Neither Gu Ting nor Wang Luoran was used to that.
Meng Chu said without hesitation, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Luckily, tomorrow was the second last day of the holiday, so returning then wasn’t too early.
After telling her mother, Xu Qingying heard there was company work but said nothing.
She only reminded Meng Chu to take care of her health.
Originally, Meng Chu’s high-speed train ticket was for the day after tomorrow, but there were no tickets left.
Luckily, many people traveled from their hometown to Shanghai, so she caught a ride.
Xu Qingying kept nagging, suggesting she buy a car for easier travel.
Even on the penultimate day of the holiday, many people were returning, and the roads were heavily congested.
Meng Chu didn’t go home but went straight to the company.
By the time she arrived, it was already past six in the evening.
Still, many from the tech department were working late, some because their homes were far, others to earn overtime pay.
Wang Luoran was there, too.
Seeing Meng Chu return, he immediately perked up.
“You’re finally back,” he said as he pulled her over and began discussing technical issues they had encountered.
After Wang Luoran finished, Gu Ting also came to the company.
He immediately told her to prepare a new business plan. He had met with several investors these days.
Meng Chu was helpless. “There’s no rush. We need to take it slow. Financing requires caution.”
Investor money wasn’t easy to get, and Xingyuan was still working hard to generate revenue.
Before she knew it, it was past ten at night.
On the ride home, Meng Chu sent a WeChat message to Cheng Jinyu.
【I’m going to see Momo tomorrow.】
Cheng Jinyu: 【You’re back?】
Meng Chu: 【Yes. It’s too late today. I’m going home to rest first.】
By then, the car had arrived home. Meng Chu got off and walked into the compound.
When she reached her building, she carried her suitcase into the elevator.
Just as the doors were about to close, they suddenly reopened, and a drunken man staggered in.
He pressed the button for the 13th floor. Meng Chu didn’t think much of it and assumed he was a neighbor.
After she reached the 12th floor, she exited the elevator first.
Just as she heard her phone vibrating, she took out her keys, preparing to open the door before answering.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her.
Before she could turn, she was violently pushed into her just-opened apartment.
The force made her fall to the floor.
Then a figure pounced on her.
The strong smell of alcohol surrounded her.
Meng Chu tried to struggle and shout, but the man covered her mouth.
The natural strength difference between man and woman was like an unbridgeable chasm.
She was pinned down, unable to resist at all.
“I’m just coming home, honey,” the man whispered lowly.
It was a completely unfamiliar voice.
Meng Chu tried to lift her foot to kick his knee, but he held her down tightly, making her unable to move.
Suddenly, she remembered behind her was her workbench, full of all kinds of tools.
She stretched her hand back and grabbed something.
It was a little robot that greeted her every day when she came home with a smiling face.
“Chu Chu, welcome home.”
Today, she grabbed it and smashed it hard on the man.
When he let out the first painful grunt, Meng Chu didn’t hesitate.
Although the room was dark, she could still see the man’s head.
She raised the little robot and smashed it against his head without hesitation.
The man seemed hurt immediately.
Meng Chu scrambled to her feet, quickly feeling for the workbench.
It was too familiar to her.
Even without lights, she knew exactly where the tools were.
She grabbed a large wrench and charged at him.
She wildly struck his body.
As he cried out in pain and tried to fight back, Meng Chu shouted, “Help!”
But her voice caught in her throat at first.
Fear made her voice barely come out.
Terrified, she dashed toward the balcony and started banging the wrench against the security bars, yelling, “Help! Help!”
The quiet night in the compound was shattered.
Soon, lights went on throughout the building.
“12th floor, help!” The wrench hitting the bars sounded harsh.
Before long, neighbors upstairs and downstairs were alerted.
When one neighbor appeared, the man walked out first.
He said, “I have a crazy woman in my home who hit me. Look at all this blood on my head.”
He touched his head, which was bleeding profusely.
The neighbor looked at him skeptically.
Meng Chu appeared with the wrench in hand, staring coldly at him.
She told the neighbor softly, “This man broke into my home intending to assault me. Please call the police.”
“You’re a woman. What’s going on? This is my home!” the man shouted.
Another neighbor suddenly said, “I know that girl, but I’ve never seen you before.”
“I live in Building 10, Unit 1201,” the man insisted.
The crowd suddenly buzzed.
Someone quickly shouted, “Hey, you’re confused and drunk. This is Building 11. You’re in the wrong place.”
The man looked stunned. “Impossible. I’m home.”
“Drinking too much causes mistakes.”
“Right? You scared us all just now. I was wondering what was going on.”
“Look at all that blood on your head.”
Hearing the commotion, Meng Chu expressionless took her phone out and, with her blood-stained fingers, dialed three numbers.
When the call connected, she calmly said, “I want to report a break-in and assault.”
Hearing that, the man hurriedly said, “You’re overreacting. I just came to the wrong place. You’ve made me bleed, and I haven’t even argued with you yet.”
“We’ll wait for the police. Stop pretending,” Meng Chu said coldly, disgusted by his act in front of everyone.
From the moment he shoved her inside and covered her mouth, she knew he hadn’t just accidentally come to the wrong house.
Besides, he pressed 13 in the elevator.
The crowd quietly whispered, but no one dared speak up.
The man kept insisting, “I really made a mistake. I live in Building 10, Unit 1201. I drank too much tonight. Who would have thought it would happen like this?”
“Why don’t you just apologize? You scared her,” a neighbor said.
Meng Chu remained silent, watching the man’s act with cold eyes.
Twenty minutes later, the police arrived.
After hearing the situation and seeing the man’s injury, one officer said, “You need medical treatment.”
“Do you need to go to the hospital?” the officer asked Meng Chu.
She looked up. “I want to get tested. He pushed me from behind and covered my mouth. Can you collect fingerprints from that?”
“Don’t spray blood everywhere. I thought it was my home. You suddenly appeared and scared me. I just wanted to ask, but you attacked me,” the man rambled to the police.
“Enough. Go to the hospital first,” the officer said, seeing they both insisted on different versions.
The man walked to the elevator. Meng Chu stayed in her home.
The officer looked at her. She bit her lip and said softly, “I don’t want to take the elevator with him.”
The officer nodded understandingly. “I’ll take the next elevator with you.”
He then noticed the wrench tightly gripped in Meng Chu’s hand and asked, “Do you want to put that down?”
“That should be evidence. I want to keep it,” she said softly.
Meng Chu held the wrench tightly, not only because it was evidence but because it gave her a sense of security and courage.
Though the police were here to protect her, she couldn’t help clutching it.
Later, Meng Chu sat in the police car and was taken to the hospital.
She had almost no injuries, but the man was badly hurt.
Her wrench had indeed struck his hand.
From the emergency room came his cries and yells.
An officer approached and saw her sitting alone.
He kindly asked, “Do you want to call a friend to accompany you?”
In such situations, a girl faces immense psychological pressure and should have someone by her side.
A friend?
Song Yumian hadn’t returned to Shanghai yet.
Meng Chu knew who she should call—Cheng Jinyu.
But she didn’t want him to see her so disheveled.
“I’m fine,” she said through clenched teeth, shaking her head.
Yet her voice still quivered with suppressed tears.
She tried hard not to break down in front of that scoundrel.
She wanted to expose his true colors—he was definitely not a man who accidentally came to the wrong home.
Just then, Meng Chu’s phone rang.
She saw it was Cheng Jinyu calling.
She stared at the phone, afraid she would cry if she answered.
Because she was truly scared.
“Chu,” a low, anxious voice sounded.
She stared at the phone, stunned. Could she hear him even without answering?
“Chu,” the voice came again, now close.
Meng Chu slowly looked up and saw him standing there.
He wore a light beige trench coat. Usually calm and detached, but now his face was full of worry.
“Cheng Jinyu,” she said as she slowly stood.
The next second, he embraced her in a warm, broad hug.
As she touched that warmth, tears poured from her eyes like rain.
Though she cried silently, Cheng Jinyu felt it.
Her whole body trembled.
With a sharp clatter, the wrench she had gripped fell to the floor.
All her pent-up fear and hurt exploded as she poured out her sorrow.
At the same time, her relief and reliance peaked with his arrival.
As long as he was there, she feared nothing.
At the moment she saw him, her ears rang like a storm.
The person she longed for had come, descending from the sky.
He was really here.
———
Cheng Jinyu held Meng Chu tightly, letting her tears soak his shirt.
Inside, he was grateful.
Grateful that when he received her message, he knew she was back.
No matter how late, he wanted to see her.
So he drove straight to her home without hesitation.
“Do you want to sit for a while?” Cheng Jinyu asked softly, seeing her calm down.
Meng Chu shook her head but still clung to him.
Later, the man Meng Chu hit was treated and bandaged.
The police took them to give statements.
“Who are you to her?” an officer asked Cheng Jinyu nearby.
“I’m her husband,” Cheng Jinyu said.
The officer was slightly surprised but quickly listened to the case details.
Hearing the suspect insist it was a mistake, Cheng Jinyu stared intently at him.
“If my wife wasn’t reckless, there had to be a reason she acted that way,” Cheng Jinyu said.
If not for the police nearby, he would have charged at the man.
“Your understanding is that you don’t understand, right?” the officer pressed.
He then warned, “It’s not that we don’t want to file a case, but our colleague checked your home. There’s no surveillance, so each party has their own version.”
Cheng Jinyu looked at Meng Chu nearby.
She was quietly giving her statement, seeming calm as she described everything.
The more she appeared calm, the more he felt heartache.
At that moment, a group of people arrived.
Their leader looked at Cheng Jinyu. “Mr. Cheng.”
“You’re here,” Cheng Jinyu said with no expression.
The head of the law firm that Yunji Capital always cooperated with had sent the best criminal defense lawyers at Cheng Jinyu’s request.
“Go check the situation with the officers. Remember, my bottom line is zero tolerance.”
His gaze was cold and terrifying.
“I want that man to face the harshest legal punishment.”
———
When Meng Chu left the police station, it was already past three in the morning.
After all that, she was physically and mentally exhausted.
She got in the car and said nothing, letting Cheng Jinyu drive.
As expected, he drove straight to his home.
They remained silent in the car.
“I want to take a shower,” Meng Chu said softly.
Cheng Jinyu nodded.
Meng Chu went to the guest room, which had its own bathroom, and started showering quickly.
Her tears had dried when Cheng Jinyu arrived.
Still, she couldn’t help crying during the shower.
Though the man hadn’t touched her, when he held her down, Meng Chu had thought of many terrifying outcomes.
After a long while, she came out.
But when she saw him sitting on the bed, she froze.
“Why not dry your hair?” Cheng Jinyu asked, standing and pulling back the thin blanket.
Then he took her to the sink and dried her hair with a hairdryer.
Once dry, Cheng Jinyu held her hand as they came out.
But just as they reached the bed, he stopped and turned to face her.
Suddenly, he called out, “Meng Chu.”
She looked up, meeting his dark eyes, now tinted with a faint warm light that clearly reflected her image.
“Though this may be inappropriate now, I still want to say it.”
Meng Chu listened quietly.
“Meng Chu, let’s live together from now on.”
After he spoke, he gently gazed at her.
After a long moment—or maybe just a few seconds—she softly replied, “Okay.”
When darkness returned, this time Meng Chu was no longer afraid.
She leaned gently into the embrace of the man beside her.
All her fears were dispelled by his warmth.
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