Chapter 57: Compensation

One of the thugs clutched his bruised face and groaned, “You’re seriously tough, kid—straight to fighting.”

Zhou Qishi retorted, “Your fist was about to hit my face. Was I supposed to just stand there? It was self-defense! Want me to give you another punch?”

“No, no, no!” The thug quickly scrambled to his feet, backing away repeatedly.

Qi Yanjing pondered the thug’s earlier words, trying to deduce who could be behind this.

He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Zhou Chuyu:
[Do you have a picture of Shen Zhi?]

Zhou Chuyu nearly choked on his drink before replying:
[Why do you need her photo?]

Though confused, Zhou Chuyu still opened Shen Zhi’s social media and sent a screenshot to Qi Yanjing.

Qi Yanjing held the photo up in front of the thugs and asked, “Is this her?”

They shook their heads. “No.”

Wen Zhixian suddenly thought of Li Chaomu. Their last meeting had not gone well, and Li wasn’t familiar with Yannan anymore.

Wen Zhixian showed the thugs a photo of Li Chaomu, though it was an older one taken years ago.

As soon as they saw it, they nodded repeatedly. “That’s her.”

Li Chaomu hiring such unprofessional people to cause trouble seemed too easy to trace back to her. Even if she weren’t particularly smart, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to make it so obvious.

The thugs hadn’t intended to hurt anyone. Even if reported to the police, there’d be no concrete evidence pointing to her. This left only one possibility:

She did it on purpose.

The realization struck Wen Zhixian like a bolt. Her lips curled into a cold smile. Persistent, wasn’t she?

Clearly, this was about testing Gu Yuchen’s reaction to the situation.

“What do you want to do?” Qi Yanjing wrapped his arm around her, his tone protective.

“Of course, I’m going to demand compensation.”

Wen Zhixian called Song Kairui, and the phone was answered quickly.

She got straight to the point: “Do you know where Li Chaomu is staying right now?”

Song Kairui paused, glancing at Gu Yuchen sitting beside him, then asked, “Why do you need to know?”

“She sent people to cause trouble at my shop. Shouldn’t I confront her?”

Song Kairui frowned. “Are you hurt?”

“She didn’t hire professionals.”

“Are you still at the shop? I’ll head over now.”

“No need to come. Just find out where Li Chaomu is for me.”

Song Kairui realized she wanted him to ask Gu Yuchen, which meant she didn’t even want to deal with Gu directly.

Tsk.

He never would have thought that youthful friendships could sour like this.

“You wait at the shop,” Song Kairui said, ending the call before Wen Zhixian could object.

As soon as the call ended, Gu Yuchen asked, “What did Zhixian say?”

“Your ex-ex-girlfriend stirred up trouble by sending people to your ex-girlfriend’s shop. Zhixian called me to ask for Li Chaomu’s address.”

Hearing this, Gu Yuchen could barely believe it. He immediately called Li Chaomu.

The moment the call connected, she greeted him sweetly, “Yu…”

Before she could finish, Gu Yuchen cut her off. “Did you send people to Zhixian’s shop to cause trouble?”

Li Chaomu was silent for two seconds before admitting, “Yes, it was me.”

He hadn’t expected her to confess so quickly.

“Why?”

Li Chaomu sounded sorrowful. “Because I felt it was unfair to you. You broke up with her, and she immediately married someone else. You looked so heartbroken when you saw her. I couldn’t stand it. But I didn’t want to hurt her—I just wanted to scare her a little.”

Gu Yuchen felt even more irritated after hearing her explanation. It was overplayed and utterly pointless.

She added coquettishly, “Yuchen, can you help me deal with this? I don’t want to go—can I not go?”

“I’ll come find you later,” Gu Yuchen said before hanging up.

Song Kairui clicked his tongue twice, standing up. “Since she doesn’t want to go, you’ll have to compensate, right? If the tables and chairs are damaged, someone has to pay for them.”

Not long after, the two of them arrived at the shop.

Wen Zhixian didn’t see Li Chaomu, assuming that Gu Yuchen intended to handle the matter himself. She didn’t particularly care—after all, it was just property damage and Zhou Qishi’s emotional distress fee.

“I asked Chaomu, and she admitted it. I apologize,” Gu Yuchen said, his gaze lingering on Wen Zhixian with a hint of longing.

Qi Yanjing rested his hand on Wen Zhixian’s waist, a subtle display of dominance.

Gu Yuchen’s gaze shifted slightly, and the longing turned into hostility.

Zhou Qishi, resting his chin on his hand, muttered in confusion, “Hmm… Why does it feel like there’s some tension here?”

He studied Gu Yuchen closely. “He looks so familiar. Where have I seen him before?”

Wen Zhixian got straight to business. “Three tables and four chairs were damaged—totaling 3,200 yuan. Then there’s Zhou Qishi’s emotional distress fee, which depends on what he asks for.”

Zhou Qishi set the amount and held up the payment terminal. “3,200 yuan.”

Gu Yuchen paid the 3,200 yuan without hesitation.

Zhou Qishi then presented his personal payment QR code, setting the amount at 1,500 yuan. “This is my emotional distress fee.”

Initially, he’d considered asking for more, but Gu Yuchen’s cooperative attitude and quick payment made him think better of extorting him.

After the payment was made, Wen Zhixian said, “Keep an eye on Li Chaomu and stop her from acting out at my place again. Next time, it won’t just be about paying compensation.”

Gu Yuchen sighed in relief. “She won’t bother you again.”

Song Kairui had sent the thugs packing, leaving only the few of them in the shop.

“Now that it’s all resolved, let’s close up and head home,” Qi Yanjing said gently to Wen Zhixian.

Gu Yuchen could hardly stand Qi Yanjing. The man put on a soft and considerate act around Wen Zhixian while living under her roof.

Wen Zhixian nodded in agreement.

After closing the shop, Gu Yuchen stood outside and lit a cigarette, watching as Wen Zhixian reminded the staff to be careful on their way home. She also thanked Song Kairui for his help.

Song Kairui grinned. “Of course, I’d worry. As long as you’re fine, that’s what matters. Go home and get some rest.”

Wen Zhixian waved at him before getting into the passenger seat of Qi Yanjing’s car.

Gu Yuchen watched the car’s taillights disappear into the distance, smoking his cigarette down to the end before stubbing it out and tossing it into a nearby trash can.

He stared at the trash for a long time, recalling how he’d thrown their wedding ring in there.

“What are you looking at? Planning to become trash and get recycled?” Song Kairui teased.

Gu Yuchen pulled his gaze back. “Where do they take this trash? I threw something in there.”

“Probably the landfill. What did you lose?” Song Kairui asked casually, opening the car door and getting in.

“The wedding ring.”

Song Kairui said nothing. He could already imagine the scene: Gu Yuchen throwing the ring away in front of Wen Zhixian, then coldly refusing to acknowledge his feelings, hoping she would cave first.

Every action screamed classic emotional manipulation—buff fully stacked.

After getting in the car, Gu Yuchen gave an address. “Take me there.”

Song Kairui immediately guessed it was Li Chaomu’s place and joked, “Oh, planning to move in together?”

“Shut up. I need to set things straight with her.”

Song Kairui, still baffled by Gu Yuchen’s actions, asked directly, “Do you even know why Li Chaomu did all this?”

“I know.”

Of course, he did. They were all seasoned players in the game of human dynamics. Li Chaomu’s petty schemes were glaringly obvious to someone like him.