Ruan Xingchen rushed out of the police station just in time to see Lu Jingyuan hailing a taxi by the roadside. Her eyes darted mischievously, and she quickly ran over.
"You—"
Lu Jingyuan looked expressionlessly at the girl who suddenly slipped into the car ahead of him. Sitting inside, she turned back and gave him an innocent smile.
"Sir, same direction."
He lowered his gaze and studied her for a moment before bending down and getting into the car as well.
The moment the door closed, a hint of cunning flashed in Ruan Xingchen's eyes.
After telling the driver their destination, she lowered her head and carefully smoothed out the wrinkled check in her hand, muttering as she did so:
"Sir, even though that incident earlier wasn't intentional… your behavior just now was still inappropriate. You know I could report you for that, right?"
Lu Jingyuan's eyelid twitched.
Before he could respond, she continued talking on her own.
"Didn't your teachers ever tell you back in school that there should be proper boundaries between men and women?"
The taxi driver suddenly coughed loudly, clearly trying to hold something back.
Lu Jingyuan's expression darkened.
After finally flattening the check, Ruan Xingchen turned to him and stretched out her small hand.
"Sir, we've settled the earlier matter privately. So about this one… shouldn't we settle that too?"
Lu Jingyuan stared at her silently for a long moment. Then he took out his checkbook and pen again, quickly writing something under the dim light from outside.
Five seconds later, he tore off the check and handed it to her.
"Fine. Fifty thousand."
Ruan Xingchen: "…"
The taxi driver couldn't hold it in anymore and silently burst into laughter.
Back at the apartment, Ruan Xingchen found her phone on the living room floor and quickly dialed a number.
As soon as the call connected, she began crying dramatically.
"Xiaobai, a creepy guy moved in upstairs! He bullied me!"
She then recounted the entire incident in detail to her best friend, Lu Xiaobai.
However, Xiaobai's focus was clearly elsewhere.
"So… you made 150,000 in one night?"
Ruan Xingchen: "…"
Seeing her silence, Xiaobai coughed lightly.
"Don't worry, I'll come over first thing tomorrow and deal with him!"
That sounded better.
Ruan Xingchen nodded in satisfaction.
"But, Xingchen… about that 150,000…"
"Xiaobai I love you good night muah!"
She hung up immediately.
That was money earned with great "effort"—not a single cent would be shared!
She ran back to her room and pulled out a small metal box from under the bed.
Inside were only a household registration booklet, a savings passbook, a bank card, and an old yellowed photograph.
She placed the check inside, then picked up the photo.
In it, a gentle-looking woman smiled while holding a delicate little girl. The girl, however, puffed up her cheeks and stared at the camera with a dissatisfied expression.
Ruan Xingchen looked at the woman in the photo with a complicated expression.
After a while, she put the photo back.
Closed the lid.
And pushed the box back under the bed.
In the misty bathroom, warm water flowed down the man's body from the showerhead.
After a long time, he let out a deep breath, turned off the water, and reached for a clean towel, wrapping it around his waist.
Returning to the bedroom, he picked up a cigarette and lighter from the bedside table and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.
After taking a few strong drags, the restless feeling in his chest gradually subsided.
As if remembering something, he turned back, picked up his phone, and dialed a number.
A sleepy voice came through.
"Jingyuan?"
"That pair of underwear you left at my place last time—if you still want it, go pick it up at the police station. Also, don't forget to transfer 150,000 to my account."
"…What?"
Wei Yuanxiao sat up in bed, completely confused.
How did his treasured gift end up at the police station?
And why did he suddenly owe Lu Jingyuan 150,000?
Before he could ask anything, the call had already been disconnected.