Chapter 233 — Hearts Drawing Closer

"Stay in the car and don't get out. I'll be back in a moment," Wei Zhao said to Tang Zhi.

"Okay," Tang Zhi nodded obediently, not arguing with Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao got out of the car, opened the rear door of the van, and hauled Black Panther out.

Qiu Lingshan was driving a Jinbei police van, not the Cheetah SUV she had before. This vehicle was clearly the kind used for transporting suspects.

Qiu Lingshan spotted Wei Zhao at once and pulled the car to a stop in front of him.

Although she had heard Wei Zhao say earlier that he had caught Black Panther and beaten him half-crippled, seeing Wei Zhao holding Black Panther like that still made her mouth drop open into an "O" of surprise.

"You came alone, right?" Wei Zhao glanced at the car and, finding no one else, relaxed. Qiu Lingshan was one of the few who knew a small part of his business, and Wei Zhao had no intention of letting more people learn about him.

"You just caught him like that?" Qiu Lingshan nodded, got out of the car, and stared at Black Panther in Wei Zhao's hand with some astonishment.

"How else was I supposed to catch him?" Wei Zhao dumped Black Panther on the ground. "All right, he's yours. I'm leaving."

With that, Wei Zhao turned and walked back toward the van.

"Wait, you still have to come back with me and give a statement..." Qiu Lingshan called after him.

"Make one up yourself," Wei Zhao said without turning his head. "I'm giving you all the credit. Just say you caught him yourself. It has nothing to do with me anyway!"

"You..." Qiu Lingshan was furious, but this credit...

Qiu Lingshan knew that catching Black Panther was no small achievement, no less than the bank robbers before. With these two accomplishments, her prestige in the police bureau had reached its peak, laying a solid foundation for her future promotion.

"If you want me to do things for you again in the future, don't waste so much breath." Wei Zhao got back into the van, ignored Qiu Lingshan, and drove away.

Qiu Lingshan stamped her foot in anger, picked Black Panther up off the ground and tossed him into her car, then drove off in the opposite direction from Wei Zhao...

"By the way, how did you get brought here? Where's Kang Xiaofeng?" With the Black Panther matter settled, Wei Zhao finally remembered to ask Tang Zhi how she had been captured.

"Kang Xiaofeng... I don't know either... Kang Xiaofeng and I left school, and he said we'd take a taxi to the hospital, so he got into a taxi waiting for passengers at the school gate," Tang Zhi said. "After that, I don't remember anything. Then I woke up... and it was..."

At this point, Tang Zhi lowered her head shyly.

Wei Zhao frowned, took out his phone, and dialed Kang Xiaofeng's number.

The phone rang for quite a while before Kang Xiaofeng's groggy voice came through: "Huh? Hello? Who is this?"

"Xiaobo, it's me. Where are you?" Hearing Kang Xiaofeng sounding as if he had just woken up, Wei Zhao felt relieved. It seemed Black Panther's main targets had been Tang Zhi and himself; Kang Xiaofeng should be fine. Otherwise, Black Panther wouldn't have left the phone with him.

"I... where is this? Huh? How did I fall asleep on the street?" Kang Xiaofeng froze, then suddenly cried out, "Oh no, Boss, Tang Zhi, Tang Zhi is gone! Boss, I lost Tang Zhi..."

"All right, Tang Zhi is fine, she's with me. Where are you? I'll come pick you up?" Wei Zhao asked.

"I'm at... I don't know where this is either, it's a small street. Let me walk out to the main road and take a look..." Kang Xiaofeng said groggily. "After school I took a taxi to the hospital with Tang Zhi, and then I think I fell asleep. I slept like a log until just now, when I woke up."

"..." Wei Zhao was somewhat speechless. "All right, take a cab home first. We'll talk tomorrow if there's anything."

"That works too. I'm still all muddled right now, my head's spinning a bit. As long as Tang Zhi's fine, I'm relieved. See you tomorrow, then." Kang Xiaofeng was clearly still not fully clear-headed.

Wei Zhao hung up with a bitter smile, glanced at Tang Zhi, and said, "You were probably knocked out with drugs. Then they dumped Kang Xiaofeng carelessly by the roadside and brought you here."

"Yes..." Tang Zhi was not quite sure who wanted to harm her... and had given her that kind of drug. The very thought sent a chill of belated fear through her. If Wei Zhao had not appeared in time, then today she would have...

"It was Zou Ruoming," Wei Zhao said. "I'll let the kid off easy today. I'll deal with him slowly later."

Qiu Lingshan would probably learn something of today's events from Black Panther's mouth, so Wei Zhao could not simply wipe Zou Ruoming out. But being unable to do it today did not mean he could not do it later. Once this matter was over, making him vanish from the face of the earth would be a very simple thing for Wei Zhao.

"Zou Ruoming..." Tang Zhi repeated the name in a somewhat dazed manner, then suddenly lowered her head and began to sob...

"You... Tang Zhi, what's wrong?" Wei Zhao was startled. He had not expected Tang Zhi to burst into tears just like that, without the slightest warning.

"It's nothing... it's not about you... I just want to cry..." Tang Zhi's voice was somewhat choked. "Why do they bully me? Why? Is it just because my family is poor, so I'm easy to bully?"

Hearing Tang Zhi's words, Wei Zhao gave a slight sigh. These pent-up grievances in Tang Zhi's heart must have been suppressed for a long time, only bursting out today. This was a young girl in the flower of youth, pouring out her complaint against an unfair fate!

Think of Tang Zhi's family—was it not just the same? Mother and daughter, bullied even for setting up a barbecue stall... let alone anything else.

It was the same at school. Why did Zou Ruoming not dare to move against Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, and instead go after Tang Zhi? Because he knew that bullying Tang Zhi would not cause any trouble, but bullying Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu would be a big deal!

"It won't happen again..." Wei Zhao patted Tang Zhi's shoulder. He wanted to pull her into his arms, yet hesitated slightly.

Just as he hesitated, Tang Zhi leaned into Wei Zhao's embrace of her own accord and began to sob...

Hah... This time Wei Zhao did not decline. He took the opportunity to wrap his arm around Tang Zhi's fragrant shoulders and let her weep against his chest... Perhaps Tang Zhi was not thinking that much at all. She simply wanted a shoulder to lean on while she cried...

Indeed, at this moment Tang Zhi truly was not thinking too much. Leaning in Wei Zhao's embrace was merely to make herself feel a little more at ease.

"Shall I take you home?" Once Tang Zhi's emotions had calmed, Wei Zhao said to her.

Tang Zhi gave a start and abruptly broke free of Wei Zhao's arms. She turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly, yet softly gave a quiet "Mm."

Wei Zhao smiled, started the car, and drove off in the direction of the shantytown.

That night, the hearts of the two drew closer...