On the way back, Zhuang Zi confessed everything.

Pei Zheng, worried about her taking risks alone, had gone on his own accord.

He had done so much for her, even just as a friend, and she couldn’t ignore him if he got into trouble.

But going out without informing the police and without a companion made her naturally anxious. Yet she had good self-control. Without a calm mindset and the lessons from her sister’s incident, she wouldn’t have dared to drive out.

She hadn’t expected that just as her car neared the low bridge, she received a call from an unknown number.

The caller ID showed a local landline number.

Thinking it was the police urging her, she answered without much thought.

However, after answering, the other party remained silent.

Assuming it was a spam call, she was about to hang up when the person on the other end suddenly let out a creepy laugh.

Her heart skipped a beat.

The laugh was unmistakably from a woman.

With her phone having recently been hacked, her guard went up. After calming herself for a couple of seconds, she turned on the recording function and asked in a low voice, “Who are you?”

The woman suddenly ordered coldly, “Pull over.”

Zhuang Zi’s face turned pale, thinking she had misheard. “What?”

The woman then threatened harshly, “Or I’ll crash into you!”

Zhuang Zi’s mind went blank for a moment, even experiencing a brief bout of tinnitus.

She instinctively locked the car doors and looked out through the rearview mirror.

But the continuous rain blurred the view on the mirror.

She frowned, trying to discern the scene, vaguely seeing several cars following behind, but nothing clear.

She was terrified, puzzled about how she had been followed again.

More bewildering was the thought that the person trying to harm her was a woman.

Her mind was filled with questions, and she found it increasingly hard to stay calm.

Distracted, she took her eyes off the rearview mirror for a moment, and the next second, she froze, her pupils dilating.

Ahead, her car was veering off course, heading straight towards an oncoming electric scooter whose rider wore a raincoat. Panicking, she slammed on the brakes, hearing the harsh screech of tires skidding against the ground. In the next instant, her car crashed into the bridge’s iron guardrail, the impact throwing her forward and then yanking her back into her seat by the seatbelt. Her chest felt a sharp pain.

…

Si Hang listened without a word.

Zhuang Zi glanced at him. His profile looked cold, staring at the road ahead with a face as dark as if someone owed him a massive debt.

Ultimately, today’s mess was due to her. If she hadn’t decided to get a fake ID, Pei Zheng wouldn’t have taken the risk for her.

Moreover, she had gone to get a fake ID under his nose, the nose of a police captain.

She feared saying more would only make him angrier, so she remained silent, hoping to explain once things calmed down.

The tension was palpable as they reached the apartment.

Si Hang got out, slammed the car door, and strode towards the elevator.

Zhuang Zi followed, watching his back.

The elevator doors opened, and he walked straight in. As the doors began to close, he made no move to hold them open.

Zhuang Zi hurried in just before they shut.

He glanced at her, then coldly looked away.

The elevator ascended in silence, Si Hang acting as if she didn’t exist.

Zhuang Zi said nothing either.

She understood why he was so angry, not just because she had gone out alone but probably more because she had tried to get a fake ID.

She knew she was wrong and didn’t push the blame onto Pei Zheng. She didn’t have the confidence to defend herself, even if she believed it was an unintended mistake. Feeling guilty for going out alone and almost causing trouble, she apologized again, “I’m sorry.”

Si Hang, hands in his pockets, stared coldly at the elevator display, ignoring her.

Zhuang Zi glanced at him again. His profile, sharper and more severe than usual due to his anger, made her uneasy.

Seeing him like this, she felt a stab of discomfort.

As a law-abiding officer with a strong sense of justice, he probably held her actions in utter contempt, which explained why he ignored her.

She couldn’t blame him for despising her. At this moment, even she found her actions—using illegal means to achieve her goal—ugly and shameful.

She frowned, hesitating for a long time before mustering the courage to speak. “Si Hang.”

Still no response.

She had to ask, or she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. “Do you think I’m as despicable as my father?”

He didn’t look at her, letting out a restrained breath as if holding back immense anger. His voice was deep and weary. “I don’t want to talk to you tonight.”

His feelings were complicated and agitated. He didn’t want to speak, fearing he might lash out at her, needing time to calm down.

Zhuang Zi felt as if her whole body had frozen, her heart slowly shattering.

It took her a long while to regain her composure, nodding to herself. As she lowered her eyes, she felt a slight shimmer of tears.

…

Upon arriving home, Aunt Qin immediately came out to greet them, smiling brightly as she said to Si Hang, “You’re back?”

Si Hang nodded.

When she turned to Zhuang Zi, intending to ask why she had been out for so long, she saw that Zhuang Zi, without saying a word, was heading straight to her bedroom, seemingly in a bad mood.

Aunt Qin then looked back at Si Hang, who also seemed a bit off. He walked into the living room, wearily slumping onto the sofa and pressing his brow with the back of his hand.

Did they have a fight?

Why were his eyes red?

She went to the sideboard, poured a glass of honey lemon tea for Si Hang, and brought it to him. “Why did you two come back together?”

Si Hang took the drink, sipped it, and replied absentmindedly, “We ran into each other.”

“Oh.”

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Aunt Qin wisely withdrew and went about her own tasks.

Si Hang finished his drink, put down the glass, and noticed the stack of English documents on the coffee table.

He stared at the stack, feeling unusually tired today, not particularly wanting to read. Yet, after a moment of hesitation, he picked it up and leaned back into the sofa, casually flipping through a few pages.

The pages were filled with her neat pencil notes, drafts of her translations for him.

But as he continued to flip through, his expression changed.

He focused on the writing, flipping through two more pages, his brows furrowing instantly.

The next moment, he lifted his eyes toward her bedroom door, his gaze unfocused, lost in thought.

After a long while, something clicked. His eyes suddenly sharpened, and he tossed the documents aside, rising from the sofa and heading straight for her bedroom door.