Zhou Ruotong slumped to the ground, her face ashen. Madam Zhou, bewildered, hugged her pale-faced daughter and glared at Lan Yuxi, who had just kicked her and now stood there as if nothing had happened.
"Why did you kick my daughter!" Madam Zhou demanded sternly.
"If you want to know why I kicked her, you should ask her!" Lan Yuxi sneered, looking at Zhou Ruotong, who was already sweating from the pain. "Do you think you deserved to be kicked?"
"Mom, help me up. We don't need to stoop to the level of this barbarian."
Zhou Ruotong avoided Lan Yuxi's gaze, her face contorted in pain as she clutched her stomach. With her mother's support, she struggled to stand.
However, as soon as she was up, Lan Yuxi shoved Madam Zhou aside and delivered another kick to her lower leg.
"Ah—" Zhou Ruotong screamed, falling to her knees with a thud. "Lan Yuxi! You... you're so cruel!"
"Cruel? If I weren't, I wouldn't be living up to your label of 'barbarian'."
Seeing Nan Xiao and Huo Ding standing by and watching the spectacle, and with her daughter now crying from the pain, Madam Zhou frantically pulled out her phone.
"Lan Yuxi, is it? My daughter is a dancer. Do you know how important her legs are to her? If you dare to treat her like this, you'll have the police to deal with!"
As Madam Zhou spoke, she reached for her phone to make a call.
Nan Xiao moved to snatch the phone, but Lan Yuxi stopped him.
"Let her call. I was just about to call the police myself."
Madam Zhou took a step back, dialed, and then cried into the phone, "110? This is the radiology department at Huo's Hospital. Someone is assaulting my daughter. My daughter is dancer Zhou Ruotong..."
Lan Yuxi tilted her chin up, a disdainful smile playing on her lips.
Dancer Zhou Ruotong, was it?
She wouldn't be a dancer for much longer!
All because she had provoked two children and slandered her online.
She had actively sought her attention. If she didn't investigate her thoroughly, she wouldn't be herself.
Conveniently, the information she had uncovered was enough to send her to jail.
Lan Yuxi ignored the wailing mother and daughter. She took out her phone and quickly typed out a prescription, sending it to Huo Ding. "Huo Ding, go with Nan Xiao to the Chinese pharmacy to get the medicine. I'll come down to find you after I'm done here."
Nan Xiao said in a deep voice, "Let Huo Ding go alone. I'll stay here with you."
Lan Yuxi raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to stay with me, or with her?"
Hearing this, Zhou Ruotong's eyes flickered with hope. To gain Nan Xiao's sympathy, she cried even more piteously.
Nan Xiao frowned slightly and walked past her into the elevator.
Seeing Nan Xiao leave, Huo Ding quickly followed him in.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, Nan Xiao asked with a frown, "Do you have Xi Bao's WeChat?"
Huo Ding nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Yes, why?"
"Did you add her during our last meal?" Nan Xiao asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Mm..." Huo Ding thought of something and his eyes widened in surprise. "Boss, you haven't added Little Tail's WeChat yet?"
"I... added her before."
Nan Xiao found Huo Ding increasingly annoying now. He had gone to great lengths just to get her phone number, and Huo Ding had already added her on WeChat.
Huo Ding burst into laughter like a goose. "The way you put it! Little Tail only got her WeChat after she returned. She hasn't used the old one in ages... Boss, do you want me to give you her WeChat?"
Nan Xiao raised an eyebrow, stating with feigned indifference, "No need."
He had his own ways of adding Xi Bao.
The two arrived at the first-floor lobby and saw two police officers walking briskly towards them.
Huo Ding gestured for Nan Xiao to look. "Boss, the police are here. Will Little Tail be alright?"
"She will be."
He had left his hidden guards to protect Xi Bao. Besides, Xi Bao had mentioned calling the police earlier, suggesting she had found some evidence that could deal with Zhou Ruotong.
Upstairs in the radiology department.
As soon as the police stepped out of the elevator, Madam Zhou rushed over. "Officer, Lan Yuxi hit my daughter!"
Zhou Ruotong, to garner sympathy from the police, was still sitting on the ground clutching her leg. Lan Yuxi, on the other hand, was lounging in a nearby waiting chair with an air of superiority.
The corridor filled with an increasing number of onlookers, most of whom were accusing Lan Yuxi of being overly aggressive. She ignored them, her eyes downcast as she typed on her phone.
After listening to Madam Zhou's tearful account, the two police officers first helped Zhou Ruotong up and then approached Lan Yuxi.
"Miss, please present your identification."
Lan Yuxi raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are you sure you want to see my ID in front of all these people?"
"Miss, please present your identification," the younger officer repeated, his tone firm.
Lan Yuxi glanced at him. "You have no right to check my ID. Please take a call from Director Zhang."
As she spoke, Lan Yuxi handed her phone to the older officer. "Take it. If you're not sure it's Director Zhang, you can video call."
"No need, I can recognize Director Zhang's voice." The older officer took the phone, reported his badge number as requested, and then listened respectfully.
Zhou Ruotong, sitting on another waiting chair, kept glancing over. The more respectfully the older officer behaved, the colder her heart grew.
It seemed her plan to get Lan Yuxi arrested was going to fail.
After the caller finished, the older officer respectfully returned the phone to Lan Yuxi. "Miss, Director Zhang has clarified everything. Thank you, we will take the person away now."
"Thank you as well. Someone will be in touch with you tonight for the handover."
"Alright."
The older officer said this and removed handcuffs from his belt, approaching Zhou Ruotong.
Madam Zhou's jaw dropped. "What are you doing? Lan Yuxi is the aggressor; why aren't you arresting her? Are you showing favoritism because she has connections?"
"We do not show favoritism to anyone. We are here because Zhou Ruotong is suspected of leaking confidential information and needs to be taken to the police station for investigation."
Zhou Ruotong stared at the officer in disbelief. "Are you serious? I'm a dancer, what confidential information could I possibly leak?"
"You'll find out when you get there." The older officer then handcuffed Zhou Ruotong with a click.
Madam Zhou clung to her daughter. "Officer, you must be mistaken. My daughter would never do such a foolish thing."
The younger officer, at his partner's signal, quickly stepped forward. "Ma'am, please do not interfere with our official duties. Otherwise, you will be charged with obstruction of justice."
Zhou Ruotong looked at the handcuffs on her wrists, her voice trembling as she cried out, "Mom... save me!"
Madam Zhou looked around helplessly, wishing for someone in the crowd to offer assistance. But those who had been watching the spectacle and criticizing Lan Yuxi moments ago now turned their accusatory fingers towards her and her daughter.
Shamefaced, Madam Zhou released her daughter's hand. "Tongtong, if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. Go with them. I believe they will release you soon."