0054 Cooling-off Period (Part 1)

Around 10 p.m., Qi Du suddenly heard two knocks on the door. He thought he was hallucinating or mistaking the noise from upstairs for his own. Just as he was wondering, the knocking intensified, pounding like a group of provocative guards.

Qi Du walked to the door, peeked through the peephole, and opened the door with some surprise.

Upon seeing the newcomer, he leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, looking nonchalant: "Hey, what brings Prosecutor Zhai here?"

"What, can't I come?" Zhai glanced at him as if it were a matter of course, then shoved him aside and walked inside without looking back.

Qi Du hissed, thinking that this person was probably out of his mind and was hitting without restraint.

He rubbed his deliberately injured shoulder as he closed the door and walked inside, teasingly saying, "Of course you can. It's just that you've been busy with your relationship and almost forgotten about me. Why did you suddenly remember me today?"

As he spoke, he noticed that Zhai had already settled comfortably on the sofa, remaining silent.

Qi Du sat down on the single sofa chair next to him, guessing the purpose of his visit: "Speak, what is it? You're not asking me to investigate someone again, are you? What was that Qu guy's name again?"

Hearing this word immediately puts me at a loss. Qu what? Qu—to anger him—Zhong.

Zhai remained silent with a cold expression. Qi Du looked him up and down, then gave him a knowing smile: "I understand. Prosecutor Zhai is homeless and has come to stay with me."

The first time they argued, Zhai slammed the door and stormed out, but he regretted it as soon as he stepped out of the building.

He shouldn't have acted so impulsively. Why couldn't they have talked things out calmly? He usually remains composed in the interrogation room, facing those glib and cunning criminal suspects. How come he lost his composure when he came to Qu Zhong?

But he's already out there, he can't just go back with his head down after only a few minutes, that would be so embarrassing.

I should have worn more clothes before coming out, at least I should have changed my slippers.

But it happened so suddenly that there was no time to think about these things.

One second they're all lovey-dovey and affectionate, the next they're stuck in a negotiation stalemate. Who would have thought?

Feeling bored, Zhai glanced at the TV screen, which was showing an old movie. The female lead was a charming and beautiful bar girl, and the male lead was an innocent and naive tailor. The female lead's every smile and gesture was like a gentle and graceful Jiangnan folk song, which made the male lead completely infatuated.

When he saw the two passionately kissing in the corner, Zhai snapped the remote control to change the channel and said to Qi Du, "Give me a cigarette."

Qi Du seemed not to hear: "Give you what?"

Zhai simplified his request into a single word: "smoke".

"Do you smoke? Here, have a cigarette."

"Who do you think you are?" His casual tone, without even looking up, displeased Zhai: "You'll know how after a couple of puffs."

Qi Du directly refused: "No."

Zhai frowned slightly: "Did you smoke them all?"

From the moment he entered, Qi Du kept his head down, looking at his phone. He seemed distracted, engrossed in something, and his replies were slow and deliberate: "Oh no, I quit."

"What did you say?" His words shocked Zhai even more than Qu Zhong's statement that he didn't want to get married within five years.

Qi Du's stern words were a testament to his own example: "I've given it up; this stuff is bad for your health."

Smoking is harmful to health. I don't know how many times I've told him this, but he never seems to listen.

After saying that, he added, "And some people don't like the smell of smoke."

Oh... that's the important point.

Zhai originally wanted to ask him if he was in a relationship, but oh well, was there even a need to ask? It was obvious he was. Most likely still in the honeymoon phase, his eyes glued to his phone, his phone practically glued to his hand.

The more unrestrained his laughter, the more depressed Zhai felt inside.

He was even more frustrated when he opened his phone full of anticipation and found that he hadn't received a single WeChat message or phone call.

Damn it, I've got the wrong person.

After a moment of silence, Qi Du noticed out of the corner of his eye that Zhai Shi's face was getting increasingly sour. Only then did he put down his phone and look at him, comforting him, "Oh, is it really that big of a deal? It's just a fight. Why don't you just go apologize to her and that's it?"

Zhai had initially intended to apologize and seek reconciliation, but he'd changed his mind. He'd spent a long time thinking on his way out of the house, his resentment growing stronger. At this moment, he unleashed it all on Qi Du: "What did I do wrong?"

That's the most fatal flaw in this argument.

He wasn't wrong, and Qu Zhong wasn't wrong either; they just had their own beliefs.

On issues they deem important, both are tough and stubborn, neither willing to compromise or back down, neither wanting to be led by the nose, and both wanting to be the party with absolute dominance.

Qi Du was at a loss: "Fine, then tell me what you want to do?"

Zhai hesitated for a moment, then said he didn't know.

He didn't want to keep giving in, but he couldn't give up on the relationship. He had no idea how much he liked her. His feelings had evolved into love that replaced desire, a longing to be prioritized and fulfilled.

However, he discovered that their relationship seemed asymmetrical. Whether in the reception room, in the courtroom, or in their romantic relationship, Qu Zhong always appeared adept and knew exactly how to handle things.

But he gradually became anxious and insecure. When he didn't get the response he wanted, he would become unfair, subjective, and irrational, just like he is now, which is not like him at all.

"I don't know where I stand in her heart. She's never even said 'I like you' to me. She has things she loves, a career she's completely dedicated to. I've never met someone so clear-headed..."

Zhai was talking about the Qu Zhong he knew, the incredibly resilient and unique Qu Zhong. He was irresistibly drawn to her, and his rapidly growing possessiveness made him eager to build a more stable relationship with her, but she said she wanted freedom more.

He became increasingly frustrated as he spoke, and his voice grew softer and softer. Qi Du listened, but couldn't offer any real help, and couldn't help but sigh, "Sigh, adult love is really complicated."

Zhai caught the key words in his words, her gaze sharpening. She immediately abandoned any talk of romance and changed the subject: "What do you mean? Are you talking to a minor?"

This is outrageous! A criminal police officer using his position of power to abduct a minor—does he have any regard for organizational discipline? Zhai wanted to arrest him immediately.

Like all wrongly accused criminal suspects, Qi Du jumped up and shouted, "How could this be? Don't make baseless accusations!" In his panic, his hand accidentally touched the WeChat chat interface, and a sweet female voice came out:

"Officer Qi, will you be coming to our school again tomorrow night? I have a performance at the student activity center."

Qi Du: "..."

Zhai Shi: "..."

Speaking out loud is indeed a sure way to get into trouble, especially since Zhai Shi heard the flirtatious "Officer Qi." Qi Du's face instantly turned bright red, and Zhai Shi stared at him intently as if interrogating him: "Why does that voice sound so familiar?"

"You...you misheard." In front of the prosecutor, even one more word would give away his secret. Qi Du gripped his phone tightly and ran to the bedroom, but halfway there he couldn't help turning back to remind him, "You better sleep on the sofa and don't come to my bed in the middle of the night."

...