Exactly twenty-four hours had passed since the explosion yesterday evening. The police had already uncovered this many clues, so it was only a matter of time before they caught Red Flame.
Ren Yi snorted. “He thought he was being clever. If you wanted to find him through Zhou Chuan, you probably would’ve had to spend quite a bit of effort. But now? He exposed himself.”
“He’s desperate. Before Chen Pei was caught, he still held out hope that he might get away with it. The moment Chen Pei was arrested, he knew Zhou Chuan would definitely betray him, so he took the risk,” Gong Yingxian analyzed. “Actually, if you look closely at this explosion, it wasn’t planned carefully enough. It left quite a few loose ends. Even with limited time, if it were me, I could’ve made it much cleaner. People with a background in chemistry tend to be extremely meticulous. When conducting experiments, even the smallest mistake can lead to failure, or even fatal danger. So I suspect the person who provided the bomb-making method and the person who carried out the explosion weren’t the same person.”
Ren Yi was surprised. “You mean Red Flame isn’t the one with a background in chemistry?”
At that moment, the hospital-room door opened. They had finished their IVs, and the nurse came in to remove the needles.
After the nurse left, the two continued their conversation.
“No. Assuming that Red Flame was the person who carried out the explosion is jumping to conclusions. Who exactly Red Flame is, and what role he played in this incident, can only be determined after we catch the culprit.” Gong Yingxian began typing rapidly on the computer. “I also asked Xiao Tan to search the big-data system for people with chemistry backgrounds and cross-reference them with unemployment records, criminal records, online statements related to arson and explosions, and so on. We might find something.”
Ren Yi watched Gong Yingxian’s long, pale fingers dance elegantly across the keyboard. The backlight from the screen reflected off his face, making his skin look unnaturally pale and flawless, while his eyes seemed exceptionally bright.
Ren Yi found himself staring.
Suddenly, Gong Yingxian’s right hand paused, and his brows furrowed.
Ren Yi immediately straightened. “Did you hurt your wound?”
Gong Yingxian didn’t answer. He merely clenched his fist slightly, and his typing slowed noticeably.
“I told you to get some rest. If you keep doing this, it’ll affect your recovery, and you’ll only end up delaying things later.”
“I’ll finish this email,” Gong Yingxian said. “Almost done.”
“It’s just one email. If you don’t rest after this, I’m going to complain to Captain Qiu.”
Gong Yingxian hit Send. “Done.”
Ren Yi said expectantly, “Then how about we watch a movie?”
“Okay. It really is too early to go to sleep.”
Although their headaches hadn’t completely gone away, both of them had already slept for a long time. With so many things weighing on their minds, they really couldn’t sleep anyway.
Ren Yi picked up the projector from the bedside table. “Gao Ge just used this a few days ago.”
Suddenly, his vision blurred. His hand slipped, and the projector crashed onto the floor.
“Ah…”
He hurriedly got out of bed. The moment both feet touched the floor, the dizziness became even worse, and he had to grab onto the bed to steady himself.
“How are you?” Gong Yingxian asked anxiously. “Are you dizzy?”
He started to get out of bed.
“Don’t move. I just need a minute.” The oxygen levels in their blood were still low, so they could easily become dizzy, especially when they made sudden movements. Ren Yi leaned against the bed and crouched down. After resting for a while, he said, “Yeah. I’m fine now.”
He turned on the projector, only to find that it wouldn’t respond no matter what button he pressed.
“Damn. Don’t tell me I broke it.”
“Let me see.”
Gong Yingxian took it from him and fiddled with it for a moment.
“Looks like it’s broken.”
“Oh, great. Yangbo is going to chew me out again.” Ren Yi looked dejected. “He’s always saying I don’t know the value of money because I don’t have to worry about running a household.”
Gong Yingxian frowned slightly. “That idiom is generally used between married couples or between mothers and sons.”
“Haha, yeah. Yangbo’s basically like my wife. I’m the station captain, so I mainly handle training and rescue operations. He’s the instructor, so he handles finances, personnel, logistics, and things like that.” Ren Yi laughed. “I take care of things outside, and he takes care of things inside. Isn’t that basically like having a wife?”
Gong Yingxian’s expression immediately darkened. He tossed the projector back to Ren Yi.
Ren Yi continued fiddling with it. “What are we going to do? Can it be fixed? I guess we can’t watch a movie now…”
“Use my computer,” Gong Yingxian said, sounding slightly displeased.
“The computer screen’s kind of small, though. Although my eyesight is pretty good.”
Gong Yingxian patted the space beside him. “Come watch here.”
Ren Yi immediately froze.
Hospital beds were generally only about 1.2 meters wide. Even two women would have trouble turning over in one, let alone two grown men. Wouldn’t they be practically unable to move?
Gong Yingxian shot him a sideways glance. “Are you watching or not?”
“Yes.” Ren Yi answered quickly.
How could he possibly resist an invitation like this?
He immediately stood up and walked over to Gong Yingxian’s bed.
Gong Yingxian lowered both side rails, making the bed slightly wider. Then he lifted the covers and looked straight at Ren Yi.
Ren Yi’s heart began pounding like a startled deer. Afraid that the excitement would show on his face, he pretended to be calm as he slipped beneath Gong Yingxian’s warm blankets.
The bed really was tiny, just like the cramped space beneath the rubble yesterday. Their bodies were pressed tightly against each other, just as close as they had been when they had shared life and death beneath the ruins.
Each of them had their own thoughts, but they had one thing in common: both remembered what had happened yesterday.
The awkwardness they had finally managed to ease began threatening to flare up again.
Ren Yi quickly tried to save the situation. “What should we watch?”
“What do you want to watch?” Gong Yingxian came back to himself.
“Anything.” Ren Yi deliberately lay on his back against Gong Yingxian’s pillow. “Your blanket smells really good.”
It had a faint, dry scent with a hint of herbs. Every breath felt as though it were cleansing his lungs.
“You’re sleeping under my blanket right now, too.”
Both of their bedding sets had been brought over by Uncle Sheng.
“Oh, right. But the smell isn’t nearly as noticeable.” Ren Yi suddenly realized. “It’s your scent.”
Gong Yingxian lifted his arm and smelled his sleeve. “Is it? I can’t smell anything.”
“It is.”
Ren Yi quietly edged closer to Gong Yingxian. Breathing in the scent that belonged exclusively to this person, he felt as though even his headache had begun to fade.
The hospital smell was obviously much stronger. It was everywhere.
Yet, somehow, all Ren Yi could smell was Gong Yingxian.
Suddenly, Gong Yingxian leaned his face closer, his nose almost touching Ren Yi’s neck.
Ren Yi was so startled that he didn’t dare move.
Gong Yingxian sniffed lightly, seeming dissatisfied.
“Hydrogen peroxide.”
At that moment, all Ren Yi had to do was turn his head, and he could kiss Gong Yingxian.
At the same time, the heat from Gong Yingxian’s body kept passing through their tightly pressed thighs.
Ren Yi was so nervous he barely dared to breathe.
He wanted to do something, but didn’t dare. At the same time, he had to be happy about such intimate contact.
The experience was like scratching an itch through clothing—the more he scratched, the itchier it became.
“Let’s watch this.” Gong Yingxian pointed at the screen. “Yan-jie recommended it to me.”
Ren Yi glanced at it.
The title was Mr. Vampire, and even the poster was appropriately eerie and frightening.
He shuddered. “Why do we have to watch this?”
“Yan-jie said it was good.”
There was a smile at the corner of Gong Yingxian’s lips, though he made sure Ren Yi didn’t see it.
“You said anything. Are you scared?”
“Scared? Not exactly. It’s just that we’re in a hospital. Wouldn’t something funny be better? What’s so interesting about this kind of superstition?”
Ren Yi thought bitterly, This bastard definitely wants to see me make a fool of myself on purpose. He’s seriously mean.
“Good. As long as you’re not scared.”
Without another word, Gong Yingxian pressed Play.
The moment the movie began, the color palette was a gloomy blue-gray, and the atmosphere was oppressive.
Ren Yi was already getting nervous. He quietly picked up his phone, and whenever the creepy soundtrack started, he would pretend to lower his head and play with it.
Gong Yingxian snatched the phone away.
“You’re the one who wanted to watch a movie.”
Ren Yi was close to tears.
He had been afraid of this kind of thing since he was little. Admitting it would indeed be embarrassing, so he generally didn’t tell anyone.
Suddenly, a terrifying image jumped onto the screen without warning.
Ren Yi jolted in fright and nearly fell off the bed.
Gong Yingxian immediately wrapped an arm around his shoulder to steady him and raised his hand to cover Ren Yi’s eyes.
That large hand was dry and warm. It gently covered his eyes, soothing the goosebumps that had risen all over him.
Ren Yi relaxed and began imperceptibly leaning closer and closer to Gong Yingxian.
Since they were already so close, even when they eventually ended up pressed together, it didn’t seem particularly abrupt.
The movie really was frightening. But from then on, whenever a scary scene appeared, Gong Yingxian would cover Ren Yi’s eyes.
Ren Yi thought Gong Yingxian must have felt that Ren Yi’s fear of fire had made him lose face several times in front of him, so he was taking this opportunity to restore his dignity.
He’s really childish.
Later in the movie, there was a long fight scene. It was both terrifying and bloody, so Gong Yingxian kept covering Ren Yi’s eyes.
Ren Yi simply closed his eyes, resting his head against Gong Yingxian’s shoulder.
His eyes felt the warmth of Gong Yingxian’s palm, and every breath he inhaled carried Gong Yingxian’s unique scent.
It was as if his entire world had been enveloped by Gong Yingxian.
In that sense of security, he slowly drifted into sleep.
When Gong Yingxian finally moved his hand away, he realized that Ren Yi had already fallen asleep.
His expression was peaceful, his breathing steady. He seemed to be sleeping very soundly.
Gong Yingxian quietly gazed at Ren Yi, barely daring to breathe too loudly.
That broad, smooth forehead.
Those thick, slightly curled eyelashes.
That straight, prominent nose, with the little mole on it.
And those soft lips.
Everyone had lips, but this was the first time he had understood that only when one person’s lips touched another’s could you truly know just how soft they were.
When he had given Ren Yi mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, all he had been thinking about was how to save him. His heart had been filled with nothing but fear of losing Ren Yi.
But afterward, whenever he recalled it, all he could remember was how soft those lips had been, and how strange and wonderful the sensation was.
The experience had been completely unfamiliar, yet incredibly special.
It made him…
want to try it again.