When Fang Yuanyuan returned to her work, she had her bag on one hand while the other was holding a cake.
She pushed the door open with a big smile.
“Happy Birthday, Darling!” she exclaimed in excitement.
“Thanks!” Xiang Wan was playing games in Fang Yuanyuan’s bedroom.
This was how she lived her days during this period.
Writing, games, writing, games…
She would try not to think about things she shouldn’t think about.
Especially those terrible comments on the internet; she forced herself to forget about them.
Fang Yuanyuan placed the cake on the table before she took out a small, nicely packaged jewelry box from her bag and gave it to Xiang Wan.
“Open it, see if you like it?”
Xiang Wan lifted her head; her fair, little face seemed distracted, lonely, and depressed. There seemed to be dark circles under her eyes…
“I like it very much!”
“… You didn’t seem to mean it at all.”
Fang Yuanyuan snorted, but she did not blame her.
She knew how Xiang Wan had survived during this period.
Xiang Wan couldn’t fall asleep at night.
She behaved as though she could go without sleep till her hair went white.
However, she was also a web novelist with no day off at the same time.
To ensure that she could update daily and that she could focus on producing quality work, she knew that she needed sleep.
She tried taking Melatonin to Diazepam.
Unfortunately, none of them worked well for her, even when she increased the dosage.
The situation worsened for the past two days; she could not fall asleep even after consuming Diazepam. She played games, so she could drain all of her energy but to no avail…
Only when all of her energy had depleted, could she feel the drowsiness within her.
Next, she would behave like a walking corpse by lying on the bed and stare at the ceiling.
Fang Yuanyuan sighed inside her head. “Go wash your face and put on some makeup. We can sneak out later and have some good food. It’s your birthday after all…”
Xiang Wan didn’t move. “There’s no need for that… it’s just a birthday. Nothing great about it.”
“Huh? I think it’s great. Your readers have been sending you so many gifts today… If I were in your shoes, I would be so happy! There’s also Second Young Master Mu. Sis, is he really that famous legendary author? He’s totally the affluent amongst the wealthy readers! Have you seen it yet? He gifted “Murder The Dream Guy” so much that blew the entire editorial department away!”
Xiang Wan just frowned at her and did not say a word.
“… Is he really the real Second Young Master Mu?”
“I don’t know,” said Xiang Wan, “why don’t you ask him?”
“…” Fang Yuanyuan seemed to have ran out of ideas.
No matter what topic she had in mind, Xiang Wan showed no interest. What should she do?
Of course, she would continue to pamper her!
Fang Yuanyuan massaged Xiang Wan’s shoulders gently.
“I think it’s enough. Why can’t you just get over it? It’s just a man…”
“I’m not like this because of a man!”
“Fine, so it’s about those mean comments? Why are you so bothered by them? Just let them say whatever they want. They won’t be knocking on the glass of your house through the internet…”
“You said this because you’ve never suffered from cyberbullying.”
“…”
“Besides, I don’t have a house of glass; there’s nothing for them to knock on.”
“…”
One wouldn’t be able to empathize on what another was feeling without experiencing the same thing themselves.
Fang Yuanyuan paused for a moment; she sat down and put her arm around Xiang Wan’s shoulder.
She asked in a soft and gentle tone, “So you’re really not going to celebrate your birthday?”
“I’ve already celebrated it with my readers… what else could I do?”
As Xiang Wan said this, she saw the cake as well as Fang Yuanyuan’s slightly disappointed face and held her hands.
“It’s fine! There’s no need for you to spend more money for me. My mom and your mom are already preparing a nice meal. We’ll just eat at home, cut the cake, and that’s it.”
“Aye, all right!”
Xiang Wan’s mom came over during the afternoon.
Before Fang Yuanyuan came home, she had already bought the ingredients for the little birthday feast they would be having at night.
At this time, she was with her eldest sister in the kitchen and were talking softly amongst themselves.
Xiang Wan had heard quite a bit when she went to the toilet.
Basically, her mom was confiding in her eldest aunt.
It quite upset her to lose such a good prospective son-in-law like Bai Muchuan.
She had also been receiving calls from those nosy parker relatives who had always looked down on her. They called her up to express their “grief” for the breakup and expressed that they wanted to introduce new guys to Xiang Wan…
…
Dinner was scrumptious.
It was only the eldest aunt and her family, as well as Xiang Wan and her mom.
Her youngest aunt had to make a work trip elsewhere and could not come back in time. Nevertheless, she issued a red packet via WeChat and even hit the ‘Like’ button on Xiang Wan’s WeChat Moments.
Every year, her youngest aunt would always give them a big red packet when it was their birthday.
As for their youngest uncle-in-law and Xing Feifei, unless youngest aunt was there, they would never come.
…
Eldest aunt, Tan Xichun, was also the traditional hardworking woman.
The Fang Family did not own a huge house, and they maintained it well. It was clean and comfortable.
To let Xiang Wan enjoy her birthday celebration, no one mentioned Bai Muchuan.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was full of joy. They congratulated Xiang Wan for being a year older now.
Twenty-seven years old!
In the eyes of the older generation, a 27-year-old woman was not to be seen as someone young anymore.
She was not married, had no children, and not even a boyfriend. In her country, they considered girls like her to be someone left on the shelf.
Hence, even if they mentioned nothing, their gazes had subconsciously revealed their thoughts that they wished Xiang Wan could get a boyfriend and get married soon.
Xiang Wan tried to show a happier self and drank two glasses of red wine with them. Since she did not have enough sleep, she felt a little dizzy and woozy.
Being slightly intoxicated actually felt good.
She went back to her room and sat there in a daze for a moment before she suddenly picked up her bag and came out of the room.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going out for a walk!”
There were several people in the living room still eating and talking.
When she announced that she wanted to go out, they were all taken aback.
Xiang Wan did not explain and just flicked her hair.
“I’ll just go for a walk around the neighborhood!”
After that, she didn’t give them a chance to talk but just opened the door and left.
How could they not worry about her when she had that dazed and downcast look?
“Yuanyuan…” Tan Yunchun looked toward Fang Yuanyuan, hoping that she could follow Xiang Wan along.
Nonetheless, Xiang Wan suddenly turned and sent a warning glare at Fang Yuanyuan.
“I need some peace, don’t follow me!”
“…” Fang Yuanyuan was standing inside her room.
She looked at her aunt, then her parents, and didn’t know what to do.
Everyone thought Xiang Wan was still in a poor mood because of the breakup. However, she was really just frustrated and irritable.
The drama due to the ranking wars had been bugging her for a while, she could only talk to Fang Yuanyuan about her worries.
Still, although Fang Yuanyuan was someone who was in the same industry as her, she could still not fully understand what Xiang Wan was going through…
There seemed to be a tiny beast trapped inside her heart.
She wanted to shout.
She wanted to run away.
And even disappear…
Yet she had to pick herself up and face all these malicious remarks and gossip by pretending that she was okay and plastering a smile over her face.
She could not stop the badmouthing public!
She could not block them as well!
Even though she did not log on to Weibo, there was no lack of astroturfers attacking her in her book reviews and comments page…
It annoyed her.
And it sent her to a pit of depression.
When she stood at the entrance of the neighborhood, she started to feel calmer and more at ease. However, while she looked at the lights and the night scene around her, though she was not sure when it happened, it had started to drizzle. She felt somewhat lost amidst the cold chill trickling her skin.
Where could she go by herself?
She did not have a home to go to in this city.
The continuous pattering of raindrops sounded like tears falling. It did not stop although it was her birthday.
Xiang Wan did not have an umbrella with her.
She strolled along the path between the neighborhood and the road.
She was like a wandering lonely ghost.
Round after round.
She walked slowly, and she felt that her footsteps were light.
There seemed to be nothing inside a brain that had drunk alcohol…
Aye!
She rubbed her temples.
With a soft sigh, she found herself back to the original spot where she had started from.
She was at the entrance of the neighborhood again.
Xiang Wan looked at the already dark sky, but it seemed like it was blank…
At this moment, a cab which was driving along the road stopped beside her.
The car window rolled down, and the driver craned his neck to talk to her.
“Do you need to go somewhere? It’s raining!”
Go somewhere?
Where could she go to?
Xiang Wan was dazed for a while.
The sky was fully dark now and was raining. There was hardly anyone near the entrance of the neighborhood. Xiang Wan quickly regained her alertness and looked at the smiling driver who had a friendly look.
She hopped on to the cab and clenched the strap of her bag tightly.
“Well… I forgot to take my money with me!”
“Not an issue. You can use WeChat pay.”
“Oh, alright!”
“…” The driver glanced at her. “So where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know!” Xiang Wan paused for a while. “Can I go anywhere I want?”
“Of course!”
“If that’s the case, then just go anywhere you like.”
“…”
The car window rolled back up again.
The tail lights flickered and gradually faded into the misty rain…
…
Xi City.
Criminal Investigation Unit.
Dinner was ready at the canteen.
Groups of twos and threes were heading to the canteen for dinner.
Bai Muchuan and Captain Zhang walked out of the meeting room, but he did not go to the canteen.
Instead, he went to the toilet then came out in a hurry.
“Tu Liang!”
“I’m here!” Tu Liang turned toward him.
“Captain Bai!”
Bai Muchuan beckoned to him. Tu Liang walked over and spoke in a low tone with a smile.
“Everything’s ready. Shall I send you to the airport now?”
“Mm.” Bai Muchuan nodded and glanced from side to side.
“Don’t let anyone know about this!” he instructed in a low tone.
“Heh! Don’t worry!” Tu Liang then looked at him from top to bottom, letting out a chuckle. “Do you think you should change your clothes?”
“I’ll change inside the car!” Bai Muchuan was carrying a bag on his hand and walked while they talked to each other. His expression was rather grim.
Work at Serious Crime Division One had been rather hectic because they were trying to find new evidence on Meng Chi.
All the incidents had pointed to Meng Chi being the biggest suspect, yet they could not find anything that could warrant an arrest.
The usual chatty members of Serious Crime Division One became quieter during this period.
The main reason for their change was largely because Bai Muchuan had been grim and brooding. Most of them dared not joke around recklessly.
Not only that, it had been a long time since someone had ever talked in that “Gossip” WeChat group.
Well, Captain Bai had fallen out of love!
In order not to provoke or upset him, everyone kept their mouth shut…
When Fang Yuanyuan returned to her work, she had her bag on one hand while the other was holding a cake.
She pushed the door open with a big smile.
“Happy Birthday, Darling!” she exclaimed in excitement.
“Thanks!” Xiang Wan was playing games in Fang Yuanyuan’s bedroom.
This was how she lived her days during this period.
Writing, games, writing, games…
She would try not to think about things she shouldn’t think about.
Especially those terrible comments on the internet; she forced herself to forget about them.
Fang Yuanyuan placed the cake on the table before she took out a small, nicely packaged jewelry box from her bag and gave it to Xiang Wan.
“Open it, see if you like it?”
Xiang Wan lifted her head; her fair, little face seemed distracted, lonely, and depressed. There seemed to be dark circles under her eyes…
“I like it very much!”
“… You didn’t seem to mean it at all.”
Fang Yuanyuan snorted, but she did not blame her.
She knew how Xiang Wan had survived during this period.
Xiang Wan couldn’t fall asleep at night.
She behaved as though she could go without sleep till her hair went white.
However, she was also a web novelist with no day off at the same time.
To ensure that she could update daily and that she could focus on producing quality work, she knew that she needed sleep.
She tried taking Melatonin to Diazepam.
Unfortunately, none of them worked well for her, even when she increased the dosage.
The situation worsened for the past two days; she could not fall asleep even after consuming Diazepam. She played games, so she could drain all of her energy but to no avail…
Only when all of her energy had depleted, could she feel the drowsiness within her.
Next, she would behave like a walking corpse by lying on the bed and stare at the ceiling.
Fang Yuanyuan sighed inside her head. “Go wash your face and put on some makeup. We can sneak out later and have some good food. It’s your birthday after all…”
Xiang Wan didn’t move. “There’s no need for that… it’s just a birthday. Nothing great about it.”
“Huh? I think it’s great. Your readers have been sending you so many gifts today… If I were in your shoes, I would be so happy! There’s also Second Young Master Mu. Sis, is he really that famous legendary author? He’s totally the affluent amongst the wealthy readers! Have you seen it yet? He gifted “Murder The Dream Guy” so much that blew the entire editorial department away!”
Xiang Wan just frowned at her and did not say a word.
“… Is he really the real Second Young Master Mu?”
“I don’t know,” said Xiang Wan, “why don’t you ask him?”
“…” Fang Yuanyuan seemed to have ran out of ideas.
No matter what topic she had in mind, Xiang Wan showed no interest. What should she do?
Of course, she would continue to pamper her!
Fang Yuanyuan massaged Xiang Wan’s shoulders gently.
“I think it’s enough. Why can’t you just get over it? It’s just a man…”
“I’m not like this because of a man!”
“Fine, so it’s about those mean comments? Why are you so bothered by them? Just let them say whatever they want. They won’t be knocking on the glass of your house through the internet…”
“You said this because you’ve never suffered from cyberbullying.”
“…”
“Besides, I don’t have a house of glass; there’s nothing for them to knock on.”
“…”
One wouldn’t be able to empathize on what another was feeling without experiencing the same thing themselves.
Fang Yuanyuan paused for a moment; she sat down and put her arm around Xiang Wan’s shoulder.
She asked in a soft and gentle tone, “So you’re really not going to celebrate your birthday?”
“I’ve already celebrated it with my readers… what else could I do?”
As Xiang Wan said this, she saw the cake as well as Fang Yuanyuan’s slightly disappointed face and held her hands.
“It’s fine! There’s no need for you to spend more money for me. My mom and your mom are already preparing a nice meal. We’ll just eat at home, cut the cake, and that’s it.”
“Aye, all right!”
Xiang Wan’s mom came over during the afternoon.
Before Fang Yuanyuan came home, she had already bought the ingredients for the little birthday feast they would be having at night.
At this time, she was with her eldest sister in the kitchen and were talking softly amongst themselves.
Xiang Wan had heard quite a bit when she went to the toilet.
Basically, her mom was confiding in her eldest aunt.
It quite upset her to lose such a good prospective son-in-law like Bai Muchuan.
She had also been receiving calls from those nosy parker relatives who had always looked down on her. They called her up to express their “grief” for the breakup and expressed that they wanted to introduce new guys to Xiang Wan…
…
Dinner was scrumptious.
It was only the eldest aunt and her family, as well as Xiang Wan and her mom.
Her youngest aunt had to make a work trip elsewhere and could not come back in time. Nevertheless, she issued a red packet via WeChat and even hit the ‘Like’ button on Xiang Wan’s WeChat Moments.
Every year, her youngest aunt would always give them a big red packet when it was their birthday.
As for their youngest uncle-in-law and Xing Feifei, unless youngest aunt was there, they would never come.
…
Eldest aunt, Tan Xichun, was also the traditional hardworking woman.
The Fang Family did not own a huge house, and they maintained it well. It was clean and comfortable.
To let Xiang Wan enjoy her birthday celebration, no one mentioned Bai Muchuan.
The atmosphere at the dinner table was full of joy. They congratulated Xiang Wan for being a year older now.
Twenty-seven years old!
In the eyes of the older generation, a 27-year-old woman was not to be seen as someone young anymore.
She was not married, had no children, and not even a boyfriend. In her country, they considered girls like her to be someone left on the shelf.
Hence, even if they mentioned nothing, their gazes had subconsciously revealed their thoughts that they wished Xiang Wan could get a boyfriend and get married soon.
Xiang Wan tried to show a happier self and drank two glasses of red wine with them. Since she did not have enough sleep, she felt a little dizzy and woozy.
Being slightly intoxicated actually felt good.
She went back to her room and sat there in a daze for a moment before she suddenly picked up her bag and came out of the room.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going out for a walk!”
There were several people in the living room still eating and talking.
When she announced that she wanted to go out, they were all taken aback.
Xiang Wan did not explain and just flicked her hair.
“I’ll just go for a walk around the neighborhood!”
After that, she didn’t give them a chance to talk but just opened the door and left.
How could they not worry about her when she had that dazed and downcast look?
“Yuanyuan…” Tan Yunchun looked toward Fang Yuanyuan, hoping that she could follow Xiang Wan along.
Nonetheless, Xiang Wan suddenly turned and sent a warning glare at Fang Yuanyuan.
“I need some peace, don’t follow me!”
“…” Fang Yuanyuan was standing inside her room.
She looked at her aunt, then her parents, and didn’t know what to do.
Everyone thought Xiang Wan was still in a poor mood because of the breakup. However, she was really just frustrated and irritable.
The drama due to the ranking wars had been bugging her for a while, she could only talk to Fang Yuanyuan about her worries.
Still, although Fang Yuanyuan was someone who was in the same industry as her, she could still not fully understand what Xiang Wan was going through…
There seemed to be a tiny beast trapped inside her heart.
She wanted to shout.
She wanted to run away.
And even disappear…
Yet she had to pick herself up and face all these malicious remarks and gossip by pretending that she was okay and plastering a smile over her face.
She could not stop the badmouthing public!
She could not block them as well!
Even though she did not log on to Weibo, there was no lack of astroturfers attacking her in her book reviews and comments page…
It annoyed her.
And it sent her to a pit of depression.
When she stood at the entrance of the neighborhood, she started to feel calmer and more at ease. However, while she looked at the lights and the night scene around her, though she was not sure when it happened, it had started to drizzle. She felt somewhat lost amidst the cold chill trickling her skin.
Where could she go by herself?
She did not have a home to go to in this city.
The continuous pattering of raindrops sounded like tears falling. It did not stop although it was her birthday.
Xiang Wan did not have an umbrella with her.
She strolled along the path between the neighborhood and the road.
She was like a wandering lonely ghost.
Round after round.
She walked slowly, and she felt that her footsteps were light.
There seemed to be nothing inside a brain that had drunk alcohol…
Aye!
She rubbed her temples.
With a soft sigh, she found herself back to the original spot where she had started from.
She was at the entrance of the neighborhood again.
Xiang Wan looked at the already dark sky, but it seemed like it was blank…
At this moment, a cab which was driving along the road stopped beside her.
The car window rolled down, and the driver craned his neck to talk to her.
“Do you need to go somewhere? It’s raining!”
Go somewhere?
Where could she go to?
Xiang Wan was dazed for a while.
The sky was fully dark now and was raining. There was hardly anyone near the entrance of the neighborhood. Xiang Wan quickly regained her alertness and looked at the smiling driver who had a friendly look.
She hopped on to the cab and clenched the strap of her bag tightly.
“Well… I forgot to take my money with me!”
“Not an issue. You can use WeChat pay.”
“Oh, alright!”
“…” The driver glanced at her. “So where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know!” Xiang Wan paused for a while. “Can I go anywhere I want?”
“Of course!”
“If that’s the case, then just go anywhere you like.”
“…”
The car window rolled back up again.
The tail lights flickered and gradually faded into the misty rain…
…
Xi City.
Criminal Investigation Unit.
Dinner was ready at the canteen.
Groups of twos and threes were heading to the canteen for dinner.
Bai Muchuan and Captain Zhang walked out of the meeting room, but he did not go to the canteen.
Instead, he went to the toilet then came out in a hurry.
“Tu Liang!”
“I’m here!” Tu Liang turned toward him.
“Captain Bai!”
Bai Muchuan beckoned to him. Tu Liang walked over and spoke in a low tone with a smile.
“Everything’s ready. Shall I send you to the airport now?”
“Mm.” Bai Muchuan nodded and glanced from side to side.
“Don’t let anyone know about this!” he instructed in a low tone.
“Heh! Don’t worry!” Tu Liang then looked at him from top to bottom, letting out a chuckle. “Do you think you should change your clothes?”
“I’ll change inside the car!” Bai Muchuan was carrying a bag on his hand and walked while they talked to each other. His expression was rather grim.
Work at Serious Crime Division One had been rather hectic because they were trying to find new evidence on Meng Chi.
All the incidents had pointed to Meng Chi being the biggest suspect, yet they could not find anything that could warrant an arrest.
The usual chatty members of Serious Crime Division One became quieter during this period.
The main reason for their change was largely because Bai Muchuan had been grim and brooding. Most of them dared not joke around recklessly.
Not only that, it had been a long time since someone had ever talked in that “Gossip” WeChat group.
Well, Captain Bai had fallen out of love!
In order not to provoke or upset him, everyone kept their mouth shut…
