Muchuan and Xiang Wan - Chapter 382

Chapter 382: So Good That It Hurts

“Don’t mind me!” Xie Wanwan suddenly chuckled and avoided Xiang Wan’s inquisitive gaze. “I’ll go back to the hotel to pack up,” said Xie Wanwan in her still slightly hoarse voice, “I have to get up really early tomorrow, so I won’t be coming over tonight!”

“…” Xiang Wan furrowed her eyebrows as she watched the smile Xie Wanwan plastered over her face. “Want to have dinner together?” she asked.

“Nope!” Xie Wanwan looked at Tang Yuanchu. “I think I’m really worn-out recently. I need a good night’s sleep. It’s nice timing that you’re here. I guess I need not worry now… I’ve finished repaying whatever debt of gratitude I owed to you.”

“…”

The atmosphere felt a little weird.

Tang Yuanchu let out a whicker and glanced at Xiang Wan. “Heard that?”

Eh? Xiang Wan felt as if she was a huge light bulb, shining bright.

“What?”

Tang Yuanchu pointed to his ear and looked at Xie Wanwan.

“Repaying the debt of gratitude! Aye!”

As he sighed with a half-smile, he took another quick glance at Xie Wanwan.

“And here I am, thinking that I’m her friend.”

Xie Wanwan remained silent.

Her face was cold and brooding.

Oh dear!

Xiang Wan felt the awkwardness of the position she was in.

She seemed to have transformed into a wall separating the two of them!

“I…” Xiang Wan wanted to find an excuse to leave, but before she could continue, Xie Wanwan raised her hand and waved goodbye to them. That action interrupted her entirely.

“I have to go now! Keep in contact! Call me if you need anything.”

“…”

She turned away to leave; her sleeves were waving naturally and elegantly.

As she turned away, Tang Yuanchu opened his mouth, but he couldn’t utter any sound.

This scene made Xiang Wan felt bad and apologetic.

“My apologies. Did I spoil the mood with my sudden appearance?”

If she didn’t appear, maybe Xie Wanwan wouldn’t have left like this?

“What are you talking about? Don’t spout nonsense!” Tang Yuanchu let out a laugh and pushed open the door to the ward slowly. “The film set has been urging and persuading her to go back. She was already planning to go back…”

Was that so?

Really?

Xiang Wan smiled while pondering over it and followed him into the ward.

“But why do I feel so sorry for you right now?”

“Please don’t say that, sister-in-law!” Tang Yuanchu changed his form of address making his tongue as sweet as honey. Then he sat on the hospital bed and slowly tried to lie on it. Then, he heaved a sigh of relief.

“She’s someone who did not like to tell lies. She’s very forthright and will just say what she’s thinking, directly…”

“Oh? I didn’t realize you know her so well.”

Xiang Wan observed him with a half-smile while Tang Yuanchu sat down with a gloomy expression.

“There’s really nothing going on between us. You’ve misunderstood.”

Did she really misunderstand though?

Were there really nothing ambiguous between these two?

She did not believe it!

Xiang Wan raised her eyebrow. “Don’t forget what I’m doing for a living—Love Expert!”

Well, she was most certainly bragging!

However, Tang Yuanchu actually seemed to believe it quite seriously. A strange look flashed by, followed by a disheartened smile.

“But how’s that possible? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Our situations… are totally not suitable.”

Unsuitable? Where?

Was it because Xie Wanwan was older than him? Was that why they were incompatible?

Perhaps it was the fact that she was a celebrity which made it impossible for both of them to suit one another?

Maybe her past made him feel they were unsuitable?

Xiang Wan was curious about the human psyche and how their emotions functioned. However, as Tang Yuanchu was someone familiar to her, she felt that she should not be too overly nosy with his private life.

Asking too many questions was equivalent to prying into someone’s deepest secrets.

“All right! Seems like I’ve thought too much over it. The internet is agog with rumors on what happened between the two of you. Moreover, Miss Xie has been taking care of you every day… How am I supposed to know that the feelings of popular public figures like you that someone like me wouldn’t be able to understand!?”

“Of course! That goes without saying!” Tang Yuanchu started feeling relaxed; he then placed an arm at the back of his head. “You can be rest assured, sister-in-law,” he said in half-jokingly, “if I have a girlfriend, you’ll be the first to know, so you can help provide me some advice…”

“Haha, sure. You’re getting more popular day by day. I’m sure getting a girlfriend is not a problem for you…”

“Don’t mention the word ‘popular’!” Tang Yuanchu immediately thought of the upcoming interview that he was being forced to accept and felt troubled by it.

“All right then, I’ll get going now. You continue to ‘suffer a fate worse than death’.”

Xiang Wan teased as she poured a glass of water for him. Then a nurse came in and she left the ward with a smile.

…

She visited those she had wanted to visit. Xiang Wan felt her mission was complete. She walked back to Huang He’s ward to tell them she needed to go back to her hotel to write her chapter before coming back there for dinner…

However, just as she was knocking on the door, she heard Fang Yuanyuan’s loud giggles.

“What’s up?” Xiang Wan asked, puzzled after seeing her.

Fang Yuanyuan waved her mobile phone; a bright smile enveloped her face making it seemed as if her facial muscles had gone stiff.

“Quick, Wechat, that chat group!”

Mm, it must be that Gossip Channel that Quan Shaoteng created!

Xiang Wan tapped on the app…

She did not expect that this time, Mei Xin was the one who started a topic.

Her first message went on like this: “Captain Quan? Where are you?”

After a long period of silence, Quan Shaoteng then appeared on the chat.

“What’s up?”

Mei Xin replied, “Where are you? Weren’t you helping me reverse park the car?”

Quan Shaoteng responded, “Didn’t I just help earlier? How am I supposed to help again?”

Everyone did not understand that and asked what happened.

Mei Xin replied a while later, “Captain Cheng asked me to send something to the Institute of Forensic Science, which was quite far away and coming back would be a problem since cabs hardly go there. So I borrowed a car from the Xi City police… When I came back here, I couldn’t do a reverse park, and I saw Captain Quan…”

That didn’t sound like a problem?

She was now part of the team as well—Serious Crime Division One.

Since she couldn’t reverse it in, he helped her to do it.

That sounded perfect!

However, Mei Xin continued her story.

“After he helped me reverse the car, he drove it out again…”

Not only that, Quan Shaoteng even offered Mei Xin some friendly tips on parking a car. “No need for thanks! You just do according to what I’ve done earlier and park it by yourself! Go on!”

After that, he waved his hand and walked away in big strides!

He walked away!

He walked away!!!

Leaving Mei Xin alone, in the dim, underground car park…

The best part was—she still couldn’t reverse the car in!

“Hahahahahahaha!”

“Hahahahahahahahaha!”

The people in the chat group must have been sending their replies like they were convulsing.

Fang Yuanyuan laughed so much she couldn’t keep her back straight.

“This Captain Quan is too funny…”

Xiang Wan rubbed her forehead. She couldn’t resist laughing with her either. “This bachelor really owed it to his ‘capability’ for not being popular with girls. He’s too good!”

Xiang Wan was also thrown into a convulsion that her head was leaning against the hospital bed.

“Exactly! When we first met him, I actually liked him… Do you still remember? At Ocean Sky Hotpot, his appearance took me by storm… he’s so hot… But now, seems like this man really doesn’t get it… Hahaha, I don’t know what to say already. It’s too funny…”

She laughed till her eyes were crescent-shaped and noticed that Xiang Wan was blinking at her.

“What’s up?” Fang Yuanyuan’s face was stiff from all the laughing; she was still grinning although she sensed something wrong.

For a moment, the entire ward was silent.

Nobody spoke.

When she turned her head, she saw that Huang He’s thick eyebrows furrowed as if it was trying to crumple itself together.

Uh oh, he’s not pleased!

Fang Yuanyuan tried to explain herself. “Umm, well… I was just joking earlier!”

Huang He responded with haste, “I’m not joking! Fang Yuanyuan, you’ve been pressing on my leg and it hurts!”

“…”

Ultimately, Tu Liang was the one who helped Mei Xin out of her predicament.

When Xiang Wan thought of how Mei Xin could have been feeling inside, she really felt that Young Master Quan should remain as a bachelor, so he wouldn’t go around breaking hearts…

Nonetheless, Mei Xin had a good temperament.

Rather, Mei Xin couldn’t be bothered.

If one looked carefully, Mei Xin said no word of woe or complaint in the chat group.

The others, however, might have gotten cramps from all the laughing and couldn’t stop teasing Quan Shaoteng.

“Captain Quan, don’t bully Miss Mei just because she’s pretty!”

Quan Shaoteng sent a proud emoticon. “You think it’s easy for me to do so? I did that for the sake of helping the world to have one more skilled female driver. How can you people chide me for doing so? Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?”

“Hahahahaha…”

There was another round of laughter.

Mei Xin said nothing at the chat group.

However, Bai Muchuan appeared and rebutted Quan Shaoteng, “Since you’re so capable, why don’t you go to heaven?”

Quan Shaoteng replied, “No choice, I’m too busy! I’ll make a trip there after this case is over!”

Bai Muchuan responded with a troubled tone, “… You should be more mindful!”

…

Xiang Wan looked at the time and chewed on the apple Fang Yuanyuan had washed for her.

“What are you having for dinner tonight?”

“Aren’t you eating with Captain Bai?”

Xiang Wan looked at the chat group where Bai Muchuan had successfully ended the topic and ‘silenced’ the chat group once again. She took her time to think about the question before puffing a sigh and took another bite at the apple.

“I don’t know! Having a detective as a boyfriend is too good that I don’t know if I can have dinner with him…”

Fang Yuanyuan seemed speechless after hearing those words. “…”

She looked at Huang He.

Huang He’s deep gaze was also on her.

Compared to Bai Muchuan and Xiang Wan, Fang Yuanyuan felt that she and Huang He should be the actual ones who had too little time together?

…

When Xiang Wan took a third bite at her apple, she heard Fang Yuanyuan’s response to her question.

“So, we’ve decided to get married early so we wouldn’t be too paranoid about our relationship and all!”

“…” Xiang Wan was chewing her apple as she looked at her, as though frozen for a moment.

“Have you and Captain Bai made plans on when to get married?” Fang Yuanyuan asked again.

“Cough, cough!” Xiang Wan was taken aback by that question that she coughed messily. She then quickly wiped her lips. “Oh no, I need to see my pet cat now! Then I’ll write my chapter at the hotel. Let’s have dinner together later.”

She left in a huff!

Fang Yuanyuan sat down beside Huang He; her head leaning against his arm. She asked slowly as if she wanted to get his answer for what she said earlier. “Shall we get married?”

Huang He looked at her, his palm was gently stroking her head.

“Okay…”

…

The sky was getting dark.

It was bright in the Criminal Investigation Unit.

Cheng Zheng was with Mei Xin, as well as another medical examiner in Xi City.

The three of them walked towards a meeting room. Inside the meeting room, a group of people was analyzing the case.

Bai Muchuan and Captain Zhang was talking when the door to the meeting room opened.

They looked at Cheng Zheng, who was walking in front of them.

“Any progress?”

Cheng Zheng sat down; he was using a paper napkin to wipe his hands dry as he washed them earlier before coming to the meeting room. While doing so, he lifted his eyelids.

“Do all of you want a progress or are you hoping that there won’t be any progress at all?”

If there wasn’t any progress, that meant they could close the case…

If there were progress, that meant there were new findings that could complicate the case further.

Captain Zhang laughed. “Of course we want a progress!”

Bai Muchuan looked at Cheng Zheng disapprovingly. “Don’t beat around the bush!”

After the trip to Vulture’s Mouth, he and Cheng Zheng were in polite terms. However, when it was time to not be polite to each other, they would not hesitate as well.

“The deceased was between the age of 30 to 35 years old; he was 182 centimeters tall and weighed 73kg. We got his DNA and fingerprints. Unfortunately, we did not get a match against the database. However…”

His gaze darkened a little as he stared at Bai Muchuan.

“We found a tattoo on the corpse… You should be very familiar with it!”

After that, he exchanged glances with Mei Xin.

Mei Xin then proceeded to show a picture of the tattoo found on the corpse…

“This is the one!”

…