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Chapter 234: Wanwan’s Hope

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Somehow, it felt chilly inside the interrogation room.

Xiang Wan sat stiffly on the chair. Two police officers sat opposite her.

“Your name?”

“Xiang Wan.”

Xiang Wan knew this was the normal procedure. Hence, she was very cooperative. It was the usual questions on who, when, where, what, why and how.

She couldn’t help but feel a little down.

Just a few days ago, she was interrogating a thief with her colleagues at Hongjiang District. Within a short period of time, at a different place, she had changed positions and sat at the seat for suspects.

The police officers were very satisfied with her cooperative attitude. They took down the statement diligently and their tone softened as a result of her good attitude.

“How did you get to know the victim, Zhang Lu?”

Xiang Wan looked at them calmly as she pondered for a while and furrowed her eyebrows.

“I don’t know who’s Zhang Lu.”

The two police officers looked at each other, exchanged glances and handed her a picture.

“What!?”

Xiang Wan was shocked after looking at the picture.

“This... how did this happen?”

It was a picture of the girl on the plane.

It was the girl who claimed that she was her reader.

Furthermore, the picture given to Xiang Wan was taken at the toilet on the plane.

The picture was taken on the spot by the Chief Steward and given to the police as evidence.

The girl in the photograph looked weak and her body arched. She was wearing a white knitted top that was soiled with black ink. Her mouth was gagged, and her arms were tied to the washstand behind her back.

She was tied up by Xiang Wan’s scarf.

She was also gagged in the mouth by her own bra.

...

When something happened in the toilet earlier on the plane, Xiang Wan had wondered if the girl had encountered something.

For example, she could have slipped on some water stain and hurt herself badly. Therefore, the police needed her to assist in the investigation...

Never did Xiang Wan expect the situation would be like that.

At that time, she was the only person who entered the toilet with the girl.

So now that the girl’s mouth was gagged and tied up, besides her, who else would be the suspect?

No wonder the security officers needed to keep her with them.

No wonder the plane was forced to do an emergency landing.

No wonder there were so many police officers waiting to “receive” her like an actual criminal...

“Officer comrade, I really didn’t know her.”

Xiang Wan knew at this time, how she should negotiate with the police.

She was stating a fact. There wasn’t a need to amend or add any unnecessary information. She recounted the whole story of how she met Zhang Lu on the plane and why she entered the toilet with the girl.

“I’m speaking the truth. You can go and verify them.”

“We will do that.” The officer continued to take down the statement.

“Officer comrade, I have a very small request...”

“Say it!” The police officer was considered gentle to this seemingly harmless beauty.

Xiang Wan did not answer immediately.

She swallowed hard as she contemplated what to say.

This was because she knew once a suspect was brought to the police station, the suspect would lose all freedom. Unless the police were willing, there was no way for her to contact her family.

The police system prohibited that.

However, she could not help wanting to take a gamble.

“Officer comrade, my boyfriend is also a police officer. I was on my way to meet him at the Capital. Is it possible to trouble yourselves to give him a call to tell him what happened? Otherwise, I’m really worried he will keep waiting for me at the airport and affect his work...”

First of all, she wanted to invoke the compassion of the police officers toward another one of their kind.

The second sentence was to drop a hint that her boyfriend was very worried about her, and by doing her the favor, they could prevent any possible unnecessary trouble in future.

It could be considered an experience while working at the Criminal Investigation Unit.

There was compassion beyond the system.

By saying that, under normal circumstances, the police officers would handle the matter as they see fit. After all, it was just a phone call and not a violation of any rules and regulation.

However, the two police officers exchanged looks again and did not immediately tell her their verdict.

“We will investigate first and handle it based on the situation.”

“...”

The two police officers left the room.

By then, it had been slightly more than two hours since Xiang Wan went to Xi City.

If the plane was punctual, the plane would have landed at the Capital.

When Bai Muchuan saw her message, he would definitely go to the airport to fetch her.

If he didn’t see her, he would quickly realize something happened to her flight...

Yes.

Be calm.

And wait.

Xiang Wan sat quietly in the interrogation room. She was longing to see Bai Muchuan and never expected this whole thing to turn out this way.

Although she had gotten in trouble without knowing rhyme or reason, she was actually more curious about the case rather than being afraid...

That girl called Zhang Lu. How did she tie herself with hands tied behind her back in the toilet?

Why did Zhang Lu frame her?

Perhaps she has an accomplice?

After she stepped out, that accomplice went in to tie Zhang Lu up?

...

Not long after, the police officers informed her a piece of news.

Zhang Lu was fine after emergency treatment at the hospital.

There were no noticeable injuries on her body. She just suffered some fright and expressed that her mental health was affected.

After further questioning by the police, Zhang Lu kept insisting that it was Xiang Wan who had tied her up.

At the same time, the police also questioned the gentleman who sat next to Zhang Lu.

That gentleman said he didn’t pay attention to the conversation between the two ladies, but he did overhear words like “Wen Quan Book Treasury”, “Xiang Gongzi”, “Murder The Dream Guy”...

The police indicated this case required further investigation.

They did not release her.

Xiang Wan knew for the next 24 hours, there was no way she could leave this place.

As for what would happen after 24 hours, that would depend on the situation...

If the police believed she was the suspect, just like Huang He, she would be sent to the detention center.

...

Bai Muchuan.

She took a deep breath and shut her eyes.

He had better read her message.

...

At that same time, the forum of Wen Quan Book Treasury was very lively.

Zhang Lu made a thread in the forum right after the incident.

She claimed she met an Author of Wen Quan Book Treasury—Xiang Gongzi Wan—while taking a flight from Jin City to the Capital. As she had read the novel “Murder the Dream Guy”, she initiated a conversation with Xiang Gongzi.

Initially, Xiang Gongzi was very warm and even signed an autograph on her notebook.

As the hook on her bra got entangled with her top, she asked Xiang Gongzi for help and both of them entered the toilet together.

However, when Xiang Wan knew she was, in fact, a loyal fan of Zi Tan as well as the moderator of Zi Tan’s reader chat group, Xiang Gongzi immediately looked unhappy.

Xiang Gongzi said Zi Tan had tried to frame her before by making a post to tarnish her reputation. She also hinted Zhang Lu not to continue to be a fan of Zi Tan anymore and should come over to help manage her reader chat group instead...

Zhang Lu felt her idol, Zi Tan, got maligned and started an argument with Xiang Gongzi in the toilet...

She had thought it was just a small matter where it would end after exchanging a few sentences.

Never did she expect Xiang Gongzi would turn nasty all of the sudden. Xiang Gongzi covered her mouth after giving her a tight slap. Then she proceeded to tie Zhang Lu to the washstand using her own scarf. She even stuffed Zhang Lu’s mouth using Zhang Lu’s bra and wound the bra strap around her neck that she almost suffocated...

That caused an uproar.

It was just a small dispute in a small literature website that actually escalated into murder?

One who loves gossip will never complain that the matter is big or small.

After some exaggeration, things started to get out of hand.

Zhang Lu gained the upper hand by disclosing this before the police that Xiang Gongzi was now held at the police station and was under investigation...

With all evidence on hand, this matter was quickly confirmed.

Xiang Gongzi was once again attacked and demonized by the astrosurfers. She was transformed into the representative of unscrupulous authors. There were even some extreme fans who requested Wen Quan Book Treasury to remove Xiang Gongzi’s novel from the platform. They felt that Xiang Gongzi’s work would be a bad influence on the younger generation...

These people used the excuse of upholding positive influences as their reason.

That meant their moral stance was high enough as well.

The website had to hold a meeting to discuss how to handle the current situation.

Naturally, there would also be people who were sane and calm enough to realize something fishy about all these amounts of hoo-ha and accusations.

They raised their points:

First of all, was that Zhang Lu a moron? The space within the toilet was so small, how could she be so easily subdued? She didn’t know how to put up a fight? She had almost lost her life there.

Secondly, could this Xiang Gongzi be insane? Would a mentally sane web novelist actually attack a reader because this reader preferred another author?

Thirdly, Xiang Gongzi was a mystery murder fiction author. It didn’t make any sense for her to land herself as the prime suspect unless she was an idiot.

It sounded really illogical.

It did not make sense at all.

There was a lack of explanations.

Everyone had their own thoughts and opinions about it.

...

Jin City.

Fang Yuanyuan was so worried that she was perspiring.

Ever since she came out of the meeting room, she had been trying to get ahold of Xiang Wan.

However, her mobile phone was as though dead as it had been switched off all this while.

Luckily, this piece of news hadn’t gotten out into the public. It was just circulating among online literature websites. Not many from the public knew about it. Otherwise, who knew if Xiang Wan’s mother would have a relapse if she got to know about this...

Fang Yuanyuan was getting more anxious by the minute. She searched everywhere she could think of but couldn’t find Bai Muchuan’s phone number. She never asked to add Bai Muchuan’s WeChat either. There was no way to contact him.

She had no idea how Xiang Wan was doing right now.

She was worried, anxious and scared; all these emotions shrouded her not-so-strong heart.

After much consideration, she made up her mind to call Huang He.

In fact, she had long since deleted Huang He’s contact from her mobile phone. However, the familiar numbers just popped up in her mind as she punched the numbers.

Huang He picked up the call right away.

After hearing the details from Fang Yuanyuan, he pondered for a moment.

“It’s not convenient for me to call Captain Bai. You take down his number.”

Huang He was at the other end of the call.

“Hm, thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

Huang He said a string of numbers but sighed when Fang Yuanyuan had no response.

“You won’t be able to remember the numbers. Wait a while, I’ll text you his number.”

“... Okay.”

He knew she wasn’t smart.

She would never be able to memorize the unfamiliar number no matter how many times he repeated it.

Which was why back then, when he forced her to remember his mobile number, he had to spend so much effort to coax her and shower her with lots of kisses... before she managed to remember it by heart.

Tears started to well up Fang Yuanyuan’s eyes as she thought of that. She said her thanks and hang up the phone immediately.

Stop thinking about all this, it’s more important to find Xiang Wan.

Without any hesitation, she quickly dialed Bai Muchuan’s number.

“Hello!”

Bai Muchuan’s calm voice could be heard from the other end of the phone.

Fang Yuanyuan almost broke out in tears when she heard Bai Muchuan’s voice as she felt so relieved.

“Captain Bai, something happened to Cousin Wan...”

“I already knew about it,” Bai Muchuan paused for half a second, “I’m currently on my way to Xi City. I’ll be there in 20 minutes time.”

“Oh! That is wonderful!” Fang Yuanyuan covered her chest with her hand. Her worried heart could finally relax. “Captain Bai, if it’s convenient, please tell her to give me a call when you see her. Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep at night.”

“Hm, will do.”

“Thank you!”

“... I should do that.”

“I still have to thank you! With you around, there will be hope for Wanwan...”

After Fang Yuanyuan said that, she hung up the phone.

She looked at her call records at the string of numbers that belonged to Huang He.

That feeling of familiarity overwhelmed her senses. The lights before her felt a little glaring, burning, and bitter. Originally, her eyes were only slightly red but now tears started to well up her eyes once again.

They started to roll down her cheeks...

I’m so useless! she thought.

It had been so long but she was still unable to forget him!

She wiped her tears and gave herself a slap. Thereafter, she returned to the office, turned on her computer, and logged into her account at Wen Quan Book Treasury’s forum.

She was not using her Editor’s account but a reader’s account...

Yuan Qianqian.

“I trust and support Xiang Gongzi!”

“Fight me if you are not convinced!”

...

Xi City.

Bai Muchuan walked into the police station.

The police officer on duty was surprised to see Bai Muchuan there.

“What’s your business here?”

Bai Muchuan walked over and showed his police badge to the police officer.

“The suspect is my girlfriend. I’m here to find out more about the case.”

Department: Serious Crime Division One.

Is this a new division? The police officer had never heard of it before.

The police officer was stunned for a moment. He looked at the police badge and looked at Bai Muchuan again.

Finally, he frowned and handed the badge back to Bai Muchuan.

“Well... Comrade, please wait here for a moment. I need to check with my superior.”

The police officer made a call, and soon enough, they led Bai Muchuan to the office of the Police Chief.

Besides the Police Chief and Vice Police Chief of the police station, there were also a few other detectives from Xi City waiting for him.

Bai Muchuan was a little surprised after the introduction with the people in the office.

“Captain Liu, this is such a simple case, is there a need to involve so many people?”

On his way to Xi City, Bai Muchuan had already gotten an idea about the case.

Those online rumors, including Zhang Lu’s thread, he had read through them carefully.

This was, in fact, a very simple case. It was simply framing done by a die-hard fan trying to defend her beloved author.

“No, this case is not as simple as it seems.”

A gloomy look could be observed on Captain Zhang’s face. He was the Captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit in Xi City.

Bai Muchuan took a glance at him and laughed.

“Don’t tell me all of you really think that Xiang Wan’s the prime suspect?”

“She’s the only person who had gone inside the toilet with the victim. There’s no one else besides her.”

“Zhang Lu can tie herself up! It’s very easy!” Bai Muchuan looked at the officers present. “Many people probably don’t know about this, but everyone in this office should know this clearly without me explaining, right? Tying oneself up does not require much skills.”

“I know.” Captain Zhang’s eyebrows tangled slightly at his remark. “But we can’t just dismiss Xiang Wan from being a suspect just because there’s a possibility of Zhang Lu tying herself up.”

“...”

I’m not in my own territory!

Bai Muchuan kept reminding himself to control his temper.

“What’s her motive to kill? Is she insane? Why would she kill someone whom she doesn’t even know?”

“Captain Bai!” Captain Zhang swept a glance at him. “Well, it might be better if she’s really insane.”

Then she would not be legally liable.

“If she’s not insane,” Captain Zhang frowned deeper as he spoke, “she has to assist with the investigation.”

After some hesitation, he lifted his head back up and looked at Bai Muchuan. “To tell you the truth, this case is very similar to a recent case in Xi City...”

“Hm?” Bai Muchuan seemed interested to know more about it.

“Just three days ago, there were four girls who came to Xi City for a holiday where they were all found dead in a Bed and Breakfast Inn. All four of them died in identical poses. Their hands were tied to their back with a scarf, their bras stuffed into their mouths, and the bra strap wound around their neck...”