That day, they were supposed to go for their dinner celebration.
This was a reward from their superiors for their good work.
However, weren’t they just criticized earlier in the day?
They now had a pressing case on hand, and the detectives still had the mood to go for a dinner celebration?
After ascertaining that Bai Muchuan was really not joking, Xiang Wan eased her brows and took a look at her laptop.
“Okay, I’ll go back a little while later. But, I have some thoughts about this case that I want to talk to you about.”
“We can talk while on the way…” Bai Muchuan looked at his watch. “We can go over now.”
“… Aren’t you asking me to knock off from work? Aren’t you and the team going for the dinner celebration?…”
So his intention was for her to go celebrate as well?
Bai Muchuan gazed at her as though looking at an idiot before he chuckled and leaned on Xiang Wan’s work desk, knocking a few times on it loudly. When everyone looked up at him, he gave a loud announcement. “I’m treating everyone tonight at ‘The Palace’! Eat and enjoy all you want!”
“Wow!”
Excited!
“What?”
Sounds of gasps immediately followed!
Everyone had reacted that way because Bai Muchuan mentioned “The Palace” and they looked at him in confusion.
Bai Muchuan furrowed his brows as he looked at everyone’s expression. “Why? Are you afraid?”
“Isn’t ‘The Palace’ closed for now?…”
“It’s reopening for business today.” Bai Muchuan said calmly, “So, we’re going to support it!”
After hearing that, everyone was elated again.
No matter what had happened to “The Palace” previously, it was still a high-class entertainment and dining venue…
In Jin City, it was considered one of the top entertainment and dining spots.
“Captain Bai, can we bring our family along?”
“You rascal, since when have you gotten a family?”
“… Hey brother, that hurt me, okay?”
These two days were really tiring for the detectives. Now that they had a chance to relax, everyone started to banter around, and the tense atmosphere instantly eased.
Tang Yuanchu took a look at everyone and walked over to Bai Muchuan quietly.
“Boss, why don’t we ask Brother Huang along? We’ve not got together with him for a long time.”
Amongst the detectives, Tang Yuanchu was considered Huang He’s disciple as Huang He was the one who showed him the ropes when he got posted to Jin City. Hence, when Huang He was not there, he had been uneasy as if something was missing. Now that Captain Bai mentioned “The Palace”, it was inevitable for him to recall the past unhappy incidents.
Bai Muchuan’s eyes dimmed a little. “We should. I’ll call him.”
Tang Yuanchu immediately smiled. “Let me call him instead!”
Bai Muchuan nodded his head and turned to Xiang Wan. “Teacher Xiang, call your cousin along too.”
Cousin… Urgh!
The moment Xiang Wan thought of Fang Yuanyuan’s angry face, she felt her head starting to ache.
Since yesterday, she had been trying to coax Fang Yuanyuan to calm down. However, Fang Yuanyuan ignored her.
She had felt guilty toward Fang Yuanyuan as she had kinda let her down when she put up the discontinuation announcement. She heaved a helpless sigh when she heard the word “cousin”.
“Alright, I’ll try contacting her. However, it might be easier if Huang He’s the one who asks her to come along!”
Xiang Wan messaged Fang Yuanyuan about the dinner. The whole team knew that Huang He and Fang Yuanyuan were in a relationship and they started to talk about this topic.
“Our team is a big team of bachelors. The only one who has a girlfriend, Huang He, actually left us… There are people who said our team could not get away from the word ‘bachelor’. Brothers, do buck up! Get a girlfriend soon! We need to prove to them otherwise!”
“Who says he’s the only one who has a girlfriend?”
Bai Muchuan’s sudden remark stunned the detectives.
“Boss…” Xie Hui looked at him meaningfully. “Who else has left their bachelorhood?”
The corners of Bai Muchuan’s mouth curved upward.
That ambiguous smile of his made Xiang Wan blush and her heart started to race. She suddenly noticed that the entire office was looking at her as well as Bai Muchuan…
“Tell us, boss!”
Everyone was waiting for him to spill the beans or rather to publicize something.
Xiang Wan’s heart raced faster when his warm gaze swept past her.
However, Bai Muchuan smiled elegantly and lazily.
“Wasn’t Xiao Tian just sent for a breeding task? He’s no longer a bachelor dog!”
“…”
Everyone nearly tripped and fell.
Xiang Wan’s face was warm from the blushing. When he disclosed that fact, she almost collapsed as well.
When they were on the way to the car park, Bai Muchuan was walking with her as though a caring superior, and he led her to get on his car.
Xiang Wan did not reject, but she kept her head low throughout which cause a smile to form on Bai Muchuan’s face. When they hopped on the car, he spoke in her ear, “You’re afraid of letting others know?”
“…” Xiang Wan gave a sidelong glance. “You’re not afraid?”
“Of course not.” Bai Muchuan sat lazily on his seat. “I chose not to disclose as I ought to take care of your feelings, otherwise… Hmph!”
Is that taking care of my feelings? You’re obviously having fun alright? Xiang Wan retorted in her head.
Xiang Wan wanted to say something when Tang Yuanchu arrived.
She shut her mouth and Bai Muchuan gave Tang Yuanchu the car keys to let him drive.
Tang Yuanchu did not refuse.
“Boss,” he asked when he started the car, “let’s go to Grand Orchid Pavilion to pick up Brother Huang?”
Bai Muchuan did not object to that.
It was after work. They went out for some private social activities and drove their own personal cars. Huang He’s workplace was on the way for them anyway.
Xiang Wan remained quiet. She found Tang Yuanchu to be a good person as well as a good friend to have.
That night when he suggested going for a drink at Grand Orchid Pavilion, it was also for the sake of Huang He.
Working at night spots were complicated, and working as a security officer there was not easy as well. But if a security officer working there were to have a bunch of detectives as friends, that would be another different matter…
Hence, when she thought carefully about all these little details, she realized that he was actually a sweet and considerate guy.
What a pity—Tang Yuanchu’s ex-girlfriend dumped him because of an expensive bag. Maybe she was regretting it already?
…
While on the way to Grand Orchid Pavilion, Xiang Wan looked at her mobile phone from time to time.
Fang Yuanyuan did not reply to her message at all. It was the same result as those messages that she had sent to her for the past two days.
Sigh!
Yuanyuan really ignored her.
This girl sure has a temper!
The night seemed dark and heavy. Xiang Wan looked out of the car window, her face felt colder than the moonlight.
For the past two days, she did not dare to look at the book review and comments page, did not dare to log in to her author’s account and did not dare to open the social apps where tons of messages were waiting for her…
Subconsciously, she was avoiding to think and come in contact with her novel “Murder The Dream Guy”. She was also avoiding to think about her plot and the characters. She might have seemed cheerful and unaffected, but in actual fact, she was uncomfortable, depressed, empty, and suffering by the minute.
Suddenly, someone took her hand.
At the back passenger seat, there were only the two of them. It could only be Bai Muchuan.
It was the familiar gentleness and the familiar sense of security.
Xiang Wan took a gaze at him without saying a word…
Bai Muchuan was looking at her as well, and as though comforting her, he stroked her palm. When she wanted to pull her hand away, he held her tightly, refusing to let her go.
“You were saying you have some thoughts about the case? You can tell me now!”
Hm… the case.
This man is born to deal with cases.
They were holding hands, and before the romantic atmosphere could continue, he had driven away all these with just a sentence from him.
Of course, Xiang Wan’s troubles about the discontinuation was also driven away as well.
“I used half a day to write my profiling analysis where I referenced against the materials Senior gave me. I suddenly had a feeling…”
She stopped and looked at Bai Muchuan where she used a few seconds to organize her thoughts. “Maybe our direction is wrong from the beginning,” she said in a definite tone.
