And and we are almost at the end now. This excerpt starts sweetly and then takes a sudden u-turn. Fasten your seatbelt for the action ahead…
The elevator ascended smoothly. Xu Xu and Xiao Liu were the only passengers.
With a 'ding', the door opened, just as Xu Xu's handphone rang. It was Ji Bai.
"Are you home already?" His voice was tender and gentle.
"Yup."
"I'm just leaving the station, will be home in about half an hour."
"So early today?" Xu Xu asked.
Ji Bai paused briefly, then spoke softly: "I specially took leave today. Wait for me."
Xu Xu was silent for a moment, then could not help laughing: "Older brother is in the apartment."
"Get him to leave quickly."
——
After hanging up, Ji Bai looked at the blue sky outside the car window, at the numerous buildings, at the endlessly busy roads. His eyes took on a hint of laughter.
How many times had he planned to ask her to marry him?
However, what Xu Xu had said was right. The excitement of passion had slowly become more solid, enabling him to understand his own feelings more clearly.
This time, he had not prepared fresh flowers, neither did he have moonlight or sparkling streams.
He did not even have an engagement ring – because she was wearing it.
This proposal would be very simple. It would be just him, in front of her.
What he planned to say was also very simple:
Xu Xu, during this trip, I suddenly discovered something.
This month, I was away on the trip for 17 days. The remaining 13 days, I worked at the police station until late. I have calculated. The time I was able to spend alone with you, adds up to less than three days.
You said you wanted to take a year to consider before deciding whether or not to marry me. However, doing the math, if we waited for another year, the time we would have together would still only add up to barely more than 10 days.
Xu Xu, I don't know how much time it would take until you feel that conditions are right (水到渠成 – where water flows, a canal is formed i.e. when conditions are right, success will follow naturally). Our work as criminal investigators necessitates that we give most of our time to other people, not to those closest to us. So, in this life bounded by limitations, I don't want to waste even a single day. For me, to be able to grow old together with you, is the only right condition.
——
Xu Xu ended the call and walked to the door with Xiao Liu.
When she opened the door, the first thing she saw was Xu Jun's leather shoes, neatly placed at the entrance. His cashmere coat was draped over the sofa. The living room was empty, but she could hear the splash of water from the kitchen. He was probably industriously washing the cherries.
Xu Xu told Xiao Liu: "You can head home. Sorry to trouble you."
Xiao Liu nodded, put the things on the floor, and closed the door as she left.
Xu Xu removed her down jacket, took the ultrasound picture from her pocket and placed it on the table. Then, she walked in.
The winter sun shone faintly through the dining room window, coating the furniture and floor with a hazy layer of luminescence, giving the apartment a tranquil and warm atmosphere. A small plate of big cherries was on the dining table, still sparkling with water droplets.
——
Xu Xu picked up one to eat, and had just thought of looking for Xu Jun in the kitchen, when she suddenly felt that something was not right –
Out of the corner of her eye she seemed to glimpse something in the quiet corridor outside the bedroom.
She turned, skirted round the dining room wall, and immediately saw a pair of men's legs in the corner.
She broke into a cold sweat, and rushed forward. The scene before her eyes terrified her (魂飞魄散 – literally, the soul flies away and is scattered; figuratively, to be frightened stiff/ spooked out of one's mind) – Xu Jun was sprawled on the ground, as if asleep. Behind his head, a pool of fresh red blood slowly spread.
Xu Xu's head throbbed, and the pain behind her eyes was so intense she felt as if her head would split. At this time, the sound of water in the kitchen stopped, and she heard footsteps.
Lin Qingyan leaned against the door, smiling at her: "Your older brother really loves you."
——
Xu Xu accepted the anaesthetic-soaked handkerchief from Lin Qingyan, tightly suppressing the indescribable pain that she felt. She turned to look, almost indifferently, at Xu Jun: "Call the ambulance. His life has been full of troubles, do you really need to kill him?”
Lin Qingyan smiled without speaking.
He placed the unconscious Xu Xu in the back seat of his car. As he drove out of the district, he took out his handphone to call the emergency centre: "Someone here is seriously injured. The address is . . ."
——
Ji Bai had just reached the edge of the apartment complex, when his handphone sounded urgently. It was Da Hu. Ji Bai slammed on the brakes to accept the call.
"There's trouble, Chief! Lin Qingyan has gone!" Da Hu's voice was unsteady.
Ji Bia's expression immediately turned sombre: "What about Yao Meng?"
"She didn't go to the hospital today."
"Inform the station and immediately send out extra personnel. Apply for a search warrant. We must find them."
Hanging up, Ji Bai intended to turn back, but saw the blue light of an ambulance flashing from the apartment gate. He felt an ominous premonition, and stepped on the accelerator to rush into the apartment complex.
The corridor was full of people, and the elevator took forever to arrive, so Ji Bai ran up the stairs to his apartment. He was greeted by the sight of two EMT personnel, emerging from the apartment with a stretcher. Xu Jun lay on the stretcher, his entire body covered with blood. His face was deathly pale, and his eyelids fluttered.
"Xu Jun!" Ji Bai felt himself plummeting into an icy pit. He reached out to grab the stretcher, only to be stopped by the EMT personnel: "Out of the way, we have to get to the hospital right now!"
Ji Bai, ashen faced, stepped back a pace, when his hand was seized by someone. Xu Jun opened his eyes. His breathing was faint, but there was a fierce determination in his eyes: "Xu Xu . . . Xu Xu . . ."
Translator : Shl
Editor: librismuse