At the lower part of the building of Serious Crime Division One, there were some stairs.One would need to climb about 20 to 30 steps to get to the main entrance.
Below the steps was an empty area which was also the parking lot.
That parking lot was not for police use, but for civilians.
At this time, Xie Wanwan"s car was stopped near the entrance of the car park, unable to move.
A group of people surrounded the car, trying to peer inside and take pictures. Some of them pointed in the direction of the car and even shouted indignantly that Xie Wanwan was the indirect murderer who harmed so many people in the "zombie" case and caused the death of her a.s.sistant…
She"s such a pitiful figure. Why did she attract so many haters?
Tang Yuanchu was very agile and was the first to confront the crowd.
"What"s going on? Why are all of you creating a ruckus?"
As Cheng Xin was wearing the police uniform, coupled with Tang Yuanchu"s aura of a detective, these people stopped what they were trying to do and were more restrained.
Someone came to Tang Yuanchu to explain, telling him that they were from whatever media company and wanted to interview Xie Wanwan…
Tang Yuanchu did not have the patience to listen further. "An interview should only be done with mutual consent! Go back, everyone! We still have a case to solve!"
Everyone pointed their cameras at Tang Yuanchu at the mention of the word "case".
Immediately, some paparazzi recognized who he was.
"This must be Detective Tang?"
The crowd immediately started to bombard Tang Yuanchu with questions.
That day, Tang Yuanchu wore an ordinary-looking jacket. He was tall like a model with a sunny disposition and youthful good looks. The crowd seemed really interested to know about his love life.
"Detective Tang, is Miss Xie related to Xu Siqi"s case?"
This reporter belonged to the more polite ones, as their focus was on the case.
The tabloid reporters directly asked him what was his relation with Xie Wanwan.
"Is Detective Tang here to help Miss Xie get out of this situation?"
"May I know if you and Miss Xie are currently dating?"
"When will you two be making your relations.h.i.+p public?"
"…"
One by one, the reporters and paparazzi reached out their mics to Tang Yuanchu, wis.h.i.+ng him to say a word or two. If the person there was Quan Shaoteng, if he could use his fists… he would never use his mouth.
Tang Yuanchu was unlike Quan Shaoteng, he had the gift of the gab and was a popular online celebrity. He was also recognized by Bai Muchuan for his eloquence and handling of the media. Earlier on he didn"t look as friendly as he was worried about Xie Wanwan. Now that he regained his composure, he was back to his usual self.
"Attention everyone, we really have work to do and time is precious. I seek everyone"s cooperation, and I believe that none of you want to obstruct us from carrying out our official duties, right?"
His seemingly warm, friendly and calm speech was actually filled with subtle warnings.
Who had the guts to obstruct official business?
He walked closer with a smile and the crowd started to back off to make way.
However, there were still some of them who didn"t want to give up asking him about his relations.h.i.+p with Xie Wanwan.
Tang Yuanchu gave everyone a meaningful smile. "How am I supposed to respond to this? I see that some friends always like to joke around…"
"How "bout this? I"ll treat all of you to dinner privately someday. A day that we need not work and can talk for as long as we like…"
He didn"t reply to them directly.
The mention of treating everyone a meal was also very down to earth.
But that only applied to himself, and no one would know when…
He was indeed good at dealing with them.
By using both warnings and a softer approach to handle these people, although they didn"t seem like they wanted to give up, they didn"t dare to surround the car anymore.
As for the haters, they didn"t dare come close the moment they saw the police.
"Please don"t block the way, don"t block the way. Okay! Thank you!"
Tang Yuanchu maintained the order and beckoned to Xie Wanwan.
"Take this parking lot!"
He moved backwards and pointed at a parking lot for Xie Wanwan.
Xie Wanwan heaved a sigh of relief when the situation was now under control and parked the car without trouble.
Tang Yuanchu walked over and opened the car door. "You may get down!"
He didn"t show much expression. Xie Wanwan lifted her head, no one could see her eyes clearly under that pair of shades she was wearing but she seemed to be somewhat embarra.s.sed. "Thank you!"
Tang Yuanchu took a glance at her and stood aside.
He didn"t say a word.
Xie Wanwan followed along, her fists clenched together.
…
While they were walking up the stairs, the reporters and paparazzi also followed along with their cameras.
Tang Yuanchu didn"t attempt to stop them from following but when they were about to reach the main entrance of Serious Crime Division One, he waved at everyone.
"Go back, everyone! If you continue to follow and film, I would need to invite you to tea at the detention center!"
The group of reporters and paparazzi cackled in amus.e.m.e.nt.
Tang Yuanchu waved again. "Just go and please be safe."
The crowd finally dispersed.
Cheng Xin followed them with a bored expression. She frowned when she saw how Tang Yuanchu protected Xie Wanwan. "Tch!" she snorted and wanted to walk past them when Xiang Wan suddenly appeared before her.
"Officer Cheng, thanks for your hard work."
Mm? Cheng Xin looked at Xiang Wan from the corner of her eyes. "But I didn"t do anything?"
In her perspective, she was simply there to look at what was happening.
Xiang Wan smiled. "Your presence alone is already a great help to us!"
What did she mean? Cheng Xin didn"t get it. She thought that Xiang Wan"s smile was somewhat glaring to her eyes. Then she took a look at her own clothes and suddenly understood why they had gotten her to come along - she was being made use of to scare those people!
"Shameless!" she blurted.
Anger was burning inside her and for a moment, she forgot where she was and who she was with.
Immediately after she cussed, she realized her mistake but it was too late as Xiang Wan had heard that.
"Officer Cheng, what did you say? Who made you angry?"
Xiang Wan appeared confused with her innocent expression as she looked at Cheng Xin.
"…" Cheng Xin was angry but she couldn"t flare up like that. She had to swallow all of it. "It"s nothing. I"m just peeved at those women who behave like vixens. They think that they are beautiful and can do whatever they want!"
She dashed into the main hall with her face looking all dark and gloomy.
Well…
Who was she referring to?
Xiang Wan looked at Xie Wanwan.
The latter happened to look over in her direction.
When both of them looked at each other, they couldn"t resist laughing.
Xie Wanwan: "Thank you!"
Xiang Wan replied with a smile, "Let"s go!"
…
Bai Muchuan was now outside the interrogation room.
Ding Yifan and Quan Shaoteng were also together with him. Their expressions seemed weary and judging from their faces, it seemed that they didn"t manage to get anything useful from Zhang Houfa"s interrogation.
Xiang Wan walked over to Bai Muchuan. "The takeaway I bought is still warm."
He then glanced at Xie Wanwan. "She"s here now anyway," persuaded Xiang Wan, "just go for a short break."
"Mm." Bai Muchuan nodded his head. "We"ll have our lunch first. You two can have a chat."
Before he left, he looked at Xiang Wan deeply. He didn"t mind the fact that there were other people there as he expressed his strong feelings via his gaze to Xiang Wan openly… It looked as if he would be missing her dearly although he would only leave for a while. He even held her face for a moment dotingly.
Gasp!
Xiang Wan felt slightly embarra.s.sed.
"Hurry and go eat!"
"Mm!" Bai Muchuan"s eyes were still fixated on her. "Wait for me to come back!"
"… Okay." Xiang Wan followed his unusual line of sight and finally realized after a few seconds what he was up to. He was worried that she might be unhappy as Xie Wanwan was here.
Xiang Wan let out a chuckle and waved at him.
"Just go!"
Bai Muchuan smiled and left.
Xie Wanwan: "You two have been together for such a long time and still behaving in such a lovey-dovey manner?…"
Xiang Wan turned back to face Xie Wanwan, a smile hanging on her lips. "It"s still alright."
"…"
Xie Wanwan was not a criminal suspect. She was only here for a questioning session to a.s.sist in the investigations. They treated her differently from Zhang Houfa. Tang Yuanchu poured a cup of water for her and placed it on the table then he left quietly.
From the beginning till the end, he didn"t say a word. He was like a completely different person from the guy who handled the reporters eloquently at the carpark.
"So you two… haven"t made up with each other?" Xiang Wan asked with a casual smile.
"… There"s no such thing. We"ve always been like this." Xie Wanwan avoided the topic, running her fingers through her hair. "Do you know what they wanted to ask me? Did they find anything new?"
Xiang Wan kept quiet.
With regards to this matter, she felt that she shouldn"t be the one to say that.
As for what they wanted to ask Xie Wanwan, she was not told as well.
Hence, before Bai Muchuan came back, she knew that she shouldn"t reveal anything about the case.
"Forget it, it"s of no use asking you anyway." Xie Wanwan saw that Xiang Wan seemed to be in a difficult spot and smiled. Then she leaned back against the chair and looked at the ceiling. "It"s really tiring!"
Xiang Wan started to chat with her since she didn"t have anything on. "What did you do for the day?"
Xie Wanwan didn"t move as she replied. "Ye Lun introduced someone with a glib tongue and we talked about the broadcast of "The Grey List"…"
"How is it?"
"Nothing much."
Xie Wanwan rubbed her forehead and seemed powerless against the situation.
"These people are wily foxes. How would he give me a definite reply?"
"I see…" Xiang Wan nodded her head. "Seems like it"s not easy no matter which industry one is in… In the past, I thought that celebrities are always so gorgeous and beautiful before everyone. Celebrities are wealthy, get attention and live carefree lives."
"Tch!" Xie Wanwan chuckled twice.
After that, she looked at Xiang Wan. "Let"s exchange then? Are you willing to?"
"…"
Xiang Wan looked back at her.
A couple of seconds later, the two of them laughed.
"I won"t exchange! I don"t think I can handle your work. I"m more suitable for a more relaxed lifestyle. I"m lazy, more of an introvert and am poor… I"m more suited to a simple life."
Xie Wanwan seemed to agree with her.
"Nonetheless, there are a lot of people who try ways and means to enter s...o...b..z, to the extent that they are willing to lose their lives…"
"Mm?" Xiang Wan turned to look at her and saw the tiny red blood vessels that showed up in Xie Wanwan"s eyes. "Are you talking about Xu Siqi?"
"She"s not the only one." Xie Wanwan smiled. "There are a lot of people like her…"
After a pause, she added, "I used to be like that too."
…
Bai Muchuan ate his meal fast.
Under slightly more than 10 minutes, he was back at the interrogation room.
He was unlike Xiang Wan who showed a friendly expression. He was cold and expressionless. He sat down and instructed Tang Yuanchu to prepare what was necessary to start the questioning. After that, he asked Xie Wanwan seriously.
"Take a look at your personal information before you. Is there any problem?"
The information before her were simply details of the one who would be interrogated or questioned.
Xie Wanwan knew these procedures too well.
Even now, he would never skip any part of the process. He followed everything according to protocol.
Xie Wanwan shook her head. "Just ask."
…
…