Gao Min saw the young man and merely greeted him normally: "What a coincidence."
Then she continued jogging, clearly with no intention of stopping to chat.
The young man, however, shamelessly followed her, adjusting his pace to match hers while striking up a conversation.
Gao Min, whether due to professionalism or a calm demeanor, didn’t show any impatience toward his advances.
"Miss Gao, do you often go for late-night runs like this?"
"Mhm."
"What a coincidence—I like it too."
"Miss Gao, you’re a police officer, right?"
"How did you know?"
"We live in the same neighborhood. I’ve seen you a few times, though you probably never noticed me. And I really admire cops, especially female officers like you."
"Is that so? Then you’d better hope you never end up in my custody—otherwise, you won’t like it so much."
The young man chuckled awkwardly. "No way, I’m a law-abiding citizen."
"What’s your name?" Gao Min suddenly asked.
"Deng Zheyan," he replied immediately.
"Good. I’ll remember you," Gao Min said flatly.
The Chinese language was profound—her words could be interpreted in multiple ways, and Deng Zheyan wasn’t sure whether being "remembered" was a good or bad thing.
But he didn’t overthink it. After all, familiarity breeds affection.
He was confident that, sooner or later, he’d win this policewoman’s heart.
Deng Zheyan had gone through some unpleasant experiences in Wushui County, where a despicable woman had screwed him over twice, nearly ruining him.
He had slunk back to Bright Pearl City in disgrace, only to discover that a seemingly single woman living in his building was actually a cop.
That gave him an idea.
If he could get close to her and leverage her status, it would definitely help his future business plans—like opening an internet café.
Yes, Deng Zheyan planned to open an internet café.
At this time, internet cafés were still booming, though most operated in legal gray areas—letting minors in without ID checks, for example.
If they weren’t caught, fine. But if they were? Fines at best, and if criminals used the café for illegal activities, the owner could face even worse—like a forced shutdown.
Originally, Deng Zheyan had wanted to open a restaurant, but the people in Wushui County had played too dirty, nearly destroying him.
Later, he also learned that his uncle had signed a non-disclosure and non-use agreement with them in August regarding some secret recipe.
The betrayal made him seethe. He cursed them as ruthless power-players who had not only sent his cousin to prison but also forced his uncle into such a harsh deal.
His first business plan had gone up in smoke.
So, he turned his attention to internet cafés.
But he had no connections in the local scene and refused to pay protection money. That’s when he set his sights on Gao Min.
Her identity as a cop was like a golden shield for him—it could ward off plenty of trouble.
For instance, it could intimidate troublemakers and extortionists, and if the police ever raided his place, he’d get advance notice to prepare.
After noticing Gao Min’s habit of late-night jogs, Deng Zheyan deliberately engineered "coincidental" encounters, joining her runs to build rapport.
Admittedly, when it came to chasing women, this guy had both persistence and flair.
Even when he was exhausted, he pretended to be completely at ease.
Gao Min saw through it but didn’t call him out, letting him tag along.
She deliberately picked up the pace, curious to see how long he could last.
Deng Zheyan, who wasn’t used to night runs, struggled to keep up despite her being a woman.
After about ten minutes, he was gasping for air, ready to give up—when suddenly, Gao Min stopped.
Deng Zheyan hurried over, panting. "Wh-what’s wrong?"
Before he could finish, he followed her gaze to a small park nearby, where a group of delinquents with rainbow-colored hair were harassing a girl with an alternative fashion sense.
Anyone could tell they were up to no good.
Gao Min moved to intervene, but Deng Zheyan suddenly stepped forward, blocking her path.
"Miss Gao, leave this to me. Just a few punks—I’ll handle it."
Seeing his confidence, Gao Min actually lowered her phone, crossed her arms, and watched with amusement, curious to see his approach.
With a cop backing him up, Deng Zheyan felt invincible. Eager to impress, he strode forward fearlessly.
"In broad dayli—no, under the cover of darkness, you dare to bully a defenseless girl—"
Before he could finish, a slap came flying at him.
Whack!
Stunned, Deng Zheyan still managed to bluster, "H-hey, resorting to violence? You’re in trouble now."
Whack!
"I’m warning you again—no mercy this time!"
Whack!
"Third warning—"
Whack!
"Brothers, can we talk this over? I’ll treat you to dinner sometime!"
Whack!
The thugs didn’t speak—just kept slapping him senseless.
Deng Zheyan’s vision was swimming with stars.
Gao Min had seen enough. She stepped forward, her voice icy. "I’ve called the police. Leave now if you know what’s good for you."
Instead of backing off, the gang only laughed and jeered.
"Young Master Yu, your luck’s on fire tonight—another pretty one just delivered herself to you."
"Young Master Yu’s gonna have a 1v3 feast!"
"If you can’t handle her, Young Master Yu, we’ll take care of her for you."
"HAHAHA—"
Gao Min’s expression darkened. She was furious.
She walked toward them, step by step.
The moment the thugs moved to intercept her, she struck.
A side kick smashed into the leader’s knee, dropping him with a howl. In the same motion, her elbow cracked into another’s ribs, sending him stumbling back. The third barely had time to react before she grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder in a perfect judo throw.
In under a minute, all the thugs were on the ground.
"Young Master Yu, this chick knows martial arts!" a bleached-haired lackey wailed, clutching his dislocated shoulder.
Yu Fei’s face twisted in anger. "Call the guys from the internet café!"
At his command, one of his underlings sprinted toward the café, shouting for backup.
Moments later, over a dozen gangsters poured out, armed with steel pipes and baseball bats.
Gao Min’s expression changed as she realized the situation was bad. Although she had learned some combat skills in school, even the best fighter couldn’t handle overwhelming odds. Taking on two or three thugs was manageable, but facing a dozen of them left her uncertain.
Moreover, waiting for the police to arrive would take time.
Without hesitation, she grabbed the stunned Li Xiaohui and shouted, "Run!"
She kicked aside a thug trying to block their path and dragged Li Xiaohui into a sprint down the sidewalk.
But after running only a short distance, Gao Min sensed something was wrong. She whipped her head around and noticed someone was missing.
That annoying guy hadn’t followed.
Had he been knocked stupid in the fight? Couldn’t he even run?
She’d forgotten—Deng Zheyan had already exhausted himself from running with her for over ten minutes earlier. He simply didn’t have the strength left to flee.
Though Gao Min wasn’t fond of Deng Zheyan, she was still a cop. She couldn’t just leave him behind. Turning to the still-panicked Li Xiaohui, she said, "You go ahead. I’m going back for him."
Li Xiaohui nodded frantically. She wasn’t foolish enough to follow and get herself killed.
But before she could get far, Li Xiaohui spotted a black Mercedes-Benz speeding toward them.
At first, she didn’t think much of it. Luxury cars like this weren’t uncommon in Bright Pearl City, even if they were expensive.
Then it hit her. Her face paled. "Oh no!" She immediately turned and ran back.
In her earlier panic, she hadn’t grabbed her phone. There was no way to call Liu Yutong and warn her to stay away—she had to stop her in person.
But by the time she returned to the scene, it was already too late.
..................
