Mrs Fox Heinous Revenge: Can You Love A Villainess like Me?
Chapter 256: In Canary’s Smoke

Chapter 256: In Canary’s Smoke

He slid his hands to the table, noting that it was chosen from the cheapest wood available. Then there’s those documents that clearly weren’t taken care of. Even the whole room seemed as if it had been last month, dirty but amidst all those items scattered around the floor, there was Canary.

Like the lone flower in a desert, she had hypnotized everyone to look at her, her presence demanding while her eyes that seemed to look at her surrounding was always clouded with a sense of anger and annoyance.

She had removed her coat, brushing her hair to the back once she threw it somewhere on the couch. Moving toward the chair, she sat down, crossing her legs on the desk and pulling the cigarette that Yan had put for her.

Pushing it to her lips, she lit the other end, frowning when the lighter she had flicked weren’t working properly. She had tried calmly, trying to maintain her inner peace but after a while, annoyance got to her and she threw the lighter across the ground, ready to crush the cigarette that had annoyed her as well when a hand shoot up with the lighter flame touching the other end of the cigarette.

She slowly looked upward, her eyes meeting with Su HaiTan who had offered her the lighter, his eyes grew lighter in color as the flame shone before his face.

Canary inhaled, the cigarette catching the flame with a small sparkle. She briefly held the smoke in her lungs before exhaling, watching as the thin smoke curled into the dusty air of the room. Her gaze remained locked on Su HaiTan, assessing him, as she was trying to decide whether he was a threat or just another inconvenience. Whether this young master really need her help or she was only dipping her hand to further trouble.

His hand lingered for a second longer before he flicked the lighter shut with an effortless motion, a click resounded, filling their silence before he slipped it back into his pocket.

"And you carry a lighter?" she asked, her voice edged with curiosity. "You don’t look like a smoker."

Su HaiTan stood still in front of the desk, as if trained to always keep that posture. He was close enough to be within reach but still maintaining a deliberate distance. "I don’t smoke, I hate the idea of smoking," he replied. "But I’ve learned that it’s useful, especially with older people."

"Useful," she echoed, letting the word roll off her tongue like smoke. She tapped the ash off the cigarette into a chipped ashtray. "What else have you learned, rich boy?"

His lips quirked, but the amusement didn’t quite reach his eyes. "That you don’t take care of your things," he said, flicking his gaze toward the mess in the room, the old documents, the scuffed floor, the lighter she had just thrown aside. "And yet, for some reason, people still keep coming to you. Those two subordinate of yours look up to you and that’s amazing, I can tell they’re not one to follow rules or someone else’s demands."

She smirked, taking another drag before answering. "People don’t come to me for tidiness. They come to me because I solve problems." She exhaled, the smoke forming a lazy veil between them. "And you, young master? What problem are you trying to solve?"

He was quiet for a moment, his fingers tapping absently against the desk. Then, in a voice just above a whisper, he said, "An accident. Perhaps a murder now."

The air between them changed. The playful sharpness in Canary’s eyes dimmed just slightly, replaced by something more calculating. She could tell that from that document the accident was old and the people involved is someone who the young master think of as a family, perhaps by the year it’s even his parents?

She leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk, cigarette dangling between her fingers. "Whose?"

He met her gaze, his expression unreadable. "My parents."

The words sat heavy between them, sinking into the cracks of the worn, out room. Canary didn’t react immediately, but she took another slow drag, exhaling before finally speaking.

"You think they were killed?"

"I don’t know," he answered with a deeper frown. "I always thought that they weren’t. But from what you see, it’s different isn’t it?"

So someone must have tipped him that his parent’s death was unnatural and he had gone to look for it, not knowing that the entire police station was bribed. She could also tell that somewhere he had a suspicion on someone but didn’t dare to suspect that person, perhaps because he owed them?

She studied him, trying to gauge just how much he had figured out. "And you came following me like a little puppy because...?"

Su HaiTan tilted his head slightly. "Because I have money, but I don’t have answers." His voice was smooth, his words truth without trying to show off but Canary couldn’t help and scoff lightly at his words. "You, on the other hand, have the kind of connections that don’t get bought with a check," he pointed.

Canary chuckled, low and dry. "Flattery won’t get you far, young master."

"It’s not flattery." He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping. "It’s an offer."

She tapped her cigarette against the ashtray, her eyes never leaving from studying him as she grinned, "And if I say no?"

He wistfully smiled, "Then I suppose I will have to unfortunately find someone else." but he shook his head and paused. "But we both know I won’t. I wish to ask for your help, I know it will come with a price and I am ready to pay for it as long as you are willing to lend me your mercy and kindness."

Silence stretched between them. Then, finally, Canary sighed, rubbing her temple with her free hand. She wasn’t one to turn away someone from their plight, especially when from what she had seen Su HaiTan was desperate. But she also couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was behind this case, something dangerous.

"Alright," she said, letting out a smoke from her lips as she spoke. "But if you slow me down, It’s going to be your murder case we have to solve."

Su HaiTan chuckled, low and deep. "Noted."

She shrugged and huffed. Pushing the cigarette to the ashtray then she stood up and pulled his documents, "What kind of people are your parents?"

"I don’t know," he answered. "When they died I was only three."

"Hm, that doesn’t help much," she answered frankly, "Then tell me young master," she tapped her fingers with a frown, "Do you have someone in that heart of yours who you suspect as behind all this murder?"

Su HaiTan was rattled at once and she could see by how his chest had flinched. He looked away from her striking eyes that had gouged all emotions inside him, looking at the window behind her and finally back at her.

"No," he lied and she sees through it. Not that he wanted to lie but he wanted to deny his suspicion. She sighed, knowing well that this mean the person his heart suspect must be someone close to him, someone he thought would never do this to him.

"Then someone who might be able to help us with this case?"

"I want to keep this a secret as much as possible. I’m worried that the more people knows, the easier they could tweak evidences like what you have said." Su HaiTan knew that Canary operates alone and that was good as it means if his grandmother was really behind everything, Canary wasn’t someone who could be easily bought to lie or change the truth.

"True, the lesser the knowing, the honest the outcome," Canary hummed, leaning backward at the window as she wondered if AiLin herself had gotten out of the hospital. She had came to check her friend but upon seeing her condition, she was relieved to see that AiLin was getting better. She still suffered from her PTSD episodes but she had gotten to the point where she wouldn’t do anything drastic and as much as she despise it, she knew it was all thanks to Li ZiChen.

"Men," she sighed, "Aren’t trustworthy."

Su HaiTan’s eyes lifted to her who had drifted in a brief daze as he had captured what she had said loud and clear.

He was about to speak when Canary pressed her fingers to her waist and turned to him, "Alright. Then let’s talk about the payment young master. Come tomorrow for the contract and if I ask any question to you regarding the case, I want your honesty. Transparency is how this works."

"You seem very used to investigating," he chuckled at her face that seemed confident and knowing, "Isn’t this building an office for loanshark?"

"I do special service," she sang and saw Su HaiTan who had broke into a smile and then laughter. His eyes sparkled a little as he felt less frustrated with her joke.

"I see, then I should be grateful that special service have been allowed for me," he then thought for a pause and nod, "I will agree to your clauses but I would also like to ask you for full honesty. No lies. Only truth behind this case."

"Don’t worry I don’t like lying, I keep it to one time a week," Canary then turned to him, "And seeing you have money, no matter how much I ask for you, you would give me?"

He laughed, enjoying their conversation more than he thought he ever would and nod, "Yes. How much you ask doesn’t matter, then I suppose this will be the start of our friendship?"

He had reached out his hands for a handshake and seeing it, Canary smiled, "No, partnership."