It was as if a string of notes were sliding through her heart, composing a joyful melody. Xu Man couldn't help but deepen her smile, revealing two small dimples on her cheeks. She wondered why she hadn't noticed before that her captain was so good at coaxing people.
"Then..." She softened her tone, feeling sweet in her heart. Her words seemed to be mixed with honey, sounding particularly soft and moving. "Did the bureau impose any punishment on you for violating discipline and beating someone?"
"Yes, but that's all." Qin Shen answered her disapprovingly, "Go home and reflect on your mistakes, and then deduct some money and write a self-criticism, and that's it. It just so happens that I was so busy with the case some time ago that I didn't have much time to rest. This time I will take you out for a vacation. Why don't I take you out for a trip? Anyway, you are on sick leave, so you have time for it."
He said this in a light tone, and it was obvious that he was saying it with a smile, but Xu Man couldn't laugh. The self-blame that had been suppressed with great difficulty in her heart emerged again. "Reflect on your mistakes? ...Does that mean you should be suspended from work with pay?"
"The police don't say that, but it's almost the same." Qin Shen said, as if he knew what she was thinking, "Don't take all the blame on yourself. I said, this is not your fault."
"But... I still have some responsibility." She lowered her voice, "If it weren't for me--"
"Look at you, you're talking around the same topic again." Qin Shen interrupted her, seeming a little impatient, "If you keep saying this, I'll really get angry."
Xu Man calmed down and stopped talking.
Qin Shen: "...Xiao Man?"
"Yeah." She agreed softly.
The other party coughed dryly, "Well, I just don't want you to say those self-blaming words anymore. I didn't ask you to stop talking, don't misunderstand."
"I know." Xu Man pursed her lips, "I just don't know what to say." He didn't like to hear words of self-blame, but she was not in the mood to be happy, so she could only remain silent.
The phone honked twice, followed by a few seconds of noise. After a rustling sound, Qin Shen's voice sounded again: "Okay, then listen to me. If you really feel guilty and it's hard to get rid of it, why don't you compensate me and get some psychological comfort?"
Xu Man quickly asked: "How to compensate?" Of course she heard the teasing and joking in his words, but at the same time she also felt that there was some truth in them. If she could do something at this time, even if it was a trivial matter, she would feel better and would not feel so guilty.
It must be said that this captain has learned psychology very well. Even the most skilled liars will be exposed and vulnerable in front of him.
Qin Shen: "It's very simple. Come and stay with me and see me more often these days. I'm happy to see you."
She was stunned and didn't react: "What?"
"I mean, you should spend more time with me." Qin Shen repeated with a smile, "How about it, isn't this a good idea?"
Xu Man heard it clearly now, and her face started to get hot: "You..."
The other end continued to laugh, "If you think it's feasible, just agree to it. I'll go give Director Zhou a cigarette someday to thank him for creating this opportunity for me."
"…At this time, you still have the mind to joke."
"What time is it now? The sky hasn't fallen and the ground hasn't sunk, so why can't I make a joke?" Qin Shen said this with a smile, and then said, "Okay, I won't joke with you anymore. Are you in the detachment now? Don't leave, I'll come to pick you up and I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
…
After ending the call with Qin Shen, Xu Man returned to the office and saw a group of people led by Li Shijie looking at her with attention. It seemed that they all knew that Qin Shen had called her and wanted to know the latest first-hand information.
Li Shijie's behavior indeed confirmed her guess. "How is it?" He came closer to her. "What did Brother Qin say on the phone?"
Under the watchful eyes of the public, Xu Man certainly couldn't make public the fact that Qin Shen was punished. She could only pick out a few words to tell him: "Captain Qin is on his way back. He will be here in about fifteen minutes. I don't know the details. You can ask him when the time comes."
"Really? Brother Qin is coming back?" After getting her nod of assurance, Li Shijie excitedly made a "yeah" gesture, "I told you, Brother Qin will be fine. Who is he? How could he be in trouble?"
He said the latter sentence to other people, and his smug look was unanimously despised by everyone, but the atmosphere in the office was obviously much more relaxed. Apparently, the news that Qin Shen was fine made everyone relax and they were no longer as nervous as before.
"But then again, Junior Sister, why did you take sick leave? Are you not feeling well?" After solving one problem, Li Shijie started to solve the second one, "What happened last night? Why did one of you take sick leave and the other hit someone?"
Just as Xu Man was about to answer, Zhao Jia elbowed Li Shijie from behind, causing his eyes to widen. After a few seconds, an expression of sudden realization appeared on his face. He coughed dryly and said vaguely, "Well... I have something else to do, so let's not talk about it for now. You should rest well at home these few days, and we'll get together again when you recover."
After saying this, he ran away. Zhao Jia also smiled at her embarrassedly and left, leaving Xu Man standing there awkwardly, wondering what they had misunderstood and why they both looked like they wanted to ask something but didn't dare to.
Zhang Hongfei's arrival saved her. Perhaps he heard their conversation, or perhaps Li Shijie's loud voice forced him to hear the conversation, so he came over to ask Xu Man about her leave. Xu Man explained everything to him and returned to her workstation, sorting out the work from the previous stage while waiting for Qin Shen to pick her up.
About ten minutes later, she received a message from Qin Shen: [I'm back to the team. I'm going to explain the work tasks first. Where are you now? 】
She replied: [I'm in the office]
Qin Shen: [Wait, it will be ready soon]
At the same time as the message came, Zhang Hongfei, who was sitting at the other end of the office, stood up and walked outside. Xu Man saw this and had a rough guess in her mind. It seemed that Qin Shen was going to gather several team leaders together to discuss the direction of the next stage of work, but she didn't know how long it would last.
Twenty minutes later, the phone screen lit up again.
Qin Shen: [Okay, come out, I'll be waiting for you in the parking lot]
When Xu Man saw it, she replied with an "OK", then turned off the computer, packed up her things and left. When she left the office, she ran into Zhang Hongfei and Shen Donglei who had just returned. Shen Donglei looked at her strangely, which made her feel uncomfortable. However, the desire to see Qin Shen prevailed, so she didn't have time to think about it. She smiled at the two of them, said hello, passed by them, and hurried downstairs.
As August approached, the weather became hotter and hotter. It was only a three-minute walk from the lobby to the parking yard, but Xu Man was sweating profusely due to the heat. The red rash on her arms was also itchy, but she didn't dare to scratch it for fear of leaving scars. She had to endure it until she got into Qin Shen's air-conditioned car. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
"Hot?" Qin Shen turned his head and watched her series of actions.
She nodded, took out a tissue from her bag, and wiped the sweat from her face and arms, "A little bit."
"The temperature has been very high these past two days. Mingzhou is almost like a steamer." Qin Shen said, while increasing the cooling power of the car's air conditioner and adjusting the wind direction and speed so that the cold wind blew towards her. "How is it? Do you feel better now?"
"Yeah, much better." The refreshing comfort brought by the cool breeze made Xu Man relax completely. She smiled at Qin Shen, tidied her hair that was a little messy due to the wind, and asked him after he drove out of the detachment gate, "By the way, did the Municipal Bureau say how long you should stay at home?"
Qin Shen: "No, I'm waiting for notification. What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She tucked the hair behind her ears. "I just want to ask you if I can take a few days of sick leave."
Qin Shen almost stepped on the accelerator and hit the rear of the car in front.
"What did you say?"
Xu Man was a little shy, but she still mustered up the courage, looked up at him and said, "Don't you want me to accompany you more? So...how many days do you want me to accompany you?"
The car body shook violently and stopped. Qin Shen stepped on the brakes and looked at her with a rare look of surprise.
"Are you serious?"
Xu Man felt embarrassed by his gaze, her face turned red, she lowered her head and murmured softly: "If you don't want to, forget it."
Perhaps because they had just started dating, her attitude towards Qin Shen gradually became natural. She was no longer as reserved as before, and would occasionally act a little sweetly and coquettishly. Just like this sentence, a mixture of coquettishness and dissatisfaction, it is an intimate attitude that only appears when treating a lover. She herself may not be able to notice it, but Qin Shen heard it at once, and his affection rose immediately.
How come she is so lovable and likeable?
He looked at his lover beside him. The earlobes that showed outside his hair were small and delicate, dyed a red color like rosy clouds, and the slightly pursed lips also had the luster of peaches. Just looking at her made people want to take a bite and taste her. The desire in his heart grew wildly like a sprout.
If only the two of them weren't in the car right now, he could pick her up and hold her and kiss her and love her.
A series of long horns sounded from behind, and it was obvious that some car owner was getting impatient and started to urge him to leave. Qin took a deep breath, suppressed all these messy thoughts, started the car again, and said in a hoarse voice: "Yes, of course I do."
He said, with stars twinkling in his eyes, "Actually, what I told you on the phone was serious, but you didn't respond at the time, so I felt a little nervous and was afraid that I would speak too hastily, so I laughed it off."
"Really?" Xu Man looked at him.
Qin Shen expressed his affirmation with a smile.
Xu Man was a little surprised. Seeing that he always looked confident, she thought that everything was under his control. But it turned out that he felt guilty and uncertain just like her.
But it’s better this way. Both of them will worry about gains and losses in this relationship, so the gap won’t be that big. Otherwise, she would always be a little nervous and at a disadvantage when facing Qin Shen. Now she feels more at ease, because it turns out that he is also an ordinary person.
Thinking of this, she curled up the corners of her lips and said to Qin Shen with a bit of embarrassment: "Actually, even if you didn't say it, I would have done the same. I wanted to spend more time with you during these days of sick leave. After all, we don't have many opportunities to meet in the team."
Although she had never been in love and didn't know the normal way couples interacted with each other, this didn't hinder her instinctive love for Qin Shen. She wanted to see him, talk to him, get along with him... and participate in everything about him.
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