Baili Qing left, and Su Yue went to the balcony.
This was a sea-view room. Looking at the vast sea under the twilight, she felt a little calmer.
She picked up her phone, took a deep breath, and dialed his number.
It connected quickly.
"Is the interrogation over?" a gentle voice asked.
"Mm, are you busy right now?" Hearing his voice, her nose started to feel a little sore.
"Not busy, go ahead."
"I feel upset." In front of him, she still spoke her mind.
There was no immediate reply; he waited quietly for her to continue.
Su Yue calmed herself again and slowly recounted the interview process of the day.
Her voice was already trembling. She paused to gather herself before continuing:
"Even though you all warned me, I still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking he might show some remorse."
"But he didn't."
"The bodies of the murdered college students were barely cold, yet the one who harmed them was reminiscing about the entire process of his crimes with relish."
"He even blamed the girls for what happened to them..."
At this point, she truly couldn't go on.
Tears had already silently streamed down her face.
"Are you done talking?" After she remained silent for a long time, there was finally a response.
His unhurried voice, like a summer night breeze, caressed her ears and touched her heart.
It gently pulled her back from her immersive memories.
"Do you blame me for sending you to a place like that?"
He suddenly asked this.
Startled, she instinctively defended, "Of course not, I've never regretted it."
"Yueyue," his voice deepened slightly, "someone I know once said that facing darkness requires courage, but it is precisely these courageous people who bring light."
Su Yue's heart began to beat faster with his words.
How familiar that sentence sounded...
"Chen Ziming," she suddenly whispered his name.
It was the same tone as that night in the resort villa, after listening to Feng Jingjing's story.
A thoughtful tone, as if wanting to ask a question.
"Mm, I'm here." His voice was calm and warm.
It wasn't him...
It couldn't be him.
How could it be him?
Su Yue let out a long sigh, shook her head, and tried to stabilize her emotions.
"What do you want to say?" Hearing her silence, the man in the car tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his expression serious as he quietly pressed her.
"It's nothing now." She had already adjusted her state.
Pretending to be lighthearted, she spoke again:
"I'm just feeling a bit sad, but I can handle it. Don't worry, I... I'm fine."
There was silence on the other end.
"Are you still there?" she asked again, a little apprehensive.
"Yes."
After a pause, the man's deep but gentle voice spoke again:
"I'm always here."
It was as if something had struck her heart, rooted itself there, and grown wildly.
She looked out at the sea. Where the horizon met the sky, the setting sun was slowly dipping down.
Along with the fiery sunset, it imbued the evening with a unique romance.
The romance of kindred spirits, as she understood it.
She could finally understand his feelings at work.
It felt as though she had taken another step forward in his life.
"Chen Ziming," she softly called his name again.
"Here."
"I... miss you."
Almost instinctively, the words came out.
A simple "I miss you" was more beautiful and touching than any sweet talk.
There was a pause on the other end.
Then, a laugh came:
"Darling, do you miss me, or do you miss my body?"
...
The romance abruptly ended.
"Chen Ziming, how did I not see you were so perversely shy?"
She was so amused that she laughed, utterly speechless.
But then, he laughed again:
"If you saw through me, would you still try to flirt with me?"
...?!
What did that mean?
"You'd better explain yourself clearly," Su Yue said, bewildered.
Did he deliberately try to lure her... to pounce on him... from the very beginning?
He laughed even more heartily:
"Our Yueyue is so smart, she'll definitely figure it out herself. I have to go on duty. Tomorrow, I'll pick you up at the high-speed train station."
With that, he hung up the phone...
He actually hung up!