Chapter 12: A chance encounter with someone giving flowers to his wife.
Both were dressed in casual clothes, and the security guard at the door let them through after just one glance.
Before going inside, Shen Huai'an took out his silent phone from his pocket and glanced at it. His colleague Li Minghua saw this and immediately exclaimed, "Prosecutor Shen, cough, Huai'an, you bought a phone? It's the latest model, it must have been expensive!"
It was a gift from someone else, not something he bought, but Shen Huai'an didn't explain further at this point, only saying, "At most one hour. If there are no clues, I'll be leaving now."
“No problem,” Li Minghua readily agreed, then added jokingly, “It’s really different with my wife moving in; even busy people like us want to go home earlier.”
If he hadn't acted quickly that afternoon, Shen Huai'an would have already tidied up his office and was ready to leave work.
After a few lighthearted banter, Li Minghua cleared his throat and got down to business. "I brought you here today to try my luck. We'll act like we're just here for fun, and keep an eye out for any suspicious people around us. If all else fails, I'll think of something else."
The whole thing started when Li Minghua had a distant cousin who got drunk at a nightclub a while ago and was then taken to a back alley where he was molested. From his stammering explanation, it seemed that the person who assaulted him was a man.
This was too bizarre to talk about. When his cousin's parents brought him to his home, Li Minghua first suggested that they report it to the police. However, the older generation was traditional and had already gone all out by asking him for help. Reporting it to the police and making a big fuss was absolutely out of the question. Moreover, his cousin didn't seem like someone who could handle things. Li Minghua, adhering to the principle of upholding justice, agreed to help them investigate privately first.
Having obtained few clues from his cousin, Li Minghua decided to go to the nightclub where the incident occurred. Perhaps the perpetrator was a repeat offender, and if he did it once, he might catch him red-handed.
However, first he needed to find bait to lure out the perpetrator. Li Minghua himself was a big, burly man with a square face that could barely be described as upright and dignified, completely different from his cousin, who was a weak and effeminate pretty boy. After thinking it over, he set his sights on Shen Huai'an, who had joined the procuratorate in the same year.
After all, he was 'well-known' in the prosecutor's office, and he was much better looking than his cousin, so he was definitely a better bait than him.
As Shen Huai'an entered the dance hall through the glass doors, he frowned at the loud music. The hall was dimly lit, with only the colorful lights overhead flashing. He glanced around at the men and women swaying to the music, a look of confusion crossing his eyes.
Li Minghua had scouted the place before and was quite familiar with its layout. He led Shen Huai'an through the crowd to the bar, where he ordered a special cocktail, while Shen Huai'an only ordered a glass of water.
"Huai'an, relax a bit here." Li Minghua's lips twitched, and he picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
Shen Huai'an glanced at him and said, "I can't hold my liquor, don't let it interfere with our business."
"Cough." Li Minghua almost choked on the wine in his mouth. Feeling that he was implying something, he silently put down his glass, and the restlessness that had just risen in his heart with the music subsided.
The two pretended to be tourists, their eyes scanning the people around them from time to time, looking for suspicious people, but they found nothing after a long time.
Just then, a beam of light shone on the round platform in the center of the hall, and a karaoke staff member went on stage with a microphone to announce that a band would be performing next, and also previewed the setlist.
Cheers erupted from the audience from time to time, and the band members sitting in the booths got up one after another to prepare. Abin whispered a few words to Ren Lina and then got up as well.
Before leaving, A-Jian asked Bai Zhenzhen if there were any songs she wanted to hear, meaning that she could request a song and he would be willing to sing it for her.
Bai Zhenzhen crossed her arms and shook her head listlessly, "No, it's up to you guys to do it."
Finally, A-Jian glanced at her one last time. The woman's beautiful face was still dazzling in the dim environment, and her figure was top-notch. It has to be said that she was very pleasing to A-Jian, and he also heard that her family was very rich.
Although his friend Abin told him that Miss Bai was married, Ajian didn't mind. He didn't intend to take full responsibility; he was just having a fling. He figured he wouldn't lose out by playing around with a rich and beautiful woman like that.
After the band left, only familiar faces remained in the booth. Ren Lina knew that Bai Zhenzhen didn't want to drink today, so she specially asked the waiter for a glass of freshly squeezed juice for her.
The two huddled together chatting, and Ren Lina put her arm around her shoulder and asked, "Zhenzhen, what do you think of A-Jian? Is he handsome enough, huh?"
"Not good, just average." Bai Zhenzhen took a sip of orange juice, knowing what she meant, and directly rejected the offer.
The moment Bai Zhenzhen saw him, she couldn't help but compare him to Shen Huai'an in her mind. Within a second, she came to the accurate conclusion that Shen Huai'an was much more handsome than this A Jian.
Not only is he more handsome than him, but his temperament also better matches Bai Zhenzhen's aesthetic. Apart from being a bit cold-tempered, he is far superior to that A-Jian in every way.
Ren Lina didn't think too much about it, but she knew her friend had high standards, and she was just trying to introduce the two of them. Seeing that Bai Zhenzhen wasn't interested, she didn't mention it again and focused on telling her about her trip to Hong Kong.
Bai Zhenzhen was lost in thought for a moment, then reached into her bag, took out her phone, and glanced at it. There were no missed calls.
She pursed her lips, thinking to herself that Shen Huai'an was really difficult to deal with. She put away her phone and turned to ask Ren Lina for advice on how to pursue men.
"Zhenzhen, tell me honestly, do you have someone you've got your eye on?" Ren Lina was both surprised and delighted by the question. At the same time, she quickly went through all the decent men around her in her mind, but in the end, she couldn't think of Bai Zhenzhen's cheap husband.
The main reason was that Bai Zhenzhen had mentioned the idea of divorce more than once at gatherings with friends, and her words clearly revealed her dislike for that person, so she never thought about that person at all.
Just as Bai Zhenzhen was about to tell her the reason, a burst of intense drumming suddenly rang out from the stage in front of her, and the band's performance began.
The atmosphere in the hall was instantly heated up. In addition to the sounds of the performance on stage, there were cheers all around, making it impossible for anyone to have a conversation.
Ren Lina was quickly drawn to the sound of Abin singing on stage. She patted Bai Zhenzhen's arm, indicating that she should listen to the song first and talk about the rest later.
It has to be said that Ah Bin's Cantonese singing is indeed quite good, and his bandmates are also very talented. One popular song after another, as well as rock music with intense drumbeats, completely heated up the venue. Many guests in the booths stood up and waved their arms to cheer wildly for the performers on stage.
At the bar, Li Minghua and Shen Huai'an made progress in finding the suspect they were looking for. A middle-aged man, around thirty or forty years old, paid for a few bottles of wine and sat down with a group of young men. One of the boys, who looked rather frail, was casually given a few drinks by the man. The boy quickly became intoxicated and was helped outside by his companions to sober up. The middle-aged man pretended to be concerned and helped the boy out.
Upon seeing this, Li Minghua told Shen Huai'an and quickly got up to follow.
Shen Huai'an didn't go. He stayed at the bar to continue observing the surrounding situation. If Li Minghua hadn't returned in ten minutes, he would immediately go to provide support.
The band playing on the stage in front of him hadn't caught Shen Huai'an's attention until someone held up a microphone and announced loudly, "The next song is dedicated to the most beautiful Miss Bai..."
On stage, a young man holding a guitar gazed affectionately at the audience below. Shen Huai'an looked up at the address "Miss Bai" and followed the man's gaze to the booth directly in front of the stage.
He only saw a back view; the woman's long, wavy hair covered most of her body, revealing only half a red hem of her dress. He couldn't make out anything, but for some reason, Shen Huai'an's gaze shifted away and then returned.
Are there many people with the surname Bai in Pengcheng? Shen Huai'an's gaze deepened, and his large hand, which was resting on the bar, gently tapped the surface of the counter. A dark look unconsciously gathered between his brows.
When he saw the woman turn her head to whisper to her friend, revealing half of her profile, Shen Huai'an's eyes darkened instantly, his fingers, which were tapping the table, stopped, and his whole body instantly turned several degrees colder.
The phone, which had been lying quietly in his pocket, suddenly seemed unusually prominent. Shen Huai'an curled his lips slightly, a hint of mockery escaping his lips, and then looked away.
Ah Jian's sudden call to name Bai Zhenzhen surprised her. He then sang a tender Cantonese love song, his deep, husky voice seemingly carrying a natural, affectionate quality.
As the song drew to a close, A-Jian put down his guitar, slowly walked off the stage, knelt on one knee, and magically produced a fresh red rose from behind his back, handing it to Bai Zhenzhen.
The stage lights followed him down to the audience. Bai Zhenzhen leaned against the back of her booth, only half of her red dress visible under the lights. After singing the last line of the song, A-Jian did not get up, as if waiting for Bai Zhenzhen to accept the roses.
Most of the people who come to the dance hall are open-minded young people, or those who choose to embrace the ideas of the new era. Seeing this romantic scene, the surrounding crowd cheered and even started shouting, "Say yes! Say yes!"
Bai Zhenzhen's expression wasn't very pleasant. A-Jian's thoughts were practically written all over his face, and it was hard to say that he wasn't doing it on purpose. The surrounding jeers continued, but no one could force her to accept what she didn't want to do.
She made no move to accept the flowers, and Ah Jian's initial confidence gradually turned into impatience at being humiliated, but he still maintained a feigned affection on his face, "Miss Bai, I..."
"Give me flowers?" Bai Zhenzhen leaned forward slightly, her eyes filled with disdain, as if looking at a rat in a stinking ditch. "You think you're worthy?"
A-Jian's face instantly turned ugly, and Ren Lina quickly gave A-Bin a wink, signaling him to come over and pull the man away.
After dealing with A-Jian, Ren Lina felt a pang of guilt towards her friend. It was all her fault for going to such lengths today; she had misjudged him and brought such a scoundrel to Zhenzhen's side.
Bai Zhenzhen, though not blaming others, was indeed thoroughly upset and had lost all patience to stay any longer, so she stood up and prepared to leave.
Ren Lina quickly followed to see her off, apologizing as they walked, "Zhenzhen, I'm so sorry, I didn't expect him to pull this stunt. I'll make sure he apologizes to you in person another day. It was my fault today, I shouldn't have introduced him to you like that..."
"Alright, that's enough for today. I'm leaving now." When Bai Zhenzhen was angry, she didn't care about anyone's feelings. She took out her phone, made a call to Uncle Liu, and left the dance hall directly.
Even after getting into the car, she was still in a bad mood. She felt that coming here today was a complete waste of time. She hadn't achieved her goal and had been disgusted by someone. If it weren't for the fact that Ren Lina was her friend of many years, she would have slapped A-Jian across the face.
Frustrated, Bai Zhenzhen opened her phone and dialed Shen Huai'an's number without thinking.
The receiver beeped more than a dozen times, but the call didn't connect until it automatically disconnected.
Bai Zhenzhen called again, but this time it was answered after only a few rings.
"Shen Huai'an, when are you finally coming back?"
A note from the author:
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Here it comes~ [dog head with rose in hand]
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