When Ren Yi woke up, he felt as though he had not merely slept, but died once. Almost every part of his body hurt…
Thinking back on everything that had happened that night, Ren Yi grabbed the pillow and buried his face in it, letting out a loud yell. His heart was pounding wildly. Even now, he still could not believe it was real, but it definitely was not a dream. Dreams did not hurt this much.
What should he do? What would happen afterward? How would Gong Yingxian look at him now?
He glanced at the empty space beside him, wondering whether Gong Yingxian had already left. He felt both disappointed and relieved. If he really had left, at least it would save them from the awkwardness.
After lying in bed for a while, Ren Yi took his temperature and discovered that he still had a low fever of 38°C, but he was not as dizzy as yesterday. He endured the soreness and climbed out of bed. There was no point in overthinking things. There were still many things waiting for him to do, and he needed to get better as soon as possible.
The moment his feet touched the floor, both legs went weak. If he had not grabbed the bed, he would have nearly fallen to his knees. He cursed Gong Yingxian inwardly. He had thought he would still have a chance to take the initiative, but in the end… this was the consequence of judging someone by his appearance.
Holding his painfully empty stomach, Ren Yi opened the door. As soon as it opened, the noises from the living room reached his ears, accompanied by a fierce cold wind that howled inside, making him shiver.
What was going on? Why was there wind?
Ren Yi walked into the living room and was dumbfounded.
Gong Yingxian had taken one of the windows in his home completely off. He was standing beside the window, frantically examining it from side to side.
Hearing footsteps, Gong Yingxian abruptly turned his head. The moment his eyes met Ren Yi’s, he turned away in panic and said softly, “Y-You’re awake.”
Ren Yi stared at him in astonishment. “What are you doing?”
“…Fixing the window.”
“‘Fixing’? I thought you were taking the window apart.”
Gong Yingxian muttered, “I’ll compensate you.”
“You might as well compensate me with an entire house.”
“Okay.”
Ren Yi was startled. He wondered if Gong Yingxian had actually taken him seriously. “I was joking. Don’t take it seriously.”
Gong Yingxian lowered his head without saying anything and picked up the window, comparing it against the frame.
“Stop. I’ll call the property management to fix it.” Ren Yi walked over. He momentarily forgot that he was the “injured party,” and took too large a step, making him hiss quietly in pain.
“Don’t come over.” Gong Yingxian looked at Ren Yi worriedly. “The wind is so strong. Go back to your room.”
“At least put it back first. Otherwise, with this much air coming in, we’ll just be wasting the heat.”
“I can install it.”
“How are you supposed to tighten the screws by yourself?”
Ren Yi walked over and picked up the screwdriver and screws from the windowsill. “Line up the hinges.”
Gong Yingxian pursed his lips and positioned the window properly. Ren Yi quickly screwed the screws back in.
Although the window was crooked and wobbling, actually letting in even more wind than before, at least they had managed to put it back in place.
After finishing, Ren Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He noticed that Gong Yingxian still had his head slightly turned away and refused to look at him.
After what had happened the previous night, Ren Yi had originally been dreading facing Gong Yingxian himself. But seeing that Gong Yingxian was even more nervous than he was, he immediately stopped being bashful. He chuckled. “Why do you keep showing me the back of your head?”
“…I’m not.”
“Are you embarrassed?” Ren Yi moved closer. “Your ears are red.”
Gong Yingxian instinctively reached up to cover his ears, then immediately realized how foolish the gesture was. He changed course with his raised hand and smoothed his hair instead, quickly saying, “It’s too cold here. Hurry back to your room.”
Ren Yi’s heart trembled. He thought Gong Yingxian was unbearably cute. How could he be this cute? He was practically a different person from last night.
Unable to resist, Ren Yi tugged on Gong Yingxian’s ear. “What are you embarrassed about? I didn’t see you being very embarrassed last night.”
Gong Yingxian said irritably, “Are you going back to your room or not? Have you eaten? Have you taken your medicine?”
Ren Yi rose slightly onto his toes and rested his chin on Gong Yingxian’s shoulder. Looking at those fair, slightly pink cheeks, he smiled. “You look really good when you’re blushing.”
He had never imagined teasing Gong Yingxian could be this much fun.
Gong Yingxian finally became angry from embarrassment. He turned around and pushed Ren Yi down onto the sofa. Normally, he could verbally tear someone apart without mercy until they were left speechless, but now he stammered and could not get a word out. He simply glared deeply at Ren Yi, his eyes burning with intense fire.
He did not dare look at Ren Yi, not merely because he was embarrassed, but because he was afraid that if he looked at Ren Yi, he would… lose control again.
Ren Yi immediately backed down. A wise man knew better than to fight when the odds were against him. If he pushed Gong Yingxian too far, who knew which of them would end up bullying the other?
He smiled apologetically. “I’m not teasing you anymore, really. I’m hungry.”
Gong Yingxian took a deep breath and stood up. Ren Yi also struggled to sit upright.
Gong Yingxian asked, “Does it… hurt?”
“Ah, otherwise, why don’t you try it yourself?”
Gong Yingxian felt somewhat guilty, but saying sorry at a time like this somehow seemed strange. After hesitating, he asked softly, “Should we have a doctor take a look?”
“Don’t joke around.” Ren Yi blinked at Gong Yingxian and tapped his cheek. “This is more effective.”
Gong Yingxian froze. His face turned even redder, as though it were about to catch fire.
Ren Yi desperately held back his laughter, barely managing not to burst out laughing.
Gong Yingxian stood there like a pillar for a long moment. Then he suddenly bent down, quickly pecked Ren Yi on the cheek, and left behind one sentence: “Get ready to eat.”
Then he hurried away.
This time, it was Ren Yi’s turn for his cheeks to burn. The corners of his lips kept rising uncontrollably, and his heart felt completely full.
No matter how what had happened between them was ultimately defined, at least in that moment when they had been infinitely close to each other, Gong Yingxian had him in his heart, hadn’t he?
Sheng Bo delivered fresh food. Gong Yingxian merely arranged it on the table.
Ren Yi’s sense of taste had not yet recovered, so everything tasted rather bland. But he found Gong Yingxian, who kept occasionally avoiding his gaze, more appetizing than any food. He enjoyed the entire meal immensely.
Neither of them mentioned what had happened the night before. Under normal circumstances, Ren Yi would have found talking about it interesting, but he was afraid Gong Yingxian might explode. At least for now, he did not dare bring it up.
Gong Yingxian, meanwhile, kept telling Ren Yi to eat this and eat that. He was very concerned about Ren Yi’s physical condition, but was too embarrassed to ask directly. For him, the previous night had been a kind of madness he had never experienced before. He could hardly imagine himself losing control in such a way. Therefore, looking at Ren Yi, hearing Ren Yi’s voice, and even smelling Ren Yi’s scent lingering in the air were all torturous for him now. All he could do was avoid him as much as possible.
After eating, Ren Yi took his medicine again. His head was no longer as dizzy, and although his body was sore, it no longer felt heavy. He should be almost recovered, right?
He called Gao Ge and asked about the situation over the past two days. Gao Ge told him to rest easy; everything at the station was normal.
When Ren Yi came back after hanging up, he saw that Gong Yingxian was also on the phone, talking entirely about autopsies. Even listening to it made him uncomfortable.
After Gong Yingxian finished the call, Ren Yi asked, “Are there any results from the autopsy?”
Gong Yingxian’s expression was solemn. “Although it’s good news, it’s not something to be happy about.”
“Why?”
“We’ve confirmed their identities. The mother and daughter disappeared two years ago. The mother was thirty-six, and the daughter was ten. More precisely, the person who disappeared was a family of three. Their neighbors all thought the family had simply moved away.”
“The husband was…”
“The husband’s name was Bai Chicheng. He had a PhD in chemistry from X University and had once worked as a researcher at a pharmaceutical company. He later resigned.”
Ren Yi sucked in a breath. “He killed his own wife and child?”
“At present, it seems possible. The cause of death was sodium cyanide poisoning, and their bodies were burned afterward. Cai Qiang has already gone to investigate his background.” Gong Yingxian frowned. “X University is one of the country’s top universities. He earned a substantial income while working at the pharmaceutical company, and his wife was also highly educated. People like this rarely have criminal tendencies.”
“Once someone falls under the influence of evil beliefs, that’s not necessarily true. Otherwise, how could they commit something so utterly inhuman?” Ren Yi thought of the mother and daughter buried in the deep well, his heart filled with sympathy. To be betrayed and murdered by the family members closest to them, and then not even be allowed to rest in the earth after death… It was truly pitiful.
“Now that we’ve identified him, we’re one step closer to catching him.” Gong Yingxian’s voice was low. “Bai Yan is different from the others before him. He’s a core member of the organization and has most likely met Zi Yan in person. Now that the amusement park has been discovered, he’ll look for another place to hide. This is the time when he’s most likely to expose a flaw.”
“The rest is up to you.” Ren Yi said, “If you’re busy, go back to work. You don’t need to take care of me. I’ll be fine after resting for a couple of days.”
Gong Yingxian gazed at Ren Yi, struggling inwardly.
Although Qiu Yan had given him two days off, he knew how busy the precinct was right now. In the past, he would have returned to work without the slightest hesitation.
But now, he was reluctant to leave this place.
He was reluctant to leave Ren Yi.
Just… let himself be selfish this once. Just once.
He wanted to stay.
For the remaining half-day, he wanted to spend it with Ren Yi in this small home. Even if they did nothing, merely being in the same room was, to him, the best time in the world.
“Yan-jie gave me two days off,” Gong Yingxian said. “I’ll go back tomorrow.”
Ren Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “So that means the rest of your half-day belongs to me.”
Gong Yingxian’s gaze wandered. “…Do you want to do something?”
There were many things Ren Yi wanted to do. All sorts of interesting and sweet things that couples did together.
Unfortunately, they were not…
He hesitated, then suddenly felt a little dejected. “How about we just watch a movie?”
Gong Yingxian also could not help feeling a little disappointed. “Okay.”