Gong Yingxian narrowed his eyes halfway and looked at Ren Yi blankly, seemingly completely unaware of what was happening.
Ren Yi’s face felt as though it were burning. His heart pounded wildly, and his body grew hot as well. Gong Yingxian’s disheveled, sweat-damp bangs, his alcohol-hazy eyes, and his full, crimson lips formed a stark contrast with his usual aloof, restrained demeanor, making him irresistibly seductive.
Afraid that Gong Yingxian might notice the changes in his body, Ren Yi frantically tried to get up, but Gong Yingxian grabbed his arm, pinning him down with his body weight, and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Ren Yi didn’t even dare to breathe.
“You…” Gong Yingxian said softly. “Why… are you so close?”
“…If I’m too close, then let go of me.” Ren Yi tried to pry Gong Yingxian’s hand away, but even after drinking, the man was still surprisingly strong.
“Your name.” Gong Yingxian stretched his waist like a cat while lying on top of Ren Yi. “It’s so stupid.”
“…”
Ren Yi could feel Gong Yingxian’s broad, warm chest pressing against his own, and his scalp went numb.
“It’s…” Gong Yingxian said, “the stupidest one I’ve ever heard in my life.”
As he spoke, he started laughing to himself.
“Bastard,” Ren Yi cursed under his breath. “Okay, okay, let me go.”
He struggled to push Gong Yingxian away.
“Don’t move.” Gong Yingxian made a dissatisfied sound, then smoothly rolled over and pinned Ren Yi beneath him.
Ren Yi froze, staring helplessly at Gong Yingxian.
He had started dating in his teens and had once been quite the charming, carefree young man. At his age, he was mature enough when it came to both love and sex. Yet at this moment, he didn’t dare move.
For some reason, whenever he faced Gong Yingxian, he seemed to turn back into that inexperienced boy who had only just discovered what it meant to fall for someone. Flirting, techniques, tricks—he didn’t dare use any of them, terrified that he was merely imagining things and would end up destroying even the hard-won friendship between them.
Besides, he knew that Gong Yingxian trusted him very simply and sincerely, treating him as a friend. How could he take advantage of that trust while Gong Yingxian was drunk?
Gong Yingxian slowly lowered his head.
He lowered it until his disheveled bangs brushed against Ren Yi’s forehead, until Ren Yi thought those lips were about to land on his own.
Ren Yi held his breath nervously.
But Gong Yingxian stopped.
He stared into Ren Yi’s eyes and stammered, “The soup… was, was good.”
Ren Yi didn’t know whether he felt disappointed or relieved. He only knew that if this continued, he was really going to give himself away.
“C-can you get up first?” He reached out to push Gong Yingxian’s shoulder.
Gong Yingxian grabbed that hand and pressed it back against the bed. Then, looking displeased, he used Ren Yi’s own hand to pat Ren Yi on the head, speaking in a tone that sounded almost petulant.
“I hate fire, but I don’t hate… you.”
Ren Yi’s heart trembled.
Gong Yingxian wrapped both arms comfortably around Ren Yi’s waist, burying his face in the crook of Ren Yi’s neck, and peacefully closed his eyes.
Before long, even breathing could be heard steadily beside Ren Yi’s ear.
Ren Yi still didn’t dare move. He could only stare straight at the ceiling.
After a long while, he softly called Gong Yingxian’s name twice. When he received no response at all, he finally confirmed that the person on top of him had truly fallen asleep.
But when Ren Yi carefully shifted his body, Gong Yingxian let out a sleepy murmur.
Ren Yi immediately froze again.
Although being held like this felt wonderful, being unable to move at all was genuinely uncomfortable. On top of that, Gong Yingxian’s weight was making it difficult for him to breathe. So he carefully moved Gong Yingxian aside and climbed up.
Looking at Gong Yingxian’s sleeping face, Ren Yi smiled.
He placed the pillow beneath Gong Yingxian’s head, pulled the blanket over him, and then stayed beside him for a long while.
Just watching Gong Yingxian’s peaceful, defenseless sleeping face made Ren Yi’s heart extraordinarily soft.
He gently smoothed Gong Yingxian’s hair with his hand, tracing his perfect features with his fingertips, his gaze filled with tenderness.
Gong Yingxian was lying right beside him.
Even if he was only there as a drunk friend, Ren Yi wished that time could stop right there.
It wasn’t until his own eyelids grew so heavy that he could barely keep them open that he leaned over and carefully pressed a soft kiss to Gong Yingxian’s lips.
“Good night.”
The next morning, Ren Yi woke up at his usual time for morning exercises. After washing up, he went to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Not long afterward, he heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.
By the time he had brought breakfast to the table, Gong Yingxian had also come out of the bathroom, and the two of them unexpectedly came face-to-face.
Ren Yi’s heart sped up, and his gaze became somewhat evasive.
Gong Yingxian’s reaction was not particularly natural either. His expression was a little stiff, and he coughed lightly before complaining, “I shouldn’t have drunk last night. I didn’t even shower.”
“…Didn’t you shower at the precinct?”
“That’s different.”
Gong Yingxian hesitated, then asked in an apparently casual tone, “How did I get into bed last night?”
“Of course I got you into bed. You couldn’t even walk anymore.” Ren Yi teased him. “Who would’ve thought your alcohol tolerance was so bad?”
“It was your wine.”
“Fine, fine. It was the wine.”
Gong Yingxian secretly glanced at Ren Yi. “Did I say anything…?”
Ren Yi raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I said a whole bunch.”
“What did I say?” Gong Yingxian asked nervously.
“You said how brave and mighty I am in your eyes, how handsome and dashing I am, how I’m the ultimate man among men, and how much you admire me…”
“Get lost.” Gong Yingxian rolled his eyes at him.
Ren Yi burst out laughing. “Come eat breakfast.”
Gong Yingxian looked at the simple breakfast of congee and side dishes and seemed reasonably satisfied.
“Is the congee hot?”
“You already took the first step yesterday by drinking hot soup. Why not strike while the iron is hot? You can start eating some hot food from now on.”
“Is that necessary?” Gong Yingxian hesitated. “I’m already used to my current diet.”
“Last night, you told me the soup was delicious.”
Gong Yingxian gave a soft snort.
“That part was true.” Ren Yi smiled at him. “Hot food is good for your stomach, and it tastes better too. I really don’t want you to miss out on good things because of that reason. You should be able to enjoy them to the fullest.”
Gong Yingxian fell silent.
“In this life, there’s more suffering than happiness. If there’s one more thing that can make you happy, why reject it?” Ren Yi scooped up a spoonful of congee and put it into his mouth. “Mmm, so fragrant.”
Gong Yingxian said, “I can try a little.”
“Come on. We’ll take it step by step.”
Gong Yingxian brought the spoon to his lips and blew on it several times before slowly eating it.
Ren Yi grinned.
After Gong Yingxian had eaten two bites, he suddenly said, “Did I have intimate physical contact with you last night?”
Ren Yi was completely stunned by the question. The congee he was eating almost spilled out of his mouth.
Gong Yingxian frowned. “Did I or didn’t I?”
Ren Yi coughed lightly. “What exactly counts as ‘intimate’?”
He had spent an entire night calming himself down after what had happened yesterday. Now that Gong Yingxian had brought it up again, he couldn’t help thinking of that kiss, and he suddenly felt guilty.
“I mean…” Gong Yingxian thought for a long time, unable to figure out how to define it. Suddenly, embarrassment turned into irritation. “Whatever happened, you’re not allowed to tell anyone that I made a fool of myself after drinking!”
Ren Yi snickered. “Can I at least share it with Uncle Sheng and Feilan?”
Gong Yingxian gave a cold snort. “You can try.”
The two of them teased each other for a few more moments.
After breakfast, Ren Yi asked, “It’s the weekend today. Are you going to the precinct?”
“Since when do police officers have weekends?” Gong Yingxian said. “But I’m not on duty today.”
“Then are you…” Ren Yi wanted to ask whether Gong Yingxian was going back to interrogate the hooded man.
Gong Yingxian shook his head. “I’m having Cai Qiang interrogate him about the Wanyuan Residential Community arson and the car-burning case today. I’m planning to go over the old clues with Yan-jie again.”
“Sounds good.”
“Come with me.” Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi. “You said you were willing to help.”
“Of course.” Ren Yi said solemnly, “I’ll do everything I can.”
Gong Yingxian called Qiu Yan, while Ren Yi cleaned up the kitchen and changed his clothes.
The two of them left the house. Ren Yi took the keys and got into the driver’s seat.
“Where are we going?”
“My house.”
Halfway there, Ren Yi’s phone suddenly rang. Without looking carefully, he answered it.
“Bro, it’s me.” Qi Xiao’s voice came through the phone.
“Oh, morning. I’m surprised you’re up this early.” Ren Yi secretly glanced at Gong Yingxian.
“Hey, I ran into a bit of trouble and wanted to ask you for a favor.”
“What happened? Tell me.”
“Our company booked me for an advertisement. The shooting time, location, staff, and entire plan were all finalized, but the filming location was shut down because of some fire-safety issue. They said it needs a week to be rectified.”
“What kind of problem? Did someone report it, or did it fail an inspection by the fire department?”
“I’m not exactly sure.” Qi Xiao sounded troubled. “If we can’t shoot by Wednesday, I have to rush off to another event, and they’ll have to replace me. The pay for this ad is really good. I really don’t want to miss it.”
He became whiny and pleading. “Bro, can you help me? I’m going crazy over here.”
The inside of the car was small and quiet, so every word Qi Xiao said traveled straight into Gong Yingxian’s ears.
He gave a soft snort.
Ren Yi reassured him, “Don’t worry. Which district and which squad shut it down?”
“It’s called Beigang Squad.”
“Send me the name and address of the filming location, along with a general description of the situation. I’ll ask around for you. If it’s just a minor issue, they should be able to fix it quickly. I’ll urge them to speed up the inspection.”
Qi Xiao happily said, “Bro, thanks.”
After saying that, Qi Xiao made an exaggerated kissing sound, then laughed to himself.
Gong Yingxian raised an eyebrow and shot Ren Yi a sideways glance.
Ren Yi quickly said, “All right, I’m hanging up. I’m driving.”
“Wait!” Qi Xiao said suggestively. “Bro, I’ll properly thank you next time. You decide what you want to do.”
Ren Yi vaguely replied, “Mm. Bye.”
Then he quickly hung up.
Gong Yingxian’s voice was distinctly displeased. “This involves fire safety. You’re not going to pull strings for him, are you?”
“Of course I’ll only help him as long as everything remains compliant.” Ren Yi deliberately answered vaguely. “Hey, do you think Aimin Road will be congested? Maybe we should take the elevated highway.”
But Gong Yingxian refused to let it go. “How are you going to help him?”
“It depends on the specific situation.” Ren Yi rubbed his nose. “Usually, minor fire-safety corrections are pretty simple. I can make a call and ask the squad to conduct the follow-up inspection sooner, which can save quite a bit of time.”
“Oh. What a good friend.” Gong Yingxian asked again, “How did you two meet?”
“…At a gathering of friends.”
“What do you two ‘play’ together?”
The more Ren Yi answered, the stranger it sounded. “Are you interrogating a suspect?”
Gong Yingxian turned his head and stared straight at Ren Yi.
He kept staring until Ren Yi became uncomfortable, then said, “You’ve seen me interrogate suspects.”
The implication was that he was already being quite polite with Ren Yi.
Ren Yi was both amused and helpless. “We play… games, okay?”
“Really?”
Gong Yingxian had always felt that Qi Xiao’s attitude toward Ren Yi was a little strange. That tone of voice, that particular sentence… Yet he couldn’t quite explain what was strange about it.
All he knew was that he really disliked it.
“Really. I’m taking the elevated highway now, okay?”
Gong Yingxian didn’t ask any more questions, but he had already developed absolutely no fondness for the name Qi Xiao.
After they arrived home, Uncle Sheng immediately followed Gong Yingxian around, asking whether he had enjoyed his first visit to a friend’s home and what they had done.
Gong Yingxian gave him a couple of perfunctory answers, while Ren Yi happily shared everything with Uncle Sheng, making him beam with delight.
Uncle Sheng even complained, “Then why did you come back so soon? It’s the weekend. You should’ve stayed and played a little longer.”
“I came back because I have something to do. Uncle Sheng, Qiu Yan is coming over later. Prepare some of her favorite food.”
“Oh, Miss Qiu is coming? Wonderful. We haven’t made taro pastries in a long time either.” Uncle Sheng smiled. “What a good day this is. So many guests coming over.”
Gong Yingxian said to Ren Yi, “Come with me.”
Gong Yingxian led Ren Yi upstairs.
At the end of the third-floor hallway was a large, tightly closed door. It looked the same as the other doors inside the house, but its lock was different—it was a smart lock.
Who would install a smart lock on an interior door?
Moreover, its brass handle had been polished until it shone.
Ren Yi knew that everything above the second floor belonged exclusively to Gong Yingxian. Other than Gong Yingxian’s bedroom, none of the other doors had marks like this.
That proved this was a room Gong Yingxian entered frequently.
Sure enough, Gong Yingxian walked straight toward the door, pressed his fingerprint against the lock, and the sound of it unlocking rang out.
Gong Yingxian pushed the door open.
A heavy, old-fashioned atmosphere rushed toward them.
Before Ren Yi could even see what was inside, he already felt an indescribable sense of oppression.
Gong Yingxian looked back at Ren Yi, his voice hollow.
“My past is in there.”