Short Essay

After leaving the police station, it was already nighttime.

Stepping out of the air-conditioned room, the heat felt almost suffocating.

Xu Huan’s family matter was actually quite easy to resolve—after all, it fell under the category of provocation and causing trouble. Not only were Ye Shuang and the others mere bystanders dragged into the amusement park homicide case, but Xu Huan’s mother had even gone out of her way to stir up trouble at the school gate.

Even at the police station, the mother-daughter pair continued to throw tantrums. However, when the officers mentioned that provocation could carry a sentence of up to ten years, they immediately quieted down.

But they weren’t the type to back down easily. They rushed to the hospital to get their injuries assessed, only to find that since both parties had been involved in a mutual brawl—and Ye Shuang, despite striking hard, had avoided vital areas—their injuries weren’t severe enough to be of any use.

In the end, unwilling to face detention, they settled for mediation, bringing the farce to a close.

Still, Ye Shuang knew things wouldn’t end so simply. There were loose ends he needed to tie up.

"Sorry for wasting your time."

As the involved parties, Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou had naturally accompanied him. Once they stepped out of the police station, Ye Shuang smiled apologetically at the two girls.

"Not at all! I know you did it to stand up for us. Seeing those two writhing on the ground in pain was so satisfying!" Tang Keke said, clearly relieved.

"Ye Shuang…" Bai Yuyou tugged lightly at his sleeve.

"Hmm?"

"Am I… useless?" The girl’s voice was tinged with dejection. The more she learned about the world, the more she realized how little she could actually help.

"Silly girl." Ye Shuang lightly tapped her head, then grinned. "If you knew how to do everything, wouldn’t that mean you don’t need me anymore?"

Bai Yuyou blinked, as if realizing the truth in his words.

"Yuyou, do you not need me?"

"I do! I need Ye Shuang!" she immediately insisted, her grip on his sleeve tightening as she clung to his arm.

"Then that’s settled. Rely on me as much as you want—I’ll protect you as you grow." He pinched her cheek gently. "Don’t blame yourself for anything. I want to see a Bai Yuyou who grows happier every day."

"Okay." Like an affectionate little pet, she nuzzled her face against his palm.

Watching this, Tang Keke couldn’t help but giggle.

She was thoroughly entertained.

"Come on, let’s grab some late-night snacks," Ye Shuang said. "The pork belly chicken at Mingzhu Plaza is pretty good."

"Yay!" Tang Keke, already hungry, was more than happy to eat out—anything was better than another potluck at home.

Just then, Ye Shuang noticed a flood of messages on his phone, including over twenty from Chen Qin, along with several missed calls.

She seemed to have caught wind of what happened and was already on her way to the police station.

Ye Shuang: "…"

How did Chen Qin find out?

After a moment’s thought, he glanced at Bai Yuyou beside him. "Yuyou, did you tell Chen Qin about this?"

Bai Yuyou nodded. "Sister Chen Qin… said she couldn’t find you."

So she’d gone to Bai Yuyou for answers after failing to reach him. But was it really okay for her to just drop everything at the company and rush over?

Knowing Chen Qin’s personality, Ye Shuang doubted she’d handled her work before leaving. More likely, the moment she heard he was in trouble, she’d slammed the gas pedal and sped over.

He called her, and she picked up instantly—

"Ye Shuang, are you okay? Are you still at the station? I’m almost there!" Her voice was laced with worry. She didn’t know the details, only that he’d ended up at the police station.

"It’d take you over an hour to get here from the company. Everything’s already settled, so don’t worry," he reassured her.

"Oh…" Her voice faltered.

At that moment, Chen Qin was sitting in her car at a traffic light less than a kilometer away from the station. Seeing how close she was, she sighed and said,

"That’s good, then… I guess I’ll just head back?"

Since the situation was resolved, she realized Ye Shuang didn’t need her help anymore. Knowing he’d figure out she’d abandoned work to come, she downplayed it to spare him any guilt.

But…

She still wanted to see him. Even though they’d met that morning, she couldn’t shake the loneliness creeping in.

"You said you were on the way forty minutes ago. There’s no way you just started now." His voice cut through her thoughts. "If you’re close, just come over. I’ll treat you to pork belly chicken."

"Then I’ll drive you back to the company."

Chen Qin froze, only snapping back to reality when the car behind her honked. Muttering under her breath, she smiled.

"So sneaky… You always know what I’m thinking but never say it."

But knowing he cared, warmth spread through her chest.

"This lady is almost there! Come greet me properly!"

---

Meanwhile, Xu Huan’s mother and younger sister, Xu Lan, had returned home, groaning in pain but still hurling venomous curses at Ye Shuang and the others.

They lived in the city’s urban village, where neighbors recoiled at the sight of them, avoiding eye contact like they were the plague.

Children playing outside were swiftly dragged indoors by their parents, doors slammed shut behind them.

Yet the mother-daughter pair remained oblivious to their own infamy. Xu Huan’s mother spat in front of a neighbor’s door before rummaging through a shoe rack in the hallway—stealing a pair of slippers—and finally stomping back inside with her daughter.

"This hurts like hell! What kind of garbage hospital says this isn’t even a minor injury?!" Xu Huan’s mother’s face was swollen like a pig’s, her words slurred.

"Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll post about this online. They’ll regret it," Xu Lan said.

"Will that work?"

"Of course. I know some influencers with big followings. I’ll write a sob story and have them share it."

"I don’t get this stuff, but if you say it’ll work, hurry up and do it!"

"Writing it now." Xu Lan pulled out her phone and began typing furiously, crafting a dramatic tale of their "poor, innocent family" being bullied, playing up their victimhood as women oppressed by society.

She was determined to ruin Ye Shuang’s reputation and make him pay.