Before Luo Wenzhou could react, Lang Qiao, walking behind him, sucked in a big breath.
These last few weeks, Lang Qiao had often remembered Fei Du's secretive look before he'd left that day. Each day on the way to and from work she'd let her imagination fly; she had already gone through a string of labels like "seizing by force" and "sadomasochistic love," visualizing a soul-stirring erotic television drama—only there had been too much stress at work lately, so she hadn't had time to leak any "spoilers" to Luo Wenzhou, one of the main characters.
An autumn rain shower had passed a few days before. Comrade Lang Qiao was so startled by Fei Du's sudden appearance that she stepped into a pool of water at the gates and nearly fell flat on her face, flailing her limbs and clinging onto the wall.
Hearing the movement, Luo Wenzhou turned to look at her. First, this damn gay guy jeered at her pose. Then he said, "Why are you wearing high heels to work? None of us can see you unless we're looking down. We all know you're short."
Lang Qiao: "…"
She rolled her eyes and straightened out her heel with difficulty, firmly biting back the warning she'd been about to give him. She thought, Well, it's his funeral.
Formerly, Fei Du had worked during the day and fooled around at night. He'd come to harass Tao Ran from time to time, but mostly only to present some new toy as a gift. He hadn't reported to the public security bureau every day for no reason. Luo Wenzhou had frequently worried about him before, although that had been while he'd still been little; since Fei Du had grown into a 360 degree scoundrel without a blindspot, there'd been nothing worth worrying about.
The city was always active, and everyone was running around toiling; there was also the rush of traffic and the sea of people to separate them. It wasn't unusual for ordinary friends not to see each other for a few months.
But not much more than a month after the last time President Fei had come running to the City Bureau to "send some comfort," Luo Wenzhou suddenly had a strange feeling, as if he hadn't seen him in a very long time.
Fei Du's car was as flashy as before, but he himself seemed much more in line with conventional norms.
He wasn't wearing glasses. There was an earpiece hanging loosely from one of his ears. His cotton shirt had for once been buttoned up to just below the top collar button, and, in an extremely rare occurrence, he was wearing jeans. His hair had been casually pushed back, displaying his clear, handsome brow. It was as if something had washed his whole soul clean. All traces of that air of the scum of the literati were gone. At a glance, he looked like a slightly rebellious but not over-the-line arts student.
Hands in his pockets, Luo Wenzhou strolled over in front of Fei Du, internally cursing in spite of himself—
There were innumerable types of male beauty in the world, and Luo Wenzhou was interested in a fairly broad range of them. He could appreciate the Western aesthetic, full to bursting with masculine hormones and brimming with force; he could also appreciate the traditional aesthetic, clear as the moon, gentle as jade…as long as they didn't display Fei Du's revolting behavior, he wouldn't turn any of them down.
President Fei was of the type he found most unendurable, simply a cobra in human shape. He was immaculately groomed; it was impossible to tell whether he was telling the truth or shamming; he had so many eyes trained on the world that getting close to him could make you feel a touch of trypophobia. There was a sharp and intense feeling of invasiveness about him; if you didn't want to be manipulated by him, you would have to keep your nerves subconsciously strained. Never mind appreciation, Luo Wenzhou's head hurt at the thought of him.
But the style he was attracted to at first sight was a clean and straightforward, somewhat distinctive one; add in some good looks, and it basically hit him dead-center in his most vulnerable point—for example, the way Fei Du looked right now.
Fei Du was young, after all. When he retracted his venomous fangs, he could conjure up a look of brimming youthfulness, mixing the true with the false.
Luo Wenzhou waved a hand, dismissing the little traffic cop from the department next door. He patted the roof of Fei Du's car and pointed to the commercial building across the street. "Turn right and there's a shopping center, didn't you see? That's where the nearest parking lot is. Outside of special circumstances, the public's cars can't randomly park at a public security bureau's gates. You need a parking permit."
Fei Du gave him a wholly unclouded smile. "How do I get a parking permit?"
"We don't sell long-term parking permits wholesale or retail. First, you have to be City Bureau personnel. If you can't manage that, you have to be the family member of City Bureau personnel." Luo Wenzhou, not turning a hair, lowered his eyes, giving his stimulated eyeballs a break. "You want a parking permit just for opening your mouth. Do you have the status, President Fei? A few days after getting your cast taken off, you're driving around raising hell all over the place—what are you doing here now?"
Without answering, Fei Du asked, "You didn't drive today?"
"I lent my car to a colleague to use to go on a date," said Luo Wenzhou.
Fei Du narrowed his eyes and opened the car door. "Perfect. Do you want to get in?"
Luo Wenzhou: "…"
This movement of Fei Du's stirred up a light wind. Luo Wenzhou found to his surprise that he hadn't sprayed on any cologne today; the smell that came from him was a mixture of the detergent from his shirt and some shaving lotion. It was clear and clean, like an autumn breeze washed by cool rain.
This joker had to be doing it on purpose.
Luo Wenzhou's mind was alert, but his limbs rebelled against his brain, taking the initiative to get into the car.
Fei Du very gracefully shut the car door for him and was just walking around to the other side when he saw a "wimpy kid" with a dilapidated briefcase on his back run out of the City Bureau and look all around; it was Tao Ran.
Fei Du stopped in the middle of opening the car door and called to him. "Ge."
"Hey!" Tao Ran grabbed at his hair and walked over to him. His observations were very sloppy; he didn't notice anything different between Fei Du's getup today and his usual one. "This crowd! They realized they didn't need to work overtime today, and in the time it took me to go to the bathroom, they all ran off, apart from the officer on duty.—What are you doing here?"
"I came by to do something," said Fei Du.
"Oh, okay," Tao Ran said carelessly, not even asking what he was doing. "I was just going to call you. Chang Ning says that Chenchen's parents want to find a time to invite everyone over to eat. Will you go?"
Fei Du let out a long "oh."
"What?" said Tao Ran.
"Go to Chenchen's house—when the time comes, we'll be responsible for chatting with the parents, turning their gazes away, and you'll be responsible for helping Chang Ning-jie clean up and prepare food?" Fei Du lazily leaned against the roof of the car. "Or you could urge them to prepare a bit of wine, pour a bit into everyone, then have Chang Ning responsible for seeing each one off while you drive the car. The best thing would be for us third wheels to vanish as soon as we walked out the door. Then you can conveniently take her to enjoy the night breeze, see a movie or something."
Tao Ran hadn't thought so much about it originally. Having Fei Du's brief description to light the path ahead, he sparkled all over; he felt uncomfortable speaking and only stood there with a captivated smile.
Just then, the car window facing Tao Ran rolled down and Luo Wenzhou irritably said to him, "Enough, I get the gist of this meal. I'll pass it on to our comrades tomorrow. Could I trouble you not to stand by the side of the road torturing the single dogs? Mind our image!"
Tao Ran had never expected that he would one day see Luo Wenzhou in Fei Du's car. He gave a tremendous start. Like a sleepwalker, he looked at Luo Wenzhou, then looked at Fei Du; he went back and forth three times, suspecting that his mind was somewhat clouded. He then gave a subconscious "oh," rubbed his eyes, and obediently left.
When he'd walked fully fifty meters away, Deputy-Captain Tao's lengthy reflex arc finally finished running its course and his brain reacted as if he'd had an electric shock—wait, was that Luo Wenzhou in Fei Du's car just now?
Luo Wenzhou, male, interested in men.
Fei Du, male, interested in…humans!
Tao Ran swiftly turned his head back, his neck cracking in protest. The little sports car that had been parked at the curb just now had cheerfully driven out into the road, converging with the immense flow of traffic; there wasn't a sign of it.
"A hallucination," Tao Ran concluded, making a great show of nodding earnestly as he walked stiffly away.
"Turn left at the intersection up ahead. They're repairing the road, you can't get through," Luo Wenzhou directed dully, as if he really was just hitching a ride home. He had asked once why Fei Du had come; the little asshole, deliberately mystifying, hadn't answered. Luo Wenzhou simply hadn't asked again, waiting with perfect composure for him to issue a reply.
But Fei Du calmly drove him all the way home without talking any nonsense. "We're here."
Luo Wenzhou: "…"
Wait… Was that it? Now what?
"We're really here. I just wanted to drive you while I was on my way." Fei Du very acutely picked up some bewilderment from his gaze. A very Fei Du smile hovered around the corners of his lips.
As soon as he smiled, the "youthful sun" image he'd maintained the whole way vanished in an instant. Under the painted face were the same familiar formula and same familiar flavor. Fei Du ambiguously lowered his voice and drew close to Luo Wenzhou's ear. "Or were you hoping I had some other intentions, Captain Luo?"
This was one of a playboy's customary moves: now distant and now close, reconnoitering while not crossing a line, giving no reason, enigmatically dropping a lure and running away. Anyone who couldn't resist the curiosity and chased after to investigate would be marching step by step to his tempo.
Luo Wenzhou was a kindred spirit; he knew all the moves perfectly well—though this was the first time anyone had used them on him. He couldn't pronounce a judgment or ask a question. The sharp rise and gentle fall of this provocation had left his heart and mind full of wild animals; at the same time, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
With a breath Luo Wenzhou forced down the fur and talons scratching at the pit of his stomach and presented a move of standing his ground. After a pause, he simply opened the door and patted the car. "Nice car, though it's a waste when you can't drive fast in the city. Thanks, see you."
Then Luo Wenzhou very naturally got out of the car, pretending that nothing had happened, and went home to feed his cat without a look back.
Fei Du sat in the car watching his back until Luo Wenzhou had gone into the building. Then he slowly started the car.
"You're welcome," he said to himself. "See you tomorrow."
The next day, Captain Luo returned to his old profession of delivering take-out, swaggering into the office. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a few colleagues moving desks.
"What's going on?"
"Director Ceng just came by and said we have a new colleague reporting today," Tao Ran said, showing his head. "We're getting a place for them to sit."
"Oh, right, I remember now." Luo Wenzhou put breakfast on the table and indicated that they should all help themselves. "I've been so busy I'd forgotten. I got the transfer order before, is he reporting today?—You all know him, it's that Little Glasses from the Flower Market District Sub-Bureau. While the investigation into Wang Hongliang was ongoing, he was suspended and also under investigation. The investigation just ended. He seems like a pretty clear thinker and a good worker, so I simply wrote up and had him transferred over."
Tao Ran stared. "It's Xiao Haiyang?"
Before Luo Wenzhou could answer, someone stuck their head in through the office's door. "Captain Luo, Director Ceng wants you to come over!"
Luo Wenzhou gave an affirmative, grabbed a portable package of tofu curd, stuck in the straw as wide as his thumb and stirred twice, drinking as he walked. By the time he got to Director Ceng's office, he'd drunk the one-time-use cup dry.
Luo Wenzhou was a lazy worm. To save a few steps, he took aim at a hallway trashcan two meters away and made an easy "free throw"; the plastic cup went sailing into the basket.
He hadn't yet celebrated his own perfect shot when the door of the office next to him opened from inside.
Ceng Guangling pushed at his glasses and looked at Luo Wenzhou coldly. "It's a true waste of your talents that you didn't go into the NBA."
Director Ceng had originally been a forensics expert. Later, because old Director Zhang had valued his eternal professionalism and accuracy, he'd forced him into a management position, giving him an assortment of things to attend to one after another. One day he'd make him responsible for presiding over a party member conference, the next he'd make him produce official documents, and the day after that he'd have him take a hand in administering human resources, racking his brain to arrange all kinds of "practice" for him. With all this practice, Director Ceng didn't want to live anymore, thinking every day of handing in his resignation, growing increasingly icy.
When Luo Wenzhou had first been transferred to the City Bureau, he had often gone to crime scenes with Director Ceng. Ceng Guangling's disposition was strict; he couldn't stand the sort of little troublemaker Luo Wenzhou had been back then. Luo Wenzhou got told off by him nearly every day and had long ago cultivated a face of impenetrable diamond to present to him. Wholly unconcerned, he went into Director Ceng's office with a cheeky grin. "That's true. It's all because my heart is devoted to serving the people that I could stand to give up an annual salary of ten million US dollars. I deserve to have my praises sung.—I hear we have an old acquaint…"
Before he could pronounce the "ance," Luo Wenzhou froze.
There were two people in Ceng Guangling's office. One was the expected Xiao Haiyang. Seeing him come in, Xiao Haiyang very properly stood up and greeted him. "Captain Luo."
As for the individual next to him, he evidently wasn't so proper.
"I really am an old acquaintance." Fei Du's gaze first made a circuit from Luo Wenzhou's chest to his knees; when he'd finished enjoying the free show, he smiled as he took up Luo Xiao Wenzhou's words. "I just ate a meal at Captain Luo's house last month."
Ceng Guangling was one of the City Bureau's elders. He'd watched Luo Wenzhou grow from a spoiled child who didn't understand shit into the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team; even if he never said it, he was still well aware of some annoying details about his personal life. Hearing Fei Du's words, Director Ceng immediately got the wrong idea, fiercely rolled his eyes at Luo Wenzhou, and said significantly, "Since we all know each other, let's not waste words.—Last year the City Bureau and Yan Security Uni's graduate program planned a collaborative research project, with Lao Zhang leading the way. They wanted to use practical experience to get at some theories, and to support their theories with practical experience. Take for example this case we just had, the kidnapping and killing of young girls that spanned twenty years—there's a lot of research value there. Yan Security Uni has already established a special research group. Xiao Fei is our contact person.—Wenzhou may seem unreliable, but he's actually pretty good at keeping his private life separate from his public life, right?"
Luo Wenzhou: "…"
What kind of an unreliable research group would choose this bit of goods as a contact person! Had the alma mater's other graduate students all died off?
Ceng Guangling said, "Xiao Xiao, you just came. First, get to know everyone. There are many young people on the Criminal Investigation Team now, you'll assimilate easily. Fei Du—"
Fei Du uncrossed his legs. Under Luo Wenzhou's extremely pained gaze, he gently and harmlessly called, "Teacher Ceng."
"Hey, hey, no need to be so polite." Ceng Guangling was evidently pleased by this manner of address, a trace of a smile involuntarily appearing on his icicle-like face. His voice warmed by at least three degrees. "In fact, I did teach for two years. I suppose you could call me your dashixiong. Your Lao Pan called me. If you need anything, go ahead and bring it up. You can come to my office any time."
First Luo Wenzhou was on the receiving end of a one-on-one talk from Director Ceng; this middle-aged man's gaze and suspicions had strayed off into outer space. He raised entirely unreasonable questions and criticisms against Luo Wenzhou's personal integrity. Then Luo Wenzhou got hauled off to Director Lu's office for a political awareness-raising meeting about this shitty research project. By the time he dragged his weary steps back to the Criminal Investigation Team, he suddenly found that it was no longer the office he knew—