Muchuan and Xiang Wan - Chapter 160

Chapter 160: The Perfect Scapegoat

In the hall, the police was still taking the statements of the people.

Xiang Wan accompanied Fang Yuanyuan to sit back inside the car as she looked quietly at the shabby houses up for demolition in the stark contrast against the brightly lit courtyard and nice villa. Somehow, she did not like this and felt uncomfortable…

It was a kind of helpless and depressed feeling.

It was a seemingly beautiful society, but there would always be some dirt hidden…

Fang Yuanyuan was immersed in her own world while she sobbed. “Sis, is it true? Huang He… really wanted a breakup with me?”

He had made it so clear earlier, of course it’s true, silly girl!

Xiang Wan furrowed her brows as she looked out of the car window to take a peek at the courtyard.

“Let’s calm down first. When a person is feeling agitated, it’s not suitable to make decisions…” Xiang Wan patted on Yuanyuan’s back slowly.

The situation today was too bizarre.

From what she had gathered earlier, that woman Tian Danyue was Huang He’s first love.

The two of them got into a relationship during their school days. After they graduated, they parted ways and did not contact each other for many years. They only recently met each other in Jin City…

“They have regained their love for each other and I’m being kept in the dark. Hah, I’m such an idiot!” Fang Yuanyuan hugged and desperately rubbed her own head. “Men are really good at coaxing people. You know how honest Huang He is, he’s a shy person especially around women… Our first time, I’m the one who initiated… He was so shy and even swore that he had never had other women before… And look what actually happened.”

“…” Xiang Wan could not say a word but only continued to pat her back.

“No wonder there are people who say if men’s words can be trusted, a sow would be able to climb trees.”

“Don’t think about it anymore!” Xiang Wan puffed a sigh. “Let things take it’s natural course.”

“No, I can’t. I really can’t let it go.” Fang Yuanyuan pouted her lips sorrowfully and began to sob again, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Sis, I’m too deeply involved this time… Do you believe me? Just earlier, I was still thinking if he’s willing to come back and apologize to me… I still want him and am willing to be with him…”

“…” Xiang Wan looked at Yuanyuan’s red eyes and felt her heart aching for her. Nonetheless, she was at a loss of how to console her to make her feel better.

In terms of relationships, she was like a blind person herself and was unable to guide others.

“Am I really an idiot?” Fang Yuanyuan sniffled as she asked, tears continuing to flow. “I think I am. I really despise myself for thinking that way, but I can’t help it. I kept thinking about how good he is to me. I thought maybe I didn’t do enough for him… I might be too fierce to him, so that’s why that woman managed to come in between us. I even thought of snatching him back.”

“You couldn’t get over him now as you’re too deeply in love with him.”

“Not for a while, but forever.” Fang Yuanyuan sobbed and rested her head on Xiang Wan’s shoulders. “I feel terrible, sis… My heart feels like it has been emptied and all my hopes are crushed into pieces… I finally understand why women who fell out of love are so extreme. Some of them wanted to become a nun, some jumped off from high buildings, some slashed their wrists… I know why they did that now. Sis… I’m also thinking of doing that…”

She was too heartbroken.

So heartbroken that she talked incoherently.

Self-esteem and pride had disappeared in front of her feelings.

Xiang Wan felt heavy-hearted as she patted Yuanyuan’s back as if she was consoling a child.

“Silly girl! You can get through it. Believe me, no matter how painful a matter is, you will get through it one day…”

“Boohooo… I can’t… I love him… I can’t get over it…”

Xiang Wan could not help feeling a little tingling sensation on her nose as she heard Yuanyuan talking about this. She sniffled her nose and hugged Yuanyuan tightly when she noticed that Yuanyuan’s shoulders were trembling from all the crying. Xiang Wan took a look outside and calmed herself down. “Maybe,” she whispered, “things are not as bad as you said…”

“Not as bad? Isn’t it really bad now?…” Fang Yuanyuan sobbed, and then as if she thought of something, she suddenly lifted her head and stared at Xiang Wan with her teary eyes. “What do you mean?”

“…”

Xiang Wan pursed her lips and shook her head.

“I don’t know. I just feel that Huang He did not seem to be such a person. This matter has happened too suddenly and I have doubts about it…”

“Actually… I feel that it’s strange as well, too strange in fact. I just couldn’t convince myself.” Fang Yuanyuan suddenly said in a soft tone as she sniffled. “… Frankly, I sort of believed that when we did it… that was really his first time.”

“…” Has this girl gone bonkers? Xiang Wan thought.

One moment, she believed him. The next moment, she doubted him. Did she still have her own ability to judge for herself?

Xiang Wan felt speechless. “Such matters are difficult to ascertain.”

Fang Yuanyuan took a piece of tissue paper to wipe her tears away and mumbled in her hoarse voice softly. “I know that men don’t have a hymen. But I can still feel if it was his first time doing that… He was so stupid and clueless about it… Our first time, he only lasted a second.”

“…” Xiang Wan was speechless.

This was such a private matter. Fang Yuanyuan actually shared it with her.

Poor Huang He! His privacy had unknowingly been utterly exposed that even his underpants had been removed.

“Such a matter…” Xiang Wan sighed softly. “That’s really up to you to judge. I can’t help with your relationship matters. But my opinion and advice are, no matter what… Yuanyuan, don’t let a man be your everything, you’re going to get hurt. Even if it’s not today, it’s going to be tomorrow. You understand?”

Fang Yuanyuan looked up with her teary eyes and nodded her head.

Then, she pouted her mouth, shook her head desperately and cried on Xiang Wan’s shoulders.

“I don’t understand. I don’t know anything anymore. I only want Huang He, I only want him to be with me…”

Women in love are blind.

Women who fell out of love are unreasonable.

Xiang Wan was not able to console Fang Yuanyuan. Knowing that it must be pretty late by now, she used a hand to call Bai Muchuan as she wanted to send Yuanyuan home first.

Once Yuanyuan reached home, she would at least be better off here as from time to time, she could see Huang He together with that woman. It would be strange if she stayed calm.

Bai Muchuan came over quite fast. He opened the car to the driver’s seat directly. “I’ll send you both back first.”

Xiang Wan gave him a glance. “Is it… convenient for you to leave?”

Bai Muchuan met her gaze. She could see the fatigue in his eyes. “Old Qi, Tang Yuanchu, and the rest are here. Don’t worry.”

“Okay!”

The car started and went all the way out through the narrow alley, and in no time, they were driving on the highway.

The night breeze blew in through the window and their hair got tousled about in the wind.

It felt gentle but cold-hearted… for the wind never stopped—it had come then gone away.

Fang Yuanyuan was sobbing on Xiang Wan’s shoulders and fell asleep subsequently.

When Xiang Wan heard Yuanyuan’s constant and peaceful breathing, she let her lie in a comfortable position and her heart finally eased up.

During the journey, Bai Muchuan did not say a word. Xiang Wan did not talk as well since Fang Yuanyuan was sobbing.

Now that she had fallen asleep, Xiang Wan could finally get the words out of her heart all these while.

“What’s going on with Huang He?”

“Nothing, it’s what you saw.” Bai Muchuan continued to look directly ahead. “We’ve been searching the whole city for the missing Jia An. He was the one who told me about Jia An’s brother-in-law, Zhou Dequan. He said Jia An could very well be hiding at Zhou Dequan’s house…”

“And?” Xiang Wan stared at the back of his head.

“And I went to look him up. You know about this.”

“Hm.” Xiang Wan pondered about the sequence of the incident and smiled with her lips pursed together. “So you agreed to come to eat hotpot with me but failed to turn up as you went to Zhou Dequan’s house and got held there?”

“About there!” Bai Muchuan smiled casually.

“Liar!” Xiang Wan snorted. “You’re not that kind of person who does things without a plan. This is such an important matter. How can you just go alone like this?”

Bai Muchuan remained silent.

“I didn’t expect to see Jia An inside the house. In the end, I saw him and I wanted to bring him away. Zhou Dequan refused and wanted to protect Jia An… You already know the rest.”

“I don’t know.” Xiang Wan put on a cold expression. “I’m confused, okay?”

Bai Muchuan took a glance at her, wearing a half-smile. “Fine, I’ll repeat it for you, my Queen—when the group of you appeared, Jia An got flustered and wanted to run away. But before he did that, he wanted to get rid of me. So he took a gun… It’s the gun he took from the props team of the film crew and wanted to shoot me. At this moment, Zhou Dequan appeared with his men, and in order to save me, his men accidentally shot Jia An to death.”

Xiang Wan raised an eyebrow. “So simple?”

Bai Muchuan: “It’s that simple.”

“Somehow,” Xiang Wan frowned. “I don’t think it’s so simple?”

Bai Muchuan finally turned his head to give her a glance. His eyes seemed to be serious for an instant.

Xiang Wan stared at his dashing side profile, saying each word seriously, “Don’t forget that I’m the advisor that you personally employed for the team. I’m striving to be a professional profiling master… If I can’t even tell there’s a problem with this, won’t I disgrace you?”

“You’re right!” Bai Muchuan chuckled. “My girl is surely good at she does! Tell me what is wrong then.”

“Firstly, if Jia An wants to run away, he has no reason to kill you at all. Ain’t that equivalent to asking for trouble? Which criminal doesn’t sneak away but actually tries to fire a shot when there are so many people at the courtyard? Is he a moron?

“Secondly, Zhou Dequan already dared to keep you under house arrest when he wanted to protect Jia An. Why did he suddenly change his heart and actually killed him in order to save you? Obviously, Jia An had known of too many things. In order to save his own butt, Zhou Dequan abandoned Jia An by killing him. He gained a good reputation for saving you, but he also made you the scapegoat. That’s killing two birds with one stone.”

Bai Muchuan remained silent.

When he stopped the car at a junction due to red lights, he turned to look at her.

“Is there a third?”

“Yes,” Xiang Wan looked into his eyes. “You are keeping something from me.”

Bai Muchuan furrowed his eyebrows.

The lights outside the car shone on his handsome looking face.

Deep set eyes, well-defined chiseled face… but she was unable to know what he was thinking.

“Xiang Wan,” When the green lights were on, Bai Muchuan said slowly, “I hope you understand, there are some things I can’t tell you at the moment because of my job. But there’s one thing you must be clear…”

“What is it?” Xiang Wan wondered at the seriousness of his tone.

“This case is more complicated than what we imagined it to be.” Bai Muchuan’s voice had a hint of chill. “What we’ve gotten in this time… is a hornet’s nest.”

A hornet’s nest… That meant the opponent wasn’t someone easy to deal with.

Xiang Wan remained quiet for a while. “Are you going to continue the investigation?”

“Of course! Why not?” Bai Muchuan sneered, “The national emblem is above my head. Why should I be afraid? No matter how mighty the opponent is, I dare to take them on!”

“That’s the spirit! I know you’ll be able to do it!” Xiang Wan pursed her lips lightly and suddenly gave a kiss on his ear.

“Hey! What are you doing…” Bai Muchuan quivered. “You little woman, do you believe I’ll punish you?”

“Hahahah! I don’t believe you! You’re so busy that I don’t think you have the time!”

“Just look at your arrogant face!” Bai Muchuan grunted a laugh. “Just you wait! You’ll be begging for mercy!”

“…”

Xiang Wan dared not argue back anymore.

If she continued the topic, it was going to become adult-rated.

If Fang Yuanyuan heard all of these, she would surely laugh at Xiang Wan for the rest of her life.

…

Bai Muchuan sent them up to their house and left.

From the car and back up to their house, Fang Yuanyuan was upset for a long time. Xiang Wan stayed with her and consoled her, unable to do anything else…

Around three o’clock in the morning, Fang Yuanyuan finally fell slept, although she was still sobbing in her sleep.

Xiang Wan read a story using her mobile phone for a while. As she waited for Bai Muchuan to come back, she eventually fell asleep as well.

The next day morning, Cheng Zheng brought breakfast over as usual.

By now, Xiang Wan had lost all motivation to ask him not to buy or come up with any other excuses for him not to do that anymore.

There were many things that would gradually become a habit.

She totally treated Cheng Zheng as a friendly neighbor, asking him to eat with them and talked about the case.

“What time did you come back last night?”

Cheng Zheng gave her a glance. “After you left, in about less than an hour.”

Eh? How did he know when she left?

Xiang Wan’s gaze was puzzled for an instant. “How’s the autopsy of the corpse?” she asked another question.

Cheng Zheng’s eyes looked down without looking at her. “Nothing much.”

Xiang Wan was confused. “Nothing much?”

Cheng Zheng hesitated for a moment and said without any expression. “It was exactly as what they said.”

All right! If that’s the case, that meant… an important witness had been taken out.

“Hah! The perfect scapegoat has been born! With Jia An’s death, the case will be solved soon—”