Chapter 378: Leaving Nanmu
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Even at this time, he was still concerned about his pet cat.
Xiang Wan felt a sudden tug at her heart, unable to say a word.
Bai Muchuan’s eyebrows were scrunched together. “Yu Bo, we wanted to ask you one more time. Did you really kill all those people?”
Yu Bo ignored him. His eyes were fixated on Xiang Wan, anxiously seeking for help.
“Do you know where they… throw Blackie to?”
Xiang Wan was speechless.
She… did not know that.
She could guess that under normal circ.u.mstances, most people would leave it alone somewhere.
Since Yu Bo was staring at her, he knew what Xiang Wan’s expression meant.
His youthful but dispirited face instantly darkened.
After that, he said pleadingly to Xiang Wan.
“Please… will you help me… find him?”
Xiang Wan could not bear to reject that request.
She did not know why, but when she saw that young face that still looked like a child, she felt a tug of unfathomable sadness within her.
“Yu Bo, you… can’t keep any cat now.”
Her voice was hoa.r.s.e, and she didn’t know how to tell Yu Bo that he would be sent to the detention center and wait for his trial. She didn’t know if Yu Bo would understand even if she told him that.
Moreover, she thought it would be terrible to tell this to him.
“I, I really believe in you.” Yu Bo’s eyes reddened.
Perhaps from excitement or perhaps from disappointment, he started to tremble again.
He was gloomy and sullen while he stared at Xiang Wan; it was similar to how he stared at Meng Chi the other day.
“I thought that you liked Blackie, so I told you all this… You… kick me to curb after using me, just like him… Then, they took Blackie away from me…”
Xiang Wan was flabbergasted.
Just how naive this child could be!?
Did he think killing someone was not a crime?
“Yu Bo, you still have a chance…”
Xiang Wan found her voice sounding a little dry.
It seemed that for every word she said, the difficulty of articulating it heightens.
“… What chance?” Yu Bo looked at her without understanding.
Bai Muchuan’s face immediately sank. “Xiang Wan!”
He stopped her.
Xiang Wan glanced at him. “It’s obvious that he has a problem; he needs some psychiatric help, so…”
Prior to sentencing a man’s crime, the court would also determine his mental condition to conclude the severity of the sentence… there might not even be any sentence meted out.
“We shouldn’t be the ones to say this!” Bai Muchuan said sternly.
Xiang Wan bit her lower lip and kept quiet.
He’s right; she shouldn’t have said all this!
Even if she said all she could, Yu Bo might not be able to get what she was saying.
“No… No!”
Yu Bo was dazed for a while and started to shout in agitation.
“I’m not sick! I’m not a moron!”
“…”
“They’re wrong!” Yu Bo gritted his teeth, waving about his handcuffed hands. He lifted them and banged heavily onto the table. “I’m not sick! I’m not sick! How can all of you arrest me!”
“…”
He’s too foolish for his own good!
Only by proving that he was sick, that he was mentally challenged, then he would be fine! Xiang Wan wanted to shout that at his face.
Although she was shouting from within her head, she was powerless against the situation.
Yu Bo continued to throw a tantrum.
Finally, he felt tired from all the shouting and looked at Xiang Wan, panting and gasping.
“After arresting me, are they going to kill me?”
It was now very quiet inside the room.
Xiang Wan thought for a moment. “I’m not going to lie. For this matter, what I say would not help. They may or they may not.”
It was a fact.
Yu Bo could still not get it.
However, he could sense that his life was being threatened. It was a natural desire to survive innate to every human. With a cry, he started to burst into tears.
“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I didn’t mean to kill anyone… I don’t want to die…”
His hands clasped his pants tightly. He cried bitterly for a while before he looked up slowly with his eyes, blurred with tears.
“Please, please…”
He looked at Xiang Wan; his eyes and nose were red.
His innocent pleas were desperate, written all over his eyes.
Xiang Wan sighed sadly, “I can’t help you.”
“No, please… you must help me. Help me find Blackie…” Yu Bo gulped. “Then, help Blackie find a good family. Find someone who would treat him nicely and feed him well. Don’t find someone like my mom who would lose her temper and abuse him.”
“…”
Xiang Wan looked at him for a long time.
His face, his eyes, and his helplessness.
Morality, law, life, or death… All these were presented before them.
Yu Bo lifted his wrist and wiped his mouth.
“I beg you… You’ve said before that you liked Blackie… Can I believe you one more time?”
Xiang Wan did not know what to say.
Something was weighing on her.
She was torn.
Pain.
The feelings of sympathy shouldn’t have been there.
After all, the one in front of her was a murderer…
However, such a scene made her feel especially miserable.
A feeling of someone placing their trust on you, yet she felt powerlessness if she could complete his request. It was as if it was tearing her nerves.
“Alright!” Xiang Wan puffed a sigh. “I’ll help you take care of Blackie!”
Yu Bo paused for a moment.
His eyes looked at her without blinking.
He seemed to be scrutinizing if she was a qualified “cat slave”…
Perhaps, he was contemplating if he could believe in her words.
In the stifling atmosphere, Xiang Wan felt somewhat cold at her back.
Quite a while pa.s.sed before they finally heard Yu Bo heaving a relieved sigh.
“Sister, thank you!”
Xiang Wan felt her throat tightened. “Not at all!”
“You’re the prettiest sister I’ve ever met.”
“…”
“You’re kind-hearted too.”
“…”
“You’ll definitely treat Blackie well! You’re a good person…”
“…”
Stop complimenting her.
She was close to tears…
Surprisingly, after Yu Bo said that, he stopped dishing out the compliments. Instead, he drew back his shoulders and hung his head low. He was now back to how he looked when Xiang Wan came into the room, arching his body as he tried to shrink himself…
He was sobbing softly.
Sobbing for the pain he’s feeling.
Sobbing due to the powerlessness he was feeling.
As if he was trying to find the sense of security that a fetus felt in a mother’s womb…
…
Xiang Wan found the black cat at the canteen of the police station.
The police officers did not leave the cat alone somewhere contrary to what Yu Bo had thought.
They actually gave the cat to the cook so they could take care of it.
The cook was worried that it might run off elsewhere, so he used a rope and tied it at the entrance like a dog. There was also a bowl placed near it.
The bowl contained some cooked pork liver mixed with rice.
Xiang Wan looked at it and knew that the food was still intact.
Blackie curled himself up in the corner behind the door like a fluffy ball of fur; he was so thin that he actually looked a little similar to his owner…
Xiang Wan’s tear ducts was a little active that day.
Just looking at it was enough for her to feel her eyes bawling.
“Blackie…”
She squatted down. Then she looked into the cat’s eyes in a friendly manner and smiled at it.
Since Fang Yuanyuan had a pet cat, Xiang Wan knew how cats were like.
Cats were different from dogs. It was not easy to build mutual trust between people and cats… Especially if it was an adoption that did not start from when the cat was young; it might prove to be harder to obtain its piety.
“Meow…”
Blackie mewled.
Xiang Wan quickly moved backward; she didn’t expect that he would stand up defensively.
He shook himself and walked toward Xiang Wan; his head hanging a little low…
“Blackie…”
Xiang Wan touched his legs gently. Seeing that he didn’t seem to feel repulsed by her actions, she patted his head.
Blackie didn’t reject that either. He moved closer and rubbed his head around her feet, ignoring the rope tangling around his neck.
“This cat has an affinity with you, we should take him along!” Bai Muchuan placed both hands in his pockets as he stood behind Xiang Wan. He smiled after seeing that Blackie liked Xiang Wan.
Xiang Wan turned her head as his remark surprised her.
It was a smile, a tacit smile.
…
Cheng Zheng and Mei Xin came back to Nanmu City that afternoon.
By then, Xiang Wan, as well as the rest of detectives, had gotten the vehicles ready for departure to Xi City together.
“Hop on.” Bai Muchuan opened the door.
Xiang Wan responded, “Mm!”
She turned back to look at the words—Nanmu Hotel.
Time flies like the flick of the fingers.
Another episode in her life had pa.s.sed.