Chapter 31

coincide?

The sinking pool doesn't believe it.

Upon hearing this, he immediately perked up, his waist and legs no longer felt sore, and he pulled Cen Zhao aside to ask him to explain in detail.

Cen Zhao was at a loss for words. "How can I explain this in detail? The severed hand was submerged in the seawater for so long that there's basically no useful information to be extracted. We can only estimate its approximate bone age based on the closure of the metacarpal epiphysis. I'm not following up on this matter right now, so I only heard the general idea. The deceased was likely a man, around sixty years old."

Chen Liuchi had heard Jiang Bozheng mention this before. It seemed that his father got married and had children in his twenties, so he should be around sixty years old now, which was indeed consistent with Jiang Bozheng's father.

"But you said the deceased..." Chen Liuchi was a little surprised: "Is it confirmed that he is gone?"

Cen Zhao was certain of this: "The scars on the wrists indicate post-mortem injuries."

Upon hearing this, Chen Liuchi immediately used his imagination: "Could it be that Jiang Bozheng ran up gambling debts and couldn't pay them back, so his body was dismembered and thrown into the sea to feed the sharks?"

Cen Zhao shrugged his shoulders, meaning that we can only use one hand and cannot infer too much.

"However, it's been so long since the incident happened, and we haven't received any reports or other leads. Based on our previous experience, it's more likely that the deceased was someone involved in the incident. He has been hiding his whereabouts for many years, or he has no close family, so no one noticed his disappearance."

People involved in the case?

Chen Liuchi didn't think that Old Man Jiang could do anything great. At most, he might have spent too much money playing mahjong and couldn't pay it back, but for the sake of his precious son, he couldn't say no.

"It's okay. When we get back, I'll have Zeng Baoguo try to contact the other party's family to see if they're willing to provide a DNA comparison."

Cen Zhao had just said this casually, but seeing Chen Liuchi frowning and worrying about others, he became unhappy and secretly cursed himself for being nosy.

"Does your throat still hurt?" Cen Zhao brought the water cup from the bedside table over to him. His eyes fell on Shen Liuchi's lips, and he frowned slightly. "The corners of your lips are a little chapped. Is it because the room is too dry?"

Chen Liuchi took the cup of water and glanced at him speechlessly: "The air conditioner is so innocent that it has to take the blame for Sir Cen."

Cen Zhao's initial reaction was two seconds too slow, and his brows furrowed even tighter: "Me? How could I..."

After a pause, Cen Zhao understood.

The corners of his lips unconsciously curled up, but when he met Shen Liuchi's resentful gaze, he forced himself to suppress the smile, leaned forward and kissed the tiny wound at the corner of his lips in a flattering manner: "It's my fault."

Chenliuchi's ears were a little red, and his eyes were wandering as he held the cup of water.

Although it was indeed Cen Zhao's fault, he had to admit that he felt great too. The usually calm and solemn man's face flushed with desire in front of him, which was even more exciting than his own relief. Even just recalling the moment, Chen Liuchi felt his breath getting hot, and his palms and throat seemed to feel Cen Zhao's extremely strong presence again.

"Xiaochi?"

Chen Liuchi's blushing and fluttering face didn't make sense to Cen Zhao. He touched the forehead of the man in front of him with some concern. Although he didn't feel anything wrong with the temperature, he still assumed that he must be feeling unwell. "Just lie down. I'll bring you food."

Chen Liuchi's waist and legs were indeed sore, and he was happy to lie in bed and be served, but Cen Zhao's service was indeed too meticulous. At first, Chen Liuchi was enjoying it with peace of mind, until Cen Zhao reached into the quilt and landed his hand accurately on his buttocks. Boss Shen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and struggled: "What do you want?"

His reaction was a bit intense, and Cen Zhao nearly kicked him in the chin. He dodged back a bit and couldn't help but laugh, "You're quite energetic."

Chen Liuchi stared at him warily, and wrapped himself tightly in the quilt: "Even if I have the energy, I won't come." He even felt that his buttocks were not closed.

Cen Zhao flicked his forehead and shook the ointment in his hand: "Am I that hungry? I'm just applying the medicine to you."

That's even worse! Chen Liuchi is conscious and has good arms and legs, so there's no need for him to do this. Hearing this, he raised his hand to grab the ointment: "I can do it myself!"

Cen Zhao didn't waste time talking to him. While he was struggling, he put one hand under the quilt and fastened it around Shen Liuchi's waist. Then he pushed outward with his elbows and shoulders, and the quilt was lifted up in an arc, effortlessly invading Chen Liuchi's last and only line of defense.

"Cen Zhao!"

Chen Liuchi was still struggling, but was worried about his arm and didn't dare to go too far. But this was in broad daylight, and he really couldn't accept it.

"Be obedient, okay?"

Seeing how resistant he was, Cen Zhao was afraid he might strain his hips, so he slowly loosened his grip and said, "I don't want you to feel any pain."

Chen Liuchi couldn't stand Cen Zhao talking to him in a soft voice, but as a grown man, he felt his scalp tingling just thinking about having someone do this to him.

The two of them were in a stalemate for a while, and finally Cen Zhao released his strength and completely withdrew his hand. He put the ointment in Chen Liuchi's hand and rubbed his head: "Then do it yourself, go slowly, don't hurt yourself."

Chen Liuchi nodded hurriedly and breathed a sigh of relief, but he soon realized that he had breathed a sigh of relief a little too early.

"Why don't you go out?" He looked at Cen Zhao who was sitting motionless on the bed, and felt that something was wrong.

Cen Zhao blinked and said, "I'm afraid you might hurt yourself, so I can't rest easy without you watching."

Chenliuchi immediately wanted to roar. What's the difference between just watching and doing it yourself?!

Cen Zhao seemed to be completely unaware of Chen Liuchi's predicament. He stood motionless beside the bed like an old monk in meditation, with the word "expectation" almost written on his face.

Chen Liuchi was a fool if he couldn't see that this person was deliberately doing bad things. He threw the ointment and the quilt, wrapped himself up like a silkworm chrysalis, and cursed in a low voice: "Get out, pervert!"

Cen Zhao was amused by the scolding and laughed out loud. Before he was with Shen Liuchi, he really didn't think he loved to laugh so much. Is it true that love makes people less intelligent?

The phone rang in the living room. Cen Zhao picked up the ointment and placed it on the bedside. He patted the 'silkworm chrysalis' through the quilt and said, "I'm not going to tease you anymore. I'm going to answer the phone."

The cicada pupae in the sinking pond churned twice and made no sound.

Cen Zhao rubbed his waist twice, then stood up and walked out.

After making sure that the other party had really left, Chen Liuchi lifted the quilt, stared at the ointment on the bedside for a few seconds, and finally got out of bed, limping into the bathroom holding the ointment.

When Cen Zhao came out of the sinking pool, he had just finished a call. He subconsciously checked the time. It had been nearly twenty minutes. Was it a work call?

"Why did you come out? Didn't you eat enough?"

Cen Zhao put down his phone and walked over. His hand naturally fell on Shen Liuchi's waist and rubbed it. "Would you like to sit for a while? I was just marinating the meat filling in the kitchen. Are you going to have wontons for dinner?"

Chenliuchi was not picky: "It's all right. Do you have a job? You've been on the phone for so long."

The tone of his voice was slightly different from usual, very subtle, but Cen Zhao could hear it. He didn't go to the kitchen, but put his arm around Chen Liuchi's waist and led him to sit on the sofa.

"It's not busy, it's just that the department is short of young people and urgently needs new blood. Zeng Baoguo just called me to complain that the director in charge of interviews in our department is too picky. According to his high standards and strict requirements, the three of us will be working in our positions until we die."

Chen Liuchi vaguely heard that the leader of Cen Zhao's department was an old man in his sixties. He had many requirements, and even Sir Cen had suffered hardships under him.

"The director is following up on the previous case of the severed palm." Cen Zhao thought for a moment and mentioned it to Chen Liuchi. "I've already informed him. As long as Jiang Lainan cooperates, the DNA comparison should yield results soon."

Chen Liuchi hummed, he didn't care, not even a sigh, he just tilted his head and buried it in Cen Zhao's neck, closing his eyes and smelling the faint scent of laundry detergent on his body.

Cen Zhao raised his arm, rubbed his cheek with the back of his finger, and teasingly tapped his brow with the ends of Chen Liuchi's hair: "Are you still sleepy?"

Chenliuchi tilted his head and buried his head even deeper. He opened his mouth and bit the man's neck, half in accusation and half in revenge, leaving a round tooth mark on his neck. "What do you think?"

Cen Zhao was even happier about being bitten. He put his arm around Chen Liuchi's waist and held him closer, rubbing against him like a puppy or kitten for warmth. "So, do you want to sleep here, or go back to the house?"

Chen Liuchi felt extremely comfortable with the warmth from his body. She didn't want to open her mouth, eyes, or even walk. She raised her hand to cover Cen Zhao's mouth. With a little force from her arm, the two of them leaned into the large sofa cushions and completely merged into a furry pool.

The afternoon light was hot and bright, even the air was drowsy, and everything was silent.

The weekend passed by with the two of them snuggling together. Cen Zhao had no duty for the past two days, not to mention Mr. Shen, who had been fishing for three days and drying the nets for two days in the sinking pool. It seemed that the two of them had some kind of magnetic field that was invisible to others. Just by looking at each other, they were attracted to each other.

The two parties involved were completely unaware of this atmosphere, but Zeng Baoguo, who came to eat for free, suffered the most. He felt something was wrong the moment he stepped into Cen Zhao's house.

First, his signature pair of dark blue plastic old slippers were gone.

Cen Zhao took out a new pair from the cabinet next to him and said casually, "Xiao Chi said that pair was a bit old, so he threw it away and bought new ones."

Zeng Baoguo raised his eyebrows and stepped into the new slippers, thinking that this house is different now that there is an owner. The feel of the slippers is three levels better than before.

But it’s not over yet.

The food was laid out and ready for dinner. Zeng Baoguo washed his hands and walked around the kitchen, scratching his head and wondering, "Where are the dishes? Aren't they always here?"

Cen Zhao washed his hands slowly, squatted down, opened the door, and revealed the disinfection cabinet that Shenliuchi had recently purchased. "Here, Xiaochi said it's easy to get dusty and unhygienic if it's left out in the open. We spent half an hour picking this cabinet out."

Zeng Baoguo took a deep breath, smelled the aroma of hot pot wafting through the room, and endured it.

There were two kinds of soup base prepared: spicy and mushroom soup. Chen Liuchi and Cen Zhao both sat on the white soup side tacitly.

Zeng Baoguo, a lonely man, sat behind the red soup, watching the two of them chatting and laughing, and couldn't help but feel sad: "Boss Shen, I remember you can eat spicy food. Don't lose yourself for Lao Cen!"

The distance between red soup and white soup is like the distance between you and me! There is a gap as wide as a bench!

Upon hearing this, Chen Liuchi paused with his chopsticks and immediately turned his head to glare at the culprit.

Why can I only eat mushroom soup?

Cen Zhao calmly ate mutton hot pot, turning a deaf ear to his friend's accusations. Only when his wife glared at him did he lower his lip in a flattering manner and put the hot pot beef tripe into the bowl in the sink.

Zeng Baoguo not only did not get an explanation, but also did not get any beef. He instantly wanted to burst into tears.

But it's no use streaming because no one is watching him.

Cen Zhao was concentrating on peeling shrimps from the sinking pond with his head tilted, and he didn't even notice that the tip of the chopsticks was about to poke his face.

“I really am…”

Zeng Baoguo sighed deeply, got up and started to cook noodles, so that he could finish eating as soon as possible and leave.

“Tsk.”

Cen Zhao was very dissatisfied with the noodles and pushed them to his side with his serving chopsticks: "Xiao Chi also wants to eat yellow throat."

The implication is, why are you in such a hurry?

Zeng Baoguo said sourly: "I am different from you guys who have families. I still have to go back to the bureau to work overtime."

Cen Zhao finally gave him a look: "Working overtime? Any cases lately?"

Seeing that he had a topic of his own, Zeng Baoguo put down his bowl and cleared his throat. He took out his phone mysteriously and raised an eyebrow at the two of them: "I just received a message. You will never guess it."

"Jiang Lainan's DNA doesn't match that severed palm!"

"But Jiang Bozheng's can match up."

"In other words, Jiang Lainan has no blood relationship with these two people at all!"