Qi An was taken aback, clearly not expecting it to be so easy.
Li Yuheng raised an eyebrow: "Really release?"
“She didn’t kill anyone, she has already returned the money, and she also told part of the truth.” Shu Bai said calmly, “Master Jingse doesn’t concern herself with江湖恩怨 (jianghu grievances).
Qi An gave him a deep look, said nothing more, and nimbly climbed out of the window, his figure quickly disappearing below the fire escape.
Li Yuheng floated to the window and clicked his tongue: "Letting the tiger return to the mountain."
“It’s not a tiger, it’s a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow.” Shu Bai turned and walked outside. “Besides, the clue lies with Junwen.”
“Finding him isn’t difficult,” Li Yuheng followed, his tone smug. “I already left my mark on him.”
Shu Bai paused, looking at him: "When did you...?"
"I forgot. Anyway, I just liked him, so I gave him a small gift." Li Yuheng shrugged. "How about that? Planning ahead, isn't that amazing?"
Shu Bai nodded: "Yes. That's amazing. The guardian deity is incredibly powerful and has uncanny foresight. It's truly a blessing for the Shu family. Let's go find Junwen."
"Now?" Li Yuheng floated beside him. "Aren't you going to appease your 'poor' client, Qin Ren, first?"
Shu Bai's steps never stopped.
“His money has been returned. As for the truth…” He paused, “perhaps not knowing is a form of mercy.”
Li Yuheng raised an eyebrow: "You're quite soft-hearted."
"It's not about being soft-hearted. It's about duty. The color purifier only cares about the trauma of 'color,' not about human good or evil."
"That's outdated."
"Rules are rules. Just like you, no matter how human you may seem, you are still a god in the end."
There will always be someone who loves you.
"Then you're wrong. I'm a little angel."
Shu Bai glanced at him sideways: "...Little angel? What kind? Was it a free gift with wholesale potato chips?"
"Watch your words! I am a one-of-a-kind, supreme limited edition, radiating holy light."
Li Yuheng conjured a soft halo at his fingertips and deliberately waved it in front of Shu Bai's eyes.
Shu Bai raised his hand to shield his eyes from the not-so-bright light: "Alright, little angel." He continued downstairs, "Then please, angel, move aside a bit, you're blocking my light."
Li Yuheng chuckled smugly, his whole body like a semi-transparent red veil, lightly draped over Shu Bai's back, his chin resting lightly on the shoulder where he wore an earring.
"Light? I am light. What, you think it's too bright?"
"It's not very bright, but it's a bit heavy. You angel, you're quite a heavyweight."
“Heavy?” Li Yuheng raised an eyebrow, deliberately tightening his arms a little. “This is called the embrace of the gods. It’s full of blessings, do you understand? Others would beg for it.”
"Your good fortune is too much for ordinary people to bear." Shu Bai tried to shake his shoulders, but couldn't shake them off, so he simply let him hang there. "Besides, your good fortune is mainly reflected in eating potato chips and causing trouble."
Li Yuheng immediately retorted, "That's called protecting! Do you understand what protecting means? Going deep into the lion's den to investigate the case for you, showing up to save the day at crucial moments, and just now you even stopped someone for you! Isn't that fulfilling your duty?"
"Hmm. So dedicated that you crawl into my bed, so responsible that you nibble on my neck. Your way of protecting me is certainly unique."
Li Yuheng said confidently, "That's because I'm giving you special treatment. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even bother to glance at them."
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something, and the phantom appeared in front of Shu Bai: "Hey, Shu Bai."
"What's wrong now?"
Li Yuheng stared into his eyes, speaking each word clearly and firmly:
"Remember this. In this world, there will always be someone who loves you."
He smirked, with that usual, almost arrogant confidence, and added:
"Like me."
Get moved, then pounce on her!
Shu Bai's steps suddenly stopped.
Sparse sunlight streamed in through the window at the end of the corridor, casting hazy beams of light through the dusty air.
Li Yuheng's crimson phantom was blurred at the edges in the dim light, yet it was still dazzling.
"Oh, I understand."
After saying that, he walked past Li Yuheng, who was frozen in mid-air, and continued to walk downstairs at a leisurely pace.
Li Yuheng: "...That's it?"
Shu Bai didn't even turn his head: "Otherwise what? Do I need to beat drums and gongs to thank you for telling me this good news?"
"But isn't your reaction too cold? Shouldn't you show some response at a time like this?"
"What does that mean?" Shu Bai stopped at the corner of the stairs. "You love me, isn't that obvious? From the first day you woke up, when you let me wipe your hands, took off my earrings, and even tried to get on top of me, I knew it."
He paused, as if remembering something, and added, "Although the way of expressing it is indeed rather... well, rather peculiar."
Li Yuheng was speechless for a moment after being stumped by his blunt and jarring interpretation.
Shu Bai, as if confirming something, nodded and concluded to himself: "So, you don't need to announce it. I know what I'm doing."
But you should save those words for Wen Rui; she loves hearing them. As for me, with you constantly nagging in my ear, it's hard not to feel unloved.
Li Yuheng was speechless at his words, but then felt something was off. Upon closer examination, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.
So, do you find me noisy, or do you enjoy listening to me?
Upon hearing this, Shu Bai stopped and turned to look at him.
A breeze blew by, causing the hem of her robe to flutter slightly and her earrings to sway gently.
"you guess."
Li Yuheng's "I guess—" was still lingering on his tongue.
Shu Bai suddenly turned back, took a few steps back to him, and reached out to hug him.
Li Yuheng was slightly taken aback, then chuckled and wrapped his arms around Li Yuheng's back: "Why are you hugging me?"
"Your eyes tell me."
"..."
Why did you kiss me?
“Your eyes told me.”
…
"jingle--"
The door to the café was pushed open, and Qi An walked in.
She changed into a relaxed casual outfit, her face showing the curiosity and ease typical of tourists.
Qin Ren was wiping the coffee machine when he heard the sound. He looked up and immediately put on his usual gentle smile: "Welcome."
Qi An walked to the bar with a natural smile: "Boss, a hot latte, please. I'm leaving this city tomorrow, and I think your latte is still the one I like best. I'll have one before I go."
"Okay, please wait a moment." Qin Ren nodded with a smile and began operating the machine skillfully.
The steam hissed and the air was filled with the aroma of coffee and milk blending together.
His movements were fluid, and his smile was perfectly masked on his face.
"It's nice to head south this time of year; it's warmer there," Qi An said casually. "People can't always stay in one place. Going out and seeing the world can change your mood."
Qin Ren paused almost imperceptibly, then pushed the latte with the floral pattern in front of her.
Qi An took the coffee, sipped it, and sighed contentedly, "It's delicious." She looked at Qin Ren with sincere eyes, "Thank you for the coffee these past few days. I wish your shop... all the best."
After paying, she waved like any other customer, pushed open the door, and left, her figure blending into the flowing light and shadow outside.
Qin Ren stood there, staring blankly at the empty doorway, lost in thought.
Go outside... and take a look?
Just then, his phone screen lit up with a message from Shu Bai:
[Mr. Qin, I used our family's secret techniques to trace your funds. We discovered that the money wasn't actually lost; rather, due to your recent mental strain and memory lapses, it was temporarily transferred to an infrequently used savings card. The card should be under your pillow. It was a false alarm; don't worry too much. Just rest well.]
Qin Ren stared at that message for a long time.
My fingertips unconsciously traced patterns on the cold screen.
Memory bias... (self-transfer)
He repeated those words in a low voice, as if he wanted to chew them up, swallow them, and let them seep into his bones and blood, becoming a new truth.
Yes, he has been in poor mental health ever since his mother passed away.
It's possible to misremember things.
He put away his phone, his gentle, slightly tired smile returning to his face, and turned to continue wiping the already gleaming countertop.
His movements were meticulous, just like every day before.
…
The next day, the small coffee shop next to the office building was not open as usual.
The dark-colored roller shutter was pulled shut tightly, separating the inside from the outside.
Occasionally, a regular customer would pass by, mutter, "Is Boss Qin off today?", and then hurry away.
This city is too big; without a coffee shop, it's like a beach without a grain of sand.
…
A few days later.
On the other side of the city, deep in a noisy and chaotic urban village, in a low-rent apartment.
The new tenant is a quiet young man who is busy cleaning, trying to completely remove the stale smell left by the previous tenant.
When he moved the old wooden bedside table in the corner, he found an inconspicuous dark blue plastic bottle stuck in the gap between the back of the table and the wall, which looked like a refill of some kind of spray.
The bottle has no label.
He turned it on out of curiosity.
An indescribable smell, a mixture of strange sweetness and chemical agents, filled the air.
The young man frowned, finding the smell a bit disgusting, and casually tossed the bottle into the trash bag he was sorting.
That bag will soon be transported away, burned, and turned into a wisp of smoke that no one will remember.
…
Perhaps someday in the future.
A construction team will pry up the old floor tiles in this apartment or chisel open a non-load-bearing wall.
Then, in the crevices filled with solidified darkness, they discovered tiny, unidentifiable tissues that did not belong to building materials but to the human body.
It would cause a small stir, a few speculations, and perhaps even make it into the local news, being classified as an unsolved murder case.
But that's all for the future.
At least for now, the sun is shining brightly.
[Mini Theater] (Bonus chapter... Sigh, I really don't have the energy, so let the cute little couple give the kids a piece of candy instead. Happy belated National Day~)
Shu Bai had just lain down when she heard rustling beside her, followed by Li Yuheng's melodious wails:
"well--!"
"hiss……"
"Oh my..."
Shu Bai, with his eyes closed and brows slightly furrowed, said, "So late at night, are you performing 'The Tragedy of Dou E'?"
Li Yuheng didn't answer, but instead intensified her actions, clutching her stomach and rolling around on the bed, from left to right and then from right to left, groaning softly, "Sigh..."
Shu Bai was kept awake by his noise and finally sat up. She saw Li Yuheng curled up in a ball, his handsome face wrinkled, looking like he was seriously injured and on the verge of death.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Veteran actor Li Yuheng closed his eyes tightly, shook his head, and pressed his fingers firmly against his abdomen, refusing to utter a single word.
Shu Bai stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and ripped open Li Yuheng's clothes.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..."
After counting, he looked up, a puzzled expression on his face, at Li Yuheng, who was frozen in shock, and spoke in a very serious tone:
"Nothing's missing. Not a single piece is missing. What are you wailing about here for?"
Li Yuheng: "…………"
Whose interests did he threaten?!
Shu Bai: "By the way, did you see the little cake I just got from Grandma Zhen today?"
"...Oh, that one. It's right under your nose. Smart people can see it, foolish people can't."
"..."
"Ouch! Why are you picking my belly button?"
"Cure it. Smart people can know it, Foolish people can't know it."
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