Yan Xie's expression was blank, and before he could react, a chill had instinctively rushed up his spine.
"Brother Yan."
"..."
"Brother Yan?"
Yan Xie turned around, only to see that Gao Panqing had already finished his phone call and came back: "Are you okay?"
"…Oh, it's okay, I'm just a little tired." Yan Xie said calmly, "How are the things over there?"
In fact, what could be done over a phone call? Unless Han Xiaomei really wanted to leave the fieldwork team to go to sit in the office, she would definitely come over. Yan Xie's words were nothing but mindless talk, but Gao Panqing was still very concerned, and asked, "Why don't you go home and rest first? The eight or nine hours of driving in a day are really exhausting. Han Xiaomei will come over later."
Yan Xie nodded uncertainly, and couldn't help but glance at the ward through the glass.
Bu Wei had already laid back on the hospital bed and was curled up in a ball, only revealing her thin back.
"Did you see something wrong, Brother Yan?" Gao Panqing finally noticed the abnormality, and raised his chin toward the ward almost invisibly: "Is this girl a little…"
Yan Xie didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, so he said perfunctorily: "It should be me being oversensitive. Where is your Consultant Lu? I'll give him a ride."
Just then, Jiang Ting came out of the bathroom at the end of the corridor. Yan Xie hurriedly nodded to Gao Panqing and strode forward. He hooked Jiang Ting's shoulder, and from the shape of his mouth, he should be saying "Let's go back first" while taking him toward the elevator.
Gao Panqing looked at their backs and felt that Yan Xie's hugging posture was a bit unusual.
When they were in the police academy, there were also brothers who hook their arms around each other's shoulders, but it wasn't as Yan Xie did to Consultant Lu just now. Instead of hooking their forearms around the other's neck, they used to grasp the junction of the shoulder and arm. Not like Yan Xie, who also exerted a little force to bring Consultant Lu into his arms.
Looking from behind, Yan Xie didn't seem to be hugging a good friend or a brother. There was a desire for protection and possessiveness in his action that he couldn't hide at all.
"…I must have been influenced by Han Xiaomei," Lao Gao shuddered, and forcefully threw the messy thoughts out of his mind.
...…
In the end, Yan Xie still failed to fulfill the male's duty of taking care of the family and taking Jiang Ting to eat "real" seafood porridge. Because Jiang Ting got up at five or six in the morning, went all the way to the Tianzong Mountain crime scene, and then came back to Jianning city, he was already so tired and sleepy that he fell asleep on the way back home.
G65 stopped steadily downstairs in the community. Yan Xie stopped the car but did not wake up Jiang Ting immediately.
The dim light from the car's roof reflected on his tired but steady eyelids, and the ends of his eyelashes fluttered with his breath, like two small velvet fans.
Although Jiang Ting's personality was refined and reserved, his facial features were very clear. His brow bone was three-dimensional, his nose bridge was narrow and straight, and his clean skin was slightly reflective. When he thinks soberly, the outline of his face was cold and imposing as a marble sculpture. But when he fell asleep, there was a halo of lightning around him, which made the handsomeness gradually emerge from the inside of his body to the outside, like some kind of ink painting.
Yan Xie's breathing was a little short, but he forced himself to observe carefully without emotion.
He is asleep now, does he have any resemblance to Bu Wei?
Why was there such a strange feeling of resemblance at that moment in the hospital?
A criminal police officer in his thirties who was known to have been killed in the line of duty and was in a coma for several years, and a sixteen years old little girl, who was as beautiful as a camellia, shouldn't have any intersection in any way. But in Yan Xie's scrutinizing view, there was a strange connection.
——is it really like this, or is he being overly suspicious?
"..." Jiang Ting moved, and said in a daze: "…Yan Xie?"
The murmur was hoarse and lazy, and Yan Xie's throat tightened a little. He sat back in the driver's seat uncomfortably and said: "We are home. "
Jiang Ting woke up, stunned for a while, and a vague voice came out of his throat: "Hmm." Then he pushed the door softly and got out of the car.
Yan Xie had already turned to the door of the passenger seat, and before Jiang Ting, whose brain wasn't clear, stepped on the ground, he reached out and hugged him by the waist. In an instant, Jiang Ting's body was in the air, and before he could make a sound, he was carried off by Yan Xie from the high car door. Yan Xie closed the door and locked it as if nothing had happened, then he coughed and said, "Let's go upstairs."
On the way, he threw the car keys up and down and deliberately did not look at Jiang Ting's face, and got into the elevator.
When Yan Xie began to move his daily necessities to this apartment; clothes, shoes, watches, all kinds of small things that are easy to use… Like ants moving houses, he gradually made the neat and beautiful real estate developer's model house into a messy, lively apartment. Even the air is full of the lively fragrance of a single dog for more than 30-year-old.
In contrast, Jiang Ting, who only had a few changes of clothes, can be considered to be a proletarian, and even the toothpaste he used was squeezed from Yan Xie's bathroom.
Jiang Ting took a shower and came out to check the time. It was ten o'clock.
Maybe it was because he fell asleep in the car, but his sleepiness suddenly disappeared without a trace, and he was even a little hungry——Jiang Ting was no longer a young man who could sleep lazily until late in the morning. If the lights went out at this time, he might wake up in the early morning tomorrow. So he sat on the edge of the bed for a while and decided to go to the kitchen to find something to eat and relax.
Yan Xie is a very polarised person in terms of living habits. He has a very down-to-earth side. For example, on his mobile phone, there are 108 kinds of fancy instant noodle reviews, his wardrobe is full of Taobao Uniqlo, the face towel in the bathroom has rough edges, and his cupboard has a collection of the National goddess ——Who knows what was he thinking that after he finished eating, he didn't even throw away the old glass jars. At the same time, on the hard drive of the laptop connected to the TV in his living room, under the folder "Introduction to Forensic Appraisal for the Second Semester of the First Grade" is the complete collection of Teacher Cang's works.
Apart from these, he also has a very authentic side of the rich second generation.
All his collared shirts are a monthly collection, all suits and coats, starting from fabrics to furs, are custom made, and he loves collecting watches. According to his own statement, when he was young and frivolous, he liked the appearance and characteristics of the minute repeater and double tourbillon watches. And after he was in his thirties, he began to pursue low-key split-second chronographs. If the family goes bankrupt one day, he can at least rely on that cabinet to eat for decades, and it will not be a problem to live comfortably.
Considering the fact that he once had a precedent of letting the chef team personally come to the house to make a candlelight dinner, when Jiang Ting walked into the kitchen, he hoped that Yan Xie could go to the extreme of the rich second generation in this regard, and at least have a little ready-made package of fresh ingredients that can be eaten after one turn in the microwave.
But as soon as he opened the refrigerator, he realized his ignorance and naivety.
In the empty refrigerator, there were only a few bottles of beer, Cola, diced lemon, and half a ginger that had gone moldy long ago.
"..." Jiang Ting stared at the half piece of ginger. He thought for a long time and still didn't understand how a person who never opened the fire bought ginger, did he make ginger cola at home?
"What are you doing, hungry?" Yan Xie came from behind and asked.
This person must have realized that even driving shirtless in a frenzied manner was useless. So after taking a shower, he honestly put on his tank top and shorts. His short hair was dripping with water, and the back of his black tank top was wet with water droplets that he was too lazy to dry.
Jiang Ting was not very happy: "Why don't your family even prepare anything to eat…"
"You say, you sleep when you eat and want to eat snacks when you sleep. It's because of this that you are not in good health—— You see, there are no snacks in here. It just happened that I ordered instant noodles, I can share a package of Laotan pickled cabbage beef noodles with you."
Jiang Ting was even more dissatisfied: "I don't eat instant noodles."
Yan Xie said: "Then I will order you a takeaway. Do you want to eat chicken, shrimp, and small wontons?"
"At what time, are the takeaways delivered in your neighborhood?"
"Hey——I am talking about you," Yan Xie said with a straight face and instructed him: "Why are there so many problems? You can't live like this in the future. If you want, there's still half a pack of frozen dumplings here for you to eat."
Jiang Ting couldn't comment on the saying "living in the future", and he was too lazy to make dumplings by himself, so he said, "Forget it, I'm not very hungry anyway."
He walked out of the kitchen in a sullen mood. Yan Xie got the instant noodles and kept babbling while boiling the water: "What do you mean, forget it. What does it mean? You are just being picky, what's wrong with Laotan pickled cabbage beef noodles, last time Xiao Ma and Lao Gao almost fought for the last package of pickled cabbage…"
Jiang Ting turned a deaf ear and sat on the sofa in the living room to play online chess, planning to go to bed after the end of the game.
Unexpectedly, the kitchen was bustling with noise, and after about ten minutes, Yan Xie came out with two bowls and put one of the bowls in front of Jiang Ting: "Stop playing, eat."
There were the quick-frozen dumplings in the bowl that had just been served hot.
Jiang Ting was stunned.
"Aren't you surprised by my outstanding level of making dumplings? Look, none of them is broken, it's perfect. Do you know how to do it?"
"..."
"After the water boils, add a little salt first." Yan Xie tapped twice on the coffee table with his index finger, and said condescendingly, "How is it? I don't know."
Jiang Ting almost blurted out, "Aren't the quick-frozen dumplings generally unbreakable?!" But after all, the exploiters are generally soft-spoken, so he held back for a moment before speaking: "…I thought you never went into the kitchen."
Yan Xie said proudly: "But I have Baidu. I'm an academic."
Jiang Ting said in his heart that you are still academic, but majored in martial arts at the Drama Academy.
Yan Xie sat down beside Jiang Ting, eating his Laotan pickled cabbage beef noodles. Although the quick-frozen dumplings definitely tasted better, seeing Yan Xie's delightful appearance while eating made Jiang Ting a little greedy. He couldn't help picking a chopstick of instant noodles from his bowl to eat.
Yan Xie didn't say a word and laughed.
"Why are you laughing?"
Yan Xie swallowed the noodles in his mouth, and said, "I laugh at you. You're just like a child."
Because he was still exploiting the food, Jiang Ting didn't answer for a while.
"When you see something delicious, you are willing to give a good face, and take the initiative to wash the dishes. But if there is no delicious food, every pore on your body exudes a cold aura that repels people from thousands of miles away." Yan Xie picked another chopstick of noodles for him and said, "It's okay, I promise to take you to a Michelin restaurant tomorrow. Even if the sky falls, I will guarantee that you can eat a feast.
Jiang Ting who "exudes a cold aura from every pore of his body", ate dumplings for half a day and still couldn't think of a powerful way to refute. So he could only say angrily: "When you get to my age, you will understand why people can't be hungry."
"Talking like you are too old this year. You are only two years older than me. Are two years that much?" Yan Xie held out two fingers with his chopsticks in between: "Besides, we are police officers, not athletes. This age can only be considered a junior in the public security system. If you don't believe me, look at Jianning, besides Chief Lu and Deputy Chief Wei, who else is like you holding a teapot all day long, like a thermos cup."
The topic of thermos cups is too dangerous. If you pay attention, you will think of the tea cake in Yan Xie's cabinet, which was getting smaller and smaller for no apparent reason. Jiang Ting quickly took two dumplings and stuffed them into Yan Xie's bowl: "What are you talking about, eat yours."
Yan Xie hurriedly picked up the bowl: "No, don't want it."
"You have got too many dumplings, I can't eat them."
"I can't eat them either. How can I keep my abdominal muscles if I don't control my food intake? I haven't been to the gym for more than half a month."
Jiang Ting said, "Why keep that thing, let go of yourself. Whether you are single or not has nothing to do with your abdominal muscles."
As soon as Yan Xie heard this, he answered very naturally: "I'm not the only one who is single. Could it be that you didn't consider yourself?"
Jiang Ting: "….."
On a warm and quiet summer night, the heat of the noodle soup drifted away, and the two sat shoulder to shoulder on the large beige sofa. The scenes of falling into the water, being shot in Jiangyang County, and the panic and fear outside the rescue room, seemed to have become a long distance memory.
Jiang Ting still had half a dumpling on his chopsticks, and he didn't know whether to eat or put it down. After a while, he said, "Why are you talking as if you are venting with full energy."
"Because every sentence I say to you is from the heart, I just say whatever I want, and don't pay attention to skills. It's not the same as when you talk to me." Yan Xie smiled, got closer, and asked in a low voice: "Do you want a partner, Captain Jiang?"
"..." Jiang Ting said, " Don't do it."
"Just give it a chance."
"Don't do it."
"Why are you so dishonest?"
Jiang Ting helplessly picked up the bowl and turned around, while Yan Xie chased after him and asked, "Did you have a special fondness for me long ago?"
"Why should I have a special fondness for you?"
"Because I am the best person to be with in any way, and you know the laws of nature in which animals choose their mates. Only strong males can stand out in this cruel social competition, possess the most survival resources, and provide the best living conditions for their families and future generations…"
Jiang Ting held a bowl with one hand and his forehead with the other, patiently listening to his nonsense, and the whole thing is fallacious reasoning and harmful teachings.
"So at least within the province, I should be a most worthy candidate for mate selection. It is only natural that you have a favorable impression of me. Of course, if you do not have a favorable impression of me, then Darwin's theory of natural selection will be overturned. And, I think this kind of anti-science possibility is relatively small…" Yan Xie couldn't help himself, and burst into laughter: "Okay, I won't talk nonsense. We are already old. If it doesn't work, talk about it."
Jiang Ting took a deep breath, turned back from the sofa to face Yan Xie, and said solemnly, "Yan Xie."
"Huh?"
"Darwin's theory is only aimed at natural reproduction, and does not include homosexuality."
The two of them stared at each other, and Yan Xie patted him for a while: "Oh, don't be so narrow-minded, it doesn't matter!"
Jiang Ting felt a little confused inside. He doesn't know if it's funny or absurd——or rather, it is precisely because Yan Xie is so serious under the surface of the horse-drawn carriage-like mouth that this argument is particularly funny and absurd.
He didn't know whether to laugh or not, so after a long time he could only say, "I thought you always liked the type of virtuous wife and mother…"
"Every man once thought he liked the type of virtuous wife and mother. This kind of thing is like throwing dice, you have to really throw out that point before you know who you like."
"…Don't you think it's weird?"
"It was a little bit at first." Yan Xie paused and said: "It's actually okay now. I don't feel anything when I look at the men in the police force, but my heart always beats faster when I look at you."
Yan Xie was actually easier to deal with when he was rude, you can just ignore him and it will be over. But when he put on this face that really went to the sea 50,000 times, and looked at you with deep eyebrows without blinking, and said such words directly, it was not only for Jiang Ting but for anyone else, it will be hard to resist.
They sat face to face on the living room sofa, knees almost touching. Jiang Ting lowered his eyes to avoid Yan Xie's scorching gaze but saw that he was holding a bowl full of dumplings in his hands——it was obviously a summer night in the southwest region, but in an instant, he had the illusion of what seemed like a couple sitting opposite each other and talking in a northern night.
"….." Jiang Tang shook his head vigorously, getting rid of this absurd feeling, and asked, "Do you really think you are serious?"
Yan Xie said, "I'm really not joking."
"Then you can accept this too?" Jiang Ting said coldly.
He put down the bowl and picked up the computer from the coffee table. This notebook Yan Xie is specially used to connect to the TV to watch videos. The password is his house number. Jiang Ting logged in and opened the video website. Yan Xie saw that he seemed to have found something. He clicked the play button and then turned the computer screen in front of him.
"Take a look at it first," Jiang Ting said lightly, "this may change your mind."
Yan Xie looked down and was stunned. The full-screen playback clearly showed a pair of naked men, followed by the sound of unbridled moans.
—— That was actually pretty explicit porn.