Ji Xun discovered that Huo Ranyin had acquired a new favorite object recently.
The new favorite was the freshly made homework-style notebook Ji Xun had given him on his birthday.
Huo Ranyin first changed his WeChat profile picture to a photo of this book he received on his birthday.
Then, almost every morning upon waking up, Huo Ranyin would retrieve the notebook from the nightstand drawer, place it in the spot with the best sunlight in the apartment, lay it flat, and let it bask in the sun.
Only after doing that would he go to wash up.
Once he finished washing up and felt completely refreshed, he would first loop back to where the notebook lay, cast a glance at the pages, and then address breakfast in an unmistakably good mood. Right before heading out the door, he would drop by for another look.
By that time, the heat-sensitive paper on the pages had absorbed enough light and thermal energy, causing the illustrations hidden underneath to reveal themselves one by one.
Only then would Huo Ranyin put the notebook back into the bedroom drawer, while casually dropping a morning kiss on Ji Xun—who had slowly woken up, slowly washed up, and was finally sitting at the table eating breakfast.
And then he would head out.
Ji Xun: “…”
To be completely honest, Ji Xun had never realized that Huo Ranyin was a man who cared so much about rituals.
However, considering that he was the ultimate beneficiary of these perks, Ji Xun was more than happy to maintain the status quo and let this notebook join their little family.
The people at the police station soon discovered the ring on Captain Huo’s ring finger.
Nonsense—every time he casually raised his hand, a strand of dazzling diamonds would practically blind people’s eyes. How could they not notice?
They instantly recalled Captain Huo’s response regarding his lover back when they were at Ji Xun’s newly renovated place:
“Yes, our relationship is very stable.”
This was far more than “very stable”—this was practically dry wood meeting an open flame, crackling and blazing! Otherwise, how could a ring be on his finger before three days had even passed?
And thinking back to that so-called “he’s shy”…
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
If he was truly shy, could he have tied the person down so swiftly?
Captain Huo’s mouth really was a trickster’s tongue, too.
Among this crowd, Yuan Yue was one of the later ones to notice the ring on Huo Ranyin’s hand.
The moment he noticed it, the astonishment on his face didn’t fade for a long while. Turning around, when he realized that everyone actually believed the person who had bound their life to Huo Ranyin was Ji Xun, he finally couldn’t help himself. When he went home that evening, he brought up the matter with Xia Youqing:
“Qingqing, a happy event happened at the police station over the past couple of days. Captain Huo from the Second Detachment is wearing a ring on his hand—he’s probably successfully engaged! He really moves like lightning. Some people who’ve been dating for a long time haven’t even…”
Reaching this point, Yuan Yue felt he might be displaying his envy a bit too overtly, so he coughed softly. Holding the baby in one arm while sweeping the floor with the other, he steered the topic toward gossip:
“But there’s a really strange rumor circulating around the station saying that Captain Huo and Ji Xun are a couple. It’s so weird, I don’t know how that got started. Anyone using a tiny bit of brainpower would know that both of them are men…”
“Are you discriminating against homosexuals?” Xia Youqing blurted out unexpectedly.
“Of course I’m not,” Yuan Yue said, puzzled.
“Then why can’t two men be together?” Xia Youqing countered. “Even two women can be together.”
“I certainly don’t object to people who love each other being together. What I mean is…” Yuan Yue explained, “two men together—no matter how you look at it, they ought to be brothers…”
He and Xia Youqing stared at each other for a long moment.
It was as if he suddenly realized something.
“They’re… brothers… right?”
“Although daughters tend to take after their fathers, I really hope this straight-as-an-arrow emotional intelligence isn’t hereditary,” Xia Youqing swept a gaze over the baby in Yuan Yue’s arms, offering a comment full of pity.
By the time May passed and mid-June arrived, Ji Xun finally had his plaster casts and bandages removed, reviving on the spot at full health.
The very moment he revived, Huo Ranyin began considering the matter of Ji Xun’s exercise routine, digging out that unactivated 8,888-yuan VIP gym membership card at home.
Yet human laziness was just like that: when unable to move, one desperately wanted to move; once able to move, one desperately didn’t want to move.
Ji Xun slumped over the table, playing dead: “I bought this during Lunar New Year. Nearly half a year has passed now—maybe the gym ran off with the money.”
“Daring to commit fraud against a criminal police officer’s family member? Don’t worry, we’ll catch them and bring them back,” Huo Ranyin said placidly.
“…”
Left with nothing to say, Ji Xun had no choice but to place a call right in front of Huo Ranyin to ask a few simple questions…
Three minutes later, Ji Xun hung up the phone. Wearing an expression that looked pained on the surface but held a secretly delighted gleam underneath, he said to Huo Ranyin:
“Unfortunate news: the gym didn’t run away. Fortunate news: they are currently undergoing store renovations, which will last until the end of the month. They won’t reopen until July.”
“Hm?”
“Ah, sorry, I misspoke,” Ji Xun pivoted at lightning speed. “Fortunate news: the gym didn’t run away. Unfortunate news: they are undergoing store renovations, so I’ll have to wait until July to activate my card. But they said because I’ve been waiting so long, they’ll throw in a few bonus promotional perks when I go activate it.”
“Then that’s just right.”
“Just right for what?” Ji Xun’s radar flared up instantly.
“Just right,” Huo Ranyin offered Ji Xun a pleasant smile, “the police station is planning an outdoor training run up the mountain recently. Since you can’t go to the gym, you can do some outdoor exercise with us.”
“!!!”
An arm couldn’t twist an升 thigh—in the end, Ji Xun still dragged himself up the mountain alongside Huo Ranyin and the rest of the station staff.
This was a mountain near the Ning City Police Station. It wasn’t actually far from Ji Xun’s home, but in the nearly three years since leaving the police station, Ji Xun hadn’t set foot on it even once.
Revisiting an old haunt and viewing familiar scenery through a fresh set of eyes felt rather special.
However…
“There are really so few people,” Ji Xun looked left and right, warming up alongside everyone while lamenting, “We’ve practically rented out the whole place. Young people these days have zero awareness of fitness.”
“Isn’t having the place to ourselves a good thing?” Tan Mingjiu chimed in with sarcastic snark nearby. Ever since attending Ji Xun’s hospital discharge celebration, Tan Mingjiu had targeted Ji Xun as his personal rival. “It gives you room to perform.”
“Seeing this track, I actually just thought of a core trick for a new book,” Ji Xun nodded with solemn seriousness.
“…” Tan Mingjiu choked for a moment. He was clearly trying to pick a fight, so why did it feel like he and Ji Xun had formed a strange comedic duo instead?
“And it’s an authentic mystery trick, too—the puzzle goes like this: Person A and Person B start together at the southern starting point of the mountain and run toward the northern finish line. From start to finish, there’s only one straight track with no forks. Before long, Person A—who runs very fast—leaves Person B far behind. After a while, someone discovers Person B collapsed in the middle of the track, stabbed to death with a dagger bearing Person A’s fingerprints. Not far away, they discover Person A’s body, his clothes stained with Person B’s blood. Yet an eyewitness at the northern finish line claims they clearly saw Person A reach the finish line, his clothes completely clean without a drop of blood, and after reaching the end, he left without turning back. Question: How did Person A die, and why did he die here?”
A trick delivered in one breath was still very effective at igniting everyone’s desire to solve it—especially considering that everyone present was a criminal detective.
Everyone began chiming in at once:
“There was no blood on A’s body—did A change clothes?”
“The person who reached the finish line was his accomplice, disguised as him?”
Ji Xun shook his head: “Neither.”
Tan Mingjiu began playing the foolish cop: “The witness was the accomplice?”
Yuan Yue wasn’t far behind in foolishness: “The killer used a helicopter to hoist himself into the air and reach the crime scene from above?”
Ji Xun still shook his head: “My apologies, no one guessed correctly.”
At this point, Huo Ranyin raised an eyebrow: “So, what’s the solution?”
Ji Xun: “The mountain itself is a circular loop, so in reality, Person A—who ran super fast—was a running superman. After reaching the finish line, he frantically ran the long way back to the starting point to catch up with B. After stabbing B to death with the knife, he died of sudden cardiac arrest due to excessive running.”
It wasn’t just Tan Mingjiu; everyone present felt a strange wave of speechlessness wash over them.
Yuan Yue was the most honest, raising a sharp doubt: “Did none of the runners on the scene notice that they saw A twice?”
“Oh, come on,” Ji Xun waved it off. “Don’t be so picky. This is just a rough trick I thought of on the fly, after all. When I actually write the book, it won’t be this simple.”
“I suggest you stick to social mystery novels instead,” Tan Mingjiu squinted his eyes. “You’d better go back to writing your social commentary pieces!”
“To avoid running, you really worked hard to invent a trick where ‘running too fast causes sudden death,'” Huo Ranyin nodded in agreement.
“Cough, cough, cough—” Ji Xun looked up at the sky. “So—”
“So, you still have to run,” Huo Ranyin said warmly.
The others couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to him anymore. After finishing their warm-ups, they jogged forward in twos and threes.
At the starting line of the track, only Ji Xun and Huo Ranyin remained.
Ji Xun finally realized that he probably couldn’t escape today’s run.
He said heavily: “How about… to give me a bit of motivation… we make a bet?”
Huo Ranyin hummed softly: “Hmm?”
Ji Xun: “Let’s race to see who reaches the finish line first. The loser has to grant one small condition to the winner.”
Huo Ranyin: “Fine.”
The reply came with effortless ease, as though victory were already firmly in his grasp.
Inwardly, Ji Xun was secretly overjoyed. He had already thought of his condition: No exercising.
He believed Huo Ranyin had also thought of his condition: Exercise together.
Ji Xun offered magnanimously: “Since I proposed the bet, I’ll let you run ahead for ten minutes.”
Huo Ranyin offered a half-smile: “Are you sure?”
Ji Xun nodded with steady confidence: “To make you yield completely.”
Huo Ranyin pressed no further. After loosening up his body slightly, he jogged forward with an easy, relaxed posture.
Once the figure ahead vanished from sight, Ji Xun spun around at lightning speed—not running forward, but heading a short distance downhill.
Motorized vehicles weren’t allowed on this track, but bicycles were permitted. Coincidentally, there were shared bicycles parked on the lower path—their bet had only stated “whoever reaches the finish line first,” without specifying by what means they had to get there.
Ji Xun knew he was playing dirty.
Yet he believed Huo Ranyin would accept this kind of cheekiness.
The shared bikes were located not far from the track. Heading down and returning up took a total of only ten minutes—exactly the amount of time Ji Xun had given Huo Ranyin as a head start.
Pedaling the bike forward all the way, he caught up with Huo Ranyin in roughly six minutes.
Running alongside Huo Ranyin was Yuan Yue, and both of them spotted Ji Xun at the same time.
Yuan Yue waved at Ji Xun. Huo Ranyin raised a brow slightly, but said nothing, nor did he attempt to pick up his pace.
Ji Xun called out: “I’ll wait for you guys at the finish line!”
Saying that, he stuck out his tongue playfully and continued pedaling the bike forward at top speed.
A few minutes further, he spotted Tan Mingjiu.
Tan Mingjiu was running drenched in sweat, panting heavily. Turning around and catching sight of Ji Xun, he instantly flashed a middle finger at him, spitting his tongue out as he wheezed: “If you’ve got the guts, get off the bike and run!”
Ji Xun volleyed right back: “If you’ve got the guts, stop running and get on a bike! Bikes run faster than people—that’s common sense!”
Before Tan Mingjiu could cough up blood from frustration, Ji Xun stepped hard on the pedals and zoomed ahead another long stretch.
By this point, the station personnel were barely visible anymore.
After all, how could two legs outrun two wheels?
Even though it appeared Ji Xun had victory firmly in his hands, caution prompted him to analyze the situation carefully:
This mountain track has no forks. Running from the opposite direction makes the route far longer. Even if Huo Ranyin went back to ride a bike right now, he couldn’t possibly be faster than me.
Besides that, there are only two other options:
First, heading straight down the mountain and switching to a car to drive to the finish line.
Second, using the lower track shown on the map—a track with the same finish line located halfway down the mountain slope.
However, the starting and finishing points are both far from the parking area, which would also take time. Meanwhile, the terrain between the two tracks consists of steep, difficult-to-climb mountain slopes.
All in all, re-analyzing it confirms that my victory is indeed absolute.
This round is locked in!
Ji Xun maintained his absolute victory all the way to the finish line—
Only to see Huo Ranyin sitting calmly on a bench at the finish line, arms crossed, waiting for him.
Ji Xun: “…”
He couldn’t help looking up at the sky, almost suspecting he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
“How did you get here first?”
“Take a guess.”
“First, this is a scientific, realistic world, so we can rule out the possibility that you used supernatural powers to teleport here.”
“Second, based on my understanding of you, we can also rule out the possibility of a twin brother—”
“Be serious.”
“Am I being unserious because I want to be?” Ji Xun squinted his eyes. “It’s clearly because I have no way of seriously arriving at an answer!”
“Oh?” Huo Ranyin let out a sound that betrayed his utter disbelief.
“It’s true… I analyzed the routes. Whether you went back to ride a bike, went down to drive a car, or climbed down to the lower track—none of them are possible. So,” Ji Xun spread his hands, “this time I can’t solve the riddle. I can only wait for you to reveal the ultimate truth.”
Huo Ranyin scrutinized Ji Xun carefully, trying to discern any hidden emotion on his face. Yet on Ji Xun’s face, there truly was nothing but genuine perplexity.
“I went down to the lower loop track and rode a bike over.”
“That’s not right,” Ji Xun said, puzzled. “I checked the map. There’s no path leading from the upper track down to the lower track—only a treacherous climb, and looking at you…”
Huo Ranyin’s clothes were neat and tidy; he certainly didn’t look as though he had engaged in strenuous climbing.
“Originally there wasn’t one. But over the past two years, a pavilion was built between the upper and lower tracks, allowing one to walk directly from the upper track down to the lower track via stairs.”
“No, there is no such path,” Ji Xun countered instinctively. “I checked the map carefully and remember it clearly.”
“Mm, you remembered the fake map I had someone post,” Huo Ranyin said nonchalantly. “Tan Mingjiu should be tearing down that fake map right about now.”
“A fake map?” Ji Xun recalled the whole group of police officers running alongside them, and suddenly felt a wave of speechlessness. “You guys… didn’t put up a fake map before I arrived, and then immediately tear it down after I left, did you?”
“We did. After all, we couldn’t go causing trouble for ordinary passersby.”
“Yet you weren’t worried about causing trouble for me?!” Ji Xun marvelled in disbelief.
“Not at all,” Huo Ranyin said serenely. “Everyone is extremely enthusiastic about the prospect of fooling you.”
“Even if you planned it out so meticulously…” Yet Ji Xun still held a doubt. “Our bet was made on the spur of the moment, wasn’t it?”
“Was it?” Huo Ranyin smiled faintly. “I feel that for you, this kind of coincidence can be considered an inevitability.”
Ji Xun gave it careful thought and realized it was true—given his attitude toward avoiding exercise over the past couple of days, both making a bet and cheating were absolute inevitabilities…
“So you made all these preparations just to—”
“—let me decide the honeymoon trip.”
“—make me exercise?”
The two voices overlapped simultaneously.
They looked at each other.
Ji Xun: “…Honeymoon?”
The sunlight was glorious that day.
The smile at the corners of Huo Ranyin’s lips was equally sweet.
Yet after coming down from the mountain and returning home that evening, Ji Xun’s slightly frozen brain suddenly regained its intelligence.
“Although speaking of a honeymoon and all… I still feel like you did so much just to win against me.”
Huo Ranyin remained silent.
“So after we returned to Ning City, the reason you were secretly annoyed was that you lost to me that time before going aboard the ship, right?” Ji Xun finally pieced everything together, momentarily stunned. “Turns out it wasn’t what I was worried about, but this? So I should have been soothing your ego in this direction all along?”
“Mm, it really wasn’t what you were worried about…”
Ji Xun had given him something even better, far better than anything he could have anticipated.
“Disappointed?” Huo Ranyin asked with a trace of teasing banter.
“I just feel…” Ji Xun said, “aren’t you a bit petty?”
“Is today the first day you realized I’m petty?” Huo Ranyin snorted softly. “I thought when you gave me that WeChat nickname for the first time, you already knew I was a ‘sarcastic, generous petty-ghost.'”
“…”
Ji Xun let out a laugh.
He stole a soft kiss on Huo Ranyin’s cheek.
“That’s right, I knew long ago you were a petty-ghost—and I just so happen to love a petty-ghost like you.”
“So.”
“Hmm?”
“Ji Xun, like you said,” Huo Ranyin’s eyes shimmered as he looked at him with proud, towering affection, “I won.”
“Yes, you won against me. Happy now?”
Huo Ranyin took Ji Xun’s hand, raising it to his lips to press a lingering kiss against the ring that belonged to them both.
Of course I’m happy.
Nothing brings greater happiness than winning this man into my hands for a lifetime.
