Liu instantly felt a pang of regret. He was not sure if bringing Sang Yu here was the right decision. He looked at her helplessly, hoping that things would not turn into a total disaster.
“Good luck,” he said, sending her in.
Sang Yu looked at him and nodded. She pushed the door opened and went in. Inside the room, a huge and dark-colored table sat right in the middle, making the atmosphere seemed heavy and serious.
Shen Peichuan’s brows knitted the moment he saw Sang Yu. What on earth is she doing here?
“Get out, you have nothing to do here.” His voice echoed sternly in the cold air.
Sang Yu rubbed her hands nervously as she stood by the door. Her heart pounded heavily as she looked at Captain Song, but she stood her ground. “Everything happened because of me, I feel that I have a need to come here and explain things,” Sang Yu said.
Captain Song scoffed and replied, “Sure. Since Shen Peichuan refused to say a single word, why don’t you tell me what happened?”
“This has nothing to do with him, I was the one who initiated it,” Sang Yu admitted.
The captain raised his brows as he found the girl amusing. He leaned into his chair and questioned, “But the two of you were hugging in the photo. How is it possible that he has nothing to do with it? He’s someone who has a good name to keep. Do you know what kind of effect this would bring onto him?”
Sang Yu did not know how to explain the photos. But she knew things were really serious.
Nevertheless, she clenched her fist and insisted, “I don’t care if you believe me, but I won’t change what I say because it’s true. I’m the one at fault here and I hope you won’t punish Chief Shen.”
To everyone’s surprise, Captain Song chuckled and looked at the two of them. The stern look he had on his face just mere moments ago vanished all of a sudden.
He knew Shen Peichuan’s character and that he would never do something like this. Captain Song knew there must be some misunderstanding the very moment he saw the news.
But as a public officer, this kind of scandal will tarnish Shen Peichuan’s reputation, and the public might mistake this as an abuse of power. People might think that he was trying to get his way around with women.
Sang Yu was getting anxious because Captain Song was not saying anything but staring at them. She finally lost it and cried out, “I know I’m young, but I’m legally an adult. Chief Shen is still not married, is there a problem with us dating? Is this against the law?”
Shen Peichuan was bewildered. “Sang Yu, I…”
“I just don’t understand why people have to keep coming at you as if it were your fault! I’ve already told them a hundred times that I was the one who did it, but nobody would believe me! Everyone is so hard-headed that they never want to listen to me!” Sang Yu did not wait for Shen Peichuan to say a word before she unleashed a tirade of frustration.
Captain Song frowned and commented, “I didn’t know she’s this stubborn.”
Right at this moment, someone opened the office door in a rush and whispered something in Captain Song’s ear.
His smile vanished and the captain’s face became serious again. “Alright, you may go now,” the captain said after letting out a sigh of relief.
He moved his mouse around and starting typing away on his keyboard after the officer left. True to the officer’s word, he could no longer find anything about Shen Peichuan on the internet.
Instead, the person who first released the photos came forward with a statement, saying that the photos were edited because that person held a grudge against Sang Yu and wanted to get back at her. An apology for causing disruption was also directed towards the public and all public officers in the statement.
It seemed like Su Zhan found the culprit who first uploaded the photos and got the person to issue a statement after talking things through with the school. As a lawyer, Su Zhan handled the whole issue flawlessly without doing any damage to Shen Peichuan and Sang Yu. Regardless of whether the photos were real, the issue was solved in the end. Besides, the Department of Public Relations had also communicated with many media companies about pulling down those photos. Even related keywords were no longer available on Weibo.
Given the circumstance, things would die down in days.
As long as the public stopped talking about it, the issue would eventually fade away. Given how there was other interesting news that would gain attention on a daily basis, the people would soon find another compelling story to talk about.
Meanwhile, Shen Peichuan was still trying to figure out what was going on.
The captain had told him that he would be punished, but it was taking unusually long for the former to say how he would be punished.
“Captain Song, this is negligence on my part. I promise this won’t happen again. Is it okay if you let her go first?” Shen Peichuan inquired politely as he looked at Sang Yu from the corner of his eye.
He knew Captain Song did not want explanations. He had always focused on solving the issue rather than listening to excuses.
Upon hearing his request, Captain Song finally looked up and said sternly, “She’s involved in this, how can I just let her off the hook like this? By the way, how did you even meet such an eloquent girl?”
Just as Shen Peichuan was about to answer the question, the captain continued, “That being said, what she said is true. You’re both single and it’s totally okay for both of you to date. But you’ll have to keep it low profile. We serve the public, and hence, we should also set a good example.”
“Noted, captain,” Shen Peichuan answered quietly.
“Write me a report and hand it in tomorrow. Make sure you reflect on your mistake and mean what you write,” the captain added.
“Yes, sir,” Shen Peichuan responded.
“Alright, that’s all. You may leave,” Captain Song said. But before Shen Peichuan turned and left, the captain snapped his fingers and said, “Oh, this just occurred to me. I hope you’re aware of how old you are. Your girlfriend is still so young. I bet she’s still a freshman student! Make sure everything is low-key so I don’t have to deal with any more drama.”
“Yes, sir. And sir, do you happen to want some tea?” Shen Peichuan asked sheepishly.
“What tea? Get out!” the captain shouted and looked at his broken teacup.
Shen Peichuan smiled and bowed before leaving. He grabbed Sang Yu by the hand and rushed out of the office. I’d better get out quick. Who knows what’s gonna happen next?
Captain Song grinned as he watched them leave. But his face changed in a split of a second and he ordered someone to come clean up the mess.
Sang Yu was still having a hard time processing what just happened. Things had taken a drastic turn in just a short time. “So what’s the situation now? Are we off the hook?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Shen Peichuan said, exhaling a long breath. He was glad that the whole matter was finally settled.
But he gave it a second thought and said, “Well, at least that’s what I think.”
Zong Jinghao and Su Zhan popped up in his mind. It must be them. Coincidentally, Shen Peichuan saw Su Zhan the moment he came out of the police station.
“It’s your treat today,” Su Zhan stated as he looked at the couple walking out hand in hand.
“Come on, enough PDA. We just settled a scandal!” he reminded them.
Hearing this, Shen Peichuan quickly let go of Sang Yu’s hand.
Sang Yu glanced at him and lowered her head silently.
Shen Peichuan realized his action might have been hurtful and he tried clearing his throat to ease the tension.
Meanwhile, Su Zhan opened the car door for them before hopping in the driver’s seat.
“What a day! Why don’t we call Jinghao to come along and have a meal with us?” Su Zhan suggested as he started the car.
“Sure, it’s on me!” Shen Peichuan’s voice came from the front passenger’s seat. He purposely sat in front, thinking that a young girl like Sang Yu would want to keep some distance.
Su Zhan looked at him from the driver’s seat and thought about how dumb his dear friend was. Sang Yu was young and she had everything written on her face. She obviously wanted to sit with Shen Peichuan, but Shen Peichuan was playing coy all of a sudden.
Su Zhan sighed and said, “Give a call to Jinghao then.”
Shen Peichuan took out his phone and dialed a number, but nobody picked up. He tried again to no avail.
He then tried calling his house and the office, but still, he could not reach Jinghao. Even Guan Jing was not reachable.
Su Zhan and Shen Peichuan were perplexed. They knew that Jinghao would never switch off his phone. Most importantly, ever since Lin Xinyan left, Zong Jinghao spent most of his time at his office. There was nowhere else he could be if he were not at work.
Where the hell is Zong Jinghao? He’s too old to go MIA for fun…
