Gong Yingxian’s eyes were lowered, his long, thick eyelashes concealing all his emotions.
Ren Yi forced himself to speak. “Look on the bright side. Captain Qiu is at least still alive.”
Gong Yingxian gripped the railing and tried to stand up, but Ren Yi pressed him back down. “Wait. Let’s take care of your wound first.”
Gong Yingxian glanced at his gunshot wound, his brows drawing tightly together.
“Wait here. I’ll see if I can find some scissors.” Ren Yi returned to the office they had been in earlier and rummaged around until he found a utility knife. Using it, he cut open Gong Yingxian’s sleeve, then carefully separated the blood-soaked fabric from the sticky, wet wound.
Ren Yi cut a strip of cloth and tied it tightly around the blood vessels in Gong Yingxian’s arm.
Gong Yingxian’s breathing immediately became more labored, but he didn’t utter a single sound.
The bleeding had temporarily stopped, though a small amount of blood was still seeping out. The gaping, mangled wound made Ren Yi’s heart ache with every beat.
Noticing Ren Yi’s grim expression, Gong Yingxian gently reassured him, “It doesn’t hurt.”
“Don’t lie.”
“It really doesn’t hurt.”
“You’ve lost so much blood…” Ren Yi rubbed his face with his hand, taking the opportunity to wipe away the moisture gathering around his eyes. “The bu-bullet isn’t still inside, is it?”
“It just grazed me. It’s not as serious as you think.”
“But we don’t have anything here. We can’t disinfect it or stitch it up, either.” Ren Yi instinctively looked around, hoping to find something that could help Gong Yingxian, but there was nothing. He couldn’t even take Gong Yingxian to the hospital. “Let me clean the wound first.” Ren Yi knew how much Gong Yingxian disliked dirt. Even if he could only clean it up a little, it might make him feel better.
“Once we’ve rescued Sister Yan, I’ll take care of it myself.” Gong Yingxian gazed intently at Ren Yi, his eyes filled with nothing else but him. “If you kiss me, it’ll hurt even less.”
Ren Yi couldn’t help laughing a little. “Why are you getting more and more cheeky these days?”
“I learned it from you.” Gong Yingxian smiled wearily. “You’re always being so unserious.”
Ren Yi wiped the blood from the area around Gong Yingxian’s wound with a clean piece of fabric, asking as he worked, “So, would you prefer me to be a little more serious?”
“You’re fine just the way you are,” Gong Yingxian answered without hesitation.
“I can become whatever you like. If you like me ‘serious,’ then I’ll be a little more ‘serious.’” Ren Yi kissed Gong Yingxian, then gently bit his lower lip. “For example, from now on, we’ll only fool around in bed, and we won’t try any new tricks. No more than once a week, either, or it’ll be bad for our health. How does that sound?”
“No.” Gong Yingxian bit Ren Yi back. “Stop teasing me all the time.”
“I’m not teasing you. I mean it.”
“No.” Gong Yingxian reached out and held the back of Ren Yi’s head, pulling him closer. He brushed his nose against the warm skin of Ren Yi’s neck. “I want to do it in lots of places, and try lots of things. You… you have to teach me all of them.”
Ren Yi burst out laughing and deliberately scolded him. “How can you be so horny? That’s no good!”
Gong Yingxian’s face grew hot. “You have some nerve saying that about me.”
“Well, I can shamelessly admit it. Can’t you?” As Ren Yi distracted Gong Yingxian, he continued cleaning the wound.
For a moment, Gong Yingxian genuinely forgot about the excruciating pain in his right arm. His hand stroked down Ren Yi’s spine, moving lower until it finally settled around his slim waist. Then he whispered into Ren Yi’s ear, “Ren Yi, am I really that horny?”
Ren Yi froze.
Gong Yingxian buried his face in the hollow of Ren Yi’s shoulder, revealing a childlike shyness and embarrassment. “Why is it that whenever I’m with you, I keep thinking about that sort of thing…? Even when we’re apart, I still think about it. There are obviously more important things to do, and I never used to be like this.”
Ren Yi wrapped his arms around Gong Yingxian’s neck and chuckled. “Yes, you are horny. You weren’t like this before because you hadn’t met me. When you meet someone you like, you become horny.”
Gong Yingxian couldn’t help smiling.
Ren Yi continued, “I’m the same. I’m always thinking about you, every single moment. I think about your lips, your hands, your eyes, your muscles, every single part of your body. And the more I think about you, the… hornier I get.”
Gong Yingxian’s lips curved into a smile. “Then… let’s be horny together.”
Ren Yi kissed him. “Let’s be horny together.”
This brief moment of tenderness amid the crisis was precious beyond measure. Neither of them wanted to let go, but they had no choice but to return to reality.
“Let’s go.” Gong Yingxian stood up and touched his injured arm. Fortunately, he was left-handed, so the injury wouldn’t affect his ability to handle a gun.
“What do we do with him?” Ren Yi glanced with disgust at the unconscious assailant lying on the ground.
“Just leave him tied up here. We’ll hand him over to the police later. Let’s find White Flame first.”
“I tied Bai Chicheng up at the factory entrance. I don’t know if he’s woken up yet.”
“Even if he hasn’t, we’ll have to wake him up.”
“I don’t know if all the people Purple Flame sent have been taken out yet,” Ren Yi said worriedly. “Didn’t you say it would be dangerous for us to leave if we didn’t make sure they were all dealt with?”
“I’m guessing they’ve all been taken out. Earlier, there were gunshots from time to time, either around here or farther away. But we haven’t heard any gunshots for quite a while now,” Gong Yingxian said. “Still, just to be safe, I’ll go get Bai Chicheng. You wait for me in the warehouse.”
“I’m the one wearing the bulletproof vest, and yet you’re the one going? Besides, you’re injured.”
Gong Yingxian hesitated for a moment. “Then we’ll go together.”
“You—”
Gong Yingxian suddenly took Ren Yi’s hand. Ren Yi immediately fell silent and obediently followed him at a jog.
They returned to the storage area and ran out of the warehouse. Sure enough, they spotted Bai Chicheng still lying unconscious on the ground in front of the factory’s overgrown entrance.
Gong Yingxian unlocked Bai Chicheng’s handcuffs, then cuffed his hands behind his back again.
Ren Yi hauled him upright and slapped him twice across the face. “Wake up.”
Bai Chicheng slowly came to. When he saw that the person standing before him was Ren Yi, the confusion in his eyes gave way to clarity, and a cold, venomous gleam flashed in them.
Ren Yi barked, “Move!”
The two of them took Bai Chicheng with them back to the warehouse. They didn’t know the exact location of the meeting room, but it had to be somewhere in the ring of functional buildings around the perimeter of the storage area.
After circling around for a short distance, they found the meeting room. There was light coming from inside.
Ren Yi gripped Bai Chicheng’s arm and quietly approached the office door. Gong Yingxian raised his gun and moved in front of him. He kicked the door open while keeping his body behind the wall.
“Come in,” a gloomy voice called from inside.
Gong Yingxian pointed his gun straight ahead and walked in slowly. Ren Yi followed him.
There were two people in the meeting room. Qiu Yan sat expressionlessly in a chair, while Yellow Flame stood behind her, the muzzle of his gun pressed against her spine.
An emergency lamp sat on the dusty table. Its limited light illuminated a small circle around it, placing Qiu Yan and Yellow Flame at the center, like the focal point of a darkened stage, where every eye was drawn.
Gong Yingxian looked at Qiu Yan. “Sister Yan, are you all right?”
Qiu Yan shook her head, remaining perfectly calm.
White Flame’s gaze flickered. He seemed uneasy.
Yellow Flame said, “The fact that you’re alive to see me means the others are already dead.”
“Some are still alive,” Gong Yingxian said expressionlessly. “Unlike you, I’m not interested in killing people.”
“I’m not interested in killing people, either. I kill for money.” Yellow Flame pointed at White Flame. “I have to take him with me. Otherwise, nobody’s leaving here today.”
“How much is Purple Flame paying you?” Gong Yingxian asked. “I can give you three times, five times, even ten times as much.”
Yellow Flame sneered. “You’re a police officer. You actually dare to bribe an assassin?”
“As long as you’re willing to be bought.”
“Cut the crap. Hand him over, or I’ll blow her brains out.” Yellow Flame roughly prodded Qiu Yan with the muzzle of his gun.
Qiu Yan lifted her chin, showing no fear whatsoever. Instead, she tried to stop them with her eyes.
Ren Yi glanced at Bai Chicheng, whose expression was unreadable. “Do you want to fall into his hands? Or is this part of your scheme, too?” Naturally, he no longer believed White Flame’s claim that Yellow Flame would kill him if he fell into his hands. After all, White Flame had discovered him and Qiu Yan hiding in the dark back then. That had definitely not been an accident. White Flame had done it on purpose.
Bai Chicheng said nothing.
“You don’t get to ask questions, and he doesn’t get to answer them.” Yellow Flame raised an eyebrow, radiating menace without even getting angry. “Hand him over, or I’ll kill this woman.”
Ren Yi gritted his teeth.
“No.” Gong Yingxian suddenly spoke, his gaze icy cold.