Memory Lost (美人为馅): Chapter 82

Chapter 82: A Seven Member Organization Part 2

Bai Jin Xi and the others arrive following the sound of gunshots, and what they see is——

Han Chen is covered in blood sitting behind a big tree with a cold expression on his face.  Beside him is Xin Jia’s dead body which is penetrated by a gunshot wound.

Chatterbox and Cold Face rush over.

“Leader!  What happened?”

“Leader, did you get hurt?  Is Xin Jia……”

Bai Jin Xi’s eyes are fixed on his face as she walks carefully toward him.  Her heart feels as if it’s hanging at the top of a cliff.

Han Chen looks at them and his eyes land on Jin Xi.  He stands up and says to them first, “I’m fine.  Cold Face, survey the area to see if there are any traces of evidence.  Chatterbox, contact support immediately and block off the roads around here.  The person who killed Xin Jia has just run away not long ago……”

His voice pauses suddenly.

It’s because Bai Jin Xi has suddenly reached out her arms and hugged his waist.

He lowers his head to look down at her.

Jin Xi also raises her head to look at him.

Chatterbox makes eye contact with Cold Face right away and then says, “We’ll get busy then.  Leader, you’ve really scared Xiao Bai to death for disappearing this time.”  Since the matter at hand is urgent, they refrain from asking for more details; they immediately start working on Han Chen’s orders.

They’re now the only two left in this big forest area.

It’s the first time that Han Chen is being hugged so tightly by a woman.  He can feel her slender arms holding his waist firmly.  And her face is against his chest.  Her clear and black pupils show worry, blame, and joy from relief, as well as a deep lingering sense of attachment.

Han Chen feels as if his heart is being sucked away by those eyes.  He reaches out his arms to hug her back.  Her strength is incomparable to his.  She inhales a quick breath and her feet are off the ground; he lifts her up.

Han Chen keeps holding her this way.  Her eyes are now on the same level as he says, “You worry about me so much?  You even hugged me in front of them?”  Jin Xi hates him for teasing her right now.  She glares at him, “Why didn’t you call to let me know?”

“My cell phone signal was interfered by Xin Jia,” he says simply.  He lowers his head and seals her lips.

The kiss is fierce and passionate; as if he wants to suck away everything from her lips and tongue, and at the same time, it’s as if he wants to express how much he misses her just like how much she misses him.  He’s leaning against the tree embracing and kissing her, making her hard to breathe.  It’s not until Jin Xi moans, “Alright, alright……” that he finally moves his lips away and stares at her at a close distance with his dark brown eyes.

“I will never leave you,” he says in a raspy voice.

Jin Xi asks, “How can you guarantee that?”

“If I say I can, I can,” he answers.

Jin Xi lets out a soft “Cheh!”

Han Chen puts her down.  Just when he wants to explain everything to her, she buries her head into his chest and wraps her arms around his waist and won’t let go.

Han Chen smiles seeing her stubbornness.

“Let go first,” Han Chen pacifies.

She responds with her voice sounding muffled, “I don’t want to.”

At the end of her sentence, she feels Han Chen’s hand slide onto her waist again and presses her inward!  She lets out a soft, “Hmph!” as she enters his embrace again.

“Fine.  Support will be here soon,” he says, “We’ll just continuing hugging like this.  We’ll hug like this for the rest of our lives.”

Jin Xi pushes him away finally.  They both laugh.  He holds onto her hand as they stand and look at Xin Jia’s dead body.  His expression is solemn.  He squats, takes off his jacket and lays it on top of Xin Jia’s body.

_____

The results from surveying the scene and their attempts to chase down the killer are not optimistic.

He has not left behind any obvious traces or evidence.  And the area is surrounded by mountains, so he can easily escape from the police.

An hour later, the police leave the scene of the crime.  Han Chen is driving his Land Rover, and Bai Jin Xi is his only passenger.

The sky is darkening.  Han Chen’s side profile is still and quiet.  Bai Jin Xi is also rather tense.

“Seven members?” she asks slowly.

Han Chen nods.

He hasn’t told everybody about everything regarding Xin Jia’s death.  He has only said that Xin Jia asked him to come, hoping that he could accompany her on her last day in City Lan; as well as the poisonous gas inside the house, which Xin Jia admitted to killing others by making poison.  But as for the existence of the killing organization, he hasn’t mentioned it to anyone else.

They both fall into silence.

After a while, Jin Xi says, “Whether it’s five or seven, we will definitely find them one by one!”

She says these words with much determination.  Han Chen answers without turning his head, “Okay.”

Although it’s a one-word answer, it anchors her heart.  She smiles slowly as she turns to look at him, “And, you’re not allowed to take action on your own again.  If anything happened to you today causing you to become in a vegetative state, what should I do then?”

Han Chen’s eyes are still on the road.

“Nothing.  Even if I were to be in a vegetative state, I would still recognize you.”

Jin Xi is a bit dumbstruck.  She frowns her eyebrows, “F–k!  Knock on wood!”  She even pokes her head out the window and spits a few times.

Han Chen smiles seeing her like this.  After she withdraws her head, he lifts his arm and grabs her by the shoulder to pull her into his embrace while driving with one hand.

Jin Xi leans her head over while looking at the dark sky.  She keeps still.

Is it because they yearn for each other?  It feels like they want to snuggle together every second and every minute.

“I’ll drive you home first,” he says softly, “I still have to go back to the station for a recording.”

Jin Xi straightens up and looks at him, “No.  I will go with you.  I’ll sit and wait for you while you do the recording.”

Han Chen lowers his head and gives her a peck on her long hair, “Be good.  Your throat hasn’t fully recovered yet.  And later tonight, Xin Jia’s family will be coming here from Beijing.”

Jin Xi thinks for a moment before agreeing with him.

_____

Just like Han Chen had expected, after returning to the station, Xin Jia’s family arrives crying and shouting non-stop.  But there’s no way for them to catch the killer in such a short amount of time.  Han Chen knows very well in his heart that he will have to find everything out about this seven-member organization in order to catch the perpetrator.

He’s been working hard and it’s now 3 am.  Han Chen takes a break.  He walks to the hallway by himself, leans against the wall and takes a rest quietly.

Xin Jia’s family continues to be rowdy.  Even through the glass window, he can see their faces and hear their loud voices.

Many windows are still lit; many people are still busy working.  He can see many faces clearly: Qin Wen Long, Xu Si Bai, Chatterbox, Cold Face, Xiao Zhuan……

His eyes darken.

A criminal investigator comes over and hands him a cigarette.  He keeps quiet for a second before waving his hand to turn it down.

It’s cold at night.  He flips the collar of his jacket up and then sees the ring on his finger.

In a night like this, although he can’t have a cigarette, he has her accompanying him.

He looks down at the ring on his hand and recalls the way she was today.  He feels softness and warmth in his heart and his mouth gradually curves into a smile.  He takes out his phone and stares at her name, but doesn’t dial.

It’s already very late.  She must be asleep by now.

But what he doesn’t know is, at his home not far away, Jin Xi is just like him.  She’s staring down at her necklace’s pendant which is now in pieces.

The moon is shining brightly.  She’s lying on the bed and can’t seem to sleep.  She’s thinking: she didn’t get a chance to let him see the necklace; she didn’t get a chance to tell him what her real name is.

She is his Su Mian.  The name that has been engraved on his ring has finally been found.

She misses him so much.

She misses seeing the corners of his eyes curving into a smile.  She misses the gentleness and firmness of his hug from today.  She’s been used to being a carefree person, so between the two of them, he has always been the one wanting her more; he desires her more than she desires him.  But after today’s incident, she’s not sure when it started, but she realizes that she can’t be without him anymore.  To her, she cannot allow others to offend Han Chen; he cannot be touched or hurt, and she cannot lose him or forget about him.

She tosses and turns for a long while before picking up her cell phone and sending him a text message:

“When are you coming back?”

Han Chen is still standing in the hallway with his head down deep in his own thoughts.  He hears the sound of a notification from his phone.

He holds it up to see.  He keeps quiet for a moment and then walks back into the office.  He takes his keys, turns around and leaves.

“I’m coming back now.”

Jin Xi’s mouth curves into a smile reading the message.  She no longer wants to sleep as she hops out of bed barefooted and runs to the balcony.

Han Chen is speeding in his car toward home.

The stars are glittering in the sky.  The night is gentle yet chilly.

There are endless cases to solve, whereas there will always be an end to life.

No matter if it’s hardship or happiness ahead of us.

In this life, and at this moment, I just want to be with you.