Cherish You as My Life - Chapter 27.2

Chapter 27.2

As soon as Ji Yao returned home, he took a cold shower to suppress the restlessness in his heart.

In the dead of night, when he was lying on the bed, all he could remember was her rosy lips.

‘Shit! I should have pushed her down on the sofa and kissed her hard. It doesn’t matter if I get a slap on my face. It’s worth it!’

After rolling on the bed for quite some time, he fell asleep.

However, he had a dream all that night. A dream that they did everything.

*****

The next day

As soon as Ji Yao woke up, he looked at his wet pants. “F*ck.”

Ji Yao went to Director Ye’s office on the fifth floor after he arrived at the City Bureau.

“It’s still twenty minutes before work starts. Why are you here so early today?” Ye Yanqing was surprised to see Ji Yao at this time at her office.

“Director Ye, did Director Cai tell you anything?” Ji Yao directly entered the mission.

Ye Yanqing replied with a nod. “Of course, most of my work was assigned by Director Cai.”

Ji Yao: “Oh, I’m not talking about work. My blind date, blind date.”

“Is it about Han Xi?” Ye Yanqing stopped her work and asked.

Ji Yao nodded hurriedly. “Please arrange it tonight.”

Ye Yanqing tapped her pen against the young man’s hand and said, “Why are you in such a rush? Didn’t you have a marriage in your past life?”

Ji Yao replied, “Just act like that never happened.”

Ye Yanqing poured a glass of water for herself before saying, “I’ve thought about it, but I’m not going to set that up for you.”

Ji Yao jumped up in surprise. “Why not?” He exclaimed.

Ye Yanqing replied in a serious tone. “I’m worried you might take advantage of someone.”

Ji Yao scratched his head with frustration and pouted. “Come on, you’re practically my second mom; you can’t be biased.”

Ye Yanqing stood up and said, “That girl is sweet and calm, while you’re just too naughty.”

“That’s right. And we balance each other out perfectly.” Ji Yao tried reasoning.

Eventually, Ye Yanqing gave in to Ji Yao’s persistence and said, “I’ll check with Han Xi later. But she’ll have to agree.”

“Did she give you some magic potion to make me fall in line? I swear, I feel like she’s your real kid, not me.” Ji Yao left the office while joking.

‘You are such an adult, yet you are still trying to win favour.‘ Yu Yanqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You are not my biological son anyway.”

After Ji Yao headed back to his office, he went through Jiang Wei’s personal information he received and sent a copy to Han Xi.

‘Jiang Wei came from H Province and moved to Nanquan City when she was just fifteen. It seems she never crossed paths with Han Xi.’

Leaning back in his chair, Ji Yao typed Han Xi’s name into the internal search system. Since he wasn’t her direct supervisor, he only had access to basic info and couldn’t dig deeper.

The records showed that Han Xi was adopted at the age of seven from a place called Zhengxiao Orphanage, located in a small town in Xinqiao County, Nanquan City.

The name “Xinqiao County” aroused Ji Yao’s interest. He pondered for a moment before opening Qiao Zhen’s file. After going through it, he found what he was searching for.

‘It seemed that Han Xi and Qiao Zhen’s lives had crossed paths. Was it just a coincidence?‘

Ji Yao then asked someone to look into the Zhengxiao Orphanage and discovered that two years after Han Xi’s adoption, the place had burnt down completely overnight.

The orphanage disappears without a trace overnight, and the kids who managed to escape were taken in by government agencies, while the staff scattered.

Now, Luo Che had purchased the land where the orphanage stood to make an amusement park.

Ji Yao, coming from a family that specialises in real estate, knew that Xinqiao County, with its struggling economy and small-town vibe, wasn’t the best spot for an amusement park.

He headed to the forensic room carrying a file with Qiao Zhen’s details.

It seemed Qiao Zhen wasn’t a fan of having his picture taken; aside from his ID photo, they couldn’t find any photos of him.

Zhu Han, who was munching on a bun, saw Ji Yao and greeted, “Good morning, Captain Ji.”

Ji Yao shot her a glance and asked, “What’s in it? It smells good.”

Zhu Han wiped her mouth with a napkin and replied, “It’s fresh meat, just steamed. So good!”

Just as Ji Yao was about to respond, he noticed Han Xi gagging.

He quickly handed her a napkin and raised an eyebrow, teasing, “Oh, are you pregnant, sweetheart?”

Zhu Han laughed aloud and coughed a bit. After sipping some water, she felt a lot better. She thought that if she had actually choked to death, Captain Ji would have had a good laugh about it.

Han Xi looked up at Ji Yao with a annoying look and said, “You’re pregnant.”

Ji Yao quickly replied, “Yep, I’m pregnant, and it’s yours.” Then he turned to Zhu Han and added, “Get the red envelope ready for the baby.”

Zhu Han finished her buns and gave an OK sign.

Ji Yao pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Han Xi, dropping the playful act. “Are you feeling unwell?” he asked seriously.

Han Xi shook her head. “Nope.”

She just gagged not because she was unwell. She just wasn’t a fan of buns, especially the ones stuffed with fresh meat.

Ji Yao asked again, “Is your stomach feeling better? Want me to make some noodles for dinner?”

Han Xi quietly replied, “No, I’m fine.”

The worst part of her period was over, so she would not feel very uncomfortable now.

Zhu Han stood up awkwardly from her desk and slipped into the room quietly.

‘Noodles for dinner? Did I just hear something I shouldn’t be supposed to hear?’

Ji Yao opened the information bag he had and pointed to Qiao Zhen’s ID card photo. “Do you recognise this person?”

Han Xi took a good look and replied, “Do you have any clearer pictures?”

Ji Yao shrugged, looking a bit defeated. “Nope, just this one. Qiao Zhen had destroyed all his photos at home.”

Han Xi looked at the photo again and said, “I can’t quite tell. It feels like I might know him, but I’m not sure.”

Ji Yao realised that Han Xi was just a kid when she was at the Xinqiao County orphanage, so her memories wouldn’t be as sharp as an adult’s.

After thinking for a bit, Han Xi added, “Now that you mention it, there was a chef at the orphanage. We all called him Uncle Qiao, but we never knew his real name.”

Ji Yao decided he’d send someone back to Xinqiao County to ask locals if Qiao Zhen had ever stayed at Zhengxiao Orphanage during the six years he was missing and if he was the Uncle Qiao that Han Xi remembered.

Han Xi looked up and asked, “What made you think to ask that?”

Ji Yao replied, “Remember that officer Chen I mentioned? The last place he was seen was Xinqiao County.”

After saying that, he stood up and studied Han Xi’s face for a while. “Do you think you could be Uncle Chen’s daughter?”

Han Xi smiled faintly, but there was a touch of sadness in her eyes. “No way, that’s not possible. I was abandoned by my real parents. When I was about five or six, my biological mother showed up at the orphanage. She expressed her regret and wanted to take me back. The director asked her for the back support money, but she didn’t have it, so she left and never returned.”

Ji Yao didn’t really expect much from the situation; he figured there was no way something like that could happen. He turned to Han Xi and said, “I’d love to hear more about your childhood.”

Han Xi stood up and replied, “There’s not much to share.”

Ji Yao insisted. “But I want to hear it.” He was eager to learn more about her.

Han Xi smiled and said, “We can talk about it later when the time comes.”

Ji Yao felt a bit unhappy. He thought they were close, just a thin barrier between them, but now he realised he was still quite distant from her, and she wasn’t ready to open up.

Even though they had shared a kiss the night before and were physically close, he still hadn’t reached her emotionally.

There was a coldness in her heart that seemed unyielding.

He stood up, walked over to her, and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear: “Let me see you cry.”

Han Xi looked at him like he was out of his mind.

Ji Yao smiled softly and said gently, “Whenever you feel like crying, just do it in my arms.”

Han Xi asked, “Why would I cry?”

Ji Yao just smiled, said nothing, and picked up the information bag from the table. “See ya later…”

Have a nice day!