Her home had been attacked!

"Mm-hmm," Liu Muyan replied perfunctorily.

Shan Yirou continued on the other end.

"You have no idea how many people are pairing Yannan with that An Qian. If you ask me, you and Yannan are the perfect match. That An Qian doesn't look like any good."

"How so? She looks pretty enough to me." Liu Muyan raised her hands to her face and began rubbing in circles, massaging all the serum from the face mask into her skin.

Shan Yirou grew anxious. "Mumu, how can you say that? You're boosting someone else's confidence and undermining your own. That An Qian is no good.

"It's bad enough that she's a girl studying computer science, but she's even shameless enough to want to pair up with Yannan. Anyway, I don't care. In my eyes, you and Yannan are the best match. No one else will do."

Liu Muyan nodded. "Mm, okay, you're absolutely right. I'll go see what's going on in a bit. How dare she steal my man? Just you wait, Yirou."

With that, she hung up without giving the other woman any chance to speak. When the time was up, she peeled off her face mask and looked at herself in the mirror.

Such creamy skin, such natural beauty. How could that brain-dead Chu Yannan possibly deserve me?

But he had caused all this trouble, so it wasn't unreasonable for her to give him a scolding, was it? She picked up her phone and dialed another number.

Class hadn't started yet, so it was still rather noisy when the phone in Chu Yannan's pocket rang. He took it out and saw that it was Liu Muyan, and his expression immediately soured.

He glanced at An Qian. Seeing that she was reading, he hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Hello. What do you want?" Chu Yannan's voice was distant, as though the person on the other end was someone he didn't want to speak to.

The moment Liu Muyan heard that pretentious tone, she knew he was at it again. She had no idea when he'd started talking like this, but it took her right back to those years of reading edgy novels.

"Are you in class?" She still had to confirm whether he was waiting for class to start, in case those people's information was inaccurate.

To Chu Yannan, her words sounded like an interrogation, and he immediately grew a little angry.

"Are you stalking me or trying to investigate me? Liu Muyan, don't go too far!"

Fuck. Liu Muyan pushed her tongue against her cheek, all her heiress elegance vanishing. She grabbed the phone lying on the table on speaker and launched into a tirade.

"If you're going to class, then fucking pay attention. If you give me that pretentious smile again, I'll come rip your mouth apart after class!

"Use that tone with me again and I'll crack your skull open. Are you there to study or to strut around like a peacock? Even if you want to pick up girls, learn to read the room. Not even Marxism can cleanse all that garbage out of your brain. You're an insult to academia.

"If you can study, then study. If you can't, get the hell out of the classroom. You're a nuisance every damn day!" Once she finished, she let out a satisfied breath, then softened her tone.

"As long as our status hasn't changed, you'd better behave. If any more pictures get out, you are dead tonight. Enjoy your class."

Chu Yannan never got a single word out before she hung up on him. His volume wasn't high, so An Qian could only hear a few muffled words, not enough to form a sentence.

Seeing Chu Yannan's dark expression, his formerly smiling lips now pressed tightly together, An Qian ventured a question.

"Are you all right?"

Chu Yannan met her eyes, then silently shook his head before forcing a smile. "I'm fine. Sorry for disturbing you."

Meanwhile, Liu Muyan stood up, still cursing. "Damn it, there goes another face mask. Chu Yannan, you bastard, if you cause any more trouble, I really will break your legs."

The teacher had already entered the classroom, so An Qian could only look at him with concern before speaking quietly.

"There's nothing you can't get through. Focus on class for now."

Hearing that, Chu Yannan felt warmth welling up in his heart. I knew An Qian was different. She's different from everyone else. She's so special-she actually comforted me.

With that thought, his eyes brimming with tears, he gave An Qian a gentle smile and a nod, then listened attentively to the lecture.

Shen Zhiyi sat in the police station giving her statement, her suitcase beside her legs. She answered whatever the police asked.

The policewoman beside her couldn't help looking up at her a few extra times when she saw how quiet she was. Anyone whose home had been smashed into such a mess would normally be panicked, or at least experience considerable emotional turmoil.

But she wasn't. She hadn't even frowned, merely recounting everything steadily, as though she wasn't the one whose door had been forced open and whose home had been wrecked.

Two hours earlier, after getting off the plane, Shen Zhiyi had taken a bus to the entrance of the alley. She hadn't been back in a long time, but the place was still just as it had always been.

She carried her luggage upstairs, only to be greeted by a door covered in messy paint and a lock that had been pried open.

The front door hung open, looking as if it might fall at any moment. The lighting inside wasn't very good, but one glance showed all the furniture overturned, some pieces smashed beyond recognition.

She stood silently in the doorway, then took out her phone and called the police.

Perhaps hearing the noise, a neighbor opened her door and stood there watching for a while. When she saw Shen Zhiyi look over, she immediately straightened up and said,

"What are you looking at? I didn't do it. If you ask me, you've offended too many people, and now you've got what was coming to you.

"Oh dear, such a perfectly good home, smashed up like this. I used to think I'd misjudged you, but looking at this, you must have done something bad and been found out. Hmph."

Shen Zhiyi ignored her sneering remarks. After so many years as neighbors, she knew exactly what this woman was like.

The police soon came upstairs and assessed the situation, then took her back to the station to give a statement.

She didn't have much to tell them, because she had been away on business for the past two weeks and had only discovered what had happened to her home upon returning.

Whoever had done this was particularly malicious, clearly intent on making the place uninhabitable for Shen Zhiyi. The walls and quilts had been splashed with paint, and even the bed frame had been dismantled.

Everything in sight had been smashed to pieces, and in places, the paint on the walls had been damaged so badly that the bricks underneath were exposed.

Shen Zhiyi had found a picture frame inside the apartment. Only after taking the photograph out of it had she gone back to the station with the police.

Given the circumstances, the police assured her they would find out who had done it as quickly as possible, but her home was no longer fit to live in.

The policewoman couldn't bear it. Shen Zhiyi's situation was clearly a case of deliberate retaliation, and she would certainly be in danger on her own.

But there was no way to have someone stay by her side around the clock.

After Shen Zhiyi left the station, the policewoman hurried after her, exchanged contact details with her, and urged,

"If anything happens, make sure you contact me. Whatever you do, don't act alone. We'll get to the bottom of your case as soon as possible. If you notice anything unusual around you, remember to message me right away."

Shen Zhiyi nodded and continued on her way, pulling her suitcase behind her.