"Since it's so interesting, I'll record it for you later, to savor. President Zou, you don't mind, do you?"
"Just a woman who doesn't know her place. Why would I take it to heart? Record away. Good brothers share everything."
Although Zhan Bei Jue and Jiang Nan Fang were an old married couple, they had been separated a lot recently, and there was still a lot of passion between them.
Plus, it was Zhan Bei Jue's birthday yesterday, and she wanted to make him happy.
Jiang Nan Fang indulged him, and the two of them didn't sleep until almost dawn.
As they slept soundly, Zhan Bei Jue's phone buzzed on the bedside table.
It was very annoying. He hated being disturbed while sleeping the most.
He didn't answer.
Jiang Nan Fang was being disturbed excessively and wanted to get up to check. He pressed her back down.
"Don't bother. Even if the King of Heaven himself came today, I need to rest. Go back to sleep."
The two of them turned over, snuggling together, and fell back asleep hazily.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Nan Fang's phone rang again.
She couldn't take it anymore, fumbled for her phone, brought it to her ear.
A male voice came from the other end, "May I ask if you are Jiang Nan Fang?"
The voice was rather unfamiliar.
"Who are you?"
"I'm from the Binjiang Road Police Station. Do you know someone named Shen Min'er?"
Instantly, their sleepiness vanished, and they both opened their eyes.
Min'er was discovered by a passerby who was out for an early morning run.
Her appearance was so tragic that the passerby thought a murder had occurred and rushed to call the police in a panic.
When she was sent to the hospital and after she was resuscitated, the staff asked for her name and where she lived.
Min'er seemed to have lost her soul, not saying a single word.
Finally, a psychologist was called. After a lot of comforting and guidance, she only managed to utter two names.
Zhan Bei Jue and Jiang Nan Fang rushed to the hospital. Looking at her sleeping form on the bed through the glass of the ward, they were filled with confusion.
"What happened?"
On the way, he had called Zhou Jin Bei, who said Min'er had gone to the company to work overtime last night.
Could it be that staying up late to work had caused physical problems?
Jiang Nan Fang asked the staff.
He said, "We're still checking the surveillance footage. We don't know the specifics of what happened."
"Currently, we only know that the powder was extracted from her blood, and there are signs of sexual assault."
"When she was found, she was on the main road, barely clothed. Preliminary suspicion is that she encountered a bad person while out alone late at night."
Zhan Bei Jue couldn't believe his ears.
"You said what happened to her when she was found?"
Although the staff didn't have much interaction with Zhan Bei Jue.
His reputation in the Nan Cheng business district was too great; he had heard some things.
Moreover, his current expression was terrifying, so he quickly repeated the explanation patiently.
"Based on previous case experience, it's likely she was forcibly given powder and then assaulted."
"Fortunately, the evidence wasn't destroyed. The doctor has already taken it for DNA testing, and the results will be out soon..."
As he was speaking, a doctor walked over with a few reports.
"The tests are done. Four DNA profiles were extracted. Combined with her injuries, it can be basically confirmed..."
Zhan Bei Jue's body trembled, his face darkened, he couldn't believe his ears.
He snatched the reports from the doctor's hand.
"Four people? You're saying four DNA profiles were obtained?"
He couldn't imagine what kind of monstrous ordeal Min'er had gone through last night.
He felt like the crown of his head was about to explode.
"Where was she found? Tell me! Who reported it? Where was she found?"
He couldn't wait another second. He had to go to the scene himself and personally apprehend those damned scumbags!
"Are you a patient's family member? Please calm down, don't make noise. This is a hospital!"
The doctor snatched the report back from his hand.
"Also, this is evidence. Please don't tamper with it."
Zhan Bei Jue's eyes blazed with anger. His eyes were wide with fury, and his facial muscles twitched.
He punched the wall hard, gritted his teeth, and asked again.
"Damn it, I'm asking you, where was she found!"
The staff member was frightened by him.
He hesitated whether to speak.
Jiang Nan Fang called out softly.
"I saw her move. Min'er seems to be awake."
Everyone's gaze turned towards the inside.
On the hospital bed, her pale face had indeed opened its eyes.
Zhan Bei Jue, like a tyrant, pushed open the door with a bang and rushed in, leaning over the bed.
"Min'er, you're awake?"
He wanted to ask her what happened last night, who bullied her?
But when he met her vacant, lifeless eyes, and saw the prominent slap marks on her face, the torn corners of her mouth.
He couldn't ask anything.
He didn't need to ask anything anymore.
A desolate voice exploded in his mind, and he felt like he was going crazy.
Min'er stared at the ceiling for several seconds before coming back to her senses.
Her gaze fell on his face, and she remained lost in thought for a few more seconds.
"You're here?"
Zhan Bei Jue had never felt so distressed, wronged, and heartbroken.
Last night, she was a vibrant young girl like a blooming flower, and today she was so devastated.
A thousand words choked in his throat, rendering him speechless.
He felt as if countless holes had been dug in his heart, it was so painful, so cold, he wanted to kill.
"I'm sorry. I'm late. Are you alright?"
"Not good."
Min'er looked at him, two clear tears flowing from the corners of her eyes and into her ears.
She murmured as if to herself.
"It hurts. Ge. Can you hold me?"
Zhan Bei Jue desperately wanted to hold her, but he didn't know how to proceed.
She was like a broken porcelain doll now; she would shatter if touched.
If he didn't pick her up, he couldn't hold her tightly.
If he picked her up, he was afraid of hurting her.
His whole body trembled, and he felt so helpless and useless at this moment.
After staring at her for a few seconds, he wiped her tears and buried his head on her shoulder.
"Of course. I'm here, always here. You can hold me as long as you want."
Min'er's hands trembled beneath the covers.
At first, it was gentle, but then it became like spasms, uncontrollable.
After trying for a long time, she managed to lift her arms, wrap them around Zhan Bei Jue's back, and then a more pitiful whimper escaped her lips.
"I'm not clean anymore, I'm not clean anymore... I'm rotten, I'm broken, I'm not me anymore."
"It hurts so much, Ge, I called for you for so long, why didn't you come find me?"
"I feel so awful, do you know how awful I feel? It's so cold, so dark, why didn't you care for me?"
These few broken questions, like the most tragic words in the world, pierced the ears of everyone present.
Even the doctors, who had seen life and death and considered themselves numb, couldn't help but be moved.
Their eyes welled up with tears, unable to look directly at this heartbreaking scene.
Jiang Nan Fang felt the same.
Regret, hatred, and self-loathing were her first reactions.
Originally, Zhan Bei Jue didn't want to celebrate his birthday.
If she hadn't insisted, if she hadn't invited Min'er over.
Wouldn't she have had to work overtime so late?
Wouldn't this have happened?
She felt cold all over.
Looking at the two people embracing tightly, she felt no jealousy.
What she felt was only irreparable regret and endless sorrow.