"Then isn’t it unfair?" Han Ruochen could not help but say. Her brows were furrowed as she said to Zhai Muchen, "I did not do anything wrong; if anything, I saved someone’s life. Why am I being targeted for no reason?" Now she understood what Yun Tao meant when he said that she should not poke her nose into matters that had nothing to do with her. That man must have been aiming to cripple Zhai Heng. As long as Zhai Heng broke an arm or leg, he would no longer be fit for inheriting the Zhai family’s business.

This was something that Han Ruochen understood at once after hearing Zhai Muchen’s explanation.

And if Zhai Heng died, then it would be even better for him.

No wonder the man targeted her. She had ruined his ’good’ deeds after all.

But this only made Han Ruochen feel that she was being wronged for no reason. She had saved someone’s life and ended up being dragged into a mess that had nothing to do with her.

"I know that you feel unjustified, but there is nothing we can do about it." Zhai Muchen also felt a bit guilty when he heard Han Ruochen say that she had been targeted for no reason. However, there was nothing that he could do now that she was tangled in the mess already. After much thought, he took out his card that he had already given to her and repeated what he had said earlier, "Here, take this. If there is a problem that you cannot deal with, then you can just call this number. I meant it when I said that I would come to help you the last time I gave you my card."

He paused and then added, "And even if you are strong, don’t try to fight. It will cause your reputation to be ruined." There was nothing wrong with Han Ruochen beating people up if she wanted to defend herself, but he was worried that those who wanted to harm her would ruin her reputation. After all, being stronger than a man was not always a good thing.

Han Ruochen blushed when she heard Zhai Muchen’s words. She knew that the villagers would definitely talk if they had seen her fighting with those thugs, but Han Ruochen was also on her wits’ end. She knew that she could not run away from the thugs, and the only way she could get away from the thugs was by fighting them. If she had another option, would she have done something so silly, such as fighting with them?

"I know, I did it because I had no other choice."

Zhai Muchen did not refute her because what she said was indeed the truth; he simply patted her on the back and said to her, "Try to ease up a little. If possible, go back and rest."

Han Ruochen felt a kind of warmth spreading on her back when Zhai Muchen patted her, but she ignored it and shook her head. "I cannot go back home." Her mother had taken a rare day off, and she did not want to spend the time with her. She was worried that if she went home, her mother would have a chance to mock her.

Zhai Muchen knew about Han Ruochen’s home condition and did not say anything. He simply hummed in agreement, but before he could say something, he heard one of the soldiers calling him from behind. He nodded at him and said to Han Ruochen, "Then I will be taking my leave." Zhai Muchen flashed her a smile before taking his step away and following the soldier who came to look for him.

*

At the same time, the leader of the thugs looked at the man leaving and heaved a sigh of relief. He turned to look at Yun Tao and said to him flatteringly, "Boss Yun, now that the man has left, should we deal with that woman?" They had been hiding and looking at the two of them talking for a while now; the leader thought that it was because Yun Tao wanted to deal with Han Ruochen.

Yun Tao did not say a word. Just now, he was sure that Zhai Muchen had deliberately looked at him when he was leaving. Though the two of them were quite far, he noticed the warning in Zhai Muchen’s eyes clearly.

His parents and grandparents had told him this more than once—that he could do whatever he wanted to get his hands on the Zhai family business, but he could never let Zhai Muchen catch him in the act, or else he would definitely cause trouble for them. The last time Zhai Heng was beaten up, Zhai Muchen caused his father to lose countless business deals, which damaged the foundation of their family.

Yun Tao could not help but clench his fists in anger. He was clearly better than Zhai Heng; he was obedient and kind. He also had top grades when he was in college. In every way, he was better than Zhai Heng. So why didn’t Zhai Heng like him? Why did he support Zhai Heng? Were blood relations so important to him? Could he not see that he was better than Zhai Heng in every way? How good it would be if Zhai Muchen accepted him as his little brother?

However, no matter how hard he tried, Zhai Muchen never saw his goodness, nor did he like him. Because of this very reason, he avoided Zhai Muchen as much as possible. But who would have thought that even after avoiding Zhai Muchen so much, he still ended up being dragged into an entanglement with Zhai Muchen.

The reason he stayed in hiding for so long was that he wanted to see what kind of relationship Zhai Muchen and Han Ruochen had. If Han Ruochen and Zhai Muchen were mere acquaintances, then he would have definitely made things troublesome for Han Ruochen. After all, this woman was the one who ruined his plan.

However, now the situation was really different.

The warning look that Zhai Muchen threw his way was enough to let him know that if he dared to cause trouble for Han Ruochen, it would mean that he was going against Zhai Muchen. So he needed to carefully consider the entire situation before making another move.