Yan Xie gently brushed Jiang Ting's hair with his fingertips. Jiang Ting's eyelashes fluttered, and he woke up in a daze.
"…You're back, have you eaten yet?"
Jiang Ting struggled to get up but Yan Xie pressed him down: "You sleep."
He got up and went to heat up the soup. After the microwave dinged, a warm and rich smell of broth wafted out.
Yan Xie didn't eat rice, he only drank soup and ate meat. The stewed wild partridge meat was very tender and sweet, and the soup with fish maw was also very thick and mellow. The layer of oil on the surface was skimmed away. Although it was not a winter night outside, and the weather was not cold, this huge bowl of hot soup with meat and herbs was enough to soothe a person from the stomach to the heart.
"Why did you come back so late?" Jiang Ting was lying on the sofa, covering his eyes with his arms, and there was deep sleepiness in his voice.
Yan Xie held a small piece of meat with bone. He explained the details of the case and added: "A notice of assistance has been issued to the traffic police at all levels, and there may be a report at any time. I have to go back to the city bureau at dawn."
The lights on the side of the sofa had been turned on to the dimmest setting, but it was still a bit disturbing. Jiang Ting stretched out his hand, groped around a few times, and fished out a pillow deep in the sofa — Madam Zeng Cuicui had ordered countless pillows, and Yan Xie had at least ten piled up on the sofa — covering his face with the pillow at once.
Yan Xie snorted.
But before he could make a joke, he heard Jiang Ting say: "That is to say, the group of people who killed Li Yuxin in Jiangyang County was probably instigated by Wang Xingye?"
Yan Xie's original words were firmly blocked by him: "Yes, the possibility is very high. The kidnappers Li Yuxin met at the execution site were all wearing black robes and masks, and it was difficult to identify their physical features. But she may have seen Wang Xingye's face through her biological mother who was taking drugs. If she came to Jianning and saw this 'uncle' of Bu Wei, she would have definitely noticed something abnormal, so Wang Xingye must've silenced her. Also, how did Wang Xingye know that we've found the clue about Li Yuxin, as well as the method they used to kill? These doubts cannot be explained for the time being. I've asked people to conduct a comprehensive investigation of Wang Xingye's capital flow and social relations."
Jiang Ting was silent under the pillow for a while, then muttered: "…but there's no reason."
"No reason for what?"
"Why did he want to kill me?"
Yan Xie's chopsticks paused for a moment.
—Yes, Fan Si.
But then he immediately picked up a loquat fruit in the soup as if nothing had happened: "Didn't you say that Fan Si and the gang of killers in Jiangyang County were probably not assigned by the same employer?"
"I just said that casually and you believed it."
"So you admit that you didn't tell the truth at the time?"
Jiang Ting lifted the pillow to open a crack and stared at Yan Xie through it: "If you have such a good memory, why don't you remember more about the case?"
Yan Xie said: "Oh — you can still talk back! Sure enough, after entering the inner chamber[1], your confidence has increased. When you met me at Yang Mei's KTV, why were you so docile and well-behaved?"
Jiang Ting also laughed: "Don't be pompous, speak properly."
Yan Xie drank the last sip of soup and got up to wash the dishes. He washed his hands, brushed his teeth, and raised his voice in the sound of rushing water: "Before Bu Wei confessed, my feeling of chasing the wind and clutching the shadows[2] could not be used as proof to investigate Wang Xingye. There are too few clues at present, and we cannot make a reliable judgment for the time being. Wait until tomorrow, with the help of the economic investigation and technical team, I will turn over all of Wang Xingye's old accounts. Then we'll be able to know what kind of role he has in the King of Spades' drug cartel and how much connection has with Fan Si."
"Anyway, you should continue to stay here in a well-behaved and sensible way. It's best not to go out for a walk alone, and you must drive my car if you go out." Yan Xie shook his hand and walked back to the living room, saying: "Whether Wang Xingye wants to buy people to kill you or not, a character of that level would not dare to provoke me in the Jianning. Another layer of security wouldn't hurt."
Jiang Ting slid off the sofa and stood up with an "oh" sound.
He wanted to go back to the bedroom to sleep, but he didn't expect that as he stood up Yan Xie would suddenly bend down and pick him up: "Hey!"
As if carrying a sack, Yan Xie walked across the corridor from the living room, carrying him all the way back to the master bedroom. He threw him on the big bed with a bang, covering Jiang Ting's body with his own.
The lights were not turned on in the bedroom, with only a faint light coming from the living room. Before Jiang Ting could wake up from the dizzy fall, he was pressed firmly by Yan Xie. At that moment, he seemed like a warm and dignified wild panther, his even breathing spraying into the neck of the bathrobe.
"It's the middle of the night…"
"Shh."
Yan Xie's fingers slowly slid from Jiang Ting's forehead down to the corners of his eyes, the sides of his nose, his cheeks, and the side of his neck. It was like he was depicting a beloved piece of art. Using his touch to perceive it, and using his temperature to worship it. The fingertips of his index and middle fingers, which carried the breath of wind, frost, and sword for many years, carefully circled the corners of his mouth, but never really touched it.
The bedroom was unusually quiet, like a turbulent undercurrent under the water, but on the surface there was only entangled breathing, vaguely revealing some clues.
Yan Xie lowered his head to lean closer, and asked: "Can I kiss you?"
Jiang Ting said nothing.
Yan Xie seemed to have caught some kind of gentleman's disease where he must obtain the consent of the other party: "Can I kiss you?"
"..."
"I am asking you, hello?"
"..."
In the darkness at such a close distance, their eyes were filled with each other. Jiang Ting looked away, and finally spat out the word: "No."
Yan Xie immediately said, "Then I'm leaving."
Although that's what he said, he didn't leave. He didn't even look away, as if waiting for something.
The body temperature of the two of them was scorching each other, and it seemed that even the touch of the skin could be clearly discerned through the thin fabric. Jiang Ting shifted uncomfortably, the movement was negligible, but he was immediately caught by Yan Xie: "I'm really leaving."
But he still didn't move.
"..." Jiang Ting finally gave up and said: "Kiss…"
Before he could finish speaking, Yan Xie lowered his head and kissed him. It was so sweet as if what he drank just now was not soup, but a bowl of honey.
The dark night covered everything as if everything was allowed. The abyss conjured up a seductive song, tempting pedestrians to abandon the ice-cold reality and fall into a sweet and soft dreamland, gladly and diligently indulging in it, sinking further and further.
Yan Xie said in a low voice, "Can I show you my strong kidney function[3]?"
"No."
Yan Xie moved his hand but he was caught by Jiang Ting, who said sullenly, "No!"
Yan Xie's body was tense for a moment. It seemed as if he was battling with his rationality which was walking on a tightrope. After a while, he finally let out a breath: "Okay, if you say no, then I can't do it."
—He was so straightforward and frank that Jiang Ting was stunned for a moment.
"You can do whatever you want," Yan Xie leaned his head beside Jiang Ting's ear and smiled slyly: "I like you so much, of course, I want you to be happy."
I like you so much.
It was as if a cannonball exploded silently in the void, blood flooding into the limbs by the violently beating heart, and even his eardrums rang for a long time after the deafening burst.
Jiang Ting did not speak, and Yan Xie did not ask for any response. They were so close to each other, the unspeakable intimacy and affection slowly rose as the dark river swirled around the bedroom.
"What are you laughing at?" Jiang Ting suddenly asked softly.
"Laughing at myself. "
"Why are you laughing at yourself?"
Yan Xie stretched out his hand and rubbed Jiang Ting's hair, then pinched his earlobe between his fingers and played with it for a while, before he said, "I told that Han Xiaomei girl today that you have to have money and a career to have confidence, and only then can you pick people instead of people picking you. But now I suddenly feel like even if you have money and a career and you meet someone you like, you still have to wait obediently to be picked."
He paused for a while and added: "But I'm still very happy to be picked."
Yan Xie got up with a smile and walked into the bathroom. After a while, there was the sound of water from the shower.
After losing his body temperature, half of the sheets gradually cooled down, but Jiang Ting didn't move. He knew that he should get up and go back to the next bedroom, but he didn't know why, he had no motivation. Every pore on his body exuded a lazy breath. He just opened his eyes to look at the nothingness above, his mind blank.
This was actually very rare for him. There were always many things in his mind at all times, intricate logic and various subtle concerns, like a huge and invisible game of chess.
But now Yan Xie forcibly cleared the chessboard.
He was personable and arrogant, rude and unreasonable, handsome and ill-intentioned. When he laughed, the corners of his mouth seemed to have countless evil spirits and bad thoughts, but when it came to actions, he was firm and reliable, never making any mistakes.
Jiang Ting closed his eyes, and countless identical figures appeared in the drowsiness — sitting under the night lamp in the early hours of the morning to drink soup, coming to the car at the bottom of the river without hesitation, a Grand Cherokee with flashing police lights and speeding on the bridge and… or even a long time ago, the young Yan Xie who had just withdrawn from the action scene, who was being helped by a few people to the outside of the command car. His face was full of blood and without a trace of embarrassment, like a sharp sword whose aura of death hadn't yet vanished.
The sound of the water stopped, the mattress sank slightly, and Jiang Ting opened his eyes.
Yan Xie climbed onto the bed from the side with his head and looked down at him. The water droplets on his beautiful shoulder muscles hadn't yet completely dried.
"Don't go," Yan Xie whispered, "Let me hug you to sleep."
"..."
"If you don't object for three seconds, it means you agree."
Before Jiang Ting could say anything, Yan Xie lowered his head and planted a long, lingering, and minty toothpaste-scented kiss on his lips.
When his lips parted, he raised his head slightly, with starlight in his eyes. The two looked at each other for a long time. Yan Xie smiled hoarsely and said, "You agreed."
He neatly got out of bed, turned off the light, and closed the bedroom door. The heavy pale golden curtains blocked the city lights, on this gentle night, carefully protecting the intimate and private space.
Yan Xie returned to the bed, laying side by side with Jiang Ting. He shook the air-conditioning blanket and put it over their legs, then he put one arm around Jiang Ting's waist from behind. As soon as he touched the pillow, he suddenly remembered something, so he raised his head and kissed the sideburns of the person next to the pillow:
"Good night."
On a midsummer night, the starry sky is bright. The headlights of the cars on the road in the distance passed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a fleeting phantom on the ceiling, like a fish waving its tail in a long river, flashing by again and again. Jiang Ting lay motionless on the big bed, his nose was filled with the scent of sunlight that had not yet been dissipated by the pillowcase. Yan Xie's breathing gradually became calm and long, he seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
He opened his eyes and looked at the air molecules jumping in the darkness, and finally replied softly, "Good night."
Translator's Note:
(1) From the main room, enter the inner chamber (Idiom): To go to the next level / To attain a higher level. ^
(2) Chasing the wind and clutching the shadows (idiom): Groundless Accusations. ^
(3) Strong kidney function: High sex drive. ^