"I don"t get it!" Xiang Wan wanted to pull her hair."If you don"t get it, then don"t think about it!"
"… So I"ll have dinner with Yuanyuan then?"
"Mm, I"ll pick you up after that."
"Alright, see you later!"
…
No matter what, they still considered this as a development in the case.
The unknown link between these people started to become clearer.
The only thing that Xiang Wan felt strange or even a little regretful about was… that she really was someone unrelated to that disaster.
She felt that it was illogical!
She was thinking about this matter while on the way to see Fang Yuanyuan.
When she arrived, she learned that Fang Yuanyuan had bought—raw ingredients.
"You want to cook personally?" Xiang Wan did not expect that.
"That"s right!" Fang Yuanyuan smiled.
Indeed, she was such a good girlfriend to Huang He!
If Fang Yuanyuan were to go out for a meal with Xiang Wan, Huang He might feel lonely, and she did not want that.
Furthermore, she didn"t want to order takeaways that were not as nutritious as home-cooked food, so her only option was to cook.
"Aye! I"ve become a third wheel disturbing you two once again!" Xiang Wan had brought along her laptop. She blinked at Fang Yuanyuan after taking her laptop out and put it on the coffee table. "Fine, I shall wait for your home-cooked meal then, Lord Editor!"
Fang Yuanyuan dissed, "I asked you to come early so you could help me out!"
Xiang Wan looked at her seriously. "I feel that I shouldn"t interfere with a meal you"re making for your boyfriend."
Fang Yuanyuan was already in the kitchen. When she heard that, she came out holding a spatula and pointed it at her. "You! You"re really my sister!"
"I"m your cousin!"
Xiang Wan stretched out both hands at Fang Yuanyuan, who went back to the kitchen fuming. Xiang Wan smiled and switched on her laptop and noticed that someone was looking at her.
Huang He was alone in his bedroom, unsure when he had walked to the living room with the support of a walking stick. Since Xiang Wan didn"t hear any sound, she jumped a little when she turned around.
"Detective Huang, you seem to be recovering well!"
"Quite okay!"
Huang He"s voice sounded a little hoa.r.s.e and appeared to be in a heavy mood.
"I"ve heard what happened to Tu Liang."
"Ah…" Xiang Wan did not know what to say.
This topic was a little too depressing.
Huang He sat down in an armchair and placed the walking stick beside it. He suddenly covered his face and only looked up after a while.
"I hope I can get well soon, get discharged, and start work right away…"
He could not work together with his fellow detectives, and when he learned of the news of the death of Tu Liang, he must have felt miserable as well.
Xiang Wan observed him for a while and looked toward the direction of the kitchen before continuing the topic.
"Of course, hurry and get well! Yuanyuan"s still waiting for you to register for marriage!"
Huang He remained silent.
A while later, he asked, "Do you think this is really appropriate?"
Eh? Why did he ask her that?
Could it be that he had cropped up in the hospital for too long that he couldn"t find anyone else to talk to about his problems?
Xiang Wan thought for a moment. "It really depends on both of you. We will support your decision, regardless."
Huang He pursed his lips to show a smile; just like Xiang Wan, his gaze also looked toward the direction of the kitchen. As he heard the sounds of pots and pans clanging and banging, his expression turned gentle but soon after, he looked a little in pain.
"I still need to continue my work. I"m really worried…"
He was worried that he would end up like Tu Liang.
That he might die somewhere outside…
And then he would leave her all alone in an incomplete marriage…
That she might end up with nothing…
…
Tu Liang"s death affected Huang He a lot.
He used to be very decisive but was now hesitant.
Xiang Wan could more or less understand what he was thinking. Nonetheless, regarding his decision on "continuing his work", she expressed her concern.
"You still want to continue your old work?"
She was referring to him working as an undercover detective.
Huang He seemed a little down as he nodded and said nothing.
Xiang Wan"s eyebrows knitted closely together. "Wasn"t Cui Ming dead already? The influence of the Dark Clan had disappeared. What"s the significance of continuing to get close to Tian Danyue?"
Subconsciously, she looked toward the direction of the kitchen as it worried her that Fang Yuanyuan might overhear that name.
"Actually," said Xiang Wan in a low tone, "Yuanyuan do mind her, a lot!"
"I know," muttered Huang He, "but I have to do this!"
"… Why?" Xiang Wan couldn"t understand. "Can"t the police arrest all the "remaining" people?"
Huang He glanced at her as he shook his head in a helpless smile. He brushed his hair with his fingers; it seemed inconvenient for him to reveal much.
"There will still be others even if Cui Ming is no more. I have a hard time getting to where I am; it"s beneficial to have someone like me for the police to solve cases easily. We can reduce a lot of unnecessary sacrifices and shouldn"t give up so easily!"
When there was sunlight, there would be a shadow.
As long as there were gains and benefits, there would be people who would continue to tread on a risky path—
Xiang Wan chewed over it and could understand where he was coming from.
"But shouldn"t you stop doing such work after a while?"
He could not lead a life that he wanted if he did this forever.
He couldn"t show his true self as he took on that undercover role.
If it was a short time, one could persist on.
However, when there was no time limit, wouldn"t that be no different from death?
Xiang Wan shuddered at that thought!
Huang He"s expression was very calm. "It will be over soon! It won"t take too long!"
As he said so, he revealed a bitter smile.
"So, when I"m not around, I would like to trouble you to keep her company and take care of her—"
There were few people Fang Yuanyuan cared for or cared about her.
Hence, Huang He"s words were actually alright, if he had said this before Tu Liang"s death.
This was a sensitive period and if he was engaged in such a risky mission…
That made Xiang Wan felt a little sorrowful suddenly.
"No matter what happens, you must come back. She"ll be waiting for you. She needs you the most!"
Huang He nodded his head firmly.
"I will."
…
People with simple personalities were more likely to live happily.
Fang Yuanyuan was such a person.
When they both arrived at the hospital where Tu Liang pa.s.sed away, she had cried so much.
Now that she was with Huang He, she would cook for him and talk to him. Even though Xiang Wan was with them, her mood recovered quickly and was back to her lively and optimistic self in no time.
The one who talked most during dinner was also her.
After they finished their meal, she cleaned up, and she asked Xiang Wan out for a little date.
"Sis, let"s go to a hair salon!"
Xiang Wan raised an eyebrow. "…?"
She seemed confused.
Fang Yuanyuan was confounded by her reaction.
Then, she pulled Xiang Wan"s smooth hair.
"I"m unlike you! Even if you don"t go to the hair salon, you"ll still look good. Look at me, though, my hair is like a bird"s nest, and when I wear slippers… I think I"d look like an auntie! Huanghuang might not find me attractive anymore!"
Xiang Wan looked up at the sky.
…
Actually, she was not in the mood to go to the hair salon.
However, sometimes, one should think in a different angle and change their mood.
When she went out and saw the different colored lights, she felt a bit relaxed.
Both of them did not go very far. The hair salon was near the hospital after all.
At this hour, business at the hair salon was good. There were even some people queuing up by sitting on the benches outside the salon.
In fact, Xiang Wan didn"t want to wait there. However, Fang Yuanyuan had been there a few times, and she liked the salon. Hence, she didn"t want to look for another one.
Thus, they sat and waited.
They waited as they chatted. Then, they started to play with their mobile phones.
Suddenly, Xiang Wan seemed to have thought of something. Her eyebrows crumpled together as she opened Baidu to do a search…
…
Meng Chi was not a nameless figure.
His family, his Meng Entertainment Group, there must be something about him on the internet.
Xiang Wan did not spend a lot of time and found some related news about the Meng Entertainment Group in Baidu right away.
There were official press releases, gossips and all kinds of rumors and scandals… However, most of them were the same. There were not a lot of useful news regarding Meng Chi.
Meng Chi"s dad had more than one woman.
He had probably made the same mistake as all wealthy men in the world would do.
His dad was very popular among women. It was not an exaggeration to say that many women threw themselves at his dad. There were even rumors that he had more than one son. Meng Chi"s mom was his first wife, and they had Meng Chi and a daughter. His mom"s character was more of the meek type with the thinking of those women in the olden times where they would turn a blind eye toward their husbands" philandering ways. That indirectly increased a few contenders for Meng Chi when fighting for his dad"s inheritance.
In order to take the position of the CEO of Meng Entertainment Group, Meng Chi had to help his mom fend off his dad"s mistresses and pit his wits against those half-brothers of his…
However, from the information, he only gained control of the Meng Entertainment Group during these past two years.
It was after his dad pa.s.sed away.
"This is weird…" Xiang Wan suddenly mumbled to herself.
"What"s weird?" Fang Yuanyuan asked, she was sitting beside her and she gave her a strange look.
"Nothing." Xiang Wan knew that she wouldn"t be able to make her understand what she was talking about, so she just smiled at Fang Yuanyuan. "Hey, they"re calling for you. Just go first, I can wait!"
"Alright!" Fang Yuanyuan pa.s.sed her bag to Xiang Wan and went ahead.
Xiang Wan hugged Fang Yuanyuan"s bag but her focus was on her mobile phone.
It"s weird! she thought.
Why wasn"t there any news about Meng Chi"s sister?
The information on the internet clearly stated that his mom had a son and a daughter.
Xiang Wan found an old picture of Meng Chi during his childhood. In the picture, there was a little girl leaning on his mom…
Based on the timeline, this daughter couldn"t have been Xie Wanwan.
A while later, she found a gossip post made many years back where there was a picture of his mom and a young girl. The young girl in the picture seemed to be in her early teens and somewhat resembled Meng Chi. The picture said that it was a picture of a mother and daughter. It even said that the daughter was getting prettier…
But, why wasn"t there anymore news about her?
Did the Meng Family protect her that well?
This didn"t feel right.
There was no information about his biological sister on Meng Chi"s dossier regarding his family background and relations.
…
Xiang Wan sat at the hair salon and listened to the sounds of the hairdryer; she felt a little anxious.
Although she knew that she shouldn"t be disturbing Bai Muchuan, she couldn"t resist the urge to send him messages.
"Meng Chi has a twin sister?"
"Yes, but not later on." Bai Muchuan responded rather swiftly.
Xiang Wan was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"She"s dead," replied Bai Muchuan, "this sister was the one his mom brought along to Jin City and encountered that disaster…"
What!? Xiang Wan felt her heart clasping.
Her hand stiffened for a moment.
It felt as if she had touched the edge of some truth.
"How did she die?" she continued to ask.
"She died of leukemia."
It surprised her that Bai Muchuan did not get frustrated.
After a short pause, he sent another message.
"What I learned was that they found a match for bone marrow transplant for his sister. Unfortunately, the match was their dad and he refused to provide it… Not only that, a month after the death of his sister, his dad remarried. His mom suffered a blow and since then, she started to get muddleheaded…"
So that was the reason.
No wonder Bai Muchuan had to "sound her out".
It was because Meng Chi"s mom was not that easy to communicate with.
Xiang Wan scrolled her mobile phone to look at those pictures she found on the internet.
There were Meng Chi in different stages and a little girl that only appeared twice.
"When did Meng Chi"s sister die?"
"It should be when she was six or seven years old."
Six, seven years old?
Xiang Wan"s eyes opened wide.
However, one of the pictures showed otherwise?
The young girl in the picture at the gossip post seemed to be at least 12 or 13 years old!
Xiang Wan sent the picture to Bai Muchuan and raised her question, "I found this on the internet. The picture of the girl should be Meng Chi"s sister, right? She looked like Meng Chi and her age should be over 10 years old. This girl… didn"t look like Xie Wanwan at all, agree?"
Bai Muchuan only replied to her message after a long time.
"This… might be Meng Chi himself."
…