Chapter 5
Su Louzhi was still in a daze.
Her mind was a tangled mess, like a ball of yarn a cat had gotten its claws into. How had things escalated to this point? Four thugs—one sent flying, three still standing—and then two men had shown up to help? No, wait—two men. One was pinning down that slanted-eyed guy, and the other…
She instinctively looked at the man walking toward her against the light.
Qin Qingyan’s voice yanked her back to reality.
“Young Master Ji!” Qin Qingyan called out urgently, a hint of gritted teeth in her tone. “Never mind whose she is—handle those three first!”
The three thugs snapped to attention too.
This newcomer they’d called “Young Master Ji” was clearly no pushover. But there were three of them, and three-against-two meant they still had a shot. Or so they must have figured. The three exchanged glances, cursed under their breaths, and charged.
And then it was over.
Su Louzhi only saw the man’s brow give a slight twitch. He didn’t even shift his footing—just flicked his hands out a few times.
Really, that casually.
Like swatting flies.
By the time Su Louzhi blinked for the third time, all three thugs were on the ground, clutching their arms and legs and howling in pain.
The whole thing took under ten seconds.
Qin Qingyan let out a long breath, her taut shoulders finally sagging. She stepped forward, turned, and wrapped her arms around Su Louzhi, patting her back in slow, steady rhythm. “There, there, Zhizhi,” she said in a soft, gentle voice. “It’s over. You’re safe now.”
Su Louzhi leaned against her shoulder, her body still trembling uncontrollably. The tears weren’t flowing as hard as before, but they wouldn’t stop, dripping down in steady plops.
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared,” Qin Qingyan kept patting her. “I’m here. The bad guys are gone. It’s okay…”
“Zhizhi?”
A low voice suddenly cut in.
Those two syllables curled upward at the end, almost like a hook.
Su Louzhi lifted her face from Qin Qingyan’s shoulder and looked over through tear-blurred eyes.
The man called Young Master Ji was standing two steps away, eyes lowered, watching her. Sunlight poured in from behind him, casting a shadow across his face, but it couldn’t dim the glint of assessment in those eyes.
He was looking at her.
Su Louzhi froze for a second, instinctively reaching for her phone. But just as she pressed the screen to light it up, Qin Qingyan spoke.
“Young Master Ji, her name is Su Louzhi—my roommate.” Qin Qingyan said it while tugging Su Louzhi closer to her side.
Su Louzhi had no choice but to turn the screen off, lift her face, and give the man a small nod by way of greeting.
Ji Kailan studied the girl in front of him.
She was still hiccuping with sobs, her eyes and nose red. She looked like a startled kitten, trembling and curled up in Qin Qingyan’s arms.
But his Adam’s apple rolled unconsciously.
Half an hour ago, he and Shen Boyang had just returned to campus to drop off materials to their advisor. As they walked out of the school gate, he’d noticed her from the Tasty Milk Tea Shop, stepping out and turning into that alley. Sunlight had traced the soft lines of her profile.
He’d looked twice.
Just twice.
After all, he knew his own situation well. No matter how pretty the girl, she had nothing to do with him.
He’d looked away and headed toward the parking lot with Shen Boyang.
Then Shen Boyang suddenly stopped.
“Hey?” Shen Boyang stared at the school gate. “Isn’t that Qingyan?”
Ji Kailan followed his gaze. Qin Qingyan was running out of the gate, quick steps, head swiveling this way and that, like she was searching for someone.
“Why’s she in such a rush?” Shen Boyang frowned. “Should we check it out?”
Ji Kailan had no objection—he had nothing planned that afternoon anyway. So they trailed along behind Qin Qingyan at an unhurried pace.
Qin Qingyan jogged all the way to the mouth of the alley, then charged straight in.
By the time Ji Kailan reached the alley entrance, he saw her shove that slanted-eyed man aside and step in front of the girl.
Then he saw that girl—shaking uncontrollably, tears smeared all over her face—still muster the strength to yank Qin Qingyan behind her and put herself in front instead.
Ji Kailan raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
Two girls who couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag, but each one more stubborn than the last.
He’d planned to watch the show a little longer, but Shen Boyang had already charged in and kicked the slanted-eyed man flying.
Fine, then.
He strolled into the alley at his own leisurely pace.
As he got closer, he paused. The cloying, sharp pheromone stench that had been clinging to his nose all day seemed to thin out, just a little.
He took two more steps.
Yes.
The closer he got to her, the fainter those suffocating scents became. Until, at last, it was almost as if there was nothing at all.
Clean. Like a vacuum.
He narrowed his eyes, running his tongue lightly over the roof of his mouth. The restless heat that always churned in his blood seemed to settle, replaced by a strange urge—
To bite down.
He suppressed the impulse, expression unchanged, and dealt with those clueless thugs in short order.
Then he heard Qin Qingyan call her: “Zhizhi.”
Zhizhi.
He looked down at her.
She was still crying, tears clinging to her lashes, glinting in the sunlight. She stood there quietly, like a little cat caught in the rain.
He suddenly wanted to tease her.
“Zhizhi?” His voice lilted upward, his gaze fixed on her face. “What, are you mute? Can’t talk? Need your roommate to speak for you?”
Qin Qingyan immediately shielded Su Louzhi behind her, glaring at him. “Young Master Ji! I’m grateful for the help, but you don’t get to talk about her like that!”
The atmosphere turned awkward.
But Su Louzhi lightly patted Qin Qingyan’s shoulder. Qin Qingyan turned, and Su Louzhi gave her a gentle smile, shaking her head. Then she stepped out on her own, lowered her head, and started typing on her phone.
A few seconds later, she held the screen up to Ji Kailan.
[Hello, my name is Su Louzhi. I’m mute, so I can’t speak.]
Ji Kailan’s gaze sharpened.
He stared at the line of text for two seconds, then slowly lifted his eyes to her face.
She was watching him calmly, eyes still red-rimmed, but she didn’t flinch or look wounded. She just met his gaze, even and steady.
Ji Kailan was silent for a moment.
“Sorry,” he said, his voice lower than before. “That was rude of me.”
Su Louzhi’s eyes curved in a smile, and she shook her head.
Just as the tension was easing, Shen Boyang shook off the still-yelping thug in his grip, clapped his hands, and walked over.
“So you’re Qingyan’s roommate?” he said with a grin, flashing a row of white teeth. “That makes you our junior, then. Nice to meet you—I’m Shen Boyang.” He jerked a thumb toward the other man. “And this is Ji Kailan. We’re both juniors in the Finance department, so technically we’re your senior classmates.”
Qin Qingyan chimed in, “Yeah, they’re my seniors, technically. But I don’t call them that—Boyang and I grew up with Young Master Ji.”
Su Louzhi nodded, lowered her head, and started tapping on her phone. A few seconds later, she held it up.
[Hello, seniors. Thank you both for helping out today. Can I buy you both some milk tea?]
Shen Boyang glanced at it and was about to say, “No need, Lao Ji doesn’t do sweet drinks,” when a low voice cut in from beside him.
“Sure. Thank you.”
Shen Boyang whipped his head around, stared at Ji Kailan with eyes as wide as if he’d just seen a ghost.
Ji Kailan’s face was blank, as if he hadn’t noticed a thing.
Shen Boyang opened his mouth, then shut it again.
Fine.
Meanwhile, Qin Qingyan remembered the main issue and turned to Su Louzhi. “Zhizhi, what do we do with these thugs?”
Shen Boyang and Ji Kailan looked over as well.
Su Louzhi typed on her phone, then raised the screen.
[Call the police.]
Qin Qingyan nodded right away. “Alright, I’ll do it.” She pulled out her phone and dialed 110, putting it on speaker. Someone picked up quickly, and after hearing the situation, said they’d send the nearest officers out and told them to wait about ten minutes.
Shen Boyang heard that and was about to volunteer, “I’ll stay and keep an eye on them,” when Ji Kailan spoke first.
“We’ll keep watch here.”
Shen Boyang whipped his head around a second time, and the look on his face had crossed from “seen a ghost” to “seen a ghost’s entire extended family.”
Ji Kailan remained utterly expressionless, as if he’d just said “nice weather today.”
Shen Boyang: “…………”
He swallowed his words again, silently.
The police arrived quickly—in under ten minutes. When they took statements, Qin Qingyan recounted the whole incident with flawless clarity: time, location, number of people, what the other side said and did. Not a single detail missed. When she finished, she turned to Su Louzhi. “Zhizhi, did you bring your campus card?”
Su Louzhi blinked, then fished her campus card out of her pocket.
Qin Qingyan took it, handed it to the officer with both hands, her expression solemn.
The officer received the card and glanced at it—his face instantly turning grave. He looked up at Su Louzhi, then at the four deflated thugs, and said in an especially serious tone, “We will handle this matter strictly.”
When Qin Qingyan handed the card over, the sunlight happened to fall across the little plastic rectangle. Shen Boyang, standing right there, caught an inadvertent glimpse—and his gaze froze. He instinctively turned to Ji Kailan.
Ji Kailan had seen it too. His brow twitched slightly, then his face smoothed back into its usual unreadable calm.
Shen Boyang opened his mouth, thought better of it, and silently looked away, swallowing whatever he’d been about to say.
Ji Kailan’s gaze lingered on the campus card for two seconds before drifting to Su Louzhi.
She was still standing there, quiet as ever.
Ji Kailan lowered his eyes and said nothing.
The police car roared off, leaving a plume of dust in its wake, and soon vanished around the corner at the end of the alley.
Su Louzhi stood in place, watching the white-and-blue vehicle grow smaller and smaller until even the siren faded to silence. Only then did she slowly lower her head and light up her phone screen.
[September 30, 2026, 3:30 PM]