Chapter 51: White Mist in the Woods 16
The small courtyard was filled with beautifully wrapped bags, ribbons, colored lights, flower bouquets, and balloon decorations made on the spot by the team members according to online tutorials. Jiajia had changed into a brand new blue and white dress. Sister Niu held her small hand and spun her around gracefully, immediately eliciting a round of lively applause and cheers.
Nearly a hundred motorcycles were parked on the mountain road, shining brightly under the sun, just like that beautiful afternoon in the little girl’s memory, but even cooler. Sister Niu had specially prepared new helmet protectors for her. Jiajia also finally sat on a real motorcycle for the first time. But she wasn’t scared at all. Her arms were tightly wrapped around Sister Niu’s waist, her expression excited. Her clear eyes reflected the countless riders accompanying them on their sides. Their black figures were like birds soaring high in the sky, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but always circling around the red motorcycle in the center.
The sound of the engines was amplified by the empty mountains and reached the other end of the dense forest. The white fog was stickily wrapping the two monsters in the pit. Li Maosheng and He Yuanhua had initially resisted. With their increasingly ferocious appearances after mutation, they swayed and tried to attack Qing Gang and Yi Ke. But when dozens of action team members followed closely behind, simultaneously raising their guns, they completely quieted down, lying on the ground trembling like two corpses. The roaring, sometimes near, sometimes far, was like a siren. Every frame of the engine’s rotation was a righteous judgment. They knew that the dirty secret was about to be revealed, or rather, had already been revealed.
Yi Ke used his dagger to lift Li Maosheng’s chin, forcing his entire face to be exposed to the sun. The monster was pricked by the light and slightly closed its eyes. He could only see one tall figure after another around him, strong, straight, and burly, forming a sharp contrast with his own old and decaying body. So he curled up in shame, his cloudy tears mixed with blood, and a series of unpleasant, hoarse sobs came from his throat.
The day passed quickly.
Although everyone in the small building hoped to stretch the time as long as possible, the sky eventually slowly darkened. After dinner, the table was filled with cakes of different shapes, from one year old to ten. Jiajia made a wish and blew out the candles a full ten times. She also unwrapped nearly a hundred gifts. In the end, she opened her arms wide, her eyes shining, waiting to receive the puzzle she wanted most.
Zhuang Ningyu knelt down, holding a box tied with a beautiful ribbon bow in his hands. Everyone sat on the floor with Jiajia, watching the little girl untie the bow. A complete, sparkling puzzle of Dorothy and her friends. Zhuang Ningyu had not put in the piece that had been contaminated by Li Maosheng, but had chosen a substitute from outside the rules. He knew Jiajia would accept it.
The little girl, tired from playing, lay on the puzzle as if on a small bed.
The ending of the story had a fairytale flavor.
The white fog dissipated in the mountains like a gentle breeze.
…
This time, the rule-breaking mission was not difficult for the Order Maintenance Department. Apart from Zhuang Ningyu’s overused knee, no team members were injured. It could be filed under the “simple” level. But for the police, it had nothing to do with “simple.” Involving Jinkang Pharmacy, they would probably be bald for a while.
He Yu was taken away directly by the police who were guarding Qingquan Mountain. Chu Feifei temporarily adopted her rabbit, planning to treat its injuries first. In addition, she, Li Hao, and Zhou Huanchang were also asked by the police not to leave Jincheng for a short period of time. Li Hao felt unsure and asked Boss Zhou in a low voice while sitting in the car, “How are we involved in this?”
“It’s a normal procedure, don’t be nervous.” Zhou Huanchang glanced at him and asked with confusion, “Are you crying?”
“No, no.” Li Hao quickly wiped his face. Although he didn’t want to admit it, he had indeed been moved to tears while singing the birthday song, crying even louder than his girlfriend.
Chu Feifei patted her boyfriend, who was a coward but actually quite decent in some aspects, sighed, and rested her head against his.
There was still a long way from Qingquan Mountain to the city. In another commercial vehicle, Zhuang Ningyu was leaning against the back seat, sleeping fitfully in the flickering car lights on both sides. Yi Ke took off his own coat and wrapped him up, then found an eye mask to block the light for him. The colleague in the passenger seat happened to see this and turned back to whisper a reminder, “Xiao Yi, there’s a blanket in the back.”
“It’s okay,” Yi Ke said. “This is fine.” The dusty gray blanket had been used by countless overworked people. It couldn’t cover his fragrant wife at all.
In the latter half of the journey, the sleeping Zhuang Ningyu leaned his whole body over. Yi Ke supported his face with one hand and sent messages back and forth on his phone with the other, looking extremely busy.
It was already past three in the morning when they returned to the city.
The driver first stopped the car at Fuxing Yuan. Zhuang Ningyu was woken up by the familiar smell of barbecue floating in the air. He frowned and opened his eyes. “We’re here?”
“We’re here.” Yi Ke opened the car door for him, then knocked on the driver’s window. “Brother Wang, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll get a taxi myself later.”
“Don’t. It’s just half an hour.” The driver had not yet grasped Comrade Xiao Yi’s deeper needs beyond sleep and thought he was being polite. He was about to explain his job responsibilities when Yi Ke had already slung his backpack over one shoulder, picked up Captain Zhuang with the other, and left with a “thank you,” turning and leaving with a flourish.
Zhuang Ningyu took two steps and asked, “Are you hungry?”
Yi Ke saw through him at a glance. “No barbecue.”
The fried skewer shop owner still didn’t know what he had lost and was still greeting Zhuang Ningyu with a smile. The beef skewers were sizzling in the oil pot. The mix of chili powder and cumin powder created an aggressive, savage aroma. Zhuang Ningyu’s stomach rumbled. He made a nimble move, but Yi Ke was even more nimble. He grabbed the back of his neck and pulled the person who was rushing towards the barbecue stall back. “I’ll cook for you when we get back.”
“I don’t have anything in my fridge.”
“There is something at the door.”
“At the door?”
There really was. Because as soon as Yi Ke came out of the rule zone, he had sent a message for someone to prepare a bag of fresh ingredients and had it delivered precisely on time. Zhuang Ningyu looked at the man in the suit standing at his door, at a loss for words for a moment, not knowing whether to invite him in for a cup of tea. But the man was very professional. He left immediately after delivering the goods, without an extra word. The crab legs poking out of the shopping bag were very fresh, but not as fresh as Yi Ke. Ever since he got his own slippers, he had been constantly demonstrating what it meant to “enter the hall.” After opening the door, he carried the bag straight to the kitchen. “Go take a shower. I’ll leave after I make you a late-night snack.”
The kitchen, which had always been cold and empty, burst into extremely lively life in the middle of the night. The faucet and the gas stove roared together. The scene was a bit grand. Zhuang Ningyu stood at the kitchen door and cleared his throat. “You’re not—”
The unspoken words got stuck in his throat because Yi Ke had already run over with a spoonful of sea urchin, as if presenting a treasure. Ms. Deng Zongyun was hosting a banquet at home tomorrow and had prepared a lot of fresh goods. The young master was ruthless when it came to plundering his own mother, picking only the expensive stuff. The freshly opened sea urchin was plump and beautiful. He cupped it in his hand and fed it to his unilaterally determined wife’s mouth. “Try it.”
The famished Zhuang Ningyu: “…”
Yi Ke asked with hopeful eyes, “Is it sweet?”
Having eaten someone’s food, Zhuang Ningyu admitted, “It’s sweet.”
“I’ll chill it for you. We’ll eat it together later.” Yi Ke was very satisfied with the quality of the sea urchin and urged again, “Go take a shower quickly.”
Zhuang Ningyu savored the sweet and tender freshness in his mouth and turned to go to the bathroom.
The ingredients were all semi-finished and didn’t require much cooking time. So by the time he came out of the shower, the dining table was already set with seafood congee. Perhaps to make up for the regret of not being able to eat barbecue, Yi Ke had also specially grilled a few skewers of chicken and prepared a chili and cumin dipping sauce. The dishes were abundant, but there was only one set of bowls and chopsticks, looking like he really was planning to “leave after making a late-night snack.”
Zhuang Ningyu glanced at the wall clock: four in the morning.
Yi Ke took out a tissue to wipe his hands. “Sleep more after you eat. We won’t go for a physical check-up tomorrow. I’ll come and pick you up to go to the hospital the day after tomorrow.”
Zhuang Ningyu pulled out a chair. “Let’s eat together.”
Yi Ke paused for a moment and asked carefully, “Then can I take a shower first?”
Zhuang Ningyu was too lazy to distinguish whether he was pushing his luck or it was his natural instinct. He pointed to the guest bathroom. You can.
Yi Ke was overjoyed. He knelt at the entrance and rummaged through his bag for a long time for clean clothes, but to no avail. Luggage is like that. It’s useful when you’re on a mission, but once you return to daily life, you don’t want to touch any of it. Zhuang Ningyu had to go to the guest bedroom to find him a large set of home clothes. “My dad’s. Want to wear them?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Yi Ke hugged them. Father-in-law is good, polyester is also good! After taking a shower, he saw that it wasn’t polyester. Wife is also good! He himself wore polyester, but gave me 100% pure cotton!
Zhuang Ningyu was exasperated. “You, just settle down!”
Yi Ke sat next to him like a wet, fragrant, and warm happy puppy.
At six in the morning, the morning market downstairs had already set up its stalls, but the liveliness did not reach upstairs. The windows of 201 were tightly closed. Zhuang Ningyu was sleeping in the bedroom. Yi Ke refused to sleep in his parents’ room, so he slept on the sofa. The fatigue accumulated over the past few days came rushing out. Both of them slept very soundly until one in the afternoon, when Zhuang Ningyu sat up from the bed with a groggy head.
The living room was quiet. Yi Ke was still asleep. Zhuang Ningyu quietly washed up, poured himself a cup of hot water, and leaned against the bedroom door, drinking slowly. Yi Ke, who was over 1.8 meters tall, looked really wronged sleeping on the sofa, lying on his stomach, his side face squeezed against the cushion. His sleeping posture was not neat, but very well-behaved.
Zhuang Ningyu chuckled, put down the water cup, and went over to cover him with the fallen blanket. The phone on the bedside table in the bedroom was vibrating with a “buzz buzz.” The caller ID showed Huo Ting. “Are you awake?”
“Yes,” Zhuang Ningyu sat on the edge of the bed, stretched his muscles, and said lazily, “I’ll come to the department tomorrow.”
“No hurry,” Huo Ting raised his hand and rang the doorbell. “Sister Ling and the others bought some freshly baked flower cakes in Chunchun. They’re just on their way to deliver them to you. Open the door.”
The “ding ding dong dong” sound rang out so abruptly that Zhuang Ningyu was genuinely startled. He had never expected this person to launch a surprise attack without any martial ethics. Just as he was about to rush out to stop him, a drowsy Yi Ke had already climbed up first and, yawning, opened the door. His hair was sticking up in all directions, the collar of his home clothes was wide open. He lowered his head, his eyes sleepy, and took the shopping bag from Huo Ting’s hand, saying a hoarse “thank you,” and then smoothly locked the door. Turning around, he saw Zhuang Ningyu standing behind him and didn’t feel anything was wrong. He naturally hugged him, buried his head in the side of his neck, rubbed against it, and murmured in a half-asleep state, “Why did you order takeout again? Didn’t we agree I’d cook for you?”
Zhuang Ningyu took a deep breath. “Go sleep on the bed.”
Yi Ke released his hand and walked towards the kitchen as if sleepwalking. “I’ll sleep later. Don’t eat takeout. I’ll cook you a bowl of noodles.”
Zhuang Ningyu grabbed his arm and forcibly threw him back into the bedroom, then locked the door. Yi Ke lay on the bed, thinking he was going to work in the living room, and didn’t think much of it. He reached for a pillow, hugged it, found the most comfortable position, and continued to sleep in the warm blanket.
As for Huo Ting, he ultimately failed to set foot in the door of 201. The main reason was that Zhuang Ningyu felt Yi Ke was uncontrollable and could come out sleepwalking at any time. If the three of them met, everyone would be embarrassed. So it was better for him to leave first.
Huo Ting, who used to get a bowl of Qiaojiao beef every time he passed by Fuxing Yuan: “…I’m not embarrassed. I don’t think Xiao Yi would be embarrassed either.”
Zhuang Ningyu was unwilling to face the embarrassing fact that he was the only one who would be embarrassed. He raised his hand and ruthlessly pushed the person into the elevator, out of sight, out of mind.
