Chapter 27: Which Hospital Again?
Translator: MintCatnip Editor: Chrissy
At that moment, Xiang Wan pondered over a lot of things.
Er Niu used to frequently post photos of herself in the chat group. Although in these photos, she didn’t smile a lot, she had a face as pure as water.
The female driver she met at the alley, that flash of shadow at a certain window on the fourth-storey… and this time, the face that resembled Er Niu too much, in a car that drove past the cab.
Xiang Wan’s heart was filled with a certain creepy element that made her heart bloated and heavy. Her eyes felt like they were swelling, tired and dry.
She did not make a mistake. She rea.s.sured herself as she was very sure with what she saw.
Yeah, no mistake about it , she told herself.
But why did Er Niu, who was already dead, keep appearing before her, then disappear without a trace?
Do “ghosts” really exist in this world?
The views outside the cab from the window kept changing, but to Xiang Wan, everything was blurred. The neon lights were gone, the street lights were gone, and the tall buildings were like monsters with sharp teeth and claws growling ferociously at her. Sometimes, the growls were loud, at other times, softer, drumming into her ear membrane from the air.
“Xiang Wan! Xiang Wan, are you alright?”
“Little Wan? Wake up, come back to your senses! Sigh, what are you thinking about?”
Fang Yuanyuan kept calling her, but her voice seemed far away to Xiang Wan as if it came from another dimension.
Xiang Wan pursed her lips, her ashen face turned slowly toward Fang Yuanyuan like a camera on slow-motion.
“I really saw her. Why didn’t you believe me?”
“She was smiling at me. Our gazes even met for one second. We had eye contact…”
“Yuanyuan, you… just now, you really did not see that red car… and the woman inside that car?”
Fang Yuanyuan felt she would be driven to madness. “My dear sis, there are so many cars, I didn’t notice it.”
Then she squeezed Xiang Wan’s hand in an attempt to let her be conscious of the driver’s emotions. Her daze-like mannerisms and the abnormal scream earlier could shake up someone else easily and cause them to think that they met a nutcase.
“Little Wan…” Fang Yuanyuan whispered into her ear as she thought of that, “could it be that you’ve seen something you shouldn’t?”
She spoke in a low tone, her ghastly voice similar to those horror movies that had a chilly sense of eeriness.
Xiang Wan shot her a dirty look then took a deep breath. “Forget it, I don’t want to talk to you. Luckily, he believed me.”
Fang Yuanyuan narrowed her eyes. “Huh, who believed you?”
Xiang Wan spoke slowly, “Detective Bai. He’s the only one who believed me.”
“Crazy,” Fang Yuanyuan muttered under her breath. Then she looked at the worried driver whose eyes kept checking them out. With a smile of embarra.s.sment, she said, “Shifu 1 , watch the road, keep safe.”
“Yes, yes.” The driver acknowledged that and kept his eyes on the road. But after thinking for a while, he got worried again. “Both of you are going to the ‘Shi’ Hospital, right? The ‘Shi’ that means City, not the “Si”, which means number four, right?”
Fang Yuanyuan said, “…Yes. City (Shi) Hospital.”
For a Jin City citizen, the City (Shi) Hospital and the Fourth (Si) Hospital was a world of difference.
This was because the Fourth Hospital was Jin City’s infamous Mental Hospital. Many people like to joke around to send each other to the Fourth Hospital. Apparently, the driver had thought there was something not quite right up there with Xiang Wan.
Fang Yuanyuan almost died of embarra.s.sment, but Xiang Wan had no reaction at all.
…
City Hospital.
People came and went, in and out of the bright hospital entrance.
The crowded atmosphere there would not lose out to a night market.
They had come to the City Hospital because of Bai Muchuan.
Just now, when Xiang Wan was on the phone with him. She asked him repeatedly if he believed her or not—then Bai Muchuan told her to come here.
Actually, Fang Yuanyuan also wanted to ask Detective Bai to confirm if they were going to the City Hospital or the Fourth Hospital, but she was worried that Xiang Wan might give her a thrashing.
Xiang Wan was certain that Bai Muchuan would believe her. Hence, she agreed to come to the hospital. However, Fang Yuanyuan thought otherwise. She felt that Detective Bai must have used this method as a temporary measure to deal with Xiang Wan.
After all, he was a busy man.
w.a.n.g Tongsheng was sent to the City Hospital where he was saved.
When Xiang Wan and Fang Yuanyuan arrived, there were a few detectives standing outside the Emergency Ward.
Bai Muchuan was standing in the middle of the crowd—he donned a black casual shirt and a pair of black trousers that wrapped his pair of long legs. His slender, upright body turned slightly when he saw them. The icy, clear, and bright gaze that came from his pair of pupils was reflected by light. Somehow, this gaze of his seemed to have a calming effect.
With just one glance at him, the fear that raged in Xiang Wan’s heart dissipated much.
Perhaps this was the positive energy of righteousness of the police, one that could dispel evil spirits?
Pffft! Xiang Wan laughed at her own thoughts.
Since when did she become so superst.i.tious that she actually believed there were ghosts in the world?!
At that moment, she was sober and conscious. The image of Er Niu’s face in her mind faded away, as well as all the miscellaneous spooky thoughts she had.
“Detective Bai,” she walked up and greeted him, putting behind the unhappy incident behind her, “why did you ask us to come here?”
Detective Bai pointed to an office next to him.
The two of them exchanged glances and walked inside together.
Fang Yuanyuan wanted to follow suit but was stopped by Huang He.
She was surprised. “Little Wan…”
Xiang Wan turned around and waved her hand. “Don’t worry, Yuanyuan, wait a while.”
The door of the office closed, with only Bai Muchuan and Xiang Wan inside.
This was an office which belonged to the doctors.
The white doctor coats were hanging on the hanger, and the smell of the disinfectant floating in the air made Xiang Wan a little uneasy.
She rubbed her hands and looked at the tall Detective Bai in front of her.
“I really saw her,” she said the same words as earlier. “She was sitting inside a red car on the front pa.s.senger seat. She was smiling and had eye contact with me…”
Bai Muchuan surveyed her for a few seconds and did not say a word. Afterward, he took a disposable cup, poured her a cup of lukewarm water, and motioned her to sit on a chair, behaving as if the office belonged to the police.
“Did you remember the car plate number?”
Oh, that…
Xiang Wan felt embarra.s.sed.
She drooped her head slightly and shook it… her shoulders shrunk. Her thin, gentle look made her appear like a girl who suffered an injustice. “I was sitting on the right which is not a good position. The car drove away before I can see the car plate number… I told the driver to give chase, but he couldn’t react in time. There were too many cars…”
Ocean Sky Hotpot was very near Jin City’s downtown area where the traffic flow was ma.s.sive and the crowd liked to gather there.
Bai Muchuan had an understanding nod. “It’s alright, I’ll get Huang He to pull out the footage of the surveillance cameras. You’ll be needed to cooperate and confirm the vehicle by then.”
Oh yes! Xiang Wan only realized at this moment.
That busy street must have surveillance cameras. The time of the phone call she made to Bai Muchuan was a record in itself. They just needed to pull out the footage around that time and did not have to worry about not being able to find that car.
That thought cheered her up. Her pale face finally showed some color as she eased from the tension.
“Detective Bai, thank you, and I apologize for troubling you.”
She was indeed grateful toward Bai Muchuan for trusting her and not treating her as a nutcase just like everyone else, who brushed her off by stating the fact that Er Niu had been dead for a month.
However, Bai Muchuan put his hands into his pocket, his relaxed and lazy look was somewhat cool and totally unperturbed. “This is my job responsibility. We should thank you for your willingness to cooperate with the police.”
“… Sure.”
Since when did the two of them become so polite?
Where’s the heated argument about the issue of compensation?
Xiang Wan smoothed out her messy hair, put down the cup, and stood up. “Alright then, I’ll wait outside.”
Bai Muchuan waved his fingers downward to motion her to sit. “You can rest here.”
The air-conditioning along the corridors of the City Hospital was not adequate. When there were a lot of people, the area would be stuffy and warm. The doctors’ office was very different. It was refreshing and peaceful, definitely a good place to rest for a while.
Xiang Wan knew that he meant well by suggesting that. However, at the moment, she dared not stay in a place that was too quiet by herself. She was unable to explain what she was scared of, and she was unwilling to be alone.
Her expression betrayed what she was thinking in her heart. Without waiting for her to reply, Bai Muchuan narrowed his eyes in understanding.
“You can call your friend in.”
Xiang Wan heaved a sigh of relief. “She’s my cousin.”
It was evident that Bai Muchuan was not concerned about the relationship between them. He gave a nod and left the office.
In less than three seconds, Fang Yuanyuan pushed the door and ran inside the office. “Little Wan, are you alright? Did that Detective Bai make things difficult for you?”
Xiang Wan shook her head. Fang Yuanyuan was relieved to see that and puffed a sigh. “Let’s go then. Since everything’s fine, why are you still staying here?”
“I still have to identify the car with the police, maybe you…”
Fang Yuanyuan needed to go to work the next day. Xiang Wan thought it would not be appropriate to keep her waiting with her. Xiang Wan wanted to let Fang Yuanyuan go back, but suddenly, she realized that if Fang Yuanyuan went back first without her, where would she stay for the night?
“Alright!” Fang Yuanyuan knew what Xiang Wan was going to say even though the latter did not manage to finish her words. “Then I’ll get going first. Do call me if there’s anything.”
Xiang Wan: “…”
The detectives were outside, so Fang Yuanyuan was not worried that anything bad would happen to Xiang Wan. But if she didn’t get back home soon, she was going to get into big trouble with her own mom.
Thus, without any hesitation, she grabbed her own bag and left. “Bye, remember to have a pleasant night with Detective Bai.”
Xiang Wan: “…”
Thank goodness they weren’t real sisters.
Otherwise, Xiang Wan would definitely have the urge to strangle her.
Sitting by herself all alone in the office, Xiang Wan was filled with uneasiness.
She started to drink cup after cup of warm water to enjoy the moment of warmth when the water flowed into her stomach.
Anxiety, tension. The time flowed slowly.
She did not know how much time had pa.s.sed when the door to the office was opened.
The ones who entered were Bai Muchuan, as well as Zhan Se.
Both of their expressions seemed relaxed. Bai Muchuan had even directly told Xiang Wan what had happened without reservation.
“We have a major breakthrough in the interrogation of w.a.n.g Tongsheng!”
…