Chapter 182: Interesting Soul

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Xiang Wan was a person who would keep her promise.

The office was already empty.

When the two of them walked to the canteen, everyone greeted Bai Muchuan. As they were used to seeing him eating with his subordinates, nobody felt there was anything odd about it. After they greeted him, they continued eating their food.

After Xiang Wan took her food, she sat in her usual seat. A while later, Bai Muchuan came over as well and he actually sat beside Xiang Wan.

As he had promised her about keeping their relationship a secret, if Xiang Wan did not give her permission, he would not publicize their relationship. Even if they met each other in the canteen, he would not sit beside her.

Xiang Wan was puzzled and looked at him. “You seem to be a little different today?”

The corners of Bai Muchuan’s mouth lifted slightly upward, forming a faint smile. “I really miss you a lot today, does that count?”

Xiang Wan was a perceptive person; she was especially sensitive toward the feelings and moods of other people.

She just gazed at him for a while and did not believe his words at all. She furrowed her eyebrows and observed him quietly as she ate her meal.

“You just fly to and fro over a distance of several thousand kilometers, not tired?”

“I’m tired.”

“Will you be going back for some rest?”

“Are you coming with me then?”

“Bai, Mu, Chuan!”

Bai Muchuan could not help but laugh when he saw her getting agitated. “I slept on the plane!”

“Is that enough?”

She had observed that he had not rested properly for a few days.

Even if he was made of metal, he would still need to rest.

“Is there a need to try so hard?” she muttered and lowered her head to make a big piece of tomato into smaller pieces with her spoon…

Bai Muchuan’s gaze fell on her hands. “I have no time to lose.”

Urgh! Just because you don’t have time doesn’t mean you don’t need to rest round the clock? Xiang Wan thought.

Xiang Wan was enraged at his workaholic attitude. She snorted as she looked at his eyes which were red, a sign that showed he had not rested enough. “Don’t think that just because you are very good-looking, you can do anything you want. What you have done to your body today will be returned to you in the future.”

“When that time comes… will you dislike me?”

“Of course!” Xiang Wan’s eyes were glistening as she looked at his plate. “Unless you give me the grapes on your plate.”

Bai Muchuan paused for a while, then showed a smile as he gave her the grapes on his plate. “You like to eat this?”

Xiang Wan: “Yes, I like them as long as they’re fruits.”

Bai Muchuan raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “I want your tomato, too!”

Pffft! Xiang Wan controlled her laughter.

She gave him the biggest piece of tomato. “If you like them, why didn’t you ask for more? I’m sure the plump chef would give you a whole bunch…”

“I don’t like to eat tomatoes.”

“…” Then why did you ask for it?

Xiang Wan looked at him, surprised. The next moment, he wore a casual smile.

“I only like the tomatoes in your bowl.”

“…”

When he wanted to, he could come out with all sorts of sweet, honeyed words. Totally an old driver in this aspect.

Xiang Wan looked around and noticed that there were no one else close by and relaxed a little.

Nobody heard it anyway, just let him be.

She lowered her head to peel the skin of the grapes seriously. After eating a few grapes, she noticed that Bai Muchuan had not spoken for a while.

He was eating seriously without showing his emotion. As for his mood, somehow, she could feel a tinge of gloominess within him.

Xiang Wan used a piece of tissue to wipe her mouth and gave him one as well. “What will you be doing in the afternoon?”

“Continue to work on this case.” Bai Muchuan stirred the rice in his bowl. He was just saying he was so hungry, yet he did not seem to have much appetite. His tone also sounded grim and a little hoarse. “The things that Ma Suying said needed to be verified. We also need to get Zhou Dequan’s subordinates to open their mouths to talk… We need to get as much evidence as we can.”

As much as they could…

Xiang Wan could decipher some information from his words.

She looked at him. “Is it because they’re going to close the case?”

She just asked that casually and did not expect Bai Muchuan to stare at her for a while.

Silence ensued for a while; his expression returned to normal as he wiped his mouth. “Hm, it’s about there. The facts are basically clear.”

There are still a lot of things not cleared up, alright? Xiang Wan stared at his eyes, but he did not face her gaze.

After a while, Xiang Wan asked, “Do you think that Zhou Dequan is the one who killed Mao Guigui?”

Bai Muchuan furrowed his eyebrows. “From what the evidence indicated, it should be him.”

“What about his motive?” Xiang Wan paused for a while. “Why did he kill her? It’s true that Zhou Dequan had killed people in the past, but that was because those people had stood in his way that affected his interests and benefits. There was not an instance of senseless killing. Mao Guigui was just an ordinary university student. She’s not even from Jin City, so how did she get linked to people like Zhou Dequan?…”

Bai Muchuan wore a grim expression. “Not every homicide case has a motive.”

Yes, there are also cases where the perpetrator acted on the spur of the moment.

Xiang Wan knew this, but somehow, she felt that things were not that simple.

“Bai Muchuan…” She looked at him intently.

“Hm.” Bai Muchuan nodded his head seriously, facing her. “I know what to do.”

Xiang Wan was unable to say anything more.

…

The busy day was almost over.

When it was time to knock off from work, Xiang Wan submitted her profiling analysis to Bai Muchuan and was prepared to leave the office.

Fang Yuanyuan was coming back for dinner, so she wouldn’t be eating at the canteen. Bai Muchuan wanted to send her home but got rejected by Xiang Wan.

Her reason was simple. “I don’t want to take up the time of the police.”

Bai Muchuan did not persist. “I’ll get Tang Yuanchu to send you to the subway station.”

Xiang Wan: “…”

The way he put it was as though Tang Yuanchu was not part of the police force?

While on the way, Tang Yuanchu earnestly shared his love experience to Xiang Wan in a very serious tone—that most men liked their girlfriend to rely on them. In this way, they would have a sense of accomplishment and feel needed. If all women were like her that did everything by herself, what was the use of having a boyfriend?

“When you need him to do something, just let him do it for you! He’ll feel needed and you can also have an easier time. Why should you go against it?”

Xiang Wan felt that what he said really sounded reasonable. “Detective Tang, how many girlfriends do you have?”

Tang Yuanchu: “The one-sided love when I was young doesn’t count. Well, I only had one girlfriend so far.”

Xiang Wan found herself wanting to laugh. “How long did you date her then?”

Tang Yuanchu thought it over seriously. “About two to three months.”

Xiang Wan: “…”

Detective Tang was surely sincere about this as he shared with her his limited experience about love and relationships.

Seeing how she did not reply for quite a while, Tang Yuanchu asked with a chuckle, “Teacher Xiang, did you ask about this as you want to introduce a girl to me?”

Xiang Wan wore a half-smile. “What type of girl do you like then?”

Tang Yuanchu: “Beautiful types.”

“…”

Wow, what a “simple” request.

Xiang Wan remained silent for a while and asked a question for the sake of her character design. “Generally, do men think that appearance is more important, or an interesting soul is more important?”

Tang Yuanchu did not even think about it and replied directly, “An interesting soul, of course.”

Xiang Wan thought that it was comforting to think that men weren’t all that shallow.

However, the next second, she heard Tang Yuanchu say, “If it’s a friend, I’ll definitely choose an interesting soul. If choosing a girlfriend, it’s better to choose someone with good looks. What’s the use of a girlfriend being so interesting? I’m already someone who’s very interesting.”

Xiang Wan: “…”

She took the subway by herself. There was no empty seat.

Xiang Wan stood beside the door and looked at her reflection on the glass.

Was she considered having a beautiful appearance or having an interesting soul? What did Bai Muchuan like about her?

…

That night, Fang Yuanyuan came back around nine o’clock.

At that time, Xiang Wan had just finished bathing and was blow-drying her hair.

When Fang Yuanyuan entered her room, she took away her hair dryer and directly asked her about Huang He’s situation.

Fang Yuanyuan must have heard some gossip?

For the past two days, there were all kinds of rumors and gossips everywhere about what happened to Zhou Dequan…

Hence, it was not strange for Fang Yuanyuan to have heard something about the case. Due to the previous experience, Xiang Wan did not conceal the fact that Huang He was at the detention center.

She explained tactfully about the matter to her, “The case is still in the investigation stage. A lot of Zhou Dequan’s subordinates are inside there. Everything can only be confirmed until the investigation is complete.”

Fang Yuanyuan pursed her lips tightly and asked without showing much facial expression. “What about his old lover?”

Old lover? Xiang Wan thought for a moment and finally realized that she was referring to Tian Danyue.

Sure enough, as Xiang Wan was an outsider, her focus on the case was very different from Fang Yuanyuan.

“That woman is not inside there.” Xiang Wan had seen the dossier to the case and knew about what had happened that night. “When they arrested Zhou Dequan that night, Tian Danyue was not there at Zhou Dequan’s secret villa. The police did not manage to locate her. This woman… has suddenly disappeared. The police are actually searching for her.”

“Hah!” Fang Yuanyuan gave a sneer. “I feel that this woman is the culprit for Huang He’s state. In the end, this b*tch actually managed to run away?”

Xiang Wan paused for a while before saying as a matter-of-factly, “There is currently no evidence to prove that she is related to Zhou Dequan’s case.”

“Are you siding with her?” Fang Yuanyuan raised her eyebrows unhappily at Xiang Wan.

And so, Xiang Wan remained silent.

There was anger within Fang Yuanyuan. At this moment, nothing she said could go inside Fang Yuanyuan’s ear. What she needed now was not logical reasoning.

She needed someone to take her side and stand by her.

True enough, the moment she kept quiet, Fang Yuanyuan’s expression was much better.

“Sis, let’s go to visit him?”

Xiang Wan lifted her head and met her gaze.

There was worry, gloom, and pain, but there were lots of expectations… It was too heartbreaking to see.

“We can’t visit him for now!” Xiang Wan felt distressed, but she had to tell Yuanyuan directly that there was no way to visit Huang He during this stage.

Even she herself was unable to see him unless she was with the detectives—using the name of investigation, only then would she be able to see Huang He.

Fang Yuanyuan remained quiet for a while and gave the hair dryer back to Xiang Wan before she went back to her room.

Throughout their conversation, she appeared to be very calm, totally different from the emotional breakdown the last time.

Sure enough, when one suffered more hardships or emotional blows in life, their mind would become tougher…

…

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