Xia Xianning’s face was cold, though his slightly reddened cheeks and ears betrayed his emotions. He said nothing, closed the notebook, and placed it aside. “Understood. Stop reading our records.”
Luo Mingbai clicked his tongue, “Are you being reasonable? It’s not my fault! You were the one who handed me the notebook.”
Xia Xianning replied, “My mistake. I won’t give it to you next time.”
His unhappiness was so obvious that even Gou Songze noticed. If Xia Xianning really had a girlfriend, he would still feel a bit uncomfortable being constantly showered with public displays of affection. Compared to a strange girl, Gou Songze still found the two of them standing together more pleasing.
So he stopped teasing Luo Yingbai and pushed Luo Yingbai’s shoulder, saying: “Forget it, we won’t ask. Once they confirm their relationship, he’ll definitely tell us. Come on, let’s go.”
At this time, there were almost no outsiders in the corridor.
When Xia Xianning went out, Yue Ling had arrived at the hospital. The two exchanged greetings, and she couldn’t help but ask: “Director Xia, why is your face so red… are you okay?”
Xia Xianning’s expression was blank: “Hot.”
The corridor was air-conditioned, and on a summer day, people were shivering from the cold. Yue Ling looked at the small shirt she was wearing, then looked at Xia Xianning’s bright red face, completely bewildered.
Then Luo Yingbai and Gou Songze walked out arm in arm. Luo Yingbai’s gaze met Xia Xianning’s, but instead of his usual smile, he looked away.
Now it was Xia Xianning’s turn to be at a loss, thinking Luo Yingbai was angry, and couldn’t help stealing glances at him.
Gou Songze interrupted the atmosphere without tact: “The phone call just now was from Wei Shou. We can’t find the exact location of the bone monster woman. Director Xia, what should we do?”
Xia Xianning finally shifted his gaze from Luo Yingbai and said: “You all know about this case, right? We must first capture the bone monster woman to prevent her from harming other ordinary people.”
Gou Songze and Yue Ling nodded simultaneously. Xia Xianning said: “The best way to catch this bone monster woman is to lure her out while hunting. Songze, Xiao Yue, you two go to the hotel and pretend to be a couple.”
Yue Ling groaned: “Why us again? Boss, honestly, I have no feelings for him at all!”
As the only woman in the special investigation unit, Yue Ling had pretended to be Gou Songze’s girlfriend many times before, but each time was very awkward.
Gou Songze said: “Hey, I have no feelings for you either! Do you think I want to? Every time we’re just awkwardly acting, it’s not like we’re for real!”
Yue Ling said: “But this time is different. We’re catching a bone monster woman, and she’s most sensitive to human emotions. Do you think we’re professional actors who can act that convincingly?”
Gou Songze said: “Actually, if we’re talking about professional actors, we really…”
Xia Xianning said: “Songze!”
Gou Songze reflexively responded “Yes”, and Xia Xianning said: “Go try first, don’t waste time.”
Gou Songze and Yue Ling exchanged a glance, neither daring to argue, and went out to prepare.
After they left, Xia Xianning carefully glanced at Luo Yingbai, not knowing why he seemed unhappy, and said: “Senior, shall we go?”
Luo Yingbai said: “Mm. I don’t want to take the car, let’s walk?”
Xia Xianning had no objections, and the two walked shoulder to shoulder. Luo Yingbai told Xia Xianning about the interesting ways he had tricked Cheng Yin that night, and as he spoke, his mood gradually improved.
Seeing him engrossed in his story, Xia Xianning took the opportunity to turn his head and unabashedly gaze at Luo Yingbai’s profile in the night.
This person had a cold and elegant appearance, and the only thing that could match him was moonlight. At this moment, it was pure and boundless, with a cold moon like frost pouring down from the sky, gently outlining Luo Yingbai’s contours and revealing an unusual softness.
In that instant, he suddenly developed a kind of obsessive emotion, almost reaching out to touch that exquisite and beautiful face. However, just then, Luo Yingbai inadvertently turned his face, and Xia Xianning suddenly clenched his fingers.
Just as Luo Yingbai was talking about “Sherry teacher,” Xia Xianning casually asked: “So why was your photo on that website?”
Luo Yingbai laughed: “Forced by life. When I first left home, I tried everything to earn money to support myself, but later found it wasn’t reliable, so I gave up.”
Xia Xianning had been smiling slightly, but hearing this, that smile faded. After a pause, he suddenly said: “A few days ago, I received some information – someone seemed to have seen Peng Xuan appear nearby.”
Luo Yingbai suddenly froze, the smile on his face instantly disappearing: “Are you sure?”
Xia Xianning said: “After receiving the information, I confirmed it should be him. But because they didn’t discover it in time, they can’t find him now.”
He gripped Luo Yingbai’s shoulder, enunciating each word: “Rest assured, those who schemed against you and your teacher back then, I will definitely root them out. The debt they owe you, I will definitely settle.”
His hand was strong but his palm was ice-cold. Luo Yingbai looked at Xia Xianning, seeing his furrowed brow and the deep wrinkle between his heroic eyebrows. Luo Yingbai gently patted Xia Xianning’s hand, comforting him: “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Past events should be forgotten if possible.”
Xia Xianning suddenly said: “I can’t forget. They hurt you, and I won’t rest until they’re dealt with.”
This sentence burst out through gritted teeth, completely unlike his usual cold and detached manner, as if this intense hatred had been suppressed for a very long time.
This made Luo Yingbai pause. Xia Xianning took a deep breath, calming down, and simply said: “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”
The moonlight was gentle, but it didn’t soften his tone at all. Luo Yingbai was touched and couldn’t help but say: “Xianning, you…”
Xia Xianning turned his head to look at him, and Luo Yingbai stopped mid-sentence, then said, “Forget it, it’s nothing, let’s go.”
After returning home, Xia Xianning left, but his shadow seemed to linger before Luo Yingbai’s eyes like a possessed spirit.
Luo Yingbai recalled Gou Songze’s words, Zhou Junyi’s words, and Xia Xianning’s recent absent-mindedness and unusual emotions.
He was cunning and meticulous, but Taoist cultivation emphasized not dwelling on thoughts and seeing all things clearly. Luo Yingbai had practiced since childhood and was the most pure in cultivation among everyone, which led him to think about others’ affairs more often and rarely ponder his own feelings. When he occasionally did, he couldn’t quite figure things out.
What was Xia Xianning thinking? What was he himself thinking?
Luo Yingbai thought for a moment and took out divination tiles, deciding it was better to divine than to guess blindly.
He picked up his brush, paused briefly on the blank tile, and then wrote Xia Xianning’s birth date and the characters “heart connection.”
Marriage fate referred to the ultimate spouse, while heart connection indicated the person one’s heart yearns for or is fond of.
He had calculated fortunes for countless people yet had never calculated Xia Xianning’s. Luo Yingbai felt nervous, quickly setting up three layers of protective barriers around himself to prevent Xia Xianning from detecting his probing of inner feelings, and then began laying out the divination tiles.
Familiar movements he had done countless times now required three attempts to complete correctly.
