CH 50

efore the new year, their residential community had changed property management, and the security level had finally been raised to a normal level from “almost non-existent.”

as an outsider, lu wenyu couldn’t enter the community directly, so she simply left lu ye and qi yanbai at the entrance, letting them walk back on their own.

in the afternoon, it had snowed, and now it was evening, with scattered snowflakes still falling from the sky. lu ye stuffed the last bit of a candied haw into qi yanbai’s hand and then reached out to straighten his messed-up collar for him, tucking the scarf neatly into it.

qi yanbai obediently allowed him to do it, holding the candied haw skewer and taking a bite of a hawthorn berry.

“do you want some?” lu ye finished fixing qi yanbai’s scarf and naturally extended his hand to him, saying with a smile, “if you want more, i can buy you another skewer.”

“it’s fine, i can’t finish a whole skewer by myself,” qi yanbai said. “just a taste is enough.”

the security booth was now manned by two young men in their twenties. they had already put on a standard “welcome spring festival” smile from a distance, greeting them as they approached.

qi yanbai smiled and nodded at them, unconsciously holding lu ye’s hand a little tighter.

after the snowfall, several walking paths in the community had already been cleared by security in advance, and a few brick-paved paths meandered through the flower beds, gradually extending deeper into the area.

lu ye leisurely escorted qi yanbai to the entrance of the community and then casually discarded the empty skewer that he had finished into the nearby trash can.

“i have to return to the police station; i won’t be going upstairs,” lu ye instructed. “you go up, and remember to lock the door when you get inside.”

“why the rush?” qi yanbai blinked in surprise and asked, “aren’t you going to take a break upstairs?”

“no need, i’m on duty tonight,” lu ye said, glancing at the time. “i have to clock in right now.”

qi yanbai seemed strangely attached to lu ye these past few days, and at his words, he appeared a bit reluctant. his eyes darkened slightly as he reached into lu ye’s cuff.

lu ye wore the ankle bracelet as a wristband, and it had been jingling for two days on his wrist. he had gotten used to it, and unless he intentionally looked at it, he almost forgot about the small item on his wrist.

but qi yanbai seemed to enjoy touching that chain. he would occasionally slip his fingertips into lu ye’s cuff to fiddle with it, as if he liked it or was checking if the bracelet was still in place.

“all right,” qi yanbai finally said softly, “then be careful at work.”

lu ye liked these kinds of parting words, simple and affectionate, as if no matter where he went, someone was always thinking about him.

“i will,” lu ye smiled and said, “if i’m not busy tonight, i’ll call you.”

this suggestion somewhat eased the sadness of their separation. qi yanbai hooked his finger around lu ye’s bracelet, gently twisting it.

in the next moment, lu ye felt a slight tug on his wrist, a force he couldn’t refuse. he took a step forward along this force, and qi yanbai approached and kissed him.

on the evening of new year’s day, the entire building was quiet. the motion-activated lights in the lobby came on and off, and the elevator remained on the basement level, unmoving.

in this quiet corner with no one around, qi yanbai stole a brief kiss. he gently bit lu ye’s lip before reluctantly letting go.

“yanbai,” after the kiss, lu ye used his thumb to wipe the moisture from the corner of qi yanbai’s lips. then, he shook his wrist, puzzled, and said, “why do i suddenly feel like you gave me this thing to control me?”

qi yanbai smiled with narrowed eyes but didn’t answer the question. instead, he reached out to help lu ye tidy his cuff.

“oh, by the way,” qi yanbai seemed to remember something and asked, “you mentioned earlier in your sister’s car that you wanted to do something tomorrow. what was it?”

“oh, you mean that—” as lu ye was in the middle of explaining, his phone in his pocket vibrated and made a short message alert sound.

messages from the station had a unique alert, so lu ye paused his sentence and took out his phone to check.

qi yanbai didn’t know what message had come from the sub-bureau, but he saw lu ye briefly furrow his brows and then lock his phone screen before putting it back in his pocket.

lu ye changed the subject, saying, “it’s nothing. i was just saying that i might have to work overtime recently. if something comes up tomorrow, you don’t have to wait for me in the evening.”

qi yanbai knew that lu ye hadn’t said what he originally intended. he furrowed his brows slightly but didn’t ask further. instead, he nodded obediently, indicating that he had heard.

“okay, then i’ll go,” lu ye said. “i won’t be back tonight, so don’t leave the door open. remember to lock it.”

“i got it,” qi yanbai replied.

lu ye nodded, pressed the elevator button for qi yanbai, and watched him go upstairs before turning and walking away.

on new year’s day, half of the officers at the police station had gone home for the holiday. only a few offices where officers were on duty remained lit. lu ye climbed the stairs in three steps, and before entering the office, he collided with a colleague who had also been called back.

“what’s going on?” lu ye got straight to the point. “is the municipal bureau asking for more officers?”

“that’s what they’re saying. the boss went to the city bureau for a meeting”, the colleague, holding a thermos, leaned against the wall and said, “half of our team has been called back, and they’re waiting in the office.”

he took a sip of hot water from his thermos and grumbled, “my mom said she’d introduce me to a couple of girls during the new year, but now this? instead of meeting girls, i’ll be here meeting criminals.”

lu ye ignored his colleague’s joking complaint. he remembered that the duty for the lantern festival’s music carnival had already been planned, and he wondered why they suddenly needed to call in more people.

“it seems like the city bureau is launching an anti-drug operation,” the colleague continued. “you know how it is with festivals—lots of people, high energy. there’s a chance that some drug dealers might try to blend in. but who knows? we’ll have to wait for boss to come back for the specifics.”

the city bureau often carried out joint operations to stop drug trafficking, prostitution, and gambling. lu ye had a hunch that he understood the situation and nodded in acknowledgment.

li zhiwen was still at the city bureau in a meeting, and the specific information hadn’t been relayed yet, so lu ye and his colleagues had to wait.

perhaps it was due to eating too many hawthorn berries, but as lu ye sat at his desk, he felt his stomach ache and sourness building up. it was getting increasingly uncomfortable.

“hey, xiao yao,” lu ye called out to yao xing, “do you have any snacks? my stomach hurts a bit.”

yao xing, like the others, had been called back for overtime work. upon hearing lu ye’s request, she frowned and shook her head, saying, “sorry, lu ge, i brought all my snacks back home before the new year.”

they had all been called back to work on short notice. lu ye shook his head in understanding and said it was okay. he then grabbed his coat and decided to go downstairs to buy some soda crackers to ease his discomfort.

“i’m going to the supermarket,” lu ye said, “do you guys need anything?”

“could you get me a chocolate bar, lu ge? who knows when we’ll finish tonight,” yao xing requested.

“sure,” lu ye agreed, “got it.”

as fate would have it, as he was about to leave, a colleague rushed out to call him back.

“lu ge, your phone on the desk is ringing,” the colleague leaned by the door and said, “it seems to be a call from teacher qi.”

lu ye wondered why qi yanbai was calling him at this time. he returned to his office, and his phone was indeed still buzzing.

he picked up the phone and answered, “hello. what’s up, yanbai?”

“it’s nothing, i just suddenly remembered that you might not have had dinner,” qi yanbai’s voice was calm and gentle, “so i ordered you some late-night snacks. by the way, you’re still at the city bureau, right?”

“i’m here,” lu ye chuckled, “what a coincidence, i just started feeling hungry.”

lu ye had just started feeling hungry, and qi yanbai had already ordered him some food. it was incredibly timely.

“that’s good,” qi yanbai smiled and said, “i ordered some soup and rice for you. it’s getting cold, so avoid eating cold food. also, the restaurant had a meal set for multiple people, so i ordered a bit extra. if you can’t finish it, you can share it with your colleagues.”

on the other end of the phone, lu ye’s voice was filled with amusement as he responded, “alright, got it. looks like we’re on the same wavelength.”

“of course,” qi yanbai looked at his half-finished painting in front of him. he extended his legs, scooped a small amount of white paint onto his palette, and, with a satisfied smile, said, “after all, you’ve said it yourself— we’re a perfect match.”

his words had just trailed off when lu ye, on the other end of the phone, fell silent for a moment.