On the third afternoon of YiHan following JingYuan into the office, YiHan received a call from Captain Chen Jing to invite him to the station to help clarify further details about the case.
However when YiHan and JingYuan arrived at the police station, they walked into a dramatic scene.
The centre of the drama was even someone they knew – Li Sun. He had clearly been drinking and he had an arm around a pretty, in a clean and pure way, girl.
"Don't you fricking know who I am?" he arrogantly shouted. "You dare question me? Me! Who gave you the balls to do that? Do you even have the right to talk to me? With a single phone call, I can strip your police uniform away from you right now!"
Fang Yi who was standing opposite to him had a dark, stern look on him. "Mr Li, this is just routine questioning about Mr Bai's kidnapping. Please cooperate with us."
Li Sun was furious. His spit was flying everywhere. "Stop using Little Master Bai to threaten me! How is his kidnapping any of my flipping business? I'm not the kidnapper anyway!"
"The mastermind of this case, Feng Qun, was close to you, Mr Li," Fang Yi patiently explained. "The police hoped to get some clues from the people he's usually close to. This is also the duty of a citizen. Please cooperate."
Li Sun instantly puffed out his chest. "Bullshit!" he screamed in rage. "Are you fricking saying I was colluding with Feng Qun? Are you flipping blind? You dog! I'm telling you right now that Bai YiHan's kidnapping had nothing to do with me! Stop trying to throw blame at me! Also, you're through at this job now! You don't need to yap on here. You don't need to come to work tomorrow! To hell with your questioning!"
The moment Li Sun was finished with his rant, he flung his arm out in a fit of rage as he turned to stomp out the door. Fang Yi was about to run after him when he saw the man, woman in tow, backing away from the door and towards him once more. The red flush of inebriation was gone. His face had turned pale white.
"L-Little Master B-Bai," Li Sun stuttered as he retreated.
Fang Yi was pleasantly surprised. YiHan bounced over from the door with JingYuan calmly striding behind him. The young man gave Li Sun a side-eye that hinted at laughter as he passed the terrified man.
"Officer Fang," YiHan greeted, a hand stretched out for a handshake.
"Mr Bai, why are you here?" Fang Yi happily asked. As if he was shocked by the honour, he hurriedly reached out and shook the stretched-out hand.
"Captain Chen called me," YiHan replied. "He said there was something he'd like to discuss, so I came. That also meant I could come visit you. I've been wanting to treat you to a meal after I was discharged but I was scared you'd be busy with my case. I didn't dare to disturb you. It's why I only came to find you after so long."
Li Sun's face wasn't just pale. It was a sickly pale green. Cold sweat was dripping down his face. Just who is this puny police officer? What about him made Little Master Bai treat him so courteously? If the man had such a strong background, why would he become some insignificant policeman? If he knew the man was close with Little Master Bai, he wouldn't have dared to scold and insult the man! Not even if he was threatened with death!
It wasn't just Li Sun. Everyone in the room silently gasped in shock. Many of them were now flipping through their memories in horror. Had they offended Fang Yi or done anything against him?
"You're too polite, Mr Bai," Fang Yi replied with a carefree smile and an embarrassed scratch to his chin. "You could've just called me."
"Officer Ye, you seemed to have encounter a problem?" YiHan smiled back. "I heard a little of the commotion at the door. It's quite lively here." He then turned to Li Sun, his smile dampening. "You must be so very powerful, Mr Li. You could actually just fire a police officer, a public servant, just on a whim."
"It's a misunderstanding!" Li Sun hurriedly intercepted before Fang Yi could speak. "It's all just a misunderstanding! Master Bai, I didn't know this Officer Fang is your friend. It's why I panicked and spoke too hastily." He then gave Fang Yi a grovelling, apologetic smile. "It had a little too much to drink today, Officer Fang. My mind's not all sober. Please forgive me for any transgressions I may have made. What I just said? That's all just a joke. Don't take it to heart."
Fang Yi frowned. JingYuan's piercing gaze swept at Li Sun and the woman beside him, Tao Qi, whose eyes gleaming up at him.
"Did you just forget about what YiHan said?" he darkly asked.
A spark burst to life in Li Sun's mind. Upon remembering YiHan once told him to never appear before him again, he quickly let out an awkward chuckle.
"No, no. How could I ever dare to forget what Master Bai said? I'll be going right now. Immediately," as Li Sun said so he swiftly fled out the door, ignoring Tao Qi.
As for the woman, she internally scoffed and lambasted him for his heartlessness. To others, she was frozen on the spot. In actuality, she was hesitating. Should she follow suit or should she seize this chance to talk to the male lead? She believed that even if the story had yet to properly start, she was still the female lead. With the plot armour of a female lead, she could attract the male lead's attention for sure. Once she succeeds, she wouldn't have to bear through two agonising years.
And this Bai YiHan, he wasn't looking at her at all. Did he not recognise her or was he playing the fool? Hmph. He must be pretending. She was the protagonist of this world. She was also the only woman in his life he'd ever properly loved. How could he not have carved the memory of her deep in his heart? She did wonder what he was thinking. He actually pretended he didn't know her. It didn't matter what he thought though because he was a short-lived bastard. In just a few years, he'll die in a cruel death. Look at this exquisite young man. He was as pretty as a flower made of jade. She thought back to how the novel said Bai YiHan would die and she couldn't resist the glee rising in her at that. He was born into a good family. He had great looks. He was loved and doted on. So what? He'll just a grasshopper after the end of Autumn. He didn't have many days left to live. In the story, he was the same as Feng Qun. They were dead from the start. Otherwise, as his first love plus her gorgeous looks and sexy body, it'd be a snap to have him as her conquest. She's not an idiot like the original female lead!
Unfortunately, Bai YiHan's destiny was set. He's not worth wasting her efforts on. The important person right now is the male lead. The almighty, powerful male lead! She wanted to walk up to him but then she paused. Nothing had happened yet. The Chen family hadn't turned into the Bai family's enemy yet. The Bai family wasn't bankrupt. Bai YiHan wasn't dead. Would appearing within the male lead's sight, well before she was meant to, going to break the plot? She had to pause and think on it but before she could decide, she heard Bai YiHan shout, "Stop!"
Li Sun jumped. His face twisted for a few moments before he turned around and faced YiHan with a grinning face.
"What other orders do you have for me, Master Bai?" he asked.
"Do you think the police station is your backyard?" YiHan drawled. "You think you can come and go as you please? Since Officer Fang has a few questions for you, I think you should stay behind and cooperate with the officers. Right? It's part of a citizen's duty, don't you think?"
"Yes, that's true," Li Sun hastily agreed. "Look at me. I'm so forgetful. What would you like to know, Officer Fang? I'll tell you all I know!"
"Please take a seat and wait a while, Mr Li," Fang Yi said. "I'll be with you soon."
"It's okay," Li Sun said. "Your work's more important."
Upon seeing the men ignoring her existence and were about to leave the room, she panicked. Unwittingly, she took a step forward but then Li Sun blocked her from doing anything more.
Fang Yi led YiHan and JingYuan further into the station. As JingYuan passed by Li Sun, he paused, leaned down and whispered into his ear, "I really don't like how your woman's looking at us. Don't let me see her ever again."
Li Sun's face went pale once more. "I've got it. Don't worry, Mr Mu."
JingYuan glanced at him and marched towards where YiHan went.
That one glance raised Li Sun's hackles. He turned around and glared hard at Tao Qi. He just knew she wasn't a loyal one. The only thing that could ever make Mr Mu bend down to speak would be anything regarding Little Master Bai. Mr Mu must've discovered this slut was sneaking looks at Little Master Bai. This fool! Who in this city wouldn't know Bai YiHan was Mu JingYuan's heart? She actually dared to stare at him right under Mr Mu's nose! Just where did she get the courage from? Look what happened now. Even if Li Sun himself wasn't tired of her yet, he can't let her stay.
***
"What's with Li Sun?" YiHan asked Fang Yi as they walked.
Fang Yi sighed and said in a tired tone, "We've reached a dead-end with your case, Mr Bai. Captain Chen wanted to see if the people Feng Qun was in contact with while he was still alive could provide us with some information. Li Sun was once remarkably close to Feng Qun. We've summoned him a few times for a questioning but he wouldn't come. Today, he was only brought in because he hurt someone in a car accident as he was drunk driving. In the end, his family pulled some strings and the case was dropped. I thought I could use this chance to get him to cooperate with us. I didn't think he'd have such an explosive temper."
"An explosive temper?" YiHan chuckled. "His temper is like a spring. It can stretch and shrink as needed."
"Certainly," Fang Yi laughed. He remembered the drastic changes Li Sun's expressions went through. "He's a guy who only know how to bully the weak and grovel to the strong. But I'm afraid he'll bear a grudge against us. People who can bear to humiliate himself like that are very scary when they start scheming. They've got a dark heart."
JingYuan who'd been silent then spoke up, "A dark heart needs to be accompanied with power. Just like the worst bugs in the world. It can only bite at the poor and powerless. One smack and it's dead."
YiHan looked up and looked dotingly (?) at JingYuan. His lips twitching upwards.
JingYuan: …
"You're so funny, Mr Mu," Fang Yi chuckled.
JingYuan didn't reply back. While he said Li Sun was not a threat, he actually took note of the man. He didn't want another Feng Qun. Also, that Tao Qi…what was that look she gave his HanHan? Pity? Mean-spirited glee? Was it because he was kidnapped? That's unforgiveable!
YiHan's kidnapping was still a thorn in JingYuan's heart. It constantly reminded him there was someone secretly eyeing his HanHan. He wasn't strong enough yet. He can't protect HanHan completely. This made him very frustrated, so frustrated that he was extremely sensitive to how other people look at YiHan. He instantly detected the look that seemingly weak girl shot at YiHan. He didn't know what Tao Qi thought. All he knew was that gaze wasn't benevolent.
***
When Captain Chen saw them, he asked them a few questions about the details on-scene.
"This case," Captain Chen said after the questions were done and a brief moment of hesitation. "While it seems like we haven't found the mastermind behind it all, we've already reached a dead-end." He pointed upwards and continued, "What the higher-ups mean to say is since all our evidence points to Feng Qun and he was captured on site, we should end the case as fast as possible. We can't drag it on for too long in case the victim or the victim's family become unsatisfied."
Translator's Note:
Flower made of jade: A Jade flower tree. There are two common versions of the jade tree – the kind made with carved jade leaves and flowers with a few wires to hold it together (usually flowers or grapes) and the kind where the trunk is made of wire while its leaves are tiny shards of jade (bonsai tree variety). The original idiom used here, however, usually refers to outstanding descendants/disciples and doesn't actually refer to a jade tree.
The story goes that one day, an old minister (太傅) asked the younger generation of his family (male), "Why do you need to ask about what goes on at court? Why do you always want to nurture them (your sons) into outstanding young men?" Everyone kept quiet.
But then his nephew, a future general, replied, "Just like the irises, the orchids and the jade plant (the money plant that is either a succulent or a vine with large leafy leaves), one would always want them growing in one's home!" That surprised the minister and from then on, he began to pay attention to this nephew.
The story above is one of those stories of a famous person when they're a kid. 谢玄 was the kid.