The Gentle Breeze Reflects in My Eyes - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Captain Li looked up and exchanged a glance with another officer. Neither of them knew how to handle a situation like this. In the end, they could only watch as Xia Lusheng cried until her strength failed, leaving her limp and fragile in Gu Yitong’s arms.

Although Xia Lusheng was blind, her eyes were exceptionally beautiful. Now, those lovely eyes were swollen like walnuts, with a pair of watery grapes embedded in the center.

Looking at Xia Lusheng’s eyes, Captain Li couldn’t help but sigh inwardly at the tragedy of it.

After her crying subsided, Xia Lusheng leaned against Gu Yitong’s shoulder, sobbing fitfully.

Seeing that the girl in her arms was a bit calmer, Gu Yitong continued the questioning in a gentle tone: “Lusheng, what happened after that person left? Did the man lying on the floor say anything?”

Xia Lusheng shook her head, her voice broken by hiccups. “Man… Manager Zhang didn’t… didn’t make a sound. I… I was so scared. I kept calling him, but he never answered me…”

Captain Li’s expression shifted instantly. He stood up abruptly from in front of Xia Lusheng, his gaze turning sharp. “How do you know the vic—the injured person was Manager Zhang?!”

Xia Lusheng flinched at the sudden increase in volume and the interrogatory tone. Her grip on Gu Yitong’s clothes tightened, her slender knuckles turning white.

After a long pause, Xia Lusheng spoke timidly: “I… I felt his collar. Manager Zhang’s shirt… his collar was different from ours.”

Captain Li froze, realizing he had overreacted.

Gu Yitong pursed her lips, her expression souring as the questioning continued. After a moment, she looked up at Captain Li. “Isn’t there surveillance footage?”

Captain Li sighed. “The cameras were down for maintenance. They weren’t active.”

Gu Yitong frowned, starting to say something but then holding back. Just then, the door swung open with a thud. A young officer rushed in, looking like he’d run all the way up, panting heavily.

He managed to gasp out, “Caught… we caught him! The killer surrendered!”

Captain Li didn’t process it immediately. “What?”

The young officer spoke rapidly: “The person who killed Manager Zhang turned himself in! He’s at the station right now!”

Captain Li grabbed his hat from the table and strode out of the room.

The other officer left in the room blinked as he snapped out of it, then looked at Gu Yitong and Xia Lusheng. “Um, well… the culprit has surrendered and is in custody. You two just need to finish your statements, and then you can go.”

…

It was already noon by the time Gu Yitong led Xia Lusheng out of the Mapo Tofu Hotel.

Xia Lusheng held her white cane, stumbling forward slightly as Gu Yitong kept a protective arm around her. She remained silent even after they reached the car.

Once they were both inside, Gu Yitong sat in the driver’s seat and turned to face Xia Lusheng in the passenger seat.

Pressing her lips together briefly, Gu Yitong said, “Lusheng, I know I’m basically a stranger to you. In your heart, I’m just the daughter of your mother’s friend. But Aunt Xia asked me to take care of you before she passed. So… please don’t push me away, okay?”

In this timeline, Gu Yitong and Xia Lusheng were indeed not well-acquainted. They only knew of each other through their mothers; they hadn’t even had a proper conversation, let alone a real understanding of one another.

Back in 2007, after Aunt Xia died, Gu Yitong had tried to reach out, but Xia Lusheng had rejected her fiercely. At the time, taking Xia Lusheng in to live with her was out of the question.

Xia Lusheng had only been fourteen then—far too closed off, her heart locked away in a room Gu Yitong couldn’t enter.

And Gu Yitong had been only nineteen, not yet graduated from college, essentially a child herself. After being rebuffed a few times, her pride had been stung, and she couldn’t bring herself to keep trying. She had simply left a phone number, telling Lusheng to call if she ever needed anything.

In those two years, the only call she had ever received regarding Xia Lusheng was about the murder at the hotel. In the original timeline, she had arrived at the hotel after the killer was caught, processed the situation in a daze, and taken Lusheng home in a fog.

Thinking back, she had actually forgotten exactly how she managed to bring Xia Lusheng home the first time.

Gu Yitong felt a sudden, profound gratitude toward fate for giving her a chance to do it over. Fortunately, this time she was by Lusheng’s side. At the very least, she had provided a shoulder for the girl to cry on, ensuring she didn’t have to face this horror alone.

Thankfully.

Xia Lusheng kept her head down and remained silent, her fingers twisting together in a strange, tense tangle.

Receiving no reply, Gu Yitong added, “Let’s go home then, Lusheng.”

Xia Lusheng’s intertwined fingers twitched.

Gu Yitong didn’t drive straight home. Instead, she stopped at a supermarket. She turned off the engine and looked at the silent girl beside her. “Lusheng, wait for me here. I’m going to buy some toiletries for you. I’ll be back very soon.”

She didn’t expect an answer, so she was surprised when a low voice whispered, “Okay.”

Gu Yitong’s hand paused on her seatbelt. She felt a strange sense of being “favorably noticed.”

She laughed at her own reaction. As she opened the door to leave, she paused and added for the girl inside: “I’ll be back as fast as I can.”

Once inside, Gu Yitong headed straight for the daily necessities aisle. She hurriedly grabbed toothpaste, a toothbrush, and towels. After walking a few steps, she doubled back to grab a bath lily and tucked it under her arm.

Fortunately, it wasn’t peak hours, and the checkout was fast. Gu Yitong clutched her items and rushed back to the car.

As she exited the supermarket, she spotted a clothing store. She hesitated, but looking at the things in her hands, she decided to return to the car first.

The moment she opened the car door and saw the person inside, she felt a wave of relief, followed immediately by a pang of sorrow. Xia Lusheng was sitting bolt-upright, her head snapping toward the sound of the door, her entire body tensed up.

She was visibly anxious, lost, and on guard, with a flicker of fear hidden on her face.

Gu Yitong took a deep breath and spoke in a gentle, natural voice: “Lusheng, I’m back.”

Hearing Gu Yitong’s voice, Xia Lusheng’s shoulders slumped. She leaned back against the seat, gasping for air as her chest heaved.

Gu Yitong acted as if she hadn’t noticed the girl’s distress. She climbed in and placed all the items onto Xia Lusheng’s lap. “Here, hold these. Hold on tight so they don’t fall.”

Feeling the objects in her hands gave Xia Lusheng a small sense of security, and her breathing gradually leveled out.

Gu Yitong glanced at the clothing store through the window but couldn’t bring herself to leave the car again. Xia Lusheng’s tense, fragile state was like a thorn, piercing deep into her heart.