Chapter 17
Before coming to the unit, Chen Pu first ran to the sixth floor of Li Qingyao's house carrying lychees. He didn't call in advance to ask if anyone was at home, and it's hard to tell what he was thinking.
There was no one there, so he sat on the stairs outside her house and took out his cell phone to send a text message:
Where is it? ⑧
[Someone gave me a box of lychees. I don’t like eating them, so I’m giving them to you for free. 】
After waiting for a long time, there was no response.
Chen Pu held the phone in one hand, his long legs on the steps, watching the night outside the window getting darker and darker. Even though his phone was silent, he still picked it up and took a look.
Then he slid his finger up to look through the previous chat history between the two.
Over the past month, Li Qingyao took the initiative to send messages almost every time. The sentences were long, and he would send several at a time. His replies were very brief, just a few words or even just one word.
Chen Pu was so absorbed in watching the show that he couldn't help laughing at times.
The chat history was soon finished.
He suddenly realized something - since the class reunion that day, Li Qingyao had not sent him a single text message for the entire week, and of course had not flirted with him again.
Chen Pu put away his phone and went downstairs.
After arriving at the office, Chen Pu actually waited for a while. The lights were already on, and Li Qingyao was the only one in the second team's office. She was lying among a pile of files, frowning and sleeping.
Chen Pu put down the litchi carefully, then sat down on a chair next to him very slowly and quietly, leaning back to play with his phone. I looked at her several times, but she didn't wake up.
After playing for half an hour, he heard sobbing. Li Qingyao's face was buried in his arms, tears on his face, and he was sobbing in his dream. Chen Pu looked at her brows that seemed to be furrowed forever and her red eyes, and his first reaction was to let out a long sigh.
Don't be haunted. Thinking this, he walked over and tapped on her desk.
He came to see her today not to give her lychees.
As an elder brother, superior and colleague, he was confused about some things before. Now that I understand, I must talk it through with her.
——
Li Qingyao didn't want to face the people and things in the past again, but this week, there was a class reunion first, and then Ma Junhong's birthday invitation. Although she refused, she saw Luo Huaizheng's circle of friends full of business atmosphere. This made her feel upset again. She felt listless the whole day and came to work overtime.
She herself didn't know when she fell asleep from exhaustion, and she dreamed of the past again, the chaos and grief, with nowhere to escape. When she opened her eyes, she saw Chen Pu looking at her under the lamp with moved eyes. At that moment, a soft and warm emotion surged in Li Qingyao's heart, covering up the despair and pain left over from the dream.
She knew that Chen Pu would always be soft-hearted towards her.
A long time ago, she knew from her brother what kind of person Chen Pu was.
However, Chen Pu's next words were cold, without any of the love that usually overflowed from him. He said he wanted to "talk" to her.
Li Qingyao cleaned up the table, stood up slowly, and said, "Okay, lead the way."
Chen Pu carried the heavy box of lychees in one hand, put the other hand in his trouser pocket, and walked in front with his head down. Li Qingyao walked behind with his hands in his trouser pockets, expressionless. The two were half a meter apart. He didn't say anything on the way, so she didn't find anything to say either.
Chen Pu found a barbecue restaurant that he often went to and took a table in the corner. He felt that it was not far enough away from the guests, so he moved the table two meters away and pulled two chairs over. Li Qingyao just watched him busying himself quietly.
The waiter came over, and Chen Pu asked Li Qingyao to order first. Li Qingyao refused and said calmly, "Whatever."
Chen Pu ordered a few handfuls of meat, and according to her last preference, she ordered corn kernels, potato chips, beans, etc., and then asked the clerk: "Do you have barley tea?" The clerk said no, so Chen Pu said to her: "Sit down first, I'll go buy some."
Li Qingyao: “Yeah.”
There must have been no promotion this time, so he didn't bring back the 2L bottle. He only took two 500ml bottles, one for her and one for him.
The two finally sat down.
Li Qingyao unscrewed the drink and took a sip, then said, "Tell me what you want to talk about."
Chen Pu was silent for a few seconds. This was not quite what he had imagined.
As her direct supervisor and elder, he wanted to have a serious communication with her, pointing out some of her inappropriate practices at work and in interpersonal relationships, as well as... possible dangerous factors in her personal emotions. He should be in control of this conversation.
But along the way, he had done so much work without realizing it, just wanting her to eat comfortably and have a good chat. At this moment, Li Qingyao, a junior police officer who was a few years younger than him, was sitting opposite him with a calm expression, holding the drink bottle he offered in one hand and resting his other hand casually on the back of an empty chair next to him, as if he was patiently waiting for him to speak.
Chen Pu calmed himself down, drove away the messy thoughts in his mind, and said, "I have a few questions for you."
Li Qingyao raised his chin, feeling that he was really slow today.
Chen Pu eased his frustration and said, "It's not a casual chat between friends, it's a work conversation."
Li Qingyao then sat up straight and put down his drink: "Okay."
Chen Pu looked into her clear eyes. At first he always felt that these eyes knew nothing of the sorrows of the world, but now he understood that this was not the case.
"What was your relationship with Luo Huaizheng in the past?"
Li Qingyao answered simply: "Ex-boyfriend."
"Have you had any contact in recent years? Are there any emotional disputes or business dealings?"
Li Qingyao stared at the drink in the bottle and answered, "No, the only time we were in contact was at a class reunion last weekend, as you saw. We no longer have any emotional disputes or interests."
Chen Pu unscrewed the drink bottle, took a sip, and smiled for the first time tonight. He said, "It's just business, don't mind."
Li Qingyao looked at his white teeth showing when he smiled, sneered and said, "Don't talk nonsense."
Chen Pu stopped smiling and asked, "Will your past relationship affect your investigative attitude and judgment on related cases? You know what I'm asking. In my heart, no one is more important than Li Jincheng, including you. Luo Huaizheng seems to have no connection with Li Jincheng's disappearance at present. If there is any connection in the future, I will investigate him. So I must ask clearly."
Li Qingyao raised his eyes and looked at the bustling city scene behind him, and replied calmly: "What a coincidence, me too. No one is more important than my brother, including you of course. No one and nothing can affect my determination."
There was a hustle and bustle all around, with lights flickering and fireworks emitting warm heat.
The two men uttered similar harsh words to each other, then stared at each other silently across the table.
In the end, it was Chen Pu who tilted his head to look to the side first. His white earlobes under his short black hair were slightly red with embarrassment, but his face was calm. He urged, "Waiter, please hurry up and serve our food."
The barbecue was finally served. Chen Pu ate five skewers of meat as a base, and Li Qingyao also ate two. Then he spoke again: "Okay, we have reached an agreement on this, so it's over. Let's talk about your interpersonal relationships."
Li Qingyao crossed his arms and said, "Isn't my interpersonal relationship handling perfect enough?"
Chen Pu thought to himself, perfect, so perfect. But it is this perfection that makes me realize now that it is not the real you.
"Has no one told you?" Chen Pu said slowly, "Li Qingyao, your smile is actually very fake. It's been like this since the first day I got to work."
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