Chapter 42 42 QH663, is that Pang Le’s license plate number? …
The weekend soon arrived. Guan Xia finished watching another drama, put down his phone, stretched out his body, and calculated with his fingers. Apart from his daily morning exercises, it had been two or three days since he last went out. It had been almost half a month since he recharged his halo and returned from Quchun City.
Xu Nian had been in contact with the case, and although two backlog cases related to the case were later found and successfully merged, the first case was still being searched for.
Guan Xia estimated that it was time to go out. Apart from anything else, her mouth had already started to protest. She was tired of takeout and didn't even want to look at the food she cooked herself.
Picking up the phone again, Guan Xia was about to call Pang Le to invite her to have dinner together in the evening, but just as she opened the call log, Pang Le's call came in first.
Guan Xia was a little surprised and couldn't help laughing when she picked up the phone. "I was just thinking about looking for you and you came to find me. We're really in sync. Are you calling me for dinner too?"
Pang Le also laughed out loud, "What a coincidence? Yes, yes, let's have dinner together tonight. As usual, I'll pick you up."
Guan Xia happily agreed.
Forty minutes later, the two met at the gate of the residential complex. Guan Xia hesitated when she saw Pang Le's outfit. "Did you change your style again today?"
Pang Le usually has big wavy hair and wears all kinds of tight dresses that show off her figure, but today she has long straight black hair, paired with a white dress that looks very fairy-like. The makeup on her face is also nude, which weakens her beauty by 7 or 8 points. Otherwise, her eyes are still a bit wild and unruly when she looks around, and she thought she was being kidnapped.
Pang Le smiled and waited for Guan Xia to get into the passenger seat and close the door before he tossed his hair and said smugly, "How is it? Are you stunned? I'm not exaggerating, but I spent over two hours on this makeup today. It's true that the less visible the makeup, the more it tests your skills."
Guan Xia flattered him a bit, then thought of something and squinted at Pang Le, "Two hours? You invited me to dinner 40 minutes ago. It seems like I wasn't the person someone wanted to date in the first place."
Pang Le knew he was in the wrong, so he immediately softened his voice and began to coax her, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, baby, I was wrong. Don't be angry. Don't you know me? You will always be the most important in my heart."
Guan Xia snorted, not really angry, but still couldn't help asking, "You made a last-minute appointment with me, and I was stood up?"
Pang Le carefully observed Guan Xia's expression, and when he saw that she showed no signs of anger, he replied, "Yeah, we had originally agreed to have Western food tonight, but I had already finished my makeup when he suddenly told me that something urgent had to happen and I had to go. So I had no choice but to let him go. But when I thought about spending two hours on makeup and an hour on my hair, I felt unwilling to leave the house."
"So you thought of me." Guan Xia snorted again, "Since you treat me as a backup, you can treat me to dinner tonight."
"Of course." Pang Le saw that the incident was over and immediately started the car happily.
Guan Xia originally thought that Pang Le would take her to eat Western food as planned, but who would have thought that the car would come down from the overpass and drive onto a small road, turning several times and stopping in an alley that looked vaguely familiar.
Guan Xia got out of the car and asked curiously, "What are you planning to take me to eat tonight? Why does this place look familiar to me? Have we been here before?"
"Yes, I've been here before," Pang Le locked the car door and put his arm around Guan Xia, "It's the same place where I parked last time when I had dinner with Xu Nian and the others."
Guan Xia remembered, "Is this the same barbecue place we ate at last time?"
Pang Le said, "That's not the case. Last time I had a meal with the people from the gym, the girl at the front desk suggested a hot pot restaurant. I think it tastes good, so I'll bring you here to try it. The restaurant has plenty of air conditioning, so don't worry, you won't sweat profusely while eating."
Guan Xia was about to protest but swallowed it back when she heard the last sentence.
It was a familiar route and a familiar food alley, but unlike last time, the two did not go too deep into the alley. They only walked a few dozen steps to reach their destination.
"Right here," Pang Le opened the door and led Guan Xia in, smiling and asking, "How is it? Is it crowded? Let me tell you, this store is also a treasure shop."
Guan Xia looked around. The decoration was ordinary, but the store was very large. There were dozens of tables, and two-thirds of them were occupied just as dinner time came.
Pang Le pulled Guan Xia to sit down at a window seat. "Let's go here. It's not far from the air vent. It won't be too hot or too cold while eating hot pot. It's just right. This is the seat we sat at last time."
Guan Xia had no objection, and after the waiter brought the menu, they discussed and ordered the dishes.
Pang Le scalded the cups and filled them with water. He asked casually, "Did you ask Xu Nian about what we discussed last time? What did he say?"
Guan Xia shrugged. "It's pretty much what you said, but then he said he would discuss it with his superiors. But I think that's a big deal. I took it for granted."
Pang Le burned his chopsticks again and said, "I think your idea is very good. After all, I have the most contact with you, and I know you best compared to them. But how should I put it... I don't think there is any need to rush. Look, today is May 25th. If I remember correctly, it has been just a few days since you first provided clues to the police. In this month, you have helped the police solve three cases and are investigating the fourth. Although it was only an unintentional help, I don't think it can be regarded as burying your talent. The most important thing is that you are still young, so don't worry."
Because of that elusive halo, Guan Xia has indeed been a little impatient recently. Now, after Pang Le's analysis, she suddenly realized that it had only been more than a month since she activated the system.
It was as if the sword of Damocles hanging over his head was moved away a little, and Guan Xia suddenly relaxed a little.
Leaning back comfortably in the chair, Guan Xia propped up her head with her hands and said, "You always say your brain isn't working well, but I see you're quite analytical. Look at all the soothing words you keep saying."
Pang Le glared at Guan Xia and said, "I'm just lazy, not stupid. I'm used to doing things with my hands, so I'm too lazy to use my brain."
Guan Xia looked at Pang Le's face carefully and said with a smile: "Your ability to do things plus your face are already a king bomb. If you had more brains, my God, how could there be such a perfect person like you in the world."
Pang Le laughed out loud at Guan Xia's exaggerated words.
While the two were talking, several more groups of people came in, and the tables, which were originally few in number, were soon filled up.
Guan Xia noticed that the next few groups that came in were mostly young people. Their stomachs were already rumbling due to the rich aroma of food in the store, and now they were even hungrier.
Guan Xia said, "It seems that even though I've been in Yongquan City for several years, I'm no different from a new outsider. Let alone this store, I didn't even know about this food street until last time."
"That was because you were busy surviving before," Pang Le said. "It's only been in the past two or three years that you really started to enjoy life. Another thing is that you're such a homebody. I can't imagine what you're doing at home for days without going out. Aren't you bored?"
Guan Xia shook her head. "I'm not bored. I read books, watch TV series and variety shows, and paint when I feel like it. I still feel like there's not enough time in the day."
Pang Le hissed when he heard this, "It's so rare that we can become friends."
Guan Xia agreed with this and nodded with a smile.
Because the restaurant was crowded, the two waited for more than ten minutes before the food was served. After the pot was finally opened, Guan Xia was diligently eating when she heard a man at the next table say, "What are they eating? It looks delicious. You should give me one portion too."
Guan Xia subconsciously turned her head and saw a man in his forties looking at their table and talking to the waiter.
The man had a simple and refreshing hairstyle. His skin was fair but had large patches of redness, as if he was sunburned. Although he looked quite old, he had not gained weight. His eyebrows were very thick, his eyes were long and narrow, his nose was not very high, and his lips were a little too thin. His facial features were very ordinary when separated, but when put together on his angular face, he looked unexpectedly handsome.
As if he noticed Guan Xia's gaze, the man turned around after talking to the waiter, met Guan Xia's gaze and smiled gently. Unlike the indifference of a stranger, his smile was actually a bit kind.
Guan Xia also smiled subconsciously and looked away, but she always felt that something was wrong. The man looked familiar to her.
It’s not a good thing to be familiar to her. Guan Xia started thinking while eating.
Her first reaction was the recent case in which clues were provided to the police but had not yet been solved. She still remembered what Xu Nian had told her before. Although the suspect had been identified, the crime scene was cleaned too cleanly and no direct evidence was found to prove the murderer. Therefore, the suspect was only being monitored and had not yet been detained.
Guan Xia calmed himself down and tried hard to recall his previous memories. The system interface appeared smoothly and the video that had been played was replayed again.
The face framed in a red frame was magnified. Guan Xia studied it carefully for a few seconds, and with a cold sweat on his back, he was sure that it was the man at the next table.
Guan Xia was surprised and a little incredulous. Wasn't that man from Jianyang City? He committed the crimes in September, October, and November, and the rest of the time he stayed in his own guesthouse. It was only May now, so how could he have come to Yongquan City? Xu Nian said he was already keeping a close eye on him. So, were there any police in the hotel now?
Guan Xia tried hard to control her expression. She continued to eat with her head down while glancing at the people around her subtly.
The tables around the man were full, with two to four people at each table. There were no children, only adult men and women of different ages, all eating and chatting casually. Guan Xia didn't dare to make it too obvious. She just glanced away quickly and couldn't tell if there were any policemen among them, but thinking of what Xu Nian had said before, there must be policemen. Judging from the cruelty of this murderer, there must be more than one or two.
With the police present, Guan Xia reluctantly relaxed a little, but she was screaming in her heart.
Is this really outrageous? This was her first time out in days, and she went out randomly, not even knowing her destination beforehand. How could she have run into someone like that? Furthermore, based on past patterns, the killer should be in Jianyang City right now. How could he be in Yongquan City? Did he have a bug? Or has he suddenly changed his pattern and is now searching for a new victim?
Guan Xia's scalp went numb at the thought of this possibility. Then she thought about how she had just made eye contact with that man and how he had even smiled at her. Guan Xia wanted to get up and run away immediately.
However, Xu Nian and the others were still in the investigation stage, and Guan Xia was afraid that she would reveal something unusual that would be noticed by the men, so she almost finished the meal with a stiff face and gritted her teeth.
Pang Le naturally noticed that something was wrong with Guan Xia. Before she could ask, she saw Guan Xia wink at her, and she understood what he meant, so she lowered her head and started eating.
Normally, a meal for two would take at least an hour and a half, but this time it was over in less than an hour.
Coming out of the restaurant, Pang Le, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn't wait to ask in a low voice, "What happened? What happened? Did you discover something again?"
Guan Xia put her arm around Pang Le's and used some strength to hold him tightly. As if she had found support, she finally dared to speak, "Don't look back, just keep walking. The man at the table next to us is the clue I provided to Xu Nian, and he's the suspect in the case they're investigating."
Pang Le was also startled and subconsciously wanted to look back, but his neck stopped as soon as it moved. He coughed twice and whispered, "No, then why didn't you catch him? Why did you let him wander around outside?"
Guan Xia said: "He's not wandering around. Xu Nian and the others have already tracked him down and are now looking for evidence."
Pang Le finally breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's how it is. I was so scared. I was still thinking about whether I should go back and hold him down."
Pang Le actually felt a little regretful when he heard the voice.
Guan Xia pinched her arm angrily.
Pang Le pretended to cry out in pain, and the two of them held each other's arms until they got into the car.
Guan Xia felt very insecure and raised the car window that had just been lowered halfway. Seeing this, Pang Le simply closed all the windows in the car and turned on the air conditioner.
Pang Le drove the car out of the alley and onto the brightly lit avenue. He glanced at Guan Xia and asked, "Do you need to tell Xu Nian about what happened just now?"
Guan Xia thought for a moment and said, "No need... I heard from Xu Nian that a special task force has been set up for this case. He must be in the task force. The people who were following the murderer will definitely report the murderer's appearance in that restaurant. I guess every move of the murderer will be reported."
Compared to Guan Xia, Pang Le was much calmer. Although he wasn't panicking, his expression was a little serious. "I just noticed that the murderer looked at you. Do you think it's possible that he's targeting you? Just like that...that pervert named He something."
Guan Xia was suddenly shocked and wanted to say that he shouldn't be so unlucky, but the words couldn't come out of his mouth.
She encountered him quite randomly every time she went out, and she no longer had any hope in luck. In addition, although the murderer seemed to have no malice when looking at her, and even seemed kind, he was still a murderer after all. What he was thinking when he looked at Guan Xia, only he knew.
Guan Xia thought about it for a while and was about to ask Pang Le if he could live with her for a few days when her cell phone rang.
When he took it out of his bag, he saw that it was Xu Nian's.
Realizing something, Guan Xia quickly answered the call. As soon as the call was connected, before she could say anything, Xu Nian asked, "QH663, is that Pang Le's license plate number?"
Guan Xia subconsciously looked at Pang Le for a second before answering, "It's hers, what's wrong?"
Xu Nian said seriously, "We just received a message from our colleagues who were following you. Xia Wenguang left the restaurant just two minutes after you left, and he followed you from a distance until you parked your car. I suggest that you stay together from now on and try not to go out. I'll be staying home for the next two days, and I'll have colleagues keep an eye on you near the neighborhood."
Now Pang Le's guess has become a reality. Although Guan Xia was mentally prepared, she couldn't help but sigh while being afraid. Her luck was really bad.
After agreeing, Guan Xia put down his phone and told Pang Le about the situation.
Pang Le raised his eyebrows and showed an expression that said, "What did I say?"
Guan Xia couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Looks like you'll have to stay with me for a few days."
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