Memory Lost

Chapter 86: Unmovable Boulder Part 2

Han Chen stares at her and doesn't say anything.

Jin Xi turns her head to the side as if nothing happened. She picks up the glass of water and takes a sip of it.

He stares at her while tapping his fingers on the table, "Mm, the duck wings that I haven't been able to have for these past few years, you've worked hard."

Jin Xi wants to burst out laughing, but she doesn't want to be too arrogant. She puts the glass down and glares at him, "Han Chen, I've just discovered that you have quite the quality of a 'resentful husband.' Why is a big man like you being so petty with me?"

Han Chen picks up his chopsticks again and resumes eating.

"Some women are forgetful, if you don't remind her of what she owes……" he lifts his eyes to look at her, which carries a hint of a smile, "she won't be prepared to give her 'body' (idiom, to give one's heart) to the one she owes."

Jin Xi retorts, "I've already given you my 'body'!"

"It was one night only," he answers.

Jin Xi, "……only?"

What does he mean by "it was one night only"? Last night was so……how could he use the word "only" to describe it?

She then hears him say, "Every day, every month, and every year, I want you to be with me. This is what I call giving your body (heart) to me."

Jin Xi is a bit stunned.

They stare into each other's eyes. His pupils are pitch black, and her heart is pounding.

She reaches out to grab his hand, "Han Chen, every day, every month, and every year, I want to be with you."

He smiles.

She smiles too. They continue eating their noodles happily.

After they finish eating, she washes the dishes while Han Chen sits on the sofa to watch the news on TV. When she's done washing the dishes, she takes a look at the time. It's only 2 pm. She sits leaning against him, "Hey, what are we going to do with these three days?"

Han Chen glances at her. His arm on the back of the couch slides down to grab her shoulder, "Let's go back to Beijing?"

Jin Xi doesn't say anything. She has already heard from Han Chen that Xin Jia said that she was a student of Class '05 from the National Public Security University. If this is true, it means that she studied in Beijing and not Jiang Cheng. And everything in the past, including her and Han Chen risking their lives and being separated, may have also happened in Beijing.

And as to why everyone around her treats her as "Bai Jin Xi," Han Chen's explanation is, "Bai Jin Xi's old neighbors mentioned that she had an older cousin. If Su Mian and Bai Jin Xi are cousins, it wouldn't be surprising that you two would look alike. Furthermore, you or she may have gone through plastic surgery."

This speculation makes Jin Xi uncomfortable. For one, she doesn't know what has happened to the girl whom she has taken the identity from; Secondly, her face may not actually be hers, which makes her extremely uneasy.

"Okay, let's go back to Beijing," she looks at him with determination.

When Han Chen finishes booking a flight for next morning and walks out of the study room, he sees Bai Jin Xi sitting on the couch looking out the window deep in thoughts. He keeps quiet for a moment before walking over and pulling her up, "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"To fulfill my promise."

Jin Xi asks curiously, "What promise?"

Han Chen turns around and looks up and down at her, "To buy you a dress."

_____

During the ride, Jin Xi continues to murmur, "I don't really like wearing dresses."

Han Chen has both of his hands on the wheel as he says casually, "You'll definitely like it."

"Why?"

Why?

Han Chen's eyes are still looking straight at the road but a smile crosses his face.

It's because she, who he can make out clearly, is beginning to match up more and more to the blurry girl from his memory who wears a swaying dress and likes to be full of herself like a spoiled child. It's not easy to change who you are, so how could she not like those vibrant colored and graceful things?

And when they enter the women's apparel section of the mall——

With a sales representative accompanying them, Han Chen picks out a red long dress and holds it in front of her, "Do you like it?"

Jin Xi's eyes glitter, "Yes!"

He picks out another blue colored skirt with suspenders and places it over his arm, "How about this one?"

Jin Xi's eyes are glowing, "I like that too. These are the styles I like!"

And then Han Chen throws her over ten dresses. Jin Xi walks toward the fitting room carrying them feeling elated. She thinks for a second and turns around to say to him, "I understand now. I didn't like wearing dresses before because Xiao Zhuan is not a good bosom friend. His taste is awful! One is influenced by those around them, so he must have caused me to become a bumpkin!"

_____

In the fitting room.

Jin Xi looks at herself in the mirror.

A red and smooth long dress with a mini black cardigan. The first dress that he picks out for her is thick and heavy in colors.

She thinks for a second and then takes the tie off her head to let her hair down. She then tries on a pair of high heels in the fitting room, opens the door and walks out.

The light outside is bright, and the floor is shiny and slippery. The sales representative comes to her enthusiastically, "How fitting! Wow! You're too beautiful! Hurry and let your boyfriend see."

Jin Xi lifts her eyes and sees Han Chen sitting on the sofa a couple of meters away with his hands on his knees and head tilted upwards looking at her.

She can't tell if it's due to the lighting or that it's her imagination; she can't help but feel that at this moment, his eyes are a shade darker and also more blazing than before.

Jin Xi feels her heart melt; she is very pleased with his gaze. She doesn't walk over to him. Instead, she twists and turns in front of the mirror while letting him watch her with his full attention.

"It's too beautiful!" the sales representative exclaims, "Miss, if you don't buy this dress, you won't do justice to this wardrobe."

Jin Xi presses her lips together and says casually, "It's alright." From the corner of her eye, she notices that he is still staring at her without even budging. He's sitting still like a statue.

Jin Xi turns around calmly and walks toward him as she says to the sales representative, "I'll go ask my boyfriend."

Just after two steps, she sees two young girls from the entrance walking over to Han Chen. One of them points at him and says something. The other takes out her phone and snaps a photo of him.

Jin Xi is stunned: what are they doing!?

Han Chen, who's been captivated by Jin Xi, raises his arm to cover his eyes. He then looks at the two girls.

The two girls jump in surprise, "Oh! You're a real person!? We thought you were a mannequin. I'm sorry, sorry!" They say quickly, "We've been looking at you and you haven't moved for a long while, and you're so handsome, so……"

"Yeah," the other one says, "You didn't even blink, so we thought you were a mannequin……"

Han Chen's eyes sweep across them, "It's okay," and then he ignores them.

The two girls leave in embarrassment.

Jin Xi lets out a giggle from watching this brief episode. Although she doesn't know whether or not the girls really mistook him for a mannequin, it's not really that surprising. The lighting in the store is too bright, and he's……Jin Xi looks up and down at him; his body figure is too good, his features are handsome and he dresses attractively, so it does make him look like a mannequin.

She puts her arms behind her, saunters and bends down to look at him, "What were you looking at? You were so concentrated that your eyes didn't even move. You were even mistaken for a mannequin."

Han Chen looks up at her.

"What do you think I was looking at? You little troublemaker."

His deep and laid back voice vibrates on her heartstrings. She presses her lips and turns her head to the side, "I think it's more like you're the troublemaker." She walks elegantly back to the fitting room with her high heels.

Han Chen watches her back view; he can't take his eyes off of her.

It's not just because she's absolutely stunning like this.

If they have never been separated……

She should be beautiful and pampered like this. She is an honored student at China's best police university, who should possess the life that others envy as well as his affection and happiness. She shouldn't have been sent to a district station of the lowest level, following a bunch of tough guys around the streets in wind and rain, and living a crude and messy life.

But she has adapted to this way of life so quickly and enjoyed herself in it.

Han Chen lowers his head and laughs. The feeling of gentleness rushes into his chest. His heart moves by his mind; he gets up and follows her.

Jin Xi hears footsteps behind her. She turns around and asks feeling weird, "What are you following me for?"

Han Chen stuffs both of his hands into his pockets and answers calmly, "Nothing."

Jin Xi has already experienced before how bold and daring he can be. She darts her eyes at the sales representative who's not far away, dashes into the fitting room and stares at him with full of alert, "Don't you think about coming in."

"I'm not that thirsty," he leans his back against the wall from across. He stays there.

Jin Xi starts changing her clothes and asks, "What are you doing here then?"

"Waiting for you."

"You don't need to be standing outside of the door waiting, do you?"

He says nonchalantly, "I want to wait outside of the door."

Jin Xi thinks for a moment and then laughs. She lets out a "Cheh!" and then says righteously, "You're just stubborn!"

_____

After buying the clothes, the two of them find a nearby place to eat dinner. When they walk out of the restaurant, the sky is already completely dark. Jin Xi asks holding his hand, "Where should we go now?"

Han Chen thinks for a second and answers, "Let's go to Lake Ying."

"Okay."

Lake Ying is one of City Lan's popular sightseeing places. Jin Xi has been there before with Xiao Zhuan when they first arrived at City Lan. In an autumn night like this, the lights reflecting off of the surface of the lake accompanied by the mountains around it and sailing ships, it's definitely quite a view.

The car drives alongside the levee and soon arrives at the sh.ore of the lake. Looking from afar, they can see only a big sheet of blackness and sparsely lit lamps by the sh.ore. The bright moon above their heads is rather pretty and quiet.

Han Chen looks out the window and seems to be deep in thoughts. Jin Xi asks, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Han Chen smiles, parks the car, holds her hand and walks toward the grass area beside the lake.

Nothing.

It's just that when it comes to this, he's not much different from Xin Jia.

He cooks noodles for her to eat, buys her dresses, takes her to Lake Ying, and go back to Beijing……

It turns out that he also has so many things that he wants to do with her one by one.