SWTHTC - 20

Chapter 20: “I’ll Do Whatever You Say”

[...It was him who suddenly grabbed her hand.]

Zhou Leqi arrived at the police station just before 10 PM.

The station was far busier than she had imagined. There were people involved in drunken brawls, prostitution, drunk driving, theft, robbery—you name it. All sorts of offenders filled the space, creating a chaotic scene.

Among them was Hou Zihao—charged with fighting.

She found him in a large office on the second floor of the station. The room was packed with over a dozen police officers, each dealing with their own set of troublemakers. Some were explaining, others arguing—it was pandemonium.

Yet, Zhou Leqi spotted Hou Zihao immediately. Perhaps it was because he was still wearing his school uniform, standing out starkly among the crowd of societal misfits. He sat in front of a police officer, occasionally glancing at his phone, looking somewhat irritated. When he turned his head and suddenly saw her, the impatience in his eyes vanished instantly, and he quickly stood up.

It was as if he had been waiting for her all along.

When their eyes met, Zhou Leqi couldn’t quite describe the strange feeling that washed over her. It was subtle, complex, and fleeting. She didn’t dwell on it, instead walking straight toward him.

As she approached, she noticed another person sitting next to him—the middle-aged man from the bus. His face was bruised, and his arm appeared unnaturally positioned, likely twisted. He was visibly agitated, his face flushed red.

Zhou Leqi’s hands clenched slightly at her sides.

The officer handling this dispute glanced up when Hou Zihao stood, noticing Zhou Leqi. He nodded at her and gestured for her to sit, saying, “You’re one of the parties involved, right? Have a seat and explain what happened.”

There were three chairs opposite the officer’s desk. Hou Zihao had originally been seated on one side, with the middle-aged man on the other, leaving the middle seat empty. As Zhou Leqi approached, Hou Zihao smoothly moved to the middle seat, leaving the far-right chair for her.

A subtle act of protection, ensuring the man wouldn’t get too close to her again.

Zhou Leqi glanced at him briefly. Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, and strangely... there was warmth.

She thought to herself: It must be because I ran here so fast. That’s why I feel so warm now, and my breathing feels uneven.

She averted her gaze, sat down.

Before she could speak, the middle-aged man began loudly protesting to the officer. “Officer, you must give me justice here! I was just minding my own business when this student suddenly attacked me! And then he falsely accused me of harassing and stalking this female student! I don’t even know her! These two…”

He rambled on endlessly.

After listening for a while, the officer grew visibly impatient, waving his hand to silence the man. Perhaps he already had a rough idea of what had happened. Turning to Zhou Leqi, his expression softened, and he encouraged her, “Don’t be afraid. Just tell me what happened. Have you seen this man before?”

He pointed at the middle-aged man.

Zhou Leqi felt nervous. A well-behaved student like her had never stepped foot in a police station except for getting her ID card. Naturally, she felt uneasy. Instinctively, she glanced at Hou Zihao. He was watching her, his demeanor as nonchalant and cool as it always was at school. This familiarity brought her some comfort.

She looked back at the officer, adjusted her breathing, and replied, “Yes, I’ve seen him. I’ve encountered him almost every day on the bus recently.”

As she spoke, the officer jotted down notes and asked, “Has he harassed you?”

At the mention of “harassment,” the middle-aged man became agitated again, loudly protesting, “Officer! How can you be biased? What do you mean by ‘harassment’? How have I harassed her? You…”

Before he could finish, the officer shot him a glare, and he fell silent, as if muted.

The officer turned back to Zhou Leqi, gesturing for her to continue.

Zhou Leqi hesitated, unsure how to respond. Had the man harassed her? He hadn’t touched her, but he had stared at her with ill intent. Would that count as useful evidence?

“This man has been secretly watching her on the bus,” she was still deliberating when Hou Zihao suddenly spoke up. “For the past few days, I’ve been riding the bus with her, so he didn’t have a chance to do anything inappropriate. But today, I wasn’t there, and she was followed after getting off the bus. There should be surveillance footage showing the direction he took after getting off the bus, which differs from his usual route.”

Zhou Leqi: “… “

…Had he really observed all of this?

To be honest, even Zhou Leqi herself hadn’t paid attention to the man’s movements after he got off the bus. Yet Hou Zihao seemed to know everything. And why had he shown up near her house today? He didn’t live in the Development Zone—Hao Ting International was downtown.

She found it strange but realized now wasn’t the time to question it. The officer was still asking her, “Is that correct?”

She nodded.

The officer jotted down more notes, then frowned and asked Hou Zihao, “And what about you? What’s your relationship with the victim?”

Hou Zihao sat casually in his chair, unfazed by the questioning. Nonchalantly lying, he said, “I’m her boyfriend.”

Zhou Leqi: “… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …”

The officer raised an eyebrow, turning to Zhou Leqi again. “Is that true?”

Zhou Leqi was utterly speechless, unsure whether to confirm or deny it. In her hesitation, she suddenly felt warmth in her palm—

…It was him who suddenly grabbed her hand.

His hands were large; holding a basketball on the court was effortless, let alone gripping hers. Her hand was entirely enveloped in his dry, warm palm, though hers was slightly sweaty.

Zhou Leqi’s heart skipped a beat, and she heard herself say, “… Yes.”

After answering, she felt him squeeze her hand tighter.

The officer scrutinized them for a moment, glancing at their tightly clasped hands, then returned to jotting down notes.

Once finished, he turned to Hou Zihao and said, “Describe what happened today.”

Hou Zihao, who had been growing increasingly impatient, now held Zhou Leqi’s hand in his. His mood improved, and his attitude softened as he responded, “She was followed on her way home. I noticed and caught this guy.”

The officer frowned, sharply asking, “You just said you weren’t on the bus with her today. So why were you near her house?”

Hou Zihao fell silent for a moment. Zhou Leqi grew tense, unsure how he would respond. After a pause, he said, “We had an argument, and she didn’t want me to ride the same bus. So I took a taxi to the final stop, planning to secretly escort her home.”

Zhou Leqi: “… “

She… was overwhelmed with emotions, unsure what to say.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man continued rambling, claiming he hadn’t been following her but merely planned to buy something from a convenience store, coincidentally taking the same route as her. Even when confronted with records of his previous offenses involving harassment and indecent behavior, he stubbornly insisted he had reformed and that this was all a misunderstanding.

The officer clearly didn’t believe him, but since no actual harm had occurred this time, convicting him was unrealistic. The resolution was to split the blame evenly: the officer warned the middle-aged man not to harass Zhou Leqi again and demanded that Hou Zihao apologize and pay compensation for the altercation.

“Compensation is fine, but I won’t apologize,” Hou Zihao scowled, defiant. “He needs to apologize to her first. Then we’ll talk about mine.”

His attitude amused the officer, who tapped his pen rhythmically on the desk. “What’s with this attitude, student? Still talking about your side? Do you realize this is considered fighting and causing trouble? Apologize!”

Turning to the middle-aged man, he added more sternly, “You apologize too!”

…Clearly, the officer still favored the students.

The middle-aged man, having been beaten and gaining nothing throughout the ordeal, was naturally displeased. Stubbornly refusing to apologize first, he only provoked Hou Zihao further. Zhou Leqi, sitting close to him, quickly sensed the change in his mood, even noticing the tension in his arm muscles.

Seeing this, Zhou Leqi panicked, especially fearing another conflict between Hou Zihao and the man in front of the officer. Unable to help herself, she gently tugged at his hand.

Still holding her hand, he immediately felt her movement. The boy, who had been bristling with hostility toward others, softened and became gentle when he turned to her. Sensing her unease, despite her silence, their eyes meeting told him everything.

He sighed softly, tightening his grip on her hand, leaning closer to whisper, “Alright, I understand…”

“… I’ll do whatever you say.”

His voice was low and tender, stirring something deep within her.

Zhou Leqi inexplicably felt her face grow warm.

Hou Zihao apologized first. Seeing this, the middle-aged man seized the opportunity, offering a half-hearted apology before demanding medical compensation from Hou Zihao.

Hou Zihao didn’t argue much about this step, quickly pulling out his phone to transfer the money. However, Zhou Leqi stopped him.

Hou Zihao looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Leqi pursed her lips. “I should cover this.”

Though she still didn’t fully understand why Hou Zihao had been near her house today, it was clear he had gotten into this trouble because of her. How could she let him pay? Fortunately, she had prepared by taking a few hundred yuan from Yu Qing’s wallet before leaving home, which now came in handy.

This, however, crossed Hou Zihao’s line.

In his family, it was always his father who paid for everything—big purchases like houses and cars, and small ones like soy sauce and groceries. Never his mother, even though she was far wealthier.

Moreover, today’s incident was caused by his mishandling. Zhou Leqi coming to the police station late at night to testify for him was already a huge inconvenience. How could he let her pay?

Thus, for once, Hou Zihao refused to listen to Zhou Leqi, insisting on paying himself. Both were stubborn, pushing and blocking each other, leaving the officer and the middle-aged man dumbfounded.

In the end, neither of them paid—because—

Hou Zihao’s father arrived.