Ye Tiancheng nodded, agreeing with the little fox's words, "It's just a deceptive trick, not some particularly high-level technique, it's rather cliché."
"Cliché, but that doesn't mean it's completely useless. At least to ordinary people, especially many women, it's a very romantic trick." Nie Chongyang's expression darkened, feeling the situation was not optimistic.
Wan Yulin might truly be infatuated with Xu Zhaoxing. Who would have thought that a man who had a romantic beginning with her, possessed a gentle and upright demeanor, and was a shy gentleman would be a murderer who had committed multiple homicides?
Fatty also chimed in, "Indeed, this Xu Zhaoxing puts on a front of being a gentleman. That was my first impression of him. Even if you told people, those who see Xu Zhaoxing looking like this would find it hard to imagine he's a bad person with ill intentions towards them."
The little fox said, "It seems Teacher Wan Yulin is in danger."
Although Xu Zhaoxing appeared very gentle on the surface, like a great warm guy, numerous clues still pointed to him being far from a good person.
Xu Zhaoxing heard what Wan Yulin had said to him earlier, and his eyes seemed to hold a hint of confusion and surprise.
He suddenly smiled and said, "Miss, you are truly generous. If it were another woman, who knows what her reaction would be now."
"I was prepared to be criticized and to apologize, because I was indeed at fault. I didn't expect you to forgive me so easily and even share the blame with me."
Wan Yulin said seriously and solemnly, "Because I am speaking the truth."
"However, one should not misunderstand other women because of this. Society is not tolerant enough of women. Women especially need to protect themselves when they are out alone, because their situation is indeed not optimistic. This leads them to be overly sensitive at times. They need understanding, not just blind accusations and insults."
Wan Yulin, with her face set in a serious expression, looked somewhat cute.
Xu Zhaoxing nodded in agreement with Wan Yulin's words, "You are right, I understand. Women alone outside... it is indeed very easy to encounter danger."
Wan Yulin, not detecting any hidden meaning in Xu Zhaoxing's words, inquired about his condition with concern, "Are you really alright? Do you need to go to the hospital for a check-up on your injuries?"
Ye Tiancheng and the other three became extremely nervous for a moment, fearing that Xu Zhaoxing would take this opportunity to abduct Wan Yulin and then harm her.
Fortunately, Xu Zhaoxing did not agree. Perhaps he was not in a hurry to act and was still in the stage of laying the groundwork and luring his prey.
"No, I'm fine. I just accidentally bumped my knee. It's just a scrape, nothing serious. I should be fine after a few days of rest. You don't need to worry too much about me." Xu Zhaoxing waved his hand, replying to Wan Yulin.
"What about you, Miss? You also fell. Are you injured?"
Mentioning this, Wan Yulin felt a bit embarrassed. It was because Xu Zhaoxing had acted as a cushion for her, and she had fallen directly onto him, suffering no major harm.
Wan Yulin replied, "I'm fine too. At that time, you... you blocked it for me, so I wasn't injured. I was just a little startled."
Xu Zhaoxing smiled very gently, "That's good then. My fall wasn't in vain. I'm fine, Miss, you don't need to worry."
Wan Yulin nodded. Seeing that Xu Zhaoxing didn't seem to be putting on a brave face, she didn't insist. Instead, she said, "That's great. If you feel unwell later, be sure to come and see me. After all, you were more seriously injured, and I have a responsibility to do so."
"Here is my contact information. Please take it."
As Wan Yulin spoke, she took out a business card and handed it to Xu Zhaoxing.
Xu Zhaoxing smiled, revealing a row of white teeth, which looked very radiant, "Okay, thank you for your concern, Miss. I will be careful."
He took the business card Wan Yulin handed him, then lowered his head to look at it, "Wan, Yu, Lin."
Xu Zhaoxing read Wan Yulin's name word by word. The three characters, uttered between his lips and tongue, sounded inexplicably affectionate and lingering, "A very beautiful name."
"My surname is Xu, and my name is Xu Zhaoxing."
Wan Yulin blushed slightly at the compliment, lowering her head a little, "Really? It's just a very ordinary name. Thank you for the compliment."
"Xu Zhaoxing? I'll remember that."
"But I have something else to do, I need to leave now. If there's nothing else, I'll be going. Goodbye." Wan Yulin said, turning to leave.
Xu Zhaoxing immediately reached out and blocked Wan Yulin's path.
Wan Yulin looked at him blocking her way, frowning slightly, not understanding why Xu Zhaoxing, who had been so polite all along, would suddenly act this way.
Xu Zhaoxing lowered his head slightly, seemingly not daring to meet Wan Yulin's gaze directly, as if mustering the courage of a young man confessing to his beloved, "Um, do I have the honor of inviting Miss Wan to dinner?"
Wan Yulin shook her head and replied directly, "I'm sorry, I already have plans with friends tonight, so I need to accompany them. Perhaps another day. If there's a chance another day, I will agree."
"Oh, then another day. I was a bit too forward, and the invitation was too sudden. Please forgive me, Miss Wan. If there's a chance another day, please do accept my invitation and don't refuse me again." Saying this, Xu Zhaoxing bowed slightly in a formal manner and then turned to leave.
Ye Tiancheng, Fatty, and the little fox watched Xu Zhaoxing's retreating back, all frowning.
Xu Zhaoxing's action of blocking Wan Yulin made them suspicious. Had he intended to keep Wan Yulin and abduct her somewhere? To their surprise, he gave up on his own. It was truly unbelievable.
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but say, "What kind of game is this guy playing? We still have to keep tracking his movements, it's truly worrying."
The four of them quietly exchanged thoughts. Ye Tiancheng asked Nie Chongyang, "Does he usually take so long to contact his victims? Is he playing the long game?"
Nie Chongyang shook his head, "Xu Zhaoxing's targets are not limited to young and beautiful women, so it's impossible for him to use the same tactic every time. Because some tactics are completely ineffective for other genders, or for women who are too young or too old."
"This Xu Zhaoxing is truly not an ordinary person. He must have known we were following him all along. Audaciously, he dares to approach his targets right under our noses. Yet, for the safety of the people he targets, we can only watch from the sidelines and cannot intervene. It's been truly frustrating for so long."
"Moreover, this guy keeps committing crimes, and new cases keep happening, yet we can't close them quickly and apprehend Xu Zhaoxing. Over time, our pressure increases. We worry about new victims appearing, and we can't provide an explanation to the public."
It was evident that the official investigation team was in a state of utter disarray due to Xu Zhaoxing.
The few of them sighed. He was indeed a dangerous individual, a very difficult one to handle. If he were just a dangerous individual, it would be one thing, but he also possessed special abilities, making him even more elusive and difficult to guard against.
If Ye Tiancheng and the other two were part of the official team, they would likely be so stressed by now that they would be losing hair and unable to sleep at night.
Who wouldn't be able to sleep soundly under such circumstances?
Ye Tiancheng comforted Nie Chongyang, "It's alright. With our help now, we will definitely apprehend him soon and restore peace to Lan Cheng."
Nie Chongyang gave a wry smile, "Let's hope so."
Since Xu Zhaoxing had voluntarily left and seemed to have no intention of harming Wan Yulin immediately, Ye Tiancheng and the others had to follow Wan Yulin. However, considering that Xu Zhaoxing could teleport, disappearing instantly and reappearing elsewhere, some precautions were necessary.
Ye Tiancheng and the other three did not forget to arrange for people to keep a close eye on Wan Yulin and watch for Xu Zhaoxing's reappearance.
In fact, it made sense. Xu Zhaoxing had made so many preparations and used so many methods to clear his name. Therefore, no matter how arrogant he was, he should not want to expose his side as a murderer. This would be detrimental to Xu Zhaoxing in finding targets and acting.
Xu Zhaoxing's intentional encounter with Wan Yulin earlier was in a public place. Besides those secretly monitoring Xu Zhaoxing, there were also other ordinary hotel guests present. Furthermore, people from the official investigation team were constantly watching Xu Zhaoxing. As Xu Zhaoxing could not afford to give them any leverage, he naturally wouldn't be so hasty to act.
Perhaps he was also considering some possibilities. For example, because Xu Zhaoxing knew that the official investigation team was secretly following him, he deliberately struck up a conversation with Wan Yulin to mislead them into thinking that Wan Yulin was his true target, while in reality, he might have ulterior motives and other targets.
This was truly a cunning opponent, one that demanded complete focus and all-out vigilance.
Ye Tiancheng pondered, and suddenly, a plan began to take shape in his mind. He had some ideas.
Ye Tiancheng said to Nie Chongyang, "I have a plan. Do you want to hear it?"
For Nie Chongyang, catching Xu Zhaoxing and finding leverage against him to bring him to justice was the most important thing. Under this premise, even as the captain of the official investigation team, Nie Chongyang did not mind listening to others' opinions and accepting their command. This was also one of the reasons why Nie Chongyang agreed to cooperate with Ye Tiancheng and the others.
When Nie Chongyang heard Ye Tiancheng say that, he immediately nodded, "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, as long as it can catch mice, it's a good cat. Tell me, if it's useful, that's best. Our biggest goal now is to apprehend Xu Zhaoxing. As long as we can catch him and obtain sufficient evidence to bring him to justice, we will spare no effort."
Ye Tiancheng nodded slightly, then said, "It's not that exaggerated."
"First, let me ask you, if we are present when he intends to commit a crime against a target, and we catch him red-handed, won't we need as much evidence? We can arrest him directly."
Nie Chongyang naturally affirmed, "That is certainly possible. If I were allowed to wear a body camera, it would be even better to leave a record, because this guy's external image is too good, so the more sufficient the evidence, the better."
Ye Tiancheng thought about it and felt that this point should not be a problem, just a matter of paying a little attention.
Then, Ye Tiancheng asked Nie Chongyang again, "If, I'm just saying if, Wan Yulin is willing to cooperate with our work, acting as bait to lure Xu Zhaoxing into wanting to act against Wan Yulin, so that we can apprehend him, would that count?"
Nie Chongyang hesitated for a moment. According to the rules, entrapment might not be ideal. However, Xu Zhaoxing's harm was too great, and the situation was special.
Xu Zhaoxing had already harmed so many people; there was no room to quibble over such matters.