Muchuan and Xiang Wan

Cheng Zheng did not feel like eating, and Xiang Wan also felt the same as well.

The atmosphere at the living room suddenly cooled down a lot. Everyone looked at each other, unable to say a word.

The good mood was gone.

Xiang Wan’s youngest aunt was someone who knew how to turn things around. After pausing for a while, she eased the situation. “Don’t bother about him,” she laughed, “even though the guest is gone, we still need to eat. Come, everyone, let’s have our meal.”

After saying that, she hugged Xiang Wan’s shoulders. “Wanwan, don’t be disheartened. Although he left, there’re still a lot of good men around…”

Her last sentence… that was out of the blue.

What did she mean by “don’t be disheartened”?

So they had thought Cheng Zheng left because he wasn’t satisfied with her?

Xiang Wan begged to differ.

In her opinion, Cheng Zheng was someone that nobody would know what he was thinking.

“Youngest aunt,” she returned a smile, “I’m not eating too. My hand hurts pretty badly. I think I better make a trip to the hospital to ease my mind.”

Xiang Wan’s mom was startled. She pulled Xiang Wan’s hand gently for a look and immediately removed her apron. “I’ll go with you…”

“Mom, I’ll be fine by myself. I’m not a child anymore.”

Xiang Wan carried her bag with her other hand, said her goodbyes politely to her elders, and swiftly left her youngest aunt’s place.

The weather was hot.

The summer heat was blazing hot in July that the ground was hot enough to boil eggs.

Xiang Wan was walking by the road when she felt a rush of hot air right at her face. It was exhaust from a car, and all of her hair stood on end due to the discomfort.

Of course, going to the hospital was just an excuse.

She just didn’t feel like staying at that house.

Nevertheless, it was only after she got out of the house that she realized she had been living like a female otaku for too long and didn’t have much friends… Classmates that she was on good terms with either got into a relationship or have gotten married. The married ones now had their own family and social circle.

In this hot scorching afternoon, where could she go?

Bai Muchuan’s leaving , her brain kept thinking about this.

And she was unable to get that out of her head.

She stood under the shade of a tree where a cooling breeze brushed past her. She took out her mobile phone then scrolled her list of contacts to find a name—Bai Muchuan.

There was hesitation. She demurred for a long time…

She tossed her hair and cleared her throat. Finally, she dialed that number.

“Hello!”

That low-pitched baritone voice was pleasant, penetrating, as well as clear and cold. The voice pervaded around her head and ears before sinking into her heart. Xiang Wan gripped her phone tightly, trying to remain calm in her tone.

“Captain Bai, the case…the 720 case has closed?”

There was silence.

He had used silence as his reply.

For that case, he had no need to, and was not willing to discuss that with her.

“Is there anything else?”

Xiang Wan felt her cheeks burning slightly. The skin that came in contact with the phone felt as if she had come in contact with a hot stove. Her emotions were stirring so much that she felt nervous. Bai Muchuan’s words were simple and clear, yet each and every word were like a set of codes that could infiltrate into her soul, causing her heart to beat violently.

“I still have some doubts about the case…”

“Like?” Bai Muchuan asked in a low tone.

“For example, is Tian Xiaoya [Er Niu] the one who abused the cats?”

“Yes, she replicated your novel.”

“So that proves she saw the first version of my plot outline?” Xiang Wan suddenly brightened up. Her pitch went higher by a few points as she rejoiced over the news. “If that’s the case, that proves the five readers have been lying. Have you done an investigation as to why they lied about it?”

There was another moment of pensive silence.

After a long time, Bai Muchuan acknowledged with a “hm” that was neither hot nor cold.

“There isn’t any evidence of them lying, at least not at this moment. As a matter of fact, they do not have any motive to lie.”

“Tian Xiaoya has proven she did see it. Isn’t that evidence?”

“Of course not!” Bai Muchuan said solemnly, “Tian Xiaoya could not recall when she had seen it. She couldn’t remember if you sent the outline in the private chat group. We didn’t manage to find any related chat records on this.

“We also have reason to suspect that you might have created a private chat with her and remembered wrongly about it. You might even…”

“Even… what?”

He suddenly stopped as Xiang Wan’s heart started to beat furiously.

After quite a while, Bai Muchuan said, “There’s even a possibility that upon knowing about her plight, you deliberately sent the detailed plot outline over to her, to hint and abet her. When you’re writing your official chapter, you deliberately changed your plot so as to erase off your suspicion. After all, you understand Zhao Jiahang so much, and your desire to become famous is strong!”

“…”

Was having a strong desire to become famous wrong?

Moreover, her understanding of Zhao Jiahang was only limited to what she had found on the internet!

How could he suspect her like this?

Xiang Wan felt as if she had suffered a grievance.

“Excuse me, Captain Bai, do you have evidence?”

“No,” replied Bai Muchuan, “if we have evidence, you won’t go unpunished like this.”

“…”

Xiang Wan felt as if her head was filled with lead.

It felt heavy and stuffy, and she got absorbed in her thoughts.

Did she remember wrongly?

That her initial version of the detailed plot outline was only sent to Er Niu?

“If you don’t have anything else, I’m hanging up.”

Bai Muchuan’s tone was usual as always in his business-like manner. As if nothing happened between them…

No! There was hardly anything between them, not even friendship.

Everything was just her own assumption…

Maybe she had written too many novels, and it should be what Bai Muchuan said—she was too emotionally sensitive.

Xiang Wan thought of that day she ran out of the Bai Residence in a fit of pique, and her cheeks started to burn again. A few seconds later, she found her voice.

“There’s still more. For instance, the fallen flower pot in my neighborhood, the encounter with Er Niu at the alley, that weird comment where the ID is a string of mobile phone number… Captain Bai, is there any explanation for all of these?”

Bai Muchuan spoke in a low tone, “I can only tell you so much…”

Just as he said this, a voice was heard from the background.

“Muchuan, who’s that? You’ve talked for a long time. We’re all waiting for you.”

There was an unfamiliar voice which belonged to a woman that sounded sweet. Xiang Wan was sure that the voice did not belong to Bai Musi. It was the first time she heard someone address Detective Bai as “Muchuan”, which was a rather intimate form of address.

Her heart seemed to be stung by something sharp.

“Hm, I’m hanging up,” said Bai Muchuan.

There was no goodbye.

Dduuuuu! Dduuuuu! The sound of the disconnected call felt so cold that it dispelled the surrounding hot air.

Xiang Wan looked at her mobile phone in a daze.

There was neither disappointment nor uneasiness. There weren’t any negative emotions.

Her brain just went blank at that moment.

There was actually one more thing she wanted to ask, “Captain Bai, you promised me an advisor position for the police force previously, has it come to naught?”

She wanted to be the advisor for the police. She even thought of the many possibilities she could have in the future. There was even an instance where she thought maybe she could even further develop a proper relationship with Bai Muchuan.

In the end, there was nothing.

Everything felt like a dream.

She had awakened from her dream, and she was still an unpopular author.

The response to her book was lukewarm.

The hype over at the book reviews and comment section slowly subsided.

People of modern day had short memories. Once the hype died down, that was the end of it.

Xiang Wan stood at the busy street where people and vehicles come and go, letting the feeling of loneliness within her grew like wildfire…

Ocean Sky Hotpot.

It was noon. There were only a few tables in the first floor of the restaurant.

Xiang Wan went there alone.

She had a bias toward having hotpot for meals, and was easily attracted by its flavor and aroma.

When she’s in a good mood, she will eat hotpot. When she’s in a bad mood, she will still eat hotpot.

When she’s poor, she craves for hotpot. When she has money, she comes here to eat hotpot.

Her shoulders felt strained by the weight of the 20,000 dollars inside her bag.

Now that Bai Muchuan was leaving, no one else would come after her for this sum of money.

She felt she had every reason to enjoy hotpot since she had money but also feeling unhappy…

The waitress saw that she was looking lonely and downcast. When Xiang Wan told her she wanted a table for one, the waitress presumed that this must be a lovelorn woman who needed hotpot to relieve her worries. The waitress did not ask anything more but got her a seat warmly. Next, she handed her a beer menu and started to promote the various types of beer available.

“Do I look like someone who drinks?” Xiang Wan raised her head. “Sorry… I only want to eat meat.”

The waitress replied, “… Coming right up.”

They served rather fast.

The hotpot was piping hot with vapor rising to the air.

There was nothing more satisfying than having hotpot in a hot day.

Xiang Wan had ordered the “extra spicy red hotpot”. Even though she was alone, she was enjoying it. Her tongue soon became hot and numb from all the spiciness. It was a different kind of ‘feeling good’ amidst the spicy torture.

Huff!

She started to tear up because of the spiciness.

She wiped her tears with a tissue as she gulped mouthfuls of water down her throat.

A group of people walked down from the private dining room upstairs.

They were talking, laughing, and chatting with each other whilst coming down the stairs.

When all of a sudden, someone stopped abruptly at the staircase.

Bai Muchuan, Cheng Zheng…

As they stopped, Detective Huang and the rest of the people also stopped awkwardly.

Following their line of sight to the dining area of the first floor, they saw Xiang Wan, all alone by herself eating hotpot.

…