A ghastly sound, even worse than that of a pig being slaughtered, echoed from the old house of Gu Fan, "Ahhh, it hurts like hell. Please go easy, even easier."
"What's with the screaming? Aren't you embarrassed yelling like this as a man?" Su Hui complained while massaging Gu Fan with medicinal wine, "I'm personally trying to help you out here, and you're crying like a baby. You really don't know how to appreciate this favor, do you?"
Gu Fan made a grimace, "If it meant not being beaten to this extent, I'd rather forgo this privilege of yours. Ah, it hurts..."
Watching from the side, Lu Yi was worried. To be honest, terribly battered with blue and purple bruises, Gu Fan really looked pitiful. No wonder people at the boxing club regarded Su Hui not as a beauty, but a dreadful demon, keeping their distance from her.
Trying to comfort Gu Fan, Su Hui stated, "I know I was a bit harsh, but it was all for your own good. If you're injured this badly, it shows that you lack training. Don't worry, this is a special medicinal wine and you'll recover soon. It won't hinder my further boxing instruction."
Hearing this, Gu Fan was a little taken aback and said with a strained expression, "Such a valuable medicinal wine must be outrageously expensive. Don't waste it on me. I'm not worth the fuss. Let me recover on my own."
In response, Su Hui shook her head, "No can do. Without a sparring partner, I'll be bored. So you need to recover as soon as possible."
"What if I can't honor my commitments and fail to recover in time?" asked Gu Fan, clearly testing the waters, hoping the formidable woman would let him off the hook.
However, Su Hui's stance didn't waver, "Nope, even if you don't recover by tomorrow, I still need you as my sparring partner. You don't have a choice, since the 10,000 yuan I paid you included the sparring fee."
"What? You never clarified that when you gave me the 10,000 yuan." Gu Fan refuted, feeling this to be an unfair imposition.
Waggling her finger, Su Hui replied with a cunning smile, "It's not too late to clarify now. I bet you won't be willing to spit out that ten grand."
Thinking it through, Gu Fan recalled the hard work and long hours his parents put into earning money. He felt it was his turn to experience some hardship, no matter how grueling it may be, as long as it brought in the money. He didn't believe that Su Hui could actually kill him with punches.
Lu Yi admired Gu Fan's determination to earn money and repay debts no matter the cost. He wondered if Gu Fan's body would collapse once he'd gathered the twenty thousand yuan. Lu Yi felt obliged to share some of Gu Fan's burdens, hence he volunteered, "Officer Su Hui, I think one sparring partner isn't enough to kill time. Why not have two? Moreover, I don't charge much, whatever you think is fair will do."
With a smile, Su Hui replied, "I'm sorry, I don't have enough money. Almost all of it went towards these three months' rent. Let's see after my next paycheck."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yi felt disappointed, but Gu Fan was infuriated, "What? You want to stay here for three months using my ten grand and want me to be your sparring partner? That's wishful thinking. You're supposed to be a police officer, but you're worse than those landlords who exploit their people."
"When I'm on duty in my uniform, I work for the people's welfare. When I'm off duty, am I not allowed to work for my own small interest?" Su Hui rebutted righteously. The cheering and applause from Lu Yi made Gu Fan realize how easily his buddy could change sides.
Lu Yi immediately added, "Well said, so inspiring. I haven't heard such heartfelt words for a long time. Your sincerity touches me. Therefore, I've decided to move in and live with you guys. I want to learn from you and be closer to you."
"Dude, do you realize everything you just said was purely nonsense?" Gu Fan was speechless. He knew how hard it was to get rid of Su Hui, and now Lu Yi wanted to join in. He wondered whether peaceful days were a thing of the past.
"We'll start school in a few days and I don't want to go there all bruised up. Could you please take it easy on me, kind Officer Su Hui?" Gu Fan pleaded. Su Hui, then, adopted an attitude of mercy, "Alright, but I'm just letting you off temporarily... you understand."
"Temporary reprieve, I am thankful for your mercy..." Gu Fan stood up after getting the medicinal wine treatment and put on his clothes. His whole body was still sore, but for some reason, he felt a certain excitement towards the next boxing session with Su Hui.
Just like being passionate about playing football, apart from the injuries, there was something delightful about the sport. Gu Fan was beginning to feel the heat.
"Ok, I'll be on the night shift tonight. There might be cases to handle." Su Hui's statement reminded Gu Fan of something, so he quickly asked, "May I know if there have been any updates on our missing classmate, Li Xiaoyan?"
In response, Su Hui shook her head regretfully, "I'm sorry, until now, we have yet to find any clues. We're doing everything we can."
Su Hui's look of regret conveyed her message loud and clear. She was saying that finding Li Xiaoyan was mainly down to luck at this stage. To put it bluntly, they may never find Li Xiaoyan again.
Su Hui went to work, but a shadow of gloom had descended upon Gu Fan and Lu Yi. They were both feeling down and remained silent for a long time.
After a while, Gu Fan broke the tense atmosphere, "After school starts, Lu Yi, you should stop staying in dorms and move into my place instead, so we can watch each other's back."
"Alright, no problem." Lu Yi agreed with a heavy heart. He showed no excitement at the idea of living together with a policewoman. All he felt was a sense of foreboding. Because the mutual assistance Gu Fan mentioned was a last resort. If there really was going to be a third disappearance, then he and Gu Fan could only stick together.
Yes, that was exactly Gu Fan's thought. Su Hui was working the night shift, and this bodyguard was not always present, so sticking together with Lu Yi was the best solution. Another factor Gu Fan had to consider was the feelings of Lin Xi.
Because Lin Xi sometimes came back too. If she saw a beautiful woman like Su Hui living here, how would she perceive Gu Fan? What might happen between a man and woman living together? So letting Lu Yi move in was to prevent Lin Xi from overthinking.
Moreover, since Su Hui planned to stay long-term, Gu Fan needed to prepare to explain to his parents. His parents had met Lu Yi before, and they would not strongly oppose him moving in. When they saw another police officer also living there, even if they were against it, they wouldn't be too strongly opposed. It was like using Lu Yi to lower the parents' opposition to outsiders moving in.
That may be the plan, but whether Lu Yi's moving in could achieve this effect was still uncertain.
Just as Gu Fan was frowning, the phone rang. It was a message from Lin Xi saying she was coming to visit Gu Fan.
Seeing the message, Gu Fan sighed in relief. Thankfully, Su Hui had already gone to work, so the two beauties wouldn't meet each other. Otherwise, Lin Xi might overthink, and he would be in trouble.
However, Lu Yi still quietly advised, "Gu Fan, I think Lin Xi will find out sooner or later. In the future, she might question why you only told her so late and whether you have other untold motives. Maybe you will end up even worse off."
"For goodness sake, it would have been so much better if the one moving in was a middle-aged and not-so-attractive policewoman," Gu Fan scratched his head, thinking how he should explain things. There were things that really couldn't be hidden. The longer they were concealed, the more Lin Xi would overthink.
After an hour of restlessness, during which Lu Yi watched Gu Fan's headache of a situation, he suddenly thought: why the joyful process of dating had turned into an ordeal. Seeing Gu Fan like this, Lu Yi no longer wanted to date.
When he heard the knocking on the door, Gu Fan sighed heavily. It was time to face it. He took a deep breath, forced a smile, and opened the door, where he saw Lin Xi with a complaining look on her face, "Why did it take you so long to open the door? Be honest, are you hiding a beautiful woman in a golden house?"
At these words, Gu Fan felt a chill in his heart. He silently lamented how insanely intuitive women can be.
When Lin Xi saw Lu Yi, she was surprised, "Wow, you're here too. You guys really are inseparable, even more so than me and Gu Fan. Gu Fan, don't tell me you swing both ways."
Gu Fan just chuckled and asked, "Why did you decide to come today all of a sudden?"
"What's wrong with that? The look on your face, it's as if you don't want me here. Can't I check on my boyfriend's well-being?" After finishing her sentence, Lin Xi pouted, "You haven't contacted me for a while. I was worried you were stressing over that compensation. I saw your ad for a roommate online. I wanted to see who you had as a roommate, to check if there are any fox spirits among them."
Gu Fan almost knelt down when he heard this. His face turned sour instantly.
Seeing Gu Fan's expression, Lin Xi couldn't help but ask, "Why are you looking so pale? It's like you're not happy to see me. You haven't done something guilty behind my back, have you? And then you arranged to meet Lu Yi here to discuss strategies?"
"Oh, goodness!" Lu Yi smacked his forehead, lamenting how lethal having an overly intuitive girlfriend could be.
With no other choice, Gu Fan decided it was time to be honest, and said cautiously, "Listen, Lin Xi, this is what happened. I've finally found a tenant after days of hardship, and this tenant even gave me a 10,000 yuan emergency relief. You know how strapped I am for cash. So, I'm planning to have this tenant stay for the long term."
"Sounds fine. As long as there's money. Also, do your parents object?" The moment Lin Xi finished asking, Gu Fan chuckled nervously, "I'll figure something out for my parents. As for you...I need to do some ideological work with you."
Hearing this, Lin Xi looked puzzled, "Why does this involve me? Why do you need to work on my ideology?"