Banquet 1.4
The leather seats exuded a faint scent of cedar, and the soundproof glass kept the Vienna night out. Fan Jinci loosened his tie, letting Jiang Zhaoyan's fingers gently massage the back of his neck.
"Tired?" Jiang Zhaoyan's thumb brushed against his protruding cervical vertebrae. "Old Master Jin talks more than an auction."
Fan Jinci kept his eyes closed and didn't answer, his eyelashes casting dappled shadows beneath his eyes. The car's interior lights made the sapphire butterfly on his collarbone flicker, much like the hidden brand beneath his collarbone.
Suddenly, there was a jolt, and Jiang Zhaoyan instinctively pulled the person closer to his arms. Fan Jinci reflexively tried to elbow him, but Jiang Zhaoyan precisely grabbed his wrist and pressed him into the seat.
"Madam Jiang," her breath brushing against her earlobe, "murdering one's husband is a grave crime."
"I'll say it again,"
"Jiang Zhaoyan, don't be courting death."
.
When the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, Jiang Zhaoyan was leaning against the headboard looking at financial reports.
Fan Jinci walked out, drying his hair. His bathrobe was tied neatly, but a small patch of reddened skin was visible at the neckline due to the movement—the spot where someone had touched him with their fingertips during the banquet.
"Come here." Jiang Zhaoyan patted the silk bed sheet next to him.
Fan Jinci tossed aside the towel and took a scalpel from a sealed bag in his suitcase: "You'll sleep in the second bedroom."
A cold metallic glint flashed through the air as Jiang Zhaoyan suddenly grabbed his wrist and yanked him. In a dizzying moment, Fan Jinci was pressed into the down comforter, his 187cm frame completely enveloped by it.
"That knife at tonight's auction," noses touching, "was it the one you secretly hid?"
His gray-blue pupils contracted slightly.
Jiang Zhaoyan chuckled and pecked at his tightly pursed lips: "I've seen Richard's throat incision—a 15-degree angle, left-handed, perfectly matching the habits of a certain chief forensic pathologist."
Fan Jinci slapped him across the face: "Get lost."
.
As sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains, Fan Jinci tossed a lapel pin into Jiang Zhaoyan's coffee cup.
"Explain," he said coldly, fastening his cufflinks. "Why is my genetic testing report in the Jin family's safe?"
Jiang Zhaoyan slowly scooped out the wet butterfly, his fingertips tapping the rhythm of the Wedding March on the rim of the cup: "Last year you were shot and fell into a coma, I had to know about blood transfusion matching."
A military knife under the table suddenly pressed against his thigh.
"to be honest."
The coffee cup was pushed aside, and as Jiang Zhaoyan leaned over, his tie fell onto the back of Fan Jinci's hand. "I'm looking for a clone of Yan Kang." He suddenly took Fan Jinci's earlobe and gently bit it. "But it seems... I've found something more interesting."
.
When Yu Yan kicked open the door to the forensic lab, Fan Jinci was wearing rubber gloves and handling evidence. On the autopsy table lay a sealed bag brought back from Vienna, containing the sapphire butterfly brooch.
“Jiang, wife?” Yu Yan enunciated each word slowly and deliberately, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists, the veins on his neck clearly visible. He held the day’s financial newspaper in his hand—the front page prominently featured a photo of Jiang Zhaoyan with her arm around Fan Jinci’s waist at a banquet, with the headline “Jiang’s Head of Power and Chief Forensic Doctor Return from Honeymoon.”
Without looking up, Fan Jinci used tweezers to pick up the lapel pin and put it into the ultrasonic cleaner: "Get out."
"Where did he touch you?" Yu Yan leaned against the dissection table, their breaths mingling as they drew closer. "Here? Or..." His fingers suddenly touched Fan Jinci's lower back, the spot where Jiang Zhaoyan had embraced her at the banquet.
The smell of disinfectant suddenly became strong.
Fan Jinci held the scalpel between the two men, the tip pressed against Yu Yan's Adam's apple: "Take it another half centimeter, and I'll let you experience carotid artery suturing."
Wen Lin whispered through the crack in the door, "Now Yan-ge has pinned Fan-ge against the reagent cabinet! Holy crap, he's pulling on Fan-ge's tie!"
Li Weimian calmly added three sugar cubes to her coffee: "I bet five hundred that Yu Yan won't be able to get into the forensic doctor's rest room today."
Situ Jin pushed up his glasses: "The coffee machine that Jiang Zhaoyan sent... has a listening function."
Everyone turned their heads in unison and found that the coffee machine's indicator light was indeed flashing strangely.
Yu Yan's canines rubbed against Fan Jinci's collarbone, leaving bright red teeth marks on the butterfly brand: "Did he touch you like this too?"
Fan Jinci grabbed his hair and pulled him back, his knee dangerously pressing against the other's abs: "Are you crazy?"
“Yes, I’ve gone mad.” Yu Yan suddenly released his grip, pulled out a stack of photos and threw them on the table—all of them were candid shots taken in Vienna, close-ups of Jiang Zhaoyan speaking close to his ear, “Do you know how many monitors I’ve smashed this week?”
Fan Jinci glanced at the photo and suddenly sneered, "Is that all the ambition you have?"
He grabbed Yu Yan's tie, forcing him to lower his head, and bit down hard the instant their lips and teeth touched.
As the stench of blood filled the air, the scalpel clattered to the ground.
"If you keep making a fuss, we'll sleep in separate rooms."
.
Wen Lin gasped as he looked at the teeth marks on Yu Yan's neck: "Brother Yan, you... won?"
Yu Yan touched the scabbed wound, staring at the closed door of the forensic room and revealing his tiger teeth: "He kissed me first last night."
Li Weimian patted the psychological assessment form on his chest: "I suggest you check the expiration date of the rabies vaccine."
The coffee machine suddenly started grinding coffee automatically, and the LCD screen displayed: [Jiang's Customized Program Activated - Voice Playback: Madam, your coffee has been delivered]
The whole team: "..."
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