When Gu Tiancheng spoke these words, his expression was very calm, as if he was merely talking about deciding to eat a burger today. The evening shadows behind him formed a color of tranquil solitude. Consequently, You Mingxu suddenly understood that perhaps all the shocking and remorseless decisions in this world originate from a murmur to oneself after long periods of relentless silence.
The silence between them lasted only a few seconds, but felt like an eternity.
You Mingxu ignored the fine layer of sweat on her palms, lowered her head to chuckle, and said, "No wonder... I didn't suspect you at the beginning. You seemed reluctant to let me get in the car, as was Ming Tao. Even though I closely fit the profile of your favored targets. So, you were doing this deliberately, releasing something only to catch it. If you had agreed too readily, I would have been suspicious."
Gu Tiancheng looked at her, his eyes deeper than when they first had met. With a myriad of words flashing through them, somewhat excited, somewhat pained, somewhat cautious, somewhat infatuated. Ultimately, they returned to a silence as profound as that of the mountains and seas.
You Mingxu also realized she had said too much, but she didn't care, nor was she flustered. There was a moment of eye contact between them, and she then slowly shifted back a bit, leaning her body more comfortably against the tree trunk behind her. The fool on the ground had unknowingly moved to her feet, his face somewhat pale and bleeding heavily. Like her, the fool's hands and feet were bound with duct tape. You Mingxu knew his injury was not fatal, nor was it enough to incapacitate him. But his current state of mind was like a child's, probably causing his psychological fear to far outweigh his physical pain, hence his currently wilted state. Now, for whatever reason, the fool rested his head on You Mingxu's calf, his body that was over 1.8 meters tall curled up total, leaning against her feet, like a giant infant. You Mingxu didn't have the time to deal with him and let him lean against her.
Gu Tiancheng's attention was entirely on You Mingxu, completely ignoring the feeble man on the ground. Seeing that You Mingxu's expression was still so calm, her phoenix eyes naturally held a hint of clear detachment, her cherry lips pursed, he suddenly realized that this unfazed woman was even steadier and more resilient than he thought.
"How did you discover something was wrong?" asked Gu Tiancheng with a faint smile, "Just because of those two big boxes? I blame my lack of consideration, I didn't expect this fool, half-dead as he was, to escape and you to see the empty trunk. When the bicycles were put in, I had already said that the trunk was full, I had to casually mention the two big boxes."
You Mingxu said, "That's not a big deal. It's rare, but not unheard of for a man to go out with two large boxes. I just thought it was a bit odd and started to take note of you. Later..." She paused, looking straight into his eyes: "Strange things kept happening, and you seemed too concerned about everyone's safety, which was inconsistent with your previous behavior. It made me feel like you were 'acting'."
Gu Tiancheng was not upset at all; in fact, he seemed quite interested.
"However..." You Mingxu's tone shifted, "Many people have a performative personality to some degree, Ming Tao is even worse than you. So this wasn't a significant discovery either, it just made you a bit more suspicious. The real reason I thought you were involved in the disappearances of Song Lan and Zou Fuyu was something you said."
"What words?" Gu Tiancheng asked almost immediately.
"'Those two girls.'''''' said You Mingxu."
Gu Tiancheng paused, somewhat puzzled. You Mingxu smiled and said: "After Song Lan and Zou Fuyu disappeared, we mentioned them several times. Every time, you said 'those two girls'', 'those two girls'', or at most 'they'. You never once said their names. Only liars behave like this. Always avoiding mentioning the names of the victims, habitually using pronouns to refer to them. How come you've read so many books on criminal psychology and didn't learn this?"
Gu Tiancheng's face turned somewhat gloomy. After a silent moment, he laughed instead: "So it's true, not using their names makes me feel at ease. I'll remember that, I won't make the same mistake next time."
A mocking smile tugged at the corners of You Mingxu's lips, and Gu Tiancheng saw it clearly. He chuckled instead of getting angry: "What do you find so amusing?"
You Mingxu stayed silent, her expression remaining placid as if she hadn't heard any of it, complete with a deliberate feigning death vibe. Gu Tiancheng extinguished his cigarette butt on the ground, chuckled, and stood up.
At that moment, a hint of tension finally appeared in You Mingxu's heart as he silently approached. She didn't like this feeling, being affected by this beast's aura even now. She found the whole situation laughable.
Gu Tiancheng squatted down beside her, placing a hand on her knee, the faint scent of his pleasant cologne wafting from him. Even though the cologne was plundered from the fool police officer on the ground. His expression looked very peaceful, very much like the man who she first met.
You Mingxu feigned obliviousness, letting him stare at her as she continued to gaze at the ground. What left her speechless was the fool on the ground... he had actually fallen asleep. Or had he fainted? He had his eyes closed tightly, still curled up on her calf, his breathing steady and slow with slight snoring sounds...
"Are all policewomen as complicated as you?" Gu Tiancheng whispered into her ear.
There was a surge of choked heat in You Mingxu's heart, making a few twists and turns. She smiled instead: "Hmm, and how are you planning to deal with it?"
"It's simple," Gu Tiancheng touched her face, despite her immediate reaction to dodge his hand, he didn't take it to heart, his eyes lit up with excitement instead, "You're in my hands now, and I doubt your reinforcements will arrive anytime soon. So, can't I do whatever I want?"
You Mingxu's expression turned cold, her phoenix eyes almost scornful as she said: "Get to the point. Let the others go, including the fool. I'll go with you. As you said, I'm already in your hands, and we still have a long way ahead of us, so it's still uncertain who will live and who will die. I knew you hadn't called the police, so I've already notified my brothers. You don't have much time left, why waste it on these people? It would be better to get going sooner."
Gu Tiancheng, however, looked deeply at her with his dark eyes, causing the typically tough You Mingxu to feel an annoying stir of irritation.
"Are you really..." He asked, "Wanting to tag along under the guise of being kidnapped? Or are you just trying to humor me, planning to save the hostages first and then figuring out how to catch me?"
You Mingxu stayed silent for a moment, her long dark eyelashes trembling slightly, a sarcastic smile tugged at the corner of her lips: "You guess."