After another hour passed, Zhou Jingqi returned to report, a look of joy on his face. "President, Miss Shen, Shen Chenggang has been rescued."
"Our people timed it perfectly. We managed to preserve the evidence of Su Jianye instructing those people, and we were able to rescue Shen Chenggang in time."
Shen Mianyin stood up and asked, "Is my brother injured?"
"Mr. Shen is fine," Zhou Jingqi replied. "He should be calling you shortly."
After rescuing Shen Chenggang, Gu Huaizhi's people naturally told him about Shen Mianyin's concern.
Shen Chenggang didn't expect Shen Mianyin to find out about this. He originally intended to keep it from her, not wanting her to worry.
Therefore, Shen Chenggang immediately called Shen Mianyin.
"Brother, how are you?" Shen Mianyin answered the phone and immediately asked, "Are you injured?"
"I'm fine," Shen Chenggang said with a smile. "President Gu's people were very careful and kept a close watch. They said that my safety was their top priority. Even if they couldn't gather evidence this time, they would prioritize my safety. You can rest assured."
"The only injury I sustained was when Su Jianye's people tried to block me with their car. I braked and swerved, and I hurt myself in the process," Shen Chenggang explained, afraid that Shen Mianyin might misunderstand.
Only then did Shen Mianyin breathe a sigh of relief and ask, "Are you going home now?"
"Yes," Shen Chenggang nodded.
"Then I'll go back too." Shen Mianyin needed to see Shen Chenggang with her own eyes to feel at ease.
"Brother," Shen Mianyin asked again, "Was this whole thing planned from the start? Did you know about it too?"
Shen Chenggang paused for a moment and then nodded in acknowledgment. "President Gu did contact me a while ago and told me about it. But I asked him not to tell you, because I was afraid you'd worry."
"I still didn't think things through thoroughly enough," Shen Mianyin said. "If Gu Huaizhi hadn't found you and made preparations in advance, then..."
"But there are no 'ifs'," Shen Chenggang immediately replied. "Neither of us anticipated this, but President Gu did, and he took precautions early on. We're both fine. So don't blame yourself."
"I'm telling you this because I don't want you to blame President Gu. When he contacted me and asked if I was willing to be bait, I agreed," Shen Chenggang said. "However, President Gu also assured me that if I wasn't willing, he wouldn't pursue evidence against Su Jianye for the time being, and his sole focus would be protecting me."
"Of course, even if I agreed to be bait, protecting me was still the top priority," Shen Chenggang said.
"I'm not blaming him. We should thank him for this. If it weren't for him, we might have been in serious trouble this time," Shen Mianyin said.
Gu Huaizhi, who was listening nearby, roughly guessed the content of Shen Mianyin's conversation with Shen Chenggang from her words.
So, as soon as Shen Mianyin hung up the phone, Gu Huaizhi immediately straightened his posture and apologized, "I'm sorry, I used your brother as bait."
Shen Mianyin shook her head. "You heard what I just said to my brother. I meant it. If you hadn't anticipated this beforehand, I don't even know if he would still be alive today."
"However, you really should apologize to me."
Gu Huaizhi was taken aback.
Wasn't she not blaming him?
Shen Mianyin said, "It's not for using my brother as bait, but for keeping this from me."
“Although I would be worried, I’m not so unreasonable that I can’t distinguish between what’s important and what’s not,” Shen Mianyin said. “If you had told me earlier, I could have at least been mentally prepared.”
“I wouldn’t have been so distraught like I was today,” Shen Mianyin said.
“Yes,” Gu Huaizhi admitted his mistake readily. “I was inconsiderate in this regard.”
Shen Mianyin opened her mouth, realizing that she was the one who should be expressing gratitude, yet Gu Huaizhi had apologized instead.
Shen Mianyin said, “I haven’t even thanked you yet.”
“This time, it was all thanks to you. Otherwise, we would have been in big trouble,” Shen Mianyin said.
Gu Huaizhi didn’t speak and walked towards her.
Zhou Jingqi had already left the office at some point.
Shen Mianyin watched Gu Huaizhi nervously until he stopped in front of her. She was surprised to see a smile finally appear on his face.
Shen Mianyin was taken aback.
"You wouldn't have complained to me like this before," Gu Huaizhi tilted his head slightly. "Or rather, you used to be more distant with me."
Shen Mianyin also realized that, without realizing it, she had become increasingly less formal with Gu Huaizhi.
This was because, subconsciously, she felt that her relationship with Gu Huaizhi had become very close.
"I..."
However, just as Shen Mianyin opened her mouth to speak, Gu Huaizhi interrupted, "Let's go. I'll take you home."
The "home" Gu Huaizhi referred to was not the Lijing Garden, but Shen Mianyin's family home.
He knew that Shen Mianyin was worried about Shen Chenggang's safety.
However, the old and dilapidated neighborhood where the Shen family lived had extremely narrow roads.
Both sides of the roads were piled with debris, electric scooters, and bicycles, further obstructing passage.
Gu Huaizhi's car couldn't drive in at all.
He could only park on the main road outside.
When Shen Mianyin got out of the car, Gu Huaizhi also got out.
Before Shen Mianyin could ask, Gu Huaizhi said, "I'll walk you in."
"I'll be fine going back by myself," Shen Mianyin said.
“This place…” Gu Huaizhi paused, then said, “doesn’t even have security. Su Jianye hasn’t been caught yet, and you’re here alone at night. It’s too worrying.”
Gu Huaizhi insisted on escorting Shen Mianyin to the entrance of her building.
“Um…” Shen Mianyin thought for a moment, her face flushing slightly, and said, “Today isn’t really the right time. Maybe another time, if there’s a chance, I’ll invite you up.”
Gu Huaizhi looked at Shen Mianyin with some surprise.
Shen Mianyin watched as Gu Huaizhi’s gaze became so bright in the moonlight.
There were no streetlights nearby, only the lights from each household illuminating the road.
Yet the light in Gu Huaizhi’s eyes was still dazzlingly bright.
“Okay,” Gu Huaizhi nodded.
This showed that Shen Mianyin was trying to accept him.
Although not completely yet, it didn't matter; he could wait.
At least, this was a good sign.
Shen Mianyin turned around and turned on the flashlight on her phone.
Gu Huaizhi noticed this and asked, "There are no lights in the stairwell?"
"The lights have been broken for a long time. I heard my brother say that the electricity for the stairwell lights needs to be shared among the residents of the building, but many people are unwilling to share the cost, so they just leave the lights broken."
"Some people couldn't stand it and bought light bulbs to replace them themselves, but they were broken again not long after. So they simply left them broken and stopped bothering. They use their phones for light at night," Shen Mianyin explained.
"I originally thought about renting a better place for them, which would be better than this place," Shen Mianyin said. "But my brother said that I had already paid a lot for medical expenses, and he wouldn't let me spend any more money."
"He said that he's no longer burdened and can quickly save up some money. When the time comes, he will pay to rent a different place to live," so Shen Mianyin didn't insist with Shen Chenggang.