When she arrived at the police station, Si Hang had already printed out the records.

She walked into the office where Si Hang was leaning back in his chair, reading a few pages of documents. Without looking up, he said, “Close the door.”

Zhuang Zi gently closed the door and walked over to sit down.

Without taking his eyes off the materials in his hand, Si Hang reached out to a stack of documents beside him and threw a folder onto the desk. With a quick glance, Zhuang Zi recognized it as a detailed list of call records.

She immediately picked it up and began to read, her joy evident.

However, after a few seconds of surprise, she quickly looked up and asked suspiciously, “Didn’t Officer Xiao Zhao say it was impossible to check?”

That day, because of Xiao Zhao’s words, she had impulsively thought of making fake documents.

Thinking about it now, she still felt a bit embarrassed, her face slightly flushed.

“Yeah.” It seemed like it had taken a lot of effort, as Si Hang directly told her, “It was quite troublesome.”

Zhuang Zi was a bit stunned by his straightforward answer.

Although his words were very direct, her gratitude was sincere.

After a two-second pause, she politely said, “Thank you for the trouble.”

He didn’t respond.

Zhuang Zi lowered her head and scanned the records again, unconsciously pursing her lips with a slight smile.

When she smiled, shallow dimples appeared on her fair, rosy cheeks.

Si Hang lifted his gaze from the folder and looked at her. Seeing her subtly happy expression, he averted his eyes disdainfully. A second later, his gaze returned and lingered on her face.

Having helped her significantly today, Zhuang Zi put the documents into her bag. When she looked up at him again, she sincerely said, “Thank you.”

Si Hang looked at her without expression, paused for two seconds, and then asked in a low voice, “I heard that Wanda has a new Free Life Western restaurant?”

“Hmm?” Zhuang Zi paused and looked at him.

Si Hang gazed at her with an unclear expression for a moment. Seeing no reaction from her, he shook the papers in his hand and continued reading.

Zhuang Zi watched him for a while, puzzled. Suddenly, as if something dawned on her, she instantly understood the implication behind his words and was taken aback.

She glanced at his profile, thought about his words, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Although she didn’t know why he specifically mentioned the Free Life Western restaurant, she took it as a coincidence. After all, the newly opened restaurant had been heavily advertised recently, with many people sharing and liking it for dining discounts.

She admired his high level of communication skills. He could hint at wanting her to thank him with a meal so subtly.

Indeed, he had helped her significantly. It was only right to treat him to a meal.

“Online, it says it opened last month.” She tried to cooperate perfectly, not letting him feel awkward while expressing her sincerity. “I happen to have an appointment with a friend for lunch there today. If you don’t mind, why don’t we go together and try it?”

And conveniently, she would have a reason to compete with Pei Zheng for the bill.

…

When Xiao Zhao learned that Zhuang Zi would be bringing Si Hang along, he was more than happy to oblige, as it gave him a good excuse to withdraw.

Si Hang himself wasn’t entirely sure why he insisted on joining her for this meal. 

Perhaps it was because he was now more convinced than ever that she was the one who had written that anonymous letter, which made him curious about her. He wanted to observe her more closely, to see what kind of bold and cunning mind lay beneath her calm exterior.

On the way to the restaurant, Zhuang Zi thought for a moment and then said to him, “The person we’re having lunch with is a former colleague of mine, the one who got caught last time for helping me get fake documents.”

Si Hang paused, glanced at her, but didn’t respond.

“He said he wanted to give me a birthday present, but I owe him a favor, so I specially arranged for us to have lunch together to repay him for the fine.”

Si Hang snorted lightly, “The bureau is busy as hell, and you still drag Xiao Zhao out to accompany you for a birthday celebration with someone else?”

“…” Zhuang Zi was speechless for a couple of seconds, trying to use the fact that he had helped her today to soothe his verbal attack, “Mainly, I owe him a favor and I wanted to take this opportunity to repay him for the fine.”

Si Hang said nothing more.

Zhuang Zi continued to explain, “I was worried Officer Xiao Zhao might be too busy, so I called him in advance to see when he would be free. He said today, so I decided to come out.”

Her reasoning was sound, and Si Hang had no further rebuttal.

After a moment of silence, Zhuang Zi spoke again in a negotiating tone, “Later, I’ll introduce you as my cousin.”

“…” Si Hang gave her a look of ambiguous expression, then looked ahead, “I don’t have such a grown cousin!”

Zhuang Zi fell silent for a moment, “Just consider it a favor for me?”

Si Hang said nothing.

“I’ll just say we happened to run into each other at Wanda and I invited you both to join me for lunch.”

If it were just her and Pei Zheng alone, Pei Zheng would surely insist on paying the bill. Bringing along a friend would make it more reasonable for her to pay the bill herself.

Si Hang made no further comments. After a moment of silence, he suddenly changed the topic and asked, “Is today your birthday?”

“No.”

Si Hang raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask any further.

…

When they arrived at Wanda, Zhuang Zi called Pei Zheng to inform him of their location, and he was still on his way.

She then had Si Hang accompany her to the bookstore to buy a book and a password journal before heading upstairs to the Western restaurant.

They had waited for less than two minutes when Pei Zheng arrived.

Si Hang sat composedly on the sofa, glancing at the newcomer with an indifferent look in his eyes.

Pei Zheng also looked at him, his eyes revealing clear surprise and confusion.

As he approached, Zhuang Zi quickly introduced the two of them as she had discussed with Si Hang earlier.

Although Si Hang wasn’t too happy about having lunch with a strange man, he still had basic manners and nodded politely, “Hello, Mr. Pei.”

Pei Zheng smiled and returned the greeting, “Hello, Mr. Si.”

After Pei Zheng sat down, Zhuang Zi was about to hand him the menu when she noticed him frowning in suspicion.

“You two are cousins?” Pei Zheng looked at Zhuang Zi, then at Si Hang, extremely puzzled, “Why do you have different surnames?”

Si Hang lifted his gaze to meet his, smirked slightly, but did not answer. He picked up his cup and took a sip of water.

“…” Anxiously, Zhuang Zi glanced at him and hurriedly answered for him, “He has the same surname as my aunt.”

Pei Zheng smiled, but his tone was doubtful, “Is that so?”

“Yes.” Zhuang Zi nodded and looked at Si Hang again, “Isn’t that right, Brother Hang?”

“…………….”

She called him so earnestly that Si Hang almost choked on his water.

—