When A Snail Falls in Love

The bed in the master bedroom was very big, so much so that Xu Xu only occupied half of it after stretching out her body as much as she could. She turned her head to look at the bustling and dazzling night view through the window and felt a little disturbed.

Initially, she put it down as just the change in environment, but after lying on the bed with her eyes closed for a short while, she realized that she was hungry. She looked at her watch and recalled that she had an in-flight meal at around 5.00pm, but it was already 11.00pm. She tried to resist the hunger for a while, but soon, she could no longer help it, so she got out of bed.

Ji Bai was watching the evening news and was about to go to bed when he heard the sound of light shuffling down the corridor.

He opened the door and saw a petite figure in a white sleeping robe lazily making its way to the kitchen. Ji Bai was a little surprised because he had always thought that she would be the type to wear pajamas with bears and flowers print on it. Instead, she wore a large open collared robe with a rope tied around her waist. Nonetheless, Ji Bai laughed because the item was clearly too big and long for her. She looked like a child who was secretly wearing adult clothes.

In reality, the reason why Xu Xu chose these pajamas was simple, a twenty-four-year-old woman should wear mature feminine-style pajamas.

Ji Bai walked to the kitchen and smelled the smell of fresh pizza from afar and suddenly felt a pang of hunger in his stomach. He looked across the room and saw Xu Xu resting her chin on one of her hands in front of the clean dining table while she slowly ate the pizza. The satin robe that she was wearing accentuated her slender curves while giving off a graceful temperament that was never seen in Xu Xu. One of her slippers fell on to the ground but she did not seem to care as she continued to gently sway her nude foot in the air.

When she saw Ji Bai, she was not surprised. She lowered her head, put on her slipper again, and asked, “Do you want some?”

Ji Bai sat down next to her and realized that even her supper was very high in calories. Her supper looked exquisite yet appetizing with a small piece of pizza, a small plate of fruit, and a cup of milk. She probably did not need to worry about gaining weight with her physique.

Xu Xu put a piece of pizza in the microwave and then stood in front of the kitchen counter to cut some fruits for Ji Bai. In truth, she would rarely serve someone so patiently. However, since her respect for Ji Bai had grown deeper that night, she was quite motivated to make supper for him. She was a very simple person as she wanted to get closer to him simply because she respected him. While she thought about this, she was simultaneously planning to change the way she addressed him and call him ‘teacher’ from now on instead.

Ji Bai was at the dining table opposite the island where Xu Xu was focusing on cutting fruits with her head lowered. Meanwhile, Ji Bai leaned against the back of his chair with one of his hands resting on the empty chair beside him while he focused on playing with a lighter in the other.

Perhaps because a man and a woman were in the same room late at night, but Ji Bai felt his heart tickling and his mouth a little dry when he saw Xu Xu’s soft hair falling on her fair forehead and ears. It was the same feeling that he felt when she called him “third brother” earlier. Also, the mature feminine pajamas that she wore had a slightly wide neckline that revealed a part of her snowy fair skin. That view reminded him of the cup of milk placed right in front of him.

Soon enough, she finished preparing Ji Bai’s supper and the two of them ate at the same time. When Ji Bai was clearing up the plates, Xu Xin quickly stood up. “Teacher, let me do it.”

Ji Bai shot a glance at her.

Xu Xu clearly understood what that glance meant. She thought about it for a moment, but she could not think of better word, so she coughed and then clarified her intentions, “Teacher, I will continue to honor you in the future and learn from you attentively.”

Ji Bai looked at her slightly blushed cheeks for a while before shaking his head. “… Okay.”

Ji Bai was very tall and remained seated on the same spot as Xu Xu bent over to clean up the table. Thus, her body was swaying right in front of Ji Bai at a very close distance. Her pajamas were both thick and very loose, so nothing was showing. However, the vague curves under her sloppy pajamas suddenly reminded Ji Bai of the abnormally soft and plump feeling that lingered on his fingertips from many days ago.

Ji Bai laughed it off at the time, but after being reminded, he recalled that it was a very good feeling.

Ji Bai was no longer a cheeky young boy. After returning to his room that night, he stood in front of the window and thought about Xu Xu as he took in the beautiful view of the capital of China.

Recently, his eyes were always fixed on her and it seemed like it had turned into something of a habit. Whenever she appeared, his gaze would fall on her. Her short hair, slender arms, legs, and even her stubborn expression were pleasing to the eyes.

She did not make him feel any intense emotions. Actually, it could be because of a combination of his personality and his profession, but he had never felt intense emotions towards anyone before. Nevertheless, he felt very refreshed and comfortable when he was around her.

She was nothing like the ideal partner he expected. He thought that he would be more attracted to a mature and sensible woman as he was nearing his thirties. However, he was quite pleased when he saw Xu Xu in very mature pajamas yet looking like an ignorant child.

Ji Bai was very clear that he did not want to play games or date for the sake of dating as he did not have the time for it. Thus, he would look for a girlfriend with the intention of making her his future wife.

After savoring the moment for quite a while, he decided that he would further acknowledge and deepen his feelings towards Xu Xu once he closed this case.

Then, he would try his very best to pursue her.

However, there was always their relationship as colleagues, as well as their relationship as a superior and a subordinate to consider. How would this affect his efforts?

Before six o’clock the next morning, Xu Xu heard someone knocking at the door while she was in the midst of sleep. She thought that there was an emergency, so she ran to the door without wearing any shoes.

When she opened the door, she saw Ji Bai decked out in a sportswear. His tall and huge body leaned against the door frame while he lowered his head to look at her, “Change your clothes. Let’s go for a run.”

Xu Xu was confused as the two of them had stopped doing morning exercises ever since Ye Zixi’s case began.

“Why?” She asked, “Aren’t we busy with the case?”

Ji Bai answered briefly, “Achievement is founded on diligence and wasted upon recklessness. The more intense the situation, the more important it is to maintain a strong body.” After saying this, he turned around and walked to the living room to wait for her.

“Oh.” Xu Xu realized that the party-goer from yesterday had now returned to his normal state.

The garden of the hotel looked lusher and fresher in the morning and there were also very little people around. After running for a short while, Xu Xu was confused as Ji Bai was running alongside her since he normally always ran ahead of her. Today, if he ran ahead of her, he would eventually stop or even slow down to wait for her.

When he stopped to wait for her for the third time, Xu Xu asked, “Why are you slowing down to wait for me today?”

Ji Bai shrugged it off naturally, “This is an unfamiliar environment, so it’s easy to get lost in this garden.”

Xu Xu now understood what he was trying to do. She thanked him gratefully while she looked at his profoundly handsome face under the morning light, “Thank you, but you don’t have to wait for me. I have seen the map, so it’s impossible for me to get lost.”

Ji Bai turned his head and smiled at her lightly, “That’s good. I have not seen the map, so we will run together.”

“Oh.”

They ran then ate breakfast together. After that, they went back to their room to shower. They were watching the morning news together when Shu Hang arrived right on cue to ringing the bell.

Ji Bai had contacted the local police and obtained the list of students in the H University before arriving in Beijing. After cross-checking the list, he found that there were more than 100 of them who had gone on to work in Lin City. Though most of them were not suspicious, this was still only the first step.

The aim of this morning’s work was to visit Ye Zixi’s lecturers and classmates who were close to her. They were still not sure of whether or not this mysterious lover was related to Ye Zixi’s death, but they did not want to leave any stones unturned.

Since Shu Hang had greeted a few friends in advance and informed them that Ji Bai was coming to investigate the case, the university was very cooperative. After investigating all morning, they found nothing. All they knew was that the lecturers and students had a remarkable impression of the beautiful yet outstanding Ye Zixi. None of them had heard that she had a boyfriend.

During lunchtime, Xu Xu asked Ji Bai if it was okay to order takeout. Just as Ji Bai was about to say yes, Shu Hang called and told them that he had booked them a couple seat at the restaurant next to the university. Ji Bai answered, “okay,” before turning his head to tell Xu Xu not to order takeout as they would be leaving for lunch soon.

There was finally some progress in the afternoon.

They found a woman named Tian Tian, who was Ye Zixi’s good friend. She was also in Beijing, and after contacting her through the phone and telling her the news, she cried out loud painfully. After she calmed down, she swallowed her tears and suggested, “Police officer sir, let’s meet and talk.”

Based on her attitude, Ji Bai and Xu Xu believed that they would be able to find the answer soon enough.

An hour later, Tian Tian arrived at the university and told them about Ye Zixi’s past.

When Ye Zixi was doing her master’s degree, she had a relationship with a man from another state. However, she kept her relationship low-profile and only very few people knew about it, these people being her close friends.

“That was six to seven years ago.” Tian Tian recollected, “At that time, Ye Zixi loved that man very much. He was younger than Ye Zixi, so he was probably still working on his undergraduate degree. He often traveled to Beijing via an overnight train. When he was here, Zixi would not come home for a few days at a time. Moreover, during their winter and summer breaks, the two of them would rent a house to live together for a few months…”

She said this emotionally while Ji Bai and Xu Xu listened on in silence.

“Later on…” Tian Tian said in a low voice, “Zixi got pregnant, and of course, she aborted it. Although she was very sad at that time, she happily announced that the man had proposed to her and that he would marry her after he graduated. Who would have known that they would suddenly break up after a few months? During that period of them, she was very depressed. The two of them were so in love…”

“Where is he from? What is his name?” Ji Bai asked.

“He’s from Lin City and goes by the name…” Tian Tian pondered for a moment before answering, “I think I have their picture in my house. I live not too far away from here. I can bring it to you now.”

Xu Xu was slightly stunned and the feeling of restlessness that she felt last night reappeared once again. It felt as though she was missing some important clues.

Ji Bai nodded, then turned his head and saw how Xu Xu’s face seemed to be paler than usual. He quickly placed his hand on her shoulder and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Xu seemed to be oblivious to his touch as she immediately answered, “Nothing, I was just thinking about something.”

The way she acted reminded Ji Bai of how she had lovingly cut fruits for him last night and called him “teacher: with a blushing face. He smiled lightly and said, “I am going to get the photo with her, you can have rest for a while.” Before Xu Xu could protest, he had left with Tian Tian.

When he got the photo, Ji Bai momentarily became lost in his thoughts.

In the photo, a handsome and fair man was lowering his head to kiss a woman’s neck. There was a devoted yet mesmerized look in his eyes when he did so, and the woman’s long hair was flowing in the wind with a bright smile on her face. She was extremely happy and looked as though she was blooming like a flower.

Ji Bai had met this man before and he knew who he was.

Xu Xu stood in front of the window of H University’s temporary office during the time that Ji Bai was away and looked out at the beautiful campus while she thought to herself, ‘What was I doing six years ago? My college entrance examination. I was so oblivious as to what was happening in the outside world and buried myself in books.’

Xu Xu heard the sound of calm and familiar footsteps behind her, so she spun around and saw Ji Bai’s thoughtful eyes.

She was able to finally verify her uneasiness and suspicion after Ji Bai handed the photo to her.

“It is Xu Juan.”