Wen Zhi was sent back to her residence by Bei Sheng.
Upon reaching the door, Wen Zhi invited Bei Sheng to come in and sit for a while, but Bei Sheng smiled and politely declined, "I have other matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you further. You should rest early."
Having said that, Bei Sheng turned and left.
Wen Zhi called out to her, asking, "Your name is Bei Sheng?"
Bei Sheng paused in her steps and turned her head back, "Yes, Bei Sheng is my name, and I'm the family doctor of the Shang family. However, if you meet me at the Shang's in the future, there's no need to call me 'Doctor,' just use my name directly."
In the eyes of most people in the Shang family, Bei Sheng was a cold and beautiful female doctor, one who spoke little and was not easily approachable.
That was because Bei Sheng didn't like dealing with them.
But Bei Sheng took a liking to Wen Zhi at first sight and was willing to talk to her a bit more. That's why she allowed Wen Zhi to call her by her name directly, signifying that their relationship could be closer.
"By the way, what's your name?" Bei Sheng almost forgot to ask for Wen Zhi's name. As for why Wen Zhi was staying in the Shang residence, Bei Sheng wasn't curious at the moment.
"My name is Wen Zhi."
After hearing her name, the smile in Bei Sheng's eyes grew deeper, "I'll come to see you when I have time someday."
With that, Bei Sheng's silhouette swiftly disappeared into the night.
Wen Zhi sighed, rubbing her rumbling stomach, "After all that fuss, I didn't get to eat anything warm, and now I'm even hungrier."
Wen Zhi suddenly looked toward the gardenia flowers in the flowerbed.
It just happened that her residence's outside flowerbed was filled with gardenias, and this season was just when the gardenias were in full bloom.
Gardenias seemed edible?
Wen Zhi hesitated for a moment, but couldn't resist picking a gardenia.
"I admired you during the day, so tonight you will stave off my hunger."
She bit off a petal of the gardenia first. When she didn't taste any bitterness, she proceeded to bite off two more petals.
Chen Jinhai, who came to deliver a late-night snack, saw the scene and asked in surprise, "Miss Wen, what are you eating?"
Startled by the sudden voice, Wen Zhi guiltily hid the gardenia behind her back, "Nothing at all!"
Chen Jinhai, holding the late-night snack, walked over, "You're eating... flowers?"
Wen Zhi, with an embarrassed face, stammered, "I'm not eating flowers, I just took a sniff. Do you need anything else?"
Chen Jinhai, seeing the awkwardness of Wen Zhi, didn't pursue the matter. He handed over the snack box he was carrying, "Here's a late-night snack for you."
Wen Zhi, puzzled, "A late-night snack?"
Chen Jinhai explained, "Mr. Shang asked me to bring it to you. I'm not clear on the other details. Please eat and get some rest early."
After speaking, Chen Jinhai handed the snack box to Wen Zhi, then turned and left.
Watching Chen Jinhai's receding figure, Wen Zhi's mind lingered on the words—Mr. Shang asked me to bring it to you.
"Shang Hexing..."
She murmured the name softly, her gaze drifting slightly.
Earlier in the pavilion, her stomach had growled from hunger, which Shang Hexing had overheard. He casually asked her about it, learning that she had gone out so late in search of food.
Afterward, she was afraid of getting lost again, so she didn't bring up the matter of looking for food any more.
To her surprise, Shang Hexing had taken note of it and specifically asked Chen Jinhai to bring her something to eat.
A smile curled at the corners of Wen Zhi's lips. Shang Hexing didn't seem to be as frightening as the rumors suggested.
...
The following day.
The weather was clear and sunny.
When Wen Zhi woke up, she learned from Meng Fan that two incidents had occurred in the Shang family.
One was that the police had visit the Shang residence.
The other was that Shang Jing had been taken away by the police.
In Bai City, a prominent family like the Shangs was under constant scrutiny, and any minor incident would draw attention. Especially when the police showed up, the news spread quickly.
Wen Zhi was curious, "What crime did Shang Jing commit?"
Meng Fan replied, "What they've been charged with, I'm not exactly sure. It must be something serious."
Wen Zhi caught a critical detail, "They? Who else was taken into custody?"