Chapter 90 - The Unanticipated Defeat
UNEDITED- PLEASE WAIT FOR SOMETIME
In a glimpse of a moment, Wan Yi Jun switched into the efficient leader mode of the eagle team and quickly assigned duties for everyone.
"Senior Fei, can you contact Miss Feng and confirm if he is the one whom she saw that day in the apartment? And Yating, call Shu Lili's parents and ask about Hu Geng Xin and his relationship with them."
"Yes, captain." Right after they heard the instruction, Fei Yan and Lao Yating picked up their phones and started to dial down the numbers.
"You two," Wan Yi Jun pointed at Shen Junru and Bing Wen, "Track his location from the address provided by the agency. It is two years old, so it will be a bit difficult."
"I will call the office and try for an interrogation warrant if it and join-" Wan Yi Jun stuttered when he couldn't find Han Ze Min nowhere near the team. For a moment, he wondered whether his hot-headed cousin had already assigned himself a duty and left the mansion. However, right at that time, Han Ze Min's jovial tone was heard from the silent corner of the living room, which Wan Yi Jun overlooked while giving off his instructions.
Within that very short period, Han Ze Min somehow made his way out of the couch in the living room and went towards Ming Yue without gathering any attention to him.
"Before I start working on my task, I would like to thank Xiao Yue for giving us a valuable tip." He stated with a smile that resembled the bright spring sun and gave a gentleman bow at the woman who leaned on the wall.
She was simply standing there watching them working like a swarm of bustling bees.
"What are you doing?" Ming Yue's fair forehead creased when she saw
"As I have told earlier, you are wasting your time being a maid, my dear. Why don't you quit it and join in the police- Nah...don't be a police officer. Be a lawyer...criminal lawyer, not the one who represents the poor and desolates but the one who is the on the bad side."
"Working against would be far better than working with you."
"The world has enough good girls...be the bad one...if you could be the worst, become that and fight against people like him, got it?"
"Tell me, what you need?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"You know that I can give you anything you want? So feel free to ask me,"
"It would be really appreciable if you leave me alone for a while."
"Oh god."
"Officer Han, go and get the criminal records under the name of Hu Geng Xin from Headquarters"
"Not now..."
"What?"
"Why should I go to the headquarters, they will send it to us if we call them."
"Then call them,"
"I'm on it."
"He is an absolute meanie, don't you think? Otherwise, why would he make us work while we are having a party?"
"How much time do you need?"
"I'm calling them..."
"Don't forget about our deal and once again, thank you so much for your valuable tip."
For the next few hours, the living room of the Wisteria gardens turned upside down as the Eagle team members took over each corner and busied themselves with their assigned duties.
Once the clock struck 8 in the night, Wan Yi Jun called in for a briefing session of whatever information they have gathered so far.
"Even though Miss Feng could entirely confirm the man from the identity proof, once we showed her the Hu Geng Xin's recent photograph from the agency, she was able to recognize him."
"It took me a while to remind Shu Li Li's parents that someone named "Hu Geng Xin lived in the next block. According to them, he was a silent eccentric kid who never interacted with anyone. His mother died earlier and he got a drunkard father who never properly took care of him while he was a child. He somehow managed to grow while doing petty jobs in the fishing harbour and two years ago he suddenly disappeared. I have asked them about Song Jia, too. They clearly remember that he was there when the police officers came for re-investigation, apparently, he was the one who dug up the skeletal remains along with the forensic team. But he also left the village soon after the results came negative."
"He came to the imperial city and must have done some random jobs until he landed up in that agency."
"I don't think he just landed up with that agency. He must have followed Shu Li Li all the way to the imperial city. Otherwise, why would he stay next to her apartment and took a job in the same building? I swear there is something wrong with him."
"Then, go out with me," Han Ze Min's casual proposal resonated in the room, ringing a bunch of alarming bells on Ming Yue's on one corner of her mind and creating utter confusion on another corner.
Her dubious eyes carefully scanned the grinning man who stood before her. Even when they were children, Han Ze Min was second to none in terms of good looks and personality. He had always been a jovial person, loved by everyone. However, the person who stood before her was someone else.
It didn't even take a moment for him to realize what exactly she meant.
"What? Did he also-" His voice cracked when he thought about Wan Yi Jun asking out Ming Yue. Since she had only given a silent reply to his previous question about sleeping with Wan Yi Jun, his mind wandered among the endless possibilities.
"I have no plan to go out with anyone." Ming Yue's resilient words pulled him back into reality, and even before he knew it, Han Ze Min uttered those words he feared to say all these years,
"I like you."
Han Ze Min gaped at her gorgeous face devoid of endearing emotions for a long minute. There wasn't even a single change in her face as he expected. Whenever he goes out, women always show interest in him, but it was the first time he had seen someone immune to his charms. "Ming Yue, I said I like you,"
"I like me too."
"...."
To be very honest, Han Ze Min didn't know how would respond to such an answer. He was being honest, but with one single statement Ming Yue
"Seriously? You think that joke would work on me?'
"You are the young master of the Han family, soon to be CEO of the HK group. You will get more eligible women-"
"I said go out with me, not to marry me."
"Huh?"
"I have no plan to marry you. I just need someone to go out with me so that my family will stop pestering me with marriage."
"You want me to pretend as your girlfriend?"
"Exactly. Don't worry, I will pay for your services...both physical and emotional."
"Do you know how offensive you just sounded right now?"
"We need to discuss our terms before we sign upon this fake relationship thing, miss Ming."
"No thanks."
"At least listen to my terms. I will pay double...Nah triple than the money you gets here. You just need to pretend as my girlfriend, goes on date with me, show up for dinners with me. You will get your own apartment and car and basically everything you need. But once in a while, do come to my condo and sleepover."
"I'm not asking you to sleep with me...just come over to make others believe that we are a legitimate couple. We won't have any physical relationship unless you are okay with it?"
"And how long do I have to pretend like that?"
"Just until, Wan Yi Jun gets married."
"Why is that so?"
"He is the eldest among us. If I get a girlfriend, our family will definitely pester him to get married or get engaged to his girlfriend whom you mentioned earlier."
"I'm sorry I don't understand how your family dealing with things. Being single or not, that's someone's personal choice. What's the point of pushing two individuals into marriage if they are not ready to settle down?"
"You don't know our family's rules."
"You are a police officer, are you not brave enough to say break the stupid rules and regulations set by your highly conservative family?"
"I want to...but there is something that stopping us from doing so..."
Me and Yi Jun are the only male heirs left in our family. If we don't get married or have a child, the centuries-old legacy of our family will end with us."
"So you want me to pretend as your girlfriend until you find an eligible woman as your girlfriend or wife, maybe?"
"Yes. I will inform my family that we broke up and pretended to be heartbroken for a while."
"Is it okay for you to deceive your family like this? Didn't you say that liars and traitors will always be hated by your family?"
"Do you believe me if I say that I don't want to be part of my family anymore?"