Bai Xiao had originally wanted to get a good look at the Guard Department building up close, but before they had even turned the corner, Hoshiguma pulled out a black hood and tossed it to him.
"What's this supposed to mean?"
"Put it on. You're Old Ch'en's precious informant now—we can't let anyone see your face."
Bai Xiao immediately understood. No wonder Ch'en had insisted that Hoshiguma personally come pick him up. She had really thought things through in order to protect him.
He put on the hood. The car stopped in front of the Guard Department, and when they got out, Hoshiguma twisted his arms behind his back. It looked rough, but in reality she was extremely gentle—there wasn't even the slightest hint of pain.
The two of them entered the ground-floor lobby, where someone immediately called out to Hoshiguma.
"Yo, Sis Hoshi, back already?"
"Haha, yeah. Brought in some petty little thief to ask a few questions."
Hoshiguma handled the greetings casually, then took Bai Xiao straight into the elevator and up to an interrogation room on one of the upper floors.
Ch'en was already inside, waiting for him.
Once they arrived, Hoshiguma took off Bai Xiao's hood and even helped loosen up his shoulders—despite the fact that she hadn't hurt him in the first place.
What a gentle giant.
"Officer Ch'en, dragging me all the way to the Guard Department like this—did you miss me that much?" Bai Xiao asked with a grin.
Ch'en looked up from the documents in front of her and shot him a glare.
"Cut the crap."
Just three words, but Bai Xiao instantly felt reassured.
So it was probably fine.
Too many things had happened at the dock, far more than he had expected. He had been a little uneasy ever since.
Watching the way the two of them interacted, Hoshiguma scratched her head.
"Uh… maybe I should step outside? Wouldn't want to interrupt you two."
"Why are you going outside?!" Ch'en snapped, half embarrassed, half annoyed. What was Hoshiguma implying? As though there were something between her and Bai Xiao that needed privacy.
She wouldn't even have thought in that direction under normal circumstances—but the moment her mind touched on what had happened that night, heat crept back over her body.
Seeing how tightly she was gripping the pen in her hand, Bai Xiao silently gave Hoshiguma a thumbs-up in his heart.
What an assist.
"Haha, I'm kidding. I'll go get you both some water and come right back."
Hoshiguma left, and the atmosphere in the interrogation room turned awkward almost instantly.
Seeing Bai Xiao baring his teeth in a stupid grin, Ch'en snapped, "What are you smiling at? Stop smiling!"
Bai Xiao's face went grave at once.
That only made Ch'en want to laugh a little, though fortunately she held it back.
Just then, Hoshiguma returned with two cups of water. After locking the interrogation room door behind her, Bai Xiao was the first to become serious. The frivolity vanished from his eyes, replaced by focus and gravity.
With someone like Ch'en, joking around was fine—but when it was time to be serious, he had to show he could be serious.
"So then, Officer Ch'en—what was important enough to bring me here for?"
Ch'en nodded, her brows drawing together slightly.
"Of course it's important. A batch of smuggled goods has recently surfaced in Lungmen… The checkpoints at the city entrances are always strict, so we've concluded the goods most likely came in by water. I wanted to ask whether you've noticed anything."
On the surface, Bai Xiao listened intently, but inwardly his thoughts stirred.
If he had guessed right, then what Ch'en was talking about was the main storyline of the first chapter—
the Lungmen smuggling case.
So he had finally touched the main plot?
Although he had already been in the game world for seven or eight days, Bai Xiao felt this pace wasn't actually slow at all.
"Bai Xiao, are you listening?"
"Hm? Of course. I was just thinking back over the cargo that's gone through the dock these past few days… So what exactly is being smuggled?"
Ch'en's expression turned slightly awkward.
"Sorry. I can't tell you."
Bai Xiao froze.
He had already been preparing to go back and cross-check the dock's manifests. He hadn't expected Ch'en to answer him like that.
"What do you mean, 'you can't tell me'?"
"…Because this matter is sensitive, and it involves too much. So I can't say."
That answer was enough to make Bai Xiao laugh in disbelief.
He'd been feeling pretty pleased with himself up until now, but it turned out Ch'en didn't actually trust him at all.
"Hold on. You want me to help you investigate the smuggling, but you won't even tell me what's being smuggled?"
It was like having a bucket of cold water dumped over his head.
"What do you mean it 'involves too much'? Let's be honest—you just don't trust me, right? Fine then. In that case, I'm done. Find someone else."
Bai Xiao did not hesitate in the slightest. He got up and moved to leave.
Ch'en lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together tightly, as if she had expected this reaction from the beginning.
The one who panicked was Hoshiguma.
"Old Ch'en, what's wrong with you? If you won't tell him the details of the case, how's he supposed to help investigate?"
Even Hoshiguma could tell something was off with Ch'en, and Bai Xiao could see it too.
The awkward part was that while he was acting like he wanted to leave, he couldn't actually leave. If he really walked away, all the work he'd put in so far would go to waste.
When he'd first entered, Bai Xiao had deliberately checked the lock on the interrogation room door. This wasn't an ordinary place—coming in or going out required a key. And since Hoshiguma had locked the door when she came in, he couldn't leave even if he wanted to.
That was exactly why Bai Xiao dared to lose his temper, and dared to put on a show of storming out. He knew perfectly well he couldn't actually go anywhere.
Well… the key was hanging right there on the wall. But Bai Xiao had to pretend not to notice.
Bai Xiao's Little Lesson in Love:You can't just keep yielding in a relationship. You have to pull at the other person's emotions. Constant giving means nothing. Once in a while, you have to let her taste what it feels like to lose you. That anxious uncertainty—that's the ideal state.
He was standing by the door now, voice calm, but even the way he addressed Hoshiguma had changed.
"Officer Hoshiguma, would you open the door for me?"
Everything about him was saying the same thing.
He was disappointed.
Naturally, Hoshiguma didn't move to open it. She was still trying to talk Ch'en around.
"Old Ch'en, what is going on with you? I know the smuggling case is serious, but isn't he one of us? You—"
Before she could finish, Bai Xiao cut in sharply.
"Officer Hoshiguma! Please open the door!"
His tone was absolute.
Seeing that Ch'en still said nothing, Hoshiguma could only sigh and get up to unlock the door. She didn't know exactly what had gone wrong, but if Bai Xiao insisted on leaving, she couldn't keep him there by force.
When Ch'en had first told her she'd found an informant, Hoshiguma had been genuinely happy. It had meant Ch'en was finally setting aside some of her stubbornness and trying a new way to crack a case.
She just hadn't expected it to end up like this.
Hoshiguma came toward the door with the key in hand, and the closer she got, the faster Bai Xiao's heart began to pound.
If he walked out that door and Ch'en still didn't stop him, then things would really go wrong.
That was the tricky part of this kind of push-and-pull. You had to grasp the other person's personality with perfect precision in order to pitch it exactly right.
Too little force, and you just made a fool of yourself.
Too much, and everything you'd worked for would collapse.
But Bai Xiao hadn't spent all those hours on gal games for nothing.
He knew his read on her wouldn't be wrong.
Hoshiguma had already reached the door, key in hand—but the instant the lock clicked open, Ch'en finally spoke.
"Wait. I… I can tell you!"
For a split second, Bai Xiao genuinely wanted to stay. But fortune favored the bold. Yes, there was a real chance he was pushing too far—but if it worked, the payoff would be enormous.
So he only turned his head slightly and said,
"You want to tell me now? Sorry. I'm not interested anymore."
Then, without a moment's hesitation, Bai Xiao stepped out through the interrogation room door.
Unfazed by failure. Worst case, he could always start over from the beginning.
This—
was the ultimate art of push and pull.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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