Memory Lost

Chapter 7: Your Brokenness

Han Chen takes another look at her.

Then he swiftly loosens his hand, and finally takes a step back.

Bai Jin Xi glares at him fiercely, reaches out to tidy up her ruffled clothing, and turns to look at Xu Si Bai, “Why have you come?”

A considerably important forensic investigator like Xu Si Bai, normally only appears on scene when there is a fatal case.

The sunlight penetrates with beauty and brightness. Xu Si Bai stands perfectly straight with his fair white face and still furrowed eyebrows.

“I just happened not to have anything today, so I can come over to take a look.” He replies.

Bai Jin Xi nods, “Rape case, it’s a bit problematic.”

As she’s speaking, he had already walked in front of her. He bows his head to look at her, “You’ve cried?”

Bai Jin Xi really feels a bit helpless.

How come everyone is interested in her red-rimmed eyes today.

She smiles , “No, you’re mistaken.”

Xu Si Bai stares at her with his deep black eyes, like two dark, calm pools.

After a short while, he also slowly smiled. He doesn’t cling to the topic. Instead, he looks behind her, his eyes betraying curiosity, “Who was that person just now? How come you were fighting with someone?”

Bai Jin Xi turns and also looks over. It’s completely empty behind her. At some point, Han Chen had already left without a sound.

She sighs and replies, “It’s hard to explain.”

—

An hour later.

Second floor, balcony of the scene of the crime.

Bai Jin Xi stands on the balcony gazing into the distance.

The short housing of old city district is like a chessboard, criss-crossed, like a slate of grey underneath the sunlight. But this is also the government’s focused area to assist its new booming economy. Therefore, there are also numerous high rises that are being constructed. Outdated and new, coexisting in harmony. After looking for a long time, Bai Jin Xin starts feeling like it looks pleasing to the eye.

Xu Si Bai takes off his glove, pulls open the door and comes out to stand shoulder to shoulder with her.

“What have you discovered?” She asks.

Xu Si Bai shakes his head, “It was a cautious person.”

He is talking about the criminal.

Bai Jin Xin nods and adds, “Calm, self-controlled, with a perfect plan.” She pauses for a bit and then says, “Right now, the surveillance videos and evaluation of the scene gives us no trail. We didn’t find anything from asking the neighbours either. He might do it again.”

Xu Si Bai stays silent.

After awhile, he asks, “Has the few points that Han Chen made been researched?”

Having been on scene for such a long time, he’s naturally heard the criminal investigators embellishing the speculation PK by Han Chen and her earlier.

“Those few points need deeper investigation. There are no threads, making it quite a problem.” As she reaches this point, Bai JIn Xi turns her head to look at him and lightly laughs, “Speaking of which, I met Han Chen on my sex trade raid at the nightclub.”

Xu Si Bai has naturally also heard of the rumors of Han Chen’s loose ways. After hearing this, he furrowed his brows a bit as before, but does not speak.

Bai Jin Xin, however, changes the direction of the topic and says, “However, I keep feeling like there’s a problem with this guy. He could have even gone through some huge setback, otherwise he wouldn’t be so…”

Completely vicious.

That’s right, even though she’s unclear of what he has done, whenever he makes any movement, it always gives her an unrestrained and bad sinking feeling — a certain repressed viciousness. One of the best criminal investigators sinking in his secret world.

However, Xu Si Bai is a bit stumped for words. He raises his eyebrows and looks at her.

“There’s nothing worth sympathizing with.” He says lightly, “No matter what setbacks, a clean and honest man should not willingly corrupt himself and go to such places. That’s being irresponsible to his future partner.”

It is Bai Jin Xin’s turn to be stumped.

He has always had a calm temper, doesn’t concern himself with irrelevant people. Today’s a rare instance where he issues such a serious judgement on another. Bai Jin Xin can’t help but laugh. She reaches out, pokes his arm, and intimately asks, “You sound so dignified. Can it be that in these twenty some years, you’ve never been tempted by such things?”

The sun has already completely risen in the sky. The dark blue sky and the cloud scatter. A gentle, cool breeze gently passes through on the balcony. The city resumes its hustle and bustle as before.

Xu Si Bai looks off into the distance, and with a calm and serious look, says, “I promise you, I never have before.”

—

The 24 hour surveillance, squatting, interrogation, and visitations start.

Even though the psychological portrayal, by Bai Jin Xin, of the criminal provided the possible scope of the crime, the Super Detective, Han Chen, who fills the atmosphere, has also pointed out a possible clear path. However, in order for the criminal investigators to make the breakthrough they want, they have to begin with the large amount of trivial details first.

The Wednesday of the next week.

Noon, blazing sunlight.

Bai Jin Xin is leaning inside the car with two criminal investigators, drenched in sweat, exhausted from head to toe.

The morning’s run of asking the neighbours has just finished, the investigation of whether the area around the crime scene had eyewitnesses or possible suspects. Unfortunately, they have still come up with nothing. There are very few surveillance cameras in the old district, and the criminal clearly knows the area well. They sifted through all the recordings and could not find a lead.

Zhou Xiao Zhuan wipes a handful of sweat and says in concern, “Leader, how long will it take us to investigate like this! How can we not even have a tiny clue.”

Bai Jin Xin’s eyes are still focused outside the car window on the silent houses, the winding alley, the sporadic pedestrians. She takes a sip out of a bottle of water and answers, “What’s the hurry? Everything will be alright.” She takes a glance at the already empty water bottle and throws it to Zhou Xiao Zhuan, “Go, buy some more bottles of water back.”

“Oh.”

Zhou Xiao Zhuan opens the door and is just about to get out of the car when his eyes light up seeing the person heading towards them.

“Forensic Investigator Xu! You’re here again! What good things to eat and drink have you brought Leader?” His voice is so loud that those on the next street could hear him.

Bai Jin Xin and the other criminal investigator turn their heads at the same time to look.

The afternoon sun dazzles the eye, leaking through the leaves on the trees. Xu Si Bai is dressed casually, holding a plastic bag in his hands, walking towards them neither fast nor slow. Towards Zhou Xiao Zhuan’s jest, he only slightly smiles and takes out a cup of milk tea and two mangosteens from the plastic back. Holding them in his hands, he hands the rest to Zhou Xiao Zhuan, “You guys split amongst yourselves.”

Zhou Xiao Zhuan opens it to take a look — it is all cold drinks and fruit — and can’t help but exclaim in happiness, “Thank you Forensic Investigator Xu!” He then turns his head and very politely says to Bai Jin Xin, “And thank you, Leader!”

Bai Jin Xi doesn’t feel like bothering with his mockery. With one hand propping up her head, she nods towards Xu Si Bai as greeting. Zhou Xiao Zhuan and the other criminal investigator glance at each other and the two of them both get off the car. Carrying the cold drinks and fruit, the two hides beneath a tree somewhere nearby.

Leaving the space in the car to them.

Xu Si Bai supports himself with the car door and lowers his head to look at her in the driver’s seat, “Tired?”

Bai Jin Xin lazily stretches, “It’s alright, just not enough sleep.”

Xu Si Bai chuckles and hands the milk tea and mangosteens to her. Bai Jin Xin cheerly takes them, “Thanks! It’s not the gift that counts, but the thought behind it. (Play on words. lit. Giving mangosteens in the scorching sun, is a trifling present with a weighty thought behind it)”

A smiling expression surfaces onto Xu Si Bai’s face again.

His skin is already fair; Standing beneath the shadows of the tree, his handsomeness, his smiling expression, and his spotlessly white teeth is even making Bai Jin Xin a bit dazzled.

She pats the seat next to her, “What are you standing there for?”

Xu Si Bai opens the door and takes a seat.

As air conditioning inside the car lightly blows, Bai Jin Xin efficiently gets rid of the mangosteen and then opens the milk tea and takes a few gulps before leaning back in satisfaction.

Xu Si Bai is originally a very quiet person; With his hands on his knees and looking ahead from the side, he doesn’t say anything the entire time.

After being silent for awhile Bai Jin Xin says, “I had a dream a few days ago.”

Xu Si Bai is a bit startled.

“You know that I never have dreams.” She says quietly.

“Mm, what did you dream of?”

Bai Jin Xin is silent.

The situation in the dream surfaces again in her mind: The waterfall deep in the forest, the tearful man in her eyes, the devil raising and lowering the knife for murder. And that frantic, entangled kiss, as well as the earth-shattering sorrow.

She laughs and answers, “I don’t really remember the specifics. But I feel like it has something to do with the past.” She turns her head to look at him, “Xu Si Bai, do you think my memory is slowly starting to recover?”

Xu Si Bai doesn’t say anything for a short while.

He looks at her — his gaze, serene and gentle.

“A life without a memory is badly broken.” He says slowly, “You will definitely recover your memory.”

She rarely hears him use such a serious tone to emphasize something. Bai Jin Xin’s heart immediately softens and her nose also starts aching.

Neither of them say anything. His gaze, however, stays on her face the entire time.

His clear and concentrated gaze.

Bai Jin Xin suddenly feels a trace of uncomfortableness.

She turns her head to the other side and chuckles, “Alright, I’m going to nap for a bit. I only slept for three hours last night. Am tired to death.”

“Mmm.” He replies, “Have a good afternoon, I’ll head out.”

“Take care, I won’t bother seeing you out. Don’t come next time! The weather’s too hot!” Bai Jin Xin watches as he opens the door and gets out of the car; His lean figure looking like a tall tree. Following that is a free and at ease peacefulness from the gradually disappearing tall and thin backview of his.

Bai Jin Xin closes her eyes and puts on her eye mask.

Silently thinking in her mind, “Have a dream, have a dream, have a dream!”

She is soon fast asleep.

Unfortunately, it is just like the past few days — uninhibited sleep. She doesn’t even dream of a mosquito.

—

Latter half of the night.

The entire city has become completely silent. The lights in the old district is sparse with occasionally a pedestrian with hasty steps here and there. Most of the people have already sunk into sleep without knowing what’s happening on the outside world.

Wearing a black t-shirt and black pants, Han Chen sits inside Si Si’s small store. As before, a cigarette is held between his fingers. Through the thick darkness, he gazes towards the quietly stopped police car at the end of the alley.

Si Si comes out from the inside room and sees his dark and elegant facial features. It’s just that his eyes are filled with extreme coldness. His long legs are crossed as he sits on a rattan chair with one arm on the armrest and the other holding a long thin cigarette. His entire body emits a type of cold and solemn energy that is hard for anyone to approach.

He looks like a man meant to be a part of the darkness.

Si Si walks to his side, stands there and says with a smile, “Dou Dou is finally asleep.” She follows his gaze and asks, “Those criminal investigators are still working overnight? That’s quite difficult.”

“It’s something they should do.” He says dully.

Si Si, “(Older) Brother Han, have you handled all your affairs? When will you return to Qing Lan City?” Qing Lan City is the provincial capital of Province K and is also where the public security bureau (police station) is located.”

“I’ll return after this case is over.”

“Oh.”

Han Chen shifts away his long narrow eyes, takes a drag of his cigarette and asks, “When will you change your job? It’s not safe around here. Think about your son. It’s best if you change houses.”

A smile bursts forth on Si Si’s face, “I understand. I’ll change once I’ve saved enough money.”

Han Chen’s clear eyes takes a glance at her, “If you don’t have enough money, I have it.”

Si Si becomes silent for a bit and shakes her head, “Brother Han, you’ve already helped us so much — an unrelated mother and son pair. Thank you, you are a good person. But we cannot trouble you anymore.”

Han Chen doesn’t say anymore, lightly nodding his head. He continues smoking and gazing into the bleak night in the distance.

Looking at him like this, Si Si indescribably feels a bit sad.

It is probably because such a handsome and upright young man sits late at night like a lonely soul. Such silence and loneliness will be unbearably to any woman.

Si Si thinks about it and smiles again, “With you staying here and helping out, Xiao Fei’s case will definitely be solved very quickly…” Before she finishes speaking, she suddenly sees Han Chen’s eyes fix towards the end of the alleyway with chilliness in his pupils; He wasn’t listening to her at all.

Si Si also gazes over.

All she sees underneath the dim yellow street light is a figure opening the door of the police car with speed and running out. With that figure, isn’t that Bai Jin Xi!

And, behind her in the car, the other two criminal investigators expressions are completely nervous. One of them starts the engine. The other is Zhou Xiao Zhuan who jumps out of the car shouting into the walkie talkie, “A rape incident has occurred at 5 South Lane! I repeat: We just received a report, a rape incident has occurred at 5 South Lane. Everyone immediately surround the area!”

In surprise, Si Si covers her mouth. She turns her head and see Han Chen suddenly stand up, throw the cigarette butt on the floor, and rushes out the door.