Chi Qing felt that the phone call with Ji Mingrui was just inexplicable.
But the next day, something even more inexplicable happened.
The police station was as busy as ever. Ji Mingrui spent the whole morning answering calls, but compared to the recent murder cases, the calls were mostly about minor incidents. Among them was the familiar man who had previously been going through a breakup: “Officer, my girlfriend and I have gotten back together. We’re planning to get married and would like to invite you to the wedding banquet.”
Ji Mingrui: “…?”
“Are you sure you’ve thought this through? Getting a divorce after marriage isn’t nearly as simple as breaking up, you know.”
“I’ve thought it through. I feel that being entangled with her for so long is a form of fate. I don’t have the energy to accept anyone else anymore.”
“…” Ji Mingrui was speechless. “I wish you both happiness, but the banquet is unnecessary.”
“We insist, Officer! You witnessed our love! We even want to invite you to be our witness at the wedding!”
Witness their love? What kind of ghost witness was he supposed to be?
Are these two people toxic or what?
Ji Mingrui looked at the work log on his desk, not even knowing how to fill it in: “Hello? —Hey, why did the signal suddenly cut out? Can you still hear me?”
The person on the other end said, “The signal is fine, I can hear you clearly, Officer.”
“What? You say you can’t hear me?” Ji Mingrui forcibly cut the call. “Oh, okay, okay, let’s talk next time.”
With that, he “clattered” the phone down.
The next second, the phone rang again—not the landline in the office, but the cell phone he had set aside. The caller ID was a string of unknown numbers.
“Hello?”
The person on the other end spoke with a hint of a smile, greeting him very politely: “Officer Ji, good morning.”
Xie Lin’s voice was too recognizable.
Personally, Ji Mingrui had little affection for this man who was always pestering his brother. Professionally, however, he had to admit that the man’s competence was top-tier. Assuming Xie Lin was looking for him regarding a case, Ji Mingrui straightened his back and adopted a serious tone: “Morning. Is there anything you need my help with?”
Xie Lin pondered: “There is indeed a matter you might be able to help with.”
Ji Mingrui’s sense of justice surged: “Go ahead, if I can help, I definitely will!”
However, the question Xie Lin asked had nothing to do with any case: “Chi Qing… has he had any romantic experiences in the past?”
“…”
Ji Mingrui thought to himself, Should I have checked the fortune calendar before leaving the house today? Why am I getting nothing but emotional hotlines?
It hadn’t been just a day or two that Xie Lin had been interested in his brother.
After the tenant case ended, he had been called in by Xie Lin to be interrogated about a bunch of questions regarding Chi Qing. But the last time, Xie Lin’s questions hadn’t been this far below his usual standard.
Ji Mingrui felt the question was practically nonsensical and asked back, bewildered: “Do you think he looks like someone who has had romantic experiences?”
Xie Lin knew his question sounded strange. He usually had plenty of tactics and verbal techniques to pry into information he wanted without the other party even realizing they were being interrogated. Yet, today, he had chosen the most obvious and least appropriate way to go about it.
Xie Lin: “He looks like he not only lacks romantic experience but perhaps lacks emotions entirely.”
Ji Mingrui: “Correct.”
Although the approach was flawed, the conversation had already started, so Xie Lin had no choice but to continue.
Xie Lin: “Are there people who like him?”
Ji Mingrui thought about it: “There have been, but none of them ended up well.”
Chi Qing didn’t seem approachable, and he always looked depressed—like a patient with a poor mental state. However, that face of his was simply too ostentatious, and his grades had always been at the top of his class. When a person is strong to a certain degree, their flaws can be beautified as “having character.”
This led people who secretly had feelings for Chi Qing to be mercilessly turned away, only to say afterward: “I think he’s different from everyone else. He’s so special.”
Most of them, however, left in tears. And from beginning to end, Chi Qing didn’t know why they came or why they cried, nor did he care.
Xie Lin felt a headache coming on.
When helping Wu Zhi with advice, he could think of ten ideas in a second. When it was his own turn, he couldn’t even squeeze out a sentence, completely wasting his “scumbag face.”
Xie Lin: “Has he never liked anyone either?”
Ji Mingrui: “That would be too much to ask of him. If you ask him what ‘liking’ someone is, he’d probably have to look it up in a Chinese dictionary to answer you.”
“…”
“But if you insist on liking, there is one,” Ji Mingrui said. “There’s a repulsive-looking old librarian at our school whom everyone is afraid of, but Chi Qing seems to think he’s alright.”
“So his taste is just different from a normal person’s?”
“You could understand it that way. His preferences are indeed very hard to guess.”
Like the weather: if he doesn’t like sunny days, he prefers overcast ones.
After the call ended, Xie Lin hadn’t gathered a single piece of useful information. If dealing with matters of the heart was like clearing a dungeon in a game, then the one he had encountered was definitely “Hell” difficulty.
“You go back to your business,” Xie Lin comforted himself in a low voice, “…at least for now, there are no love rivals.”
Ji Mingrui didn’t hear him clearly: “What did you say?”
Xie Lin: “Nothing. Hanging up.”
Ji Mingrui held the phone, feeling it was all completely inexplicable. Why had Xie Lin and Chi Qing both started saying things that no one could understand lately?
After the case ended, Chi Qing was on a long vacation.
The discussions about him online had gradually subsided. The photos were taken down too quickly, and since he had few fans, no one claimed him, and the subject of the topic didn’t step forward, most people just scrolled past the news.
He Sen felt guilty and forwarded several audition notices to him, but Chi Qing replied: No need.
The money he earned in the industry in his early years wasn’t a small amount. Later, he invested it in the stock market and multiplied it several times over. With his personality, he dared to take risks and had the patience to hold on. Being overly calm, he rarely lost money.
So, he wasn’t short on cash.
There was no need to go back and continue filming those pointless dramas.
He liked staying at home, avoiding crowds, and enjoying the peace and quiet alone.
Chi Qing was quite satisfied with his current life, except for this recent move, which had led to many unnecessary entanglements with neighbors in his building—
When Ren Qin came over, he really didn’t want to open the door.
Ren Qin knocked at the door: “Mr. Chi?”
Her voice was soft, carrying her usual gentleness. It didn’t sound like anything urgent had happened. However, Ren Qin’s next sentence was: “Mr. Xie said you were home.”
Chi Qing: “…”
That guy Xie Lin is doing this to me on purpose.
Chi Qing opened the door, and Ren Qin smiled: “I saw you two were busy lately, so I didn’t dare to disturb you.”
Chi Qing put on his gloves in a leisurely manner, looking her straight in the eye: “It’s best if you don’t disturb me even when I’m not busy.”
“…” Ren Qin automatically ignored this statement. Ever since Chi Qing had saved her, it was hard for her to be truly afraid of him. She always felt that the more she looked at Chi Qing, the more he seemed like a good person who was just bad at expressing himself. “It’s like this: I have a request that’s a bit intrusive.”
As Ren Qin said this, Chi Qing noticed she was carrying a cage—a round box with a transparent glass panel in the front, containing something fluffy.
The fluff ball seemed to notice someone watching it, struggled to turn halfway around, and revealed its front.
Fluffy ears… icy blue eyes…
This was a Ragdoll, looking very similar to the pile of cats in the reception area of the psychological clinic.
“A cat?”
Ren Qin: “My friend’s family doesn’t allow her to keep cats, so she sent it to me. But somehow, after it arrived, Gao Gao [her other cat] stopped eating… The two cats probably need time to adjust, so they can’t be put together yet. I wanted to ask if it’s convenient for you to foster it for a few days?”
Chi Qing’s deep pupils met the cat’s eyes silently.
Although, in Chi Qing’s eyes, all cats looked the same, this one seemed to have a rounder head and larger eyes than the ones at the clinic. It blinked its innocent, large eyes and stretched out a paw to pat the glass, as if greeting Chi Qing.
…
Not convenient.
I don’t like cats.
Take it back where it came from.
There were plenty of ways to refuse, but in the end, Chi Qing didn’t say a single one.
Ten minutes later.
Chi Qing stood stiff as a board, watching the cat emerge from its carrier without a hint of fear, patrolling the territory like it owned the living room. Just as it turned toward the sofa, Chi Qing pulled his legs up, trying his best not to touch it.
But it seemed to be particularly fond of Chi Qing. Wherever Chi Qing went, it wanted to burrow, and after a moment, it hopped onto the sofa.
Man and cat faced off against each other.
Chi Qing: “Get down.”
Cat: “Meow.”
Chi Qing: “I’ll say it again: get down.”
Cat: “Meow~~”
Chi Qing: “Look over there. That’s the kitchen. There are a dozen knives in the kitchen.”
Cat: “Meowww~~~”
“…”
Xie Lin had gone to the company to handle business and didn’t get home until evening. Just as he stepped out of the elevator, he saw Chi Qing squatting outside his door, not even wearing a jacket. Xie Lin held his keys and squatted down in front of Chi Qing: “Why are you squatting here?”
Chi Qing was only wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt. While waiting for Xie Lin to return, he was picking cat hair off his clothes and asked: “Do you know how to raise a cat?”
Xie Lin: “?”
Chi Qing pinched a piece of white cat hair and said: “A cat broke into my place. While I still have my sanity and before I slice its throat with a knife, get it out of my house.”
