Memory Lost

Her words cause both men to become quiet.

After a while, Cold Face gets up, picks up Jin Xi’s empty takeout box, and carries them out of the room.

Only she and Han Chen are left in the conference room, sitting across from each other.

Han Chen lights up a cigarette while looking out the window immersed in his own thoughts. Jin Xi yawns; after all, she hardly got any sleep last night, so she’s barely hanging in. She walks over to the sofa in the corner and lies down.

“I’m going to take a nap. You can help yourself,” she kicks her shoes off and sinks her body into the big and comfy sofa. There are two long sofas in the conference room and their purpose is to allow the team members to be able to take naps.

Under the warm lighting, Han Chen glances at her from a distance. His eyes are dark and hard to make out. He continues sitting at where he is and smokes without saying anything. The room is quiet. Jin Xi gradually feels calm and relaxed after staring at his side profile for a while.

He presses the end of his cigarette into the ashtray after finishing smoking. He lifts his eyes to look at her, carrying a hint of a smile in them, “You’re not asleep yet?”

Perhaps the night has been too quiet. His voice also sounds mellow.

Jin Xi answers slowly, “Soon.”

He suddenly gets up and walks towards her.

Jin Xi watches him come.

She can only hear the sound of her heart beating loudly.

His sleeves are rolled up, his collar is slightly opened, his short length hair rests on his forehead, and his eyes are rich brown like as if they are painted.

“You can’t sleep?” he asks with his hands in his pockets, looking down at her.

Although Jin Xi is usually very conscious of her image, she cares less about it when she’s investigating a case. Just like any other criminal investigator, she can sleep anytime and anywhere. Sometimes, she can even sleep on the floor of a van.

But she is actually feeling a bit uncomfortable under Han Chen’s gaze.

It feels as if it’s a very indecent thing to be lying down in front of a man.

She suddenly feels a weight on her head, followed by a set of cool fingers running through her hair.

It’s Han Chen brushing her hair.

Jin Xi doesn’t budge.

“Why are you staring at me?” he says calmly and slowly, “hurry and go to sleep.” He stuffs his hands back into his pockets, turns around, and leaves.

Jin Xi presses her lips. He was clearly the one who came and talked to her first.

When he makes it to the door, he switches the lights off and closes the door behind him.

With the lights out, the room is pitch black.

Jin Xi closes her eyes.

She sleeps for a brief while before hearing the door squeak. She opens her eyes and sees someone come in. The light from outside cuts out the contours of his body figure; it’s Cold Face.

He closes the door backhanded, but not entirely shut, leaving a small gap. He walks over to the other sofa without a word and lies down on it.

Jin Xi watches him, and just when she is about to go back to sleep, Cold Face says suddenly, “He’s sleeping outside.”

Jin Xi is stunned for a second, “Oh.”

_____

Jin Xi wakes up at dawn.

Cold Face has his back facing her lying in the sofa next to hers. He’s still sleeping, and a low volume of snoring can be heard. Jin Xi gets up softly, opens the door the goes outside.

She instantly sees someone lying in the two-person sofa beside the door.

It’s Han Chen.

Chatterbox and Xiao Zhuan are probably still working out of office and haven’t returned.

Jin Xi walks even softer as she passes by him, but when she glances down, she pauses her footsteps.

A two-person sofa is clearly not long enough for a man who’s 1.8 meters tall. His head is on the armrest with a cushion underneath, while his legs are dangling on the other end; he hasn’t even taken off his shoes. The morning is rather cold, but he only has a jacket covering his body.

Jin Xi thinks to herself: Why didn’t he sleep on the big sofa inside? Cold Face is shorter than him, so he should’ve gotten Cold Face to sleep on this smaller sofa.

Nevertheless, she tiptoes back to the conference room, fetches a thin blanket, bends down in front of him, and lays the blanket over him.

His face looks paler up close, but he has a tall nose, making his facial features prominent. His body is giving off a slight sense of heat as well as the faint smell of cigarettes. Jin Xi tucks the blanket for him while her eyes are fixed on his hand.

His hand is dropped to the side of the sofa; long and slender, and bony. It’s not until today that she notices that he has a very light scar on his right hand between his thumb and index finger. But who doesn’t have any wounds? Jin Xi’s left waist has also been scarred by a knife from chasing a criminal one time.

They may have many wounds in their lifetime, but there is no need to mention them to others.

It’s just because they are criminal investigators.

While she is in a daze, she suddenly sees Han Chen scrunch his eyebrows. Before she can react, the hand that she is using to tuck the blanket is grasped and pulled forward; she falls onto his chest. He then holds her waist tightly, making her unable to move. f𝗿𝗲e𝒘e𝚋ｎ૦𝘃𝙚𝑙.com

Jin Xi stares at him blankly.

His eyes are still closed, and his eyebrows are scrunching even harder. His handsome face is stiff like a sculpture. He leans his head towards her shoulder; she hears him sniffing her long hair and breathing through it.

He embraces her harder, and tighter. His hands are like pincers and his fingers are digging into her skin. Jin Xi has never been embraced by someone this tightly before; as if he wants to use all of his energy to press her into his body.

Jin Xi can’t even budge. She seems to hear something pounding her heart, making a gigantic sound.

But his strength his too great. She calls him out in pain, “Han Chen!”

He pauses his actions.

Their faces are rubbing against each other as she watches him open his eyes slowly.

They stare at each other up close.

His usual clear and sharp eyes actually look puzzled, as if he has just recognized that the person in front of him is she.

Jin Xi feels her breathing stop while keeping her kneeling position beside the sofa and leaning on his chest. He’s also looking at her with his deep set and rich brown eyes. They’re only centimeters apart.

He lets go of her instantly. He ruffles his hair and sits himself up.

Jin Xi stands up immediately, and says, “I was trying to cover you with a blanket and you grasped me like I was a convict.”

He reaches into his pocket for a cigarette. He puts it into his mouth and gets up, “Please don’t mind. I was having a dream just now, so I’m a bit out of it.” He doesn’t look at her after finishing talking. He takes out a matchstick, lights up his cigarette, inhales it, and leaves the office.

Jin Xi: “Oh.”

After watching him leave, she folds the blanket and puts it away. She fetches her toothbrush and towel and heads to the washroom.

It’s still early, so there isn’t anyone in the washroom. The autumn sun shines through the light layer of fog and into the window. Jin Xi lowers her head with the toothbrush in her mouth and thinks: What was he dreaming about?

Who did he see in his dream that would cause him to be that way just now?