Long Huojin took Xue Guangli to his private study; the room had floor-to-ceiling shelves of books on each wall. There were tables sprawled throughout; lamps rested on top of them.
She gazed around the room, astonis.h.i.+ngly. "Have you read all of these?" she asked.
Long Huojin turned to glance at her, as she followed him in. He chuckled and shook his head. "No, I may avidly read, but even I do not have the time to drown myself in books."
He then pointed at one of the walls, "Those are the ones I"ve read." He pointed to another, "That shelf is to-be-read."
Xue Guangli approached the shelves staring at the spines of each book; some were hardcover either library-bound or leather; others were paperback editions. It reminded her of their childhood, when she caught him reading with his gla.s.ses, his hair tumbling over. His boyish face concentrated intensely.
Some parts of him didn"t change, as if rooted. But she was glad of it, some of his qualities were good, and others were redeemable.
Long Huojin took her to a table with computers set up, and he began to print some doc.u.ments. He handed them to her. "Here are some of the reports of from the first trial," he said.
Xue Guangli"s eyes widened. "How do you have these?" she questioned.
Long Huojin seemed to be reluctant to answer, but then he admitted, "I hacked into the system."
Xue Guangli froze. "That"s illegal," she whispered. But by his expression, she could tell that he knew and didn"t care.
"Long Huojin, you can get arrested for this," she said, worried. "You could tarnish your reputation; you could lose your job—"
Long Huojin"s expression did not waver. He shrugged, "I"ll be careful," he said.
Xue Guangli pursed her lips, unconvinced. She knitted her brows, creasing her forehead. Long Huojin then reached out to pinch her nose, "Stop thinking too hard," he teased.
Xue Guangli released a breath. She trusted that he might be careful, but still, she couldn"t help but feel uneasy about it. She stared at him, wondering how much lengths he was willing to go for her family; just the thought tightened her chest.
Xue Guangli glanced at the doc.u.ments in her hand, skimming the pages on the spot, she realized that it was time to investigate.
While Long Huojin was working away on his computers, on something she knew nothing about, Xue Guangli read each page carefully. Some crucial factors began to stand out: the cause of death.
As much as she hated it, Xue Guangli had to read the details. There was evidence of the killer strangling her mother, but she also had drugs in her system, enough to kill her; she had marks that proved she fought back. But with the drugs in her system, she wouldn"t be able to fight back. So what killed her?
Her father was there at the time, unharmed, but that confused her further. What was he doing the entire time?
There were so many questions and inconsistencies that Xue Guangli had to tip her head back on the chair she was sitting. Her mind felt hazy with things she did not know how to put together.
She took a mental break by glancing at Long Huojin who was working on something. He had his gla.s.ses on and typed away elegantly, his slender fingers tapping the keyboard at an incredible speed.
She wondered how he was able to work so diligently. He works long hours at the company, and now she was bothering him with this...
Xue Guangli clenched her fists.
She needed to clear her mind, so she took out a blank piece of paper. Typically, she would do something like house ch.o.r.es, but this wasn"t her house. So, she used her pencil and began to sketch on the paper as a form of escapism.
It wasn"t hard drawing Long Huojin. His face was elegant; she drew his angular cheekbones, capturing the sharpness of it. She sketched the strands of hair that escaped from his combed hair. She drew his face, hard and concentrated.
She hadn"t drawn anyone in a long time, and the fact that Long Huojin rather stayed still most of the time, making it easier to capture his face.
Xue Guangli mimicked the glint of his eyes; the only thing she missed was the gla.s.ses. Since it was a simple drawing, she used a light shading to draw his eyes, instead of a pale blue, it was pale grey, but it worked nonetheless.
Right when she finished, Yin Shou had come into the study room, observing them curiously. He then said, "If you two want to eat, the food is ready."
Xue Guangli grinned, rising from her seat and approached Yin Shou to tease him. "Are you the housemaid now?" she asked. Yin Shou gritted his teeth and ruffled Xue Guangli"s hair.
When they disappeared, Long Huojin rose to follow them, but something caught his eye.
On the table Xue Guangli worked on, he saw a drawing. He picked up the piece of paper and found himself on it. She had drawn and shaded particular parts of him from his lower stomach up. His heart began to pound furiously, that he had to take deep breaths. He couldn"t believe his eyes.
She drew him? Why?
Long Huojin shook the thoughts away. He figured that she might have been bored, and thus, drew him. But what puzzled him was the way she drew him. If someone were to see this picture, they would a.s.sume it was a lover that drawn him.
He stared at it when he heard someone come in. "Long Huojin—" Xue Guangli began. Her face appeared to be puzzled as she saw him hold the drawing.
She then approached him slowly. Long Huojin was afraid she would be angry, but instead, she asked, "Do you like it?"
Long Huojin looked at it once more, "It looks exactly like me. I like it," he said.
Xue Guangli took it from him, appreciating her own work. She blushed a bit, happily. She then gave it back to him, "Keep it. It"s for you," she said with a subtle smile.
Long Huojin took it back, "I will frame it," he said.
At that, Xue Guangli flushed.
Long Huojin felt like flus.h.i.+ng, too, but he held it back. Instead, his gaze darkened as he looked at her. He had this overwhelming urge to kiss her on the spot.
Xue Guangli had gazed up at him when he suddenly began to close the gaps between them. Her heart began to flutter, and she didn"t understand why. His breath was warm against her face, and for a moment she thought he would kiss her. But instead he rubbed her cheek and said, "you had some rice on your face."
Xue Guangli blushed embarra.s.sed. But she also wondered that if he did kiss her. How would she have reacted?
Xue Guangli thought not to dwell, and went with him into the kitchen.