The corners of Xu Xingchun’s mouth tightened. He lowered his eyes, took half a step forward, and stared fixedly at her.

“I really don’t do drugs. If I wanted to touch that kind of thing, I could have done it in high school. Why don’t you take me back to your place for testing?” Fu Xueli spoke incoherently, truly not knowing how to explain anymore.

In the thick darkness, Xu Xingchun’s tall, slender figure was concealed. Though only an arm’s length away, she could clearly feel that his emotions, while seemingly calm, were actually very abnormal, mixed with a rare violence.

His slightly protruding Adam’s apple moved up and down. He restrained his jaw, his dense eyelashes lowered. “Put on the coat, sit here, and wait for me to come back.”

“How long will you be gone…” Fu Xueli hesitated, then changed her phrasing. “How long do I have to wait?”

Just when she thought she wouldn’t get an answer, she heard Xu Xingchun say, “I don’t know.”

His voice was deep and cold, his expression momentarily somber.

“Oh… okay, hurry up. I still have to catch a flight back to Lin City tomorrow.” She continued, then asked obediently, “I’ll just stay here?”

Fu Xueli’s eyes held his complete reflection. This rarely seen obedience made Xu Xingchun’s voice pause slightly. “Mm.”

“Okay.”

Hearing an affirmative rather than a rejection, he used enormous self-control, forcing himself with all his might to turn around.

Fu Xueli wrapped the somewhat oversized coat tightly around herself and sat on the stone bench, watching Xu Xingchun return to the chaotic scene.

From the darkness, step by step, he walked to the boundary line cut by light and shadow. In his light clear blue shirt, tall with long legs, his back ramrod straight, his figure lone and proud.

Xu Tao leaned irritably against the door of a private room, looking around, biting on an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

He raised his hand to turn off the dazzling, ostentatious wall lamp. Inside, over a dozen people were searching, not sparing even the various liquids in glass bottles. After a few more minutes, a police officer came out, shaking his head helplessly. “So far, nothing.”

“Not a single bit of goods?” Xu Tao frowned.

The officer shook his head. “Searched everywhere, nothing.” After finishing, his gaze shifted upward and he called out, “Captain Xu.”

Xu Xingchun nodded. “How is it?”

“Not good.” Xu Tao freed one hand to rub his eyes. Unable to control his gossiping heart, he joked, “Yo, you sent your girlfriend out already? That fast?”

Seeing Xu Xingchun remain silent with a cold face, Xu Tao recalled the earlier scene. His captain, who usually prided himself on not being interested in women and maintaining calm self-control, had, before everyone realized it, pressed a woman firmly in his arms in full view of everyone. The movement was simply incredibly swift, stunning everyone. This really didn’t seem quite consistent with his usual self…

“Today, aside from catching some prostitutes, we probably won’t find anything else.” Another officer came to report.

They finished searching one private room and prepared to go to the next. Just then, they ran into an acquaintance who greeted them. “Hey, Xu Tao, you’re from the anti-narcotics team, right?”

“What about it?”

“Ah, the investigators just gave feedback to the command center. An hour earlier, waiters and security guards went to several private rooms to warn them that the Public Security Bureau would be sending people to raid the place. They should have transferred everything beforehand.”

Xu Tao and Xu Xingchun exchanged a glance and cursed under their breath. “Damn.”

It was chaotic right now. Everywhere there were disheveled men and women fleeing in panic. Seeing them in police uniforms, they were like mice seeing cats, terribly frightened, constantly trying to hide.

Xu Tao squinted and casually glanced around, seeing several young, burly men coming out of a room ahead. Each wore gold chains around their necks, had tattooed sleeves, and solid builds, only their steps were somewhat unsteady, their eyes glazed.

That group hadn’t had time to react when they turned around and ran right into Xu Xingchun and his team. Their expressions immediately turned ugly.

Someone asked in a low voice, tilting their head, “What do we do?”

“Hurry up and go, don’t make a sound!”

They walked swiftly. Having barely taken two steps, a shout indeed came from behind. “—Wait!”

The man with the tattooed sleeves, looking like the leader, his expression somewhat unnatural, turned around and forced a greeting to Xu Xingchun, who was leading the way. “Comrade police officer, we brothers just came out for a gathering, having some drinks. We didn’t hire prostitutes, really didn’t break any laws. What can we do for you?”

Xu Tao practically wanted to roll his eyes. Impatiently, he said, “Don’t bother with that kind of talk. Stop pretending. Come with us.”

“On what grounds? Can police just randomly arrest common people now? Is there no law anymore?” The burly men’s faces darkened as they began to confront them, cursing continuously.

Xu Tao and the others ignored them completely, directly pulling out handcuffs.

“Today I’m just not leaving!” The burly man seemed suddenly enraged, his eyes glaring furiously, his muscles bulging. “Let’s see who dares touch me today. Not to scare you, but we’re all people who lick blood off knife edges in society. Having mixed this far, we’ve never been afraid of anyone. Don’t try that with us!”

This boss hadn’t even finished speaking when he suddenly fell silent. A slight ripple appeared in his eyes. In an instant, he held his breath—a gun was steadily and precisely pressed against the back of his head.

The diamond spotlights from the corridor ceiling shone down. The young police officer stood quietly, the contours of his profile sharp and defined. He held the gun with one hand, pressing it against the head of the person in front of him.

His distinct finger bones squeezed the trigger. Black tousled hair cast uneven shadows, concealing his faded gaze.

“Um…” The burly man’s voice was somewhat stiff and tight, his legs trembling imperceptibly.

Xu Xingchun didn’t waste a single word. His speech was slow and gentle, his tone lowered several degrees, yet it brooked no argument. “Cuff them and take them away.”

This evening was quite turbulent. The wailing of police sirens attracted a large crowd of onlookers. The people watching the excitement still hadn’t dispersed even past midnight. Fu Xueli sat obediently on the stone bench. The wind was strong, and it was so dark here that one could barely see anything.

A bit cold. She was afraid Tang Xin would worry, so she opened WeChat to reply:

【I’m fine. Ran into Xu Xingchun. He brought me out.】

Tang Xin: 【What a coincidence?! You scared me to death】

Fu Xueli: 【What about you, where are you?】

Tang Xin: 【I’m still at Heaven. No police came into our private room. Where are you? Did you get to the hotel?】

Fu Xueli: 【No, I’m at a place with very few people waiting for Xu Xingchun. I’m going back to Lin City tomorrow. I’ll have Xixi bring me my ID card later. There’s nothing much to pack in terms of luggage. Then, with the New Year holiday added on, please don’t call me for at least over a week, okay?】

Tang Xin: 【Got it, got it. I don’t know if these police are trying to meet year-end quotas or what, why would they choose to crack down on vice right before the New Year? Ridiculous! Remember to ask for me later!】

Fu Xueli: 【Ask who?】

Tang Xin: 【Ask that very handsome police fuck buddy of yours :)】

Although she was disheveled at the moment, seeing this sentence, she couldn’t help but laugh. There were soft footsteps nearby, gradually approaching. Fu Xueli’s face still carried remnants of her smile. She turned her head to look and tentatively called out, “Xu Xingchun?”

The person stopped a few meters away from her.

Fu Xueli held up her phone, using the faint light to identify the other person’s form.

“Is that Xu Xingchun?” Hesitating, she asked again.

“No.”

Actually, Fu Xueli wasn’t very sensitive to other people’s voices. She dealt with too many people every day to remember them all. But this voice, almost the instant she heard it, was retrieved from her memory.

Her frozen legs hurt a bit. She stamped her feet, quickly recovering her calm demeanor, and asked doubtfully, “Ma Xuanrui? What are you doing here?”

Unobtrusively, Ma Xuanrui sat down beside her and smiled, asking, “You seem quite nervous?”

Tch.

Fu Xueli’s gaze wandered around. She pulled at the corner of her lips and said nonchalantly, “What do you want to say?”

After a long silence, in the pitch-black and cold environment, neither of them spoke again.

Ma Xuanrui spoke to herself. “I’m guessing you two got back in contact.”

Without asking, she knew who the “you two” in her words referred to.

At present, Fu Xueli could only make out some vague images. She felt that in this situation, having a heart-to-heart with someone, especially about emotional matters, was really quite bizarre. Getting a bit impatient, Fu Xueli replied briefly, “What does it have to do with you?”

Ma Xuanrui smiled, unmoved.

“Do you love Xu Xingchun?” The brief silence was broken as she suddenly asked.

Fu Xueli was truly baffled, her patience disappearing completely. “What are you talking about?”

Ma Xuanrui didn’t know who she was speaking to, as if she just wanted to confide. “I know you don’t like him, but I like him so much.”

“So much that I wish everyone would betray and abandon him, so that only I alone would love him.”

Her voice was soft, her tone very gentle. Without waiting for Fu Xueli to interrupt, she continued, “You, Fu Xueli, have so many people who love you. You don’t lack Xu Xingchun, right? Even if he died, you wouldn’t be sad for long. But why doesn’t Xu Xingchun understand this?”

Fu Xueli couldn’t hold back anymore. She spoke up. “What’s your purpose in coming here? If you want to tell me how much you love him, I know.”

As if suddenly thinking of something, she added without much feeling, “If you want to tell me how much he loves me, I also know.”

“Mm, you know everything.” Ma Xuanrui was slightly mocking. “Then do you know when Xu Xingchun’s mother died?”

“…” This sentence successfully froze her.

After a long time, Ma Xuanrui murmured word by word, gritting her teeth with each word. “That year when City B hosted the Olympics. Xu Xingchun hid from everyone and was hospitalized alone. Do you know how much I’ve wanted to show you that diagnosis and treatment document all these years? Two months later, he went to the school alone and applied to be transferred away from the Lin City branch. After that, there was no news.”

She became more and more agitated, her speech suddenly increasing in pace without warning. “What about you, Fu Xueli? I can’t understand how desperate Xu Xingchun must have been to attempt suicide. He was barely alive lying in a hospital bed. After being discharged, he left alone. What were you doing at that time? Where were you? Who were you laughing so happily with?”

Finally, Ma Xuanrui’s tone was completely sharp and trembling. Only one sentence was clearly spoken by her. “What did you do to Xu Xingchun? Do you remember?!”

Suppressing the impulse to turn and flee, Fu Xueli listened, her scalp tingling, as if someone had poured a basin of cold water over her head. Breathing deeply, her fingers curled up neurotically.

Earlier, to prevent information leaks, the mobile phones of all police officers involved in the case had been uniformly turned off and confiscated.

It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten faintly that all the work was finally wrapped up.

Xu Tao, carrying a basket of phones, distributed them everywhere. He grabbed someone and asked, “Where’s Captain Xu? I haven’t seen him?”

“Captain Xu?” That person recalled slightly. “I just saw him sitting on a chair over in Area B. Go check there.”

When Xu Tao found Xu Xingchun, he was sitting alone on a stone bench, surrounded by thick morning fog.

Not knowing how long he’d been sitting there, the contours of his face were simple, his hair somewhat damp. Again with that usual taciturn expression, his body carrying a very faint smell of blood, with a black armed police jacket placed beside him.

Xu Xingchun didn’t look like he was in a daze. His appearance had an inexplicably patient and calm quality, as if he were single-mindedly waiting for someone.

But he was indeed alone.

Xu Tao’s eyelid twitched. He always felt something was strange. He walked over and handed Xu Xingchun his phone. “Buddy, what are you sitting here for? Hurry home and rest. Watch out for sudden death.”

When their eyes met, Xu Tao looked at Xu Xingchun and was startled. There was very pure weariness in his eyes, cold and indifferent, without the slightest ripple.

Xu Tao thought Xu Xingchun was exhausted and patted his shoulder. “You’ve worked hard.”

On the airport road.

Xu Xingchun drove attentively. Having pulled an all-nighter, he showed no signs of fatigue at all. His driving was stable as usual, only his skin was unnaturally pale. The blood-stained cuffs were rolled up to his elbow, exposing a section of his smoothly contoured, beautiful arm and his sharp, prominent wrist bones.

The phone screen on the central console darkened. There was a read message:

【Xu Xingchun, I’m leaving first. This is the last time I’m saying sorry to you. Right now, I have no way of facing you. When I’ve figured things out, I’ll come find you.】