Chapter 230: That’s Life
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Tang Yuanchu’s arm trembled, and he looked at her as though he had seen a ghost.
Xie Wanwan laid her head on his shoulder, chuckling softly. She had totally no idea how unsettling her words had sounded to him. She asked in a feathery voice, “Are you scared?”
Tang Yuanchu was finding it hard to swallow and replied in a throaty voice. “I’m not interested in a drunkard.”
That teasing laugh, accompanied by her soft, feathery voice, was as though a snake hissing, tearing through Tang Yuanchu’s weakened nerves. “If I’m not drunk… how will you get a chance?”
“…”
Tang Yuanchu’s chest was heaving up and down.
Only a thin layer of clothing separated the two of them. The heat generated from the friction turned into an electric current, spreading all over his body. It felt as though all his pores had opened up and clamoring in desire…
The woman in front of him looked as if she turned into a siren.
Her gaze was dreamy and alluring, and her arms that wrapped around him was so soft and smooth.
He found it difficult to breathe properly; his eyes were red and were unable to utter a single word.
“Are you shy?” Xie Wanwan’s tone was low and soft as she continued to chuckle teasingly. “Don’t be afraid, I can teach you…”
“Do you do this often?” Tang Yuanchu gulped.
“Huh?” Apparently, Xie Wanwan didn’t understand his question.
Tang Yuanchu took a deep breath. “As in often messing around with men like this?”
Xie Wanwan winked a little provocatively at him. “Nope… I hate men touching me.”
Tang Yuanchu sneered. “You don’t look like you hate it at all.”
Xie Wanwan pondered for a while. “You can give it a try… and I’ll know if I hate it.”
In actual fact, she had no idea why she held that kind of thought as she muttered those words.
It had been a long time or rather, she had never said such words before.
At this moment, the cold and humid door that had been shut close, stashed away at the bottom of her heart opened. There was an eagerness for someone to enter and enrich her…
The man right in front of her was like a burning torch, his body as hard as steel. His muscles were thick and so s.e.xy that it made her quiver. His youthful face was bright and full of sunshine, very much the likeness of her youth that she had lost in those dark days…
It was an indescribable feeling.
The feeling of being alive.
These feelings made her desperate for a man.
“Tang Monk… let this demoness eat you up…” She seemed to be elated after getting these words out of her. However, every word she said weighed down heavily on him, caught by her alluring aura, unable to free himself.
“Why?” Tang Yuanchu’s throat was so dry as though it would emit smoke, his body was burning and quivering under the touch of her fingers. He was unwilling to give in like this, though.
He did not want to be the relief machine of her desires. Who knows… she might forget everything the next day.
“Because…” Xie Wanwan drew in closer, where her lips kissed his neck. “If this demoness ate the meat of Tang Monk… she can gain longevity…”
“… I’m not Tang Monk.”
“You are.”
Xie Wanwan wrapped her hands around his neck and started to unb.u.t.ton his shirt.
Her hand slipped in through the widened collar and her finger drew circles on his chest muscle.
“Just give it a try. It’s not difficult.”
“Xie Wanwan,” Tang Yuanchu was gritting his teeth. “I’m not your little white mouse…”
“… This demoness doesn’t eat little white mouses, only Tang Monk’s meat.”
“Don’t feign ignorance!”
“Alright, I won’t be like this next time… I’ll drink lesser… we’ll be able to enjoy it more…”
“Do you really know what you are doing?”
Tang Yuanchu grabbed her hand and howled at her.
Smooch! As he had caught her hands, she gave a kiss on his cheek instead. “I know, I do know.”
All the bottled up anger within Tang Yuanchu went up in vapor with that kiss.
Tang Yuanchu was gasping as he looked at the face drawing close. He could feel a rush of adrenaline in his brain. Small beads of perspiration started to appear on his forehead…
“Xie Wanwan!”
“One’s not enough. Here’s another.”
Smooch! Smooch…
“Hehe, your face’s red…”
She started giggling again as she pointed at him.
“And… you… seem to have some reaction…”
Cough! Cough! It was too much for Tang Yuanchu to take. He swiftly caught her misbehaving hands once again.
His pair of burning eyes glared at her, meeting her gaze as if he wanted to see through her thoughts.
In her eyes, there was intoxication. He found neither affection nor love in her eyes, not even any other emotion.
She was so near and yet so far away.
“You’re a lunatic!”
Tang Yuanchu closed his eyes, removed his jacket, and wrapped it around Xie Wanwan’s body tightly before fastening the seat belt.
“Sit tight, I’ll send you back. Try anything funny again and I’ll throw you out of the car!”
The word ‘throw’ seemed to have some impact on Xie Wanwan as she seemed to be a little clear-headed when she heard it.
She tilted her head and squinted her eyes to observe him without saying a word for a long while.
Tang Yuanchu focused his sight on the road, not wanting to give her even a glance.
He was afraid if he took another look at her, all the self-control he could gather would crumble to nothingness.
As the night got darker, the street lights of Jin City looked exceptionally beautiful.
Tang Yuanchu was driving Xie Wanwan’s car as he traveled down the road in the bustling city where he suddenly thought about the charming Xie Wanwan in glamorous dresses he saw on the ma.s.s media.
“Xie Wanwan, are you actually depressed?”
There was no reply.
Tang Yuanchu turned his head slowly for a glimpse.
At this moment, Xie Wanwan had already fallen asleep on the seat.
Sigh! Tang Yuanchu shook his head.
She would most probably forget about this incident when she woke up the next morning.
…
On the next day, Xiang Wan met Tang Yuanchu at the pantry.
The water dispenser had already filled up his cup and was overflowing, yet he seemed oblivious to it.
He seemed lost in thought, and there was a faraway look on his eyes. He was not sure what was going through his head at that point.
Xiang Wan looked at him for a moment before walking over and pat on his shoulder gently.
“Hey!”
Tang Yuanchu was startled.
He let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was Xiang Wan.
“Oh, it’s you, Teacher Xiang.”
“Why? Do I look like a ghost to you?”
“Nah, not at all.” Tang Yuanchu started to work on cleaning the spilled water. “I was just thinking about something—”
Xiang Wan noticed he was avoiding her eyes and raised an eyebrow. “You went after Xie Wanwan yesterday, right?”
Tang Yuanchu fell silent.
Xiang Wan eyed him up and down a few times before she chuckled meaningfully.
“Detective Tang, don’t tell me you’ve really fallen for her?”
“What? Nothing of this sort. How’s that possible? We are people from two different worlds…” Tang Yuanchu blushed and avoided eye contact. “She owed me the cigarette money that night. I only asked her to pay me back.”
“Hur!” Xiang Wan laughed even louder. “But your behavior tells me otherwise.”
Tang Yuanchu was speechless as he glanced at her for a moment. He then looked at his watch and walked away as though he was in a hurry.
“Teacher Xiang, I have something on. We’ll chit chat some other time. See you later.”
“…” He didn’t even have the courage to explain?
Xiang Wan shook her head as she looked at his diminishing back view.
“Behaving so suspiciously… don’t tell me I got it, right?”
Although Xiang Wan didn’t manage to obtain what was troubling Tang Yuanchu, she received a call from Xie Wanwan that evening, much to her surprise.
Xie Wanwan told her something.
Her filming in Jin City had ended.
She would be heading to Xi City the next day and would be staying there for a month or so.
Xiang Wan could still remember the plot of “The Grey List”.
A few cases and events would take place in Xi City.
Hence, knowing that Xie Wanwan would be going to Xi City for filming was of no surprise to her. The strange thing that puzzled Xiang Wan was why did Xie Wanwan make an effort to call her up and tell her about it?
Were they that close to each other? Not at all. They were not even friends.
Xiang Wan said casually, “Bon voyage and see you again.”
Xie Wanwan paused for a short moment and laughed. “Better not to meet again.”
With that, she ended the call. That left Xiang Wan bewildered.
The next moment, however, she suddenly thought of Tang Yuanchu who seemed to be lost and distracted—
Now that Xie Wanwan would be leaving, it was uncertain when Tang Yuanchu would be able to see her again. Even if he really liked her, he might not have the chance to get close to her again.
That’s life.
One’s n.o.bility in character may last like mountains and rivers, but the ties between people can be easily broken.
…
For the past few days, Tan Yunchun had been recovering very well. Hence, Xiang Wan need not stay at the hospital for long hours.
Nevertheless, this was considered a major illness for Xiang Wan’s mom. It was certainly not something she could be nursed back to her previous healthier state in just days. Even so, Xiang Wan’s mom wanted to go home as soon as possible. Finally, under Youngest aunt’s persistence, she gave in to the arrangement of staying at the hospital longer.
All the medical expenses were paid up by Youngest aunt.
Xiang Wan knew Youngest aunt was not short on money. However, she still continued to work very hard by writing more chapters, so she could repay the money earlier.
While at the workplace, she checked her bank account.
Only to realize the number shown on the screen, when compared to the hospital bill, there was still a long way to go…
The royalties next month should be higher, right? After all, there was a gift that amounted to 100,000 yuan.
With that in mind, Xiang Wan felt better. While taking a break during her leisure time at work, she decided to check out Second Young Master Mu’s current novel—”The White List”.
To her disappointment, Second Young Master Mu did not have any new updates.
It had been so long. Had this author vanished into thin air? Will “The White List” become a book that had been abandoned by its author?
Over at the reviews and comments page of “The White List”, Xiang Wan felt as though she entered a land of famine as upset readers voiced their unhappiness.
There were many readers begging for Second Young Master Mu’s return.
Xiang Wan puffed a sigh and left an encouraging comment.
“I’m your loyal fan. No matter what difficulty you have encountered, I hope you will not give up ‘The White List’ easily. There are simply too many readers like myself who are so in love with this book… we will not give up and will always be waiting.”
After leaving the comment, she switched on her laptop and went to her reviews and comment page.
Familiar and unfamiliar IDs who were active in her reviews and comments page left their footprints in there.
It was always an enjoyment whenever Xiang Wan browsed through that page.
Of course, the prerequisite for her to enjoy reading that page would be that n.o.body was criticizing her.
Her recent updates had been getting a lot of praises from her readers. That gave Xiang Wan a sense of accomplishment in her work.
As she read through the comments, the corners of her lips would curve upwards unknowingly.
“It’s good that you have been updating on a daily basis, but it has been so long since a new case has occurred? As an author, don’t you feel ashamed? When there are desires to be filled, there will be sins… a book without sins is just too tasteless!”
That mysterious ID.
That mysterious ID appeared again.
Xiang Wan’s heart skipped a beat. Her nerves instantly went stiff.
However, half a second later, she started to calm down.
She might have over thought on this. It had been so long and nothing out of the ordinary occurred.
Too many suspicions would create unwanted imaginary fears.
She contemplated for a while and decided to send a message to Bai Muchuan: “Are you busy?”
Bai Muchuan replied fast: “Hm, quite okay. How’s our mom recovering today?”
Xiang Wan’s heart would feel a warm sensation every time she saw or hear Bai Muchuan addressing her mom as “our mom”. She could not tell if this was joy or she was simply shy about it.
“She’s recovering pretty well. I’ll be fetching her from the hospital in a while.”
“So… Little Xiang Wan, does that mean you’ll be able to come over and accompany me soon?”
He brought up this matter again.
Xiang Wan smiled as she replied, “Hmm, the soonest will probably the first week of next month?”
“… Are you trying to kill me?!”
At the Capital.
The building of Serious Crime Division One.
Bai Muchuan put away his phone slowly as he walked into the office.
Serious Crime Division One was still in the midst of establishment and had yet to be officially announced to the public.
However, the first batch of staff had already started to report to work.
At this moment, Quan Shaoteng was sitting inside Bai Muchuan’s office, looking around at the decoration of the office leisurely as he waited for him.
“Laowu.”
Bai Muchuan entered his office.
Quan Shaoteng was sitting on the leather armchair. He twirled around the chair to face him with his legs crossed, wearing a half-smile.
“Hi Little Bai.”
Bai Muchuan shot a glance at him. “… Is this how you greet me?”
“Come on, don’t be so serious!”
Seeing Bai Muchuan pulling a long face at him, Quan Shaoteng puffed a sigh, got up from the chair, and gave him a salute.
“Serious Crime Division One, Operations Captain, Quan Shaoteng, reporting for work! Please give me your instructions, sir!”
“Instruct your head!” Bai Muchuan fist b.u.mped Quan Shaoteng on the shoulder. “Our division has not officially started, you don’t have to be so serious.”
“…”
Quan Shaoteng had a feeling he had just been trolled.
Both of them took their seats and Quan Shaoteng asked lazily, “This division is considered ‘open for business’, but we do not have any cases on hand yet? Well, at least your hands are full for now. As for me, I have nothing to do, why am I still reporting to work? Aha! Want to play mahjong?”
Hur! Bai Muchuan rolled his eyes. “Do you really want to have cases to work on?”
Quan Shaoteng shrugged his shoulders. “Of course not, I want world peace.”
“Cut it out.” Bai Muchuan grunted a laugh. “You simply love stirring up trouble as you thrive in chaos…”
Both of them looked at each other and could not resist laughing.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Someone was at the door.
Bai Muchuan clasped his hands together, as his elbows rested on the table. Finally, he looked up at the door.
“Come in!”
A tall and slim woman entered the office in a perfectly straight pose.
“h.e.l.lo Captain Bai, h.e.l.lo Captain Quan! Cheng Xin reporting for work!”