This move was completely natural. Huo Ranyin didn’t think twice while doing it. It wasn’t until he licked away the blood, raised his eyes, and met Ji Xun’s strange gaze that he realized where he was and what he had just done.
This was outside.
There were people behind him.
There were suspects, and many of his colleagues.
Huo Ranyin had his back to the others and didn’t know if his colleagues had seen the scene. For a moment, he didn’t have the courage to turn around. He only felt pairs of eyes materializing from the void, and these eyes solidified from nothingness, weighing down heavily on his shoulders…
Ji Xun heard his own heartbeat, thump-thump, thump-thump.
It was quite strange.
Putting aside the physiological reaction from his phobia of sharp objects, his heart hadn’t been this active even when he was facing his kidnappers.
He noticed a trace of belated nervousness on Huo Ranyin’s face. Was he afraid of being seen? If he was afraid of being seen, why was he so bold just now? Ji Xun thought. Huo Ranyin was facing the window and couldn’t see the scene behind him, but he could see it clearly.
No one was paying attention to them.
Tan Mingjiu, Wen Yangyang, and the others were scolding Sisi and the knife-wielder, telling them to behave and not resist. Yuan Yue was talking to another detective. Although he was facing them, his gaze wasn’t directed here.
Huo Ranyin raised his hand, pressing his palm against his lips.
The blood that had stained his lips was now imprinted on his palm, like a faint lip print.
Ji Xun’s heart skipped a beat.
He suddenly raised his voice, “Yuan Yue—”
Yuan Yue looked up, “Hm?”
Ji Xun: “The ones who kidnapped me aren’t just these two here. There’s also Yellow Hair—I don’t know his name, he has yellow hair and a mole on his chin, and he just recently left the country through customs. He also appeared on the scene via projector just now—look, this projector is also evidence.”
Since it was evidence, it would definitely have to be taken back to the police station to go through the process.
This was Ji Xun’s objective.
The moment Yuan Yue called over a detective beside him to handle the projector, and as the others were just heading out the door, Ji Xun stood up from his seat, wrapped an arm around Huo Ranyin, and swiftly stole a kiss.
The person in his arms suddenly went rigid.
Ji Xun didn’t pause. His lips brushed past Huo Ranyin’s, wiping away the last trace of blood from the center of his mouth.
The thin lips, stripped of their vibrant color, became pale and light once more. Ji Xun, in turn, swallowed the blood that was originally his but had now been tinged with Huo Ranyin’s essence.
“There was still a little bit left,” Ji Xun said in a low voice, a hint of a smile hidden in his vocal cords. “I’ve wiped it away for you now. Don’t worry, no one saw. Everything is under control.”
Huo Ranyin seemed to let out a grunt, but his tense shoulders relaxed.
Ji Xun didn’t linger. He walked past Huo Ranyin towards Yuan Yue, thinking as he went:
They hadn’t even started dating, yet he was already getting a taste of having a secret affair.
“Here, let me help you,” Ji Xun said as he walked up to Yuan Yue, offering a hand to help with the projector.
“Help with what? Your hand is injured.”
“It’s just a small wound.”
“You’re lucky. If you weren’t lucky, we’d be coming in to see your corpse right now—”
“Dad Yuan, you’re really more annoying than my actual dad…”
With his back to the others, Huo Ranyin heard Ji Xun’s listless voice. The two of them had a good rapport, but he didn’t turn around, still facing the window.
In any case, he had to wait for the heat on his face to subside.
He then bit his lip.
…And the heat on his lips.
Once out of the unfinished apartment, Ji Xun finally got a clear look at the place where he had been kidnapped. It wasn’t too different from his guess—a newly built residential complex with no residents yet. The area was large with few people, a good place for illegal activities. As long as your luck wasn’t too bad, you generally wouldn’t be discovered.
He returned to the police station with the others. Huo Ranyin had already reverted to his usual serious, ice-cold elite demeanor for work.
Normally, Ji Xun was used to this look, but tonight, no matter how he looked at it, he felt that this demeanor was a bit forced.
Ji Xun sidled up next to Huo Ranyin.
“Did you like it?”
“Like what…” Huo Ranyin started to say, then realized what Ji Xun meant and abruptly shut his mouth.
“The messages Sisi sent you, did you like them? Biting the buttons, biting…” Ji Xun chuckled softly, omitting the adult-rated content. “The wrong person can still send the right message, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Huo Ranyin said coldly. But he subconsciously tugged at his collar, his thumb rubbing the spot before realizing he was wearing a sweatshirt today.
A sweatshirt has no buttons.
“Ji Xun, give me your phone for a second.” Tan Mingjiu came over with Yuan Yue. “Your phone is also a piece of evidence.”
Ji Xun handed over his phone. The moment he passed it over, he felt something was wrong, as if he had forgotten something…
Then, Tan Mingjiu said, “Which one is Captain Huo? I can’t find Captain Huo’s name. Holy shit.”
He suddenly swore.
Wait, oh no…
Ji Xun finally realized what he had forgotten. He quickly reached out, trying to snatch his phone back, but his outstretched hand was caught by another hand that shot out from the side.
It was Huo Ranyin.
The slightly uncomfortable Huo Ranyin had already turned his head, grabbing his wrist and raising an eyebrow as he looked at him.
The one-sided situation had been reversed.
“Let me explain…” Ji Xun tried to struggle.
“Explain what?” Huo Ranyin asked.
“Explain how petty you are?” Huo Ranyin blocked Ji Xun’s outstretched hand, allowing Tan Mingjiu to smoothly say with a teasing grin, “Ji Xun, you’ve really got something. You named Captain Huo ‘Sarcastic, generous cheapskate’?”
“…” Ji Xun.
“…” Huo Ranyin.
“…” Yuan Yue.
“It’s a compliment,” Ji Xun said.
“Oh?”
“Generous,” Ji Xun said. “I’m seriously complimenting you.”
“…” Yuan Yue looked like he wanted to say something but held back.
“Then what about ‘sarcastic’ and ‘cheapskate’?” Tan Mingjiu dismantled his argument and fanned the flames. “Let’s say ‘generous’ is one compliment. You still have two insults. They cancel each other out, so you’ve insulted Captain Huo with one word. Every time you talk to Captain Huo, it counts as one insult. You’ve talked to Captain Huo a total of…”
Tan Mingjiu looked down, pretending to scroll through the chat history to count, then said:
“Right, and you also harassed Captain Huo with a nude photo!”
“Who sent a nude photo?” Ji Xun couldn’t take the blame for this and immediately refuted it.
“A bathroom photo, rounded up, isn’t that a nude photo?” Tan Mingjiu said with conviction, even pulling Yuan Yue in to judge. “Captain Yuan, you tell me, isn’t Ji Xun going too far?”
Yuan Yue was always a fair and honest person, never disregarding the facts to side with a friend. “There’s no nude photo, but the nickname is too much. It should be changed.”
“You’re truly a mathematical genius and a master of deduction,” Ji Xun rolled his eyes at Tan Mingjiu and snatched his phone back. “Give me my phone back, I’ll change it, alright?”
Huo Ranyin glanced at Ji Xun and saw that he was really changing the name, then secretly glared at Yuan Yue.
Nosy.
“…?” Yuan Yue was a little confused.
Is it my perception that’s off today, or does Captain Huo really have a problem with me?
Ji Xun quickly changed the name back to Huo Ranyin’s real name and put the phone directly into his pocket. “I’m not giving it to you. If you want the evidence, go get it from your Captain Huo.”
Huo Ranyin let out a scoff.
Ji Xun quickly tried to smooth things over, “The people’s police are for the people.”
Huo Ranyin gave Ji Xun a cool look, neither agreeing nor refusing, only saying, “The people’s police are going to complete the interrogation work now.”
With that, he turned and left.
The interrogation wasn’t difficult, but it didn’t yield much progress either. Sisi and the knife-wielder—whose real name was Sun Hongfa—confessed to everything, but they didn’t know the names or identities of the men who had run away.
After handling these matters, Huo Ranyin returned to the office. Everyone had left, and Ji Xun was also gone. Huo Ranyin packed up his things and left the police station.
He had wanted to send a message to Ji Xun to ask where he was, but then he thought, forget it.
Let’s wait until tomorrow. Ji Xun should be going on his business trip tomorrow anyway.
Huo Ranyin returned to his residential complex. This was considered a high-end complex in Ning City, large in area with few residents and a stable flow of people. Every night, once it got a little late, you wouldn’t see any living soul other than the security guards in the public areas.
While convenient, it sometimes felt overly deserted.
Huo Ranyin parked his car and got into the elevator.
He was alone in the elevator. He leaned against the handrail, watching the orange floor numbers jump up one by one on the display. Finally, it reached his floor.
Huo Ranyin stood up straight. The elevator doors slid open to both sides.
It was pitch black outside. The lights in the corridor were not on. The light from the elevator spilled out like water, illuminating only a small area in front of it.
Huo Ranyin’s step faltered slightly.
He thought he heard someone breathing. In a dark corner where the light couldn’t reach, another person was standing.
The muscles under his clothes tensed inch by inch. He nonchalantly lifted his other leg and stepped completely out of the elevator. Then he raised his hand and pressed it to his waist…
“Tap, tap.”
A pair of shoes tapped impatiently on the floor twice, triggering the motion-sensor light. The orange light from the ceiling immediately dispelled the darkness, revealing the person Huo Ranyin hadn’t seen just now.
Huo Ranyin froze.
“…Ji Xun.”
“It’s eleven-thirty. I’ve been waiting for you for an hour,” Ji Xun couldn’t help but complain. “For such a clear-cut case, for a criminal investigation captain to dawdle like this, it’s a bit like slacking off on the job.”
“What are you doing here?” Huo Ranyin retorted. “And don’t you have a key? You could have just gone in. Why stay outside… You didn’t bring it?”
He thought that perhaps putting a fingerprint lock on the agenda was necessary.
“I brought it,” Ji Xun said. “But I came to thank someone for saving my life. In this situation, it would be a bit strange to just go in and comfortably sit on the sofa with the heat on, watching TV, don’t you think?”
A wisp of a smile appeared on Huo Ranyin’s lips, only to be pressed away by its owner, hidden under a feigned expression.
“Didn’t you say you could have saved yourself if I had been a little later?”
“That’s what you said, not what I said.”
“So you’re waiting here to repay me for saving your life?”
“So I’m waiting here, contemplating how to repay you for saving my life,” Ji Xun corrected.
“Have you come to a conclusion?” Huo Ranyin asked.
The orange corridor light cast a warm filter on Ji Xun. He leaned against the door, arms crossed, a slight smile on his lips, like a bad boy from a teen movie.
“A life-saving grace, I have no way to repay it. It seems the only way is…”
To offer myself to you? Huo Ranyin’s heart skipped a beat.
“To turn what you’ve been hoping for into reality?” Ji Xun said.
