206 Banquet at Jin Garden

Jin Garden was a recreational club that offered dining and leisure activities.

Inside Jin Garden, the guests were offered the landscape of the ancient oriental garden of halls, pavilions, terraces and a man-made lake—just like a tourist attraction. There wasn't an air of commercialization amidst the garden environment modeled after the ancient times.

The most important thing to note about this place was that no matter who wanted to come to Jin Garden for a meal, one must make an appointment at least one day in advance.

Bai Muchuan got off at the entrance and went in alone, while Dongzi went on ahead to park the car. Under the guidance of the service staff, he arrived at a small independent courtyard by the lake.

Every small courtyard was a separate restaurant by itself, where guests could be totally separated from other guests perfectly that no one could disturb each other's privacy. Each courtyard was elegant and chic with a classy atmosphere. It was specially catered and designed for the upmarket banquets.

The door of the room was closed and there were two guards outside.

The waiter stood at a distance and did not get any closer. He turned to Bai Muchuan with a smile and motioned him to go on with a "please" gesture.

"Sir, it's this place."

Bai Muchuan went over without saying anything.

The two guards looked at him and one of them knocked on the door.

"Chief, the guest is here."

When he heard the word "guest", a corner of Bai Muchuan's lips curled up slightly, but he did not say anything.

A deep voice was heard from inside, "Come in!"

The guard took another look at Bai Muchuan again, as if he was examining him. "Go in."

Bai Muchuan took a glance at him, nodding his head slightly as thanks before he pushed the door in.

The private room was very spacious, but the design was relatively simple. There was nothing that suggested luxurious exaggeration. The tables, chairs, and decoration were elegant and low-key.

Before Bai Muchuan arrived, there were already quite a number of people inside the room. Besides Bai Muchuan's father, Bai Zhenhua, there was also Bai Zhenhua's best buddy and comrade—also the highest official of the Public Security Bureau, Cheng Weiji, as well as their wives—Mrs. Cheng and Mrs. Bai. In addition, he also saw his elder sister, Bai Musi, as well as another young man and another young woman.

"Oh, you're finally here!" The moment Bai Zhenhua saw him, he said kindly, "Sit down quickly! You see, everyone's waiting for you. The dishes have just been served."

Well, the flight was delayed for about an hour. By this time, they might have been waiting for quite a while.

Bai Muchuan glanced at the sumptuous dishes and sat down on the only seat left in the room.

"Why did you call me back in such a hurry? Anything cropped up?"

As soon as he sat down, he looked impatient, causing the expressions of the people present to turn grim—a few of them looked rather displeased.

Bai Musi wanted to help out Bai Muchuan by blinking at him. She did not want him to talk back to his elders.

However, Bai Muchuan acted as if he had not seen her cues. His pair of eyes was focused on the fruit platter on the dining table.

Bai Zhenhua's wife looked at him calmly but said nothing. Cheng Weiji's wife was not so calm as she sneered with a hum.

"From what I see, his wings are getting tougher and tougher; his airs getting bigger and bigger. Just look at him, who has he ever held in regard?"

"What are you saying?!" Cheng Weiji pulled a long face and stared at her unhappily.

As soon as she heard this, Mrs. Cheng was provoked immediately. Her exquisitely well-maintained face instantly looked irritated and her voice sounded shrill. "What's wrong with just one sentence from me that you have to shield him like this?"

Cheng Weiji's face was now gloomy. He suppressed his displeasure and did not say another word.

The atmosphere started to get awkward.

The people inside the room had different expressions on them.

Only Bai Muchuan was the calmest of them.

He looked at the porcelain plates of food without saying a word. It was as though he was used to it as he picked up his chopsticks elegantly and began to eat.

His leisurely attitude was a huge contrast against them. Bai Zhenhua took a look at him and gave a cackle to ease the situation.

"Old Cheng, sister-in-law, it's not easy for us to get together for a meal like this. Let's get down to business. Don't make a laughingstock of ourselves in front of the children."

Mr. and Mrs. Cheng's cold faces slowly regained its calmness.

Cheng Weiji cleared his throat a little. "Old Bai is right. Let's get down to business."

Bai Zhenhua looked toward the leisurely Bai Muchuan. "Chuanzi, I asked you back because of two matters. The first matter is about work whereas the second is personal. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Bai Muchuan's lips formed a curve that seemed to contain some slight mockery whereas his deep, clear eyes emanated a headstrong smile. "Do I have a choice?"

It was a sentence that was straight from the shoulder—Bai Zhenhua's body immediately went stiff.

"Dad, why don't you just tell Lao'er directly?" Bai Musi suddenly gave a chuckle to alleviate the situation. "It's not as if you don't know how Lao'er's character is," she sighed, "he dislikes things said in a roundabout way."

"Aye!" Bai Zhenhua pondered for a moment and shook his head as if he had a headache dealing with this defiant child of his. "Fine," he laughed "I'll make a long story short. I was talking to Old Cheng earlier about the starting of Serious Crime Division One. I heard you've decided to come back?"

Bai Muchuan was slightly startled and looked up slowly.

"I've said that to Xing Liehuo."

In other words, he meant that he had decided to come back on account of Xing Liehuo.

Bai Zhenhua was once again refuted by him and his expression seemed worse than earlier.

"No matter who you have said this to, this department belongs to the country. The military and police joining forces to fight against serious crimes is a very important matter. Thus, the choice of personnel is of paramount importance." With that, Bai Zhenhua turned his head and looked at the young man sitting next to him.

"Xuanzi will submit a transfer application to Red Thorn so he can work together with you. Both of you brothers will be able to cooperate well…"

The "Xuanzi" that Bai Zhenhua mentioned was Bai Muxuan.

Well, like him, he was also Bai Zhenhua's son.

However, when Bai Muxuan was still a small child, he got abducted by human traffickers and was sold to a remote village where he suffered a lot of hardships. When he was 18 years old, he enlisted in the armed forces in Rong City. Coincidentally, due to his birthmark at his buttocks, the Bai Family finally found him, lifting a long time burden that they had been carrying all these years.

Therefore, having been "lost and found", he was definitely a favored existence in the Bai Family.

In order to make up to this son of theirs, Bai Zhenhua and his wife doted on Bai Muxuan, wishing they could give him anything he wanted.

As for Bai Muchuan…

He was always like an outsider in this family.

After the death of his birth mother—from the Cheng Family to the Bai Family—it was a complex life process with a lot of twists. He lived a life like a nightmare which could even be more bizarre than fiction. Of course, it was melodramatic as well…

Bai Muchuan frowned as he thought of that. "The one I want is Quan Laowu."

He did not care about giving face to anyone. Seeing their grim expressions, he added one more sentence, "Didn't I make myself clear enough?"

Bai Zhenhua looked even gloomier than usual and was about to speak when he was stopped by Bai Muxuan.

"Second brother, I can understand that you have no confidence in my ability. Although I have been studying abroad in the past few years, I am always a soldier of the Red Thorn Squad. I possess excellent qualities of a Red Thorn soldier. Moreover, I'm also very interested in being a part of Serious Crime Division One. Hence, I want to give it a try…"

Bai Muchuan smiled faintly. "This is a dangerous department," Bai Muchuan returned a half-smile, "it may be fatal. You're the only son of the Bai Family, don't make your decision so casually."

The words "Bai Family's only son", left everyone on the table either embarrassed or awkward.

Although this was something everyone knew, he was still the son of the Bai Family recorded in their household registration book. No one would directly say it in his face to embarrass him.

Nevertheless, he did not seem to care about that at all. After he said that, he glanced at Bai Muxuan again. "Serious Crime Division One, is not suitable for you."

Bai Muxuan squinted his eyes as he met his brother's gaze. "Second brother," he said in a slightly annoyed tone as he was unwilling to give up, "let's go to the shooting range to practice when you're interested?"

Bai Muchuan's lips quirked at his remark, revealing a meaningful smile. "Serious Crime Division One is not Red Thorn. We do not need snipers."

Bai Muxuan was startled and found himself at a loss of how to continue persuading him any further. "Alright then, I will submit an application together with Captain Quan. Boss will decide who to transfer to the new department."

"Yeah! Follow the usual protocol."

Bai Muchuan shrugged his shoulders, totally nonchalant about it.

However, there was clear mockery from his tone directed at those who do not follow the usual protocol.

Silence immediately ensued.

No one could continue to eat anymore if this went on.

Bai Musi looked anxiously from one to another and blinked desperately at her father.

"Dad, don't you have another matter to tell Lao'er?"

Bai Zhenhua stayed silent for a moment before he gave a sigh. "Yes, I've mentioned earlier that there's a personal matter—which is about your marriage. Chuanzi, you're of marriageable age, it's time to deal with this important episode in your life." After he said this, he looked toward the young lady sitting beside Mr. and Mrs. Cheng.

"That young lady is your Uncle Cheng's niece, Cheng Xin. She studied Criminal Investigation in university. You young people should get to know and learn from each other."

Oh, so this is also a matchmaking session as well!

Bai Muchuan put on a half-smile. "Xuanzi hasn't gotten a girlfriend yet, right? It's just right for him."

"Why should he be worrying when you, the elder brother, are not in a hurry? Besides… he has someone suitable."

Someone suitable? That's something new.

All these years, Bai Muchuan and Bai Muxuan hardly had anything to do with each other. They were not even as close as he was to his elder cousin, Bai Munian. Nonetheless, Bai Muchuan still knew something about this brother of his.

He knew that Bai Muxuan had always liked his childhood sweetheart back when he was in Rong City. Both of them had come to the capital together. He had a crush on her for many years by being her "spare tire" guardian angel. In the end, that girl married the second son of the Leng Family—Leng Xiao. From then onward, this brother of his got disheartened and went to study overseas.

The men of the Bai Family were sentimental and stubborn!

Not sure who had said this to him, but it felt interesting when he thought about it.

Bai Muchuan looked at them, suddenly put down his chopsticks and gave a tepid smile.

"Oh? Well, I also have a girlfriend."

…Lao'er (老二) -- It referred to Bai Muchuan.