Chapter 16

Chenliuchi's heart beat violently.

The two of them were very close to each other, and he could clearly feel Cen Zhao's irregular breathing, and he himself seemed to be infected by this rapid frequency. His heart beat hard, and the only sound in the quiet air was the rapid vibration of his heartbeat.

Cen Zhao made no further movement, simply lowering his gaze to gaze at Chen Liuchi. His gaze was gentle and patient, tinged with a hint of anticipation, but more so with tenderness. He wasn't afraid of Chen Liuchi's rejection; at most, he would feel a little disappointed. He respected all of Chen Liuchi's choices.

It was already very late at night, the moonlight was rising in silence, and my heartbeat and breathing were submerged in the waves of gentle colors.

Chen Liuchi exhaled slowly, looking up at Cen Zhao's calm face in front of him. His lips moved slightly, and the word "OK" was about to come out with his trembling breath, but he heard the office door suddenly knocked loudly and pushed open:

“Old Cen! Cen Zhao! Emergency—hiss, is there something wrong with you too?”

Zeng Baoguo had one leg inside the house and the other outside. Seeing the entanglement in Qing's office, he immediately felt something was wrong. But it was too late to pretend he didn't see it. He could only bite the bullet and face Cen Zhao's murderous eyes and said, "Well, don't be sorry. There is a case. I'll wait for you outside. Three minutes... three minutes is enough? You guys continue, you guys continue."

After saying that, he immediately slipped away. His fleeing back looked very embarrassed, but there was a hint of excitement in his body of discovering an affair and the urgent need to share it.

As the office door was slammed shut again, the charming atmosphere in the room was completely shattered.

Chen Liuchi couldn't help but want to laugh at Cen Zhao's gnashing teeth, but he was caught just as he curled his lips. Cen Zhao pinched his cheek with two fingers and gently pulled: "Are you making fun of me?"

Chen Liuchi squinted his eyes, pretending to feel pain, and begged for mercy: "I dare not, I dare not, Doctor Cen, please show mercy."

Knowing he was pretending, Cen Zhao still relaxed his grip and rubbed his slightly red cheeks with his fingertips. "Looks like I'm destined to not be able to have dinner with Boss Shen today."

Chen Liuchi nodded and didn't interrupt him. "It's just that the packaging is still unpacked. I'll heat it up when you get back from overtime."

Cen Zhao was more concerned about him: "Have you eaten dinner tonight?"

Chen Liuchi nodded: "I've been busy at the bar this afternoon and got hungry early, so I ordered takeout."

Cen Zhao finally hummed in agreement. He naturally had his own selfish motives: while the spring specialties were delicious, the foil bags had gotten a bit cold after all the work, and the flavor inside had probably diminished considerably. He figured he could take some home, try them, and practice cooking them. Next time, he could just schedule a dinner at his own home, so he could enjoy the specialties without being disturbed by some inconsiderate vice-captain.

Chen Liuchi didn't know that Forensic Doctor Cen had already set his sights on the next time, so he just reminded him to remember to eat. Seeing that the three minutes were almost up, Chen Liuchi pushed Cen Zhao out and said, "Go, Forensic Doctor Cen. Work comes first. Go protect the world and maintain peace!"

Cen Zhao laughed and pressed the back of Chen Liuchi's hand with his backhand: "Am I Superman?"

Chen Liuchi pushed the man to the door, and when the door opened, he suddenly moved closer and quickly kissed Cen Zhao on the side of his face, saying softly, "You are just Cen Zhao."

It’s just Cen Zhao, whom Chen Liuchi likes.

The kiss was fleeting, like some sweet surprise.

As the only target of this raid, Cen Zhao was naturally dizzy from the honey. It was only by relying on instinct that he caught the escaping Shenliuchi in the dizziness.

"Kiss me secretly?"

Cen Zhao's arm stretched from back to front, holding Chen Liuchi around the waist. His chest was pressed tightly against Chen Liuchi's back, and he could hear their violent heartbeats.

"Reciprocity is the norm. Why is Boss Shen still thinking of running away?"

It was also the first time for Chenliuchi to do such a blatant thing. He was impulsive when he kissed her, and felt shy after he realized it. Now that someone pointed it out directly, he just wanted to run away with his head in his hands.

"I'm just rewarding you." Chen Liuchi licked his lips, feeling that his words weren't too thoughtless. "Reward Forensic Doctor Cen for maintaining social stability."

Cen Zhao stared at his lips and felt that the small piece of skin that had just been touched seemed to become hotter and hotter. He seemed to smile, and he didn't know whether it was a smile that was meant to hide his true intentions or something else. In short, it was a very nice smile, with a bit of satisfaction that was not common in ordinary days.

Chenliuchi realized what this smile meant almost instantly and struggled to escape.

Unexpectedly, the escape went very smoothly.

Cen Zhao's arms lost their strength at some point, and he broke free from the other person's embrace without much effort. He dodged forward a few steps, put his hand on the door handle, and looked back at Cen Zhao alertly.

Cen Zhao stood still, his hands slowly returning to his pockets from the embrace, his gaze at the sinking pond at ease. The light shone brightly in his eyes, clear and untainted.

Chenliuchi suddenly didn't want to escape anymore.

Cen Zhao looked at his watch and said, "There are less than thirty seconds left until the three minutes are up."

"Chenliuchi, do you want to use these thirty seconds to run to the stairs, or give me a thirty-second kiss?"

Outside the window, sirens blared, and alternating red and blue lights flickered in the night. Chen Liuchi looked at Cen Zhao, and when his eyes met the lights, he suddenly smiled. He closed the door, which had been opened only a crack, and walked towards Cen Zhao.

Cen Zhao stood still, watching the sinking pool approach step by step.

Until the footsteps come to a standstill.

Cen Zhao's gaze fell on Shen Liuchi. Perhaps because he was busy in the bar today, Shen Liuchi was dressed lightly and simply. There was a faint scent of fragrance on his body, which might be alcohol, or something else, but Cen Zhao had no time to tell. Shen Liuchi's eyes were already very close to him.

The eyes of the sinking pool are dark, and in the clear light they look like a glass of mint liquor with ice cubes hitting the rim, clear and cool.

Lips too.

The kiss ended in less than thirty seconds, and the police lights outside the window began flashing again.

Chen Liuchi stepped back slightly and locked eyes with Cen Zhao for half a second, his cheeks turning red as he stared at him. "Let's go! I think I heard Deputy Captain Zeng calling you."

Cen Zhao didn't hear anything, but he still hummed. He reached out and gently pinched his red earlobe, and asked softly, "Can you leave it to me tomorrow night? I want to see you."

He didn't use any excuses or words, he just wanted to meet Shen Liuchi.

Chen Liuchi smiled slightly: "Only tomorrow?"

Cen Zhao went to hold his hand: "Does it feel like a burden to you every day?"

Chen Liuchi felt a little helpless and pulled him out together: "What kind of problem is this? Who doesn't see each other every day when they're in a relationship?"

Cen Zhao was obviously very satisfied with this definition of their relationship, and obediently followed Chen Liuchi out.

But after all, this was a police station, so he had to be mindful of the impact. Chen Liuchi led the man to the stairs and then let go: "I'm going back first. Remember to eat."

As he spoke, he thought again: "Of course, if you don't have an appetite after the autopsy, forget it. Don't force yourself."

Cen Zhao smiled and nodded, then shook his head: "I'm used to it. Autopsies don't affect me."

Chen Liuchi asked knowingly, "Then what can affect you?"

Cen Zhao pretended to think for a moment, "For example, if Boss Shen doesn't want to meet me tomorrow or have dinner with me, I might be so depressed that I can't eat all day."

Chen Liuchi snorted softly: "Boss Shen is not that heartless."

"I know." Cen Zhao smiled, and taking advantage of the last uninterrupted corner of the stairs, he gently hooked Chen Liuchi's little finger, "Chen Xiaochi is the best."

A small sedimentation pond is the best, but a sedimentation pond is not very good.

After watching Cen Zhao and his group drive away, Chen Liuchi sat in the car and sighed silently at the empty passenger seat.

It was already past eleven when he got home. Chen Liuchi sent a message to Cen Zhao to report that he was safe, but there was no reply from the other party. He was probably busy.

Even after he finished showering, he was still alone on the screen, watching the words "Home!" Chen Liuchi, who had been excited about the kiss, felt like sighing again. He returned to the bathroom with his phone, dried his hair, and put on his clothes. Then, he returned to the bedroom with his phone. Nearly twenty minutes passed, and the phone still didn't ring.

"Busy man Cen Zhao..."

Chenliuchi yawned and sent him an emoticon: [puppy sleeping.jpg] [puppy goodnight.jpg]

The little dog brother was very quiet and seemed to have fallen asleep opposite.

I thought tonight was destined to be a sleepless night of reminiscing and reviewing the past, but I don’t know if it was because the hot bath was too comfortable or I was too tired at the bar during the day, but in the sinking pool, I was still recalling the touch of Cen Zhao’s lips, and the next second I fell asleep quietly without knowing it. The quality of my sleep was so good that even the several vibrations of my phone did not wake me up.

When he returned to the world, the sun was already high in the sky. Chen Liuchi groped to get his cell phone from the bedside, squinted his eyes to check the time, and it was not even eight o'clock yet.

Cen Zhao replied at one o'clock last night, sending three [tired puppy] emoticons in a row, and even said the word "good night" weakly.

Chen Liuchi's fingers hovered over the keyboard for a few seconds, but he still didn't send a message. Instead, he got up quickly, washed up, and prepared to leave the house with his car keys before 8:10. When he reached the door, he remembered something and went back to the entrance to change his motorcycle keys.

It wasn't too far from his apartment to Cen Zhao's house, but it was the beginning of the morning rush hour, so traffic was inevitable. Chen Liuchi couldn't help but smile as he weaved past a line of cars on his motorcycle, and he felt even better when he caught the green light in the last ten seconds.

There were plenty of breakfast shops outside Cen Zhao's house. That was one of the conveniences of the old city: the Treasure House and the Fly Restaurant were plentiful. I bought some steamed dumplings and xiaolongbao (small dumplings) at Chenliuchi, and since it was still early, I waited in line for some fresh soy milk.

It was just past 8:30 when they knocked on Cen Zhao's door, which was just the right time for the two of them to have breakfast.

There was a sound from inside the door. Cen Zhao walked very quietly, and the footsteps were almost inaudible through the door. He could only vaguely hear the other party ask, "Who is it?"

Chen Liuchi imagined Cen Zhao's expression and couldn't help but smile. As the door opened, he said, "Surp—what happened to your arm?!"