Han Xi was giving Lu Jinghan a chance to explain.
Lu Jinghan gently cupped Han Xi’s small face with both hands and tenderly kissed her lips: "Things like that will never happen again. Don’t worry, I’m here."
Han Xi’s heart twinged with pain, realizing that to Lu Jinghan, she really wasn’t that important.
"You should go. I have to work now." Han Xi turned around and sat down at her desk.
"Then I’ll come pick you up tonight."
"No need, I have plans tonight." Han Xi’s voice was flat and somewhat distant, something Lu Jinghan noticed.
"Xiao Xi, what’s wrong?"
Han Xi kept her head down, organizing cases, avoiding his gaze: "I need to work now, please leave."
Lu Jinghan’s brow furrowed slightly, but his voice remained gentle: "Alright, you take care of your work, and I’ll come pick you up after you get off."
Han Xi didn’t respond. Only after the office door closed again did she lift her head, her eyes misty and wet.
In the evening, as she was getting off work, Lu Jinghan called Han Xi, but her phone was off. He parked the car in the parking area and went to Han Xi’s office, but when he opened the door, there was no one inside.
Lu Jinghan asked the nurse on duty and learned that Han Xi had just left.
He took the elevator back to the parking area, got in the car, and drove out of the hospital, just in time to see Han Xi flagging down a taxi at the hospital’s main entrance.
After Han Xi got in the car and gave the driver the address, the driver turned the steering wheel and merged onto the main road, with Lu Jinghan following in his car behind.
Twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of Han Xi’s villa. As she got out of the car, she intended to enter, but all she could think of were those blood-soaked images, making her feel afraid, and she withdrew her hand from the door handle.
She took her phone out of her bag, turned it on, and saw several missed calls and messages from Lu Jinghan. Ignoring them, she directly called Xu Lan, saying she’d stay there tonight, though she might arrive late.
Han Xi occasionally stayed at Li Family’s old house with Li Manman, and Xu Lan and Grandma Li treated her very well, as if she were their own child.
After hanging up the phone, Han Xi got into her car, drove out of the community, and wandered aimlessly through the streets, completely unaware that Lu Jinghan’s car was not far behind her.
Her stomach started to ache again. She hadn’t eaten properly for several meals. She parked her car by the roadside, got out, and went to a nearby pharmacy to buy stomach medicine, intending to have some food.
Finding a decent restaurant called "Gu Yang Yuan," Han Xi went inside, ordered porridge and steamed buns, and grabbed a bottle of mineral water.
Sitting at a window seat, Han Xi opened the mineral water and took the medicine with it.
The waiter quickly brought the meal to her table, but Han Xi only drank a bit of porridge and didn’t touch the steamed buns, completely lacking appetite.
Lu Jinghan’s car was parked by the roadside, and he took a cigarette pack from his pants pocket, drew out a cigarette, bit it between his lips, and lit it with a lighter. The white smoke obscured his eye color.
His hand holding the cigarette rested on the open car window, the scarlet sparks flickered in the air, and ash blew away in the wind, scattering everywhere.
By the time Han Xi finished eating and came out, it was after ten o’clock. She got into her car and directly returned to Li Family’s old house, parked the car properly in the open area, and walked to the gate, when suddenly a stray cat darted out, leaving Han Xi terrified and crouched on the ground hugging herself, tears streaming down her face.