Muchuan and Xiang Wan - Chapter 253
Chapter 253: On the Highway
Nanmu was a few hundred kilometers away, and the road got more desolate as they traveled.
Tang Yuanchu and Tu Liang took the front seats as they would be taking turns to drive the SUV.
The rest of the group sat at the back. Initially, there were still some chatting, but as the journey moved on, they started to doze off.
Xiang Wan sat next to the window with Bai Muchuan beside her.
She slept well last night, so she did not feel sleepy like the others.
Although her views were restricted by the railings on the highway, her mind had wandered far off into the horizon.
“Are you cold?”
Bai Muchuan suddenly moved his head close to her.
“I don’t feel cold at all!”
Xiang Wan smiled at him, and immediately, Bai Muchuan’s hands wrapped around hers.
“See, still unwilling to admit? Your hands are so cold.” Bai Muchuan gave her a disapproving glance and turned to Tang Yuanchu. “Turn on the heater.”
“There’s no need for that.” Xiang Wan squeezed his hands. “I’m not so delicate!”
The trip to Nanmu was not for vacation but to solve a case.
No one knew what would be awaiting them. She thought if she couldn’t even tolerate a little cold, what would she do if something bad really happened?
The weather in December was getting colder, but it had not yet reached the freezing point. Xiang Wan didn’t want to be a burden to everyone, and she definitely didn’t want any special treatment.
“My body constitution has always been like this. I don’t feel cold at all.”
Bai Muchuan saw through her lies and squeezed her hands even harder.
“Women nowadays are so hard to please.”
“…” What has this got to do with other women?
Xiang Wan looked at him, but Bai Muchuan continued to tease her, “Someone wants to be nice to her, yet she’s unwilling and wanted to act tough.”
“When did I do that?” Xiang Wan defended herself as she was embarrassed.
“You didn’t?” Bai Muchuan’s eyes were smiling, his hands still wrapped around hers. “Alright, take a short nap. I’ll wake you up when we stop for a break.”
“Mm.” Xiang Wan nodded her head.
Bai Muchuan’s hands were warm, tough, and dry.
She could see the silhouette of the trees swaying about outside the window, and soon enough, she fell asleep.
The world was as though wrapped by silence.
At the back of the car, Quan Shaoteng wanted to stretch his long legs, but with the limited space within the SUV, he was unable to do so, causing him to puff a sigh.
“This trip is not only long, besides not having anyone to dote on me, it also makes my whole body ache!”
Bai Muchuan was holding Xiang Wan, who was fast asleep. He did not turn around, ignoring Quan Shaoteng completely.
“Tsk!” Quan Shaoteng laughed. “Look at you, you’re behaving as though you’ve found a treasure. Don’t be such a disgrace?”
Bai Muchuan: “People who don’t have girlfriends won’t understand.”
“…”
That’s a critical hit!
Quan Shaoteng touched his ear stud. “I’m just saying this for your own good. Don’t your arm feel numb? Furthermore, there’s only so much free space, who would be able to kidnap your girlfriend?”
“Even in this small space, there’s a wolf lurking around.”
“Fine, fine, fine! I’m an eyesore to someone, huh?” Quan Shaoteng yawned and sat upright then rested his elbow on the seat in front of him. “Hey.” He flashed a beaming smile. “I’m such an excellent person. Besides being better looking than you, what else do you dislike about me?”
Bai Muchuan adjusted slightly to lean his head against the seat.
“Don’t be so shameless!”
“You know I’m stating a fact.” Quan Shaoteng moved closer to look at him. “Besides your girlfriend, who else will say you’re more handsome than me?”
Bai Muchuan turned his head, gave him a glare, but his expression hardly changed.
“What do you guys think?” His tone was slightly higher than usual.
There was a moment of dead silence in the car.
Tang Yuanchu chuckled. “Of course, Captain Bai’s the most handsome of us all!”
Salimu, Tu Liang, and Ding Yifan had a momentary silence.
Finally, they dashed Quan Shaoteng’s remaining hope.
“We second the motion!”
“D*rn! This is unfair competition!” Quan Shaoteng was so irritated his hair almost stood on end. “Everyone, open your eyes and take a good look. Look at what Little Bai is wearing, so old-fashioned. Then look at me… don’t I look at least 10 years younger?”
Hurhur! Bai Muchuan laughed without qualms. “But you still address me as Little Bai, while I address you as Laowu.”
Which sounded older? Little Bai or Laowu?
Quan Shaoteng was speechless at that retort.
“Comrade Old Bai, please call me Little Wu from now on.”
“…”
It was quiet in the car.
He had been ignored!
“You guys are so mean!”
Quan Shaoteng leaned back on his seat and yawned again due to boredom. Just as he was about to doze off, his gaze suddenly went sharp.
“Little Bai!”
In just moments, he called out “Little Bai” again.
Old habits die hard—
However, this time around, Bai Muchuan did not treat Quan Shaoteng’s words as a joke as his tone sounded slightly tense.
The arm that held Xiang Wan gripped a little tighter. Bai Muchuan turned around and had a severe look on his face.
Quan Shaoteng sighed. “They have been tailing us since we got on the Xi City highway, isn’t it?”
Bai Muchuan nodded. “Yeah.”
Quan Shaoteng raised his eyebrows. “So I remembered correctly?”
Bai Muchuan chuckled. “You’ve grown up!”
Quan Shaoteng scoffed. “…”
The detectives in this car—besides Tang Yuanchu and Salimu who were younger—were very experienced detectives.
They knew right away something was wrong.
The rearview mirror showed a black car keeping a safe distance from them throughout their journey.
In fact, Tang Yuanchu had slowed down their speed when Quan Shaoteng was talking to Bai Muchuan.
The two of them had been chatting for quite a while, but the distance between them did not change at all. Since they were heading in the same direction, when the car ahead slowed down, the black car behind should have taken the opportunity to overtake them. Yet they didn’t but decided to continue keeping their distance?
With that finding, Bai Muchuan commanded Tang Yuanchu:
“Decelerate to the emergency lane!”
Tang Yuanchu quickly sat straight. “Yes, Sir!”
He flashed the turn signal and got on the emergency lane. The speed of the car was even slower now.
That black car continued on the normal lane and seemed to hesitate for a moment before passing them.
Bai Muchuan gave an order. “Follow them!”
Being tailed was not a good feeling. It felt as though they were being spied on by a pair of eyes which was extremely uncomfortable.
Now that they had a swap of roles and could follow that black car, everyone perked up and was in high spirits.
“Let’s see what these people are up to.”
“Tang Yuanchu, don’t lose sight of them!”
“I’ll complete my mission. Heheh, I might not be as good in other aspects, but my driving skills are quite decent.”
“Even if you didn’t tell us, I’ve also realized the reason why Little Bai approved your secondment. It’s simply because he lacked a chauffeur!”
“Captain Quan, you’ve hurt me with your words!”
“Don’t forget what you did to me earlier?”
“…” He sure bore grudges!
Bai Muchuan gave a frown as he listened to their petty bickering.
“Stop bantering! Concentrate on the target!”
“Got it!”
Tang Yuanchu dared not speak another word.
He focused on following that black car.
In this way, they followed the black car for about 10 kilometers when they arrived at an intersection to another road. Tang Yuanchu saw the car in front of them flashing the turn signal. At that instant, he felt his heart clenched tightly at the chest.
“Boss, he’s preparing to get off the highway! What should we do?”
If they wanted to go to Nanmu, they should not get off the highway.
The speed of the vehicles on the highway was very fast. Just as Tang Yuanchu said that, the black car was already almost on the path to get off the highway…
If they hesitated any longer, they would lose their target.
Bai Muchuan immediately ordered, “Follow!”
Tang Yuanchu did not even have the time to respond as he turned to follow the black car.
However, in the next few seconds, that car suddenly did a swerve and was back at the highway again…
“What… D*rn!”
