The alarm went off for the eighteenth time when it was finally snapped off by a strong, well-defined hand stretched out from the duck feather duvet. At 10:30 a.m., Yan Xie rolled over and sat up from the big bed, rubbing his dizzy head after a hangover. It took ten minutes before he dazedly recalled the fragments from last night's celebration at the city bureau.
The 502 frozen corpse case was referred to the prosecutor's office, the provincial department planned to trace down the unknown sniper, the existence of the new fentanyl compound was reported to the Ministry of Public Security, and the SWAT captain Kang Shuqiang was successfully rescued from danger.
Under thunderous applause, Deputy Director Wei announced that the personel who had taken part in the operation could take three days off, all the police force went crazy with happiness. Qin Chuan and Gou Li, those two dogs caught him and made him drink to death. On the way back, in a daze, he seems to have received a freaking phone call reminding him not to forget that today was...
Today was…..
Yan Xie instantly woke up, grabbed his phone and opened Wechat.
"Son, today at 12:00 noon at our Zenith Garden restaurant, you're to meet the daughter of the CEO of the real estate group, remember to look good! Put on a sheet mask! Your mother."
"..." Yan Xie put down his phone and turned his head. The mirror reflected a scruffy face with a bird's nest on top of his head.
"Just another day of selling my body," he muttered.
The transformation process of Yan Xie is always like that of a magical girl warrior. Half an hour later, he finished showering, shaved, took scissors to the top of his head and trimmed the hair, styled it with gel. He also found a random men's perfume and sprayed it twice, and looked in the mirror for a moment. The face, the price of which would likely start at 50,000 looked back at him. Then he walked out of the bathroom with a towel on his shoulder, naked, just ready to go to the walk-in closet to think about what kind of reaction he should show while collecting his 108th "you are a good person", "we can be friends", "I'm too young, mom won't let me fall in love" card in his life; but suddenly changed his mind and decided to make a pot of tea to quench the thirst after the hangover.
So Vice chief Yan, accompanied with the sound of chirping and cool refreshing wind, crossed the living room and opened the kitchen door.
Yan Xie: "..."
Jiang Ting: "..."
The silence hung in the air, Jiang Ting froze trying to open the tea box, face to face with Yan Xie, both maintained a blank expression on their face.
"You... how..."
Yan Xie's first thought was "Why are you here?", and then he realized that he was the one who had forced the door keys onto the other man; his second thought was "I can't believe you're willing to come here?' He swallowed back the words, his eyes darted back and forth between Jiang Ting's suspended hand and the open tea box, suddenly realizing that he caught the thief on the spot:
"You're drinking my wife tea again!"
Jiang Ting put his hands behind his back: "No."
"The water's boiled!"
"No really."
"The last time when you brought it to the crime scene, you said it was specially brewed for me but you actually ended up drinking it all yourself!"
"Misunderstanding."
Yan Xie stepped forward and took out the lower layer of the red sandalwood box, justifiably sticking half of the tea cake, that looked as if it had been chewed by a dog, in front of Jiang Ting's nose: "Then who do you think drank this?!"
Jiang Ting: "Han Xiaomei."
Inch by inch, Yan Xie was slowly approaching him, forcing Jiang Ting to lean back.
"Look me in the eyes and say it again," the ends of their noses were just a stone's throw apart, and the stern man stared into Jiang Ting's eyes, his voice was low and full of pressure: "Who did really drink it, Han Xiaomei, or you?"
"..." Jiang Ting raised his hand, gesturing downwards, his usual mask of calm indifference finally cracked a bit: "Can you put your pants on first?
Yan Xie looked down and saw that his male organ was showing a normal morning reaction after showering which was clear and obvious at a glance, just a little further and it would touch the police flower.
"... what are you complaining about," Yan Xie with a faint blush on his face, arrogantly added: "This is called a male capital, do you understand?!"
Jiang Ting's face looked like he really wanted to say something but Yan Xie grunted heavily, turned around and went out like a victorious general. But as soon as he was out of Jiang Ting's sight, he immediately covered himself and escaped to the bedroom.
The minute hand has gone through half a circle again, and Yan Xie was dressed like a young elite from a wealthy family, wearing a high quality shirt and trousers, custom-made leather shoes that ordinary people would have to wait six months to get a pair of and a brand watch. The car that he drove cost about as much as the watch itself.
He looked at himself in the side-view mirror. Sure enough, he no longer had the bird nest on his head which he had woken up with.
Yan Xie proudly glanced at the passenger side, "How's it?"
Jiang Ting, who was holding the Red Book, turned the page.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Jiang Ting ignored him.
Yan Xie took the book: "Can you understand it, or are you just acting pretentious?" He said with dissatisfaction and threw the book into the back seat.
"..." Jiang Ting held his forehead and let out a long sigh, "I don't understand it. But I need to resort to some philosophical stuff to forcefully clear my memory, especially of a certain image involving you.."
Yan Xie: "..."
Jiang Ting said frankly: "The impact was quite strong."
The silence hung in the air as the green light came on and the traffic slowly moved forward.
"No." A few minutes later, Yan Xie finally couldn't resist trying to make a scene: "I'm saying, is that so offensive to you? Didn't you see other naked guys when you went to the bathhouse in college, or did you go to the women's bathhouse?"
Jiang Ting said implicitly, "everyone in the men's bathhouse is relatively normal."
"I'm not normal?!"
It seemed that Jiang Ting wanted to nod very much, but he held back and asked in a more restrained way: "You asked me to tag along with you on a blind date so I could indirectly hint to your date at your physiological functions...being fine? .
"... huh?"
"If you need me to do that, I can try that too."
Passing the car, under the sound of countless protests around him, Yan Xie changed lanes. His roar was heard even behind the sound of the horns: "I don't need you to suggest this -! I can conquer women with my face -- "
Jiang Ting symbolically applauded, "Go conquer one."
"..." Yan Xie stopped talking.
The red light ahead was on, the S450 slowed down along with the traffic. Yan Xie's cloudy face was reflected in the rear view mirror. Probably because the air in the car was too heavy, it felt not like going on a blind date but like going to a funeral. Jiang Ting, finally deciding to ease the stiff atmosphere cleared his throat and said:
"There's a question I've always been curious about. Since there's no one else here now, I'll ask if you don't mind."
A flicker of murderous anger flashed in Yan Xie's eyes.
According to his own style of conversation, "I'm curious, if you don't mind" was usually followed up by less friendly questions, such as "Your alibi on the night of the murder turned out to be fake, can you explain it?" Or "DNA was found on the victim, why don't you give us a few drops of blood for comparison?"
Sure enough Jiang Ting asked, "Why are your blind dates always unsuccessful?"
Yan Xie: "........."
"It's true that you don't have an advantage in terms of occupation, but after all, you are very rich, if you balance it ..."
"My blind dates come from two sources," Yan Xie answered coldly, "my parents introduce me and colleagues help out."
Jiang Ting nodded seriously indicating him to continue.
"The former dates usually come from a similar family background, and there are two types of situations: the first type is independent and self-motivated, and is very good in all aspects, and will ask me to quit my job to inherit the family business and make money, so basically there's no chance; the second type is brutal and overbearing and delicate, so it is impossible for her to get along with me, so there's no chance either."
Jiang Ting silently said: "Oh-"
Yan Xie couldn't help but glance at the passenger seat, and added in a stronger tone, "I hate delicate people the most!"
Jiang Ting: "Mm-hmm."
Then Yan Xie witnessed Jiang Ting reaching for the glove compartment, taking out the bottle of fresh milk he had prepared on the way out and beginning to drink it in small sips.
The corners of his mouth, which were naturally straight and rarely curved up, were slightly covered in milk foam, and it seemed that even the light red color of his lips was a little deeper than usual.. After a few sips he paused slightly, his tongue licked the corners of his lips as he looked at the road ahead.
Yan Xie's throat felt so tight that he could not speak, a long time passed before he managed to squeeze the words.
"Can you stop drinking milk like that?!"
"The doctor prescribed daily calcium supplements, but I actually don't like this stuff." Jiang Ting said indifferently, "Go on, why can't the blind date that your colleague arranged work out again?"
There were no words to describe Yan Xie's state of the heart at the moment, he mechanically stepped on the accelerator, slammed on the brakes, turned on the lights and changed lanes, his cheeks showing extremely tight lines because he was tightly clenching his teeth.
"Deputy Chief Yan?"
"..." Yan Xie said through his teeth, "Among the women introduced by the colleagues it's either those whom I feel nothing for, or the women who criticize me for being too aggressive, and then there are the ones who ask for half of the property before registering.....What the hell? Stop drinking!"
Just in time Jiang Ting finished the last sip and threw the empty milk bottle into the glove compartment.
S450 turned into the parking lot and came to a steady stop. Yan Xie put down the handbrake and turned off the engine, but he remained sitting behind the steering wheel without moving, spatting out a few words: "Go on first."
Jiang Ting looked at him suspiciously, observing his facial expressions and thought he was probably too nervous before a blind date, so he thoughtfully got out of the car and closed the door.
Bang!
As if he had been activated, Yan Xie quickly grabbed the Red Book from the back seat and began to earnestly read it.
.
After a full three minutes, Yan Xie finally finished his brief swimming session in the ocean of knowledge and felt like his entire soul was purified. He closed the book and let out a heartfelt exclamation from the bottom of his heart.
"--- Really worthy of being called a master!"
Then he was finally able to get out of the car in one piece without any irregularity, and just as his feet touched the ground, he froze: "Why are you here?!"
Yang Mei was wearing a champagne-coloured velvet dress, her pearl earrings complemented her bright eyes and white teeth, her nude lace-up red-soled high heels made her look ten centimetres taller, and her aura seemed enough to overwhelm the sentient beings, crushing the dumbfounded Yan Xie with one look: "Come, eat, eat."
"Who told you to come?!"
Jiang Ting said, "Me."
Yan Xie almost couldn't control his facial expression, "Then who's accompanying me on my blind date?!"
Yang Mei gave him a delicate and charming smile.
"Control it" Jian Ting whispered in his ear, holding out two fingers, "I owe you this number." Then held out nine: "And you owe her this amount."
Yan Xie: "It's not even an order of magnitude! And bullshit, when did I ..."
"Her car is completely beyond repair."
It was as if Yan Xie had been instantly muted with a single click.
"I'll treat her to a meal, and you two will even out your account, and the city bureau will take some money from the case funds as compensation." Jiang Ting crossed his arms, a gesture used by the referee in the boxing ring to signal the end of a round: "Are you okay with this?"
Yang Mei smiled, "I don't have a problem."
Blue veins appeared on Yan Xie's forehead: "I also ... have no problem."
"Very well." Jiang Ting was somewhat relieved, "Now we can leave the car park."
The hotel building which contained shopping malls and garden restaurants had two panoramic elevators leading to the top floor. With a "ding" both doors opened at the same time, Jiang Ting shrugged his shoulders at Yan Xie's "?" and wished him good luck with a gaze, then followed Yang Mei into the other door.
The elevator was rising rapidly, Jiang Ting looked ahead, the streets and vehicles under his feet were getting farther and farther away. He heard Yang Mei cough probingly: "Jiang-ge."
"Why do you always have troubles with Yan Xie?"
Yang Mei froze slightly, then immediately clarified, "This really isn't, it's mainly because Deputy Chief Yan is more conceptually.."
"Straight male cancer." Jiang Ting interjected, "That's how the intern called him behind his back."
Yang Mei said yes, yes, Han Xiaomei's words were too accurate. If surnamed Yan wants a happy marriage in his lifetime, he can only go to Vietnam to buy a wife!
"He's indeed sometimes harsh, but he's not that kind of person." Jiang Ting seemed to see through Yang Mei's idea and said, "you and Yan Xie are not young. You should open up and face your heart directly. Avoiding the issue and circling around it is wasting your time."
Yang Mei: "Ah, huh?"
"If one day I leave." Jiang Ting raised his hand to signal Yang Mei not to interrupt him: "it's hard to say whether certain people's revenge may involve you and that's what I don't want to see. Yan Xie is a man worthy of trust. "
Yang Mei: "Huh?"
The elevator rose to the top floor, opened slowly, and Jiang Ting walked out of the door.
What he didn't see was that behind him, Yang Mei's eyes were wide open, and she nearly smashed the bag that was equivalent to Han Xiaomei's half year internship salary to the ground.
.
The Skytop Restaurant rotates throughout the entire floor, featuring a viewing terrace, a suspended pool and a hanging garden. The interior beneath the glass dome presents a modern luxury design style, with the bar as the centrepiece, spreading out in all directions.
Yan Xie was hiding behind the bar with a stern frowning look on his face, if he had a gun in his hand it would look like a live police ambush. The general manager of the restaurant was standing behind him, with the face full of tears, he wanted to say something but stopped himself several times, at last he could not help but remind him:
"Young master, what do you want to do? The future 108th Madam has been waiting for you for half a day, so you can't hide under the bar even if you are resistant to attend the blind date! We're all adults now, be brave!"
"Shhh..." Yan Xie tugged at the general manager and pointed at the two people walking in at the entrance of the restaurant, "Just the two of them, keep an eye on them for me."
General Manager: "???"
Looking in the direction of where Yan Xie's index finger was pointing, Jiang Ting entered, guided by the waiter, he reached the table and pulled out the chair for Yang Mei.
"If these two dare to kiss and hold hands in my restaurant, you will come and tell me at once. Also, when they pay the bill later, you will only charge one person, and be sure to accept only one person's money!"
The general manager vaguely felt that he had discovered some great secret: "... Why? "
"Because I don't want to treat the other one," coldly said Yan Xie, turning around and leaving in a huff.
The general manager stood in shock, staring at Yang Mei with an unspeakable gaze, his mind instantly played 500 episodes of korean drama "The One I Love Is Not My Lover". He then stared at the cold, handsome, pale young man opposite of Yang Mei for full five minutes. His anger and pity for the young boss rose from within.
"Manager?" The foreman asked in a whisper, "Manager, what are you doing?"
The general manager looked around on tiptoe, he first turned to Yan Xie, who was reluctantly but still walking towards the beautiful young lady, then turned around swiftly, looked at Jiang Ting with sorrow and said with hatred, "I'm going to snitch to the lady boss."