Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

That sudden question put an end to the kiss that could have continued.

Bai Muchuan furrowed his brows slowly as he looked at Xiang Wan without saying a word. His eyes appeared to be wet.

They looked at each other from such a close distance. His long, curly eyelashes and sentimental gaze was reflected in Xiang Wan’s eyes. She suddenly discovered that Bai Muchuan had a pair of peach blossom eyes 1 …

Such eyes seemed filled with emotions, and was especially obvious when he looked at people in a focused manner.

It was easy, too easy for one to fall head over heels with him.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Xiang Wan’s face was cooling down slowly. “I’m asking you a question. Am I wrong to say that?”

Bai Muchuan did not answer. He lowered his head and rubbed his face before reaching into his pocket for cigarettes. In the end, he only pulled out an empty cigarette packet. He appeared out of sorts and gave a self-mocking laugh before throwing the empty cigarette packet on the bedside table.

“Cheng Zheng told you that?”

He asked a question instead of denying it.

Xiang Wan was dazed for a moment. At that instant, she felt a wave of cold wash over her as if she had been thrown into an ice cellar.

“Does it matter?” She looked at his eyes and sneered. “I think the facts are the key. What do you think?”

“Hm.” Bai Muchuan thought for a moment and laughed. “If I told you things are not the way you think it is, will you believe me?”

“?” Xiang Wan shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

If it’s the truth, then it’s the truth. If it’s not the truth, then it’s not. What do you mean by “not the way it is”? Xiang Wan thought.

A breeze came through the window, which made Xiang Wan’s bangs sway gently along…

It was now September. The weather was still somewhat stuffy and hot in Jin City. When the wind blows, however, she felt cold at the shoulders.

But she stayed still nonetheless, looking at Bai Muchuan as she waited for his explanation.

To some extent, Xiang Wan was a brave woman as she was able to face her actual feelings and had dared to chase after her own happiness. Likewise, she also had the courage to pursue the truth even if the result might not be what she wanted. Nevertheless, she would never deceive and lose herself in a relationship that was impure, and she would not forget about her original intent as well as bottom line…

“I do not have a girlfriend.” Bai Muchuan thought for a long time. “Even though they thought I have.”

“Isn’t this sentence contradictory?” Xiang Wan sticked to the facts.

“Actually, Xie Wanwan…” Bai Muchuan knocked on his forehead as if it was difficult for him to talk about this. “I owe her. It’s as simple as that. But there is no love between us, both of us know that very well…” He narrowed his eyes, looking at her with a slightly lost look. “Xiang Wan, I’ve never loved before.”

“So, what about me…” She suddenly found herself tongue-tied. She lowered her head and squeezed out another sentence. “What do you want from me?”

It was her first time facing something like this. She lacked experience in this aspect.

Well, Bai Muchuan’s situation was not any better than her.

“I’ve said so earlier, I wanted to kiss you…” He looked like a total fool. Rather than saying that he was trying to bewitch Xiang Wan using his innate flirting techniques, it was Xiang Wan herself willing to get mesmerized by him. It was because she liked him, so she got seduced.

He did not avoid her gaze but explained himself seriously, “You’re different from everyone else, I’m sure of that. Earlier on… I’ve behaved rashly. I couldn’t control myself.”

“So…” Xiang Wan gave a bitter laugh uncontrollably and pulled back the topic. “What exactly is your relationship with Xie Wanwan?”

“Friends.” Bai Muchuan concluded after giving it a thought. “We’re friends of life and death.”

Life and death? The moment she heard the words “life and death”, that meant they had a deep friendship.

From Xiang Wan’s point of view, there was nothing more precious than life in the world.

“You’re trying to say that you’re only friends with her, but Cheng Zheng misunderstood your relationship with her? So you and Cheng Zheng, no, the three of you knew each other since way back?”

“This matter… is very complicated. Xiang Wan, it’s really complicated.” Bai Muchuan looked directly into her eyes, sincere and eager as well as showing a tinge of disorientation. He took her hand again, but this time, he only gave a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. “Don’t be nervous, things are really not what you think it is. I can assure you this matter has nothing to do with feelings…”

Xiang Wan suddenly closed her eyes.

“Nothing to do with feelings, but you’re friends of life and death? Bai Muchuan, do you really think I’m a moron?”

Bai Muchuan stroked her face and spoke in a low, affectionate tone, “I’ll tell you about it slowly as time goes by, alright? Xiang Wan, can’t you have more confidence in me?”

Confidence… Xiang Wan was confused.

“I can’t be with a guy who has a girlfriend even though I like you a lot, Bai Muchuan. Can’t you just tell me about it?”

Bai Muchuan narrowed his eyes. “I’ve promised Xie Wanwan.”

“?”

“That I won’t tell anyone about it.”

Oh heavens, so you can’t tell anyone about it?

Xiang Wan found this hard to believe. “What is it that needs to be kept a secret like this? What is it that’s worth to sacrifice your own reputation to let others misunderstand that you already have a girlfriend? Bai Muchuan, I have difficulty understanding this.”

Bai Muchuan nodded his head. “It’s probably hard to digest. Simply put, I didn’t think it was important to me before. I thought it’s just a favor that won’t cost me anything or affect my life. But it’s different now, Xiang Wan…”

“In other words, you DO have a girlfriend?” Xiang Wan interrupted him.

“I’ll settle this matter. I’ll talk it out with her later.”

Ahhhhhhhhhh…

Isn’t this a trick that scumbags use on women? Hurhurhurhurhur…

Xiang Wan laughed till her expression seemed somewhat twisted.

In actual fact, she still held doubts that the wise and brilliant Detective Bai was a man like this. He was behaving totally like the scumbags that she read on the internet.

“Besides wanting to have a foot in both camps, what else is there that’s so hard to say clearly? Bai Muchuan, I’m so disappointed in you!”

“Xiang Wan?” Bai Muchuan took her hand. “Trust me, I’ll immediately clear things up with her now…”

“I’m sorry. I don’t like this at all.” Xiang Wan’s heart was like a pot of boiling water, completely caught up into some kind of indescribable conflicted feelings. However, her tone was unusually calm. “I’ve already told you before that I do like you. But my feelings belong to the rational type, I won’t go beyond my bottom line. If you have an ex-girlfriend, I can understand and accept that. But if you currently have a girlfriend and wanted to break up with her because of me, I can’t accept it….”

“It’s not break up. She’s totally not a girlfriend or an ex-girlfriend.” Bai Muchuan was desperately trying to explain that his eyes were getting red. He held onto her hand tightly and his throat felt bitter and dry. “It’s just an agreement between me and her, a gentleman’s agreement!”

“… Then continue to be a gentleman.” Xiang Wan pushed his hands away and lowered her eyes. “You men have such complicated feelings. I don’t understand and don’t want to understand.”

One wanted to get into a relationship with her but without love.

Another had a “gentleman’s agreement” with his girlfriend yet refused to let her off…

Xiang Wan felt confused and felt that she shouldn’t stay inside the ward anymore. “Well, how do you feel now? Is your body better now?”

Bai Muchuan glanced at her with a pair of red eyes without saying a word.

Xiang Wan avoided his gaze.

Yes, until now, she did not dare to face his gaze for she knew she might succumb to his pitiful gaze at any moment…

She felt that she was like an idiot. Her brain was humming constantly, and it was fortunate that her tone was considered composed.

“Your drip’s going to finish soon, I’ll get the nurse. Later on, the doctor will do a check up on you. If there’s nothing else, I’m going back now. I haven’t… updated my novel today. For me, it’s more important to solve my basic needs of food and clothing.”

Bai Muchuan pursed his lips tightly as he looked at her quietly.

“Do I, Bai Muchuan, not deserve to be trusted by you?”

“This is not that same!” Xiang Wan laughed. “Bai Muchuan, why are you such a hypocrite?”

Bai Muchuan took a deep breath. When the cold autumn winds went into his lungs, he felt a tearing pain, sharp and deep, yet it did not belong to any of the pain that he had gone through before. It was a strange gnawing feeling, yet he was helpless about it.

His eyes looked downwards slowly.

“Alright. Before you leave, can you help me get a packet of cigarettes?”

“…”

When Xiang Wan left the hospital, she was in a bit of a daze.

That day’s experience was difficult for her to sort out…

She had been to hell then to heavens and fell from the heavens back to hell again. She experienced a sudden joy and happiness before falling to the bottom of the valley…

Maybe she was favored by the heavens? That she was made to bear the complex feelings that her IQ was not able to handle.

Well, she had lived on earth for 26 years. Some said she was vain as she was too picky with men, while some said she had high expectations and was narcissistic. Who on earth would believe that her demands in a relationship were really, really simple?

A boyfriend who held the same ethics and social values as her toward life, so that they could understand and encourage each other while working hard for their dreams. He need not be very handsome or wealthy, and he need not own a house or a car. However, he could only have her alone and not get entangled in all kinds of messy relationships. There must not be a third party in their relationship, and neither did she want to be a third party as well… Was this really demanding of her?

Maybe…

In this age of instant love where people fall and get out of love easily, she might really be too demanding.

Xiang Wan lowered her head, touched her lips, and burst into laughter.

“To hell with men!”

Her first kiss was gone just like that.

…

At the hospital.

Bai Muchuan lit a cigarette when the nurse came into the ward.

“Hey, you can’t smoke here…”

Before she could finish her words, Bai Muchuan gave her a glare. She swallowed those words that had yet to come out of her mouth.

“Number 36, where’s your family? Let your family come and sign this. You can only leave after this is signed.”

Family? Bai Muchuan shook his head lazily and squinted at the nurse with the cigarette on his mouth. “Bring it to me!”

The nurse blushed slightly due to his good looks and that yuppie style of his. “This must be signed by your family. If your family approves of you…”

“I don’t have a f*cking family, alright?” Not sure what she said had irked him, Bai Muchuan suddenly behaved like a hurt beast as he stared at the nurse sternly, his eyes were red, sharp, and arrogant. “Those who don’t have family are not allowed to seek treatment and not allowed to get discharged?”

Nurse: “…”

What could a hospital do when they meet someone like that?

…

The nurse heaved a sigh of relief when he signed the discharge papers and left.

Such a good-looking but bad-tempered man totally cured her infatuation for him.

When she was thinking about that, she suddenly saw an item on the bedside table.

“Oh… Mister! Your cap…”

She reminded him out of kindness and did not expect Bai Muchuan to return a sharp look at her.

“Can’t I not want it anymore?”

“…” Of course, you call the shots. The nurse dissed in her head.

The nurse could not contain her anger anymore. Infuriated, she picked up the cap and threw it into the trash can.

When the muffled sound of the cap being thrown inside the trash can was heard, Bai Muchuan suddenly paused while the nurse felt satisfied.

Half a second later, he dashed over at a tremendous speed as if he was furious. That scared the nurse out of her wits, she took a few steps back toward the window and gave a scream as she thought he was going to use violence on her… However, Bai Muchuan did not do that.

He said nothing but just stood before the trash can.

He kept looking at it when he suddenly bent down…

For such a tall stature like his, to bend down to pick up a cap would somehow make others feel sympathy…

Maybe he was really such a heartthrob, for the nurse instantly forgave him for the impoliteness earlier on and convinced herself that his poor attitude was attributed to having a poor mood.

… In the afternoon, she had seen his girlfriend accompanying him, and it seemed that the two of them were on good terms. Maybe he had a fight with his girlfriend? In addition, he was already not feeling well, so it was natural of him to have a poor mood?

She looked on in a daze as she thought about that.

Bai Muchuan picked up the cap and dusted it.

“For earlier… I’d like to apologize.”

His upbringing did not allow him to just walk away like that. He apologized for his unreasonable venting of anger on the nurse.

The nurse was shocked. “It’s, it’s alright. My attitude just now was not good either…”

…

Bai Muchuan left the hospital alone.

On his hand, he was holding the cap.

It was the cap that he put over her head when he kissed her.

Under the cap, there was her fair face, cherry lips and her smooth, long wavy hair…

He squinted his eyes.

A gust of wind blew toward him, carrying the smell of the city: the dust, smoke, and the decadence of the society. They were all burning and fermenting in that smell, diffusing and integrating into the prosperous and cold city.

Bai Muchuan looked at the steady stream of traffic and people for a long time before he pulled out his mobile phone.

“Hello? Muchuan…” Xie Wanwan paused for a while when she did not hear him speak. She took a look to ascertain the caller before she said in delight, “I’m still in the studio. Where are we going for dinner tonight?”

“You still have the mood to eat dinner?”

“What happened?” Xie Wanwan seemed to not know that she was drugged last night.

Her drug intake, however, was significantly much lesser than Bai Muchuan as her work for the day was not affected…

“Little Bai, what happened? Say something. If you don’t, I’m hanging up then? I’m still busy over here. I won’t answer any phone calls if it’s not you!”

“Xie Wanwan.” Bai Muchuan paused for a while. “From today onward, I need to cancel that gentleman’s agreement we have. I’m sorry, I cannot help you anymore.”

Xie Wanwan’s fingers that held her mobile phone went stiff. She paused for a moment before letting out a chuckle. “I feel that you’re quite moody today? Is it because of that girl I saw today? Little Bai, you have someone you like, right?”

Bai Muchuan’s head was aching badly and snorted in annoyance.

“It’s none of your business. That’s it then!”

He hung up the phone and took a cab back to the office.

Due to the case, everyone was busy. The cast and filming crew of “The Grey List” were consisted of famous celebrities, renowned directors, and figures in the showbiz industry. The theft in the set as well as the wounded security guard brought about a lot of attention and concern amongst the public. In this information age, news spread fast. Everyone loved the image of the super police, but they liked to push the blame to the police as well. Hence, the police faced a lot of pressure.

However, everyone was still stunned to see Bai Muchuan coming back to the office.

“Boss? Why are you here? Teacher Xiang just called to say that the doctor wanted to keep you under observation for a night…”

It was exactly as what he said.

Nevertheless, Bai Muchuan was not someone who could stay at the hospital for long.

He stood at the center of the office and eyeballed everyone.

“Where’s Cheng Zheng?”

“He’s upstairs.” Tang Yuanchu pointed toward the ceiling. “Earlier on, Mei Xin brought the report over and said that Captain Cheng is still busy and have not eaten yet. Oh yes, Captain Bai, have you taken your dinner?”

Bai Muchuan nodded his head.

Then he walked toward the stairs without a word.

Everyone looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and continued to work.

…

Every piece of cold, emotionless equipment were laid neatly on the table.

Cheng Zheng’s office was different from every other place in the Criminal Investigation Unit. Entering his office was as if one had left the living world and entered the realm of the dead. There was no emotion, no human touch, and everything was as cold as machinery…

Bai Muchuan came to his office frequently.

Normally whenever he showed up, he wouldn’t show a pleasant expression to Cheng Zheng.

But tonight, Cheng Zheng was still stunned by his expression when Bai Muchuan showed up at the entrance.

“What’s up?” His attention was pulled from the equipment in front of him to look at Bai Muchuan, who stood unmoving. “Come on in, you’re just in time for a discussion…”

“D*mn you!”

Cheng Zheng’s ears hummed. Bai Muchuan had moved so fast that he was already in front of him before he knew it. Bai Muchuan grabbed his collar and lifted him out of his chair.

“Cheng Zheng, how can you call yourself a man when you resort to underhanded means?”

Looking at his clenched fist and the frightening face that he made when he was extremely angry, Cheng Zheng squinted his eyes but he did not attempt to retaliate… In terms of strength and combat skills, even if there were two Cheng Zheng, he would still not be a match against Bai Muchuan.

He would not be able to beat him. Since young, he had never managed to beat him in a fight.

“I’m just stating a fact.” Cheng Zheng did not ask why Bai Muchuan was enraged.

There was no need to ask or guess. There was only one thing that could make him so angry and behave irrationally.

“I never made up anything. You’ve never denied that… Xie Wanwan is your girlfriend.”

He said each and every word clearly which further stimulated Bai Muchuan’s emotions. His breathing stifled, the strange pain in his chest made him no longer care, and he instantly delivered a punch on Cheng Zheng’s face, knocking his glasses off. But as if not enough, he pushed him back to his chair.

“You obviously know why things have come to this, you f*cking know what is going on!”

“So what if I know the whole story?” Cheng Zheng looked at him coldly and touched the corner of his eye where it rapidly became bruised. Yet, he still did not show any emotion. “If things were not like that, you can always deny it.”

“Hahah!” Bai Muchuan lowered his head with his hands supporting on the armrest of his chair. His gaze felt like poisonous stings as he stared at Cheng Zheng. “Did you think that by making this sound so solemn and aboveboard, you could hide your selfish motives? Cheng Zheng, the others don’t know you well, but not me. You hate me. You did it on purpose.”

Cheng Zheng put on a frosty face and did not say anything.

Bai Muchuan was gritting his teeth. “You hate me, so you go near her. You hate me, so you don’t want us to be together. You hate me, so you don’t want me to find happiness…”

Cheng Zheng pursed his lips tightly and gave a sneer when Bai Muchuan finished saying his piece.

“So what if I do? Bai Muchuan, you are not worthy of happiness. You—are not worthy of it!”

“D*mmit!” Bai Muchuan suddenly entered a state of frenzy. He grabbed Cheng Zheng by the shirt and threw another punch at him. “Can’t you f*cking retaliate? You dared to sow discord with my woman but you don’t dare to fight me face to face?”

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

There was an awful din coming from the office.

Mei Xin stood at the entrance for several seconds before she made her way to the balcony.

She took the sprayer and watered the succulent plants amidst the brawling sounds…

…

Bai Muchuan and Cheng Zheng came to blows.

This incident spread throughout the entire Hongjiang District’s Criminal Investigation Unit that even the Commissioner came to know about it.

Commissioner Wang came over and hosted an internal meeting to let them explain the situation.

In the end, both of them gave the same story that they held differing views on a case and could not control their emotions that they got into a fight. Both of them were willing to take responsibility and accept punishment…

“Hurhurhur, so both of you now hold the same views instead?” Commissioner Wang was brimming with rage that he laughed. He pointed at both of them then pointed at his own nose. “I know both of you come from extraordinary backgrounds and are both capable. Having both of you working here in Jin City is my greatest support. But don’t forget, I’m also your elder and your teacher as well. Can both of you please, for my sake, don’t do anything funny at this juncture? Do you know how many people are following the news of the assault that happened in the set of ‘The Grey List’? Do you know how many pairs of eyes are watching us?”

“Yes, Commissioner Wang,” said Cheng Zheng.

“Commissioner Wang,” said Bai Muchuan, “your glasses are slanted from all the anger. Quickly simmer down, drink a cup of tea to soothe your throat, and continue to lecture us.”

Commissioner Wang felt his words had fallen on deaf ears and couldn’t breathe properly for an instant.

“Both of you want to make me die of anger so as to take over me?”

“… We daren’t.”

“Hmph!”

Seeing the two’s honest expressions, Commissioner Wang’s anger finally dissipated.

After the lecturing, he heaved a sigh and pointed at Bai Muchuan and Cheng Zheng.

“One week! I’ll give you a week’s time to catch the criminal. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise?” Bai Muchuan raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll take responsibility and resign.”

Were there people who used themselves to threaten others?

Of course, Commissioner Wang did just that.

Bai Muchuan and Cheng Zheng exchanged glances and squinted their eyes. “Okay then, three days it shall be,” said Bai Muchuan.

Cheng Zheng: “…”

Commissioner Wang stared at him, wide-eyed. “?”

Has this guy gone crazy?