Chapter 218

Chapter 218 Prejudice Chu Tang followed the police back to the station to give a statement as well. Shu Mingyue didn't wake up until around eleven in the morning. Chu Tang had already finished her statement and returned to the hospital room. Shu Mingyue opened her eyes, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Her face was slightly pale, with traces of lingering exhaustion still visible on it. After her eyes adjusted to the light, her gaze landed on the figure moving around the room. "Ruan Chutang?" Shu Mingyue spoke, her voice hoarse. "You're awake?" Chu Tang turned around. Shu Mingyue furrowed her brows. "Is this... a hospital?" "Mm." Chu Tang handed her a glass of water. "Have some water." Shu Mingyue propped herself up on the bed and sat up, taking the water Chu Tang offered and drinking a couple of sips. "Thank you." Chu Tang sat down by the bed, her eyes filled with concern as she asked gently, "How do you feel now? Any better?" Shu Mingyue's lips parted slightly. "My head feels a bit dizzy, and my body feels weak and drained. How did this happen? Why am I in the hospital?" Chu Tang said, "Last night, I saw a few men with ill intentions supporting you outside the bar, so I went over to check. You had been drugged by them. I called the police, and A Wen knocked all those men down and rescued you." Shu Mingyue's eyes widened in shock. "I was drugged? With what kind of drug?" Chu Tang pressed her lips together. "A drug that stimulates one's physiological desires—commonly known as an aphrodisiac..." "..." Shu Mingyue's delicate brows knitted together as she fell silent. After a few minutes, once Chu Tang had given Shu Mingyue time to process the news, she spoke up. "Miss Shu, the man who drugged you last night is currently detained at the police station. You can go and take a look." Shu Mingyue raised her eyes to look at Chu Tang, her gaze complicated. "Ruan Chutang, why did you save me? Aren't we rivals in love? Seeing me drugged and taken advantage of—shouldn't you be happy about that?" Chu Tang's brows furrowed at her words. "Miss Shu, do you have some kind of prejudice against me?" A hint of indignation rose in Chu Tang's eyes. "You and I have no grudges or grievances. How could I possibly stand by and watch you be taken advantage of without lifting a finger? Besides, we're both women—helping each other is only natural." At that point, Chu Tang looked at Shu Mingyue with an amused, incredulous expression. "You actually thought that because we're rivals in love, I'd be happy to see you being molested? That's ridiculous, Miss Shu. I'm not that psychologically twisted..." Shu Mingyue looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Miss Ruan. I was projecting my own pettiness onto a gentleman's heart. Thank you for saving me last night." "It's nothing. It was no trouble at all." Shu Mingyue finished the water in her cup. Chu Tang asked, "Are you hungry? I'll call to order food. What would you like to eat?" Shu Mingyue said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony. I'd like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and braised shark's fin from Xiangyuanlou." Xiangyuanlou was an established upscale Chinese restaurant. Even a simple plate of greens cost three figures, and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and braised shark's fin were their signature dishes, priced at over a thousand each. Moreover, only members could enjoy their phone-order delivery service. When Shu Mingyue said she wouldn't stand on ceremony, she really meant it. Chu Tang smiled. "Alright." Shu Mingyue placed her order, and the little friction between them dissolved into thin air. Chu Tang made the call to order the food. While waiting for the meal to arrive, Shu Mingyue found topics to chat with Chu Tang about. "Miss Ruan, you said A Wen single-handedly knocked those men down last night?" Chu Tang nodded. "Yes. A Wen is ostensibly my assistant, but she's actually a personal female bodyguard my father hired for me. She's very skilled." A Wen stood off to the side at that moment, expressionless. Shu Mingyue's gaze fell on A Wen, a flash of admiration and disbelief passing through her eyes. "Wow! A Wen is amazing! Where did you find such an incredible female bodyguard? I want to hire one too." Chu Tang said with a smile, "My father recruited her from abroad." Shu Mingyue said, "All the bodyguards in my family are men. It's quite inconvenient coming and going." Speaking of which, Chu Tang turned serious. "By the way, why did you go to that bar alone last night? Where was your bodyguard?" Shu Mingyue's expression became somewhat unnatural as she stammered, "If I tell you, will you hit me?" Chu Tang: "?" "Why would I hit you?" Chu Tang looked at her with amusement. "It's just..." Shu Mingyue lowered her eyelashes, a little reluctant to say it. "Yesterday, a friend called me and said she saw A Xu at that bar... It's been really hard for me to get a chance to see him lately. As for the bodyguard—well, I usually don't bring one when I go out." After saying this, Shu Mingyue secretly glanced up to check Ruan Chutang's expression. "Um... Although I'm very grateful that you saved me, I'm serious about A Xu. In all these years, he's the only one I've ever loved. I will never give up easily!" Chu Tang laughed. "Your affairs with him—you really don't need to tell me about them." Shu Mingyue pressed her lips together and said in a small voice, "Maybe it's because you saved me, but now I feel a bit strange inside, like liking A Xu somehow makes me feel guilty toward you..." Chu Tang's voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. "There's nothing to apologize for." "Actually, A Xu wasn't even at that bar last night. I went there but didn't see him," Shu Mingyue said. "Then my friend asked me to sit down and have a drink with her, so I had a few drinks with her. Somehow I got drugged, and I can't remember anything after that." Chu Tang frowned. "Who is this friend of yours? Could she be working with the men who drugged you?" "Probably not..." Shu Mingyue's expression shifted as she heard this. "She was my best friend from college. I treated her very well. She wouldn't go so far as to harm me." Chu Tang shook her head, her expression turning serious. "Miss Shu, you can never be too careful. Come with me to the police station this afternoon and tell the police about your friend. She's one of the people involved in this case. Let the police investigate whether she had anything to do with you being drugged. The police have already filed a case for rape, and although those men didn't succeed, based on the current evidence, they'll almost certainly be convicted of attempted rape." Hearing Chu Tang say this, Shu Mingyue's expression also turned serious. She nodded. "Alright." ...... After the meal, Shu Mingyue felt much better. She cleaned herself up, changed her clothes, and went to the police station with Ruan Chutang. The police took Shu Mingyue's statement and then brought her to see the men who had drugged her the night before. Shu Mingyue didn't recognize any of them. One officer said, "When we asked about their motive, they all gave the same answer—they were driven by lust." Shu Mingyue told the police what had happened. The police recorded everything. Just then, one of the detained men's phones rang. All their phones had been confiscated but not turned off. The caller ID showed the contact name "Brother Xiang." The officer answered, and before he could even speak, the man on the other end asked urgently, "Where's the video? It's been so long—why haven't you sent me the video yet?"