Chapter 45 - HIGH DEFINITION SURVEILLANCE PHOTOS

"Do you think she is still alive?" 

"I have no idea now. But my sister's remains couldn't be found among the buried bodies in Chen Guozhi's garden. So, what if she is?" 

Luo Jingyi heard a heavy sigh.  "What if the picture is fake?" 

"What if it's not?" Luo Jingyi retorted. Her gaze was rapt in the sky.  Fake or not, she had to find the agent anyway. A few hours ago, knowing who killed the man was the least of her concerns. But in order to find out who would go that far to set her up, then she needed to investigate the matters without drawing attention.  

She only prayed it wasn't her stepmother.  If not… Unknowingly, she clenched her fist.  

A long time of silence ensued before Luo Jingyi stated, "We'll never know till we follow the crumbs." 

The person on the other line snarked. "Okay Gretel,  I'll send Hansel to you." 

Luo Jingyi smiled not at the reference of the famous characters Hansel and Gretel. But it was the person's reaction when she asked, "ETA?" 

"Don't be too demanding." The person complained in irritation. 

"Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed today?  You are getting riled up for no reason.  I just needed to know so I could arrange for someone to pick her up at the airport." She asked in amusement.  At the onset of the phone call, the person was in an irritable mood already which was very rare.  

"I'll have her cleared tomorrow." The words came out with a groan. 

"Okay,  so the day after tomorrow at the latest." 

Luo Jingyi meant to end the call when the other person called her out, "Jingyi?"

"Hmm?" Luo Jingyi replied as she made her way back to the night-club.  

"Watch your back. Bad guys are lurking everywhere." 

"I know." Luo Jingyi answered with a sigh. 

…..

"It's your farewell pa – party. Why did I get drunk instead of you?"

Inching her feet forward, Xu Wei put on her whole weight on Luo Jingyi as they exited the bar. With Xu Wei's slurred speech and weird walking posture, she was drunk. 

"My alcohol tolerance is better than you." Luo Jingyi laced her arm on Xu Wei's back to support her. In fact, she might have gotten drunk if she wasn't very cautious drinking outside her home.   So among the group, she was the only one sober. She had to call other people to bring the rest home.  

Luo Jingyi half-dragged the psychiatrist across the parking lot.  She found Yun Jinghan standing next to her car. He wrestled the key from her hand, unlocked her white Ashton Martin and opened the door.  

"What are you doing here?" Luo Jingyi asked as she dumped Xu Wei on the backseat.

Without giving a response, he rounded the car and slid onto the driver's seat.  He sighted her group inside his friend's club when he was about to leave.  So he stayed and watched her upstairs. He noted how she easily swapped the glass thrust on her hand, so its content would end up being swallowed down by Dr.  Xu or the nurses anyhow.  Nobody noticed this. Yun Jinghan realized that they were similar in this aspect, being on guard.  At the same time, he wondered why. 

Knowing that her refusal would be pointless, Luo Jingyi shrugged her shoulders and hopped inside, entering Xu Wei's address on the navigation system.  

"Buckle up. " Yun Jinghan reminded her before starting the car.  

Luo Jingyi mumbled a short reply, put on her seatbelt and turned to him.

"Did you—no,  never mind." She meant to ask him if he installed a tracking device on her because he kept turning up everywhere.  Scolding herself for her crazy thoughts, Luo Jingyi sank into the seat.

"What?" Retracting his gaze on the road, he cast a quick glance on her. Her eyelids were closed as though she was in deep meditation, exposing her long lashes.

"Nothing. Focus on driving."

"Sleepy?" He asked softly. With his free hand, he reached for the console and adjusted the temperature of the car.

A weak 'hmm' reached his ears. Eyeing her with tenderness, he slowed down which resulted in hearing repeated honks from the cars behind them.  Then, cars started overtaking and the drivers were peering from their window to check who was driving at a snail's speed.  However, nothing could be seen because the windows were heavily tinted.  Even his security detail who were trailing behind had to pull over and wait for Luo Jingyi's car to be at a certain distance before moving forward.

Having a vague sense of what was happening, Luo Jingyi rested her head on her propped arm against the door and jested, "It will be morning by the time we arrive." 

The silence was his answer. She assumed he was just playing around but after 15 minutes, they hadn't covered much distance.  Luo Jingyi, unable to stand any longer, blurted, "Why are you driving so slowly?"

He turned to her and with humor tinted in his tone, he expressed, "I want to be with you longer."

Luo Jingyi regarded him with an unamused expression. When he winked, she withdrew and breathed out air, feeling too lazy to pay attention at him. That could work on other women, but not on her.

It took them 2 hours to reach Xu Wei's home.  After much hardship Luo Jingyi had to go through to haul the drunk woman to her apartment, she finally managed to clean Xu Wei up, put on clean clothes on her and finally tucked the drunk psychiatrist to bed. 

Meanwhile, Yun  Jinghan was having a hard time hearing what his VP was saying on the line so he stood from the sofa and walked around to find a better reception.  He finally found a good spot because the voice from the other line was clearer this time.  Noticing a picture slightly peeking out of the half-open door, he bent down to pick it up.  At the same time, the door moved. Instantly, words faded from his mouth when dozens of pictures that covered two sides of the wall fell to his eyes. 

"I'll call you back." Without waiting for a response, he dropped the call. 

Scrutinizing all the high definition surveillance photos of Luo Jingyi on different occasions, his lips narrowed into a thin line.  

When her voice calling his name out, reached his ears, Yun Jinghan hurriedly abandoned the room. Pulling the door closed, he heard her from behind.  "What are you doing?" 

"Nothing." He spun with a smile.  

Luo Jingyi stared at him suspiciously for a second, then uttered.  "Let's go."

Following her out, his eyes roamed inside the apartment for the last time. They glinted in anger. 

Unlike earlier,  Yin Jinghan stepped on the speed this time which left Luo Jingyi bemused.  

"How well do you know Dr.  Xu?" Yun Jinghan fished out.  

She gave him a half-shrug. "Not much. Why do you ask?" 

"Nothing." 

He parked her car on her designated spot, hopped out and opened the door for her. Locking her car, he passed the key.  Without speaking at each other,  they walked to the direction of the elevator.  

Remembering that she invited him for a meal,  she asked as they neared the glassdoor,  "Do you have any specific food preference?"

"I can eat anything.  As long as you made it." He replied casually, beating her to press the elevator button. 

"Oh.  Okay."

When the carriage opened,  she mumbled, "Thank you for driving me home. Good night." 

"See you tomorrow." 

'We are making progress.' A happy smile crept on his face as he watched Luo Jingyi get inside the carriage. 

But it didn't last long because when the elevator ascended to Luo Jingyi's floor, it changed into anger.  Inside his own car, he ordered coldly, "Get me information on Dr. Xu Wei."

Someone was following his wife, why should he let them off?