Chapter 24
Staff Officer Li would soon arrive at the place where Gong Xiaohua had left the signal.
When he arrived, what he saw was the rapist staring viciously at Gong Xiaohua.
The big knife in his hand was also resting horizontally in front of his chest, ready to defend against attacks at any time.
Gong Xiaohua was just sitting on the roof of the opponent's house, holding a roof tile in her hand and tossing it from her left hand to her right.
As long as the opponent dared to escape, she could strike his legs with the roof tile at any time.
Li Zichen's arrival made the rapist realize that he was doomed, and even if he surrendered, he could not escape capital punishment.
After choosing to be arrested, it was torture and then death, or choosing suicide now. The rapist did not hesitate to choose the latter.
Just as he was about to end his life with the knife.
Before he could act, Gong Xiaohua threw the roof tile in her hand at his knife-wielding hand. The rapist yelled in pain as the knife fell from his hand.
Li Zichen then quickly rushed up to subdue the rapist.
As other personnel gradually arrived, they marched together solemnly, escorting the rapist back to the Department of Punishments.
Li Zichen lagged behind and came to Gong Xiaohua's side. He said to Gong Xiaohua, "Good skills, who taught you?"
Gong Xiaohua glanced at him and said, "Sir, I taught myself."
"You think I'll believe that?"
Gong Xiaohua shrugged. "Sir, if you don't want to believe me, I have nothing more to say."
Li Zichen also realized that his question was inappropriate, so he changed the subject and said,
"I hope you won't act alone during the next operation."
"You were lucky this time. If your opponent was more skilled than you, just think about the consequences."
"Yes sir, please rest assured that I will definitely not act on my own next time."
"Good."
"I heard that you easily defeated Yang Shu in the selection competition. At first I thought you had used some trickery against him, but now I see that his defeat at your hands was fair."
"You flatter me, sir. It was because Head Yang underestimated me at the beginning that I was able to take advantage."
When Li Zichen saw how adept Gong Xiaohua was at speaking now, she was completely different from the Gong Xiaohua he knew before.
The Gong Xiaohua before, her face would turn bright red whenever she saw him.
When talking to him, she would always stutter and be unable to speak clearly. Even if she said a couple sentences, she would suddenly run away for no reason.
She also liked to hide in the shadows and stare at him, sometimes to the point that she would bump into things several times while walking.
This caused him to be teased frequently by some of his colleagues, so he had deliberately avoided this girl before now.
"You've changed a lot compared to before."
Gong Xiaohua didn't expect him to suddenly say this. Was the original host very familiar with him?
"Sir, were you very familiar with me before? I was injured last time and lost my memory, so I can't remember many things clearly."
I see, no wonder.
"We weren't familiar. I'll be going first. I hope you can get a good result in the upcoming wrestling competition."
After saying this, Li Zichen quickened his pace to catch up with the troops ahead.
Gong Xiaohua watched Li Zichen leave behind her. Why did he seem unhappy? Nevermind, I'll go back to the department first.
After taking two steps, she suddenly stopped. She murmured "Staff Officer Li" under her breath. She seemed to have heard of this person before.
Thinking back carefully, her eyes suddenly widened.
Could it be, she still remembered that on the day she resumed her job, someone said that she only had eyes for Staff Officer Li and would not marry anyone but him. Could it be him?
No wonder Li Zichen frequently glanced at her when they first gathered at the Department of Punishments.
She had thought there was something wrong with his eyes. Turns out he was on guard against her "pouncing" on him at any moment.
But the original host had quite good taste. Not only was he a handsome and promising young officer, he also seemed to be quite a warm man, much better than that pretty boy Qin Chuyuan from the Qin family.
Qin Chuyuan, who was working in the Capital Governor's office, suddenly sneezed inexplicably.
Hearing Qin Chuyuan sneeze, Lin Zhiyuan looked up at him and asked, "What's wrong, caught a cold?"
"No," replied Qin Chuyuan tersely as always.
"Oh, I see. I heard the Lin family and your Qin family are planning an engagement. This young lady from the Lin family is said to be one of the greatest beauties in the capital. Were you too excited to sleep well? Haha..."
Lin Zhiyuan kept laughing, but soon felt an ominous gaze staring at him.
He seemed to realize that he had said something wrong. So he smiled awkwardly at his friend.
"Well, Chuyuan, I think someone was looking for me just now. I'll go check."
As soon as he finished speaking, he dashed out of the room, leaving Qin Chuyuan alone.
The previously spacious office now made him feel extremely oppressed and stifled.
Unable to work peacefully, he simply put down his work, called Li Zichen, got on his horse, and headed for the city gate.
On the way, he saw a group of people gathering and heading towards the Qin residence, their faces full of cheers.
Li Zichen stopped a passerby at random.
"Brother, where is everyone going? What happened up ahead?"
"You haven't heard? They just caught the notorious rapist who terrorized the capital for years. Everyone's rushing over to see!" The man said eagerly before rushing ahead.
"Young Master, shall we go take a look too?"
"Mm."
The two dismounted, with Li Zichen leading the horses. They followed the crowd towards the Department of Punishments.
They chose a booth on the second floor near the window of a teahouse along the way to the department.
The streets outside were now lined with crowds on both sides, very lively.
When the officers and the rapist passed by, cheers erupted from the crowd. Some even had tears streaming down their faces.
It had been three years. The bastard who deserved to be sliced into ten thousand pieces was finally caught.
Back then, he had ruined so many innocent young girls. Some chose suicide, unable to bear the humiliation.
Some who survived either lived in pain or went mad.
Among the crowd, Qin Chuyuan noticed two people walking at the back.
He recognized both of them. One was the youngest son of the Li family, Li Heng, who worked at the Department of Punishments. The other was Gong Xiaohua, who had been disturbing his mood recently.
The two walked very close together, seeming intimate as they talked about something. This made Qin Chuyuan inexplicably annoyed.
Being so intimate in public, having no sense of propriety.
What else did that Li guy have besides slightly better looks?
In terms of appearance, he was much better looking than Li.
"Zichen, are they very familiar with each other?"
"Who?"
Li Zichen didn't understand who his master was referring to. Looking at Qin Chuyuan, he followed his line of sight to Gong Xiaohua and the Li family's young master.
"Flower mentioned this person before."
"What did she say about him?"
Huh? What's wrong with Master today? Nothing unusual seemed to have happened, so why did he sound unhappy?
"Um...it's not convenient to say, or rather, I shouldn't say it."
"Is that so. Nevermind then."
As expected, she's no different from other girls. Just superficial.
What else does she have besides slightly better looks?
"Next time I go home to rest, teach your niece properly. A young lady going out should know to avoid suspicious behavior, lest others laugh at her."
Li Zichen looked at Gong Xiaohua outside. She didn't seem to be walking particularly close to any gentleman.
"Yes, Master."