Xiang Wan sniffled her nose and felt that her acting was about to crumble. She had put on a disguise to be indifferent when she clearly minded the issue. She even felt sad when she heard herself saying that.
âSo, Captain Bai, Iâm going to work diligently in order to protect the safety of your woman.â
âHm? Xiang Wan.â Bai Muchuan was alert and knew that thereâs something wrong with her. âYouâre angry?â His voice sounded tense.
Xiang Wan only gave him a quick glance and responded very softly. âHm.â
âThisâŚâ Bai Muchuan felt that her expression did not seem to be fake and wanted to say something. But when he wanted to say something, he felt something not quite right. Hence, after he swept a glance at the direction of the washroom, he walked straight ahead, leaving behind a sentence. âFollow me!â
ââŚâ
Is he really inexperienced?
Things are already like this, and he still wanted to behave like a young master? And he wanted her to follow him?
Xiang Wan could not help feeling amused by this behavior.
If she was really angry, she dared to guarantee that this tactic of his carried negative points.
Well, she only wanted to tease him!
âCome on!â Bai Muchuan looked back and found that she was in a daze. âYouâre silly!â
âYouâre the silly one!â Xiang Wan said this from the bottom of her heart.
If heâs not silly, how will he not know? she thought.
Seeing how grim he was, Xiang Wan wanted to retort him but could not bear to do so.
Well, it was still very early and nothing much to do. She would just be idling anyway. She might as well follow and see what he would do to get out of such a situation.
The two of them went out of the performance hall, one following another, toward the exit that was leading to the washroom.
Xiang Wan followed from a distance, not too close but not too far, either. Those who do not know them would have never thought there was something going on with the two.
There was a turn outside the washroom that connected to a corridor. At the end of the corridor, there was a huge floor-to-ceiling window with a small room on the right, which was locked.
When Xiang Wan walked over, she saw Bai Muchuan leaning against the window, waiting for her with his legs crossed. He was looking at her casually with his eyes narrowed to a squint, yet at the same time, it felt like he was scrutinizing her seriouslyâŚ
âWhat do you want?â Xiang Wan did not go near him. She stopped quite a distance away.
âCome over!â Bai Muchuan beckoned her with a half-smile.
ââŚâ Why is he so domineering?
Whoâs the one explaining? Xiang Wan thought, amused and helpless at the same time. She was interested to know what this man wanted to say to herâŚ
She put on a serious face, controlling her emotion⌠With a gloomy aura, she approached and stopped at three steps away from him. She stood still without saying a word and watched coldly.
Bai Muchuanâs tall figure was enveloped in the halo of the window, looking helpless and innocent.
âWhy are you standing so far away? I wonât eat you upâŚâ
Xiang Wan glanced at him unhappily. âJust say it, donât beat around the bush.â
âHmm.â Bai Muchuan took a deep breath and extended both arms to her with a charming smile. âIâll give you my hug.â
â?â Xiang Wan was confused and looked at him innocently.
âHm? Come on!â Bai Muchuan sounded adamant.
That expression of his made Xiang Wan laugh. âAre you ill?â
âIâm the one whoâs worried that youâre ill.â Bai Muchuan looked solemn. âWhen women are hurt, donât they want a hug?â
Hah? Xiang Wan almost laughed out of frustration. âWhere did you learn this tactic?â
Bai Muchuan: âItâs all over the internet?â
Xiang Wan took a deep breath and exhaled. She couldnât help rolling her eyes. âAre you pretending to be a fool or youâre really a fool? If Iâm hurt by you, do you think Iâll need your hug?â
âFine! If you donât need it, so be it. Come and comfort me then, I need your hugâŚâ Bai Muchuan lowered his head and took her hand. âI feel wronged, I feel wronged. I also need comfort, right?â
ââŚâ Bleh! Always not playing by the rules.
A tough guy turned into a hot young stud. How is she going to handle that?
âNot angry anymore?â Bai Muchuan held her hand, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to him, not giving her any time to react. With a smile, he held her tightly in his arms and patted her on the back like a baby. The breath in her neck was hot and burning. âOkay, later Iâll beat up Tang Yuanchu for you.â
ââŚâ Totally out of context.
Xiang Wan was speechless.
She snorted, placed a hand on his chest to keep a distance from him, and looked up at him.
âBe clear about this, is this about Tang Yuanchu?â
âIf itâs not him⌠Then who is it?â
âThe point is⌠the sentence âXie Wanwan is your womanâ.â
âIsnât that bullsh*t?â Bai Muchuan chuckled as he looked at her displeased face and suddenly hugged her very tightly while Xiang Wan tried to struggle. âYou know I only have you,â he coaxed her, âif you get angry with me because of this, itâs so not worth itâŚâ
âWhoâs your woman?â Xiang Wan was trapped in his strong arms and after a few attempts, she gave up struggling. âI havenât agreed,â she snorted unhappily, âstop the taggingâŚâ
ââŚâ Bai Muchuan went stiff upon hearing that. He looked at her in disbelief, studied her expression, and frowned. âAre you kidding me?â
ââŚâ Xiang Wan looked back at him innocently. âYouâre right, itâs just a joke!â
â⌠But youâve already kissed me!â
âIâve let you kissed me as well. Weâre equal! Nobody owes each other anything!â
The two of them gazed at each other. After a brief moment, Bai Muchuan cussed softly, â⌠Damn!â He suddenly tightened his grip on Xiang Wanâs waist, and the next second, he tried to search for her lipsâŚ
âBai Muchuan.â Xiang Wan turned her head, trying to avoid that.
He held her, fervent and eager, not allowing her to escape.
âBe good, let me kiss you to relieve my anger.â
ââŚâ Xiang Wan played with fire, and it backfired. She felt like crying.
What is happening now? She wanted to explain to him that she just wanted to play a prank on him. Although it was true that she was not too happy over Tang Yuanchuâs remark, she had never suspected him and Xie WanwanâŚ
However, she had missed the time to explain. She had no chance to talk.
Bai Muchuan was somewhat anxious. Under the influence of an unfamiliar emotion, his brain seemed to âsufferâ from an adrenaline surge, simulated by the injustice he felt as well as her indifferent attitude. He had subconsciously used the best tactic that he thought⌠Kiss her and donât let her talkâŚ
Their breathing intertwined.
Originally, he had only wanted a light kiss. Unexpectedly, the invisible force of hormones made him go deeper by prying open her lips and tasting them at willâŚ
They continued until footsteps could be heard from the corridor.
The two of them were shocked. Their eyes opened and stared at each other as they quickly pulled awayâŚ
They looked at each otherâs flustered expression and felt that if someone were to see them right now, they would immediately know what the both of them had been doing. And that would be too embarrassing.
âGo in!â Bai Muchuanâs reaction was very fast. He quickly walked and opened the door right at the end of the corridor. Both of them slipped into the room.
This area seemed to be very desolate that hardly anyone would come here. The room was not big but very dusty. It seemed to be a storage room, but except for a few empty shelves, there was nothing else inside. It seemed that nobody had used this room for a very long time.
The footsteps got nearer.
Xiang Wan held her breath, her heart beating furiously as she looked at Bai Muchuan nervously.
He returned her gaze, his eyes were very bright and there was as though the smell of her in his breathâŚ
Uh! Xiang Wan felt an urge to laugh.
Why did they choose to hide? They were not thieves, so why were they afraid of being found out?
She whispered, âBai Muchuan.â
âShush!â Bai Muchuan turned to her, his eyes shining bright.
In the dim environment, his expression was suddenly serious and grave which left Xiang Wan dumbfounded.
She nodded her head and stood beside the door with him.
Eavesdropping on others was not a nice behavior. The two of them did not like to do this, but somehow, they continued their shameless behavior by not moving an inch as they heard the sounds got nearer.
âBrother Six has said that he did not want to change his target. You better hurry and think of a way out.â The man who said this seemed to be furious and sounded stern. Letâs call him Mr. A.
â⌠Bro, itâs not that I donât want to think of a way out, but I donât dare to. This period is quite sensitive. If she is not willing, we couldnât force her to do soâŚâ The person who replied was very careful with his words. Letâs call him Mr. B. It seemed as though he was worried about offending the other party. âIâve found another girl for Brother Six who has a lower ranking, but sheâs definitely as pretty, has nice figure, and most of all, sheâs young and delicateâŚâ
âHurhur! Are you the one who understood Brother Sixâs temper better or me? Since when is it up to us to pick and choose a woman for him?â Mr. A said with a voice dripping with sarcasm. âBesides, is it important if she is willing or not?â He continued to reprimand Mr. B. âWhich one of these women who had made it to Brother Sixâs bed was willing anyway?â
âYes, yes, yes, I do know about this. But you have to know the police has their eyes on us, the film crew has been plagued with problemsâŚâ
âThatâs none of my business.â Mr. A sneered coldly. âYouâve taken the money, and you need to do what youâre told. If you canât do it, then spit out the money youâve swallowedâŚâ
â⌠Yes, yes, I should do that.â Mr. B seemed as though he was about to break down as he pleaded. âSo is it alright for me to return the full sum of money to Brother Six?â
âD*rn! I said youâre a fool and you really treat yourself as a piece of blockhead? Is Brother Sixâs money so easy to be returned? Are you really able to return the full sum of money to him? Iâll see how you can return the money when youâre bankrupt.â
âBro, no, no, no! You need to save me, weâre such close friendsâŚâ
âScram! I donât care how youâre going to do it. Brother Six is in a good mood, and tonight, this Mid-Autumn Festival, he wants that woman and thatâs final.â
ââŚâ
Mr. A snorted angrily and left.
There was a long sigh that came from outside the door.
After a short while, Mr. B left the place as well.
As the footsteps got further and further away, fading into the distance, Bai Muchuan opened the door very slowly and carefully to take a look outside. Then he waved to Xiang Wan.
âCome out, thereâs nobody now.â
âHm.â Xiang Wan smoothened her hair and came out slowly. âAre they talking about⌠the film crew of âThe Grey Listâ?â
Bai Muchuan did not reply to her but looked at her deeply for a moment.
Recently in Jin City, the film crew of âThe Grey Listâ was the most famous of all.
The people who were invited and attended the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala were basically the key personnel of âThe Grey Listâ film crew.
The film crew that was often in the news and plagued by troubles, besides âThe Grey Listâ, there was no other film crew that had the same situationâŚ
âYou go back first,â said Bai Muchuan suddenly, âIâll make a phone call.â
Hm, he wanted to make a phone call and she couldnât hear it?
Xiang Wan got what he wanted to do. After a brief pause, she asked, âYou want to call Xie Wanwan?â
From what the two men were talking earlier, Mr. A should be Brother Sixâs subordinate, while Mr. B should be from the film crew of âThe Grey Listâ who should have a rather high position thereâŚ
Moreover, from their conversation, the female celebrity Brother Six wanted had a high rank⌠Hence, who had the highest ranking in the actresses starring in âThe Grey Listâ?
Of course, it would be the female lead, Xie Wanwan.
After Xiang Wan met Zhou Dequan from a distance that day, she had analyzed him as well. It was evident that after he tasted the sweet success of being rich and famous, he had become arrogant and even haughty. He thought highly of himself and could do anything he wanted. Such a person would be very dangerousâŚ
So, the woman he wanted could jolly well be the female lead, Xie Wanwan.
At this time, it was perfectly reasonable for Bai Muchuan to call up Xie Wanwan to ask her about it.
âItâs not that.â It was unexpected that Bai Muchuan would directly deny it. His eyebrows seemed to make a frown. âDonât think too much. Youâll go over first and tell Tang Yuanchu and the rest of them that the most important job tonight are the security checksâŚâ
Everyone: âGot it!â
Since he talked about work, that would be a work command. Xiang Wan should not continue to press on the issue.
âIâll go over now.â
âHm,â he replied without any emotion.
Xiang Wan suddenly felt a little upset, her cheeks felt warm, and she lowered her eyelids, turning away to leaveâ
Suddenly, he grabbed her hand.
âXiang Wan,â Bai Muchuan called her.
Xiang Wan turned and looked at him. She bit her lower lip and kept quiet.
âSigh! Silly girl.â Bai Muchuan suddenly pulled her over and hugged her tightly. He lowered his head and kissed her cheek slowly till her ear. âIâm going to tell you one more time that I only have you. Iâm not the type of man who holds one woman and thinks of another. Moreover, I donât have so much energy and time to focus on relationship matters. I only have you, and thatâs enough for me.â
Hm?
He showered her with kisses, gently. âDo you believe me?â
Her ears felt itchy and numb. Xiang Wanâs breathing almost become erratic.
âYes.â
She had difficulty saying that one word.
Whereas he was as though he had received some kind of encouragement that he hugged her very tightly and passionately. After that, he gave her a pat on her back.
âGo darling! Iâll feel more assured now.â
ââŚâ
Only then did Xiang Wan realize that the unhappiness she had over making a call to someone mysterious had been brought over just like that.
She heaved a sigh inside her heart; there was nothing she could do anyway.
For it was her choice to choose this sly guy after allâŚ
âŚ
Xiang Wan went back to the performance hall and looked around for the two men who were talking earlier, subconsciously. She wanted to find out their identity.
However, there seemed to be more people who came over in the performance hall. There were people everywhere, so how would she be able to tell them apart?
She found Tang Yuanchu who was standing by the offstage walkway. She looked around naturally and asked in a casual tone, âMore people came in here earlier?â
Tang Yuanchu was puzzled for a second and nodded his head. âYeah, some people from âThe Grey Listâ film crew arrived for the event tonightâŚâ
Xiang Wan asked, âI see, thereâs no one else?â
Tang Yuanchu thought for a moment and shook his head. âYeah, I donât think so.â
After a short pause, he asked Xiang Wan in a suspicious tone. âWhatâs up? Teacher Xiang, is there something going on?â
âNo, thereâs nothing going on.â Xiang Wan tried to brush it off.
Before they found out what was going on, she would definitely not tell Tang Yuanchu. She would also not act rashly and alert the enemy.
âOkay. Oh yes, whereâs Captain Bai?â Tang Yuanchu looked around. âI think I havenât seen him for quite a while already?â
âIs that so?â Xiang Wan pretended to not realized it. âI donât know either.â
âThis is strange,â Tang Yuanchu muttered to himself as he looked around the hall again.,âIâm going to look for himâŚâ
He left and Xiang Wan stood there on the same spot. From where she was standing, it was elevated and she could look down at the stage. Her vision started to become blurry as though caught in a whirlpool and the center of which was the brightly lit stageâŚ
Time passed by very slowly in the afternoon.
The policemen on duty had confirmed every procedure before they could ease up a little and wait for the night to arrive.
Around five plus in the evening, everyone received a packet of rice which was their dinner. They quickly finished their food, and soon, they heard music playing from the performance hall.
The event was about to begin, and the media personnel were nervously making their final preparations.
During this couple of hours, Xiang Wan saw Bai Muchuan several times, but she did not ask him about the earlier incident. He did not tell her if he knew anything else about the incident, either. When the event was about to start, and the police officers started to get in their designated positions, he walked over to Xiang Wan casually.
âIf you feel tired later on, you may go and rest for a while. We have enough manpower for the event.â
âEh?â Xiang Wan turned around. âI donât think thatâs a good idea?â
âIâve said itâs okay.â Bai Muchuan glanced at her meaningfully. âI canât let my woman tire herself out.â
With that, he left to check on other areas.
Xiang Wan looked at him. ââŚâ
The spectators entered the hall with their admission tickets, and the originally empty seats were gradually filled with people.
Usually, those who attended such events were educated people with better manners. Hence, although there was a lot of whispering, nobody spoke loudly.
As a duty officer, Xiang Wan had to face the audience and her back facing the stage. She observed the audience quietly and tried to remember the behaviors of the audience in her brain⌠Soon, she saw a man who walked to the front row of the VIP seats.
It was Zhou Dequanâthat Brother Six.
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