Chapter 5

  Jian Yao sat on the sofa for a while, closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep.

  However, after lying down for a while, I felt that my hands and feet were icy cold, and my body couldn't warm up. If this continues, I'll definitely catch a cold.

  She got up again to look for Bao Yu.

  The sound of rain was thundering, and the lightning was flashing. That dark, narrow corridor seemed even more desolate and bleak.

  At the end of the road, Jian Yao saw something unexpected again —

  There is light.

  A faint layer of white light seeped out along the seams of the two secret room doors - there was emergency lighting inside.

  Jian Yao was silent for a moment before walking forward and knocking on the door.

  After knocking for a while, the door suddenly opened. The first thing Jian Yao saw was the dazzling fluorescent lamp on the ceiling in the room, and the strong light made her eyes dizzy, then everything she saw had golden stars shaped like lamp tubes.

  Then she saw a tall man standing at the door, blocking her entire view.

  Jian Yao blinked her eyes, trying to get a clearer look at him. The man had already spoken up, his speech very fast: "What is it?"

  Jian Yao closed her eyes and opened them again, barely seeing the man standing with his back to the light, his face blurry, wearing a large white mask, only revealing a pair of eyes that were staring at her.

  "I'm cold and need clothes," Jian Yujing said quietly.

  The man paused for a few seconds before answering: "I don't like others wearing my clothes."

  Jian Yao was suddenly speechless.

  He suddenly took a step back without warning and closed the door in front of her.

  Jian Yao's world plunged back into darkness.

  The moment the door closed, she saw his hand resting on the edge of the door, wearing that medical plastic glove; and behind him were several rows of high iron frames, with a round can placed on each frame. The cans contained something unknown, all murky and lumpy things.

  ——

  Jian Yao returned to the living room, sat alone in the darkness for a few minutes, then suddenly stood up and walked into the kitchen.

  She turned on the gas stove and stood in front of the yellow flame, warming her hands for a while. When she looked up, she saw that bottle of good wine she had given to Bao Jin Yan was still in the cabinet.

  She took it down without hesitation, stared at it for a few seconds, and then gulped down several mouthfuls.

  Her father and stepfather both loved wine, she was influenced by them since childhood, so this little wine is nothing to her.

  Her chest felt warm and she felt much better, only very hungry. She started looking for food in the kitchen.

  Empty, almost all cabinets are empty, even the refrigerator's cold storage room is empty, without a single fruit.

  She opened the freezer again.

  This time there's a harvest - fish, all fish, neatly stacked layer by layer, full and packed.

  Although the power was out, in winter, the temperature inside the freezer remained very low. Jian Yao pulled out the largest one and threw it onto the chopping board.

  Although there was only weak lighting from mobile phones and the flicker of a stove, it was almost like fumbling in the dark, but simple food could still be made.

  A plate of steamed fish slices was soon ready. Although she was very angry, Jian Yao still habitually started cleaning up the kitchen counter.

  Who would have thought that after a busy turn, I found the dinner table empty.

  Jian Yao stiffened slightly and turned her head to see a tall white figure standing at the other end of the table, seemingly holding her plate.

  With a "clink", he put down the plate.

  "It's inedible." His voice was still low and pleasant, "The meat is too old, too salty."

  Jian Yao's pent-up anger suddenly erupted like a bomb going off with his words.

  She walked up to him with a cold face, "clank" and pulled the plate of fish over. Then she said word by word: "Did I invite you to eat?"

  After finishing speaking, she sat down, picked up her chopsticks and started eating silently.

  Bao Xin didn't say a word, nor did he move, standing still like a white quiet tree. Outside the window, strong winds howled and rain poured down, but inside, it seemed even quieter, even the faint sound of the gas stove's flame burning could be heard clearly.

  Suddenly, he moved his body and walked slowly towards her.

  Jian Yao still had her head down, as if he didn't exist. However, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him put a men's jacket on the back of the chair next to him.

  Jian Yao's mind was momentarily stunned, but she still didn't speak.

  At this time he turned around, walked around the dinner table and went towards the kitchen counter.

  ——

  Jian Yao quietly looked at him rolling up his sleeves, washing his hands clean under the faucet, and then stood in front of the chopping board, starting to cut fish slices.

  When he lowered his head to cut the vegetables, there was no sound, but Jian Yao vaguely saw the fish meat he put on the plate, piece by piece, neat and beautiful; He seemed to think for a moment before throwing the fish meat into the pot one after another, then quickly scooping them out piece by piece, with elegant and smooth movements. And Jian Yao saw his hands again.

  Just as he put down his clothes, she noticed that his hands were white and slender, and not bony like Jian Xuan said.

  At last he stopped moving, holding the plate, gazing for a moment, turned around, and pushed a steaming fish dish in front of her.

  "This is what raw fish meat looks like."

  Jian Yao looked up at him.

  So he's been busy all this time, making fish for her to eat, to prove who's better?

  Her originally indignant mood, due to his series of actions, has become somewhat inexplicable.

  He stood very close, and Jian Yao saw his face again. This time he wasn't wearing a mask, but wore a large, intricate-looking pair of glasses that covered half his face. The lenses gave off a faint red glow.

  Night vision goggles?

  His house has no flashlight, is it because he wears night vision goggles?

  His nose bridge was straight and slender, thin lips were lightly pursed, the lines of his chin looked normal too, symmetrical and clean, without any "wrinkled and sunken" appearance as Jian Xuan had said.

  ……

  Jian Yao still didn't respond to him and continued eating her fish jerky with her head down.

  After a few seconds, he saw him straighten up, without saying a word, and turn to climb the stairs. The tall white shadow quickly disappeared into the darkness.

  Only Jian Yao was left on the first floor.

  She picked up the clothes, which looked a bit familiar. She quickly remembered - wasn't this the coat Fu Ziyu hung on the coat rack that day she came for an interview? He had even taken out his phone from the pocket halfway through.

  So that's how it is.

  She suddenly remembered Fu Zi Yu's words. He said that Bao Qing Tian had a strange and eccentric personality, and didn't have a single friend.

  So, does Bo Xilai actually have difficulties and obstacles in interpersonal communication?

  Jian Yao's anger dissipated at this point. She picked up her chopsticks again, selecting the smallest piece from the bottom of the fish dish he had made, and then slightly moved the others to cover up the traces.

  The fish meat entered her mouth, and she was taken aback.

  ——

  Jian Yao was startled awake by the sound of "clang clang". She sat up from the sofa, looked up and saw that it was the wind blowing the two windows on the west side of the living room, causing them to continuously slam against the metal window frames.

  The sky is still dark, the rain seems to have subsided a bit, but the wind has grown stronger, howling and whistling like a wild beast outside the house.

  Jian Yao thought that the glass shouldn't shatter, and immediately got up to walk over. Just as she reached the window, she saw a figure on the stairs. Bo Ying was slowly walking down - probably also having heard the noise from earlier. His expression was hidden in the darkness, unable to be seen clearly. A pair of eyes were shining with red light.

  Jian Yao didn't care about him, and directly grabbed one of the window panes, facing the strong wind, closing and locking it with force. Just as she was about to reach out to close another window, a sudden gust of wind hit her face, lightning flashed in the sky, and the glass window in front of her had heavily crashed into the window frame...

  Jian Yao instinctively dodged to the side, raising her hands to cover her head. Suddenly, her right wrist was tightly grasped and she was pulled a great distance to the side. At the same time, she heard a loud "clang" from behind, followed by the sound of widespread shattering...

  Jian Yao's heart skipped a beat, she turned around and saw that the glass window from before had only sharp broken edges left, and under the lightning, the ground was covered with shattered glass debris.

  What a close call.

  She turned her head again, facing Bō Jiàn. He was still the same, wearing a large night vision goggles. Only because he stood closer, Jiān Yáo smelled a faint unfamiliar scent on him. And his wrist was still firmly grasped by him.

  "Thank you." She withdrew her hand, motionless. The next second, he suddenly bent down, stretched out his long arms, and hugged her back and the hollow of her knees - amazingly lifting her up from the ground.

  Jian Yao was shocked: "What are you doing?"

  Bo thin speech looked down and glanced at her: "I don't think you can bypass all the glass shards on the ground without wearing night vision goggles and return to the sofa. Especially since your physical reaction speed is not considered agile."

  Jian Yao hadn't spoken yet, but he already strode over to the sofa with his long legs.

  His height was extremely high, and Jian Yao had a feeling of being on the verge of collapse in his arms. Because she was pressed against his chest, the faint cool scent on the man's body became even more pronounced. Being so close, she felt that he was even more upright and slender.

  Jian Yao had never been held by a man like this before, and it felt a bit uncomfortable. But he was right, she could only let him hold her like that on the way back.

  He quickly carried her to the sofa and gently put her down. Although he was still a bit angry from his previous words, he had saved her, Jian Yao: "Thank you."

  In the dim light, his expression couldn't be seen clearly, he straightened up, paused for a moment, and turned to walk towards the kitchen.

  Jian Yao saw him walk around the kitchen and then come back.

  "I believe you've already made your decision," he said.

  Jian Yao realized - he was talking about fish. But she had only moved the very bottom a little bit, how did he figure out that she had eaten it?

  She didn't beat around the bush and replied frankly: "I admit it, your fish is indeed better than mine. But you were really annoying when you spoke earlier."

  In response to her criticism, Bo Jingyan did not respond and instead said softly, "Goodnight." This time Jian Yao heard it, his voice had a faint smile. And Jian Yao could almost be certain that the smile was due to Yu's victory.

  Before he knew it, he had gone upstairs.

  ——

  Jian Yao woke up again when it was already light outside the window, and the rain had also stopped at some point.

  She stood up and took a deep breath of the crisp, cold morning air. The house was empty and quiet, just like every other day. There was no sound from upstairs either.

  Thinking of everything that happened last night, Jian Yao had a kind of disorienting feeling as if she was in a different world.

  She folded Fu Zi Yu's clothes and put them on the sofa, then swept away the broken glass shards in the living room before heading home.

  ——

  The color is quiet and cold, with few people on the road. Jian Yao didn't sleep much last night and felt a bit dizzy.

  She didn't go back to the police station but instead went back to her mother and stepfather's place so they wouldn't worry.

  Her stepfather worked in an office and lived in the dormitory of his work unit. Jian Yao didn't call her family, only sending a text message to let them know she was safe, so they wouldn't have to get up early to pick her up. She walked along the path in the compound, alone, when suddenly she saw several familiar security guards hurrying towards her from the front.

  As they passed by, Jian Yao faintly heard them talking, their tone anxious and indignant.

  "It was definitely him, that weirdo."

  "Yes, he must have kidnapped the child."

  "Can't wait anymore."

  ……

  Jian Yao's eyes snapped open at the word "kidnap", and she suddenly remembered the missing person case Li Xun Ran had told her about. She turned around, but the security guards had already jumped into a van parked by the entrance and driven away.

  Jian Yao immediately called Li Xun Ran, although she didn't understand what had happened, but she felt that this might be related to the case and it was necessary to tell him.

  However, Li Xunyan's phone was unreachable. Jian Yao remembered that he had said he would go to the countryside to investigate a case these past few days and the signal had been poor, so she could only head upstairs and return home first.

  ——

  After listening to Jian Xuan, Jian Yao only knew that it was the son of a security guard from the countryside who came to the city to play and went missing yesterday, and he still hasn't come back. As for other situations, Jian Xuan wasn't clear either.

  "I heard it's already been reported," said Jian Xuan. "However, if someone has been missing for less than 4 hours, the police station won't file a case."

  Jian Yao nodded and dialed Li Xiang Ran's phone number again, but it was still unreachable. She lay down to sleep.

  ——

  Jian Yao woke up again at noon. The dark clouds had dispersed, and the sky was clear and radiant with sunlight.

  Jian Yao tidied up for a while, ate something, and picked up her bag ready to go out.

  "Are you going back to the villa today? Didn't you just get back this morning?"

  Jian Yao replied: "There's just a bit of work left to be done, I'll finish it today and start tomorrow. You don't have to come anymore, it's good that you can spend the New Year's holiday." After a pause, she said, "I saw Bao Jinyan yesterday."

  "Really? Really?" Jian Xuan suddenly became spirited, "Isn't it thrilling?"

  Jian Yao thought for a moment, didn't answer, and just let out a sigh.

  After gossiping with her sister about last night's experience, Jian Yao went out to put a perfect period on the twenty days of work, and her relationship with Bao Qingtian would also come to an end.

  Then life would go on quietly like this. After the winter break, she would return to B City, start her internship and job at the contracted unit, find a boyfriend, get married and have children.

  But Jian Yao didn't expect that on this afternoon, in the villa, something even more astonishing would happen. And after that day, her life was no longer peaceful, her predetermined life gradually deviated from its course, heading towards another strange and brand new direction.