CH 53

qi yanbai’s longing, obsession, and possessiveness resurfaced in his heart, like an unabashedly spread-out thorny net, instantly enveloping his whole heart, making him feel both sour and painful, and even his breathing was stagnant.

but it seemed that lu ye hadn’t noticed his restless emotions. he patted qi yanbai’s trembling shoulder, assuming that he was still in a state of shock from the situation.

“actually, i haven’t been home recently because i’ve been preparing for the mission.” lu ye shifted the topic lightly, smiling, “i was afraid you’d worry. i originally wanted to tell you, but due to the secrecy of this operation, it needed to be kept secret.”

qi yanbai was finally brought back to his senses by lu ye’s voice. he shook his head, forced a smile at lu ye, and said, “it’s okay, your work is more important.”

his face was pale, his body felt ice-cold, and his hair was soaked by the rain, sticking to his face strand by strand, making him look disheveled. lu ye frowned with concern, wiped away the raindrops from his face.

suddenly he heard hurried footsteps from nearby.

“lu ge!”

yao xing, accompanied by other two colleagues arrived. they hastily moved the steel frame that had fallen on lu ye and looked at lu ye and qi yanbai with worry. yao xing asked, “lu ge, teacher qi, are you both okay?”

“we’re fine,” lu ye said, shaking his head. he stood up with yao xing’s help and then reached out a hand to help qi yanbai up as well.

their transparent raincoats were torn and tattered, with rainwater flowing into their collars, leaving several distinct water stains.

winter rain felt as cold as ice, but lu ye’s hand was extremely warm. qi yanbai held his hand, and for a moment, his fingers subconsciously tightened, as if reluctant to let go.

but lu ye had work to attend to. he patted the mud off his body, tore off the tattered transparent raincoat, and threw it into a nearby garbage can. then he took off his leather jacket and put it over qi yanbai’s shoulders.

qi yanbai was about to refuse but hurriedly said, “i’m not cold…”

“wear it.” lu ye didn’t give him a chance to refuse. he simply pulled up the collar and pushed qi yanbai towards yao xing.

lu ye instructed, “our operation here is over. could you please take teacher qi back? i need to find boss.”

qi yanbai furrowed his brow and asked, “aren’t you coming with us? aren’t you going to the hospital to get checked?”

“i have something to take care of,” lu ye said. he reached out to wipe away the dirt from qi yanbai’s face and didn’t say much. he just reminded him, “you go back first, and i’ll call you after i finish what i need to do.”

he gestured to his yao xing and then turned towards the direction of the city bureau’s surveillance.

“let’s go, teacher qi. i’ll drop you off. i need to change my clothes too, so it’s on the way,” yao xing said.

qi yanbai couldn’t stay behind to wait for lu ye. he nodded slightly and followed yao xing to the parking lot where they had their police vehicles.

several police cars were quietly parked in the open space, and the flashing police lights illuminated half of the parking lot in alternating blue and red colors.

a row of young people in strange and colorful clothes squatted next to the police cars, holding their heads in their hands. they looked miserable.

“why did they arrest so many people?” qi yanbai asked. “wasn’t your mission today related to drug trafficking?”

“those guys? they were just caught incidentally. yao xing glanced over there and explained, “today, we were originally here to apprehend suspects related to the drug trafficking incident, but we didn’t expect the music festival to be so chaotic. they were taking drugs on-site, and they were caught on the spot.”

qi yanbai: “…”.

he had no interest in these unfortunate folks who were having fun under the noses of the police. as he was about to divert his gaze, he noticed a familiar figure at the end of the group.

the man, at a first glance, appeared to be in his late twenties, with blond hair and blue eyes. he was as thin as a skeleton, with sunken cheeks and adorned with numerous pieces of metal jewelry. his makeup was overly dramatic, and the rain had smeared it into a mess.

he was boredly squatting at the end of the line, not as nervous as the others, simply drawing something on the muddy ground.

qi yanbai’s eyebrows twitched, and he couldn’t help but frown. he subconsciously tried to turn and avoid the man.

but before he could take a step, the man seemed to sense something. he raised his head and saw qi yanbai. he greeted him in french, “qi!”

qi yanbai’s footsteps paused, and he couldn’t avoid the encounter anymore. he clenched his teeth, turned around, and walked up to the man with three quick steps, and replied in french, teeth gritted, “what do you want from me?”

“nothing much.” the man raised an eyebrow, grinned, and showed off a shiny tongue piercing as he spoke. “i just wanted to call out and see if it was really you.”

surrounded by police officers, it was possible that someone might notice this corner soon. qi yanbai didn’t want to engage with him any longer, so he asked briefly, “what are you doing in the country?”

“father sent me to find you.” the man smirked and continued, “and i heard you’ve found a little boyfriend, so i came to take a look and see who he is. i didn’t expect that i would meet here, you appeared before i could even find you—little brother.”

so, the man he saw in the mall last time was not a figment of his imagination, qi yanbai realized.

qi yanbai’s mood was already not great, and encountering this former rival made it even worse. he took a deep breath, suppressing the almost instinctive disgust that welled up within him. he coldly raised the corner of his lips.

“you better not cause any trouble,” qi yanbai said with an icy tone. “i’m living quite peacefully now. it’s best not to disturb me—after all, you wouldn’t want another competitor, would you?”

the man was hit where it hurt, and his eyes flickered for a moment. he grumbled but didn’t say anything else.

qi yanbai didn’t want anyone to know about his connection with this man. after issuing his warnings, he intended to leave. however, just as he turned around, he noticed lu ye walking towards him from a distance.

“why are you standing here?” lu ye asked. “yao xing doesn’t have much to do at this scene now. she won’t be involved in apprehending these people, so she can drop you off at home.”

as lu ye spoke, he reached qi yanbai’s side. with a glance at the man beside qi yanbai, lu ye furrowed his brows momentarily and then retracted his gaze, appearing somewhat puzzled.

“yanbai, do you know him?” lu ye inquired.

qi yanbai’s heart skipped a beat. lying in front of lu ye was not an easy task, and he felt his heartbeat accelerate instantly. he clenched the umbrella handle tightly, and his fingertips turned ice-cold.

“a student from my class skipped school to attend this carnival,” qi yanbai forced a smile and explained, “i saw him speaking in a foreign language, and i was worried that you guys might have trouble communicating with him, so i came over to check.”

during their conversation with the man, they had used french, and even if someone overheard them, qi yanbai was confident he could explain it away.

lu ye didn’t seem to doubt him and nodded. however, he still looked at the man for a moment before finally withdrawing his gaze. he then helped qi yanbai close the car door.

“i’ll need to go back to the sub-bureau for a while to escort these people,” lu ye instructed. “yao xing will drop you off at home. after you get back, make sure to take a hot bath and have some ginger soup to avoid catching a cold.”

“okay,” qi yanbai replied. “if you come back early, feel free to come over. i’ll save some ginger soup for you too.”

qi yanbai was used to being affectionate, and lu ye knew that. with a smile, he said, “alright.”

lu ye didn’t say anything more. he gave qi yanbai a deep look before turning his gaze away.

qi yanbai didn’t notice, but this thought crossed lu ye’s mind as the car drove away: qi yanbai is lying to me.