After many days of effort, the Good Sister Chicken Giblets Restaurant finally raised its sanitation rating from C to B. When Zhuang Ningyu learned about this in his friend circle, his first reaction was to look up at Yi Ke, suspecting whether someone had secretly sent the owner a three-thousand-word essay titled On How Store Hygiene Becomes the Core Element of a Restaurant’s Success.
“What’s wrong, wifey?” Yi Ke finished packing his suitcase and walked over. Catching a glimpse of the friend circle content on the phone from the corner of his eye, he was instantly baffled. “What exactly about this Good Sister Chicken Giblets makes you dream about it day and night?” It was one thing to go eat there every few days back in Jincheng, but now that they were on a business trip to the border, he was actually opening photos to reminisce from afar.
Zhuang Ningyu actually wasn’t dreaming about it day and night. He had just finished half a king crab for lunch, which was overly rich, and his stomach had been full until now. At the moment, he didn’t want to eat chicken giblets, nor did he want to eat anything else, being in a zen-like state of having no desires. Yi Ke squeezed onto the sofa and familiarly pulled him into his arms: “Want to go out for a walk?”
This was a small tropical city located south of the Tropic of Cancer, a famous tourist spot with beautiful scenery. However, because it was located on the border, the frequency of lawless elements appearing was slightly higher than in other areas. Therefore, the Jincheng Order Maintenance Department would send people here irregularly for exchange and study. This time, it was Zhuang Ningyu, Yi Ke, Qing Gang, and Liu Xiaoyang’s turn. The exchange training lasted for two weeks, fully enclosed. After it ended on Thursday, Yi Ke booked an extra three days at this large luxury resort at his own expense, planning to have fun for two days before going back.
Zhuang Ningyu stretched; he didn’t want to go out. The pure cotton pajamas on his body had been violently scrubbed by the washing machine to become more than a size bigger. They felt very good to the touch, thin like delicate flower petals, softened by body temperature, and also very fragrant. Yi Ke’s palm pinched his waist, and the two exchanged a long kiss on the sofa. Their breathing gradually became heated. Zhuang Ningyu pressed his knee against him and asked in a low voice: “Are we still going to the night market tonight?”
Yi Ke carried him towards the bed: “We’ll go tomorrow.”
So the gang eating grilled fish late at night sharply reduced from four people to two. Liu Xiaoyang sat at the small stall, regretting that Captain Zhuang missed such delicious charcoal-grilled potatoes because he had to write a report. He even planned to pack a portion to send over, but was fiercely stopped by Qing Gang. Absolutely not! The wisdom accumulated from short dramas occupied the high ground again. The domineering noble son and his 100% genius lover do not need your charcoal-grilled potatoes on such a romantic starry night wrapped in greenery!
…But actually, they did need them. In the latter half of the night, Zhuang Ningyu’s stomach was growling with hunger. Wearing Yi Ke’s large T-shirt, he sat at the table eating freshly cooked beef noodles from the kitchen, while Yi Ke was in the bathroom hand-washing the yellow banana pajamas his wife had just soiled. The two tossed and turned until four or five in the morning before sleeping. When they woke up, it was almost noon. Sunlight spilled onto the messy large bed. Yi Ke’s eyes hurt from the light, so he turned and buried his head in Zhuang Ningyu’s chest, humming and refusing to get up.
“Stop fooling around.” Zhuang Ningyu patted his head. “Qing Gang and Xiao Liu have already gone to the restaurant to order food, don’t keep them waiting long.”
Yi Ke rubbed against him reluctantly a couple more times before yawning and sitting up. As the electric curtains slowly opened, Yi Ke stopped mid-stretch. Five seconds later, he asked in shock: “Where are your pajamas?”
Zhuang Ningyu ran out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. Following his gaze, the balcony was empty. The yellow pajama top and pants that Yi Ke had hand-washed and hung out last night had all disappeared without a trace, leaving only two hangers thrown on the balcony lounge chair.
A! PERVERT! STOLE! MY! WIFEY’S! YELLOW! BANANA! PAJAMAS!
The service provided by this supreme luxury suite was also supreme. The guest room manager and the security supervisor arrived quickly within five minutes. After understanding the ins and outs of the matter, they were equally panicked because such a thing had indeed never happened in the resort. All surveillance cameras were carefully screened, but considering guest privacy, the balconies were not covered by cameras. Outside the balcony was rainforest scenery with many obstructions, and the cameras couldn’t cover 360 degrees without blind spots. As for suspicious persons… once this kind of thing became subjective, everyone looked suspicious. Mainly because there was no evidence, the final result of the incident was—not found.
Although legally speaking, when citizens suffer property loss, regardless of the amount, they can report to the public security organs, it was currently the peak tourist season. The Licheng police had to deal with a large number of various tourist cases every day and were exhausted, severely understaffed. Zhuang Ningyu felt that his old pajamas worth ninety-nine yuan really didn’t warrant causing more trouble for his colleagues, so he comforted Yi Ke: “Alright, alright, it’s fine.”
Yi Ke sat on the sofa for five minutes, drank two large bottles of chrysanthemum tea to calm down and clear heat, but still found it hard to accept that someone stole his wife’s pajamas right under his nose. No, I must go look again!
Zhuang Ningyu tried to pull him back but failed; he disappeared at the door. Having pajamas stolen was indeed a bit hard to explain. Their suite was on the second floor, and climbing up from the first floor wasn’t easy. Last night, Yi Ke had casually left his swimsuit on the table, which theoretically should be worth much more than the pajamas. The purpose was indeed very clear, so it was no wonder Yi Ke was furious.
The originally planned relaxing trip to the small southern city turned into a big pervert hunt. Qing Gang and Liu Xiaoyang initially wanted to help, but Zhuang Ningyu didn’t agree. He asked the resort to send a car to take the two on a day trip, went back to the guest room to drink a glass of water, and was just about to go to the monitoring room to find Yi Ke when he received a call from the security supervisor first.
“Mr. Zhuang, we found him.”
The man in the surveillance footage was acting sneakily. In the humid and hot weather, he still wore a black jacket and a baseball cap, walking without lifting his head. He appeared by the outdoor pool at 8:25 last night, then walked alone towards the guest rooms until he disappeared into the woods. He reappeared around 5:30 this morning, heading towards another forest path.
In the monitoring room, the security supervisor enlarged an image showing the person’s face. He said with certainty: “We’ve compared it, he’s not a guest nor a staff member of our hotel.”
The behavior was indeed suspicious, and the timing matched. Zhuang Ningyu asked: “Where is my boyfriend?”
The security supervisor answered: “Mr. Yi went to the Licheng Order Maintenance Department.”
In this matter, Yi Ke, who already had high mobility, was ridiculously efficient. By the time Zhuang Ningyu called him, he was already watching surveillance footage in the investigation team’s office. Once it was determined which path the suspect took to leave the resort, confirming his whereabouts became much simpler. The footage showed the man didn’t use the main gate but went through the woods, climbed over a low wall, jumped into an alley, and hailed a taxi at the alley entrance to leave.
An investigator said: “The vehicle finally stopped at the Jade Guesthouse on Linshui Street. After the suspect went in, he hasn’t come out. Brother Yi, do you want us to allocate manpower to go with you?”
“No need, thanks.”
“How about this, I’ll get off work early and drive you in my own car. Otherwise, being unfamiliar with the place, it’s inconvenient to do things.”
The Licheng colleagues were very enthusiastic, so Yi Ke didn’t refuse again. Linshui Street wasn’t too far from here; a few turns by car and they arrived. It was very chaotic, with a jade market on the left and a long-distance bus station on the right, a mix of dragons and snakes. Yi Ke asked his colleague to park by the roadside. Two hours later, the man indeed walked out, stood by the road waiting for a few minutes, and a dilapidated small van stopped silently beside him. Another man got out of the car. The colleague driving from the investigation team was a local. Upon seeing the latter, he shook his head straight away. Yi Ke glanced sideways: “Know him?”
“A hooligan, swindler, frequent visitor to the police station,” the colleague said. “Tsk, not a good thing anyway.”
It was mealtime, but the two didn’t eat. The hooligan just bought some bread and water at a convenience store and got into the car with the man. Yi Ke sent the license plate number to the investigation team, who quickly replied: fake plate.
This kind of operation again.
The Licheng colleague sighed in amazement: “What exactly did this thief steal from Captain Zhuang to be so cautious, even specially getting a fake plate?”
Yi Ke responded with a perfunctory “Hmm,” not elaborating.
Licheng wasn’t big, and non-tourist gathering spots weren’t too congested, but the van drove for a full forty minutes without reaching a destination. The colleague saw the clue and said helplessly: “They found us and are deliberately circling us. Brother Yi, intercept the car or continue following?”
Yi Ke answered: “Continue following.”
The van sped up, but no matter what, it couldn’t shake off the small white car behind. The hooligan was driving. He cursed viciously, glanced at the person in the passenger seat, but ultimately held back his outburst, just squeezing out through his teeth: “Are we being targeted by the cops? What do we do this time?”
“Drive towards Wuyan Mountain,” the man said coldly, with a stiff accent that didn’t reveal which province he was from.
The hooligan responded, turned the wheel, and made a sharp left turn. Sure enough, the small white car followed. The night had deepened. The two cars drove onto the mountain road one after another. Stars filled the sky, and cool wind blew through the forest. Both parties were driving very fast. When they had traveled about halfway, the van suddenly braked hard. The Licheng colleague panicked and slammed on the brakes too. Yi Ke frowned. The next moment, “Bang!” A gunshot rang out in the silent mountains!
The bullet embedded deeply into the car pillar. Yi Ke pushed his colleague down, signaling him to be silent. Half a minute later, the accelerator roared again. The van drove forward less than fifty meters when the hooligan reminded: “Bro, they’re following again.”
“Drive your car.” The man stuffed half a cigarette into his mouth, climbed into the back seat himself, raised his gun preparing to shoot a second time, but a bullet had already shattered the glass first. The glass had no film, so the shattering sound was crisp. Cracks spread rapidly like a spider web. Thousands of bean-sized glass fragments spread out in a spray shape, like a shotgun. The man screamed covering his eyes, blood oozing from between his fingers. The hooligan in the front seat also turned pale with fright. The accelerator was already floored, but the van’s top speed was limited. Three minutes later, the steering wheel slipped accidentally, and the van lost control, scraping against the mountain. A huge impact sound came, and the seatbelt tightened until his vision went black, almost fainting.
“Bang!” After the vehicle stopped, Yi Ke fired a blank shot into the sky. The hooligan scrambled out of the car with his hands raised. Because the man in the back seat wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, he flew towards the windshield during the collision. At this moment, he was already unconscious. As soon as the car door opened, he rolled out.
“Wu Haozi (Mouse Wu), what the hell are you doing again?” the Licheng colleague shouted angrily.
The hooligan named “Wu Haozi” hadn’t had time to answer when a faint cry of a child suddenly came from the back of the van.
Yi Ke’s expression changed. Holding the gun, he opened the trunk and saw a four or five-year-old child curled up inside half-conscious, crying unconsciously, hands and feet tied. Because two cotton quilts and some empty foam boxes for fruit were stuffed in the trunk, they provided a certain degree of cushioning during the impact, so it seemed there were no major injuries.
The siren of 120 (ambulance) resounded through the entire Wuyan Mountain!
Zhuang Ningyu listened to Yi Ke very much this day. He didn’t disturb his grand plan to catch the pervert and spent a very leisurely day alone in the resort. He tasted various mushrooms and fish, and under the staff’s enthusiastic toast songs, drank a small half bottle of fruit wine in one breath. The alcohol hit him around five o’clock, and he climbed into bed groggy. When he woke up, it was exactly nine in the evening… Why isn’t he back yet?
He groggily grabbed his phone. There were several messages from Yi Ke. Before reading two lines, Zhuang Ningyu’s expression changed from —_— to O_O. Unexpectedly, things had developed in this direction. He immediately hailed a taxi straight to the investigation team.
Suspect No. 1, who had regained consciousness, confessed to the kidnapping case. At the same time, he stated that the reason he sneaked into the resort last night was that he wanted to kidnap another “valuable goods” he had eyed beforehand. However, the child’s parents were too vigilant, and the nanny never left their side. Although the pool party was crowded and chaotic, he waited until midnight without finding a chance. Finally, seeing that dawn was approaching, he had to give up.
The investigator slammed the table: “Then why did you steal Captain Zhuang’s pajamas?”
The suspect asked blankly: “What stealing pajamas?”
Yi Ke: “…”
He really didn’t steal them. Not in the car, not on him, not in the guesthouse. The investigator told Yi Ke privately: “He even confessed to kidnapping and killing; there seems to be no need to hide a theft… Did he really not steal the pajamas? Should we check other directions?”
Good news, the pervert was caught.
Better news, the pervert was involved in major cases, and there was hope to pull out an entire underground trafficking line through him.
Even better news, the child was fine except for a mild concussion and superficial injuries.
And the bad news was, the outlaw who stole the yellow banana pajamas was still at large.
Qing Gang and Liu Xiaoyang returned to Jincheng first. Yi Ke and Zhuang Ningyu stayed here for two more days because of the kidnapping case. That colleague from Licheng who drove stumbled into a second-class merit and saved a child; his professional honor was maxed out. On the day of departure, he not only personally drove the two to the airport and forcibly stuffed a large bag of local specialties but also raised his hand to guarantee repeatedly that he would definitely continue to work hard. In short, he must find that pajama thief!
Zhuang Ningyu: Really not necessary!
As a result, it was really found later.
But it wasn’t found by the colleague, but by a forest ranger at the resort. While patrolling the mountain one day, a ball of cloth suddenly fell from the sky, landing straight on his head. He pulled it off in panic and looked; it turned out to be a dirty piece of clothing. Looking up again, a pair of fluttering trousers was hanging on a high treetop.
The pervert thief case was finally solved. The resort’s guest room manager explained on the phone that after inspection, it was because a hole broke in the protective net of a certain wall, allowing monkeys from the scenic area to crawl in through the hole. To prove he wasn’t lying, after hanging up, he sent photos of the pajamas when just retrieved, after washing, and the big hole in the protective net respectively. He then asked cautiously and politely: “Do you still want this set of clothes?”
Yi Ke: “Yes… Mmph.”
Zhuang Ningyu covered his mouth: “No need, thank you Manager Zhao, just throw it away.”
Yi Ke painfully lost his wife’s fragrant pajamas… which definitely weren’t fragrant anymore. Greatly saddened, he sat alone on the bookshelf ladder reading In Search of Lost Time, reminiscing about every bit of time spent with the yellow banana pajamas.
Zhuang Ningyu: “Get down.”
Yi Ke: “I won’t.”
Zhuang Ningyu shook his head and returned to the study to continue working. Yi Ke continued to hold the hardcover tome, immersed in reading, “in the summer dusk and the beast-like thunder,” “smelling the fragrance of lilacs through the sound of rain”—literary youths are like this.
Time flowed like water. After Zhuang Ningyu finished his work, he came out of the study and looked up at Yi Ke, who was still sitting on the ladder. The latter immediately moved his gaze back to the book, looking diligent. Zhuang Ningyu didn’t call him again and went back to the bedroom on his own. Yi Ke’s boyish heart broke on the spot, gazing deeply at his wife’s back. Why won’t you coax me!
Half an hour later, Zhuang Ningyu, who had finished showering, returned: “Are you sure you won’t come down?”
Yi Ke: “Haven’t finished reading.”
Zhuang Ningyu never expected such an answer from him. He stood there doubting life for three seconds, then raised his foot and kicked the ladder.
The stainless steel ladder was very sturdy, fixed at both ends, and couldn’t be kicked down. It mainly served the function of “that’s enough”. Sure enough, the next moment, Yi Ke ran down “clatter clatter clatter,” whining: “Let hubby see if it hurts.”
Zhuang Ningyu leaned in to observe him.
Yi Ke hugged his calf, puzzled: “What’s wrong, wifey?”
Zhuang Ningyu answered calmly: “Nothing.”
No, there was clearly something.
As for where exactly the “something” was, Yi Ke lay on the bedroom bed. After being successively rejected by his wife for a goodnight kiss, a bedtime story, and a hug, he stared wide-eyed in the dark thinking for a full two hours. Finally, blessed with a flash of insight, epiphany! He sat up straight and switched on the ceiling light with a “click”.
The light was as bright as holy light. Zhuang Ningyu, who had just fallen asleep, was caught off guard. His heart beat faster as he opened his eyes, met with brilliance. He almost thought he saw the golden spindle of the fourteenth century.
Yi Ke lifted the quilt: “Wifey, you’re wearing new pajamas!”
Zhuang Ningyu: “…” The pajamas were indeed new, but according to the procedure, they shouldn’t have been discovered at this time, but in front of the bookshelf.
Yi Ke obviously realized this too. So before getting slapped, he pressed the person down with a “wer” sound, lowered his head to kiss kiss kiss: “Wifey, I was wrong!” Then he pulled the person up to sit, “Come, let me take a careful look.”
Very good, it was still the Taobao ninety-nine yuan free shipping pure cotton lapel anti-wrinkle drape pajama set, just changed from dandelion yellow to milky white. The buttons on the pajama collar were also unbuttoned by two. Yi Ke sighed with emotion; this was his wife’s maximum scale. No matter, hubby will do the rest himself!
Zhuang Ningyu was alert: “Hey!”
“Hey” didn’t have any effect. amidst the struggle, he only had time to turn off the ceiling light.
Yi Ke: “But I wanted to appreciate the new pajam… Mmph.”
Zhuang Ningyu let go of his lips: “Shut up.”
Yi Ke hugged him tight in the darkness.
Then looking tomorrow is also fine.
