Chapter 17 - Chapter 17 (1/2)

The sound of footsteps slowly approached Xu Xu before she noticed the familiar black shirt and the faint smell of tobacco... After seeing him, Xu Xu suddenly calmed down. The intense emotions in her head quickly disappeared like fog under the sun.

What did she just do to Yao Meng? She had actually vented her emotions onto someone else.

She stared at the Ji Bai's leather shoes and mumbled, "Sorry, I will apologize to her."

Ji Bai replied, "Okay. What else?"

Xu Xu was stunned. She clenched her fist which was resting on top of her knees. Of course, Ji Bai did not miss this detail and ruthlessly asked, "Why didn't you point out Ye Zixi's secret love relationship at the crime scene?"

Xu Xu was frightened and quickly spat out an answer. "I didn't know. Do you think that I would deliberately hide it?"

Ji Bai stared at her from above. "Indeed, you didn't know. This is because you subconsciously didn't want to believe that she would have a secret lover. Therefore, you turned a blind eye to the dead giveaways."

Xu Xu remained silent for a moment and answered, "Sorry, it will not happen again."

In reality, she had already realized that she missed the point when Ji Bai had mentioned the "secret relationship" at the crime scene. However, she did not think too much about it until Ji Bai pointed it out. She quickly understood that her emotions had affected her judgment.

She lowered her head when she said this. From Ji Bai's point of view, he saw the girl hunch her slender shoulders slightly and shrink. Her soft hair was sticking to her forehead until her pale facial contours and slender neck could barely be seen. Instead of looking like a woman, she looked more like a thin and stubborn teenager.

Despite what he said, Ji Bai was actually very satisfied with her performance today considering that it was her first time seeing a murder crime scene and the deceased victim was her friend.

Even so, he had to do his duty and educate her.

In truth, he initially wanted to continue to lecture her. However, after seeing how she closed herself up, he suddenly lost the will to go on.

Since he stopped talking, Xu Xu thought that he was done. When she was just about to get up and leave, something flashed in her eyes as Ji Bai decided to squat down next to her.

His dark eyes looked into hers as he stared at her thoughtfully.

Both of their faces were very close and Xu Xu was flabbergasted. She looked back at Ji Bai who was tall and huge squatting in front of her so quietly. It felt very…odd.

The two of them looked into each other in the eyes for a moment before Ji Bai muttered softly, "Stop crying, just don't let it happen again."

Xu Xu was silent.

In truth, she was initially not able to control her tears, but she quickly suppressed it. Nonetheless, the moment of weakness had caused her eyes to become red and swollen.

After being speechless for a short while, she frowned and turned her head away from Ji Bai. "I stopped crying a long time ago."

Ji Bai looked at how embarrassed she was and smiled. As he was about the get-up, he unconsciously looked downward.

The skin around her neck was fair and thin such that even the light green veins could be seen. Probably due to the fact that she was embarrassed, but her tiny face was red from her ears all the way to the bottom of her neck. He had never seen someone with such delicate and fragile skin - it was as if it would tear apart at the slightest touch.

Since he was squatting in place without moving, Xu Xu sensed his gaze and turned her head around once more. "Why are you looking at me?"

Ji Bai shot a look back at her and asked calmly, "What do you think?" Then he stood up and left.

Xu Xu thought that he might have been examining her, so she also got up and followed him back to the office.

As soon as they entered the office, Ji Bai sensed the tense atmosphere. Zhao Han was squinting his eyes at him and several criminal police were also looking in their direction. He averted his gaze and saw Yao Meng sitting at her seat. She was staring at the screen while typing, but her eyes were bright red.

Ji Bai ignored them and went directly to his office. After a while, he heard Xu Xu's soft voice say, "Yao Meng, are you free right now? Can we..."

Ye Zixiao was sent home by a police car. The Ye Family's Mansion was dead quiet during the day as the sun beat down heavily on the estate. He had only laid in bed for a short while before his door was pushed open.

It was his father, Ye Lanyuan. He saw his youngest son's gray-looking face, smiled, and sat at the foot of the bed. "Why aren't you at the company right now? Why are you hiding here?"

Ye Zixiao sat up but could not look his father in the eye as he delivered the bad news. "Dad... Zixi is dead."

Ye Lanyuan's face instantly stiffened.

Ye Zixiao took a deep breath and continued, "She was murdered. It may have been an accomplice of the blade injury culprit from the past..." As he spoke, he started sobbing a little.

Ye Lanyuan was 65 years old this year, but since he took care of himself, he still looked like he was in his early fifties. However, at this moment, perhaps because he was trying too hard to control his emotions, all the wrinkles on his face began trembling.

He stopped talking to Ye Zixiao and did not ask any questions. He simply stood up and slowly walked out of the room with solemn steps. Ye Zixiao saw his father's wobbly back from behind. Ye Lanyuan seemed even more sluggish and old than he had ever been.

Soon, the police made a phone call to the Ye Mansion and Ye Lanyuan picked up. That evening, he did not go downstairs to eat dinner.

When Ye Zixiao walked to the dining room, everyone else was there.

Even though he took a shower and changed his clothes, his face still looked very pale. The third child, Ye Qiao glanced at him and asked, "Where is Zixi? Didn't she come home with you?"

Instead of answering her immediately, Ye Zixiao walked towards his seat and sat down. Everyone was used to his temper, so they ignored it. As they were about to start eating, they heard him say, "Zixi is dead."

Everyone immediately put their chopsticks down and turned their heads to look at him.

The dining room was terrifyingly silent. Only Ye Zixiao picked up the chopsticks and began to eat.

The eldest child, Ye Ziqiang was the first one to break the silence, "Fourth brother, what kind of joke is this?"

Ye Zixiao slammed the chopsticks on the table and shouted. "Do I look like I'm joking? Are you happy now? You've always suspected that Zixi had come back because she was after the family's wealth. Now that she's dead, you should be relieved."

Ye Ziqiang's face instantly turned bright red. "You, you..."

"Zixiao" Ye Qiao was the one who interrupted him. "What the hell are you talking about? What happened to Zixi?"

Ye Zixiao looked at her coldly and growled, "Third sister, how many tricks have you played on Zixi's business over the past few years? Aren't you thinking the same thing as big brother? Now that she's dead, do you feel guilty about what you've done?"

The look on Ye Qiao's face changed as her jaw dropped.

The room was pin-drop silent once again and the atmosphere grew even tenser than before.

Soon, Ye Zixiao took a deep breath, calmed himself down and said, "Zixi was murdered last night."

He did not want to mention the text message or even the state of Zixi's body. He only told them, "I was taken by the police for interrogation. The murderer should be related to the previous blade injury incident. The police are investigating the murder as we speak."

The look on everyone's faces was indescribable as no one said anything.

After a while, the third brother-in-law, Zhang Shiyong said in a deep voice, "Have they caught the murderer?" His voice became colder and he asked again, "What is the police doing?"

Zixiao had always respected this brother-in-law, so he shook my head and said, "Not yet. It's not the culprit from before. That person has already been caught, but they suspect that it might be his accomplice this time. They're monsters."

Everyone stopped talking as the room became gloomy and dull. After a while, the second sister, Ye Jin who had been silent all this while, put down her chopsticks. "I am full." Her husband, Wu Xie looked at her basically untouched meal and rubbed her shoulder. "You ate too little." Ye Jin shook her head, got up and walked towards Ye Zixiao. She put her hand on his shoulder but her eyes were already red.

The gentle and introverted second child was never one for words. Nevertheless, other than Ye Zixi, she had the best relationship with Zixiao. Zixiao held her hand softly and sighed. "Second sister..."