Chapter 21
As the weather warmed up, Lin Xian opened the passenger window a crack. He rested his hand on his forehead, feeling the gentle night breeze as he closed his eyes to rest.
Lu Chengtian felt like a well-fed cat was sitting next to him, squinting lazily.
Over the years, Lin Xian had tormented herself into a frail state. After a day of interrogating people with the city bureau, she was exhausted. To calm Lu Chengtian down, she took him out for a meal.
While closing his eyes to rest, he fell asleep.
In the night, there are peddlers returning home after closing their stalls, and there are also deliverymen, designated drivers, and truck drivers who are still busy working. They are incompatible with the extravagant and decadent night of this coastal city, yet they are as omnipresent as the capillaries at the end of a giant monster, supplying the monster with nutrients.
On countless nights driving home alone, Lu Chengtian felt that he could completely empathize with the loneliness that overwhelmed the hearts of these strangers.
But at this moment, Lin Xian was beside him, breathing long and shallowly. The faint and sharp scent of sandalwood was warmed by his body temperature, lingering in the small carriage, filling every empty gap.
Lu Chengtian subconsciously slowed down his breathing and reduced the speed of the car, as if he was afraid of disturbing Lin Xian's dream.
He lived not far from the municipal bureau, and sometimes he could get there by jogging for an hour in the morning, but he ended up dawdling on the road for half an hour.
When the car drove into the underground garage of the community, Lin Xian was still sleeping, as if he had not had such a good night's sleep for a long time.
"Brother——" Lu Chengtian called out softly, but then stopped abruptly.
He gently unbuckled Lin Xian's seat belt, and instead of letting it rebound automatically, he reached out and held it, allowing it to return silently to its original position. He then picked up the spare black down jacket from the back seat and covered Lin Xian with it.
While doing this, Lin Xian's warm breath swept past his ears. Lu Chengtian's breathing was disrupted and he could clearly hear his own heartbeat.
Lin Xian's mouth was naturally slightly upturned, as if she were smiling when she was asleep. Lu Chengtian's gaze fell on those light pink lips, his eyes surging with the dark tide of the night.
He lowered his head slightly, and their breathing intertwined.
He thought of Lin Xian's malicious kiss on the black-sailed boat. It wasn't even a kiss; he didn't even have time to feel the warmth of those lips; it was like a fleeting glint, separated in an instant.
Occasionally, a car would pull into the underground garage, but the interior was completely silent. Lu Chengtian concentrated on listening to Lin Xian's shallow breathing and his own drumming heartbeat. Under the dim, ambiguous roof light, the small red mole on Lin Xian's snow-white neck was so striking that it nearly burned his eyes.
Lu Chengtian had never loved anyone. Countless people around him had introduced him to all kinds of girls, and he had never disliked any of them.
For a period of time, in order to prove to Zhao Yiqing that his sexual orientation was no different from that of ordinary people, he accepted all blind dates, either on his way to work or on the way to a blind date, but all ended in failure, and he was even ridiculed by Zhao Yiqing.
He always thought that the shadow of his childhood caused some degree of emotional disorder in him.
Until the moment he saw Lin Xian again, he couldn't tell for a moment whether his feelings for him over the years were gratitude and longing, or deep longing.
Just when he was about to kiss Lin Xian, Lin Xian put down the arm that was supporting her temples and let out a nasal murmur.
Lu Chengtian's Adam's apple rolled, and he realized what he was about to do, and immediately retreated to his original position.
Lin Xian lazily opened her eyes and took a moment to adjust to the unfamiliar underground parking lot. She looked at Lu Chengtian, who was sitting beside her. She reached out from her down jacket and checked the time. "Oh, it's already this late. How long have I slept?"
"I only slept in my basement parking lot for half an hour." Lu Chengtian pretended to be sarcastic.
Lu Chengtian was afraid that Lin Xian would catch a cold, so he turned on the heater in the car very high and left gaps in all four windows.
Lin Xian felt a little hot at the moment. He folded his familiar down jacket and put it back in the back seat, saying with a smile, "I haven't slept this soundly in ages. I'm really getting old."
"Is it really just because of age?" Lu Chengtian asked suddenly.
Lin Xian was stunned when he heard this, and he didn't realize which part of Team Lu's sore spot he had touched.
Lu Chengtian continued shamelessly, "Isn't it because you feel safer with me?"
Actually, Lu Chengtian said this half-jokingly, but Lin Xian looked him up and down for a few seconds and said frankly, "Well, it seems that's the reason."
Lu Chengtian: ...
Although he had more or less felt the minimalist style of the Lu Detachment, Chief Editor Lin was still amazed when he saw the spotless "model room".
All the cabinets are matte white, and the floor tiles are light gray with marble patterns. Under the white light, the space of two bedrooms and one living room has a sense of "no man's land".
The study door is closed.
The doors of the other rooms were wide open, and the sofas, bed sheets, and carpets in the living room were all low-saturation blue.
"Your house is so beautifully decorated—" Editor-in-Chief Lin, known for his eloquence, pondered his words and finally said simply, "Pure and simple."
Lu Chengtian went to the bedroom and took out a new set of clothes and towels and threw them to Lin Xian: "Just use them. I'll help you move tomorrow. If you find it inconvenient, I can move to your place."
Lin Xian: "I just agreed to move in with you this morning and accept your free protection. When did you actually prepare all this?"
Lu Chengtian said calmly, "I usually prepare it. It will be convenient if we have guests. The hot water in the bathroom is ready to use. If you want to take a shower, you can go first."
Lin Xian took a look at the size of the light grey pajamas and underwear, as well as the pair of grey plush slippers that just fit her feet. She looked at Lu Chengtian thoughtfully, then walked towards the bathroom without saying a word.
When Lin Xian came out of the bathroom, steaming all over, she found Lu Chengtian sitting on the sofa, watching an old Hong Kong movie.
In the scene, undercover agent Ali, played by Daniel Wu, and drug lord Kun, played by Andy Lau, are seen cuddling in the hospital. Ali thoughtfully brings a bag of dessert for Kun, a diabetic with a sweet tooth, and tells him to throw away any leftovers so his wife doesn't find out. Kun laughs, "How could I not finish it?"
Those images intertwined into mottled shadows in Lu Chengtian's pupils.
Lin Xian walked over and sat beside him, pressing the sofa slightly to create a dent, and the fragrance of shower gel was almost faint.
"Brother, can an undercover agent really develop feelings for a drug lord?" Lu Chengtian asked suddenly.
"Do you like Daniel Wu?" Lin Xian avoided the question again.
Lu Chengtian turned his head and looked to his side.
Lin Xian's face, in the dim light, seemed glazed, yet possessed a gentleness etched by time. He exuded a moisture-like air, a fresh, bathed air, while the subtle scent of sandalwood woven an invisible web, enveloping him.
"Not as pretty as you." Lu Chengtian commented simply and straightforwardly.
"What?" In order to amplify the hallucinations after taking drugs, a terrifying sound effect suddenly sounded on the TV, but Lin Xian didn't hear it clearly.
Looking at the mottled interweaving of light and shadow on Lu Chengtian's face, he seemed to see the boy nine years ago across time.
His eyes were dark, with a depth that was difficult to understand than before. The corners of his mouth were slightly downward, cold and almost melancholic.
The two sat side by side, in silence.
Seeing Daniel Wu gradually fall in love with the drug addict Ah Fen, played by Zhang Jingchu, Lin Xian suddenly spoke up, "An undercover agent never loses sight of their goal. As for the so-called love between an undercover agent and a drug dealer, it may be genuine in the eyes of the dealer, but in the eyes of the undercover, everything is just a means - isn't that what this movie is about?"
"If an undercover agent falls in love with a drug dealer, will he still remember his target?" A light and shadow flashed in Lu Chengtian's eyes.
Seeing Afen injecting the turbid liquid in the syringe into her neck, the dizzying pleasure suddenly emerged slowly from the depths of Lin Xian's memory.
It is an indelible addiction that requires even greater pain to dissipate.
He patted Lu Chengtian's shoulder gently: "I'm tired, I'm going to sleep first. You should rest early too."
Hearing the guest bedroom door close, Lu Chengtian turned off the TV and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
Then he opened the closed study and walked in.
The iron-gray bookshelves were filled with neatly stacked newspapers and Mirror View magazines. The snow-white walls were covered with yellowed newspaper clippings. The minimalist study consisted of only a desk and a chair.
Every clipping on the wall came from a newspaper called "Latest News" - that was the newspaper where Lin Xian used to work. It was forced to close down eight years ago because it often published sharp reports and violated the interests of all parties.
Under each article, "Reporter Lin Xian" was written. "Drug trafficking village," "illegal coal mine," "autism," "domestic violence," "orphanage"—the bold, black headlines were shocking.
Lu Chengtian could memorize every single report with his eyes closed. The names of the victims rarely appeared in those reports, and the calm and restrained writing conveyed a sense of the writer's immense tenderness and compassion.
Although they had only met for a week, by collecting these reports, Lu Chengtian felt that he was participating in and witnessing Lin Xian's life.
During those dark days when he was struggling to earn a living while studying, Lin Xian's reporting became the only light in his life. He wanted to become a police officer precisely because he wanted to do something truly conducive to social fairness and justice, just like Lin Xian.
In the newspaper clipping in the middle of the wall, Lin Xian is carrying an old-fashioned camera and looks very excited.
Over the years, the boy stumbled and ran, and finally met the young man in front of him, and even let him stay in his home as he wished.
There was a hint of tenderness in Lu Chengtian's eyes.
He walked out of the study, and the moment he closed the door, he seemed to hear a suppressed groan coming from Lin Xian's room.
Lu Chengtian listened attentively, and the entire space fell silent again.
He laughed at himself for having auditory hallucinations, went back to his bedroom, lay down, and soon fell into a dream.
Suddenly, bursts of sirens blared outside the window. Lu Chengtian struggled to wake up, feeling his throat tighten.
There was a musty smell in the air, the walls were peeling off piece by piece, and the sound of dripping water came from somewhere.
He stood up and walked into the narrow bathroom, which was dimly lit. Next to the water tank was an old cabinet with faded crimson paint, revealing the yellow-brown color of the wood.
The sound of water seemed to come from there. He walked forward, opened the wardrobe, and cried out "Ah".
In the closet, a disheveled woman was curled up, her face pale, a muddy needle stuck in her neck, a strange smile on the corner of her mouth, and two huge black holes in her eye sockets, with two lines of dark red liquid flowing out.
Seeing him, the woman stretched out her skinny hands full of needle prickles and grabbed his neck, repeating in a sharp voice: "You don't love mom anymore, you don't love mom anymore, you don't love mom anymore..."
"Mom, let me go, please, I love you..." Lu Chengtian felt suffocated. He tried to break free from those hands, but his whole body felt limp and powerless. A black tide suddenly surged from the toilet bowl nearby, quickly covering his calves.
When the cold and sticky tide was about to cover his nasal cavity, he suddenly woke up from his dream, threw off the quilt and sat up, breathing rapidly, his whole body soaked with cold sweat.
The night was deep. Before Lu Chengtian could recover from the suffocating pain, he saw the bedroom door, which had not been closed tightly, being pushed open, and warm yellow light streamed in along the floor.
With deliberately light footsteps, a blurry figure walked in and fumbled to turn on the ambient light on the bedside.
Lin Xian brought a cup of warm water, handed it to Lu Chengtian, and sat down beside the bed: "Did you dream about your mother?"
"Yeah." Lu Chengtian's voice was hoarse, the pain and oppression of being strangled still lingered. He took the cup of water and drank it all in one gulp. Only then did he feel better and asked, "Why aren't the old people asleep yet?"
"I just came up with a plan and felt a little thirsty, so I came out to get a glass of water, and then I heard you talking in your sleep." Lin Xian's voice was a little hoarse.
He had just given himself ten minutes of high-intensity electric shocks, and it took him a long time to calm down. He hadn't fully recovered yet, but he was busy taking care of the young man who was having a nightmare.
Lu Chengtian slept casually in his own home, with his upper body naked. Cold sweat flowed down the muscle lines that looked like they were carved by knives and axes. Scars of all sizes were clearly visible, especially the scar that was more than ten centimeters long and coiled around his waist, like a giant centipede.
This was the first time Lin Xian saw the scars on Lu Chengtian's body. He frowned slightly and turned to wipe him with a wet towel, but was pulled back by a huge force from behind.
He was about to ask, "Are you still asleep and having a brain drain?", but Lu Chengtian hugged him tightly in his arms.
Lu Chengtian hugged him, rested his chin on his shoulder, and almost greedily sniffed the cool fragrance on his body, and whispered: "Brother, don't leave, stay with me."
Lin Xian: ...
He sighed helplessly and patted Lawrence Lu’s sweaty back rhythmically: “Okay, it’s okay.”
Lu Chengtian is a cold, hard and strong man. Almost no one has ever seen his vulnerable side, so when he is vulnerable, he is particularly pitiful.
When Lu Chengtian whispered to Lin Xian to sleep with him, Editor-in-Chief Lin was unable to refuse this ridiculous request.
He lifted the quilt and lay on the other side, closing his eyes to the rhythmic heartbeat of Lu Chengtian.
The night wind, carrying the fishy smell of sea water, howled and echoed outside the window. After a while, the only sound in the room was the long breathing.
Lin Xian tilted her head slightly, glancing at Lu Chengtian's distinct silhouette in the night. She rubbed her aching wrist and said silently, "Should I involve you in this?"
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