Afterlife Department

Chapter 84 – Hypocrisy

"Ah Ming, what's wrong with you?" Rong Zhe asked when he saw Lu Ming had gone silent. "Could it be…" he gasped. … it's you who killed him?!" he exclaimed. Su Yuan, Xu Ke and Ye Ting looked at him, their eyes scrutinizing.

"No." Lu Ming calmly answered. "I just suddenly remembered, where can we copy the answers for our assignment?" he asked them

"Ah." the four looked at each other. Huo Ling's dead now. They won't have someone to copy for answers..

"Damn it. Who is it? They could've just waited for the semester to end! Or the school year?" Rong Zhe said.

"That bastard's going to get it!" Xu Ke said.

Ye Ting just sighed. "Ah Yuan. We can only rely on you now." He told Su Yuan. Su Yuan is a scholar.

Yi Bing scoffed at their hypocrisy. They killed someone who they relied on the most. Are they idiots? He thought. This left a bad taste on Yi Bing's tongue. Damn it. How can they talk about someone's death as something trivial? He thought in anger. He kicked the garbage can on the way and teleported back.

Not long after and the sound of siren can be heard.

"What is it? The police?" the students who just arrived in the canteen said.

"What happened – ?" one of them asked in confusion.

"Let's look!" someone said, his tone excited as he pulled his friend.

Xu Ke and the others looked at each other, a shocked look in their face. "Who called the police?" Rong Zhe asked as he looked at each one of them.

"How can I? Aren't we together since earlier? If it's someone, then it should be Ah Ke!" Su Lin pointed Xu Ke. "The three of us were in Ah Ting's room. It could only be you!" he told Xu Ke.

"Are you an idiot?! Why would I call the police? I'll be the first suspect if I did!" Xu Ke said. "Didn't Ah Ming arrive late?" he turned to Lu Ming.

"Why would I call the police? I didn't know he died." Lu Ming said, his face and voice emotionless.

"Then, who did it?" Ye Ting asked as they looked at each other. There is suspicion in their eyes. However, they've got no time to discuss since a police officer arrived in the canteen.

"Excuse me." A deep male voice spoke behind them. "I'm the chief of the S City's Police Station – Gu Xingfeng. I'd like to invite you for interrogation." He told them as he took out his ID and showed it to them.

S City Police Station.

"Gu! Xing! Feng!" Hao Baiyun called when he arrived in the police station. The police officers guarding the door of the interrogation room were helpless as they watched Hao Baiyun slammed it open. "How dare you arrest Lu Ming!" he said as he glared at Gu Xingfeng who's sitting inside the room alone.

Gu Xingfeng just calmly faced him. "Young master Hao." He said, his voice cold. "There is a legal process we're following. We don't arrest people without just evidence. Furthermore – " he glanced at his subordinates who looked away.

Chief! He's your husband! How can we stop him?! They thought as they retreated.

Gu Xingfeng frowned. He can guess what his subordinates are thinking. " – I only invited him and his friends for interrogation after one of their classmates died." He told Hao Baiyun. "Can you leave now? You're interfering with our work." He told him and went back to reading documents.

Hao Baiyun's face is red in shame. "You!" he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Young master Hao." Gu Xingfeng called. "We're only married in name." he told him and raised his head from the documents to look at him. "You don't have the right to order me around. Also – " he said as his eyes narrowed. " – I didn't tell you to leave your family and follow me. I know you did it just to be free from their shackles." He told him before he paused. "But, you didn't expect for another shackle to bind you." he laughed in irony.

Hao Baiyun gritted his teeth as he glared at Gu Xingfeng. "Don't think highly of yourself!" He said. "If it isn't for my respect to my grandfather, why would I honor his agreement with your grandfather?" He asked before he smirked. "Don't think I don't know. You also just want to be free from your family. Don't think as if you're clean yourself!" he told him and marched out of the interrogation room.

"Chief…" the police officers called when they saw Gu Xingfeng's ugly expression. Furthermore…

"Damn it!" Gu Xingfeng cursed as he kicked the chair beside him. It hit the wall with a loud bang. The police officers immediately closed the interrogation room and waited until their chief had calmed down before calling the suspects.

At the same time, Hao Baiyun's chest heaved up and down as he reached the nearest park. He sat on the bench before he covered his face with his palms. His palms immediately became soaked with his tears. "Damn it…" he cried as his tears slipped out between his fingers.

Huo Ling and Mo Shi passed by. "Huh?" Mo Shi muttered when he noticed Hao Baiyun. Hao Baiyun is very eye-catching because of his white clothes, making him look like a cloud floating as he walked. "Was he rejected?" he wondered when they saw Hao Baiyun was crying.

"Isn't he…" Huo Ling muttered when he recognized Hao Baiyun. He remembered the news of Hao Baiyun's marriage with Gu Xingfeng not long ago. "They quarreled?" he said as he looked at Hao Baiyun. "Not good. He's a celebrity." he said and turned to Mo Shi. "Hey. Go chase him away, or else the people would recognize him." He told Mo Shi.

"Huh?" Mo Shi was puzzled. Why would I help a human? He thought. However, since it is a soul's request, he obliged.

He learned before that the souls' request should be granted. They should be satisfied. Also, Huo Ling is Yi Bing's assignment.

Remembering Yi Bing's icy cold blue eyes, Mo Shi shivered. It's as if he could still feel the coldness of that snow flake.He scratched his head and walked towards Hao Baiyun. Then, he made himself visible to him before he spoke.

"Excuse me…" he called. "I'm sorry, but this park is closed for today. You have to find someplace…" He told Hao Baiyun.

Hao Baiyun, who was immersed in his sadness, nodded. He didn't notice Mo Shi just suddenly appeared in thin air. "I'm sorry – " he said and wiped his tears. He took out his phone and called his driver. "I'm really sorry – " he sobbed. He nodded at Mo Shi before he turned and then left.

Mo Shi gaped at Hao Baiyun's fading figure in the distance. "Wha… senior, what's with him? Why is he so sad?" he asked Huo Ling.

Huo Ling also watched Hao Baiyun leave. "The Hao family are friends with the Gu family. However, their families are estranged to each other." He said. "Both the heirs ran away from home. They're Hao Baiyun and Gu Xingfeng. Suddenly, they were arranged to be married to each other as an excuse for them to return home." he explained. "Had had enough, both of them really got married, but then left their family under the guise of building their own home." He finished.

"That's…" Mo Shi was shocked as he looked at Huo Ling. "… senior. You seem to miss the point – " he said. " – they're both guys…" he reminded him.

"Oh." Huo Ling indifferently said. "Who knows what's going on with rich families." He just said and watched Hao Baiyun's back fade in the distance.

"Huo Ling." A voice called from behind them.

Huo Ling turned and saw Yi Bing. "Senior!" Mo Shi called in surprise. He didn't notice when did Yi Bing appear.

Yi Bing just glanced at Mo Shi before turning to Huo Ling. "Have you calmed down?" he asked, his voice soft.

"… mn." Huo Ling answered.

"I called the police to retrieve your body. Your fr… they have been invited to the police station." Yi Bing explained.

"Our dormitory is used to store the university's equipment. It's only the six of us are living there." Huo Ling said. Only the other five would be suspected if one of them had died in the dormitory.

"Oh." So that's why I didn't see anybody earlier. Yi Bing thought. "Do you want to hear their statement?" he asked.

Huo Ling bit his lip. His hands are shaking. "… yes." he answered.

Yi Bing sighed in relief. "Let's go, then." He said.

"Mn."

Mo Shi looked at the two of them left. "… what about me?" he asked. As an answer, he received an email.

0001: children should go play. I'll call you if there's work.

4626: yes, senior!

Mo Shi scratched his head. "'play'… I'm not a kid anymore. Senior, you're bullying me…" he sighed. However, this is better. Because, earlier, he felt like he's being a light bulb to them.