Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Nan Mu and Wen Miao set the surveillance footage playback to April 19th at 1:30 PM.

Wen Miao asked Nan Mu, “It takes at least half an hour to get here from the hospital. Why aren’t we starting from 2:30 PM?”

Nan Mu explained as he watched, “Let’s do a quick pass first… If the person who met Gu Zhishu really had an accomplice, then to ensure the phone’s security, they likely planted it around this time.”

Although the foot traffic at Guiziyuan Square wasn’t massive, trying to distinguish every single person on a screen was still a significant amount of work.

“We need to find a way to copy the video… How long is it going to take us to find anything like this?” Wen Miao leaned in and whispered into Nan Mu’s ear while the staff member wasn’t paying attention. “If we take it back and let Wen Xin use his facial recognition system to cross-reference it, it’ll be much faster than us searching manually.”

Nan Mu gave a subtle grunt of agreement. He glanced at the staff member, cleared his throat, and turned back to Wen Miao. “Are you thirsty? Do you want something to drink?”

Wen Miao blanked for two seconds, but she caught on quickly and played along. “Yeah, I am. We’ve been walking for so long, I’m dying of thirst.”

“I’ll go out and-oh, the gas station has a shop,” Nan Mu said, looking toward the staff member. “How do I get there? Why don’t you show me the way? I’ll go buy some snacks and drinks.”

Gas station convenience stores usually have sales targets to meet. Hearing that Nan Mu wanted to buy things, the staff member was quite pleased and took the initiative to lead him out of the office.

As soon as the two of them stepped out, Wen Miao sat down decisively in front of the computer.

When the staff member had opened the computer earlier, Wen Miao had been standing behind him, seeing the file path for the surveillance footage clearly. She had an excellent memory, so she didn’t waste any time and quickly located the video files.

Since she hadn’t brought a hard drive, she had to connect her phone to the computer and transfer all the video files to it.

She moved fast, and the footage from the 19th finished transferring quickly. Seeing that Nan Mu and the staff member hadn’t returned yet, she simply transferred the footage from the days leading up to and following the incident as well.

Just as she unplugged the cable from her phone, she heard Nan Mu’s voice speaking loudly outside the door. She hurriedly restored the computer to its original state.

Nan Mu came in and handed a drink to Wen Miao. Wen Miao moved aside to give him his seat back, intentionally saying that she had been looking for a long time but hadn’t seen anything.

“Forget it then. Let’s not keep them from their work. We’ll find another way.”

The gas station staff member didn’t suspect a thing and led them out.

===

By the time they left the gas station, the sky had begun to dim slightly.

They had hit the evening rush hour. Fearing they would get stuck in traffic, the two decided to take the subway back. However, the subway entrance was on the east side of Guiziyuan Square, quite a distance from the gas station. They had to return to the South Gate and cross Guiziyuan Square to get there.

Wen Miao felt a wave of despair at the thought of walking from the South Gate to the east entrance. They had gone back and forth so many times today that she could barely move her legs anymore.

“What’s wrong?”

Nan Mu had been preoccupied thinking about Gu Zhishu’s case. After walking for a while, he snapped out of it only to realize that Wen Miao had fallen far behind him.

Wen Miao stood still, hands on her hips.

“Tired?”

Wen Miao gave a tired hum of affirmation, but she took a deep breath and continued walking toward Nan Mu.
Nan Mu suddenly remembered that they had spent a long time circling Guiziyuan Square today to study its terrain and entrances.

Although called a square, Guiziyuan Square was actually more like a park. Not only was it massive, but a river also ran right through the middle of it. Since neither of them was familiar with the area, they had taken many detours. By the time they finished their trek today, they had easily clocked twenty-six to thirty thousand steps.

Nan Mu turned around and walked quickly back to Wen Miao.

“What are you doing back here?” Wen Miao asked, puzzled. She was walking a bit slowly, but he could have just waited for her where he was; there was no need to walk back.

“Are your feet okay?”

Wen Miao was simply exhausted, her legs feeling too heavy to lift. She had been fine a moment ago, but Nan Mu’s sudden return and the way he stared unblinkingly at her feet made her feel self-conscious.

She was about to say she was fine and tell him to stop staring when, for some reason, her left foot tripped over her right. Wen Miao lurched forward.

Nan Mu had been about to lean down to check her legs when she suddenly lunged toward him. He instinctively opened his arms to catch her.

“Are you alright…”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

A flush crept up Wen Miao’s pale ears and cheeks. She pulled away from Nan Mu’s embrace and stood there awkwardly for a moment, then bent over to pretend to brush non-existent dust off her pants.

Nan Mu kept his eyes on Wen Miao. Once she straightened up, he stepped in front of her and crouched down, bracing his hands on his knees. “Get on.”

Wen Miao’s eyes widened. She realized he wanted to give her a piggyback ride, but she still stammered with a red face, “Get… get on where?”

Without looking back, Nan Mu reached up and patted his shoulders. “I’ll carry you.”

“That… that’s really not necessary.”

“Just get on. It’s still a long way back.”

Wen Miao wanted to refuse again, but she saw Nan Mu tilt his head to look at her while still bracing his knees, his dark eyes deep and steady. “Or would you prefer a bridal carry?”

“No…”

Seeing Nan Mu’s persistence and fearing he might actually try to pick her up, Wen Miao hesitated before placing her hands on his shoulders and leaning onto his back. Nan Mu hooked his arms under her calves and stood up with a firm tug, hoisting her up.

She had been worried she might be too heavy, but Nan Mu seemed to find it effortless. He walked steadily, his breathing even.

“Tell me if you can’t carry me anymore,” Wen Miao reminded him thoughtfully.

Nan Mu let out a soft snort. “You weigh as much as a kitten. Who could this possibly tire out? Don’t worry about it.”

Only then did Wen Miao relax. Looking down, she saw Nan Mu’s slender neck, with the faint outlines of veins visible beneath his skin. She pursed her lips tightly. As if possessed, she slowly reached her hands further forward from his shoulders, wrapping them around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder.

Nan Mu felt a sudden weight on his right shoulder. He instinctively started to turn his head, but he had only moved about thirty degrees when something soft and fragrant brushed against his cheek. His back stiffened, and it took every ounce of his willpower to stop himself from turning further. His heart hammered against his ribs as something spread through his boiling blood, gathering at the very tip of his heart. The heat in his chest was so intense he didn’t dare breathe; he could only quietly tighten his grip on the skin of her legs.

The person he loved was in his arms.

It gave him an illusion-that he had captured her, both the person and her life.