throw out the trash when Song Zhiyi yanked her arm, almost causing the bundle of clothes to hit her.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“Stop!” A man’s sharp voice came from behind, and in the next second, he blocked Song Zhiyi’s path with a cigarette in his mouth.

“Is there something you need?” Song Zhiyi looked at him with a blank expression.

“It’s been six months. Where have you been?” The man was wearing a loose short-sleeve shirt, with a scruffy beard and murky eyes.

“Where I go seems to have nothing to do with you.”

“Nothing to do with me?” He exhaled a cloud of smoke. “According to the household register, you’re my daughter!”

Song Xinyuan stared at the beautiful woman in front of him. Ever since he had tried to ask her for money six months ago and planned to sell her to a wealthy man as a plaything, she had been taken away by the police and disappeared without a trace. He had been coming to this place every few days, and this ungrateful girl had only just shown up now!

“I don’t have a father like you.” Song Zhiyi took a few steps back in disgust.

“Stop talking nonsense, do you have money?”

He skillfully spread his hand in front of Song Zhiyi, his fingers yellowed by cigarette smoke, making them look revolting.

“I won’t give you money.”

When Song Qi was five, Song Xinyuan got involved with a group of bad friends and became addicted to gambling, resulting in a huge gambling debt. When she was just a month old and still breastfeeding, her mother was gambled away to someone else by Song Xinyuan.

It was said that her mother, who had lost all hope in Song Xinyuan, left with a smile on her face!

He was unworthy of being called a human being.

“You little bitch, how dare you speak to your father like that? Don’t you miss being beaten?” Song Xinyuan took a drag from his cigarette and then threw it to the ground, crushing it with his foot.

“Mr. Song, I’ve already called the police,” Meng Yu said as she took out her phone, holding it in front of Song Xinyuan. “If you want to keep causing trouble, let’s go to the station together!”

“Who the hell are you to meddle in how I discipline my daughter?” Song Xinyuan shoved Meng Yu aside.

He had been in and out of the station many times, and it was always handled as a family matter. At most, he’d spend a few days there, get ‘educated’, and then continue his reckless life after being released.

Recently, he had lost more money, and since there had been no news of Song Zhiyi for half a year, he couldn’t let her go now that he finally had her.

“Not giving me money, huh? Then you can go with a man.”

With her beautiful face, just like her mother’s, he could easily sell her to a casino boss for a lot of money!

“Go to hell!” Meng Yu lost her temper.

She wasn’t the one to curse, but she could do it when it was needed!

Song Xinyuan’s expression darkened, and his big hand was about to slap Meng Yu.

At that moment, Song Zhiyi stepped in to block, intending to knee him in the groin, but Song Xinyuan seemed to sense her move and quickly pushed her away.

The physical strength between a man and a woman was not equal. Song Zhiyi slammed into an old streetlight, her arm scraping the rough surface and breaking the skin.

“Yiyi…” Meng Yu panicked and yelled toward the street, “Help! A thug is beating someone!”

“Cheh,” Song Xinyuan sneered, ignoring Meng Yu’s cries, and reached for Song Zhiyi’s bag.

It contained her photo album, and she wouldn’t let his filthy hands touch it. She grabbed his wrist and threw him into the trash heap.

“Damn!”

It had been half a year, but this little bitch still knew a few moves!

Who the hell taught her?

Wail, wail—

The sound of a siren echoed from the street. Song Xinyuan cursed as he sat up from the garbage pile, saw a police car parked outside, glared at Song Zhiyi, and turned to run.

“Who made the call?” Two policemen entered, holding their batons.

“I did!” Meng Yu quickly raised her hand and stepped forward, pointing to the retreating figure of Song Xinyuan. “Officer, that guy! He tried to rob us in broad daylight!”

“Shameless bastard, chase after him!”

The two officers ran after Song Xinyuan.

Seeing that he had fled, Meng Yu spat and ran over to Song Zhiyi. “Yiyi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

It was just a small scrape on her arm, not a serious injury.

Feeling sorry for Song Zhiyi, Meng Yu invited her to dinner. She treated her to grilled meat and then made sure she went home before dark.

…

When Song Zhiyi returned home, Chen Mo was already back.

“You’re home early,” Song Zhiyi said in surprise, thinking he would be out until late at night.

“Yeah…” Chen Mo’s gaze landed on her. When he saw her arm, his deep eyes tightened.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

As she passed the sofa, her arm was suddenly grabbed, and Chen Mo stared at her, asking in a deep voice, “You’re hurt, who bullied you?”