Documents

The envelope was a bit think. It also looked very ordinary but suspicious at the same time. Her complete name was written on it and she saw that the address wasn't where they live now. Instead it was the address of her rented apartment.

Because of the contract, she's still paying that place and it's still under her name. She actually didn't mind as it didn't really cost that much for her. She might also go there again when she would meet Li Xiaozhi.

She carefully opened the envelope and was extremely surprised with what she saw.

Inside were her personal documents that were stolen in her apartment. When she checked them one by one, a small letter fell off.

She took it and saw the penmanship. She's clearly familiar with this type of writing. Even though there was no signature at the bottom of the short letter, she knew it was from her best friend.

It was written like this:

'Sorry, you must have freaked out when your documents went missing. It's a long story but don't worry. I'm returning them to you.

Also, I'm sorry I can't see you for the mean time. Take care.'

Han Meixiu was clearly not satisfied how short it was. Her questions kept popping out of her head.

When she put down the letter she also released a long sigh.

Liu Zijian was silently observing her reactions. He didn't say anything nor ask about the mail. He just sat there silently and seemingly waiting for her to tell him about it.

After about a good few minutes Han Meixiu finally spoke.

"It's from Xiao Xiao." She said. Her voice has a trace of sadness.

"She returned my personal documents." She continued.

"She borrowed your documents?" He asked her to probe something.

"Not really. These were stolen in my apartment." She said softly.

Liu Zijian's expression suddenly turned ugly. He didn't know someone broke in her rented apartment. For someone like him who grew up to be always in danger, this incident was something not to be taken for granted.

"When did this happen?" He asked.

The sudden changes in her husband was something Han Meixiu didn't expect.

She stared at him blankly before she answered the question.

"Are there any other things missing?" He asked further.

Han Meixiu paused for a while before she shook her head. She couldn't divulge the other information. Since she decided to not pursue the issue about her parents, there's no point in informing Liu Zijian about it.

He simply nodded and stood up to make a call.

Han Meixiu stared at the letter. She felt that something happened to Li Xiaozhi but it's clear that her best friend didn't want to inform her about it.

Why were the documents ended up in Li Xiaozhi's hands? The person who broke in was related to her best friend?

She sighed again and returned the documents inside the envelope. It was also the time Liu Zijian ended his call.

He didn't return to his seat after the call. He took another envelope from his drawer before he spoke gently.

"Meixiu, weren't you investigating your mother?" He normally wanted to wait for her to open up about this issue. But based from her answer earlier she was still not willing to tell him.

When she paused a little before she shook her head earlier, he knew there were other things went missing aside from those documents.

He couldn't wait any longer. He was thinking that they should address this as early as possible.

The fact that someone took her documents without her knowledge, clearly showed she was being monitored. The problem was they didn't know if those people were friends or foes.

Upon hearing Liu Zijian, Han Meixiu literally froze. She felt the world around her suddenly stopped and she could only hear her own heartbeat.

'How did he know?' She asked herself. 'What should I do now?' Her mind which has been loaded with questions already became like an endless fountain of thoughts.

The questions jumbled and mixed altogether until all seemed to calm down leaving her with nothing to think about. It was as if her mind suddenly resigned and stopped functioning.

There was only blank. Even her emotions felt eerie quiet.

She didn't move. If there was no subtle movement from her breathing, one might think she's just a wax statue.

Seeing how Han Meixiu's reacted, Liu Zijian regretted his decision. It really seemed it's not yet the time.

He placed the envelope back to the drawer and slowly walked towards her. He squatted in front of her before he called her name in a voice as gentle as possible.

"Meixiu,"

She didn't react. He called her again. When she still didn't move he cupped her face with his hands.

He slowly moved forward and kissed her gently. Even though there was no response he continued. In normal circumstances she would respond with equal intensity but now she was like a living doll.

His question really shocked her.

When after sometime there was still no reaction from her, he hugged her and whispered.

"I'm sorry. Forget about it." He said and caressed her back in an effort to calm her down. He just actually imitated what his father did when his mother had occasional breakdown when she was still sick.

Although Han Meixiu wasn't shouting on top of her lungs like his mother did in the past, he recognized that she needed to be comforted.

Finally he got a reaction after sometime. Soft sobs could be heard from her.

"Zijian,.."

"Don't mind what I said."

Han Meixiu shook her head and released herself from his embrace.

"I really didn't want to bother you about my personal issue." She said but she didn't meet his gaze.

"I already decided to forget the search about my mother." She continued without looking at him. Her head was still bowed down. Her hands were clasping his shirt as if she's getting some kind of help from doing so.

She planned to buried her questions deep down as she wanted to prioritize her family. But why was this happening now? When she already want to let it go?

"Do you really want to forget?" He asked.

If she indeed want to forget about her search, then he didn't want to pursue about it as well. He didn't need to show those documents to her anymore.