The Swapped Master's Bride And Her Bad Luck System.-Chapter 89: Finally, that punChapter

It was the middle of the night and Liwu had been asleep for two hours. She was dreaming of the breakfast that she would be having on Sunday morning when the rustle of petals near her nose woke her up. She blinked, disoriented. She could barely make out the shape of her husband who leaned over with that bouquet of white flowers and a velvet box glinting in the dim light.

"These better not be lilies," she muttered.

"I would be a fool." Weijun replied.

"Flowers? Jewelry? At three in the morning? I just went to sleep, can’t this wait for tomorrow?" Liwu’s voice was groggy and suspicious.

Weijun smiled nervously. "I have a small request. I need you to come with me. Somewhere important."

Liwu sat up, narrowing her eyes. She wondered what he was up to now and if it was related to the visit from their marital supervisors.

"You will love it, I promise. I told your mom all about it before she left and she was excited." Weijun said softly. Before she could protest further, he guided her out of bed, the gifts still in her hands, and ushered her to the bathroom. A change of clothes was waiting inside. "It is a bit cold so I picked out jeans and a shirt for you. The trench coat is also a gift from me."

Liwu changed and came out. Again, before she could ask questions, he led her downstairs, into a waiting car and Mo Xia set off at an outrageous speed, breaking nearly every traffic law in existence. The city lights blurred past and soon they were entering a private hangar. In no time, Liwu was climbing the steps of a private plane.

Inside, her teammates were already seated, their faces tense but expectant. The hum of the engines filled the cabin. Liwu froze. This was a Bureau plane--to be specific, the jet they used when they had to solve cases in other cities!!

Her husband’s voice cracked as he spoke. "I’m sorry for the deception. I knew you wouldn’t come otherwise. This is a matter of urgency."

The realization hit her like a blow. They were on their way to solve a case he had handpicked! He had interfered in her work again--the one thing she kept reminding him not to do. Her fists clenched.

Without hesitation, Liwu swung and punched him across the jaw. The cabin went silent except for the drone of the engines. He staggered back, holding his hands up to block any other punches. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"You just don’t learn," Liwu hissed. "My job is mine. Do you know how many aspects of my life are my own? You don’t get to manipulate me with flowers and lies?"

"I am sorry." Weijun apologized.

Liwu’s team exchanged uneasy glances, but none dared to intervene. They knew Liwu’s fury was justified. The Bureau was not operated on the whims of the Shen family or city hall. If this continued, the lines of authority were going to be blurred.

Weijun straightened, jaw aching, but his voice was steady. "I just want you to take a look. You don’t need to stay back and solve the case. Also, I may have put you on the plane through trickery but the case did not come from me. The president of the country assigned it to you."

Liwu’s glare softened only slightly. "The president! Even if it is him, it doesn’t give you a right to get me here like this. I am a respected detective and your wife. Using emotional games to get me here is vile. Shame on you." She marched to Linlin’s side and sat down. "Brief me on what’s going on."

Weijun settled behind with Mo Xia. Hale handed him an ice pack for his jaw.

"She is going to kill you with her bad luck or her gun." Hale murmured.

****

Linlin slid a folder across the table. "Partner, do you need a moment to calm down?"

Liwu was sitting stiffly, her knuckles still store from striking her husband. Even if she was given a whole day, she was not sure it would take away the sting of anger in her heart.

Her partner sighed and opened the folder. "I guess we should get to it directly. This case is delicate, extremely so. The national men’s basketball team is at the center of it all. and they just won the Asian tournament. This is the kind of press that is good for the country, which is why the president wants the case solved and gone in twenty four hours."

Liwu took in a deep breath, releasing some of that anger.

Linlin continued, "The team was celebrating at a private villa owned by the ministry for sports in Tie Ta district. One of the players was found dead."

"Which one?" Liwu asked.

"Fan Tai-Hua." Xuanji stretched out the name, displaying a picture of the dead man from his toothpaste endorsement. "RIP to his million dollar smile."

Liwu narrowed her eyes. "Dead how? How is the case related to the bureau?"

Linlin gasped. "You didn’t know he was a system host? He has a perfect teeth system. That toothpaste he endorses, it was his own brand."

"Million dollar smile." Xuanji repeated enthusiastically.

In an excited voice, Linlin added, "It seemed silly when he was drafted to the national team because they take the best of the best and when it comes to system hosts, they want those whose ability is related to balls going through the hoop. But Tai-Hua had a talent. His smile could disarm the opposition players if they looked his way. He was a smiling machine for the team, eye candy, a distraction. He was one of the faces of the team."

Liwu leaned on her hand. "Okay, so he was handsome, rich and had nice teeth. How did he die?"

Her teammates shook their heads.

"Apparently, we need to see the scene for ourselves." Su Jin informed her. She flipped through a dossier. Photos of the villa, the team and the victim. "The Bureau suspects foul play. There have been reports of tension between the teammates lately. All claims were from the press, so nothing is concrete."

Liwu looked at images that drones over the villa were sending back. Aside from players, their significant others had been invited to the party: wives, girlfriends and women that had checked that ’it’s complicated’ box. "The suspect pool is large."

Linlin nodded. "Women, system hosts, booze, possible tension, loud music and the high of a championship. The cameras inside were probably turned off to prevent any questionable behavior from being leaked. What better time to strike and kill than this one?"