Although it was past dinner time, Ji Huaisi still asked the chef to prepare a hearty supper. The location selected was the western restaurant area and it was as if the whole place was booked. No one came to disturb them. When he looked up, he could see the sparkling sea outside the window, enjoying the night view.
Jian Chi’s nervousness slowly dissipated in this relaxed atmosphere. When walking around the ship, Ji Huaisi took his hand. Jian Chi didn’t pull away, there was something strange and subtle in his heart, and he couldn’t tell what it was and the feeling spread silently.
It was as if he had been stepping on soft clouds before, and finally fell to the ground.
This steady feeling lasted for a long time. After returning to the room, Jian Chi looked at the calendar and found that there were only two days left before returning. The perception of time was very strange. In the first two days, he felt that time was as slow as being frozen, but today he felt that a week had passed so quickly.
After washing up, Jian Chi realized that the sheets had been changed, maybe the cleaning staff came when he and Ji Huaisi were out. This kind of coincidence made Jian Chi think for a while, but without lingering on it too much, a text message reminder took over. Ji Huaisi sent him a good night, and Jian Chi just typed the same two words in the dialog box, and a new message popped up on it.
Bai Xiyu: Jian Chi, can you come out?
Jian Chi felt strange: what’s wrong?
Bai Xiyu replied quickly, as if he didn’t even think about it: I have something very important to tell you, can you come over? Let’s go to where we last met.
This last sentence made Jian Chi feel a little uneasy. He didn’t know if Bai Xiyu just said that or if he was really waiting there. He was leaning towards the latter and asked: Can we talk tomorrow, it is already quite late.
Bai Xiyu, who had always been easy to talk to, said firmly this time: It must be today.
After sending this sentence, no matter how Jian Chi asked, Bai Xiyu would not reply.
Jian Chi looked out the window. Night had fallen and there was no trace of light to be seen. His intuition felt it was not a good thing, but the word ‘very important’ made him hesitate. If it was Shao Hang who sent the message at this moment, Jian Chi would definitely choose to ignore it, but Bai Xiyu had goodwill towards him from beginning to end. If it was really an important matter and if he didn’t go to the appointment, Jian Chi had a hunch that Bai Xiyu would not tell him the content of the matter later on.
In the end, he couldn’t guess what the possible answer should be, so Jian Chi asked Bai Xiyu again: Are you already there?
This time, Bai Xiyu finally returned a message, a photo. Jian Chi looked at the picture location above, put on the coat that laid beside the bed, took his mobile phone and key card and left the room.
There was a big temperature difference on the boat, and as soon as Jian Chi got out of the cabin, he was shivering due to the cold sea breeze. Before taking a few steps, Jian Chi saw the thin figure leaning against the railing at a glance. As if sensing his glance, Bai Xiyu turned his head, the distance was too far, and the expression on his face could not be seen clearly.
“What happened?” After standing still, the feeling of being swept across his cheek by the wind became even more distinct. Jian Chi just wanted to settle the matter quickly and return to his room, “It’s cold outside, should we go in and talk?”
Bai Xiyu shook his head, and Jian Chi, who had been rejected twice, finally stopped speaking. He felt that Bai Xiyu was a little strange, but it was difficult to find a suitable adjective to describe it. Just when Jian Chi was trying to ponder the wrongness, Bai Xiyu said: “Jian Chi, thank you for coming.”
This made Jian Chi, who was confused, even more confused. If I remember correctly, it was clearly Bai Xiyu who strongly asked him to come over. He could only ask again: “Do you have anything to tell me?”
Bai Xiyu fell silent, and after a long time said softly: “I really didn’t want to do this, but there was no way, brother, he found something… something very important to me, he used it to threaten me. From the day I got on the boat, I was hesitating about whether to listen to him or not. Jian Chi, believe me, I really regard you as a friend, these things are not my intention. “
When he raised his eyes, Jian Chi realized that there were tears in them, sparkling in the night, aggrieved but sincere. Jian Chi didn’t understand, “Bai Shuyun asked you to do…”
The last “what” didn’t have time to be blurted out when a handkerchief full of a pungent smell covered his mouth and nose from behind, there was not enough time to react, let alone struggle. When he realized that everything was planned, Jian Chi’s consciousness had begun to dissipate.
At the last moment when he closed his eyes, he saw Bai Xiyu’s face that was about to cry, and in a flash, he understood where the initial discord came from – Bai Xiyu’s eyes no longer had the familiar innocence and clarity, it was just an ordinary pair of helplessness and calculating eyes.
Why didn’t he discover it sooner?
The weak light pierced through his eyelids and pierced the eyeballs that had not seen light for a long time. First of all, it was painful. His temples hurt like nails striking down. Jian Chi opened his eyes slowly and with difficulty. Except for his five senses, his body and limbs seemed to be immersed in cement and unable to move, and his breath was stuck in his chest and could not be relieved. After a long time, Jian Chi didn’t know how long, he felt the sensation in his hands, then his chest, legs, and soles of his feet.
Underneath him was a bed. He noticed this.
“Cough…” Jian Chi originally wanted to speak, but his dry burning throat coughed uncontrollably. He didn’t know what the man gave him to smell, and although he was conscious, it wasn’t much better than being beaten. Jian Chi sat up with difficulty and fell to the ground as soon as he got out of bed.
This feeling was terrible, but Jian Chi could only grit his teeth and stand up against the edge of the bed. The room was large and dark at the same time, and judging from the bedside cabinets and the style of the overhead lights, it was not cheap. All kinds of guesses ran through Jian Chi’s heart, and it was certain that he was no longer on the boat. This answer got more accurate evidence after the opening of the door. Following the spiral staircase not far away, the view of the room and living room below were unobstructed. Everything was brimming with expensive renovations allowing Jian Chi to faintly guess where he was.
“Is anyone there?”
Jian Chi tentatively shouted, and walked towards the stairs while leaning against the wall. Just as he stepped on a section of stairs, a low voice came from overhead: “What are you doing?”
This unexpected sound made Jian Chi raise his head suddenly. Bai Yinian stood on the stairs above, looking down at him, his black sleeve was pulled up to his forearm, revealing strong and well-proportioned muscle lines, and there was no excess emotion on his angular face. His eyes suddenly flashed, “Be careful.”
A second later, Jian Chi, whose limbs were weak, couldn’t take back the foot he stepped on in the air, and rolled down the stairs unprepared. It was too late for the pain to reach his brain, and Jian Chi vaguely saw Bai Yinnian walking towards him. The black leather shoes parked in front of him were the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness for the second time.