Chapter 797: A Million Times for You (159)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
I don’t have a bad temper either, so why doesn’t he love me?
She got out of bed early in the morning and had breakfast before lying in bed to call her mother, her eyes red and swollen.
She told Madam Lin about what happened last night, after which the latter chided her for asking such inappropriate questions.
“I couldn’t help it. He said that he didn’t fancy anyone in the past, but I don’t believe him at all.”
“Would you rather hear that he did? He’s already your husband now and you have a long way ahead. He’s going to develop feelings for you sooner or later. He’s so busy with handling political matters during the day yet you still bothered him with this trivial issue. How could he have been pleased with you?” Madam Lin comforted her.
“But his words really upset me, what did he mean by giving me that option…”
Madam Lin tried to persuade her not to read too much into things and said, “He’s giving you the freedom to make your choice, but he didn’t force you to do anything. s.h.i.+s.h.i.+, listen to me, whenever he’s working in the office, instruct the kitchen helpers to boil some soup and bring it to him yourself. Talk to him nicely. Don’t let this matter affect your relations.h.i.+p with him.”
“Got it.” Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ ended the call and lay in bed to catch up on some sleep.
Her nap lasted for seven hours and it was already two o’clock in the afternoon by the time she woke up.
Heeding her mother’s advice, she instructed the cooks in the kitchen to boil some soup for Tuoba Gucheng, which she then insisted on serving to him personally.
As soon as she opened the door, she heard his voice coming from the resting room.
Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ had always been careful with her step and barely made any sounds whenever she walks.
Thus, Tuoba Gucheng had no idea that she was outside and said gently over the phone, “I haven’t seen you in a long while. I’ll go over to see you when I’m free.”
Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ was immediately alarmed. She was further convinced that her instincts were spot-on.
He was obviously lying when he said that he doesn’t fancy anyone.
He just didn’t want to let me know.
Shortly after, he opened the door and exited to see her standing outside with a bowl of soup.
“Hubby… try this, I especially instructed the cooks to prepare it for you.”
Tuoba Gucheng glanced at the bowl of soup and placed it onto the table. “Got it, I’ll have it later.”
Pursing her lips, she said, “I was too rash last night. Are you angry?”
“No,” he answered coldly.
Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ knew that he was actually upset, though he refused to admit it. She forced a smile and asked, “Would you go out with me to take a walk?”
To her surprise, he did not turn her down with the excuse of being busy and instead accompanied her for a stroll around the backyard.
They communicated much lesser than before and they were both keeping quiet throughout, as if accompanying her out on a walk was just another ch.o.r.e he had to complete.
Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ was not in the least bit happy at all.
Yet, she dared not express her displeasure, for fear that she would lose his company as well.
A forlorn expression formed on Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+’s face as she caressed her baby b.u.mp.
―
The investigations went on all the way until the afternoon of the following day.
Should there be no updates by 1800hrs, An Xiaoning had planned to be on standby along the street where she had predicted the next accident might happen.
An Xiaoning began to feel increasingly anxious with each pa.s.sing second. She hoped that they would find a clue soon. At least there would be a lead they could follow instead of continuing to investigate and carry out screening painstakingly.
However, there was still no news by 1720hrs, and An Xiaoning decided to stop waiting.
She prepared the necessary items and headed to the destination together with No. 5, No. 8, and Pan Zhenghui, who was dressed in plainclothes.
Once they arrived, An Xiaoning instructed the police officer who was in charge of driving to drive the car back while the remaining four of them stood in the middle of the street and waited quietly.
There was not a single car on the roads, which were full of pedestrians, all of whom were discussing the strange series of accidents taking place in A City. There were different opinions that were all formed based on hearsay. Everyone thought that the accidents were caused by fellow citizens who were up to malicious mischief and that the police were unable to find out the real mastermind.
Noticing that it was almost 1800hrs, An Xiaoning told Pan Zhenghui to send orders for all pedestrians to be evacuated from the streets, as well as to keep close tabs on the surveillance camera feed to look out for suspicious vehicles traveling on the roads against the rule.
She decided to have the traffic police be dismissed from duty, so as to allow the suspicious vehicles to pa.s.s without screening.
At almost 1830hrs, An Xiaoning’s mobile phone began to ring and she frantically answered it. It was a call from a police officer near the surveillance cameras who informed her that there would be a gray car approaching them from South Coast Road.
She soon received the license plate number and information of the driver of the car, who was none other than the 32-year-old bachelor, s.h.i.+ Shaochuan.
An Xiaoning was rather taken aback upon hearing the update. s.h.i.+ Shaochuan?
“Chief, were those six male drivers divorced?”
Pan Zhenghui nodded and said, “Yes, they were either divorced or engaged in the past. However, they were all single at the time of their accident.”
“Okay.” She then continued to ask the officer who called her, “Where is that car now?”
“According to the speed it’s traveling at now, it’ll probably reach your side in about 10 minutes.”
“Got it.” An Xiaoning ended the call, placed her phone inside her pocket, and gave out some instructions to No. 5 and No. 8.
They immediately did as told, and soon, there were much fewer pedestrians on the street.
Just as No. 5 and No. 8 returned to their positions, the gray car began approaching.
“Hey, why is that car on the road? Is the driver tired of living?”
“Exactly, we don’t even dare to drive lately, yet he actually had the guts to…”
“…”
The pedestrians began discussing amongst themselves.
An Xiaoning watched as the gray car approached her and swiftly shot the front tire of the car using a pistol given to her by Pan Zhenghui. The scarce number of pedestrians immediately fled as soon as they heard the sound of the gunshot.
Before s.h.i.+ Shaochuan could even react, An Xiaoning fired another bullet at the rear tire of the car to puncture it. She then walked toward the rear of the car and punctured the other two tires.
The car came to a halt in the middle of the road, for it was no longer able to move since the tires were busted. s.h.i.+ Shaochuan got out of the car angrily and snapped, “An Xiaoning, do you know that you were breaking the law by opening fire in public?”
An Xiaoning ignored him and signaled No. 5 and No. 8 to move him to the shoulder of the road while she peeked inside the car, only to discover that there was nothing unusual.
She then called for the car to be towed away before walking toward the side. s.h.i.+ Shaochuan was pinned beneath No. 5 and No. 8 forcefully, causing his face to be pressed tightly onto the ground. “An Xiaoning, let go of me!” he barked.
“Let go of you? Didn’t you receive the notice of prohibition of vehicle usage on roads? You were out to stir trouble, weren’t you?”
“I only dared to drive because I saw that the traffic police were no longer on standby. Furthermore, the city is so big, if I don’t drive, am I supposed to walk until the cows come home!?! Why aren’t we allowed to drive!?!”
An Xiaoning rolled her eyes at him and said to her subordinates, “Take this idiot to the police station and detain him for two days.”
“An Xiaoning, how dare you!” s.h.i.+ Shaochuan barked, struggling to free himself.
“Try me and you’ll know.” She then shot No. 5 and No. 8 a glance, motioning for them to take him away.