"Brother Yan is very happy today, everyone, don't be too polite, come! Drink, drink!…"
With black lines all over his face, Jiang Ting lifted the drunken Ma Xiang on top of him and handed him to Fang Zhenghong, who was still sitting upright, but his gaze had obviously started to look dull.
There was a lot of noise at the wedding venue. The elderly leaders were either greeting each other and taking pictures or sitting on the deck chairs by the swimming pool to rest. All the young people were chatting, laughing, chasing each other, and fighting each other. Due to consultant Jiang's prestige and his physical condition, this group of lawless things didn't dare pour him alcohol, but they were not so polite to Yan Xie. Yelling that "I am the bridegroom, believe it or not," Captain Yan had already been overwhelmed by the bastards of the Criminal Investigation Division. If Gao Panqing hadn't stopped him, he would have already fallen into the swimming pool with Han Xiaomei, who was crookedly walking in high heels.
As for Captain Yan's mother, Madam Zeng Cuicui, she was busy arguing with her husband at the moment: "I am asking you again; you really didn't take a peek at her when that lady walked by just now?"
In the distance, a beautiful and tall white woman with her head high passed by. Father Yan hurriedly swore: "I didn't! I really didn't!"
Captain Yu: "Based on the angle of the suspect's head turning and the response to the questioning, I tend to believe that there is a fact to the crime…"
Mother Yan: "Did you hear that?! Say that you didn't take a look again?!"
Father Yan had quick wits: "I just saw that her bag is very beautiful, and I was thinking about buying one for my wife…"
Judging from Captain Yu's expression, this answer was obviously a negative score. As expected, he heard Mother Yan say: "What! You can even see what bag she is carrying! You bastard, I don't love you anymore!!"
Mother Yan took Captain Yu by her arm and rushed back to drink tea angrily, while Father Yan hurriedly chased his wife while screaming injustice.
Yan Xie's view of the family was indeed deeply influenced by his parents… Jiang Ting laughed and was about to take Yan Xie back to sober up, but when he turned around, there was no trace of him staggering by the swimming pool. Only a few bureau chiefs were leaning on the deck chairs to watch the play, and Mrs. Lu's reprimand was coming from the crowd:
"Lu, Dong, Bin! How many times has the doctor told you not to eat so much meat?! Put it down!"
Pia—with the sound of chopsticks hitting his hand, Chief Lu hissed, "Hey! What are you doing!…"
As everyone admired Chief Lu being beaten, Jiang Ting turned his head and saw Han Xiaomei rushing straight toward him. The little girl was made miserable by the wrapped skirt and high heels; with disheveled hair and lipstick all over her face, she grabbed Jiang Ting and yelled, "Brother Jiang—! It's not good!"
Jiang Ting asked casually, "Where's your brother Yan?"
"Brother Yan was escorted away by a waiter!" Han Xiaomei yelled while the music was playing and people were chatting and laughing in the crowd: "Man! He looks so handsome! Sister Meimei saw it! Tell me to report the news immediately!"
Jiang Ting: "..."
"Extremely handsome! It's not a good thing at first glance!"
Jiang Ting didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He thanked the drunk and enthusiastic Han Xiaomei and walked through the wedding venue to the back garden of the hotel. The reserved hall was empty. Jiang Ting's slender silhouette in a snow-white suit was reflected on the polished marble floor. He walked through the corridor and suddenly heard a faint movement from the lounge in the distance as if someone was walking and talking.
Immediately afterward, Yan Xie's iconic voice sounded, and based on Jiang Ting's understanding of him, the voice was full of embarrassment that the other party wanted to conceal: "…Ah, yes, no. It's not that I forgot to invite you. I just thought you were busy…"
The next moment, a relatively young and calmer male voice rang out, saying, "It's okay, I just heard that you are holding a wedding here, so I just flew over to have a look."
Yan Xie inside the door and Jiang Ting outside the door had exactly the same thought at the same time — just fly to the other side of the ocean to take a look?
The man seemed to sense something wrong with what he said and immediately added: "Actually, I just wanted to see my sister-in-law… that… your wife… Captain Jiang, there is really no other meaning."
Jiang Ting: "?"
Jiang Ting originally wanted to walk over and push the door with heavy steps, but when he suddenly heard his name, he was stunned for a moment. He changed his mind, stepped forward gently, and looked in through the crack of the door.
Yan Xie, who was fully drunk, slumped on the sofa chair, resting his red forehead with one hand. The corners of his mouth seemed to be twitching slightly. Standing beside him was a strange man whom Jiang Ting had never seen before. He probably had just arrived at the wedding scene. His body was still travel-worn, his expression was slightly cold and reserved, but his face was beautiful.
That kind of "beautiful" had a bit of a rare classical beauty, with a face like jade, sword eyebrows, red lips, and white teeth—even a little too delicate. But the straight and sharp bridge of the nose and brow bones neutralize this feeling. Judging from the overall facial features, this person was very young, and it could be said that he was in his early twenties, but from the subtleties such as eyebrows, eyes, and so on, it could be seen that his actual age was not much younger than Yan Xie.
He was wearing a black formal suit in a proper manner, with broad shoulders and long legs, and a steady momentum. His figure was about the same as when Yan Xie was standing completely upright. He was the type who stood out from the crowd when he walked down the street.
Jiang Ting gasped, thinking that this awkward atmosphere, could it be his ex-boyfriend?
"I came in a hurry without informing, this is my red envelope—"
"Hey, what are you doing? Take it back, take it back, as long as the person comes…"
"I didn't have time to prepare anything in a hurry; please accept it quickly. That, may I ask Captain Jiang—"
"Sit down, sit down. I'll get someone to greet you. Oh, I'm sorry, I drank too much today; let me first… blech!!"
Yan Xie staggered, covered his mouth, and fell down before standing up. The man subconsciously stretched out his hand to help them, and in an instant, both of them jumped back at the same time as if they had been electrocuted. Yan Xie was frightened like a husky with its hair blown out and staggered three steps toward the door, even waking up from his stupor.
The indescribable atmosphere lasted for a second, and the two of them simultaneously:
Man: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
Yan Xie: "You sit down! Don't move! I'll call my mother!"
Yan Xie's eyes were clearly flickering with horror, and he turned around and hurriedly opened the door, and Jiang Ting, who was caught off guard, appeared outside the door.
Yan Yan: "..."
Jiang Ting: "..."
If it was just a slight embarrassment just now, it was solidified now.
The cheerful music of the wedding came from a distance, which made the indoor atmosphere even more weird. The three of them looked at each other. Jiang Ting was confused, Yan Xie's expression was blank, and the strange man stared straight at Jiang Ting as if he finally saw his target after a long journey. H suddenly took half a step forward and opened his mouth to say something—
"My dear, let me introduce to you." Yan Xie grabbed Jiang Ting with great force as if grabbing a life-saving straw: "Do you still remember that I told you how I wanted to invite someone but was afraid that he would not have time, so I was too embarrassed to invite him? The one for whom I wrote the invitation card, and thought about sending it again and again but didn't send it out in the end?"
Jiang Ting: "..."
There was no such thing. Yan Xie's original words were as follows: "What? Why am I not inviting more friends? Those bastards who eat and drink are also worthy of being called friends?"
"He's him. Oh, we used to have a good relationship. I didn't expect him to come this time!" Yan Xie pointed at the person with a sincere and warm face: "It's a long story, his surname is Xue, and he is my… blech!!"
The miserable Yan Xie stood up and was about to speak, but his drunkenness was so strong that it went straight to his throat.
Jiang Ting saw him waving his hand in pain, signaling to wait for a few minutes, then staggered to the other end of the corridor. Bang! Just as the bathroom door was slammed closed, the sound of vomiting came, followed by the splashing of water, as expected.
"..." The corner of Jiang Ting's mouth twitched.
The uninvited, handsome man stood there with innocent eyes.
"Mr. Xue…?" Jiang Ting confirmed.
Facts have proven that creatures in nature show different degrees of instinctive reactions when facing potential rivals in love. The higher the IQ, the more this was the case. Even Jiang Ting could feel that he subconsciously stood up straight when facing this handsome guy surnamed Xue. He also adjusted his facial expressions so as to look more calm and natural.
The corner of the man's mouth was raised, as if he wanted to smile politely, but because his long-frozen facial muscles were not used to this expression, the smile seemed to suddenly twitch his cheeks: "Hello, you are Captain Jiang, right?"
The visitor shook Jiang Ting's hand and hurriedly took it back after just a shake. In an instant, Jiang Ting keenly felt that his palms were very wet, and the end of his voice was also a little unnoticeably tense. He said, "My name is Xue Chonghua, and I work in the Haijin City Public Security Bureau."
Jiang Ting was slightly surprised. Is he a colleague?
"I'm Yan Xie's…" Xue Chonghua pointed in the direction of the bathroom: "Distant relatives."
Jiang Ting nodded to express his understanding; his eyes were subtle.
In fact, Xue Chonghua didn't know why Captain Jiang in front of him showed such a complicated and understanding expression. He hurriedly sat on the plane for 12 hours without closing his eyes. After getting off the plane, he took a taxi directly to the hotel. All the way, his mind was blank, and he didn't even think of bringing something or even a red envelope. He only took some foreign currency from the ATM machine in the hotel lobby and hurriedly took the paper envelope so as not to make a joke of coming empty-handed.
It wasn't until he stepped into the hotel gate that he felt a touch of stepping on the ground—but even so, his mind hadn't had time to return to the normal channel.
"I have admired you for a long time," Xue Chonghua paused and then repeated with emphasis: "I have admired you for a long time."
The voice sounded very strange. Jiang Ting didn't know how to react. He just nodded, and then he said: "I know about you from one of your friends."
Jiang Ting realized: "Friend?"
Xue Chonghua stared at him deeply, with tired, light blue circles under his eyes that were particularly conspicuous on his fair skin. He uttered a word slowly and hoarsely between his teeth, saying:
"Painter."
——painter.
Scattered memories came along with the day of midsummer. The cicadas buzzed around the tree-lined road outside the public hall. The basketball drew an arc under the sky, passed through the basket, and landed with a bang. Whistles and cheers rang out, and someone laughed and said: "Nice assist! Jiang Ting made another three-pointer!"
"You two should have been working together long ago! Why don't you make a debut as a team!"
Jiang Ting turned and returned to defense; the wind whistled in his ears, and familiar laughter came faintly not far away: "F*ck off, I don't want to form a team. My and that surname Jiang's names don't…"
"Shut up!" Jiang Ting shouted while running.
However, it was already too late, and as expected, the man laughed amidst the booing: "If I were to partner with him, wouldn't our combination name be—"
"Who?" Jiang Ting looked back at Xue Chonghua with a hint of doubt in his calm: "Painter?"
The restroom was extremely quiet. The two looked at each other. Xue Chonghua's lips parted as if he had difficulty pronouncing every word: "…how did the painter die?"
Jiang Ting laughed and said, "I don't know what you're talking about; you might have recognized the wrong person."
Xue Chonghua stared at him, and Jiang Ting politely signaled: "I'm going to see Yan Xie, I'm sorry, excuse me…"
"Wait!"
Jiang Ting paused, only to see Xue Chonghua grabbing his shoulder from behind, the back of his hand bulging due to excessive force.
"Eleven years ago, in Haijin City, you were the only emergency contact of the 'painter' registered on the intelligence network. What is your relationship?"
"..."
"He was exposed to protect a person," Xue Chonghua asked with a trembling voice, "Who was that person?"
It was unknown when the music stopped. There was silence in the distance, and this long silence was suffocating.
Jiang Ting finally raised his hand, grabbed Xue Chonghua's steel plier-like palm, and pulled it away from his shoulder little by little.
"Officer Xue, you can't pursue the past. If I were you, I would choose to live a good life."
Xue Chonghua's stern face suddenly changed, but before he could say anything, Jiang Ting said coldly: "If you ask me again, it is a serious violation of discipline. People from the Provincial Public Security Bureau are right in front. You don't want to be arrested by national security after you return to China, do you?"
No one knew how long the stalemate lasted, but Xue Chonghua's hand finally dropped, and Jiang Ting walked out of the lounge without looking back.
...…
Yan Xie was exhausted after vomiting. He hurriedly put his head under the faucet for a while and then violently shook his short, hedgehog-like hair, splashing water everywhere, and his handsome face was covered with water droplets. He reached for the towel with his eyes closed, and suddenly he heard the back door being opened, followed by a click of the lock.
"Jiang Ting?" Yan Yan asked casually.
The next second—bang!
A huge force grabbed his neck, turning and pushing him forward, pressing him against the marble wall. Immediately afterward, Jiang Ting's voice rang close to his ears, intimate and dangerous, like a cheetah eager to try: "Yan——Xie."
Yan Xie: "…"
"Is there something you should explain to me, huh?"
A beauty was inexplicably thrown into Yan Xie's arms… on his back. Although it felt good, he was still not used to pointing chrysanthemums at others, so he struggled symbolically. But before he could turn around, Jiang Ting exerted even more force, firmly resisting: "Don't move!"
"Hiss," Half of Yan Xie's handsome face was pressed against the wall. He gasped, and laughed, "Baby, although I've always wanted to have a field play, but…"
Jiang Ting bent his knees and touched Yan Xie's chrysanthemum: "Who is your baby?"
"Captain Jiang, Captain Jiang, Professor Jiang." Yan Xie immediately gave in: "What do you want me to say? I am willing to obey the people's democratic dictatorship. Just tell me which bank card password you want?"
"Bank card password?"
"Stocks, wealth, luxury cars, luxury watches, real estate certificates—you just ask what you want. We are a family now. It's not good to keep thinking about your husband's chrysanthemums. There are people outside… ouch!"
Jiang Ting clung to Yan Xie's ear, and every word carried a trace of warmth: "Who is that person outside?"
Yan Xie was taken aback.
"Relatives?" Jiang Ting elongated his tone in ridicule: "What kind of relatives, huh?"
Yan Xie finally understood something, and the expression in his eyes changed, showing a strange expression of suppressing a smile.
Jiang Ting: "You still have three seconds to confess and be lenient; otherwise, from next year, you'll celebrate today's date as your first anniversary of becoming a divorced man…"
Whoosh!
Yan Xie suddenly forcibly broke free from the shackles, picked up Jiang Ting, and hugged him on the washroom counter indiscriminately, forcing him to sit with his knees apart, and then squeezed into between his thighs, pinching his chin.
The attacking position was suddenly reversed, and Jiang Ting was forced to raise his head: "What are you doing?"
Yan Xie stared at him condescendingly: "Want to know?"
If one looked carefully, one would find that Jiang Ting's eyelids suddenly jumped ominously.
"His name is Xue Chonghua," Yan Xie smiled slightly: "His great-grandfather is my great-grandfather's younger brother, his mother is my grandfather's niece, and he is also my distant cousin. He was also a haunting nightmare in my teenage years — the legendary 'other people's child' who was obedient, sensible, and had good grades."
The locked bathroom fell into silence.
The two looked at each other.
"..." Jiang Ting said calmly, "I don't have any other ideas; you misunderstood. The main reason is that you two were very awkward…"
"That's because he used to have a serious obsession with cleanliness." Yan Xie said leisurely, "A few years ago, I was injured in a cross-province operation and was sent to the hospital urgently. It happened that he was also on duty in that city, and the provincial department asked him to go immediately to take a look at my situation. However, when he appeared by the ambulance, the nurse just asked him to help carry the stretcher, and at that moment he vomited. He vomited all over me, who was about to be pushed to be rescued."
Jiang Ting mouthed a silent "ah".
"What's even more exaggerated is that he vomited the second time immediately. Imagine my feelings of shock, despair, dying, and lying on a stretcher with nowhere to hide." Yan Xie said politely: "I haven't seen him since that time. We haven't even made a phone call for so many years, and we've even blocked each other in our Wechat moments."
"So," Yan Xie stared at Jiang Ting with interest as if concluding his statement, "I'm just curious, why did he fly over ten hours to see you?"
Yan Xie lowered his head, and the two of them almost had their noses touching. After a while, Yan Xie rubbed the bridge of Jiang Ting's nose intimately, bowed his head, and gave him a long and hard kiss.
"Coming here to question me…" Yan Xie ignored Jiang Ting's denial and evasion and murmured with a smile between his lips and teeth: "Look at your jealousy…"
Jiang Ting pretended nothing happened. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and he put one hand on Yan Xie's chest, pushing him back. There were two knocks on the bathroom door while they were struggling, but they didn't bother to pay attention, and then there was another knock.
"Someone is here!" Yan Xie roared.
"Hello!" The hotel waiter shouted outside the door, babbling in English for a while.
Yan Xie was confused when he heard this and was about to answer: "There is someone! Come back later!" But Jiang Ting gasped slightly, showing a puzzled look.
"What happened?"
"He said that someone who was not on the guest list just came to the front desk and left a gift, saying that it was something urgently needed for the wedding and they must notify you immediately, and then he left."
Yan Xie was puzzled: "What?"
The two looked at each other, and both saw the doubt in the other's eyes. It couldn't be Xue Chonghua; that silly X just wrapped the cash in a white paper envelope, so who else could it be?
After a while, Yan Xie made a decision: "Let's go and have a look."