The bed in the master bedroom of the suite was very big, so Xu Xu only occupied a small part of it even when she spread herself out. She tilted her head to look at the bustling and bright night view outside the window and felt a little uneasy.
At first, she thought it was because of the change of environment, but after lying down with her eyes closed for a while, she realized that she was actually hungry. She looked at her watch and realized that she had eaten the in-flight meal at around five o 'clock, so it was now eleven o' clock. She endured for a while and realized that she could not take it anymore, so she got out of bed.
Ji Bai watched the evening news for a while and was about to sleep when he heard light footsteps in the hallway.
When he opened the door, he saw a small figure in a white nightgown slowly walking into the dining room from the hallway. Ji Bai was a little surprised. He thought that her nightgown would be something like a teddy bear, but he did not expect it to be a mature woman's style. However … Ji Bai laughed. The nightgown was obviously too long and on her, it looked like a child secretly wearing an adult's clothes.
In fact, the reason why Xu Xu chose her nightgown was very simple. She was a twenty-four-year-old woman, so of course, she would wear feminine clothes.
Ji Bai walked to the dining room and smelled the pizza from afar, which woke him up from his hunger. He saw Xu Xu holding her chin with one hand as she slowly ate at the clean dining table. The satin nightgown followed her slender curves and hung from her neck to her slender ankles, showing off a graceful temperament that she usually did not have. One of her slippers fell to the ground, but she did not care. Her bare feet were still swaying gently.
When she saw Ji Bai, she was not surprised. She lowered her head and put on the slippers, then asked, "Do you want some?"
Ji Bai sat down next to her and realized that even her supper was very nourishing. She had a small piece of pizza, a small plate of fruit, and a glass of milk, which looked exquisite and appetizing. With her physique, she did not have to worry about gaining weight.
Xu Xu put a piece of pizza into the microwave, then stood in front of the counter and cut some fruit for Ji Bai. In fact, it was usually very difficult for her to serve people so patiently, but tonight, her respect for Ji Bai had deepened, so she was quite motivated to make supper for him. She had a simple personality, but because of her respect for him, she also felt a little closer to him. While she was cutting, she thought that she should change the way she addressed him and call him master.
The counter was facing the dining table and Xu Xu had her head lowered as she focused on cutting. Ji Bai rested one arm on the empty back of the chair next to him while he played with the lighter in his other hand.
Perhaps it was because they were alone in the middle of the night, but when Ji Bai looked at her soft and thin hair that fell on her fair forehead and ears, he felt an inexplicable itch in his heart. This feeling was the same as when she called him "third brother" before. There was also this mature woman's pajamas. The collar was slightly open, revealing a small piece of snow-white skin, just like the glass of milk in front of him.
Ji Bai's supper was ready, but both of them finished it at the same time. Ji Bai picked up the plates and was about to clean them up when Xu Xu stood up. "Master, let me do it."
Ji Bai glanced at her.
Of course, Xu Xu understood what he meant. She thought for a while but could not think of a better way to phrase it, so she directly expressed her intentions. "Master, I will respect you more in the future and learn from you more diligently."
Ji Bai looked at her blushing cheeks. "… Okay."
He was tall and strong, so he sat on the spot without moving. Xu Xu naturally bent over to clean up, so her body swayed in front of Ji Bai's face. In fact, her pajamas were very loose, so he could not see any clues at all. However, it was the loose undulation that reminded Ji Bai of the unusually soft and full feeling that he had felt many days ago.
At that time, he just laughed it off, but now that he recalled it, it felt very good.
Ji Bai was no longer a young boy. After returning to his room that night, he stood in front of the window and looked at the beautiful night sky of Capital City while thinking about Xu Xu.
Recently, he had been paying attention to her, and it seemed to have become a habit. As long as she appeared, his gaze would fall on her. Her short hair was pleasing to the eye, her thin arms and legs were pleasing to the eye, and her stubborn expression was also pleasing to the eye.
She did not make him feel too intense. In fact, perhaps it was because of his personality and profession, he had never felt that way towards a girl. However, being with her made him feel refreshed and comfortable.
She was also different from what he had envisioned as a partner. He had originally thought that, at the age of nearly thirty, he might be tempted by a more mature and intellectual woman. Furthermore, she was wearing a very mature woman's pajamas and looked like an ignorant child, which he thought was quite good.
…
Ji Bai knew very well that he did not want to play around, nor did he want to try it casually. He did not have that much time. He had to nurture his girlfriend as his wife.
After thinking about it for a long time, he came to the conclusion that once he was done with the case at hand, he would further confirm and deepen his feelings for her.
Then, he would try his best to woo her.
As for their relationship as colleagues, superiors and subordinates, master and disciple … Were those not advantageous conditions?
***
Before six o 'clock the next day, Xu Xu was still in a daze when she heard someone knocking on the door. She thought that it was an emergency, so she ran over without putting on her shoes.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Ji Bai in sportswear. His tall body leaned against the door frame as he looked down at her. "Change your clothes and go for a run."
Xu Xu was puzzled. After Ye Zixi's case, the two of them did not exercise in the morning.
"Why?" She asked, "Aren't we busy with the case?"
Ji Bai said faintly, "It's better to be professional than to be idle. The more tense the stage, the more important it is to maintain a strong body. "After saying that, he turned around and walked to the living room to wait for her.
"Oh." Xu Xu understood. The prodigal son from yesterday had returned to normal.
In the morning, the hotel garden was lush and sparsely populated. After running for a while, Xu Xu felt strange. Ji Bai, who usually ran without a trace, stopped or slowed down to wait for her after running a short distance. Then, he ran alongside her for a while.
When he stopped for the third time to wait for her, Xu Xu asked, "Why did you slow down to wait for me today?"
Ji Bai said naturally, "The environment here is unfamiliar, it's easy to get lost."
Xu Xu understood. Looking at his handsome and deep face in the morning light, she replied gratefully, "Thank you. But, you don't have to worry about me. I've seen the map, it's impossible for me to get lost. "
Ji Bai turned around and smiled at her. "That's good. I didn't look at the map, let's run together. "
Xu Xu replied, "Oh."
They ran together, ate breakfast together, returned to the room to take a shower, and watched the morning news together for a while. Only then did Shu Hang ring the doorbell on time.
Before arriving in Beijing, Ji Bai had already contacted the local police and obtained the student directory of H University. After cross-checking, he found more than a hundred people who worked in Lin City, but they were all eliminated from suspicion. However, this was only the first step.
The focus of the morning's work was to visit Ye Zixi's teachers and close classmates. As for whether this mysterious lover was related to Ye Zixi's death, they could not be sure. However, they did not want to miss any clues.
Because Shu Hang had informed a few friends in advance, and Ji Bai was here to investigate the case, the school was very cooperative. However, after investigating for the whole morning, they found nothing. Although the teachers and students had a deep impression of the beautiful and outstanding Ye Zixi, they had never heard of her having a boyfriend.
During lunchtime, Xu Xu told Ji Bai that she had ordered takeout. Ji Bai was about to say yes when Shu Hang called at the right time and said that he had booked a private room for couples at a restaurant near the school. Ji Bai answered him with a faint "Okay", then turned around and told Xu Xu that they did not need to order takeout, and that they could go out for a meal.
In the afternoon, there was finally some progress.
They learned that a woman named Tian Tian was Ye Zixi's good friend back then, and she was also in Beijing now. After contacting them over the phone, she burst into tears. After she calmed down, she choked and said, "Officer, let's meet up and talk."
Her attitude made Ji Bai and Xu Xu believe that they were about to find the answer.
An hour later, Tian Tian arrived at H University and told them about the past.
It turned out that when Ye Zixi was in her first year of graduate school, she had a relationship with a man from another city. However, she was relatively low-key when it came to relationships, so other than her close friends, very few people knew about it.
"That was six or seven years ago." Tian Tian recalled, "At that time, Zixi loved that man very much. He was younger than Zixi, so he probably had not graduated yet. He often traveled to Beijing and often took the overnight train to come here. When he came, Zixi would not come back for a few days. During the winter and summer holidays, the two of them rented a house outside the school and stuck together for a few months … "
She spoke emotionally, so Ji Bai and Xu Xu listened in silence.
"After that …" Tian Tian whispered, "Zixi got pregnant, but of course, she had an abortion in the end. Although she was sad at the time, she was very happy and said that the man proposed to her and said that he would marry her once he graduated. However, I don't know what happened, but after a few months, the two suddenly broke up. During that time, Zixi was very depressed. The two of them were so in love … "
"Where is he from? What's his name? "Ji Bai asked in a low voice.
"He's from Lin City, his name is …" Tian Tian thought for a while. "I think I have a photo of them at home. I don't live far away, so I can go and get it now. "
Xu Xu was slightly stunned, and the restless feeling from last night resurfaced again. It seemed like she had missed out on some important clues.
Ji Bai nodded and turned to look at Xu Xu, whose face seemed to be a little paler than usual. He naturally placed his hand on her shoulder and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Xu Xu did not notice his extra movement, so she answered softly, "Nothing, I was just thinking about something."
This reminded Ji Bai of the way she obediently cut fruits for him last night, and the way she called him master with a slightly blushing face. He smiled faintly and said, "I'll go with her to get the photo, you can rest for a while." Before Xu Xu could refuse, he had already left with Tian Tian.
When he got the photo, Ji Bai was in a daze for a moment.
In the photo, a handsome and fair-skinned man lowered his head and kissed a woman's neck. He looked focused and obsessed; the woman's long hair fluttered in the wind and her bright smile was like a blooming flower, full of happiness.
He had seen this man before, and he knew who he was.
During the time Ji Bai was away, Xu Xu stood in front of the window of the temporary office in H University and looked at the beautiful green campus. She wondered, 'What was she doing six years ago? The college entrance examination. She paid no attention to the outside world, and only focused on reading the books of the sages. '
Steady and familiar footsteps sounded behind her, so Xu Xu turned around and met Ji Bai's thoughtful eyes.
Her uneasiness and suspicion were finally confirmed, because Ji Bai handed the photo to her.
"It's Xu Juan."
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