Xu Xu was normally a stubborn and arrogant individual, but as a police officer, she had always carried out rules and orders strictly and professionally. Even though Ji Bai made rather unreasonable requests, she never once thought about rebelling against her superior, she just grit her teeth and bore it.

Hence, early in the morning on the next day, she left home punctually. When she arrived at the sports field, the sky was still dark and the streetlights were still lit. The track looked gloomy and empty, only the silhouettes of a couple of people could vaguely be seen running in the dark.

After standing there for a brief moment, Xu Xu spotted a figure running towards her in the darkness.

It was Ji Bai. He had probably arrived not too long ago as he did not smell of sweat.

There was not much light, so his profile was quite blurry, but his voice was loud and clear as he called out to her, “How many rounds did you run yesterday?”

Xu Xu replied, “Five.”

“You’ll run ten today, and your pace can’t be slower than yesterday. I’ll be timing you.” After he said this, he continued running forward.

Xu Xu fell silent for a moment, then she took a big gulp of water and followed him.

Of course, she meant to match his pace, but Ji Bai was soon out of sight. When Xu Xu had completed half a lap, she heard the sound of steady yet quick footsteps approaching her.

She could feel the power exuded by a man’s body during exercise just by listening to the rhythmic breathing. In comparison, Xu Xu’s running had no presence at all, her pace was slow, and her breathing was soft. She lowered her head as Ji Bai took one huge stride to lap her.

“This round doesn’t count, you’re too slow.” His voice called back at her through the darkness. Xu Xu froze, then chased up after him in low spirits.

By the time Xu Xu finished her tenth round, the sky had already turned bright and she was so exhausted that her breathing had become weak. On the other hand, she had lost count of how many laps Ji Bai had run. Additionally, he had stopped as Xu Xu was completing her final two laps and was nowhere to be seen, so she had no clue where he had gone off to. She was also suspicious of whether or not he was really timing her.

After some rest, Xu Xu finally dragged her legs that by now felt like lead and made her way out of the sports field. When she passed by the weapons area, she saw Ji Bai sitting with a man. Upon hearing her footsteps, the two men turned their heads and Ji Bai waved at her with a smile on his face. “Xu Xu, come over here.”

His smile was exceptionally gentle, such that it made his already outstanding appearance shine with a bright radiance when coupled with the rising sun’s rays.

Xu Xu looked at him then turned to look at the other man.

The man looked like he was in his fifties; he was average-sized, had gray hair, and wore a kind expression. He nodded then said to her, “Hello, Xu Xu. I heard that the unit had recruited a very talented new individual, I didn’t think that it would be such a petite lady.”

Xu Xu smiled faintly. “Hello Captain Yan, I’ve heard so much about you.”

The man’s smile widened even more. “Smart as expected. However, since you’re Little Ji’s apprentice, just call me teacher.”

The man was the former criminal police captain who went by the surname Yan. He had already retired but was previously Ji Bai’s instructor as well as a renowned detective in Lin City. Xu Xu had heard of him and guessed his identity based on his age and tone.

Moreover, Ji Bai’s smile was as soft as cotton.

“Hello, teacher.” Xu Xu greeted him conscientiously.

Captain Yan saw that she had clear eyes and was neither proud nor haughty, so he took to her well and said to Ji Bai with a smile, “Your apprentice is lovely and smart, you should lead her well. She’s a lady so don’t be too strict on her.”

Ji Bai smiled. “Of course.”

Xu Xu remained silent.

Captain Yan had also heard that Xu Xu studied criminal psychology and he was very interested in the topic. So, he asked her a few questions, which Xu Xu answered accordingly. Captain Yan then praised her again. Soon, Xu Xu was blushing from his compliments; after all, this man used to be a legendary figure in the police force.

Captain Yan observed her gestures then shot Ji Bai a look, ‘This lady is too innocent.’

Initially, Ji Bai was listening to their conversation quietly, so he only turned to look at Xu Xu when he noticed his instructor’s glance. When he turned to look at Xu Xu, however, he was quite stunned.

The sun was already up by then and the morning light was somewhat golden. Xu Xu stood in front of them, and under the sunlight, her originally pale skin became so white that it was nearly transparent. Nonetheless, her small cheeks were dyed a uniform crimson. The redness was not very strong, but on her thin, frail skin, the redness was so prominent that it looked like blood was going to drip out at any moment. Even her snowy white ears were red. The smooth color so vibrant that seemed like it would stain the hand if touched.

As for her slightly lowered head, although she looked rather uneasy, her eyes were still black and calm as usual as they reflected the sunlight like two shallow streams.

Xu Xu noticed that Ji Bai was looking at her with a distant look, but it seemed like he had no more instructions for her, so she bowed to Captain Ji politely. “Teacher, I’ll make my move then. We’ll talk again in the future.”

Captain Yan smiled as he watched her walk away, then he turned and spoke to Ji Bai. “No wonder you were willing to lead a female apprentice this time – she’s quite outstanding.”

Ji Bai looked up and caught Xu Xu exiting the sports field. He smiled at his instructor and laughed softly. “Indeed, she doesn’t cause any trouble.”

During lunch break, Xu Xu had an incredibly long and deep nap, which was entirely justifiable. She did not even hear the bell for duty and it was actually Yao Meng who had to wake her up and ask her sweetly, “Are you alright? You look like you’ve just been beaten up.”

Xu Xu answered dispiritedly, “You could say that.”

As she turned on her computer, a message popped out from the Internal UC (Internal Unified Communication System) of the police station. The message said that the sender was Zhao Han.

Xu Xu had asked him about the condition of the sports field, so he knew about Ji Bai’s training. On top of that, Xu Xu had been previously held hostage, which made him feel guilty. With so much on her plate, Zhao Han wanted to give her some encouragement.

Zhao Han asked, “How was the devil’s training?”

Xu Xu replied, “Devilish indeed.”

Zhao Han continued, “Haha, god must have big plans for you, Captain Ji is doing this for your own good.”

Xu Xu sighed. “I know.”

Zhao Han added, “The other policewomen couldn’t be more jealous.”

“Why is that?”

Zhao Han actually typed that out casually, so he was startled when he was pressed for an explanation. “It’s because the captain is so handsome.”

Xu Xu laughed. “They want to be tortured by him because he looks handsome? Do they like being abused?”

Zhao Han spat out the water he was drinking.

In truth, Xu Xu was very blunt with her thinking and speech, so her words were likewise limited to literal meanings. “Torture” in this case referred to her feeling extremely tortured to run, “abused” referred to strictly physical abuse done for the sake of inflicting pain, not pleasure. However, for a normal man like Zhao Han, her words sounded too inappropriate.

Similar things have happened to Xu Xu before.

Back in high school, everyone was still quite shy about boy-girl relationships, and one day after school, a few girls had stayed back to gossip privately. They suspected that a certain girl and a boy “had already done something inappropriate”. Since Xu Xu was present then, and one of the girls was quite close to her, she had excitedly asked Xu Xu her opinion on the issue.

Xu Xu did not personally know the two people they were talking about, so she could only express her point of view based on what she did know: facts and general knowledge. “Sex is a basic animalistic instinct.”

The girls who were too embarrassed to even publicly speak about “sex” where shocked.

…

Back to their conversation, Zhao Han carefully replied, “You…”

Xu Xu responded with a “?”

As she finished typing the question mark, she heard an assertive voice from behind her. “Xu Xu, come to my office.”

When Xu Xu turned, she saw Ji Bai holding a cup that was still steaming hot, which meant that he had probably just returned from the pantry. He glanced at her from above then turned and walked into his office.

Xu Xu did not think that she went overboard with her words, but since Ji Bai saw that she was passing comments on him, she knew that she was in the wrong. Thus, she immediately followed him into the room.

Once she sat down, Ji Bai cast a look at her and said flatly, “To me, the morning exercise was just a warm-up, the real torture has yet to begin.”

Xu Xu was speechless.

Ji Bai flipped open a document and threw it at her. “This is a report that was requested by the superiors. Finish it before you leave work tomorrow and hand it in.”

Xu Xu picked it up and flipped through it, then asked him some questions to clear up some doubts she had. Just as Ji Bai was about to answer her, his cell phone rang.

It was an important call, so he stood up with his phone and signaled at Xu Xu to wait for a while before walking into the small conference room next door.

Since he did not mention that she could leave, Xu Xu naturally sat there and waited for him patiently. She had already gone through the whole document in a short while, but Ji Bai still had not yet returned, thus she decided to look around her to ease her boredom.

It was noon and the sunlight was shining in through the big windows, which painted the floor in a warm, yellow color. Even the Waterstone marble desk was tinted a lovely off-white.

The chair in Ji Bai’s office was more comfortable than the ones outside as it was spacious and well made. After sitting under the sun for a brief while, she became sleepy, hence she leaned against the back of the chair and pondered to herself quietly with her eyes shut.

After Ji Bai was done with his call and reentered his office, he saw Xu Xu fast asleep on the chair.

Her tiny body was shriveled up in the spacious chair and her head was tilted slightly upward. Both her arms were resting on the arms of the chair, making her posture seem like that of an old person. Nevertheless, her black brows were slightly furrowed as if she was unhappy.

‘Seems like this little one is exhausted.’

Ji Bai looked at her for a few seconds, then quietly returned to his seat before lighting up a cigarette.

‘I’ll give her ten minutes.’

However, it was not even a minute before Xu Xu woke up.

She was woken up by the sound of soft rustling from pages being flipped. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ji Bai already seated in front of her without paying her any mind. His face was slightly lowered and he held a lit cigarette in one hand as he flipped through documents with the other. His face was expressionless the entire time.

She had no idea of how long she had been sleeping, but she felt that falling asleep in front of her superior during working hours was just too much. Especially considering this was Ji Bai, who was normally so stern. Instantly, beads of sweat raced down the side of her head as her face turned pale.

Without even looking up, Ji Bai asked leisurely, “Are you satisfied with the sleeping conditions in my office?”

Xu Xu looked even more ghastly as she quickly apologized. “I’m sorry.”

She had expected to face more of Ji Bai’s harsh critiques and taunts, but he instead unexpectedly switched the conversation. “What other questions did you have just now?”

Xu Xu was dumbfounded, but she quickly brushed it off before proceeding to ask Ji Bai questions to clarify any doubts she had. Ji Bai answered her accordingly, but never mentioned anything about her sleeping in his office again.

Overall, Xu Xu felt like she was on the brink of death for the entirety of the first week of Ji Bai’s return. She would be completely drained both physically and mentally such that she would immediately crash the second she reached home. Her appetite clearly increased as well.

When Xu Juan saw her dispirited look, he felt sorry for her. However, he was a tough and hardworking person himself and he felt that some training would be beneficial to his sister, so he did not say much. He felt that she could alleviate her stress in the workplace with a successful love life, thus he had arranged a blind date for her that Friday: it was the IT professional, so she had to make sure to arrive on time.

On Friday morning, Xu Xu managed to complete the great task of running ten laps for the first time. When she was eating breakfast in the small conference room, she asked Ji Bai, “Do I have to train on weekends?”

Ji Bai answered, “Do you not eat on weekends?”

With that, Xu Xu was speechless.

Xu Xu had become absolutely spiritless by the time she got off work, but she still had to go for the blind date that had already been arranged beforehand. Because of this, she wanted to meet him as soon as possible to finish her task so that she could return home to sleep.

She went directly to the parking lot of the station where Xu Juan was waiting to pick her up. As she arrived at the basement, she saw Ji Bai walking out from the other exit.

“Xu Xu,” a clear voice was heard, it was Xu Juan. He wore an exquisite black suit and was sitting in his Benz whilst smiling with his eyes. However, when he saw her simple clothes and casual pants, he frowned. “You’re going on a blind date dressed like that?”

Xu Xu lowered her head and looked at herself. “Like this?”

Xu Juan just sighed and did not reply. Xu Xu then turned around and called out, “Captain Ji, see you.”

Unexpectedly, Ji Bai looked at her outfit as well. He nodded then walked towards the car beside them.

Xu Xu walked over to her brother’s car and Xu Juan opened the door for her. He was rather surprised by what he had just seen. “Your superior?”

She nodded, then she saw Ji Bai driving past in a black Buick. It was an ordinary car and he did not stop to look at them.

The streetlights had just lit up as the black Benz made its way through the traffic. When Xu Juan stopped his car at the entrance of “The Courtyard”, Xu Xu made a sharp observation that something was not right.

The Courtyard was a low-profile, yet popular private clubhouse in the city. A few years ago, when Xu Juan had earned his first million, he had brought Xu Xu to dine there. Later on, Xu Juan became a frequent customer, but Xu Juan stopped accompanying him there.

Nonetheless, it was just a blind date with an IT engineer. She thought to herself, ‘Isn’t The Courtyard too fancy for a first date?’

As she watched Xu Juan pacing in leisurely, Xu Xu grit her teeth and ordered her brother to halt. “Stop right there.”

Of course, Xu Juan knew what her question was going to be, so he justified himself with a straight face. “The CEO of an IT company is considered an IT person as well, you shouldn’t discriminate against him just because of his high position.”

Xu Xu frowned. “Firstly, a CEO is considered a person in management, which is not the type of guy that I’ve asked you for; Secondly, a person like that has a very complicated character and mind compared to that of an ordinary person. Not to mention, his work schedule will be extra hectic. Do you really wish for me to have a disorganized marriage such that we won’t even be able to meet each other often?”

Xu Juan immediately stopped smiling. “First of all, I’ve been in touch with this person for quite some time, so I know that he’s not just one of those immoderate, spoiled rich men – he’s a responsible man. Xu Xu, a relationship is not something stiff, you can’t succeed by relying on analysis and predictions; Secondly, since you’re already here, you should at least show me some respect and finish the meal.”

Xu Xu did not say anything else.

Xu Juan thought she was angry and wondered if he had been too harsh. Just as he was about to tone down, Xu Xu nodded. “If that’s the way you put it, then I accept. Let’s go in.”

Xu Juan was startled, then he smiled and stroked her hair. “Talk to him and see how it goes. You can kick him to the curb if he’s not suitable. It doesn’t matter if he’s a CEO or a serviceman, the most important thing is that my sister likes him.”

Xu Xu sighed. “You don’t say.”

The two of them walked towards a pre-booked private room. From a distance, they could see antique-style yellow window frames with curtains as white as snow. A young man sat at the table amid the elegance and quietness with a pot of sake and a sandalwood vessel to his right. Soon, white porcelain chimes dinged at the door, signaling Xu Xu and Xu Juan’s arrival. The man looked up and smiled at Xu Xu, flashing his white teeth, his attractive appearance seemingly calm and delicate in the night light.

Ye Zixiao.