Sima Yongheng, whose innermost thoughts had been instantly guessed by Wei Shuxuan, even lost the mood to enjoy the snacks. He took a bite of the pastry in his hand and then drank his tea gloomily.
Ge Zian sometimes admired Wei Shuxuan's straightforward nature. Such a personality showed no regard for others' feelings at all. He lowered his voice. "Xuan'er, come on. Hurry up and eat your pastry."
Receiving Ge Zian's eye signal, Wei Shuxuan immediately noticed the sadness in Sima Yongheng's heart. She reached out and patted Sima Yongheng on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much. You'll surely find it. In life, one must have some hopes."
However, Wei Shuxuan's encouragement was very effective for Sima Yongheng. It instantly swept away all the gloom in his heart. He nodded, and his previously dull eyes instantly lit up. "Okay. With Sister Xuan's support, I'm sure I can find it!"
"That's great!" Just then, Wei Shuxuan saw the waiter coming towards them with the dishes. "We're going to have dinner. Let's eat first. We can continue our conversation after the meal!"
After dinner, Wei Shuxuan took the evidence retrieved from County Magistrate Tang back to her room. Xin Zizhao, who had finished chatting with Ge Zian, also returned to the room. Seeing Wei Shuxuan sniffing the half - burned sleeping incense, he frowned. "Don't smell this thing too often. Inhaling too much of it is very bad for your health."
"I just want to know what it smells like," Wei Shuxuan gave Xin Zizhao, who was angry, an ingratiating smile. "If you say I shouldn't smell it, I won't."
Seeing Wei Shuxuan immediately put down the sleeping incense in her hand, Xin Zizhao's tightly - knitted brows relaxed a bit. "County Magistrate Tang already said that this is sleeping incense and sleeping powder. Why are you still messing with this thing?"
"I just want to verify it. I'm not doing anything bad. Why are you so fierce?" Wei Shuxuan felt a bit aggrieved. Her previously cheerful tone instantly took on a touch of pity.
Seeing the aggrieved look on the girl in front of him, Xin Zizhao realized that his tone had been too harsh just now. He could only reluctantly apologize to her. "...Sorry. I didn't mean it, Xuan'er. I was just worried about you."
"Do you have to be so fierce to me? I don't care. I'm going to be angry with you now. Humph!" Wei Shuxuan turned her head away and completely ignored Xin Zizhao.
Xin Zizhao touched his nose. There was a hint of helplessness on his face, but he had nowhere to vent his feelings. He could only silently sigh.
As a result, Xin Zizhao and Wei Shuxuan started a cold war.
At breakfast the next morning, Wei Shuxuan sat between Ge Zian and Wei Wei. During the meal, Wei Wei once wanted to get up and give his seat to Xin Zizhao, but Wei Shuxuan said, "Don't let him sit here. I'm in a cold war with him now."
Wei Wei looked at Xin Zizhao somewhat awkwardly, but Xin Zizhao waved his hand indifferently. "Wei Wei, you sit. Don't worry about me."
".....Okay then."
Ge Long'an looked at Xin Zizhao with a dissatisfied look on his face. "Zizhao, did you bully my god - daughter again?"
Before Xin Zizhao could respond, Wei Shuxuan interrupted. "Godfather, can you stop asking? I just want to have a quiet breakfast."
"Okay, okay, okay. I won't ask. Don't be too angry, Xuan'er."
After breakfast, Wei Shuxuan said she wanted to go to the yamen to ask County Magistrate Tang some questions. She asked Ge Zian if he was free. Ge Zian thought for a while. He originally wanted to say he was not free because he wanted to rest, but thinking that Wei Shuxuan was in a cold war with Xin Zizhao, he had to agree.
"Xuan'er, what do you want to ask County Magistrate Tang about?" Ge Zian and Wei Shuxuan walked out of the Sanmei Inn, and the street was still noisy.
"I don't have that many questions. I just want to get some fresh air."
After hearing Wei Shuxuan's answer, Ge Zian felt that he really shouldn't have agreed to her. But well, since they were already out, it was too late.
"After reading County Magistrate Tang's report, how do you think we should investigate this case?" Ge Zian thought Wei Shuxuan was more experienced in solving cases, while he himself didn't know where to start.
"Actually, it's the same. Whether it's in Leopu Town or Kele Town, the criminals' modus operandi is almost the same. They kidnap people at night, and all the victims are men aged between 18 and 35. I think it might be some mysterious organization," Wei Shuxuan paused. "Moreover, County Magistrate Tang's records are impeccable. I can't help but give him a thumbs - up. So, there are still no leads here."
"It seems that these people are quite capable. They've managed to cover their tracks so perfectly."
Wei Shuxuan thought it was because ancient times were too backward. Otherwise, with modern fingerprint detection technology and identity verification, the criminals would have been caught one by one.
"So, what are you going to do next?" Ge Zian asked Wei Shuxuan again, but she seemed to be in a daze and didn't answer his question.
Ge Zian had to call her a few times before she came to her senses. ".....Huh? What's up, Zian?"
"I asked what you're going to do next?"
"Didn't you say that there have been missing - person cases in the three border towns? Among them, Baolan Town, the central town, has the most cases. Of course, we should go to Baolan Town and take a look. Maybe their base is in Baolan Town."
".....Then let's go."
The two walked around the street for a while. Wei Shuxuan watched the street performances as she walked, but Ge Zian could tell that her mind was not here at all. Needless to say, she must be thinking about Xin Zizhao.
"....Xuan'er, what happened between you and Mr. Xin again? You seemed to be fine yesterday. Why did you quarrel and start a cold war today?"
"Wrong. We didn't quarrel today. The cold war started yesterday, okay?" Wei Shuxuan seriously corrected Ge Zian's statement.
"Why did you start another cold war?" Ge Zian didn't want these two to be in a cold war, because he would be the one to suffer if that happened.
So, Wei Shuxuan rattled on about what had happened last night. ".....Zian, don't you think he's really going too far? I've been so serious about helping him solve the case, but he still yelled at me. So I got angry and started a cold war with him."
"Is that all?" After hearing this, Ge Zian felt as if several black lines were sliding down his forehead.
"What do you mean 'that's all'? I think it's a very serious matter!" Wei Shuxuan still argued for herself.
"....Xuan'er, haven't you been getting enough rest lately? I think your temper has become a bit bad. Mr. Xin was just worried about you."