92 An Act of Warmth in Midnigh

"Very uncomfortable?" Bai Muchuan noticed her colorless face and walked up to her. "Want another mask?"

"…"

Can wearing two masks block that smell?

Xiang Wan was hesitant and shook her head. "I'm alright."

Bai Muchuan looked at her quietly, his sharp eyes seemed to be able to see right through her heart; there was concern in his scrutinizing gaze.

"Or, you go back home first?"

Xiang Wan noticed his gaze and looked him in the eye. She suddenly pursed her lips and looked directly at the wardrobe. "I was thinking… does a dead person poop or urinate? If not, does it mean that the person who got sealed inside the wall was being sealed alive?"

That would be too horrifying!

Xiang Wan's hair was standing on end just by thinking about it.

Bai Muchuan seemed slightly stunned and followed her line of sight.

He was contemplating as well.

Right at that moment, Cheng Zheng turned to them.

"They do! When a person dies, their muscles will relax. Their bladder sphincter and rectal sphincter will stop working and cause incontinence…"

Learnt something new!

Xiang Wan was just about to heave a sigh of relief as she thought the corpse was not being sealed alive in the wall. However, Cheng Zheng suddenly made a remark.

"However, you're right about one thing."

Ah? Xiang Wan stared at him.

Cheng Zheng's medical mask covered half of his face. She could not see his facial expression, but from his calm, almost apathetic tone, he must not have shown any emotion but just purely stating a cold fact.

"From the traces inside the wall, this person had struggled inside for a long time before he died…"

"Why didn't he cry for help?" Xiang Wan asked.

Cheng Zheng shook his head and looked at her. "Perhaps he did call for help, but his voice was too weak to be heard."

A dying man waiting for his death as he was sealed inside a wall…

Maybe outsiders would not have heard it, but Kong Xinqiong lived in this house, so how could she not have heard it?

Xiang Wan seemed to suddenly understand why Kong Xinqiong looked so lifeless all the time and had a ghost-like aura.

After all, she had lived together with the dead all year round.

Lived together…

Lived together…

As this thought of hers streamed into her head, she suddenly stared at Bai Muchuan.

"Is it easy to dig a hole in this wall?"

Bai Muchuan squinted his eyes slightly. "It can be easy or hard, depends on who is the person digging it."

Xiang Wan concurred, "For Wu Hongliang who specialized in building and construction, he had the necessary tools, experience, and time, so it's easy for people like him. But if it's only Kong Xinqiong herself, to complete this sealing of corpse from beginning till end, it would seem to be too difficult a task for her."

Bai Muchuan nodded in agreement with her views.

"I have a feeling," she blurted.

There were many plots streaming into her brain uncontrollably. Xiang Wan looked at Bai Muchuan nervously and spoke softly, "Could it be this person is… Wu Hongliang himself?"

"Hm?" Bai Muchuan's gaze seemed serious.

"Firstly, he had disappeared for six years and never heard of since. Secondly, this is his home. Only he himself can make a "grave" like this. But he never knew that he would be buried in there instead."

"You mean that Wu Hongliang had dug the wall to bury someone else, but in the end, his wife buried him inside instead?"

Xiang Wan nodded her head.

"My guess."

"Very well."

"?"

"Wait for the results." Bai Muchuan looked at her deeply and showed that worried look once more. "You look ashen."

It was her first time encountering something like this, so it would be too strange if she looked good instead.

Actually, when she was telling him her thoughts about the case, Xiang Wan's dinner was already stirring wildly in her stomach.

"You better not stay here." Before Bai Muchuan finished his words, he already grabbed Xiang Wan's arms and dragged her out to the living room, leaving her in the hands of Fang Yuanyuan who was watching with the crowd outside. "It's getting late, you two should go back and rest earlier. Don't think too much."

"I'm alright." Xiang Wan tried her best to contain the churning feeling of nausea so as to let him see how suitable she was for the advisor job. "Actually I did not feel so bad. This is a whole new feeling, it's totally exciting and stimulating…"

"Your face tells me you're spooked out and you're saying you're alright?" Bai Muchuan gave her a disapproving glare. "Don't act tough!"

"Heh!" Xiang Wan smiled, embarrassed. "Well, I'm really okay…"

"So, it's also okay if you didn't update?!" Bai Muchuan raised an eyebrow and grunted a laugh as he dealt the finishing blow—her daily update.

"…" That's really merciless!

Well, it was true that Xiang Wan had not updated as yet.

His reminder made her hesitate.

"Sis, we better go back first! I feel kinda weird staying here. I'm feeling goosebumps all over…"

Fang Yuanyuan was the first one to notice that there was someone else in this house. Earlier on, she had stayed on to chat with the neighbors, but none of the neighbors saw anyone suspicious. Unsurprisingly, she felt a sense of eeriness as if she might have seen a ghost and her spine started to feel chilly ever since. She wished she could leave this place right away.

"Okay." Xiang Wan smiled reluctantly at Bai Muchuan, "So you'll keep me updated?"

Bai Muchuan wore a sly smile on his face. "Depends on your performance."

"…"

This fellow!

He did not give her a straightforward answer!

…

"In the river of time, there will always be numerous secrets that are being stowed away, unknown to the world. But crime is not the same. No matter how deep it gets buried in the dust, no matter how many years has passed, there will be a day these things will be exposed… the new discovery inside the wall complicates the case further. Nonetheless, as one had experienced the darkness before the dawn, it won't be long that dawn would arrive."

In her update for the day, Xiang Wan wrote:

From the time she decided on the direction of her novel, whenever she updated her story, she would experience a feeling that she was unable to differentiate reality and fiction.

Her book was the case, and the case was the book. She did not know what would be the outcome of writing her book like that, whether it would be good or bad. However, from the statistics of the past few days, "Murder The Dream Guy" was still sustaining a pattern of growth.

Although she lost some lovely female readers who wanted to read pure romance, she gained a lot more readers who were serious in reading murder mystery fiction.

That's nice, too.

You gain some, you lose some.

Xiang Wan had a story inside her heart, so her writing progressed rapidly.

She managed to upload her story before 12 midnight.

Her review and comments page were in an uproar.

"Oh my goodness, another corpse is found!"

"Complicated and lots of twists. But I like it as it meets my Sherlock Holmes needs!"

At that point in time, news of another corpse being found were not yet published in the internet.

Therefore, Xiang Wan's update was shocking to those readers who had not caught wind of the latest news.

Especially those who knew that her novel was almost similar to the real cases. They quickly did a search in the internet for the latest news of Jin City, trying to find any possible related news as mentioned in the novel.

And this had become another enjoyment for following this novel.

"Xiang Gongzi's too awesome. May I ask if you have friends in the police force?"

"… I have that feeling, too. How can an amateur know all these professional knowledge and procedures of the police? My brother-in-law who's a police officer told me that this must be written by someone with police background…"

"My guess is, Xiang Gongzi's husband is a police officer. Quick kiss me and give me full marks!"

"…"

Xiang Gongzi's husband is a police officer.

Looking at the comment, Xiang Wan felt like laughing as she sat in front of the laptop.

…

She was sitting alone in front of her laptop, waiting for news from Bai Muchuan when someone knocked on her door.

Perhaps worried that she would be nervous, Cheng Zheng immediately revealed it was him when he knocked on the door.

"Teacher Xiang, it's me, Cheng Zheng. I'm here to give you something."

If it was a normal day, Xiang Wan would have pretended to be asleep.

That night, however, she was unable to fall asleep. Moreover, she also wanted to hear more information about the case from Cheng Zheng.

She made sure she was dressed adequately before she opened the door and paused slightly when she saw him.

"What is it?"

Cheng Zheng was still wearing his doctor's coat, but it seemed that he had changed his gloves as it was very clean and white—there was not a trace of dirt on it. He also looked apathetic and unemotional as usual.

"You can take three to five pills of this medicine before you go to bed."

"Hm?" It's so late already, why bother to give me medicine?

Xiang Wan took the medicine bottle he handed to her and looked at it, puzzled.

It was a type of chinese nourishment medicine for anemia as well as a sedative that she had never seen in the market. It had green packaging which gave her a good impression.

"It's my regular medicine. It calms the nerves for a good night's sleep and prevents insomnia!" Cheng Zheng added as if worried she might make wild guesses.

"…"

Xiang Wan suddenly laughed, "So it turns out you're not as cool as you seem when you're handling a case?"

If a person was so numb that they couldn't even feel anything even after seeing all these disgusting scenes, why would they need such a medicine? Furthermore, he disclosed that this was his regular medicine.

This new finding was entirely different from the Cheng Zheng she had initially thought.

She raised an eyebrow and teased, "Captain Cheng, I'm really surprised. Sure enough, people do have two sides to them?"

Cheng Zheng did not bother to explain himself. "I noticed that you don't seem to be well earlier and might have problems falling asleep. That's why I'm here. This medicine will help you. Do rest early."

"Thank you!" No matter what, this was a kind intention from him.

Xiang Wan had this shortcoming that only soft approaches would work on her. It was hard for her to not feel grateful as his concern was at a comfortable level for her.

"I see that you don't look too good, either. You want to come in for some warm water?"

"It's alright." There was no change in his expression. "Close the door and windows and rest earlier. And…"

He took a look behind her, which was her apartment.

"Why not move to another place? In case you might have a phobia or something."

"Hm." Actually, Xiang Wan had such a thought too. "I will. I'll look for one these few days."

Cheng Zheng was prepared to leave when a glint of light flashed past his clear eyes and immediately went back to normal.

"I have a friend who has gone abroad to stay, and the house is now empty. My friend asked me to maintain the house periodically by engaging help, why not…"

Pffft! Xiang Wan burst out in laughter. "These lines feel so familiar! Like from those romance novels…"

Cheng Zheng obviously did not know that.

He looked earnestly at Xiang Wan, each and every word not sounding like a joke or making up a story. However, that fair, good-looking face had a thin layer of red reflected by the light.

Cheng Zheng seldom talked so much at one time.

Whether he did that to persuade her or it was the tension caused by her earlier remark…

Xiang Wan smiled and stood aside, so he could have a clearer view of her house.

"Do you think I am someone who would maintain a house well?"

"…"

Her apartment was messy.

Now that Fang Yuanyuan moved in with her, the originally limited space was now cramped and messier than before.

"It's fine." Cheng Zheng gave another thought as if he had used all that he knew but unable to find an excuse for her laziness. "Do consider about it," he puffed a sigh, "the house is empty anyway. It has a good location and the security is good, it's suitable for living well."

"Alright, I'll consider. Thank you!"

Xiang Wan waved with the hand holding the medicine and said goodbye to him.

Cheng Zheng left.

Before he turned away, he even told her to close her door.

Xiang Wan could not understand what was his intention!

…

At night.

Xiang Wan thought about a lot of things. She had no idea when she had fallen asleep.

When she woke up the next day, she felt good and did not suffer from the usual foggy head syndrome.

The medicine that Cheng Zheng gave her was really not bad.

She stretched herself comfortably when suddenly, she felt something not quite right.

Eh? Where's Fang Yuanyuan?

…

Her bewilderment did not last more 10 seconds when the bedroom door opened.

Fang Yuanyuan carried piping hot breakfast and came back looking energized and bubbly. She wore a fitting sports attire that showed all her curves that Xiang Wan could not take it.

"What happened? Did the sun come out from the west?"

For someone who had never made an effort to wake up early to actually go out and buy breakfast?

"I'm working out! Can't see that?" Fang Yuanyuan showed off her chubby biceps. "I've decided from today onward, my weight loss slogan will be put into action. I'll be a positive, courageous, healthy, and hardworking socialist. My first step is to… train my body."

"…"

It's a miracle!

"Come and eat! I bought them at the eatery outside."

"…"

"Oh yes, I met Cheng Zheng earlier. He even asked me if you had a good night's sleep. I was so confused." Fang Yuanyuan suddenly squinted her eyes teasingly at Xiang Wan. "Wow, don't tell me you're planning to have a foot in both camps? One in Bai Muchuan, and the other, Cheng Zheng?"

"Crazy!" Xiang Wan rolled her eyes and took the soybean milk.

"Xiang Wan, I hereby solemnly announce that your fickle, shameless, and bold behavior… I bleeping love it too much!" Fang Yuanyuan cackled, "Quick! Tell me, how did you do it?"

"Scram!" Xiang Wan bit the straw for the soybean milk and suddenly went quiet.

"What's up?" Fang Yuanyuan was worried that she might have gone too far and hurriedly lowered her head to look at her. "Sis, are you angry? You should know I'm just fooling around?"

Xiang Wan gave a glare and shook her head. "I'm thinking maybe I'll go look for another house."

"Ah, you want to move?"

"Don't you feel uneasy if we continue to live here?"

"You're right." Fang Yuanyuan thought for a moment. "Know why I wanted to work out? It's precisely because of yesterday's incident. I thought that if I knew judo, wushu, taekwondo… even if it meant a more muscular body, I would not have been so scared that I didn't even dare to pick up things that I've dropped. I'm such a wuss!"

"You sure have the cheek to say this," laughed Xiang Wan, "Working out is good. I support you."

"Thank you! I'll take care of your breakfast in future." Fang Yuanyuan grinned happily when she suddenly looked at her again. "But then again, who was that person?"

Xiang Wan wore an innocent look. "Which one are you referring to? There's one in the bedroom and one behind the door."

"…"

Such gruesome description made Fang Yuanyuan creeped out.

"I want to know both!"

"I want to know, too. But I don't have news yet…"

…

Bai Muchuan did not provide her any news.

After breakfast, the two of them went out together.

Fang Yuanyuan went to work, whereas Xiang Wan went to a real estate agent to look for an apartment.

The housing prices were soaring in that year which also caused the rent to rise.

Previously, Xiang Wan had been complaining about her current house, but after a look at the prices of the rent, she realized that she did not have any right to grumble at all.

For that kind of rent, she could only stay in that kind of apartment.

It was morning around 11:00 a.m. when Bai Muchuan called while she was at the fifth house for house viewing.

"I've sent you an email. Do check."

Xiang Wan acknowledged and showed an apologetic smile at the property agent as she walked to a side to talk. "What is it about? Oh yes, have you gotten any confirmation about last night's findings?"

"You'll know after you see it," Bai Muchuan spoke without emotions. "About recruiting you to be an advisor, the approval opinions given by the Municipal Bureau is out, as well as their requirements."

The approval opinions are out?

Xiang Wan felt excited and spoke even faster.

"Alright, alright, I'll go check it out. So, is there any confirmation last night?"

"I'll wait for your report"

Bai Muchuan did not say anything more. After he finished what he wanted to say, he hung up the phone.

However, Xiang Wan was confused.

What did he mean by waiting for her report?

Xiang Wan was perplexed, so she went to check her email and understood what he meant.

As Bai Muchuan was the one who recommended her, the Municipal Bureau did not reject his application but requested for Xiang Wan to provide a reasonable profiling analysis based on this "Fountain Goddess" case.

Well, Bai Muchuan did not give her face, either. He requested her to give an analysis as detailed as possible.

He wanted her to profile each and every person that was connected to the case—she would need to write a detailed description of their state of mind. She also needed to draw a relationship chart for the people related to the case as well as their roles in it.

"…"

Bai Muchuan, ah, Bai Muchuan.

Are you helping me or just pulling a prank on me?

How is this a profiling analysis? It feels more like writing a case outline and a short story of the characters?

In addition, from his tone, he already had the investigation results with him.

However, he refused to tell her about it. It was evident that he was waiting to see her analysis and decide if she would be up to the post…

Xiang Wan struggled for a long time.

She also asked herself if she really liked this job. This post was no different from a temporary worker as she would not be part of the permanent headcount. Would it be worth her effort as well as time and energy to do the report?

Finally, her heart told her the answer. She was eager to take up that position.

Not sure why, but she just liked it a lot. She wanted to get involved in the industry that was like uncharted territory to her.

Criminal psychology, profiling.

It was a great help, at least, it supplied a lot of ideas to her novel.

"Hey ELDER sister, what do you think of this house?"

The property agent was a young man. His eyes and his tone of voice were filled with impatience, but he still asked her in a professional manner.

Nevertheless, when he said "elder sister" with an impatient tone, it actually made her scalp numb.

"It's not worth the money. How can the rent be 4,000 yuan for this house?"

"Elder sister, this house is already worth more than the money. We have already viewed several houses, so you can make a comparison." The property agent's patience seemed to have reached its maximum. He despised poor, fussy people like her who dared to complain so much when they were not able to afford renting the house in the first place.

"…"

"If you have a house like that, will you rent it out to others at 4,000 yuan a month?"

"…"

She felt she had been looked down upon.

Xiang Wan just gave a faint smile.

"My apologies, guess I'll look elsewhere then."

Returning to her neighborhood in a gloomy mood, Xiang Wan suddenly felt that this neighborhood was not that bad after all.

It's cheap and affordable!

However, when she passed by that spooky apartment on the fourth floor, she told herself that no matter what, she could not rent this type of old housing anymore. It was too eerie, humid, and easy to meet "ghosts"!

However, in order to rent a good house, she needed a good income.

Therefore, she hurriedly opened her laptop and looked at the requirements of the email again. She started to calm herself down so she could get into the momentum to write the analysis…

…