You Mingxu didn’t take Yin Feng’s defiant “I will control you” seriously. However, when she pushed open the door to her home, she froze for a moment.

Thin strips of lights hung down from the living room ceiling, twinkling softly. The dining table stood in the center, covered with candles arranged in the shape of a smiling face. Two sets of napkins and cutlery were placed at either end. Fresh flowers surrounded the table. The whole space radiated a dreamy, romantic warmth through the interplay of light and shadow.

This was You Mingxu’s first time encountering such a setting. She glanced at Yin Feng. But despite his careful preparations, he was still sulking, walking to the table without a word, pulling out a chair, sitting down, and burying his face in his arms, ignoring her.

You Mingxu couldn’t help but smile.

Chen Feng emerged from the kitchen carrying several appetizers, smiling as she said, “Miss Yu, this is Young Master Yin’s special arrangement to celebrate your return home after four consecutive days of overtime. There’s cake for dessert too.”

You Mingxu felt her temple twitch a few times. Now she thought not only was Yin Feng abnormal, but Chen Feng seemed a bit… off-kilter too. In all her life, she’d never seen anyone throw such an elaborate celebration for working four days of overtime.

Chen Feng quickly retreated to the kitchen, truly living up to her role as China’s best assistant. Yin Feng remained face-down, motionless. You Mingxu went over and poked his head, but he still didn’t move.

You Mingxu said, “Weren’t you going to celebrate with me?” Her voice was slightly gentler than before. He finally slowly sat up, but upon seeing her still-swollen face, immediately stood and said, “Let’s take you to the hospital first!”

You Mingxu held back her reaction and said, “It’s just a small injury, what hospital? I’ll wash my face and put some medicine on it.” She went to the bathroom, carefully washed her face, and looked in the mirror – it was indeed swollen, looking quite ugly.

You Mingxu tossed the towel aside and walked back to the bedroom to find Yin Feng already sitting there with an ice pack. She took it and pressed it gently to her face, letting out a “tss” at the mixture of pain and relief. A smile flashed across Yin Feng’s lips but quickly returned to his pouty expression.

You Mingxu held back her laughter, ignoring him. He picked up cotton swabs and iodine from the side table, saying, “Move the ice pack, let me apply the medicine.”

You Mingxu reached out: “I can do it myself.”

His lips pressed together again: “No.”

You Mingxu couldn’t be bothered to argue, lowered the ice pack, and turned her swollen face toward him. He applied the iodine with careful, light touches, making her face feel slightly itchy and cool. She glanced sideways to see his serious, focused expression. Exactly like when he was reading case files in the car.

After the medicine was applied, they could finally eat.

You Mingxu looked at the elaborate dishes covering the table, the constant flow of chefs and servants bringing food, and Chen Feng overseeing everything from the side. She just focused on eating. After finishing, she put down her utensils and said, “Hey, thanks for this, but don’t do anything so extravagant in the future. I work overtime all the time, when I come home I just want to eat and sleep normally.”

He lowered his head: “I understand.”

You Mingxu suddenly had a strange feeling that this child’s mind seemed to have matured a bit, developing his own thoughts, no longer wearing every emotion on his face or simply accepting everything she said.

No, that wasn’t quite right –, from their very first meeting, despite his simplicity, he’d always had his thoughts and feelings.

After dinner and a shower, You Mingxu sat on the balcony outside the living room, holding the ice pack to her face. The sky had completely darkened, with a few stars climbing up to shine their separate lights. You Mingxu lounged lazily in her chair, her mind completely relaxed.

Yin Feng came out, dragging a chair to sit beside her. He held a glass of cola, taking small sips. You Mingxu could almost feel the cool sweetness of the cola flowing down his throat, swallowed slightly, and said, “Get me one.”

Yin Feng immediately protected his drink: “It’s the last one in the house.”

You Mingxu let out a light snort.

He quickly said, “I’ll have someone buy you some.”

You Mingxu wasn’t actually used to ordering people around, and said, “No need, just let me have a sip of yours.” As a criminal investigator who often shared a single bottle of water with her fellow officers during stakeouts, she was used to roughing it and didn’t care about such things.

Yin Feng paused for a moment, as he never shared food or drinks with others. Feeling his heart flutter, he slowly passed the glass over.

You Mingxu grabbed it, took a big gulp, and handed it back.

Yin Feng took it, staring at the rim where she had drunk, which happened to be exactly where he had been drinking. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling – nervous, secretly delighted, and though she had used what he had used, he felt like he was the one doing something naughty.

“Your deduction might be wrong,” You Mingxu said.

Yin Feng looked up.

You Mingxu gazed into the distance, briefly summarizing the investigation’s progress over the past few days, then said, “We haven’t found anyone around Xie Huifang with a clear motive or opportunity for murder. Your insistence on revenge as the motive probably doesn’t hold up. We’ve now shifted our investigation toward robbery-homicide.”

She turned to look at him, expecting to see embarrassment on his face, but saw only a calm expression with slightly furrowed brows.

You Mingxu smiled, snatched his cola back, and took another sip.

“I’m not wrong,” Yin Feng said. “Each victim was stabbed multiple times, and the careful killer specifically chose when Xie Huifang was home alone. The piling of bodies served no practical purpose, only psychological suggestion. These all convey strong emotions and motivation. It’s revenge – you must have missed something or someone in your investigation.”

You Mingxu held his gaze for a few seconds without speaking. Though this case seemed simple, she also felt something was off about it.

Yin Feng took advantage of the moment to reclaim his cola, and only he knew he hesitated for a second before deliberately drinking from a certain spot, gulping down the rest in one go, his heart pounding silently but forcefully.

Then he held the empty glass in his palm, rolling it back and forth for a while before breaking into a bright smile and saying, “If you investigate along the robbery angle, you’re wasting your time, Miss Yu, you’re doing something stupid.”

Although You Mingxu had her doubts about the investigation’s direction, hearing him say this annoyed her, feeling like he was insulting her and her colleagues. She snorted lightly and said, “What’s it to you? How we investigate is our decision.”

Yin Feng, somehow struck by sudden inspiration like a light from the sky above had illuminated his mind, blurted out, “Why don’t we make a bet?”

You Mingxu raised an eyebrow.

Yin Feng said, “Let’s bet on whether this case is revenge or robbery. If you follow the robbery lead and find nothing, I win. And my stake is… you take me along on all your future cases.”