She stepped forward and slapped the woman across the face without hesitation.  

Smack!

Lin Ruzhen’s head jerked to the side from the force.  

Clutching her cheek, she whipped her head around and glared venomously at Ruan Qingzhi before raising her hand to strike back.  

Ruan Qingzhi caught her wrist mid-swing, then shoved it away in disgust.  

The woman staggered, nearly losing her balance and falling onto her backside. Her face flushed red—whether from the sun or sheer rage was unclear. “Ruan Qingzhi, how dare you hit me! I swear I’ll tear your mouth apart!”  

Ruan Qingzhi took another step forward and delivered another sharp slap to the opposite cheek, her voice icy. “What’s there to dare? I’m hitting you precisely because of that filthy mouth of yours!”  

Lin Ruzhen clutched her right cheek, the stinging pain a constant reminder that a country bumpkin from the sticks had just slapped her.  

When had Lin Ruzhen ever suffered such humiliation?  

Covering her face, she let out a shrill, hysterical scream: “Aaaaaah, Ruan Qingzhi—!”  

“You’re done for! Just you wait—from now on, don’t even think about surviving in Shengyang! My father is the chief! With just one word from me, you’ll be crawling out of Shengyang on your knees!”  

Her chest heaved violently, her hair disheveled as she stomped her feet in fury.  

Ruan Qingzhi scoffed. “Is this all you can do? Jump around like a chicken and spout nonsense?”  

“Sure, you have things to boast about—your background, your resources, your father, even your job as a military doctor.”  

“But you overestimate yourself. How much weight does your ‘face’ really carry? Enough to make the entire army give Shen Zhanwu special treatment? Then let me ask you this: Can your ‘face’ secure him a high-ranking position? Can it keep him off the battlefield? Can it erase even a single scar from his body? Can it prevent him from barely escaping death this time? If the answer is no to all of these, then what the hell are you screeching about, huh?”  

“With just one word—‘special treatment’—you trample all the blood, sweat, and loyalty this outstanding soldier has poured out over the years. You say you love Shen Zhanwu? Do you even deserve him?”  

Lin Ruzhen’s expression darkened bit by bit.  

Gritting her teeth, she glared hatefully at her.  

Ruan Qingzhi slowly closed the distance between them, her bright eyes gleaming with a sharp, intimidating intensity. “Let’s set aside your so-called ‘face’ and talk about your actual abilities.”

“As a military doctor, you should remain calm and composed no matter how dire the situation. Anyone else can panic—but not the doctor! And yet, look at the pathetic mess you were in that ward earlier. One needle had you so scared your legs turned to jelly, frozen in place like a coward. Lin Ruzhen, if war ever breaks out and you’re sent to the front lines, what happens when soldiers—heroes who fought for their country—lose their lives because you hesitated? Because you were too scared to brave gunfire to save them?”  

“Lin Ruzhen, your crime is punishable by death!”  

Lin Ruzhen stared at Ruan Qingzhi’s razor-sharp expression and suddenly burst into laughter. “Ruan Qingzhi, what right do you have to judge me?”  

“Look at yourself right now. You still dare claim you’re not putting on an act? I wish Zhanwu could see the look on your face at this very moment! At such a young age, you’ve already got the cunning mind of a fox spirit, playing the pitiful, delicate damsel in front of men. And you have the nerve to criticize me?”  

The corners of Ruan Qingzhi’s lips curled higher. “Dr. Lin, as a single woman, you wouldn’t understand the dynamics between a married couple.”  

She paused, then leaned in close to the woman’s ear and murmured slowly, “Let me tell you a secret… Shen Zhanwu absolutely adores my fox-spirit act…”  

Her tone was sweet and soft, the last syllable deliberately drawn out.  

It sent a shiver down Lin Ruzhen’s spine—more chilling than Daji’s bewitchment of King Zhou.  

Lin Ruzhen gnashed her teeth. “You—!”  

Shameless!

But before she could finish her sentence, Ruan Qingzhi placed a hand on her shoulder, applying slight pressure. “Dr. Lin, consider this an official notice—starting today, I’ll be staying in Shengyang. Don’t worry, I’ll wait….”  

Lin Ruzhen frowned, confused. “Wait for what?”  

“You’ve already forgotten your own words? Back in the ward, you swore to heaven that if I woke Shen Zhanwu up, you’d resign from your position as a military doctor and leave the army immediately. Don’t tell me you’re going back on your word?”  

Ruan Qingzhi tilted her head, raising an eyebrow mockingly. “What, even someone as ‘superior’ as Dr. Lin would break a promise?”  

“Of course, I’ll also be waiting for your chief father to make his move. Let’s see how he plans to make me ‘crawl out of Shengyang on my knees.’”  

Lin Ruzhen’s mind buzzed.  

She blinked, her confidence clearly wavering. “How can you prove it was you who woke Zhanwu? Maybe it was just a coincidence. Even if you did nothing, he would’ve woken up anyway.”  

“Then why don’t you try making it a coincidence?”  

With that, Ruan Qingzhi ignored the woman’s reaction and strode away, leaving her behind.  

Lin Ruzhen clenched her fists tightly at her sides: “…”  

Gritting her teeth, she glared at the little bitch’s retreating figure, the fury inside her refusing to settle. But no matter how angry she was, she still had to find that damn brat first!  

Just then, a young nurse happened to walk by.  

Lin Ruzhen quickly stopped her. “Hey, have you seen a disabled kid around?”  

The nurse looked puzzled. “…?”  

Impatient, Lin Ruzhen elaborated, “A scrawny kid missing part of his leg, dressed in a beige short-sleeve.”  

The nurse suddenly remembered. “Oh, the one sitting in the lobby earlier?”  

“Yes! You saw him?”  

“I think he was with…” The nurse trailed off, then spotted Ruan Qingzhi walking away in the distance. She pointed. “Ah, that woman! I just came downstairs and saw her carrying a little boy toward the street.”  

Lin Ruzhen’s brows furrowed. “You’re sure?”  

“Positive!”  

The nurse nodded. “I didn’t get a good look at her face, but I remember that jacket.”  

Lin Ruzhen turned to stare in the direction Ruan Qingzhi had gone.  

Her eyes narrowed.  

See? I knew that vixen was up to no good!

After a moment of thought, she turned and left the hospital, boarding a tram straight to the police station.  

She was going to report a crime!  

Someone was kidnapping a disabled child in broad daylight!  

……  

Ruan Qingzhi had no idea about the drama unfolding after her departure.  

Following the directions Shen Zhanwu had given her, she soon spotted a bathhouse across the street.  

On its rough brick walls, the words “Public Bathhouse” were painted in white.  

The entrance had two heavy wooden doors, left wide open due to the sweltering heat. On the glass panels, the words “Bathing” and “Scrubbing” were written in bright red, impossible to miss.  

Ruan Qingzhi walked up to the front counter and tapped the surface lightly.  

A middle-aged woman, who had been dozing off behind the counter, lifted her drowsy face and glanced at her before grabbing a numbered tag from the side and handing it over.  

“Bathing’s fifteen cents, scrubbing’s ten. You want a scrub?”