Qiu Yan and Ren Yi headed to the cafeteria first, while Gong Yingxian returned to the car to retrieve his packed lunch.
Before Qiu Yan could say anything, Ren Yi spoke first. “Captain Qiu, you don’t need to apologize to me. Just as you said, you’re doing your job and fulfilling your duties as a police officer. If I were in your position, I’d investigate this case to the very end too.”
“Thank you for understanding. But morally, I still feel deeply guilty toward you. After all, you really have helped us a great deal.” Qiu Yan lowered her head. “Please rest assured that I’ll do everything I can to uncover the truth. We’ve been making progress with the case lately. Through the Blazing Angels, we’ve identified several arsonists operating within the country, and we’ll take them all down when the time is right. As for the unidentified charred body Yingxian told you about last time, after confirming the victim’s identity, we discovered that someone had fraudulently claimed his money after his death. We’re investigating that as well.”
Ren Yi nodded. “What about Bai Yan?”
“Bai Yan is extremely skilled at evading criminal investigations. Several leads we’ve pursued have been deliberately destroyed. There must be professionals within the organization covering his tracks and hiding him. We’ve increased the manpower dedicated to his manhunt and are monitoring the communication channels of several people connected to him. He’ll be caught eventually.”
It had only been a little over a month since Bai Chicheng’s wife and daughter had been found buried in a foundation pit beneath an abandoned amusement park. Ren Yi knew that tracking down criminals, especially highly intelligent ones who planned their actions in advance, was never easy. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help feeling impatient.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, they picked up their trays and went to get their food. Phoenix Fire Station had only a little over forty people, so meals were served at small tables, much like a little restaurant. But the Hongwu District Bureau had several hundred employees. As Ren Yi queued up for food, he felt as though he had returned to his university days.
After they found seats in a corner, Qiu Yan asked, “How’s the food in our cafeteria?”
“I think our station’s food is a little better. But we have fewer people, so it’s easier to prepare meals.”
Qiu Yan smiled. “Then I’ll come to your station and mooch a meal sometime.”
“Sure.”
“You’ve been to our bureau so many times. Is this your first time eating in our cafeteria?”
“Yeah.”
“Yingxian never brought you here to eat before?”
“…We ate packed lunches in his car.”
“Oh, right.” Qiu Yan seemed to remember something. “Uncle Sheng told me he prepares two lunchboxes every day and leaves them in Yingxian’s car. One of them is for you.”
Ren Yi fell silent.
Images flooded his mind: the countless times the two of them had eaten together inside Gong Yingxian’s black SUV. They could turn something as simple as eating packed lunches, holding the containers in their hands, into a moment of happiness and romance worthy of a candlelit dinner. That was what happened when you truly loved someone. Anything you did together became wonderful.
He had once thought Gong Yingxian was an angel who knew nothing of the world—although anyone who heard such a description would probably get goosebumps. In truth, Gong Yingxian had plenty of personality flaws, and most people would never have been able to tolerate him. But in Ren Yi’s eyes, every flaw had an understandable reason behind it, and every flaw made him feel more protective of Gong Yingxian. So Gong Yingxian was simply wonderful in every way. If Ren Yi thought something about him was good, then it was good. After all, he had been perfectly willing to accept everything about him.
When you loved someone so blindly, it was hardly surprising that you failed to see things clearly.
Seeing that Ren Yi had fallen silent, Qiu Yan forced a smile. “Actually, I’d long suspected that something would eventually go wrong between you two. I just didn’t expect Yingxian to be the one who caused the problem first.”
Ren Yi gave a scornful smile. He almost asked whether she was still worried that he would use his “greater experience as an adult” to hurt Gong Yingxian. Now it was clearly Gong Yingxian who had used him. But he kept the thought to himself. Qiu Yan didn’t deserve to be blamed for something like that.
Qiu Yan studied Ren Yi’s expression carefully and said sincerely, “I understand why you’re angry, and Yingxian is suffering too. I really don’t want to see the two of you like this. Is there anything I can do?”
Ren Yi knew that Gong Yingxian would never tell Qiu Yan the true nature of their relationship. That meant Qiu Yan could never genuinely understand the full extent of his anger.
He shook his head. “Let us work it out ourselves.”
Qiu Yan sighed and looked at him awkwardly, her face full of helplessness.
A little while later, Gong Yingxian entered the cafeteria.
With his tall frame, long legs, and exceptional looks, he naturally stood out wherever he went. But the reaction from the people in the cafeteria was unusually strong. One after another, heads turned toward him, every face displaying surprise.
Ren Yi thought that this was probably Gong Yingxian’s first time appearing in the staff cafeteria.
Sure enough, a colleague immediately teased him. “Wow, Dr. Gong! What brings you to the cafeteria? Don’t you ever eat here!”
Gong Yingxian nodded at him without engaging further and walked straight toward their table. He placed the two insulated lunch containers he was carrying on the table and sat down. Then he pushed one toward Ren Yi.
“It has the braised pork and stir-fried lotus shoots you like.”
“No need. There’s too much food. I won’t finish it.” Ren Yi lowered his head and started eating his own meal.
Gong Yingxian lowered his head dejectedly, opened his lunchbox, and began eating absentmindedly. Every so often, he stole a glance at Ren Yi.
Sitting beside them, Qiu Yan felt terribly awkward. She cleared her throat and stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
Ren Yi knew perfectly well that Qiu Yan wasn’t interested in the meal itself. She was trying to create an opportunity for him and Gong Yingxian to reconcile. But right now, facing Gong Yingxian only made him feel exhausted. It was the kind of utter depletion that came after a period of intense anger.
After Qiu Yan left, Gong Yingxian stole several more glances at Ren Yi. He tried to speak several times but ultimately lowered his head in defeat, his entire being radiating a silent sadness.
Ren Yi felt oppressed too. The meal was utterly tasteless, as though he were chewing wax.
Suddenly, he felt something bump against his knee.
At first, he assumed it had happened by accident. But soon, Gong Yingxian nudged him again. The contact was gentle and slow, as though he were testing Ren Yi’s reaction—or quietly calling out to him.
Ren Yi drew his leg back slightly, but the space beneath the table was limited. There was no way he could avoid Gong Yingxian’s long legs completely.
Ren Yi cleared his throat and simply turned his body away.
Gong Yingxian put down his chopsticks in disappointment. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “The nursing home you chose doesn’t have many of the medical qualifications it should. There was also a lawsuit involving caregivers abusing elderly residents, but the facility used money to suppress it. And there’s—”
“He’s my father.” Ren Yi didn’t look up at him. “You don’t need to concern yourself with him.”
Gong Yingxian pressed his lips together. “I promise I’ll never do anything like that again. Bring the former captain back. No other place can provide better care than we can.”
His original intention had simply been to treat Ren Yi well. But after discovering Ren Xiangrong’s identity, everything had begun spiraling in a direction beyond his control.
“I shouldn’t have accepted it in the first place,” Ren Yi said indifferently. “We’re not related, and accepting such a generous gift from you for no reason could practically qualify as accepting a bribe. This place is where my father should have gone from the beginning. If he doesn’t receive proper care, I’ll move him somewhere else or hire a caregiver. But I won’t let you get close to him again.”
Gong Yingxian looked desolate. “What about us, then? Are you going to keep treating me like this forever?”
Ren Yi took another bite of food, then put down his chopsticks. “I’m full. I’m leaving.” He grabbed his coat and walked straight out without looking back.
Gong Yingxian slowly clenched his fists. His expression darkened visibly, as though the temperature of the air around him had dropped with it. He abruptly stood and took several steps after Ren Yi, but when he saw Ren Yi’s resolute retreating figure, he suddenly lost the courage to catch up.
He had never experienced anything like this before. He had never bowed his head to anyone, either. He was panicked, bewildered, and utterly at a loss.
He didn’t know how to face Ren Yi’s repeated rejections and coldness. He couldn’t bear to see Ren Yi look at him with such indifference, nor could he endure the two of them drifting farther and farther apart. With that one merciless turn of his back, Ren Yi had taken all of Gong Yingxian’s happiness and sorrow with him, leaving Gong Yingxian feeling empty, as though he had lost everything.
Ren Yi wasn’t paying any attention to him anymore. What on earth was he supposed to do?!
What Gong Yingxian had said that day genuinely worried Ren Yi, so he began calling his father every day to check how he was settling into the new place. Each time, he received reassuring answers.
After a few days of cooling off, Ren Yi began reconsidering his relationship with Gong Yingxian. He still couldn’t come to terms with what Gong Yingxian had done. Yet whenever he saw Gong Yingxian looking dejected and anxious, his own heart would ache in response. He realized that even after everything that had happened, his instinct was still to avoid causing Gong Yingxian pain.
He despised himself for it, even as he struggled to figure out how they could continue working together. More than that, he wondered what kind of future the two of them could possibly have.
Their only contact during those days was Gong Yingxian asking him to use the station’s official account to publish cases and warnings reminding minors to take fire safety seriously. The purpose was to provoke Fang Zhixu.
Ren Yi did as he was asked, and the tactic worked surprisingly quickly. One Friday afternoon, Fang Zhixu appeared at Phoenix Fire Station.
He was dressed casually, with a large schoolbag slung over his shoulder. Judging by how heavily it hung, it was clearly stuffed with books.
Ren Yi frowned at him. “What are you doing at the station?”
“I just finished my exam prep class and happened to be passing by.” Fang Zhixu smoothed his hair and looked around the reception room. “It hasn’t changed much since I came here a couple of years ago.”
“What could possibly change about a reception room?” Ren Yi said. “Sit down. Want something to drink? We have Coke and milk.”
“No.” Fang Zhixu clearly disliked being treated like a child. Deliberately spreading his legs, he sprawled across the sofa to make himself look bigger.
“Are you taking the university entrance exam this year? How are your grades? Which university do you want to attend?”
“Not bad. I can get into a top-tier university without any problem.” Fang Zhixu curled his lip. “Good enough to give them something to show off, anyway.”
“Who are you trying to satisfy? Your parents?”
“Who else?” Fang Zhixu’s tone was already full of disdain.
“You’re doing this for your own future. You should study properly. Why were you running around a place like that in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”
Fang Zhixu stared at Ren Yi without blinking. “Do you really want to know?”
Ren Yi laughed. “Stop being so mysterious. If you have something to say, then say it. Adults are busy.”
Fang Zhixu crossed one leg over the other. “If I tell you, will you tell the police?”
“If the information you give me is useful, of course I’ll tell them. I’m supposed to cooperate with the police investigation anyway.”
“Then why should I tell you anything?” Fang Zhixu said coldly.
“Then why did you come here?”
Fang Zhixu narrowed his eyes. “You’re not the way I imagined you’d be.”
Ren Yi laughed and shook his head. “I don’t even know how to respond to that.”
“Why did Squad Leader Sun die?” Fang Zhixu asked, watching Ren Yi. “The news reports were vague.”
Ren Yi’s expression changed. “Why are you asking about that?”
“I just want to know. Is that not allowed?” Fang Zhixu stared fixedly at him. “I want to know how a hero fell. Was it while rescuing a little boy? How did he save him? Why was he the one who died instead of someone else? What did he say before he died? Did he—”
“Shut up!” Ren Yi growled, his eyes blazing. “Get out! Otherwise, I’ll throw you out myself.”
Fang Zhixu protested defiantly, “Why? I just want to know what happened. Why was Squad Leader Sun the one who died instead of you?”
Ren Yi shot to his feet and strode toward Fang Zhixu. Grabbing him by the collar, he lifted him completely off the sofa.
Fang Zhixu’s chest heaved violently. He looked up at Ren Yi, fear in his eyes mingling with unmistakable excitement.
Ren Yi said in a chilling voice, “Get out.”
“I’ll make a deal with you.” Fang Zhixu gave him a sickening smile. “You tell me how Squad Leader Sun died, and I’ll tell you what I saw at Wenhui Mall.”
“Little punk, are you trying to play games with an adult? Do you really think you’re clever enough to pull that off?”
“I’m not playing games with you. I really did see something. Something very important. And I took it with me.”
“…What did you take?” Ren Yi released him and glared at him fiercely. “Give me a hint. Otherwise, I won’t believe you.”
Fang Zhixu curled his lips into a smile. “The fire-start time you’ve established so far was deliberately manipulated. The thing I took can help you confirm an important point on the timeline. It might even help you catch the culprit.”
“Why do you know all this?” Ren Yi gritted his teeth.
“I can’t tell you that. So, do we have a deal?” Fang Zhixu grinned.
Ren Yi stared coldly at him.
“…Fine. I’ll tell you.”