CH 103

lu ye was happy in his romantic life, which made his single colleagues in the office quite miserable.

just last week, his colleague in the adjacent cubicle had gone on his 26th blind date. the woman he met was gentle, considerate, and well-mannered. they had a good first impression of each other. unfortunately, when they were halfway through their meal, he left to buy some bubble tea, and the station called, saying there was an urgent matter that required his assistance in catching a suspect.

caught up in his professional duties, he didn’t realize he was in the middle of a date. he rushed back to the office, leaving the lady at the restaurant. when he finally finished interrogating the suspect and remembered the girl he left behind, he saw a bright red exclamation mark in his wechat window.

“at that moment, i wanted to apologize to her immediately, but when i called her, she wouldn’t pick up,” his colleague said with a sigh, slumping in his chair. he complained, “such is fate, my friend—”

“that just means it wasn’t meant to be,” lu ye consoled half-heartedly. “in matters of love, you should go with the flow. going on blind dates so frequently doesn’t really help.”

“people in relationships have it easy,” his colleague grumbled, shooting him an envious look. he continued with a hint of resignation, “for people like us, who are always either on duty or working overtime, if we don’t go on blind dates, how will we meet new friends? if we don’t know new people, how can we find a partner? can a partner just fall from the sky or walk through the door by themselves?”

before he could finish his complaint, someone lightly knocked on the office door.

following that,– qi yanbai – entered with his dinner and coat. he greeted the young colleagues in the room one by one, wearing a knowing smile.

“good evening,” qi yanbai said.

colleagues: “…”

his timing couldn’t have been better; it was as if the heavens had sent him to change the topic just as they were lamenting their fate. the colleagues looked at him with a hint of resentment, then turned their attention elsewhere, gazing vacantly at the ceiling, feeling life had nothing more to offer.

“what’s going on?” qi yanbai was puzzled by their strange reactions as he looked at lu ye curiously. “what were you guys talking about just now?”

“nothing,” lu ye said with a suppressed smile. he stood up, neatly put away a stack of documents on his desk, then gestured to qi yanbai, saying, “come over here. what’s for dinner tonight?”

“wasabi shrimp balls,” qi yanbai smiled and said, “you mentioned that you wanted to eat them last time.”

the reference to “last time” seemed to carry a subtle undertone. lu ye couldn’t help raising an eyebrow, giving qi yanbai a meaningful look.

“now that you mention it, it’s a shame about last time,” lu ye laughed and said, “the shrimp balls were so big, but i didn’t even get to taste one.”

“it’s not a shame,” qi yanbai responded, oblivious to lu ye’s implied meaning, and smiled gently. “this time, i bought them myself, and they’re even fresher than last time.”

as they talked, qi yanbai hung his coat on the coat rack by the door and brought his thermos bag closer.

lu ye got up from his desk, pulled out a spare plastic stool from behind him, and made room for qi yanbai. he said, “you sit first. i’ll wash my hands first.”

qi yanbai obediently nodded, watching him as he left the office. he then opened the thermos bag and arranged the food containers neatly on the table, removing the lids.

the warm aroma of the dishes filled the room, and the spicy scent of black pepper beef tantalized the senses. yao xing, who was about to leave work, couldn’t resist the temptation. she walked over as if her soul had been summoned, and her dog-like spirit peeked out from behind lu ye’s computer, swaying left and right as she looked at the food. finally, she couldn’t help but ask, “it smells so good, teacher qi. can i have a bite?”

with a mischievous grin, she offered a nutrition bar to qi yanbai, proposing, “i’ll trade you with a snickers.”

qi yanbai wasn’t stingy. he smiled at her and handed her a toothpick, skewering a shrimp ball and offering it to her.

yao xing happily accepted the treat, thanked him, and left the office in high spirits.

poor colleagues in the neighboring cubicle had to endure the tragedy of their failed blind date and the torment of the lovebirds. they felt as if their tongues had turned to wood and could only sigh, thinking that fate was truly unfair.

qi yanbai was used to taking care of lu ye. after opening the lunch boxes, he helped tidy up lu ye’s desk, emptied the ashtray that was half-filled with cigarette butts into the trash can in the corner, and wiped the bottom of the ashtray clean with a damp paper towel.

a colleague nearby couldn’t stand it any longer and couldn’t help but comment, “he can handle such a trivial task himself, teacher qi. he’s not incapable.”

“i was just idle,” qi yanbai didn’t want to explain their relationship to others in detail. he simply said, “i want to do it.”

“but you shouldn’t spoil him like this. he’s become so dependent on you,” the single colleague shook his head and sighed, feeling envious. “i wonder what good deeds he did in his past life to find someone like you in this life.”

he had meant it as a casual comment, but to his surprise, qi yanbai’s response was unexpectedly intense. qi yanbai turned his head to look at the colleague with a furrowed brow, and he retorted emphatically, “that’s not true.”

“these small favors are nothing; anyone could do them,” qi yanbai said, “but what he has given me is much more significant than what i’ve given him.”

qi yanbai was always gentle and kind when dealing with outsiders. whether they were familiar or not, he would meet them with a smile. the colleagues were used to seeing him as a gentle and kind person, and they were taken aback when they saw him become serious all of a sudden.

“it’s not because of his good deeds; it’s because of mine,” qi yanbai turned his head back and placed the cleaned ashtray back in its original position. he said softly, “without him, i wouldn’t be this happy right now.”

he said these words lightly, and the colleague only caught a glimpse of their meaning. however, he didn’t want to ask further and quickly changed the subject, laughing it off.

in the midst of their conversation, lu ye returned. he pushed open the office door with his shoulder, and as he entered the room, he noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere. he wiped the water droplets from his hands and walked over to his desk, all while maintaining a calm smile.

“what are you all talking about?” lu ye was puzzled by the strange atmosphere. he looked at qi yanbai and asked curiously, “what were you guys discussing?”

“just some small talk.”

as soon as qi yanbai saw him, a smile returned to his face. he squinted his eyes and handed lu ye two tissue papers to wipe his hands, saying, “perfect timing, or else the food would have gone cold.”

“you can eat first; i’ll be doing something else,” lu ye said. “i ran into our neighbor in the hallway a while ago, and we discussed some case-related matters.”

“i’ve already eaten; this is your portion,” qi yanbai nodded and continued, “i have something to attend to later, so i won’t be staying here with you.”

“something to attend to?” lu ye exclaimed, surprised. “right now?”

it wasn’t that lu ye couldn’t do without him, but qi yanbai, as a clingy person, would usually find opportunities to be close to lu ye even when there was no reason. now that there was a chance to have dinner together, it was unusual for him to request to leave first.

“yes, it’s a personal matter,” qi yanbai smiled and, as if mindful of the others in the room, slightly bent forward. he used his pinky finger to gently hook onto lu ye’s hand, then leaned closer to lu ye’s ear and whispered softly, “—i promise it’s nothing bad.”

lu ye chuckled, “i wasn’t talking about that—”

he seemed like he wanted to say something, but then he felt that he was overthinking it, so he changed his tone and simply said, “well, go take care of your business then. come home early tonight.”

“alright.” qi yanbai reluctantly released lu ye’s hand, opened his palm, and said in a low voice, “by the way, can you give me the key to the new house?”

“why?” lu ye asked, teasing him, “didn’t you get enough of it earlier?”

qi yanbai smiled, neither confirming nor denying, and his attitude remained ambiguous. then, he smiled at lu ye and said, “—i won’t tell you.”