When Captain Li saw Zhou Qiqi leave and then return, his heart skipped a beat, thinking something terrible had happened, and he unconsciously straightened his back.

Once he understood that it was a trivial matter, the tense lines on his face immediately relaxed, and he nodded and smiled in agreement.

"Don't worry, Qiqi, I promise I won't tell Huaichuan about this."

After saying that, he shook his head slightly and muttered in a low voice, "You two are quite interesting, not letting each other tell each other."

Zhou Qiqi, with her sharp ears, immediately frowned and asked in return.

"You didn't tell the other person? Is Shen Huaichuan hiding something from me?"

Captain Li, as expected of a police officer, reacted quickly, maintaining his smiling face without showing any sign of panic, and immediately changed his words.

"You misheard me. I meant to ask why you didn't tell the other person?"

"this..."

Zhou Qiqi hesitated for a moment.

Just two days ago, there was the incident involving Director Zhou. This morning, when she went out, she overheard several military wives discussing it.

Before Zhou Qiqi entered the family, it was Zhou Shuhua who helped him take care of the house and Shen Duzhou.

Shen Huaichuan was ungrateful; he forgot his teacher's wife after marrying a woman.

He let his daughter-in-law drive his wife half to death with anger, and she even lost interest in being the head of the women's affairs department.

"The King of Hell is the King of Hell, cold-blooded and ruthless!"

Those military wives had no grudges against Zhou Qiqi, and one of them had even spoken up for Zhou Qiqi when the outhouse was being repaired. Their discussion, to some extent, represented the thoughts of most people in the military dependents' area.

Zhou Qiqi felt quite guilty.

After all, she and Shen Huaichuan were just living together out of convenience, and Shen Huaichuan treated her quite well. However, because of her own issues, she affected him.

At that moment, she thought, this kind of thing must not happen again.

That's why she rushed over to tell Captain Li not to tell anyone about this.

If Shen Huaichuan found out, he would definitely try to help him again.

But Lu Shouqian is a scoundrel, and he has someone backing him up. If Shen Huaichuan gets into a conflict with him, he's bound to suffer.

That's what Zhou Qiqi was thinking, but she couldn't say it out loud, so she just laughed it off.

"Hey, Huaichuan's injuries haven't healed yet. He's a patient, and the doctor said we can't let him exert himself too much."

Captain Li suddenly realized and laughed.

"What the doctor said? Of course, of course! You're quite thoughtful, Huaichuan really married a good wife."

Then he asked, "How is Huaichuan's injury? The bureau has been too busy lately, and I haven't had a chance to visit him in the hospital. When is a convenient day for you to come to our house with your aunt?"

Zhou Qiqi readily agreed, "Anytime is fine, just give me a call beforehand."

Just then, Officer Tan pushed open the door and came in to report that a group of thugs from another province were robbing and harassing women near the teachers' college, and many college students had been victimized.

In the early 1980s, having just emerged from a special period, a large influx of unemployed youths suddenly appeared in the city, and many criminals took the opportunity to form gangs and commit crimes everywhere.

Robbery and assault are common occurrences, so compared to that, the crimes committed by this group of thugs are relatively minor.

The problem is that they have a lot of people and they appear and disappear unpredictably, making it impossible to catch them all. Captain Li is having a headache over this.

Zhou Qiqi was also a little worried, and quickly took out chili water from her small bag.

"Why not let the students bring their own self-defense items, like the pepper spray I make? I think it's quite effective."

The bottle in her hand was already more than half empty. It was a small bottle, inconspicuous when held in her hand, but it could catch bad guys off guard at crucial moments.

Captain Li's eyes lit up as he recalled the man's bloodshot eyes and unstoppable tears during his interrogation of Lü Shouqian.

He quickly pulled out a piece of paper and asked Zhou Qiqi to write down the recipe for chili water, planning to have the Public Security Bureau canteen make a batch and distribute it to female college students for free.

Holding the note, Captain Li grinned, his face crinkling with smiles. "If it really works, you've done us a huge favor. I'll have the bureau issue you a letter of commendation later."

Zhou Qiqi quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, it's just a small matter."

After a morning of work, it was almost lunchtime when Captain Li warmly invited, "Why don't you eat at our bureau's canteen today?"

Zhou Qiqi smiled and shook her head in refusal: "Forget it, I'm afraid I won't be used to the food at this office, but I'm also afraid I'll get too used to it."

After leaving the police station, Zhou Qiqi took a bus straight to the wholesale market and found the stall where she had previously bought clothes wholesale.

It was midday, and there weren't many people at the stall. Li Ping had just made a sale and was keeping track of the transactions.

He looked up and saw Zhou Qiqi. He slammed his pen down, walked out from behind the counter, looked her up and down, and teased her.

"Hey, isn't this our great designer Zhou? What brings you here?"

"Sister Ping, please stop making fun of me!"

The two hadn't seen each other for over half a month, but there was no awkwardness between them.

Zhou Qiqi glanced at Li Ping and saw that she was wearing a sweater dress that she had designed. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Have you eaten? I'll treat you to a meal at a state-run restaurant!"

Li Ping immediately perked up, "That's great! Wait a minute, I'll call my husband over to watch the stall."

The two soon arrived at the state-run restaurant. Along the way, Li Ping held Zhou Qiqi's arm and couldn't stop praising her.

"Everyone in our wholesale circle has been talking about your modified style lately, it's so chic! I knew I had the right eye! Especially this sweater dress, it's practically becoming a bestseller!"

Zhou Qiqi teased, "You think so highly of me? I don't see any of my pieces hanging in your stall. You're only wearing one."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!