When Ding Yifan came looking for Bai Muchuan, he and Xiang Wan had just entered the final phase of their horizontal tango action…The atmosphere was romantic and pa.s.sionate. However, the sounds of knocking at a critical time were extremely disruptive. Bai Muchuan was almost done, just a while more, but the irritating sounds persisted.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Should he continue?
Should he open the door?
If he were to continue, then the mood would no longer be the same.
However, if he chose to open the door… he didn"t want to leave things incomplete.
Bai Muchuan gritted his teeth, his sweaty reddish face seemed extremely displeased…
Of course, maybe he was still sick, so he was breathing faster than usual and was angry because they got interrupted.
His look made Xiang Wan giggle.
"… You better open the door." She suggested, only to receive a ma.s.sive thrust in return from Bai Muchuan.
Fine! She closed her eyes and seemed to be at his mercy. "Your Excellency, do continue…"
Bai Muchuan turned gloomier.
Xiang Wan put her arms around his neck. She knew that it would be futile no matter what she said at this moment when she realized something…
"Sir Little Bai." She looked at him thoughtfully. "You… seem to have gone soft."
"…"
The most tragic male lead of the century had to terminate his act hastily and quickly dressed up while looking grim and gloomy. When he opened the door, he felt like he was going on a battlefield to kill.
Screech! When the door opened, the man inside had a gaze similar to an ice pick.
Ding Yifan quivered at that instant. "Boss…"
He was also a smart guy who immediately sensed that something was not quite right.
He looked into the dorm and seemed to realize something. "Did I come at the wrong time?" He managed to plaster a smile across his face under the sharp gaze of the dissatisfied man before him.
Bai Muchuan replied, "You better have something paramount to report."
Well…
Ding Yifan was silent for a moment.
He was thinking about how he should spin the matter into something paramount.
"Cough, cough… Cough, cough, cough…"
The cold air outside made Bai Muchuan cough again.
Ding Yifan hadn"t thought about how he should put the issue across but expressed his concern.
"Boss, you should rest more when you"re sick. Just look at you… why do you have to work so hard?"
There was nothing wrong with what he had just said, but when he said it at that time, it seemed to imply something else.
Xiang Wan was inside the bedroom, listening to what was happening. She felt like laughing and covered her head with the blanket.
The detectives in Serious Crime Division One seemed to have learned the art of wry humor under the influence of Quan Shaoteng.
Bai Muchuan asked, "What"s up?"
Ding Yifan looked severe the moment he thought about why he was here. "Tang Yuanchu called up earlier and requested me to tell you something personally."
Personally?
"Come in and talk."
The dormitory had a living room and a bedroom.
Xiang Wan was inside the bedroom, which wouldn"t affect them talking to each other.
Ding Yifan entered the dorm and shot a glance at Bai Muchuan"s expression before sitting on the sofa rigidly. "Tang Yuanchu said that Xie Wanwan had calmed down yesterday, but she received a call earlier and insisted on going out."
"…"
Bai Muchuan"s expression immediately sank.
"He didn"t agree, did he?"
"He didn"t, but…" Ding Yifan contemplated a little and observed his expression. "Tang Yuanchu has a suggestion…"
"Mm?" Bai Muchuan asked, "What suggestion?"
"Xie Wanwan has been kicking up a fuss and kept smas.h.i.+ng things at home… She kept insisting that she had to go out. Tang Yuanchu tried to communicate with her, but she refused. Therefore, he didn"t know the reason why. Although he had stopped her from leaving the house, for now, it was especially tough. I"m sure you know… that fellow didn"t have much resistance against beautiful women. However, he observed Xie Wanwan"s expression and felt that the reason for her insisting on going out is not simple… He suspected that it might be linked to the murderer"s script."
The murderer"s script?
Bai Muchuan thought about what he had seen from Xiang Wan"s phone that night—the murderer"s script, episode two.
According to that script, Xie Wanwan received a message…
"If that"s the case, then why didn"t Xie Wanwan tell him directly?"
"This is where the problem lies—" Ding Yifan looked towards the direction of the bedroom. He seemed worried that Xiang Wan might overhear what he was about to say, and hence, he spoke in a lower tone. "Little Tang thought that since Xie Wanwan refused to talk to him, maybe she might be willing… to talk to you instead…"
Bai Muchuan started to mull over this matter.
"It"s for the sake of this case." Ding Yifan cleared his throat softly, trying to brush off the ambiguity his words might have sounded. "It"s a fact that it"s not easy to talk to Xie Wanwan. When she refused to cooperate, even if we brought her to Serious Crime Division One, we probably wouldn"t get anything out of her… So my take is the same as Tang Yuanchu. Maybe it would be easier if we use the friends.h.i.+p card on her."
Alright, but why must it be Bai Muchuan?
The implied meaning here was too obvious.
Bai Muchuan didn"t say a word while Xiang Wan opened the door and walked out of the bedroom.
"I think this might work too."
Ding Yifan didn"t say a word. "…"
The reason why he spoke softly to Bai Muchuan was to prevent Xiang Wan from learning about it so as to not affect their relations.h.i.+p.
Ding Yifan didn"t expect that Xiang Wan didn"t mind it a single bit. "Don"t look at me like this!" She smiled. "It"s for the sake of this case. Detective Ding, am I such a petty person to you? Besides, there isn"t anything else besides friends.h.i.+p between Xie Wanwan and Captain Bai. Just go ahead with it."
Ding Yifan gave her a thumbs up. "Teacher Xiang, you"re so broadminded."
Broadminded my foot!
Xiang Wan snorted within her head.
"There"s no need to avoid me with regards to such matters."
Ding Yifan scratched his head in embarra.s.sment, whereas Bai Muchuan didn"t show much emotion, totally unconcerned about their conversation. He was simply contemplating over the matter.
A while later, he looked up. "Xiang Wan."
"Mm?"
Xiang Wan didn"t know why he called her.
She was leaning against the bedroom door.
Bai Muchuan said, "I feel that Tang Yuanchu"s suggestion is reasonable."
Xiang Wan was surprised for a moment. "Same for me!"
…
Before they went down to the office, Xiang Wan got Bai Muchuan to take medicine for his cold.
He swallowed the tablets with water reluctantly and even requested Xiang Wan to reward him for being cooperative by giving him a kiss.
Why was he behaving like a child?
Xiang Wan found it funny and amusing at the same time.
No one else could see his childish side except her.
Sharing each other"s little secrets felt especially sweet for a pair of lovers.
…
The morning in Serious Crime Division One was hectic as usual.
Bai Muchuan called someone from the Intelligence Team and the Forensics Team to come to his office and chatted for almost an hour.
After exchanging and verifying their information, Bai Muchuan dialed Quan Shaoteng"s number.
That fellow didn"t come back to the office last night. He was also nowhere to be seen that morning.
The Operations Team, at this point in time, was especially busy.
This was because they were guarding Ye Lun"s house, as well as looking for his whereabouts.
However, a night had pa.s.sed, and there was no news from him.
Captain Quan"s voice over the phone sounded frustrated.
"I wouldn"t believe that Ye Lun dude would grow a pair of wings and fly away from the Capital!"
"He can"t fly!" Bai Muchuan then shared a piece of news. "But the situation is really dire. Red Thorn has started… to look for the biochemical weapons."
After Quan Shaoteng heard that Red Thorn was being activated and that it was led by Bai Muxuan, he got even more anxious.
"I can"t lose out to those younger fellows! Little Bai, don"t worry. I"ll definitely find that dude first!"
Bai Muxuan joined Red Thorn much later than Quan Shaoteng and Bai Muchuan. Quan Shaoteng didn"t want anyone from his original unit to take the credit before he did now that he was at Serious Crime Division One. If that happened, he would lose face!
"Don"t worry, just watch me."
Bai Muchuan was not as optimistic. "If it"s a head-on battle, you fear no one, but…"
"But what?"
"I"m worried that the opponent is sly and would not go head-on with you at all…"
In the past missions that Quan Shaoteng did, the nature was actually different.
Hence, there were significant differences in how work was carried out between Serious Crime Division One and Red Thorn.
"Hurhur! If he"s the Monkey King, then I"m the Buddha that traps him in my palm. Just wait for my good news…"
Although Bai Muchuan had Quan Shaoteng"s a.s.surance, he couldn"t help puffing a sigh.
"Do remember that you must maintain communication with us frequently. When there"s a situation, you mustn"t act without orders!"
"Roger!"