Chapter 393: Habitual Thinking

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Xiang Wan had a half-smile on her face.

Tang Yuanchu felt embarrassed. He scratched his head and grunted a laugh.

“Seems like you haven’t read the gossip news on the internet recently?”

Internet? Xiang Wan tilted her head. “Yup, I didn’t. What about it?”

Tang Yuanchu passed her his mobile phone then started to dig in the food. “Look at it yourself!”

On the mobile screen was a topic related to Xie Wanwan. Not only that, it seemed that it mentioned the 121 case too. Somehow, these gossip blog owners got ahold of some insider news and publicized that Yu Ning and Ye Lun exchanged blows in the film set. They said that both of them got seriously hurt and affected the schedule of the shoot. When probed for the underlying reason, it was actually because of Xie Wanwan…

Two men fighting for a woman, such were common tactics used to get attention and get people to talk about the celebrities involved.

However, this piece of news was rare.

This was because the gossip blog owners said that the two male celebrities were fighting for Xie Wanwan’s screen kiss.

As everyone knew, Xie Wanwan’s image had always been pure and lovely.

For all these years, as a celebrity, she had never filmed in a sex scene, not even for intimate scenes.

If there were really some scenes that had to be done, there were also many methods to achieve that. For instance, they could use a stand-in or a fake scene where the cameraman would shoot from a certain angle. Even though this was “The Grey List” which she greatly valued with a story she liked, it was no exception for her to reject such intimate scenes. The slapping and vomiting news was one example of what happened when she had to shoot a fake kissing scene with Ye Lun…

At that time, Xiang Wan had thought it was because Xie Wanwan did not like such scenes.

Now, she knew the reason very well.

Her abnormal physiological reaction toward intimate scenes had resulted from the emotional wounds she had suffered during her youth.

It was not something she could control.

However, these people claimed that Xie Wanwan’s role in “The Grey List” had kissing scenes with both Ye Lun and Yu Ning. Since both actors wanted to do that shoot with her first… they got into a fight.

Cough!

They wrote the post in a very provoking and scandalous manner.

Even Xiang Wan got agitated when she read it, she furrowed her eyebrows in an understanding gaze when she looked at Tang Yuanchu.

“So did you lose sleep because of the case or because Xie Wanwan has to shoot a kissing scene?”

Tang Yuanchu looked at her dubiously when he heard that. “Who said that I couldn’t sleep last night?”

Xiang Wan replied, “Of course it’s me!”

Tang Yuanchu kept quiet.

“Xie Wanwan is currently in Xi City,” said Xiang Wan, after giving a thought, “how can the two actors be fighting because of this? We really couldn’t trust entertainment gossip nowadays. If they saw a bird fell because it knocked into a tree, I think they could have written it into a major airplane disaster…”

Tang Yuanchu did not know much about the current developments of the case.

He frowned. “So it’s true that they came to blows.”

Yeah!

However, they were two different matters altogether.

“Rest well and don’t think too much about it.” She looked at Tang Yuanchu.

Tang Yuanchu felt puzzled. “But I didn’t think of anything?”

“Of course I’m talking about the case.” Xiang Wan let out a chuckle. “What else do you think I’m referring to? Did you think I meant that you’re thinking about Xie Wanwan?”

Tang Yuanchu blushed a little awkwardly, and he continued to eat his food.

Xiang Wan scrolled to look at the posts and noticed that Tang Yuanchu not only logged onto Weibo to argue with his own fans, he also made several alternate accounts to quarrel with those anti-fans who kept verbally abusing Xie Wanwan… He was busy doing that for the whole night.

These anti-fans lambasted Xie Wanwan for being fickle and flirtatious, and how she had been seducing men and how she involved herself with multiple men at the same time.

The comments of the anti-fans were really malicious and slanderous…

However, people were also generally accustomed to the Internet. They knew very well about such unwanted behaviors—there was no such thing about the “worst” comment, for they were always capable of coming up with even worse ones…

It was just that Tang Yuanchu had taken it seriously.

Xiang Wan puffed a sigh and returned the mobile phone to him. “Does she know that you did all these for her?”

Tang Yuanchu seemed to be taken aback as he noticed that Xiang Wan had found out about his secret. He blushed so much that his whole face was red.

“I’m just bored!”

He even tried to find an excuse for himself!

Xiang Wan felt like shaking her head. “Have you confessed to her?”

Confess? What she said dazed Tang Yuanchu for a moment. “Confess what? Why should I confess?”

Xiang Wan was speechless. “If you like her, confess to her! What do you think it should be? Are you waiting for her to chase after you? Little Tang, don’t be so childish, be braver. This is not a big deal! Even if you didn’t succeed, at least you won’t leave any regrets behind, right?”

This was her attitude toward Bai Muchuan.

She had always held the same belief too.

She even felt that had she not been brave… The Bai Muchuan today might have been what Cheng Xin had said. He might have become someone else’s boyfriend, holding someone else to sleep. And she would have nothing to do with him.

“If you like her, tell her.”

She looked at Tang Yuanchu and offered her earnest advice once again.

“Nobody can fully understand another’s mind—”

If one tried to sound their special someone out repeatedly, it would hurt them.

…

Xiang Wan had successfully become a relationship advisor.

Well, by persuading Tang Yuanchu this way, she had her own tiny little agenda too.

It was simply because Xie Wanwan was an “ambiguous” buddy to Bai Muchuan.

If she and Bai Muchuan were to live in happiness and that Xie Wanwan was lonely and bitter, it worried her that Bai Muchuan might not bear to see her living like that…

Of course, she would tell no one about such thoughts.

After all, she was sincere that she wanted Xie Wanwan to find her own happiness.

However, by that afternoon, Xie Wanwan left Xi City.

She did not wait for Meng Chi but went back to Nanmu with her assistants.

Everybody had their own story.

Everybody also had their good times and bad times. She could only wish Tang Yuanchu the best of luck.

…

It was daytime, and the sunlight was bright. The fear she had last night had subsided.

Xiang Wan returned to the hotel from the hospital and went back to writing her chapters.

Habitually, before she started writing, she would look at her reviews and comments page…

That mysterious ID had become a thorn in her heart.

He never showed up again.

There were many advertisements and spam on that page…

In it were ads for a certain QQ number or WeChat for access to novels. There were also some ghost writing advertisements. She also saw some ads about how to run an online business and so forth…

Xiang Wan closed that page. After she wrote and uploaded a chapter, she received a call from the pet care center.

The pet care center owner told her that since last night, Blackie had refused to eat nor drink. They tried all kinds of coaxing methods but he refused to move from the pet cage. They thought he needed more time to get used to it and would be fine after some time. However, now that half a day had passed, Blackie still refused to eat nor drink. He had been in his posture without moving all these while. Hence, the pet care center owner wanted her to come have a look at Blackie.

Blackie…

It seemed like it might not be easy to take care of him!

Xiang Wan felt a little troubled to keep a cat.

She had no choice but to make that trip. Hence, she changed her clothes and went down to the lobby of the hotel.

Originally, she wanted to look for Fang Yuanyuan to accompany her. However, the thought of leaving Huang He all alone did not seem like a good idea, so she dismissed that thought.

In the end, when she was looking through her phone for apps to call for a cab at the lobby, she met Cheng Zheng.

Both of them looked at each other.

After hesitating for less than 10 seconds, Cheng Zheng asked indifferently, “Let’s go there together.”

Xiang Wan knew that he must have misunderstood something. “No.” She rejected the offer. “I’m not going to the police station…”

Cheng Zheng gave a puzzled blink. “Where are you going?”

Xiang Wan replied awkwardly, “Pet care center!”

Cheng Zheng thought for a while and seemed to have understood. “I’ll give you a lift.”

Xiang Wan looked at him. “Is it on the way?”

Cheng Zheng: “It’s on the way.”

Hmm, on the way…

It was actually not on the way!

Both of them sat inside the same car together in the same space. Somehow, the atmosphere felt strange.

Xiang Wan’s breathing became ragged, and she felt awkward.

Cheng Zheng did not look at her. He seemed more relaxed than her, and he had his eyes focused on the road.

Sometime later, maybe it was an attempt to ease the awkwardness, he suddenly asked a question. “Do you believe Ye Lun or Yu Ning’s words?”

Xiang Wan did not react for a while. “Huh?”

Cheng Zheng turned his head slightly to look at her.

His eyes reflected the confused look of Xiang Wan.

“I came back to the hotel to wash up. Before I left, they were questioning Ye Lun and several members of the film crew!”

Oh, Xiang Wan was always interested in cases.

“Why do you ask that?”

Cheng Zheng wore a slight smile. “All the witnesses said the same thing!”

Xiang Wan understood what he meant. “They said the same thing as Yu Ning?”

“Yeah,” said Cheng Zheng, “habitual thinking could influence a person’s thoughts subconsciously. Yu Ning is always well-liked whereas Ye Lun… is obviously frowned upon. All the witnesses present at the scene said that Ye Lun was the one who started the fight. Yu Ning got hurt, and stained his clothes with blood. Only Ye Lun insisted that the bloodstains were his, as he had wiped them off on Yu Ning… and that Yu Ning did not get hurt at all.”

Xiang Wan pondered for a moment. “What did the hospital say about Yu Ning’s wound?”

When she and Bai Muchuan met Meng Chi and Yu Ning at the hospital, they claimed that they were there to treat Yu Ning’s wound which seemed infected.

According to what Yu Ning and the witnesses said, as both of them got hurt, they had arranged for a doctor to come on set to treat their wounds.

The doctor was not part of the film crew. He did not know both Yu Ning and Ye Lun and he must not have a biased opinion. The possibility of him lying should be low, right?

Cheng Zheng remained silent for a moment. “His testimony is the same as Yu Ning!”

Was there anything more?

If everyone said the same thing, that could only mean Ye Lun was lying…

Xiang Wan squinted her eyes as she mulled it over.

Was what most people think necessarily the truth?

“Why is that for such a small matter,” Cheng Zheng suddenly gave his own opinion, “there will actually be different outcomes? How did their blood get stained onto another’s clothes? Moreover, that was not an ordinary piece of clothing. It was a Daoist robe which was uncommon in this day and age…”

Xiang Wan ruminated over it for a moment. “Unless… one of them is in cahoots with the murderer.”

Cheng Zheng glanced at her but did not say a word.

It was quiet for a while.

Xiang Wan asked, “Is that Daoist robe a costume under the wardrobe department of the film crew?”

Cheng Zheng shook his head. “This is a drama set in the modern era…”

…

At the entrance of the Petcare Center.

Cheng Zheng stopped his car. When Xiang Wan opened the door, her mobile phone rang.

It was Bai Muchuan.

Cheng Zheng glanced over, seemingly pondering who the caller was. Xiang Wan smiled and got out of the car to pick up the call.

“What’s up, darling?”

Bai Muchuan responded, “Is Cheng Zheng with you?”

Ah! Although Xiang Wan did nothing wrong, her heart couldn’t help but miss a beat.

“Well, I went to see Blackie and met him… how did you know?”

After hearing Bai Muchuan’s tone, Xiang Wan felt that he did not think too much about this and that he didn’t sound like he was jealous either.

“He has switched his phone off. I knew because I called up the hotel reception. Ask him to come immediately to the police station!”

Hearing his solemn and somewhat urgent tone, Xiang Wan started to feel tense as well.

“Any new discovery?”

Bai Muchuan responded, “We’ve gotten some clues about the identity of the corpse!”

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