Chapter 25: Shameless — I want to eat pan-fried codfish in soya sauce!
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"The person looked very tall. From the back, it looked like a man wearing a hat and jacket…" the female milk tea shop owner carefully recalled, subconsciously pursing her lips. "I only saw that much." The police officer across from her noted her words and thanked her for her testimony. He then sought out Ye Zhen Zhen for her account of the events that had occurred.
Ye Zhen Zhen repeated to him what she had just told Zuo Yi. Because it was related to a murder case, the taser the assaulter had dropped was left in Zuo Yi's custody. The police officer made note of this and gave Ye Zhen Zhen a few lines of consolation before leaving.
Zuo Yi still stayed in the shop, analyzing what Ye Zhen Zhen had just said. The assaulter had worn a hat and a mask. In the dim lighting, it must have been difficult to identify him, but based on Ye Zhen Zhen and the shop owner's description, the assailant's physique seemed to be very similar to that of Qin Kong's.
"Has Qin Kong contacted you recently?" Zuo Yi placed the cigarette case he had been holding into his jacket pocket.
Ye Zhen Zhen drank a bit of warm milk tea before answering, "He contacted me in the afternoon today and asked if I had gone to see a psychiatrist and if I had recalled anything."
Zuo Yi hummed as he pondered for a moment. Then, he nonchalantly said, "Although there aren't many pedestrians, and despite the lighting being rather dim, this is still the downtown area. The assailant's choice to attack you here is suspicious and demonstrates how he may feel worried."
Ye Zhen Zhen frowned. She normally had the chauffeur pick her up and drop her off when she left the house. The rest of the time, she stayed at home, was at school, or was with Dr. Ji. Trying to find her when she was alone was truly a difficult endeavor. Whoever her attacker was, he had probably been following her the entire time and seized his opportunity after much waiting. Regardless of whether it was in the downtown area, he had immediately rushed forth.
"Do I need to take you to the hospital to be examined?" Red marks could clearly be seen on Ye Zhen Zhen's shoulders and neck, clear evidence of the amount of strength the assailant had used a while ago to attack her.
The left side of Ye Zhen Zhen's neck was indeed sore, but upon thinking about how Dr. Ji would surely learn about the incident if she went to the hospital, she shook her head. "No need, it's enough if I return home and take a hot bath."
Zuo Yi didn't say anything else and simply escorted her to her chauffeur's car before returning to the police station. Mr. Wu was very guilty about Ye Zhen Zhen being ambushed and solemnly apologized to her, making Ye Zhen Zhen feel embarrassed. When she returned home, Sun Qian and Ye Kang Ping were sitting in the drawing room. Upon seeing her return, Sun Qian immediately welcomed her. "Zhen Zhen, the police just called and said you were assaulted in town?"
Ye Zhen Zhen didn't respond. Ye Kang Ping spat out in anger, "What were you, a girl, wandering around in town for instead of returning home? You practically made yourself a target!"
Sun Qian sent him a glare before a smile graced her face as she tugged at Ye Zhen Zhen's hand. "Your uncle is also worried about you. Don't blame him. Are you okay? Are you injured?"
Ye Zhen Zhen withdrew her hand without batting an eyelid and said to Sun Qian, "I'm fine, but that person ran away. The police are investigating."
"Then did you clearly see who it was?"
"No, he covered his face." Ye Zhen Zhen carelessly threw out, "Auntie, I'm a bit tired, so I'm going to lay down early."
"Mn, okay. Rest early, I'll have housekeeper Zhou prepare you a glass of warm milk before you go up."
Ye Zhen Zhen nodded in agreement and began walking upstairs. She accepted the fact that her uncle and auntie knew about the hypnosis as well, but they hadn't opposed the treatment. Moreover, Ye Zhen Zhen felt that since then, they had become even politer to her.
She recalled Zuo Yi previously saying that the murderer hadn't killed her possibly because she could say something in their favor in her testimony.
After she recovered her memory, would it be advantageous for her uncle and auntie? If she hadn't seen who the murderer was, then why would someone come attack her?
Her steps suddenly slowed. Perhaps, her grandfather's murderer and the one who pushed her down the stairs weren't the same person?!
Beneath a gradually emerging chilly train of thought, she glanced back at the spacious and empty drawing room. Her footsteps sped up until she made it back to her room.
After she finished her bath, housekeeper Zhou delivered her a glass of warm milk as expected. She voiced her own concerned inquiry while doing so. Ye Zhen Zhen drained the warm milk in one gulp before handing the empty glass back to housekeeper Zhou. Once she left, Ye Zhen Zhen lay in her big bed, exhausted.
Other wealthy young ladies spent every day drinking wine, partying, and wandering amongst all kinds of Mr. Perfect's while she, on the other hand, spent every day wandering amongst all kinds of suspects who would stab or kill her…all those novels truly were deceitful.
She slowly sighed and sent a SMS to Ji Zhe Yan. 「Dr. Ji, I'm thinking of you. qwq」
A miserable expression crossed her face, a practically perfect portrayal of her heart. This house frightened her. If possible, she would rather dorm at school.
Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated in her hand. Ye Zhen Zhen automatically jolted and opened Dr. Ji's SMS. He had typed a short line.「Don't think too much. Go to sleep early. Good night.」
Ye Zhen Zhen: "…"
Dr. Ji truly was…unromantic!
「Then if I'm not thinking of you, you think of me, okay? ^_^」Ye Zhen Zhen shamelessly flirted.
Ji Zhe Yan: 「…」
He considered this over and over again before sending back one word. 「Okay.」
Ye Zhen Zhen was satisfied.
「Dr. Ji, I really love you! Muah~! =333=」
This time, Ye Zhen Zhen waited quite a while, but she received no response from Ji Zhe Yan. She couldn't help but feel a bit worried. Did her bold manner end up scaring Dr. Ji off?
Tossing and turning, she couldn't fall asleep. She searched through her phone for Lawyer Qian's number and dialed. The phone rang thrice before the call was accepted. "Hello, Miss Ye."
"Eh…" Ye Zhen Zhen was a bit at a loss. Although he had bluntly aired his suspicions about her during the will reading the other day, he was still courteous and professional on the surface. "I apologize for disturbing you so late, Lawyer Qian, but I have a small question involving the law that I wish to consult with you about."
"Please speak."
"Eh, if I…die, who would be given grandfather's inheritance?"
The other party clearly didn't expect her to ask this. He blanked out for a second before saying, "Although the inheritance formalities haven't been formally processed, you are still the legal heir of the will. If you die, then the inheritance will thus go to your heir."
My heir? Although she didn't know who this was…it probably wasn't her uncle and auntie. Ye Zhen Zhen's eyes darkened before she asked, "In that case, does the engagement have some legal effect?"
"In China, it does not. Even if an engagement had been agreed to, there is no obligation for both parties to marry. Breaking the engagement does not require seeking the other party's agreement either. If a party raises an objection, the engagement is automatically broken."
"Thank you, Lawyer Qian." Ye Zhen Zhen set down her phone after waiting for the other to hang up.
She had felt that the person who had attacked her tonight was very similar to Qin Kong. After contacting Lawyer Qian just now, she was even more certain of her suspicions. The misgivings she held for Qin Kong in her heart had never disappeared. She absolutely could not marry him, no matter what.
Plus, according to Lawyer Qian's explanations earlier, her engagement to Qin Kong had already been nullified? She had originally thought she needed to meet with Qin Kong and clearly elucidate this to him, but after the attack tonight, she no longer dared to meet with him alone.
She glanced at her phone; Dr. Ji still hadn't replied. Ye Zhen Zhen sighed and fell into a light sleep. Perhaps because of the extreme shock she had experienced that night, she once again had a nightmare. When she woke up from it, dizziness panged through her head.
She grabbed her phone to look at the time—not yet 6:00AM. Her sole consolation was the unread SMS on her phone, sent by Ji Zhe Yan.
Ye Zhen Zhen opened it. The timestamp was for last night at 11:30. Dr. Ji said that he would take her to his home for private English lessons after she finished her classes today.
Ye Zhen Zhen promptly recalled her class schedule today. She only had two classes in the morning. Dr. Ji had today off again…the heavens simply were helping her!
「Dr. Ji, I'll seek you out at around 11 o'clock. I want to eat pan-fried codfish in soya sauce, muah~!」
After sending the SMS, Ye Zhen Zhen's mood was finally no longer so heavy—even though she was completely oblivious to how shameless her actions were.
She had just finished washing her face and dressing when housekeeper Zhou carried in breakfast. Ye Zhen Zhen had only drunk a glass of fruit juice before her phone vibrated twice atop the table.
「Okay.」
「I saw that your response was sent at 5:00AM. Did you have a nightmare again?」
Eh…
「No, I woke up early to study!」This was the first time she lied to Dr. Ji, but she didn't want him to know that someone had attacked her after he had left…Dr. Ji would definitely blame himself.
「Trying hard is a good course of action, but you also need to take care and rest.」
Upon seeing Dr. Ji's message, Ye Zhen Zhen immediately felt very ashamed. She resolved to begin studying in the morning starting tomorrow!
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When she entered the classroom, Ye Zhen Zhen was surprised to find Pei Cui Cui actually in attendance. She seemed to be awfully happy. Using a popular saying, it was like she had happened to meet the spirit of happiness by chance. Ye Zhen Zhen curiously asked her the reason for her happiness. As it turned out, Xi Cao gege had finally agreed to eat lunch with her.
Ye Zhen Zhen blinked and asked, "Where are you two going?"
"Cafeteria!"
Ye Zhen Zhen: "…"
Xi Cao was also…not very easy.
After class, Pei Cui Cui jubilantly rushed out to the cafeteria. Ye Zhen Zhen quirked her lips. Even if she didn't eat in the school's cafeteria, she still knew the cafeteria didn't open yet.
As she passed through a well-known hill for lovers, she wasn't surprised to see a pair of students laying down on the grass, holding hands while basking in the sun. Ye Zhen Zhen admired the sight for a moment before a deep male voice rang through her head. "It's mating season again…"
Embarrassed at herself, she quickened her steps to pass the sweetheart hotspot.
Although she had only been to Dr. Ji's place once, Ye Zhen Zhen appeared very at ease. Before she came, she deliberately bought a mango mousse cake. She remembered that Dr. Ji had previously said that he liked to eat mangoes.
She was just about to hand over the cake to Dr. Ji after he had opened the door when his expression changed. Ye Zhen Zhen's heart dropped. Ge-deng— What's wrong? Don't tell me Dr. Ji doesn't like eating cake?
"What happened to your neck?" Ji Zhe Yan wrinkled his brows, his voice becoming tight.
Ye Zhen Zhen subconsciously glanced at her shoulder. Her heart dropped again. Ge-deng— The red marks on her shoulder and neck hadn't yet disappeared. She should've worn a turtleneck sweater today when going out.
"Haha, it's nothing. I wasn't careful and bumped into something, haha." Ye Zhen Zhen laughed and entered the residence, trying to divert the conversation.
Ji Zhe Yan didn't fall for her attempt. After closing the door, he flatly stated with a solemn face, "Bumped into something? Those bruises look very similar to when the muscles are squeezed tightly."
Ye Zhen Zhen: "…"
She was hit with a realization. Dr. Ji is a…doctor.
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Author's Note:
If I said that today the computer has a bit of a problem, so the update will be a bit late, you all certainly wouldn't like it, right? _(:з」∠)_
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