The Suspect

Although Lu Mian didn't quite understand why Cen Xia insisted on going up to the second floor to watch the excitement, he agreed as if possessed.

Private rooms of various sizes lined both sides of the second-floor corridor. The lighting was dim and hazy, and the music played in sync with the first floor.

The private rooms mentioned in the book were 806 and 808.

In 806, Lu Xiao, who had been tricked into going there, used the excuse of going to the bathroom to call Lu Mian for help. Before long, Lu Mian arrived...

Cen Xia stopped and looked up at the private room marked 806.

The door was shut tight, and there was no movement inside.

It seemed that 806 in the original book was a trap tailor-made for Lu Xiao. Without her, nothing that happened here could have come to pass.

The door wouldn't open, so he found a staff member and booked 806 himself.

The lights came on inside. A large set of leather sofas stood against the wall, and wineglasses and game chips were neatly arranged on the long coffee table in the center.

He swept his gaze around the room, then looked at the sofa seats at the very back.

"Sit there."

Lu Mian didn't understand, but he did as he was told.

[Empty wineglasses and cigarette butts were scattered across the coffee table, and the smell of whiskey and champagne filled the room. Lu Mian shielded Lu Xiao behind him as they blocked his way.]

[Lu Xiao's face was flushed crimson, and her mental state was on the brink of collapse. She had been forced to take an injection, and now the drug had taken effect. Her body had slumped onto the leather sofa, and she could no longer recognize the brother shielding her.]

[Lu Mian looked coldly at the men surrounding him...]

Following his memory, Cen Xia had Lu Mian sit in position, then turned his gaze to the door.

[With a bang, someone kicked the private room door open.]

[A man walked in-]

Lu Xiao was absent, and Lu Mian was in position. All they needed now was Wen Xingzhou.

"Weren't we here to watch the excitement?" Seeing how solemn Cen Xia had looked since entering, as if something momentous were about to happen, Lu Mian tilted his head in confusion.

"Of course we are." Cen Xia added silently, But you're part of the excitement too.

"Take a nap here first. I'll be right back."

Lu Mian: "..." I slept all afternoon, and now I have to sleep again?

Room 808 was at the end of the corridor. If Lu Xiao hadn't been wrong, Wen Xingzhou was inside right now.

Because the operation was confidential, Wen Xingzhou hadn't brought many people, so as not to alert the people behind it. As long as Cen Xia could find a way to lure him over...

As he pondered, a thought flashed through Cen Xia's mind.

Huh? If it's a confidential operation, how did Lu Xiao know about it? And how could she tell us?

But the question only crossed his mind for an instant, because right now, nothing was more important than tricking Wen Xingzhou into going over there.

But the question was, how?

Cen Xia racked his brains.

In the original plot, when Wen Xingzhou interrogated someone, that person gave up the buyer, prompting Wen Xingzhou to bring his men to the scene, just in time to save Lu Mian and the others.

But now that even 806 was gone, there was even less reason for the plot to continue.

Just as he was scratching his head, someone pushed open the door of 808 and came out.

It wasn't Wen Xingzhou.

As soon as the person came out, he spotted Cen Xia's sneaky figure. Seeing him frown and start forward, Cen Xia hurriedly pretended he'd come to the wrong place and looked up at the private room next door.

He muttered, "Where's 806? Why can't I find it?"

The second floor had a winding layout, and some rooms really were hard to find on a first visit without a staff member to guide the way. The person watched him for a while longer, only leaving after Cen Xia disappeared around the corner.

After a while, a head poked out from around the corner. Cen Xia clung to the wall, staring intently at 808 for any sign of activity.

Why hasn't Wen Xingzhou come out yet?

Although he still hadn't figured out how to lure Wen Xingzhou over, the first requirement was for Wen Xingzhou to come out.

He couldn't just charge in headfirst to look for Wen Xingzhou, could he? He'd be taken in and interrogated as a suspect.

Because he was so focused on watching 808, Cen Xia was completely unaware that someone had appeared behind him.

Not until a low, even male voice sounded leisurely from behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Startled so suddenly while his nerves were stretched taut, Cen Xia jerked violently, his heart skipping a beat.

The man saw him shudder and laughed.

Hearing the laughter, Cen Xia turned around, both irritated and angry. "What are you doing?"

He was a young man with slicked-back hair and striking features. His brow bones were high, and his brows arched slightly upward in sharp lines. His eyes were rather long, their outer corners drooping slightly. He was looking at Cen Xia with a smile, his whole bearing mature and distinguished.

He wore a black jacket and stood two or three centimeters taller than Cen Xia. He had probably been curious about what Cen Xia was looking at and had leaned over him. Now that Cen Xia had turned around angrily, the two were even closer.

Looking at the face so close to his, Cen Xia hurriedly backed away.

"Uncle, you really could scare someone to death like that."

Taking advantage of his current youth, Cen Xia opened his mouth and went straight for the age attack.

The man raised his brows in astonishment. "Uncle? Do I look that old?"

Cen Xia's face went cold. "Your skin's already sagging."

The man didn't take his vengeful words to heart. Folding his arms, he asked, "What are you sneaking around here for?"

"What's it to you?" Cen Xia wasn't about to be pleasant to someone who had just scared him and then laughed at him.

"Fine, none of my business. Then it's none of your business if I stand here, right?" The man raised a brow, looking as though he intended to stand there and watch Cen Xia until he died.

Cen Xia: "..."

This person was unusually annoying.

"Fine, stand here if you like. I'll go stand somewhere else."

Cen Xia walked over to 808 and stopped. When he looked up, the man had followed him.

"Why are you following me?"

"Who's following you? Why don't you say you're following me?"

Cen Xia was so angry he laughed and made something up. "The room I booked is right here. Is yours here too?"

The man nodded. "Yeah."

There were only two private rooms here, 808 and 809. The door to 809 was locked, and 808 was the only one with its lights on.

"I'm in 808. Where are you?" Cen Xia only dared say that because he knew who was inside 808. In any case, the people inside weren't going to come out and say he was lying.

He was determined to butt heads with this man today.

"I'm in 808 too." The man had his hands in his pockets, and the smile in his eyes spread to their outer corners.

Cen Xia said expressionlessly, "Oh, we're in the same private room but have never met? You must usually go out of your way to avoid people, huh?"

The man also pondered briefly. "Yeah, I'm curious too. How come I haven't seen you before?"

Cen Xia was just about to tell him to stop pretending when the door to 808 opened.

Cen Xia hurriedly lowered his head, thinking, We're done for. Neither of us can keep pretending now.

The person who came out froze for a moment when he saw two people standing at the door. Then Cen Xia heard him say, "Chief Wen, why aren't you going in?"

Chief Wen?

Wen Xingzhou? He came out?

Cen Xia raised his head, and what he saw next would stay with him for the rest of his life.

The man who had just been trading barbs with Cen Xia put away his flippant expression and composed himself. "Finished up inside?"

"Almost. He's pretty tight-lipped."

"Take him back for questioning. There's all sorts of people here, and word could easily get out."

"Yes!" Li Man nodded firmly, then turned his gaze to the young man standing beside Chief Wen and looked at him curiously. "Chief Wen, who's this?"

A fleeting trace of amusement flashed through Wen Xingzhou's eyes. "He said he was from 808, so take him back as a suspect."

Cen Xia paled in shock. "Wait! I'm not a suspect!"

"You said yourself that you were from 808." Wen Xingzhou put on a serious expression.

"I'm not! I'm from 806! I made it all up!" Cen Xia was practically on his knees before them. "Officer! My lord! Your honorable magistrate! Every word I'm saying is true!"

Wen Xingzhou turned his head, forcibly suppressed the corners of his mouth, and coughed twice.

"We'll know whether you are or not after we check. Li Man, take him inside."

Li Man: "...Yes!" You wouldn't know it to look at him, but Chief Wen likes picking on kids.