Being hit by a motorcycle was neither trivial nor catastrophic. Su Yang was certain the bike had been aiming for Su Qian, so the very first thing she wanted after the accident was to keep Xu Lize from finding out — she couldn't bear him worrying over nothing.
For that reason she’d told A Jing to call only an ambulance and not the police. Still, she hadn't been careless: at the last second she’d ordered him to chase the motorcycle just in case.
The ambulance arrived quickly and took Su Qian away. Su Yang and A Jing were driven to the station in a police car.
By the time Xu Lize arrived, Su Yang had finished giving her statement and stepped outside. He came barreling toward her, panic written all over his face; she grabbed him, holding him tight.
"I'm fine." Su Yang said it plainly. "The bike was after Su Qian. Really."
But worry softened nothing in his eyes. He scanned her quickly from head to toe, then pulled her against him like he wouldn't let her go.
A stifled, awkward cough came from the side. The officer who had taken her statement walked over and handed her a clipboard. "Miss Su, please confirm the contents of the record. If everything's all right, sign here."
Su Yang nodded, glanced over the paper, and signed. "Do you need anything else from me?" she asked, handing the clipboard back.
The officer shook his head. "No. If we need you for anything further, we'll call."
"And—is my friend okay?" She was asking about A Jing; they'd been taken separately.
"He'll be out shortly. Wait just a moment."
She gave a quick look at Xu Lize. He shook his head at her and mouthed, "We'll talk later."
When A Jing came out, Xu Lize led both of them away.
Once inside the car, A Jing beat Xu Lize to speaking. "I had the officer pull the surveillance footage when I was giving my statement."
Su Yang blinked. "They can do that?"
Xu Lize shot her a look, started the engine, and asked A Jing, "Did you find anything?"
"There are clues," A Jing said. "But the plate was clearly a fake—probably useless. The bike itself, though, has been modified. The rear looks like it’s been fitted with a jet-style tailpiece. You could ask around at the shops; those parts are mostly imported and only a few mechanics in Haicheng know how to assemble them."
"Tell Mr. Pei about it. He might have channels." Xu Lize instructed.
"Okay." A Jing nodded, then glanced at Su Yang in the back and turned to Xu Lize driving. "I'm sorry, Xiao Xu. This was my oversight. It won't happen again."
Even though it had been an accident, A Jing knew he'd been careless. Luckily the rider hadn't been aiming at Su Yang — otherwise the outcome could have been far worse.
Xavier — Xu Lize — was silent for a few seconds after hearing A Jing's apology, then said flatly, "Dock a month's pay. Fine with you?"
"No problem." A Jing answered immediately, then added, "Thanks, Xiao Xu."
Su Yang almost wanted to scold him — deducted pay and he still said thank you? — but Xu Lize's face remained dark and brooding, and she shut her mouth.
Back at Wutong No.1, barely inside and before she could change her shoes, Xu Lize pressed her against the wall. He didn't shove hard, but the suddenness startled her; she let out a small cry and he kissed her, cut off her breath.
The kiss tasted like reprimand. He gripped her hand so she couldn't pull away, squeezing until pain flared through her palm. When she instinctively tried to wriggle free, he deepened the kiss with a long, demanding hold.
When it ended, Su Yang was gasping for air. She felt guilty now, and didn't dare meet his eyes.
An invisible tension still hummed between them. Xu Lize didn't speak, but his presence was a kind of quiet command. He turned away then, bent down to take off his shoes. Su Yang reached out and poked his back.
No response the first time. No response the second. On the third poke he spun and grabbed her hand.
"I was wrong." Seeing the anger flare across his face, she hurried to apologize, lowering herself as much as she could.
He drew a breath, as though restraining himself, and asked, "Wrong about what?"
"That I shouldn't... have gotten involved?" Her reply came out as a question, exposing how little she understood the danger she'd been in.
He slapped her hard on the butt — more frustration than force, but sharp enough. "One person named Su Qian is worth you risking yourself for? Where's that furious dislike you used to have for her? Going out of your way to be kind now — do you want me to buy you a solid-gold 'Good Person' plaque tomorrow?"
"It wasn't because of her!" Su Yang protested, feeling unjustly accused, but she knew the facts had tangled themselves into something messy. "I would've helped anyone. It was instinct. The motorcycle was coming for someone, and Su Qian was only a little over a meter away from me. I saw the trajectory — it wasn't aimed at me."
"If it wasn't aiming at you, you should've left it alone." Xu Lize's voice grew louder.
"She was pregnant!" Su Yang shot back. "Whether the rider meant to hit Su Qian or not, she was a pregnant woman!"
His expression changed at once, brow furrowing as he looked at her with a complicated mix of anger and something else — worry, plain and vulnerable. It took him a long moment to return to his usual even tone.
"Yangyang, do you know how terrified I am of you getting hurt?"
"I'm fine!" She noticed the fragility under his anger. He rarely showed that side, and she was surprised that she was the cause. "Look—I'm okay now, and A Jing was nearby. What if—"
Her words were cut off by Xu Lize pulling her into an embrace.
"No 'what ifs,'" he murmured, holding her like he'd found and reclaimed something precious. "There won't be any 'what ifs.' I won't let that happen."