Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Well, I’ll tell you another piece of gossip!” Xiang Wan could tell that Fang Yuanyuan had gone back to her usual happy-go-lucky nature.
“Okay, say it!” Xiang Wan did not want to use Cheng Zheng’s mobile phone for too long. While waiting, she quickly checked if Yuan Qianqian had replied to her.
Nope, there was no reply.
Has this girl disappeared again? she thought.
She went back to Fang Yuanyuan and saw that she had sent several messages.
“That famous celebrity, the female lead of ‘The Grey List’—Xie Wanwan, has been showing up in the hospital for the past few days…
“The ground floor of the hospital is practically surrounded by tabloid reporters and fans…
“The situation was so bad that the hospital had to call the police on several occasions so as to stop them from blocking the exits. They had caused inconveniences to the patients as well as the ambulances…”
Xiang Wan read through the messages. “So what about it? My time is very precious!”
Fang Yuanyuan replied in a matter of seconds. “Well, what I want to know—is she and Tang Yuanchu dating each other?”
“Well!” How should Xiang Wan answer this?
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask them?” Xiang Wan teased her.
“What? I’m not familiar with her…
“But Tang Yuanchu’s fans seemed to dislike Xie Wanwan very much,” continued Fang Yuanyuan, “they verbally abused her every day by creating posts on the Internet, saying that she was too old for their pure and young idol and that she must be trying to seduce him…”
Wow!
Xiang Wan was dumbstruck by what Fang Yuanyuan shared with her.
It was like a new world was shown before her.
“I never knew Tang Yuanchu’s fans would behave in such a crazed manner?”
“Hurhur, I bet you didn’t know this. Let me tell you, the fans of these popular internet celebrities are even crazier than the fans of the actual artists. Moreover, think it over carefully, Tang Yuanchu’s fans are basically female, right?”
“Yes, it’s very normal!”
“His fans are also much younger. They could jolly be connected to the internet all day long—their ‘combat powers’ in the internet are the strongest…”
Fang Yuanyuan analyzed for a moment before giving a summary. “You didn’t see what happened this morning. Today’s such a cold day! Yet there was a large group of fans holding bouquets, crying and sobbing at the entrance of the hospital. They wanted to see Tang Yuanchu. There were even a few fans that were lifting his picture high up. Those who didn’t know what was going on would have thought Tang Yuanchu had sacrificed himself for the country!”
“Hahahaha…”
Xiang Wan was giggling due to the funny description.
Fang Yuanyuan’s gossip skills must have maxed out.
“The funniest thing was, Tang Yuanchu’s fans met Xie Wanwan’s fans at the entrance, and they started to hurl abuse at each other. It’s so absurd that it even alerted the police… Tang Yuanchu had to create a post to clarify that he and Xie Wanwan were just ordinary friends and hoped that fans would stay calm and not make him lose his job. The moment his fans saw that plea of his, they started to feel their heart aching for him…”
“Hahahaha…”
Once again, Xiang Wan giggled while reading the messages.
Chatting with Fang Yuanyuan would make one’s troubles go away.
Xiang Wan was now wearing a smile; she had forgotten what was going on in her surrounding.
“So what happened later? Did the fans listen to him?”
“They did! Xie Wanwan’s studio also made a post saying that Tang Yuanchu is a good detective. The reason why Xie Wanwan had been visiting and taking care of him was because he got injured while helping Xie Wanwan… After the posts, the situation took a drastic turn. One turned into a hero while the other turned into a good woman who wanted to repay the kindness given to her. Hahahaha… there were even people who shouted at the entrance: ‘Be a couple!”
“It actually changed for the better! The netizens are so adorable…”
“Adorable?” Fang Yuanyuan thought of those netizens who hurled abuses at Xiang Gongzi on the internet. “Did you forget all the pain you’ve suffered at their hands?”
“No, no, no! Let’s look at their merits instead! Think of it this way, aren’t they filled with a sense of justice?”
This had come from Bai Muchuan.
Xiang Wan was worried Fang Yuanyuan might start to argue with her and quickly changed the topic.
“Hey, about what happened between me and Bai Muchuan, you heard from Huang He and he heard it from Tang Yuanchu. Then who’s the one who told Tang Yuanchu?”
“I didn’t know about that.” Fang Yuanyuan then sent a ‘laugh out loud’ emoticon. Next, she seemed to have realized something. “Gosh, does that mean what I heard is actually true? I thought it was just some prank! Tch, tch, tch! I didn’t expect you two would have so much fun that it got too intense?”
“I can’t be bothered with you! I’ll only tell you more when I come back!”
“Hey… don’t be like this! I want all the juicy details!”
“No details!” Xiang Wan was speaking the truth.
When she thought of what happened last night, she could not stop smiling.
“I gotta go. I’m using someone else’s mobile phone, so I can’t chat anymore. By the way, I need to let you know I would most probably be unable to update for the next two days as well!”
“… You’re always breaking your consistent record of updating! Do you know that although I’m in the hospital, I’m also doing my work without fail?”
“I shall take my leave now! Adieu!”
An emoticon settled her problem.
Xiang Wan checked and found that Yuan Qianqian still had not replied to her.
After that, she told her readers at the reader chat group about not being able to update for the next two days. Under the cries of contempt from her readers, she logged off dejectedly from QQ.
“Captain Cheng, thank you!” Xiang Wan handed the mobile phone back to Cheng Zheng.
And realized that the owner had brought her breakfast over.
He did not place it at the dining area but on one of the coffee tables in the living room.
There were no other guests in the hotel, only their own people, so they were not that bothered about all the nitty-gritties.
Cheng Zheng took his mobile phone. “Let’s eat. After that, we’ll go to the hospital.”
“Urgh…”
It was still a little scary when Xiang Wan thought about going to the hospital.
She did not touch that wound. She just felt a little inconvenienced and uncomfortable. She would feel a little pain when she moves.
However, this couldn’t be compared to the painful process of reapplying the medicine for her wound.
It especially hurts when that bespectacled doctor who claimed that he graduated from a certain famous medical university handled her wound—he was certainly not gentle.
“Can I…”
“You’d better go!”
“…”
Xiang Wan was speechless.
Cheng Zheng was not an aggressive person.
However, when he called the shots, he would be very principled and firm.
Xiang Wan had not even finished her food and Cheng Zheng already ‘issued’ a special order.
As if he was afraid Xiang Wan would not go, he even specially called up Quan Shaoteng to look for Bai Muchuan. Next, in front of Xiang Wan, he turned on the speaker mode and talked about this matter…
Xiang Wan never expected that Little Bai would ‘betray’ her without hesitation.
“You decide! If reapplying medicine is good, then do it!”
“…”
Didn’t they have a tacit understanding with each other?
Didn’t they agree to care for each other?
Xiang Wan yelled at him through the phone.
“Bai Muchuan, from today onwards, we’re through!”
The other end of the phone was silent for two seconds.
Bai Muchuan seemed to have heard her and immediately changed to a machine-like voice.
“Dear lady, I’m sorry. You do not have enough ‘relationship balance’ to pay for the expenses for a break off!”
“Bai Muchuan, you…”
“Dear lady, your ‘rage balance’ is not enough to pay for a rant. Goodbye!”
“…”
He promptly hung up the phone.
Xiang Wan did not know if she should be annoyed or amused.
However, she was still feeling warm inside.
It was really difficult to get angry with Bai Muchuan.
He was too good at handling a woman’s emotions…
It was also too easy to let others get the feeling that he’s pampering her.
What a devil!
As she thought of Bai Muchuan, she took a while to remember Cheng Zheng was with her.
The moment she raised her head, she saw that he seemed to be scrutinizing her.
At that moment, there was only the two of them in the living room.
He asked, “When can we leave?”
Xiang Wan ate two more mouthfuls of her meal and expressed that she was ready to go.
She also realized that she had no money with her and patted her pockets.
“I can go now. But I have no money…”
“I have,” replied Cheng Zheng who thought for a while. “I’ll let Bai Muchuan know about the expenses and get him to reimburse me!”
“Umm… alright then, thanks for the trouble!”
When they got out of the hotel, they both walked on the street.
Snow had fallen so heavily that it pushed down the fence. The roof was covered with snow, the tree branches were bent, and the earth was filled with a silvery white color. The layer of snow on the ground was thick, but it looked uniformly smooth. The silvery white sight before them seemed pure and clean, even their heads felt refreshed.
Wow!
Xiang Wan lived in a city that hardly snows. She had never seen such a sight before.
She jumped into the snow and stretched out her hands excitedly like a child, totally forgetting about her leg injury…
Cheng Zheng rushed towards her with a worried frown. “Do you still want to keep your leg? Don’t jump around!”
Xiang Wan gasped. “…”
Eh? She forgot!
She cleared her throat and showed a stern expression.
She thought it might be better to behave in a gentle and reserved manner in front of Cheng Zheng.
While she thought of that, Cheng Zheng suddenly asked a question.
“You’re very happy with him, right?”
“…”
Those words surprised Xiang Wan.
Without hesitation, she turned to face him and showed a smile.
“Yes, I’m very happy. I’ve never been happier!”
“You’ve changed!” Cheng Zheng looked into her eyes. “You look like an entirely different person from when I first met you.”
“Uh… is it?”
“Yeah!”
Cheng Zheng did not give an explanation.
After that, he passed by her and continued to walk along the street.
Xiang Wan rubbed her hands and followed quietly.
However, she was thinking over Cheng Zheng’s words…
It was only a few months, but she could not really recall what she was like back then.
Timid? Weak? Overly-cautious?
Well, rather than using all these descriptive words, she felt that it would be more suitable to describe her old self as mentally exhausted. She was pretending to be a hardworking person but was actually useless. Her mentality was that of the old and weak woman while she was only in her twenties…
It was Bai Muchuan, who was like the sun as well as the moon, who used his brightness to change her for the better.
Maybe, this was the best part of what being in love felt like?
…
After reapplying the medicine and redressing the wound, Cheng Zheng brought Xiang Wan back to the hotel and left.
From what she heard, he had gone up to the mountain.
When it was noon time, he came back to town with Bai Muchuan.
By then, the sky had stopped snowing.
The rays of sunlight fell on the tree branches beside the wall of the hotel, embellishing the clusters of silver snow with a glittering light…
It was so beautiful that Xiang Wan felt like she was in a fairytale world.
Bai Muchuan told Xiang Wan that they had finished up their work in the mountains.
Due to the explosion and the heavy snow, there were not many traces of the man whom Xiang Wan identified as “Meng Chi”, had left behind. They would bring back whatever evidence they had for laboratory testings and comparisons. On the other hand, over at Nanmu City, the investigations on Meng Chi had started.
Since the town was rather backward, there was hardly anything they could do if they stayed.
Not too long after, Quan Shaoteng and his group had returned too.
They had a discussion and agreed unanimously to leave the town after lunch.
…
The smoke from the kitchen chimney rose up to the sky.
The hotel owner and his wife were busy preparing their meals for everyone.
The corner of his lips lifted upwards when Bai Muchuan saw that Xiang Wan was looking at the scenery outside in a mesmerized manner.
“Let’s go out for some sightseeing!”
…
