Muchuan and Xiang Wan - Chapter 210
Chapter 210: Cold Weather
It was now late autumn, where the difference in temperature between morning and night was great.
When Xiang Wan went out to work in the foggy morning, even her clothes were cold.
Standing at the entrance of the neighborhood, she rubbed her arms and was about to walk to the subway station when Cheng Zheng’s car stopped beside her.
The car window rolled down, revealing his emotionless face. “Hop in, I’ll give you a ride.”
Xiang Wan took a glance at him and hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to sit on the back passenger seat. “Captain Cheng, thank you.”
She was used to being polite around him and Cheng Zheng was used to not answering.
The two of them were quiet for a while. Cheng Zheng took a glance at the slim and slender woman from his rearview mirror.
“Did the matter with my mom cause you any trouble?”
Before Xiang Wan got inside the car, she knew the reason why he had come to offer her a ride to work… However, after hearing him out, she realized that Cheng Zheng only focused on the incident at the office but did not know what his mother had told her Youngest aunt.
“There’s no trouble.” Xiang Wan put on a casual smile. She took a look at the man on the driver’s seat. “I’ve already cleared things up with my Youngest aunt.”
Cheng Zheng knew about her relationship with Bai Muchuan.
Now that everyone at the Criminal Investigation Unit knew about it as well, there was no need for her to avoid the topic.
Cheng Zheng was quiet for a moment before asking her a question, “When did you and him officially start dating?”
Xiang Wan was slightly surprised.
Why did he ask about this?
She pondered for a moment before letting out a chuckle. “Actually, I don’t know, either. Such things happen naturally, I guess…”
This was the most objective answer.
However, for Cheng Zheng, it was a perfunctory answer.
He frowned a little and took another look at the rearview mirror. “Don’t get me wrong, I just wanted to know… If I were as serious as I am now right from the beginning, would I have gotten a chance?”
Eh? Xiang Wan’s heart skipped a beat and felt awkward somehow.
She also recalled the day how Cheng Zheng looked when he told her that he was willing to choose her as his girlfriend.
Furthermore, he also gave her a really strange reason for doing so.
He told her that he chose her as he noticed that she did not like him.
That day, he had also told her about how he viewed relationships without reservations—”A person’s time and energy are limited, I don’t want to waste my time unnecessarily!”
He had played a good hand to naught, so to speak.
In a way, he actually met Xiang Wan at the right time yet chose the wrong way to enter her life, and therefore, it had resulted in such a situation.
Yes, without a doubt, it was an opportune time when Cheng Zheng got to know Xiang Wan.
Xiang Wan was a normal woman. If he had been sincere in his pursuit after getting to know her, Xiang Wan would have considered him…
However, the matter had passed. For Xiang Wan, she felt it was meaningless to answer such a question.
“Captain Cheng, please stop joking around,” Xiang Wan said in a half-joking, half-serious tone, “in the past, you’re not serious, aren’t you the same now? Actually, I’ve known all along. You only started to pay attention to me because there’s some enmity between you and Bai Muchuan. You were kind to me in the beginning, but the fundamental reason is because of him…”
Cheng Zheng’s eyes darkened at that instant.
He was astonished by her sagacity.
“You’re not totally correct,” Cheng Zheng let out a peal of laughter. “But not totally wrong, either.”
“That’s it then,” responded Xiang Wan, she felt completely guilt-free now. “We are not suitable. We are not suitable right from the beginning. Don’t you think so?”
“… Hur, maybe.”
“So, let’s just get along with each other naturally.”
Without any romantic entanglement, Xiang Wan did not dislike Cheng Zheng.
After all, he was quite a pitiful one when young.
This was because she heard what Mrs. Cheng had said with regards to Cheng Zheng.
She did not know that Cheng Zheng had grown up in such an environment. What’s worse was that he was born weak and often ill… That could explain why he chose to study medicine consequently, and that he insisted on jogging every day to keep fit…
This was a rare quality of commendable persistence. It was like he was trying to make up for his sickly childhood.
When Xiang Wan thought of this, she couldn’t help but get reminded of Bai Muchuan.
That fellow’s the same as well, she thought, it seems that he also avoids other people’s understanding of his family situation…
Last night, he did not call. Instead, he sent several messages and a red packet in WeChat urging her to have a good rest.
Xiang Wan noticed that he was not in a good mood after he returned to the Capital. That might be the reason why he did not call her directly because he was afraid that she might detect his mood.
“Captain Cheng…” Xiang Wan suddenly spoke when she thought of that.
Cheng Zheng was a little surprised. “What is it?”
Xiang Wan shook her head and put on a smile. “Nothing much, I’m just a little curious. What’s the bad blood between you and Bai Muchuan?”
“…”
There was a long period of silence in the car.
Cheng Zheng was aware that she was not interested in him, but Bai Muchuan’s past.
Finally, he puffed a sigh. “It would be better to wait for him to tell you about this.”
Xiang Wan was a little surprised. “Alright,” she smiled, “thank you.”
…
The entire Criminal Investigation Unit was noticeably more relaxed than usual that day compared to when they were handling major cases.
While the individual teams still needed to work on the minor cases that popped up on a daily basis, Xiang Wan had become the most relaxed person in the entire unit—she had nothing to do.
When Tang Yuanchu wanted to go out for a patrol, he saw Xiang Wan propping up her chin with her elbow on the table, seemingly daydreaming, and went over to her.
“Teacher Xiang, do you want to come along with us? We’re going for some patrolling.”
Xiang Wan lifted her head. “Where are you going for the patrol?”
There seemed to be a hint of a smile in Tang Yuanchu’s eyes. “Avenue of Stars.”
At present, the film crew of “The Grey List” was still shooting at Avenue of Stars. They were mainly there to catch up on the filming schedule due to the delays caused by so many cases some time back. Although Avenue of Stars belonged to the Hongjiang District, now the case was closed, why did Tang Yuanchu still choose to patrol there?
Xiang Wan poked fun of him in a soft tone. “Don’t tell me you’re going to visit a certain celebrity there?”
“What are you talking about?” Tang Yuanchu was abashed, his cheeks quickly flushed red, and he spoke in an unusually fast tone, “This patrol is scheduled by Vice Captain Qi! You can ask him directly if you don’t believe me…”
Sometimes, the more one tries to explain something, the more guilty one is.
Xiang Wan was amused by his flustered look and darting eyes. She did not tease him further but got up from her seat and started to pack her laptop. “Alright, I’m free anyway today. I’m fine with doing some patrolling, take it as doing some sightseeing!”
…
The weather in the Capital was several degrees colder than Jin City.
Bai Muchuan met Cheng Weiji and several leaders in the hierarchy in the morning.
According to the documented requirements, Serious Crime Division One would be responsible for solving all the major cases nationwide. The ministry would recommend capable detectives and elite soldiers who were willing to transfer to this new department where they would manage such cases under one umbrella and improve the solving rate of all these major crimes. According to the notice, the new department must be officially established before the end of this year.
That also meant that Bai Muchuan only had two months.
Two months were neither long nor short. However, for the establishment of a state-level department that would be handling serious crimes nationwide, the time given was too tight.
Personnel, facilities, equipment… everything needs to be handled very carefully and strictly. No mistake would be tolerated in every aspect. Furthermore, Bai Muchuan needed to attend to all of these himself. It was hard to get things started. Making the first step was hard as well as the most troublesome.
After meeting with the leaders about his tasks, responsibility, as well as authority, his utmost priority was to disseminate and pass down the information.
Within three days, he had to form a foundation team of Serious Crime Division One. The personnel in this foundation team would be the core members of Serious Crime Division One when the department was officially formed. Therefore, the selection of such personnel had to be particularly strict…
With that, he had to delay his return to Jin City—he had no idea when he would be able to return.
Or rather, when he went back to Jin City, it would most probably be just handing over his duties to the Hongjiang District detectives and picking up his luggage.
When Bai Muchuan came out from the Ministry, he looked up at the gray sky and thought of the blue sky in Jin City where he felt a slight headache.
When he got on the car, he took a look at the time on his watch and told the chauffeur to drive back to the Bai Residence. Then he sent a message to Xiang Wan.
“Little Xiang Wan, what are you doing?”
Ding! Xiang Wan was a little surprised to see his message.
This fellow still can’t kick his habit.
She pursed her lips as a smile formed on her face. She caught a glimpse of the mischievous expression of Tang Yuanchu in the police car and turned away from him to read the message and typed a quick reply.
“I’m out patrolling with Detective Tang and others…”
“Okay, how’s the weather over there? Don’t catch a cold.”
“It’s fine! Jin City is not as cold as the Capital…”
After sending the message, she did not receive another reply for a while.
I must have ended the chat with my reply earlier? thought Xiang Wan, who paused for a while and continued to type: “How is it? Is everything okay with your work over there?”
“It’s quite okay.”
“When are you coming back?”
She typed the question with some hesitation. Bai Muchuan demurred when answering the question as well.
“I wanted to talk to you about this too. I think it’s going to take quite a while.”
“Oh.” Xiang Wan’s heart sank when she saw his reply. “Do take good care of your health.”
“Do you still remember the time when Xing Liehuo came to my office for a talk? It’s the matter which I’ve told you about?”
Yes, it was an important matter after all. Xiang Wan remembered that.
But if the government wanted to form such a department, Bai Muchuan would definitely need to be stationed in the Capital.
But what about… what about them?
While Xiang Wan was thinking about this, another message appeared on her mobile phone screen.
“I wanted to ask you. Are you willing to come to the Capital with me?”
…
