Cherish You as My Life - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The young assistant knew that Mr. Ji was the captain of the Criminal Investigation team of the City Bureau. Therefore, under his radar, she felt like she had been caught by her neck. When facing serious Ji Yao, an innocent one would feel guilty for a moment, so it was no wonder that the guilty assistant felt this way.

To prevent the physical evidence from being destroyed, Ji Yao asked a waiter to bring a plastic bag to put on the black scarf.

He was not sure whether the scarf belonged to Wang Xiaoning. However, as there was a possibility that his thought was true, he wanted to check his luck.

“Come to the City Bureau at nine o’clock tomorrow morning to cooperate with the investigation. Don’t tell anyone else about this, including Jiang Wei. Do you understand?” he said before leaving.

The assistant asked doubtfully, “Captain Ji, can you tell me why you are investigating about the scarf?”

Ji Yao glanced at her and said, “It’s nothing. Just go back and think about the place you bought it.”

With a guilty heart, the assistant didn’t dare to look at Ji Yao. “Okay,” she whispered.

Ji Yao grabbed the silk scarf and the snacks the waiter had packed and stepped out of the hotel. He quickly stopped at the City Bureau to drop off the evidence before heading home. 

It was already 10:30 PM when he got home.

When he walked into the community garden under the moonlight, he looked up at Han Xi’s window and saw the lights in her bedroom were still on. 

‘It is like she is waiting for me!’ 

With joy in his heart, he headed quickly upstairs and rang the doorbell at Han Xi’s place. 

After a few seconds, she opened the door, and the man walked in.

Han Xi: “I didn’t invite you in.” 

Ji Yao: “But you were waiting for me, right?” 

Spotting the men’s slippers on the shoe rack warmed his heart again. Although he was the one who insisted on putting them there, still Han Xi listened to his words.

He changed his shoes, entered the house, and placed the snacks on the table. “Hope you didn’t wait too long,” he said softly, looking at her.

Han Xi shut the door behind her and said, “Honestly, I wasn’t waiting for you.” 

Ji Yao took a quick look at the already set table with dishes and chopsticks, smiled, and chose not to expose Han Xi.

As Han Xi settled into her seat, Ji Yao headed to the bathroom to wash his hands. 

In the meantime, Han Xi couldn’t resist grabbing a piece of flower cake and eating it. When Ji Yao returned, Han Xi set her chopsticks down.

Ji Yao took his seat and said, “Stop pretending; I saw everything.” 

It was clear she had been waiting for him all night, but she was playing it cool, acting all high and mighty.

After saying that, Ji Yao picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of flower cake.

Han Xi then asked, “Didn’t you eat enough earlier?”

“I haven’t eaten anything. I’m just not hungry,” he replied.

Han Xi raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you feeling okay?” 

Ji Yao replied with a smile, “It’s because you’re not there that I didn’t have an appetite.” 

Han Xi got up, poured a glass of lemonade, and set it in front of Ji Yao.

He took it and gulped down most of it, asking, “Is this the same glass I used last time?”

Han Xi confirmed with a nod. 

Ji Yao grinned. “Your place is filled with memories of me, and it makes me really happy.” 

Han Xi sat back down, enjoying her late-night snack. “This is way better than dumplings.” 

Ji Yao served her some rice dumplings with sweet rice wine, saying, “Of course it is.” 

After thinking for a while, he asked again while looking into her eyes. “Can you share why you like dumplings so much?” 

After a brief silence, he added with a smile, “If you don’t want to talk about that, we can switch topics.” He playfully suggested. “How about talking about love?” 

Han Xi set her chopsticks down, looked up to meet Ji Yao’s gaze, and replied, “Honestly, I don’t really like dumplings.” 

Ji Yao watched her, waiting for her to continue.

“Back when I was a kid at the orphanage, I was always hungry. Uncle Qiao and Aunt Xu loved making dumplings—sometimes with cabbage and vermicelli, other times with leeks and eggs. But aside from Guo Ying, we kids could only have one bowl during the festivals.” Her gaze dropped as she spoke.

Ji Yao thought for a second and replied, “Xinqiao County has been growing economically for two decades. How could the kids in the orphanage not have enough to eat?”

Han Xi simply said, “It’s private.”

Ji Yao got it. Over 20 years ago, there were way more private orphanages. Some were set up by generous folks in the community.

But then there was the darker side of it. Some shady people took donations under the presence of helping society, just to fill their own pockets. He could imagine how the kids in those places were treated after listening to Han Xi’s words.

To make matters worse, some orphanages even teamed up with human traffickers to snatch kids away.

Ji Yao looked at Han Xi, noticing a cold, lonely despair in her eyes. 

“That craving for a warm bowl of dumplings turned into an obsession for me. I always want to fill the void from my past.” Her voice wavered, and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

Ji Yao stood up, moved to her side, and pulled her into a tight embrace. 

Han Xi didn’t struggle this time. So Ji Yao gently ran his fingers through her hair, saying, “Frozen dumplings can’t compare to the real ones. I’ll make some up for you this weekend, loaded with sugar and candied fruit.”

She looked up, and her eyes were shining with curiosity. “How can you put sugar and candied fruit in dumplings?”

Ji Yao chuckled and muttered, “Just teasing! This weekend, I’ll take you to Director Ye’s place. She has homemade candied fruits. We won’t be making dumplings, but we can make some candied date cakes and bayberry cakes instead.”

“I really don’t want to go to Director Ye’s place,” she said, coming out from the man’s arms. She moved to the window, gazing at the starry sky, and muttered, “I’m scared.”

Ji Yao stood next to her, following her gaze, and saw the night sky sprinkled with twinkling stars. “Director Ye really likes you. What’s there to be scared of?” 

Han Xi turned around, leaning against the windowsill, and glanced at Ji Yao. “You don’t understand what it’s like to be left behind. There was warmth in my memories, but then that person just vanished. It would’ve been better if they hadn’t given me that warmth at all, I wouldn’t feel this emptiness, sadness, and longing.” 

Ji Yao reached out, playing with her ponytail gently. “So that’s why you keep people at a distance. You’re afraid of getting hurt, so you hide away. To avoid the darkness, and you push away the light, right?” 

His words struck deep in her heart. What he said was true. She had never shared those feelings with anyone.

Ji Yao looked at her earnestly and said, “Han Xi, you can count on me. I’ll always be here for you. I’ll shield you from the rain and block the wind when it blows. And when the sun shines, I’ll take you out to enjoy it and help you with sunscreen.” 

His eyes sparkled with sincerity, even brighter than the stars twinkling in the night sky behind him.

“You can apply it yourself.” 

“Ouch, that hurts.” 

She had kicked his leg. 

After experiencing both the pain and a strange sense of pleasure, Ji Yao figured he might be a masochist.

He waited for her to share her story.

“Aunt Xu took care of us kids. She’s tough, and we all can’t stand her. Uncle Qiao was the cook at the orphanage, and he made the best bacon. Just the smell was enough to make anyone drool. But usually, only Guo Ying got to eat it, aside from the adults.” 

Ji Yao asked, “What made Guo Ying so special?” 

Han Xi replied, “She was the prettiest girl in the orphanage. She had nicer clothes and better food than the rest of us. When I was little, I thought she was the director’s daughter, but looking back, I realise she wasn’t. At first, I thought Jiang Wei looked a lot like Guo Ying, but her profile showed she didn’t grow up in Nanquan City.” 

Ji Yao thought for a moment before saying, “The records from Zheng Xiao Orphanage were destroyed in a fire. There’s hardly any information left, not even a full photo. But I can’t shake the feeling that this orphanage has some secrets, maybe even linked to Uncle Chen’s disappearance.

Do you have any impression of Uncle Chen? He is a very tall policeman, thin, with dark skin. He looks a bit serious, but he is actually very kind to children.”

Han Xi thought for a moment shook her head, and said, “I’ve never seen such a person in the orphanage.” After saying that, she glanced at the wall clock and saw it was already past eleven o’clock. “You should go back now.”

“What if I go back and you end up feeling lonely? What will you do then?” He leaned closer to Han Xi and asked playfully. 

Han Xi: “No need to worry, Captain Ji.” 

With a smile, Ji Yao moved over to the dining table, tidying up and packing away the leftover snacks. “Don’t eat those. I’ll take them to the City Bureau tomorrow for Zhou Li. If you’re craving something, I’ll just get you more. Those leftovers won’t taste great.” After saying that, he picked up the box, and he still stood at the door, hesitating to leave. 

Feeling a bit shy, Han Xi wanted to shut the door.

“You still haven’t said goodnight to me.” 

Instead of getting annoyed at his teasing, Han Xi smiled softly and muttered, “Good night.” 

Ji Yao caught the warmth in her eyes, and his gaze filled with even more warmth than hers. He backed away slowly, leaning against his door, looking at her as he whispered, “Good night.”

****

Early the next morning, Ji Yao tossed a box of snacks onto Zhou Li’s desk.  

“Hey, Zhang Xiang, has Jiang Wei’s assistant shown up yet?”  

Zhang Xiang got up and replied, “Yeah, she’s been waiting outside the City Bureau since dawn. She got here before I did.”  

Ji Yao leaned over the table, took a quick look at the info Zhao Jingjing handed him, and then went to the interrogation room.  

He settled in front of the surveillance screen while Zhao Jingjing and Zhou Li questioned the young woman.  

Zhao Jingjing handed a fashion magazine featuring Wang Xiaoning’s latest photoshoot to Jiang Wei’s assistant, Liang You. “Do you recognise this girl?”  

Liang You, looking quite nervous, barely glanced at the magazine and shook her head. “I don’t know her. I’ve never seen her before. What’s going on?” 

Zhao Jingjing replied, “This girl is Wang Xiaoning. She was murdered two months ago, and her body was dumped in the moat on the west side of the city.” 

Zhou Li pointed to a black scarf in the magazine and asked, “Can you explain why this scarf was found in your bag?”  

Liang You looked down and said, “Black scarves are pretty common. Mine might not even be the same as hers.” Her voice trembled, making it clear she was trying to dodge the truth.  

Zhou Li and Zhao Jingjing exchanged glances. 

This kind of suspect was usually easy to crack; a little pressure would likely make her spill everything.  

Zhou Li slammed the evidence bag onto the table, startling Liang You.

“This scarf is from the same brand as the one Wang Xiaoning wore, and…”  

Zhou Li paused for effect, forcing a smile that came off more sinister, like a scheming concubine. Her voice turned to a darker tone, “There’s a thread coming loose from the logo on your scarf, with three stitches, just like Wang Xiaoning’s. Do you still want to deny it?”

Zhou Li got up from her seat, strolled over to Liang You, and whispered, “The officers in the physical evidence department have lifted all the fingerprints from the scarf. Want to take a wild guess at what they found?” With that, she smirked, and her eyes glinted with a chilling intensity.

Zhao Jingjing felt a shiver run down his spine, worried Zhou Li might say, “Someone, get this b*tch out of here and make her pay!”  

Liang You was clearly scared and shaking. Therefore, without any delay, she spilled all the beans.

End of chapter 29

Have a nice day!