Chapter 14
Although he learned through "household registration" that Lin Xian had an expensive apartment in Guanhu No. 1, Lu Chengtian's intuition told him that Lin Xian would return to the old and dilapidated apartment in Honghua Community tonight.
There was a faint scent of sandalwood floating in Lin Xian's horse herder.
Thinking of his meeting with the people from Zhou Group in the mountain club, Lu Chengtian felt inexplicably irritated. He rolled down the car window and the cold night wind blew in.
The killer's dying words echoed in his ears, like Mephistopheles whispering sweet nothings to Faust: "Officer, you know, these drug dealers all like this, it's so exciting—"
He gripped the steering wheel that Lin Xian had gripped countless times, increased the strength of his feet, and the Wrangler roared, leaving the crowd in the sticky and cold night.
The biggest shortage in old residential areas is parking spaces. Lu Chengtian finally found a gap to park his car, walked downstairs to Lin Xian's house, and found that the windows on his floor were pitch black.
Thinking of him and Zhou Mubai going in and out of the mountain club together, Lu Chengtian, who was always calm and without any mood swings, felt inexplicably irritated and angry.
Even so, my hand had already involuntarily opened the food delivery app and ordered a can of highly praised and expensive tofu and fish soup - delivered in forty-five minutes.
"I'll just wait for him for forty-five minutes. If he doesn't come when the takeaway is delivered, I'll leave," he thought.
He stood at the foot of the dark building, where dim lights were on behind the glass windows of several houses. He lowered his head and walked into the old apartment building.
A familiar damp and musty smell hit me in the face.
He turned on the flashlight on his phone to illuminate the road ahead, and met Aunt Zhang coming down the street.
With the help of the flashlight, Aunt Zhang saw the young man in front of her clearly. Because she had been doing small business outside for a long time, she was quite familiar with people. She looked at Lu Chengtian and asked, "Young man, do you live here? I haven't seen you before."
"I'm looking for Lin Xian." Lu Chengtian moved sideways and made room on the narrow staircase for Aunt Zhang to pass through.
When Aunt Zhang heard the name "Lin Xian," she became interested: "Are you his friend?"
"Yeah." Lu Chengtian stopped. He wanted to know more about Lin Xian from the woman in front of him: "Do you know him?"
Aunt Zhang also stopped and turned to look at Lu Chengtian and said, "Xiao Lin used to live here, but now he only comes a few times a month. He's handsome and kind-hearted, and he's helped our family a lot."
Seeing that Lu Chengtian didn't answer, Aunt Zhang sighed to herself, "It's a pity that such a good young man is still single and always keeps to himself. You should be the first one to come to him."
Lu Chengtian was stunned for a moment before he said, "Really? Thank you."
In the dim corridor on this cold night, Lu Chengtian recalled the summer nine years ago.
He always shows his love to anyone he meets without reservation, giving people the illusion that he is affectionate everywhere, but he is completely unaware of it.
Team Lu could have used his professional lock-picking skills to open the creaking old security door and march right in. But he didn't.
If he did that, according to Lin Xian's personality, he would definitely say to him with ridicule, "Do you think we are familiar with each other, Deputy Captain Lu?"
Sitting in the dark corridor, he smiled self-deprecatingly. The lonely moonlight shone through the broken corner of the corridor window, shining on his face and casting a cold light at his feet.
That midsummer, in a hospital ward with peeling walls in a small county town, Lin Xian sat on the empty bed beside him, typing away on the keyboard. Moonlight and the soft glow of the laptop screen illuminated his face and his long, beautiful fingers.
The sound of typing on the keyboard was the perfect ASMR, allowing him to easily fall into a rare dreamless sleep one after another.
From time to time, the man would turn around to look at him on the hospital bed, and gently cover him with the quilt - he couldn't always see it, but on the two occasions, Lu Chengtian didn't fall asleep. The caring and thoughtfulness that he had never experienced since he was a child made his heart warm.
If she realized that Lu Chengtian was awake, Lin Xian would gently ask him if he was in pain anywhere and if he wanted to drink some water.
During his hospitalization, Lin Xian was not always with him. He would go out during the day, saying he was doing interviews, but in fact he was quietly helping him take care of his mother's funeral arrangements.
After Lin Xian left, the school hooligans no longer blocked him after school, and the teachers in various subjects often showed concern for him. He knew that it must be because Lin Xian went to their school and helped the lonely and helpless teenager clear the obstacles on his path to growth.
The short week he spent with Lin Xian left an indelible mark on the boy's life.
But to Lin Xian, she was just a passer-by in his life - in his own words, he couldn't even count the number of people he had helped.
Time passed silently in the darkness, the moonlight lengthened Lu Chengtian's lonely shadow, and then disappeared behind the clouds.
The bell of "Cry On My Shoulder" rang, and the takeaway was delivered. Seeing Lu Chengtian sitting on the cold concrete stairs, the takeaway boy was stunned for a moment, but did not ask any more questions and hurried to deliver the next order.
He checked his phone. It was 10:45 pm.
He put the cooler bag of fish soup aside and thought, "Wait another fifteen minutes. If he hasn't shown up by eleven, I'll leave immediately."
The coldness of the concrete floor seeped down his hips and legs into the cracks between his bones. Lu Chengtian sat there, waiting for someone until half past eleven. When he stood up, he felt his legs and feet go numb and his heart go cold.
Her mind even uncontrollably recalled the scene of him and Zhou Mubai together, and the glaring kiss mark on his neck when they first met.
He placed the thermos bag on the milk box at the door, which was covered with a thick layer of dust, and turned to leave.
I heard a lazy voice behind me: "What are you doing at my doorstep in the middle of the night?"
The thermal bag nearly fell to the ground.
He turned his head and met the face hidden in the night.
In the darkness, he could only hear Lin Xian's breathing, and the cool scent of sandalwood lingered around his nose.
Lu Chengtian was shivering from cold. He stood there, hearing his own cold, somewhat inhuman voice: "Where have you been?"
"There was an emergency and I had to work overtime at the company. Didn't I send you a message?" Editor-in-Chief Lin, knowing that he was in the wrong, patiently made up an excuse.
When Lin Xian saw the Wrangler parked in the alley, he had the idea that he shouldn't come back here. But he thought, it was so late, Lu Chengtian should just come to deliver the car, he wouldn't pick the door and lock it, right?
As a result, he blocked me at the door.
"Can't you even make up a decent excuse for lying?" Lu Chengtian said indifferently.
Lin Xian stretched out a hand from his coat pocket and unexpectedly grasped Lu Chengtian's left hand.
Lu Chengtian froze up, and when he felt the warmth coming from that palm, it seemed as if his heart, which had been frozen, had warmed up again.
But Lin Xian quickly let go: "Your hand is like ice. How long have you been here? If I don't come back, how long do you plan to stay?"
"I just thought you were a patient who had escaped from prison and hadn't had a meal yet. Let's go." Lu Chengtian put the thermal bag on the milk box into Lin Xian's hand and stepped down the stairs.
After getting up early to work overtime, being chased, and then being busy dealing with the Zhou father and son at the center of the storm, Lin Xian was already exhausted. Only when he relaxed at this moment did he feel a little hungry.
Editor-in-Chief Lin, who had been about to chase them away, gave in to the food and said, "It's cold outside. Come inside and sit for a while."
Warm lights were on in the small living room. Lin Xian turned on the air conditioner, boiled a pot of hot water, poured a cup for Lu Chengtian, and then opened the warm fish soup with tofu, and the aroma filled his nose.
The fish was white and tender, the tofu melted in the mouth, and the broth was rich and white. Lin Xian, who usually had a poor appetite, drank up the broth like a whirlwind. Lu Chengtian, who hadn't even finished a paper cup of hot water, looked on in amazement.
Seeing that Lin Xian had almost finished eating, he placed the medicine he had taken from the hospital on the coffee table and said abruptly, "As the second young master of the Zhou Group, you don't even treat your lover to a hot meal?"
Lin Xian, who was fishing the last piece of tofu out of the jar, paused.
He narrowed his eyes and said something else: "I told you, I'm going to work overtime tonight. Why, do you seem to mind that I'm with Zhou Mubai?"
"Yes, I do mind." Lu Chengtian leaned over to look at him, bringing a sense of oppression: "What should I think of you and Zhou Mubai going in and out of the mountain club together late at night?"
Lin Xian lowered his eyelids, his lashes casting heavy shadows. Then he suddenly looked up, his amber pupils gleaming with a strange brilliance. The corners of his lips curled up with a rare hint of blood, captivating him. "Didn't you hear what the killer said before he died? I am that kind of person. It was just wishful thinking on your part."
In fact, there was no need to say such words to provoke him, but every time she saw Lu Chengtian, Lin Xian couldn't help but want to say something to break the filter he had for herself.
With a "pa" sound, Lu Chengtian placed the paper cup heavily on the coffee table and grabbed the collar of Lin Xian's soft sweater, veins popping out on the back of his hand. "Can you please stop being so self-destructive, Lin Xian? I'm telling you, I don't believe a single word of what you're saying."
Lin Xian did not fight back, his amber pupils quietly reflecting the young man's handsome and angry face.
Facing Lin Xian's calm face, Lu Chengtian knew that he had lost his composure, and the strength in his hands gradually loosened, and his tone gradually softened.
"The killer's identity has been discovered. His name is Tun Qin, a Burmese national, and he's a member of the Golden Triangle drug trafficking organization 'Spirit Snake.' Starting tomorrow, you will come to the city police station to help investigate the case. Once the case is closed, you will receive exclusive information."
"Oh? Then I want to thank Captain Lu for his support for our magazine." Lin Xian smiled gently, her slender collarbone faintly visible under the soft sweater collar.
He seemed to be extremely tired, and the corners of his slender eyes were a little red at this moment. He looked gentle and harmless, but with an unconscious allure.
Lu Chengtian's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and the words that he had rehearsed in his mind thousands of times were now lingering on the tip of his tongue.
But he controlled himself very well. From Lin Xian's perspective, he just lowered his eyes with an indifferent expression.
After a while, he looked up at Lin Xian and said nonchalantly, "Although I don't know what you've been through, the drug trafficking organization will never give up until they kill you—" He paused, then continued in a steady and casual voice, "If you need free security, you can consider moving in with me."
Hearing this, Lin Xian smiled lightly and gently released Lu Chengtian's hand that was holding her collar.
He looked up at him, his gaze as if it held substance. "Captain Lu, you've already repaid what you owe me, yet you're still so overprotective. I'm starting to wonder if you have some hidden agenda towards me."
Lin Xian's eyes were gentle, but they made Lu Chengtian feel uneasy.
He took a deep breath and involuntarily took a small step back, responding to Lin Xian's gaze behind his glasses: "How can you be a criminal police officer without a desire to protect?"
Lin Xian suddenly took a step forward, her eyebrows almost touching the tip of Lu Chengtian's nose: "Take a deep breath, step back - these are all physical manifestations of nervousness."
In front of the Columbia University psychology PhD, Lu Chengtian found himself exposed. He was indeed nervous, but at that moment, even he didn't realize it in time.
The cool fragrance of Lin Xian's body penetrated his nose, and he simply gave up. "Facing someone who is not sure whether he is a friend or foe, and who may even be deeply involved in a criminal organization, shouldn't I be nervous?"
Lin Xian's compelling gaze finally shifted, maintaining a safe social distance from him, as if letting him go. His beautifully shaped lips curled slightly, "Finally admitting it? If you have doubts, then be open about them. Don't always do things that could lead to misunderstandings."
For some reason, Lu Chengtian felt that there was a hint of bitterness behind that smile, but it flashed by and he couldn't see it clearly.
The moonlight peeked out from behind the clouds and sprinkled a ray on the windowsill, cold, mysterious and charming.
Lu Chengtian looked at the moonlight, lost in thought.
He did suspect Lin Xian. He was like a foggy forest. At first, it only made people curious, but the deeper they went, the more it felt like they had strayed into an abyss.
But it wasn't all doubt. Perhaps it was also the years of gratitude, admiration, and longing that wove a vast web of emotions, leaving him no escape.
The atmosphere fell into a strange silence. Lin Xian sat back on the sofa and took out a cigarette from his pocket. As if habitually, he reached for his lighter but couldn't find it. Then he remembered that he might have lost it.
With a "click", Lu Chengtian lit the gun and handed it to him.
As soon as the thin cigarette touched the flickering flame, Lu Chengtian closed the lighter, and the silver metal clashed with a crisp sound.
Lin Xian held an unlit cigarette in his mouth and couldn't help feeling a little irritable.
He rarely lost his temper, remaining mostly calm and composed. Some of the middle-aged men at the magazine often envied his ability to be constantly on the line, and even the leaders at the table who had eaten would secretly emulate his elegant and relaxed demeanor—but Lu Chengtian always found a way to make him angry.
His eyes swept over the silver lighter in Lu Chengtian's hand, which was engraved with Burmese characters - it was the one he had lost.
"Uncle policeman, do you know the rule of returning lost property?" He held a cigarette between his slender fingers, crossed his legs loosely, and looked at Lu Chengtian teasingly.
"As a patient, you have a serious addiction to smoking." Lu Chengtian snatched the cigarette from his hand, lit it to his lips, tried to take a puff, and choked so much that he almost coughed out his lungs.
He put out the cigarette and threw it into the trash can. He heard Lin Xian's suppressed laughter: "Uncle police officer, you don't know how to smoke? Can I teach you?"
Lu Chengtian had a blank expression on his face: "Uncle policeman is demonstrating to you the dangers of smoking. Don't smoke anymore. Your lighter will be confiscated."
"Give it back to me." Lin Xian stretched out his hand.
"Unless you promise to quit smoking - but if I return it to you, you will be even less likely to quit, so forget it." Lu Chengtian put the lighter back into his pocket.
Lin Xian stood up and suddenly went forward to grab the lighter from his trouser pocket, but Lu Chengtian suddenly grabbed his wrist, and he kicked Lu Chengtian's knee.
Fortunately, Lu Chengtian dodged with agility, otherwise the force would have brought Captain Lu to his knees and begged for mercy before Chief Editor Lin. He took control, grabbed Lin Xian's wrists, and forcefully dragged her to the sofa.
Lu Chengtian pressed one knee against Lin Xian's slender legs, looking down at that familiar yet unfamiliar face. A warm breath enveloped him, as if the air conditioner was too hot, or as if Lin Xian's breath was too hot. His heart was beating like a drum.
He heard himself ask in a low, hoarse voice, "Is that lighter important to you? Was it a gift from your old lover in Burma?"
Lu Chengtian had sharp features, dark eyes that were bottomless, and a slender neck that was tucked into the collar of his uniform shirt, giving him a strong and abstinent temperament.
As he leaned forward, a pendant fell out from between his collars.
It was a small, slender ebony amulet, engraved with the top of the Chengtian Temple pagoda and a few Sanskrit incantations to ward off evil. Due to long-term close contact with the skin, the amulet was coated with a faint luster.
Lin Xian's breathing stopped.
Nine years ago, on a hot and grand summer day, the sun left starlight on the top of the Chengtian Temple, and in the temple with towering ancient trees, the chirping of cicadas was louder than the sound of people.
The silent and thin boy knew that he was going to leave, with reluctance and stubbornness in his eyes, and he didn't say a word to keep him.
Lin Xian carefully avoided the bruises on the boy's collarbone and put on him the amulet he had obtained from the old monk in Chengtian Temple. He wanted to hug the boy, but in the end he just touched his head, said something he couldn't remember, and then walked away.
The moonlit ward was filled with the scent of disinfectant and the cool ointment on the boy's body. The boy, crying silently, was held in his arms, leaning on his shoulder, trembling like an autumn leaf in the cold wind, tears spreading across his shoulder.
He said he wanted to be a policeman and make all evil disappear under the light of day.
Now, the boy has grown into a man in a police uniform, who is aggressively pressing him down on the sofa and asking him if he has an old lover in Myanmar.
Whenever he saw the shadow of that young man in him, Lin Xian couldn't help but wonder: How did he survive all these years alone?
Editor-in-Chief Lin, covered in thorns, sighed silently and surrendered. "That's my father's legacy. Can you let me go, Deputy Captain Lu?"
Lu Chengtian was startled when he heard this, and immediately let go of his hand and stood up, but was pulled back by Lin Xian with great force.
Not knowing what had happened, Lin Xian hugged him in this position. The sweater on her body was soft and exuded the refreshing scent of sandalwood. Her breath brushed his ears like butterfly wings. Her voice was gentle: "How have you been through these years?"
A loud thunder exploded above Lu Chengtian's head, and the heavy rain nine years ago seemed to fall again on this winter night.
Lu Chengtian's heart was beating like a drum. "I..."
He was overwhelmed with emotions, and before he could even process what was happening, he suddenly realized the changes in his body. Lin Xian, who was clinging to him, also felt it and immediately let go of his hand.
Deputy Captain Lu stood up at lightning speed without even saying goodbye. He picked up the coat hanging on the back of the chair, fiddled with it for a long time before opening the creaking old security door and fled.
Lin Xian, still lying on the sofa, heard the door close and the hurried footsteps fade away. He raised his hands to cover his eyes. He didn't know what he had done or said to make that damned brat get hard against him in the middle of the night.
He sat up, calmed down for a long time, and took out a cigarette, but suddenly remembered that the lighter had been taken away by the brat and had not been returned yet. He couldn't help but hold his forehead and sigh for a while.
"It hurts in vain," he thought.
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