For the first time, Teacher Wen showed a hint of temper.

Wen Shuang instinctively tightened the coat around her. She turned her head away, saying nothing. Tears shimmered stubbornly in her eyes but refused to fall. Though her mother had died when she was young, Wen Fanhai had still raised her with care—she had never suffered such humiliation before. And now Ji Shen mocked her as well.

She felt so wronged she wanted to cry. If she hadn't been desperate for money, what decent girl would go to a bar to dance like that?

Ji Shen sensed that his words had been too harsh. He lifted Wen Shuang's chin; as expected, her almond-shaped eyes were misty, yet she clenched her teeth and refused to cry.

Wen Shuang turned away, choking out, "Don't touch me!"

Her beautiful cheeks were stained red from being slapped. Ji Shen wasn't a fool—given the scene he had just witnessed, he could guess what had happened earlier.

That night, he'd received a tip-off that someone was dealing drugs at the bar, so he’d brought a team over for a late-night raid. He hadn’t expected to miss the dealers but instead hear a woman's desperate cries. And the woman who had nearly been assaulted was Wen Shuang!

"Sorry, I spoke too harshly," he said.

He tried to help Wen Shuang up, but she was so angry she refused to move, so he simply scooped her into his arms. "Forgive me."

Wen Shuang beat against his chest. "What are you doing? Put me down!"

"You're hurt—you need to go to the hospital. Otherwise, a young girl like you might be scarred for life and cry every time you look in the mirror," Ji Shen said, leaving no room for argument.

She hadn't been held in a while, and it seemed she’d grown even lighter.

Unwilling to submit, Wen Shuang kicked her legs. Ji Shen tossed her up slightly and wrapped her tight in his police jacket. "If you keep struggling, I won't be responsible if your clothes slip."

Wen Shuang had no choice but to curl up quietly in his arms.

A faint scent of tobacco from the man drifted to her nose, oddly comforting.

Ji Shen took her to see a specialist.

The doctor prescribed two tubes of ointment for the swelling.

Afterwards, Ji Shen sat on a bench under the bright lights, applying the ointment to Wen Shuang's face.

He was a man, after all, and his hands were a bit heavy.

Wen Shuang winced in pain. "It hurts—be gentler!"

"I'm already being as gentle as I can," Ji Shen replied. He felt he'd never been so careful in his life, but still tried to ease up even more.

Her face was soft and delicate, as smooth as porcelain.

Up close, her fair skin was flawless. Now, swollen from the blows, it would move even the hardest heart to pity.

"Did they hurt you anywhere else?" Ji Shen asked in a low voice.

Wen Shuang pursed her lips in annoyance. "Officer Ji, are you asking just to humiliate me again?"

"No," he replied, eyes fixed on her. "I want to stand up for you."

Wen Shuang tucked her hair behind her ear, trying to cover her injuries. "I'm flattered by your concern, Officer Ji."

After all, every time he'd seen her recently, he'd done nothing but mock her.

Ji Shen capped the ointment and put it in a plastic bag. "The doctor said three times a day. If you take good care, your face should heal within two days."

Wen Shuang thanked him.

When they left, she took off the police jacket she'd been wearing and handed it back. "Officer Ji, don't forget your coat."

Without the jacket, she was left in a provocative black camisole, her figure full and alluring.

No wonder those men had lost their minds—this wasn't just a dance show; their eyes must have been fixed on her alone.

Ji Shen draped the jacket back over her shoulders, his gaze deep. "If you go home dressed like that, I’ll probably be called out again tonight."

Wen Shuang didn't argue further. She gripped the edge of the coat. "I'll wash it and return it to you next time."

Ji Shen drove her home. The whole way, Wen Shuang stared out the window, lost in thought.

Just before she got out, she finally turned, seeming much calmer. "Thank you, Officer Ji. For saving me and taking me to the hospital."

Otherwise, she truly didn't know what would have happened to her that night.

"Why did you go to a place like that to dance?" he asked.

A place like that?

The warmth that had just begun to thaw in Wen Shuang's heart froze over again.

She tried to smile, but the wounds on her face hurt too much. "Officer Ji, I needed money. That's why I danced there. Does that answer satisfy you?"

Ji Shen frowned. "Are you really that desperate?"

His look seemed to say she was dirty, unworthy of respect.

Since her family had gone bankrupt, Wen Shuang had grown sensitive. Her tone turned icy. "Officer Ji, someone like you, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, could never understand what it’s like for a bankrupt daughter. When you’re backed into a corner, you have no choice but to let others push you around."

She’d gone to dance because she was afraid the debt collectors would harass her again and make her lose the hard-won job at her training center.

The old Wen Shuang would never have set foot in such a seedy place.

But now, she had no money, and everyone was pressuring her.

She truly had no other choice.

Someone like Ji Shen, born to privilege, could never understand!

Ji Shen met her cool gaze and, for the first time, called her by name. "Wen Shuang, I can understand your desperation to make money, but that place isn't for you. Be careful. Don't go back there again."

"Then will you give me money, Officer Ji?" Wen Shuang arched her brow. "If you’re willing, I’d gladly accept."

Ji Shen’s expression chilled. "That’s not funny."

"Isn’t that exactly how you see me?" Wen Shuang didn't even know where her anger was coming from.

She slammed the door behind her.

"Officer Ji, you won’t give me money, but you tell me not to go—how absurd!"

It was the first time Ji Shen had been brushed off by a woman. He was speechless.

Where had he gone wrong? He’d taken her to the hospital and brought her home, only to be unappreciated for urging her not to return to that place!

Ji Shen could only feel like a good man misunderstood.

He drove back to the station and interrogated everyone they’d arrested that night—especially Mr. Huang, who’d tried to assault Wen Shuang.

Officer Xiao Wang saw Ji Shen’s fierce questioning and yawned as he whispered to a colleague, "First time I’ve seen Officer Ji so fired up on a vice raid! He dug up all of Mr. Huang’s dirty secrets from his rise to power. I bet he’ll be in jail for a long, long time."

"I think Officer Ji has a thing for Miss Wen," someone replied. "You should have seen him—when he found her on the floor being attacked, his eyes were practically shooting flames!"

"Is that the same Miss Wen who came to the station a while back? The really beautiful one?"

"Yeah, that’s her. No wonder Officer Ji lost his cool!"

...

Wen Shuang’s disastrous night at the bar brought trouble. The debt collectors called, accusing her of refusing to cooperate.

"I danced as agreed," she retorted. "And you promised I wouldn’t have to do anything else. I was just defending myself!"

"You have any idea how much trouble you caused Mr. Huang?" the collector snapped. "He got caught and now they’ve dug up all his old records—solicitation, drug dealing—he’s under criminal detention now! He won't be out for years."

Wen Shuang hadn’t expected things to escalate this far.

Ji Shen’s words from the previous night came to mind: "I’ll stand up for you."

Her heart skipped a beat.

The debt collector threatened, "Wen Shuang, after what you did to Mr. Huang, you’re in for it!"

She hung up, feeling unlucky. Leaving the classroom, she was stopped at the front desk by someone calling her name.

Turning around, she saw it was the girl who had been at the next table during Ji Shen’s recent blind date at the Western restaurant—Chen Manli.