The air conditioner was blasting at twenty-six degrees Celcius but the room was still cold. Everyone had slowed down and their mind was frozen.

“Hold up,” Xu Lan halted everyone as he thought of something. “I suggest for us to publish another news release. Our initial intention was to exert pressure upon the murderer, causing him to mess up. Since we’ve decided to strike, there’s no reason for us not to incite him further.”

With Qiu Ling out of the picture, the murderer would have to scout for his prey on his own. The chances of capturing him were low.

“You’re right! Xiao Wu, coordinate this with Lao Xu. I’m counting on you! Do your best!” Hu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief as he expected more resistance from Xu Lan.

“Do your best!” Xu Lan replied loudly. He gained control of his emotions and decided to face the mission with a positive mindset.

The neon lights shone at the city that never sleeps of Lanshan area. Regardless of their purpose of visit, their underlying intention was the same — to find happiness. The well-dressed ones and the poorly-dressed ones were there for the same reason.

Wu Wendi’s cheeks were flushed. She sat next to Xiao Li and listened to him patiently while the rest observed.

“Eh, Xiao Li and Xiao Wu look good together,” said Hu Fei who observed them by the bar counter. “Speaking of which, wasn’t it for Xiao Wu’s idea for you to be replaced by Xiao Li? Tsk, tsk, you’ve grown old and aren’t as attractive as a young man now,” he continued.

Sun Fei was poking Xu Lan with his elbow as he spoke.

“Pay attention to your work!” Xu Lan glanced at him and returned to staring at Wu Wendi.

“Eh, what a bummer. Why don’t you consider getting Bai Wu a stepmother? Bai Wu is still young, but it’ll be a different story altogether once he’s older,” Sun Fei started chatting with Xu Lan casually.

“How old are you?” Xu Lan asked.

“Twenty-seven, why?” Sun Fei answered as he wondered how the topic changed from Xu Lan’s remarriage to him.

“I’m thirty and I’ve got a son who’s three and a half years old. When I was your age, I no longer have to settle my hard problems through movies,” Xu Lan said emotionlessly and observed Xiao Li’s reaction.

“Wow! Lao Xu! I was acting in your best interest!” Sun Fei moved away from Xu Lan after realizing what Xu Lan was insinuating.

Xu Lan chuckled and thought, ‘Even if someone took a liking to me, Bai Wu is something else. Not every normal person could accept Bai Wu for who he is.’

“Ah yes, are you really going to leave Bai Wu home alone? He’s still so young and you’re here till late…”

Before Sun Fei could complete his sentence, Xu Lan’s phone rang. He got a two hundred dollar second-hand phone for Bai Wu’s sake.

“Hello?”

“Papa, where are you? I’m worried about you,” Bai Wu’s sweet voice warmed Xu Lan up in the cold night.

“Bai Wu, be good. Papa will be home slightly later tonight. If you can’t sleep, you can stay up and watch the television for a while.” Thinking about how the little thing would leap at him the moment he came through the door put a smile on Xu Lan’s face. As he knew who the caller was, Sun Fei moved away politely and put some distance between them.

“Papa, why is it so noisy over there? I thought…”

“Hey, isn’t that Li Xiu?” Sun Fei nudged Xu Lan and spoke on full alert.

Xu Lan took a quick glance at where Sun Fei was pointing at. He said goodbye to Bai Wu and hung up quickly. Indeed, it was Li Xiu.

“Shouldn’t he be in the hospital? Why is he here?” Sun Fei stared at Li Xiu and asked, “It’s so unfair. How is it possible that so many women flock around him?”

“No idea. Call Xiao Xu to check what’s going on at the hospital?” Xu Lan replied calmly.

He found it impossible to trust Li Xiu anymore. How could he still come out and have fun with a few broken ribs? To think that he brought a driver with him when the investigation was underway! On top of that, his fingerprints were found on the curtain. Xu Lan could not help but think that Li Xiu was the murderer that they were looking for.

“He is charging toward Xiao Li. What a bad start! Are we exposed on the first night itself?” Sun Fei clutched onto the glass tightly as he observed Li Xiu’s every move.

“Take a few photos here. I’m heading over.” Xu Lan emptied his glass of whiskey. As he was planning to test the waters tonight, he did not expect Li Xiu to actually show up. He wondered if this was some form of success, at least Hu Cheng could report that Li Xiu was alright.

“Eh? Comrade Xiao Li, Miss Wu, why are all of you here?” Li Xiu asked in embarrassment as he was surrounded by a group of women.

“It’s been hectic lately, which is why I brought them over to relax,” Xu Lan said in a deep tone. His face was in the shadow and his facial expression was not visible to Li Xiu.

Xu Lan’s sudden appearance gave a shock to all the beautiful women. They looked at Li Xiu and Xu Lan; they were frightened but at the same time, they were reluctant to leave.

“Brother Lan, you’re here too? I thought you would be home with the child at this hour.” Li Xiu was not flustered at all. Since his cover was blown, there was no point for him to keep up with his act.

“I thought you would be resting in the hospital too, who knew that I would run into you here.”

The tension in the air caught Xiao Li and Wu Wendi off guard. Both of them stood by the side and wondered what they should do. It was only when Sun Fei waved at them and signaled for them to leave that they escaped the battlefield.

“Heh, I came here out of boredom seeing how Brother Lan rejected my calls,” said Li Xiu, who gave Xu Lan a once-over as he licked his lips.

Li Xiu’s suggestive moves gave Xu Lan goosebumps and caused his temples to throb. Xu Lan stared at Li Xiu as though he was trying to set him on fire with his gaze.

“You’re a beast disguised as a human!” cursed Xu Lan, “let’s go somewhere quiet and talk.”

Li Xiu raised his brows and observed Xu Lan closely. Just when Xu Lan was about to run out of patience, Li Xiu walked over. Li Xiu closed up on Xu Lan and bit his earlobe while passing him a card.

“Brother Lan, you have a lot of questions for me, don’t you? Agree to my terms and we shall talk.” Xu Lan clenched his fist and stared at Li Xiu who left with a grin on his face. Under the flickering lights, he managed to see the words printed on the card — Room 888, Tiantang Hotel.