CHAPTER 14

“I am listening, go on.” His eyes sparked with interest at her fake smile.

** Flashback**

After Li Jing had taken Ye Cheng back to her house, she picked up two shoes and hurried out of the house. By the time she got near the sand on the shoreline, she began to hop on her feet, till she got to where Ye Cheng had laid on the ground.

She saw some drops of blood and quickly used sand to cover it, forming a ridge, then proceeded to build a small sand like house near the ridge.

By the time she was done, she wore the shoes on her hands and began crawling on the beach with both hands to her right. 

She did this till she got to a path leading to the main road and stopped. Getting up, she found a small tree branch and went to pick it up.

Li Jing held the base and used the branches as a broom and raced back to where she came from, careful not to scatter the first prints she made on the ground and ran towards the edge of the water and ran back.

By the time she was done creating fake prints on the sandy beach and made sure to cover the small path with which she used to take him back home, with fallen tree branches, she picked the shoes and traced her steps back to the tiled road before jogging her way up the hill.

It was a very stressful work she gave herself. She knew if the people that did that to Ye Cheng were the bad guys, then there was no doubt they would trace their footprints and subsequently find their way to her house.

If that happened, she wouldn’t be able to protect him anymore as both of their lives would be in danger. 

Since she had already put her hands in this problem, there was no turning back now. She couldn’t back down now, even if she wanted to, not at this point.

Any how they thought of it, she had just aided him, whether she was innocent or not and she doubted they would not spare her if they caught her. 

And since she had gotten herself involved, she might as well just finish it and do it well.

**Flashback Ends**

By the time she finished telling her story, Ye Cheng’s lips curved up into a side smile at her bravery.

He had got to admit, she was brave and intelligent. Not everyone would have remembered to cover their trail like that and still ended up risking their lives.

Even if he was in her shoes, he didn’t think he would have done the things she did. Although when someone looked at it, it may seem childish and stupid but on a careful look, one would see that she tried to create a scene where a family strolled on the beach.

The part where she hopped, she tried to depict a parent carrying a child, so her prints would be deep in the sand and the other when she crawled, depicted a parent and a child walking away after building a silly sand castle.

And the other part where she raced with the tree branch could show a happy teenager running around in the small beach till they went home.

“Why aren’t you asking any questions?” 

He shocked her with his question. She wasn’t expecting him to ask something like that, nevertheless, she answered him.

“As much as I would love to know, it is not in my place to ask. If you wished to tell me, you would. All I know is that you needed help and I rendered it. You help someone when you have the opportunity to.”

It was his turn to be shocked. He least expected her to answer him like that. 

After that, none of them spoke to each other. Minutes passed and their gaze seemed to be shifting to something else other than the other person.

‘From the look of things, it is obvious she doesn’t know who I am. It is better this way; I do not want to drag her further into this mess. I better call Hao Huozhing, damn it my phone is in my car.’

‘What is he thinking about now? Should I initiate a conversation and probably ask for his name? No, don’t do that. If he wants, he would tell you.’ Li Jing thought to herself.

After the awkward silence that ensued, Li Jing spoke up, breaking the awkward moment.

“I better go get breakfast ready while you hmm just relax and wait for me. No moving around, your injuries haven’t closed yet.”

She gave him a warning like he was her kid and before he could protest, she dashed out of the room and headed for the kitchen.

His face fell once he was sure she had gone.

His mind went back to the yacht scene, trying to recollect everything that happened.

Unknowingly he gripped the bed sheets tight and didn’t notice when Li Jing came in.

His mind was clearly preoccupied by the thoughts of the event that occurred on that day.

‘I’ll make them pay for taking you away. You didn’t deserve that, Bai Qing Mei, I would avenge you.’

When she got back to room, she could see the cold, glare in his eyes as he stared into nothing. His eyes were distant and laced with anger. 

Li Jing wasn’t sure if she should disturb him. She had hurriedly made him a cup of coffee to drink before breakfast was ready. She wasn’t expecting the sight in front of her.

It sent a chill down her bones when his head shifted to the entrance of the room where she stood, freezing her in place.

Seconds later, he closed his eyes and gave Li Jing a nod, as if saying, ‘come in’ and she did.

She handed him over the cup of coffee and watched as he sipped it, then at down on the bed close to him.

“Is it because of her? Did they do something to her, Bai Qing Mei?”

His head snapped to the side where she sat down. “How did you know…?”

“You kept on mentioning her name and asking her to not leave you.”

He was dumbstruck at the words that came out of her mouth. Without looking at her, he averted his gaze back to the cup and took a gentle sip of his coffee then replied her calmly.

“It was because of me. I lost her. I was too careless.”

“I understand.”

Li Jing wasn’t one to pry into someone’s personal life. After what he told her, she didn’t push further for answers and respected his space.

By the time he finished the coffee, he handed the empty cup to her and said, “Thank you, for everything.”

“Hmm. Rest for now while I get breakfast served. You need all the rest and food to get well quick.”

Flashing him her trade mark smile, that left men breathless, she had at least hoped it would ease the pain in his heart and give him courage to face the world again.

Somehow that bright smile lightened up his mood and helped him focus away from revenge for a moment.

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