This chapter is updated by wuxiaworld.eu
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Xiang Wan said half-jokingly while giving him a glance, âSince weâre whispering, that means we cannot tell you.â
â⊠Ouch.â Tang Yuanchu held his chest and leaned back on his seat. His eyes were, however, staring at Xie Wanwan.
Still, she did not even lift her head.
âNonethelessâŠâ Xiang Wan snickered somewhat meaningfully. âSince you both are currently staying under one roof, you can ask her privately yourself, agree?â
That sure sounded ambiguous.
After all, everyone present looked over.
They seemed to have noticed something and showed a smile but didnât comment about it.
Xie Wanwan was never a shy person, yet at the moment, her heart was racing⊠Soon enough, she felt chilly instead.
She looked downwards as she drank her liquor quietly.
She drank in her lonesome.
She didnât offer a toast to anyone or talk to anyone.
Tang Yuanchu coughed in awkwardness. âEveryone! Cough, cough, letâs eat.â
Salimu teased him. âWhy are you coughing as well? Did the Boss infect you?â
Tang Yuanchu sent a glare. âYeah.â
Bai Muchuan then responded, âWhy is there so much nonsense talk going around? Just behave yourselves.â
Everyone then silenced there and then. ââŠâ
They couldnât understand his mentality.
It was dinner, so why do they still need to behave themselves?
When Bai Muchuan spoke, the atmosphere became much more severe and restrained.
Everyone continued to chat, but they didnât dare to joke around. Xiang Wan glanced at Bai Muchuan as she ruminated about what she should do for Xie Wanwan to open up and cooperate willingly with the policeâŠ
At this moment, a burst of phone ringing sounds was heard.
It was not one, but two peopleâs mobile phones ringing away.
One belonged to Quan Shaoteng, the other was Bai Muchuan.
Quan Shaoteng took a look at his phone and immediately put down his chopsticks, looking all solemn and severe.
âAlright, Iâll be right there!â
Once he finished talking on the phone, he wanted to talk to Bai Muchuan before the latter spoke ahead of him. âI know!â
Both of them seem rather serious and grim.
The rest of them stopped eating and looked on with worry.
It was just a meal, right?
Why couldnât they just have a proper meal together?
Xiang Wan also looked towards Bai Muchuan, and he returned her glance. He seemed a little gloomy, and he looked at Cheng Zheng. âYour sister said she was being followed and hid in the fitting room since she was terrified. She wanted helpâŠâ
Cheng Zheng furrowed his eyebrows. âWhere is she?â
Bai Muchuan pointed downwards. âFirst floor, UNIQLO outlet.â
ââŠâ Everyone stayed silent.
Why did Cheng Xin come here?
She knew that they were having dinner here, so did she follow them?
This woman was sure thick-skinned.
Cheng Zheng then answered, âIâll go down and have a look.â
âLittle Baiââ Quan Shaoteng didnât want to wait anymore. He pushed his chair and got up from his seat. âWang Wei just called, a similar-looking target appearedâŠâ
âSimilar?â Bai Muchuan furrowed his eyebrows in thought.
âCorrect!â Quan Shaoteng looked at him then everyone at the table. âHe should be someone that weâre looking for!â
Xiang Wan was immediately on alert.
As long as they got him, everything would come to light.
âHe appeared in a mall near his managerâs house. Wang Wei is keeping a safe distance from him and has continued to follow him. We should get more news soon.â He looked at his watch. âI canât stay anymore. I have to go and see for myself.â
Bai Muchuan nodded. âAlright. Be careful and keep in contact.â
Quan Shaoteng and Cheng Zheng left consecutively.
It looked like this friendly dinner gathering wouldnât end well.
Everyone sat back and continued to chat.
In less than 10 minutes, Cheng Zheng returned with Cheng Xin, who followed behind him, looking meek with her head lowered.
âI came back to get my coat,â explained Cheng Zheng, who stood at the entrance of the private dining room and gestured for Mei Xin to help him get his coat.
Cheng Xin, however, tried to peek inside. âWell⊠Brother, I havenât had my dinner.â
To fit in with them, this woman didnât even want to bother about her losing face anymore.
Cheng Zhengâs face darkened. He was clearly annoyed.
He was about to give her a lecture when Cheng Xin smiled radiantly. âSister Miao, youâre also here! This is greatâŠâ
With that, she walked into the private dining room.
Miao Zichen seemed awkward. âHi, Cheng Xin! Youâre here?â
âYeah! Iâm so glad⊠to meet all of you.â
Miao Zichen only smiled, unable to say anything more.
They were all colleagues. Under such circumstances, anyone would have felt troubled, but they would invite the âuninvited guestâ to sit down and eat with them. However, Xiang Wan did not want to be the same. She felt that her mood was spoiled. When Cheng Xin sat down, she got up from her seat.
âIâm full already. I havenât finished my work yet, so I need to go now.â
ââŠâ Cheng Xin felt embarrassed; Miao Zichen also felt awkward.
Xiang Wan smiled. âYou guys can still continue, Iâll foot the bill first.â
Since she wanted to leave, Bai Muchuan would not continue to stay.
Seeing that, Xie Wanwan finished her last mouthful of liquor and got up as well. She was even more direct than Xiang Wan, for she didnât even say anything. She simply picked up her handbag and walked out of the private dining room⊠However, since she drank quite a bit of liquor, her cheeks were suffused in a red hue, and when she walked, her steps were somewhat unsteady.
Tang Yuanchu also followed along without a wordâŠ
Mei Xin looked around the room and decided to leave as well.
âWell⊠I also have something to do. Iâll get going now.â
Ding Yifan looked at everyone and got up as well. âPlease enjoy your meal!â
How would anyone enjoy a dinner like this?
Cheng Xin sat at her spot. Her face was as red as a tomato due to embarrassment.
This was a noticeable reaction that they didnât want her there.
How can they do this to me! She thought.
She blurted in anger, âHey, what does this mean?â
Everyone was slightly taken aback.
Xiang Wan replied, âEnjoy your meal.â
Hmph! Xie Wanwan snorted and was already a distance away. Xiang Wan quickly caught up with her to say goodbye. Only Ding Yifan and Salimu stayed behind for a while more and kept smiling at Cheng Xin. âYou can go ahead to order dinner. Weâre here early, so we finished our dinner. Thereâs still work to do at the office, so we have to go now⊠You need not hurry, just take your time.â
Those who wanted to leave left the room.
Cheng Zheng was still standing at the entrance.
When everyone was out of sight, he asked in a cold tone. âSo, are you happy now?â
Cheng Xinâs stunned expression finally changed. She pouted and threw her little tantrum. âIâm not lying. Someone was really following me earlier for a long time. I was so scared that I quickly walked to UNIQLO, took a dress and hid in the changing room before I could call for helpâŠâ
âWhy didnât you call me instead?â Cheng Zheng questioned, âWhy did you call Bai Muchuan?â
Cheng Xin pouted. âYouâre from the Forensics Team. Besides, if you meet bad people, will you be able to fight them off?âŠâ
ââŠâ Her words could infuriate someone to death.
Cheng Zheng wished he could just leave like this.
However, he couldnât. She was his younger cousin, after all.
âCheng Xin, let me warn you. If you play such tricks again, I wonât bother with you anymoreââ
âYouâve already warned me.â Cheng Xin raised her volume in a distressed tone. âIâve also said that I didnât play any games or tricks. I didnât know that youâre having dinner here. I happen to come here to shop, and coincidentally, I noticed that I was being followed!â
Hmph! âYou better behave yourself!â
Nobody would believe her words.
As for Cheng Zheng⊠Of course, he wouldnât believe it.
âLetâs go!â He draped his coat over his shoulders, got his bag, and wanted to leave.
Cheng Xin felt that she had suffered injustice. âBrotherâŠâ
Miao Zichen couldnât stand watching that. âBrother Cheng, why donât we find another place for Cheng Xin to eat something first? You should calm down as wellâŠâ
That rubbed him the wrong way since Cheng Zhengâs initially calm expression changed suddenly to that of frustration.
He was a polite man and took good care of Miao Zichen at work. He even had the intention of taking their relationship to the next step. This girl was good to him, and he thought that she had met all of the requirements that he had most initially wanted in a life partner which Cheng Zheng had mentioned to Xiang Wan beforeâfind someone suitable so he need not spend too much time on, he didnât want to waste his time, and he need not bother if he loved his future spouse.
Initially, he had already convinced himself to do just that.
He had thought that he could live like that.
Get a wife, have a kid, and live just like the ordinary folksâŠ
He compromised to himself and everyone.
He gave up his feelings that would not have an outcome.
At this moment, when Miao Zichen stepped in to put in a good word for Cheng Xin, he actually felt a little irritated.
Why couldnât she have some character?
When something was right, it was right. When something was wrong, then it was wrong.
Why couldnât she have her own stance and opinion?
Although there was anger inside him, his tone actually softened.
This was because his heart had become sad and dreary.
She was not her and would never be her.
No matter how good she was, she wasnât her. No matter how Cheng Zheng saw her, she wouldnât be as good as the one inside his heartâŠ
Cheng Zheng had mustered everything inside of him, but he realized that he just didnât feel the same for her.
He remarked, âI shouldnât have come tonight.â
While on the way back, Xiang Wan was distraught.
There wasnât any news from Quan Shaoteng, and there was no progress over at Xie Wanwanâs end.
Both she and Bai Muchuan were anxious, but they couldnât push too hard.
Xie Wanwanâs character was the type where she would go to the extreme when pushed too hardâŠ
She deliberated and mulled over the issue. Finally, she decided to put her hopes on Tang Yuanchu.
That was when she sent him a message.
âWhat a woman wanted as happiness is simply someone who could keep her company, protect her, and treasure her. Even if it was in good or bad times, he would give her warmth. A woman didnât want much and didnât expect much. She only hopes that, although she might have a lot of unbearable points, you could still treat her wholeheartedly. If you love her, you need to tolerate and accept her everything⊠when you feel that your heart almost couldnât tolerate it anymore, then you still have to endure and accept her one more time.â
She was actually feeling contradictory.
She felt that her message sounded cliche and might be hard to understand.
She thought her hint might not be clear enough and feared that Tang Yuanchu wouldnât get it. However, she had no idea how she should break that news to himâŠ
âWhat are you doing?â Bai Muchuan looked in her direction. âWho are you messaging?â
âA guy!â Xiang Wan showed a half-smile. Hmph! Bai Muchuan basically ignored her reply but asked her a question instead. âWhy do you think that Ye Lun suddenly shows himself?â
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