Volume One, Chapter Nine: Hitting Him Was Not for Your Sake

The night grew darker.

Mo Xingyuan stepped into the police station and saw Su Li sitting alone on a chair. Her hair was pinned up high; though her face was clearly weary, she sat upright. She looked like a stray cat abandoned, with nowhere to go.

When Su Li saw someone enter, a glimmer lit her dim eyes, but when she recognized him, she was somewhat surprised. She had called Chi Mu, asking him to come to the station. If Lu Jing weren’t away on business, she wouldn’t have troubled Chi Mu. She hadn’t expected that the one who came would be Mo Xingyuan.

Seeing Mo Xingyuan made her uneasy. They had only just met, yet he had already witnessed her in several embarrassing situations—more than she cared to admit.

Mo Xingyuan went into the office to complete some paperwork. When he came out, he glanced at Su Li. “Let’s go,” he said, his voice cold and emotionless, befitting their relationship.

Su Li rose and followed behind him, clutching his jacket. The bag had broken during the scuffle.

As they left the police station and were about to get in the car, He Shuming rushed out. “Hey, are you Su Li’s man?” he shouted.

Su Li’s brows knitted tightly; she truly felt humiliated.

Mo Xingyuan turned his head, his gaze icy as he stared at the approaching He Shuming.

Su Li’s head throbbed. He Shuming was a persistent troublemaker, relentless as a mad dog.

“Is there something you need?” Mo Xingyuan asked indifferently.

He Shuming didn’t know Mo Xingyuan, but from his demeanor and attire, he could tell he wasn’t an ordinary man.

He sneered, “Su Li, is this your taste? Of all the men you could’ve chosen, you picked a pretty boy who’s softer than a woman.” He mocked Mo Xingyuan.

Mo Xingyuan was handsome and fair-skinned, almost beautiful.

“Do you want another beating?” Su Li was furious with He Shuming.

He Shuming laughed coldly, sizing up Mo Xingyuan with blatant disrespect. “Marrying someone like him—what were you thinking? Does he have any strength?”

Such vulgarity made Su Li nauseated.

She raised her hand to strike him, but Mo Xingyuan caught her wrist, his eyes unruffled. “Let’s go home.”

Su Li couldn’t believe Mo Xingyuan showed no anger. She herself couldn’t swallow her rage.

“Su Li, look at the coward you’re with!” He Shuming, seeing Mo Xingyuan’s lack of temper, grew more arrogant and insulting. “He’s got a nice face, all looks, no substance. Why marry a man like that? Just for pretty pictures?”

Su Li wanted to retort, but Mo Xingyuan pushed her into the passenger seat, his gaze cold and steady. “Arguing with words is useless.”

Su Li gritted her teeth. Under Mo Xingyuan’s gaze, the words she wanted to hurl were swallowed.

Mo Xingyuan closed the car door, and with no response from them, He Shuming’s anger only grew.

“Coward, not even as feisty as a woman.”

Mo Xingyuan walked to the driver’s side, opened the door, and looked impassively at He Shuming’s snarling face across the roof, his gaze dark.

He spoke calmly, “Even women don’t talk as much as you.”

By the time He Shuming realized what he meant, Mo Xingyuan had already driven away. Su Li watched in the rearview mirror as He Shuming, furious, kicked a nearby tree.

The night deepened; outside, the city lights blazed, lively and bright, but inside the car the silence was stifling.

Su Li wanted to say something, but seeing Mo Xingyuan’s impassive face, she couldn’t bring herself to speak. His silence made her anxious; she feared he’d be annoyed by her. After all, she had brought him trouble.

At a stoplight, Mo Xingyuan made a phone call. “Take care of it.”

Su Li only caught those four words, assuming it was work-related.

The car stopped outside her apartment complex. Su Li unfastened her seatbelt, glanced at the jacket in her arms. “I’ll return your jacket later.”

She had been hugging it all afternoon; it was now pointless.

Mo Xingyuan finally turned to her. “Your taste is pretty poor.”

“…”

Su Li had no retort; it was true.

“Sorry for causing you trouble,” she apologized.

Mo Xingyuan glanced at her, and for a moment, she seemed truly herself, stripped of all pretense.

“As long as you know,” he said, looking away.

Su Li took the hint and got out.

The moment the car door closed, the vehicle sped off.

Su Li stood there, holding the jacket, feeling utterly drained.

One word summed it up: exhausted.

In the middle of the night, Su Li was awakened by a phone call.

Lu Jing was excited. “Check the group chat, quick, quick, quick!”

Su Li forced her eyes open and tapped into the group chat—over nine hundred new messages.

She scrolled through them, most asking, “Who did this? So ruthless.”

After searching for a while, she found a video clip.

In the video, He Shuming was pinned in an abandoned warehouse, being pummeled with fists and feet, unable to fight back, his only response was to wail.

Seeing He Shuming’s bruised and swollen face, Su Li frowned.

The group chat had erupted.

“From this angle, the video was obviously shot by the attacker.”

“Who did he offend to get beaten like this?”

“Who knows? He’s offended plenty. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.”

The chatter was lively, with no concern that He Shuming might see it later.

Lu Jing called again and asked, “Do you know who did it?”

Su Li’s mind stalled. “No.”

“I checked the person who posted the video—already left the group. Not using a real name, can’t trace them. Still, it’s satisfying. He had it coming.”

Su Li thought of what Mo Xingyuan had said earlier.

Perhaps, his “take care of it” wasn’t about work after all.

She watched the video again. That arrogant He Shuming, reduced to nothing but howls under the attacker’s merciless blows. The assailant avoided vital spots, dominated him completely, intent only on tormenting and humiliating him.

Su Li couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

Her mind was filled with images of He Shuming being beaten. She found herself imagining the person filming as Mo Xingyuan.

By dawn, she called Mo Xingyuan.

He answered, his voice as cold as ever. “What is it?”

Su Li swallowed. “Did you have someone beat up He Shuming?”

After asking, she held her breath.

“Yes.”

Su Li’s eyes widened; she hadn’t expected him to admit it so quickly.

“Feeling sorry for him?” Mo Xingyuan asked.

Su Li immediately denied it. “No, I was just asking.”

“And then?” he prompted.

Su Li bit her lip. She hadn’t thought that far ahead—only wanted to confirm.

“Did you… clean things up? The video’s out there. Won’t it be discovered?”

She was still worried. The incident had happened because of her; she didn’t want to bring him more trouble.

“It’s none of your concern,” Mo Xingyuan replied calmly. “He was beaten—not because of you.”

Su Li was speechless.

The call ended abruptly. She stared at her darkened screen, uncertain what to feel.

At noon, Lady Mo called and invited her to lunch.

Her mother-in-law, nominally gentle, was always forceful beneath the surface, never leaving room for refusal.

Lady Mo greeted Su Li with a smile, appearing delighted. She asked her to order something she liked, inquired if her cold had gotten better.

Days had passed before she asked; it was merely polite routine.

Su Li, as always, behaved obediently in front of her, answering every question as required.

“Li, why don’t you move in and live with Xingyuan?”