Lin Hening declined the call, but it rang again. He declined it once more, and finally, his phone powered off completely, out of battery.
When he got home, sure enough, Xia Zhile was standing at the door.
A proper boyfriend wouldn’t need to stand outside—he should know the passcode to Lin Hening’s door, right?
Well, clearly, he had no face to enter.
“Baby.” Xia Zhile had been standing for so long that his legs had gone numb, making him wobble as he stepped forward.
Lin Hening tapped on his watch, showing him the time on the screen. “It’s almost one. Tomorrow—no, today—you don’t have work?”
Xia Zhile was full of guilt. “Baby, I’m sorry. Tonight was our anniversary, I—”
Lin Hening corrected him, “It was last night.”
Xia Zhile’s heart sank. “Baby, don’t be mad. I was wrong, I was wrong. But accidents are unpredictable, you know that. Remember last Valentine’s Day? We planned to go ice skating, even had our skates on, but then your colleague called saying the victim’s family was causing a scene at the prosecution office. You left me there and rushed back to the office.”
Lin Hening let out a laugh. “So you’re comparing that to this? You think they’re the same?”
Xia Zhile shook his head. “Not the same. An Nian’s situation was way more serious—yours was just a disturbance; mine involved a life-or-death situation.”
Lin Hening: “…”
He really couldn’t tell if Xia Zhile was here to appease him or to aggravate him further.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Hening said slowly, “Dr. Xia, so that dramatic apology just now—was that all an act? You don’t think you did anything wrong at all.”
Xia Zhile’s heart skipped a beat, and he shot back, “Prosecutor Lin, are you saying that when An Nian called me for help, I should’ve ignored him and happily gone to dinner with you instead?”
Wow. That was a big, shiny “selfish and heartless” label he just tried to slap on him.
Lin Hening laughed in disbelief. Did I stop you from going? Didn’t I go with you?
“An Nian was being stalked by his ex and asked you for help. You could play the hero if you wanted—but what about after? Everything was settled, and you still weren’t done being his knight in shining armor,” Lin Hening said.
Xia Zhile’s face flushed. “So at the end of the day, you just think there’s something between me and An Nian, don’t you? Lin Hening, stop being unreasonable! If you think I have an improper relationship with him, where’s your evidence? Are you just making baseless accusations, Prosecutor Lin?!”
“When did you become like this? I don’t want you turning into someone who overthinks everything, making trouble out of nothing, turning into some drama queen!”
Excuse me?
Overthinking? Making trouble?
A drama queen???
Xia Zhile suddenly realized he had gone too far. He swallowed awkwardly and stiffly added, “Sorry, I got a little worked up. But even if I said it harshly, I wasn’t wrong. I know you’re not like this—it must be Jian Xiaoxi influencing you. That guy is always acting crazy, tattling on me to you. Like last time at Meizu Bar, he twisted the situation and nearly made you misunderstand me.”
Lin Hening pressed his lips together.
Did Xia Zhile ever consider that Jian Xiaoxi was his best friend?
Xia Zhile grabbed Lin Hening’s shoulders. “I’ve told you before—stay away from Jian Xiaoxi, or better yet, stop hanging out with him completely. He’s not a good person. All he does is stir up trouble between us.”
Oh, really?
Lin Hening wanted to bring up the “breakfast incident”—that time when he suspected something between Xia Zhile and An Nian, Jian Xiaoxi was actually the one who stood up for Xia Zhile.
He took a deep breath, letting out a silent laugh in his heart. “You should go. It’s almost morning—you have work.”
Xia Zhile felt a sharp sting from Lin Hening’s coldness. Blood rushed to his head so fast his scalp felt like it might split open. “So you’ve really made up your mind to doubt me? I’m innocent, and yet you suspect me anyway? Lin Hening, do you even hear yourself? This is beyond insulting—you don’t respect me at all!”
Lin Hening suddenly felt exhausted. He didn’t want to argue anymore.
Xia Zhile, overwhelmed with frustration, blurted out, “You can’t just assume I’ll be unfaithful just because your mom cheated! You’re being paranoid, acting like everything is a sign of betrayal!”
Lin Hening’s expression froze. His sharp, narrow eyes widened slightly as he stared at Xia Zhile.
Xia Zhile instantly panicked, regretting his reckless words. He wanted to apologize but hesitated—was he really wrong? That brief hesitation made him miss the perfect moment to say sorry, and now it felt too late.
“Uh, Hening…”
Lin Hening’s voice was calm, eerily calm—the kind of tone he used to console victims’ families. “Leave.”
Xia Zhile felt even more anxious now. After lashing out, he was like a deflated balloon, wanting to fix things but not knowing how. He searched for words, for a way to backtrack, but nothing came.
In the end, he left with his head down, looking both defeated and unwilling to accept it.
As Lin Hening entered his apartment, his cat—who had been listening to the commotion—was already at the door, scratching anxiously and meowing loudly.
He crouched down and rubbed its little head. At first, the cat nuzzled against him affectionately, but as soon as it had enough, it tilted its head to bite. Missed. Then, acting all high and mighty, it flicked its tail and strutted away.
Lin Hening scoffed, “Ungrateful little thing. Who buys you treats? Who cleans up your litter? And you won’t even let me pet you?”
Not all cats were affectionate and clingy.
Of course, as a dignified prosecutor, he wasn’t about to argue with a cat.
Shrugging off his jacket, he went to refill its food and water.
Once the cat had eaten and stretched lazily, it sauntered off like an aristocrat, acting as if nothing had happened.
Lin Hening: “…”
Unbelievable.
Xia Zhile pissed him off. Even the cat Xia Zhile picked out was pissing him off.
What was the point of feeding it? Stupid cat. No wet food for a month—punishment!
