Qiming Chapter 55

Chapter 55

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Upon entering, Xu Chengyue was startled.

The messy living room had somehow returned to its tidy state, the wooden boards and nails scattered on the floor before he went out had completely disappeared. Just then, Gu Yunfeng walked out of the kitchen, carrying a dish of braised carp.

The aroma of the spices filled the air as he sat down at the dining table in surprise. He saw that there was only this one dish on the table, garnished with a circle of spring onions and coriander, and a radish flower placed beside the fish head.

"Did you carve this flower?"

"Yes, you can have a bite. I'll let you eat the flower." Gu Yunfeng handed him a pair of chopsticks and then returned to the kitchen. "There's also a stir-fried vegetable, it'll be ready in a moment."

Xu Chengyue glanced at the beautifully cut but unappetising radish flower and picked up the fish eye with his chopsticks. The next second, he saw Gu Yunfeng push open the kitchen door, holding a spoon in one hand and a plate of stir-fried vegetable hearts in the other. Waving the spoon, Gu Yunfeng said to him, "Leave one for me, leave one eye."

"Both are for you." Xu Chengyue looked at it with disdain. He originally intended to throw it in the trash, but now he could only put down his chopsticks and ask with difficulty, "Don't you find it scary? Why do you like eating fish eyes?"

"I'm afraid of going blind," Gu Yunfeng said seriously, then looked at Xu Chengyue expectantly. "How is it? Tasty?"

"Quite tasty." He said while picking up a piece of fish. The flesh was very delicious, fresh, and tender, filling the air with its aroma. As he ate the meal prepared by Gu Yunfeng, he suddenly thought that if Captain Gu cooked every day, staying here for a few more years wouldn't be bad at all. Full board and no dishwashing, it was bliss.

"How come you had time to cook today?" He suddenly remembered that Gu Yunfeng had gone to Wang Kun's house this morning. If they had found him, Gu Yunfeng should have been working overtime on the interrogation by now.

"I didn't have time, but nothing was going right, so I cooked a koi for good luck."

"If you ate it all, where would the luck come from?"

"Sincerity brings good fortune. I ate it all, so I was very sincere." Gu Yunfeng said earnestly, then sighed naturally.

"Did you find Wang Kun?"

"Yes," Gu Yunfeng replied gloomily, picking at his food. "His illness relapsed. When we got to his house, he was unconscious from excessive blood loss and was taken to the hospital."

Xu Chengyue put down his chopsticks and listened intently.

"Fortunately, he woke up not long after. He admitted that Lin Xiangrong provided him with hematopoietic stem cells, but he didn't admit that the blood at the scene was his."

"After all, the bloodstain matches Lin Xiangrong's DNA completely, while Wang Kun's DNA only matches the blood DNA." He said worriedly, "The DNA extracted from other parts of Wang Kun's body is still his own and does not match the blood at the scene, which makes this evidence controversial."

—————

After eating the koi and washing the dishes, Gu Yunfeng sat on the sofa, praying for a turn of fortune, hoping for a new and powerful piece of evidence to fall from the sky and hit him on the head.

Luckily, Wang Kun wouldn't be able to undergo another bone marrow transplant in the short term, giving him a slim chance to argue for the validity of this evidence.

If Wang Kun underwent another transplant, the new blood would completely differ from that at the crime scene, and Lin Xiangrong would have an alibi, allowing both of them to easily get away with it.

"If there's not enough evidence, go find new evidence," Xu Chengyue said, looking at the captain who was lying there in despair, holding a book. He couldn't think of anything to encourage him but felt there must be other evidence. Someone who left their blood at the scene would surely make other mistakes.

"I want to, but I just can't find it," Gu Yunfeng said with a face full of resentment.

"You seem to have gotten dumber recently." Xu Chengyue looked at him with disdain and spoke bluntly.

"Not really... maybe this case has just dragged on for too long." His mind was in a mess, and with Professor Xu's remark, he suddenly realised that he might indeed have become a bit dull lately.

"Why has your IQ regressed?" Xu Chengyue sat next to him and even reached out to feel his forehead, saying, "Your forehead isn't hot, so why is your face so red? You must be feeling guilty."

Then he removed his hand and looked at Gu Yunfeng expectantly. "Are you in love?"

"... What nonsense, what love?" This shocking statement startled him. He found Xu Chengyue to be a very interesting person, always saying unexpected truths at certain moments, crude yet hitting straight to the heart. This contrasted sharply with his aloof and lofty demeanour.

However, it had indeed been a long time since he was in a relationship, he couldn't even remember the reason for his last breakup... was it because he bought the wrong gift or forgot a birthday? He used to be quite popular with girls, but in recent years, his work in the criminal investigation team had kept him so busy that he hardly had any energy left for matters outside of cases.

He thought that if things continued like this, he might have to consider finding someone within the team. After all, they saw each other regularly, and no matter how busy they were, they wouldn't go a whole year without meeting.

As he pondered, he recalled the day Xu Chengyue kissed him. Professor Xu had touched his lips, taken his hat, and put it on his head as if nothing had happened.

But he couldn't pretend it hadn't happened. For a long time, he kept replaying that moment in his mind. Did they really kiss? Did their lips actually touch, or did he just imagine it?

This moment kept replaying in his mind, becoming more and more etched in his memory. He probably wouldn't be able to forget it for the rest of his life.

Gu Yunfeng slapped his forehead, desperately wanting to snap out of it.

He mustered the courage to look at Xu Chengyue and reiterated that he was just tired recently and not in a relationship. But Professor Xu wouldn't let it go. "Then why have you become so dumb?"

"Chronic insomnia, lack of rest, memory decline, and getting older."

"You've been quite absent-minded lately." Xu Chengyue sighed. He rarely sighed, and even an occasional frown on his usually calm face seemed out of place.

"Is it still because of what happened that day?"

"I..." Gu Yunfeng was about to ask "Which day," but shut his mouth before the words came out.

What other day could it be? Of course, he knew.

Suddenly, he didn't know how to explain, so he just closed his mouth and started browsing his emails on his laptop. As he opened an email, he kept sneaking glances at Xu Chengyue. He used to pride himself on his European-style double eyelids, but after meeting Xu Chengyue, he realised that single eyelids could be very attractive too. Of course, it wasn't just his eyes that were beautiful, his high nose and perfectly shaped chin were also quite appealing. And his mouth, the more he looked at it, the more he found it quite sexy?

Wait, what was he thinking? He hastily closed the email, only to remember that it was the half-written email he was sending to Director Zhao.

He admitted that he had been preoccupied with trivial matters lately. While entangled in his thoughts, he became increasingly strange. Analysing his feelings, he wondered why he had ended up in this situation – feeling uncomfortable whenever he was alone at home with Xu Chengyue.

Should he subtly remind him that it was time to go back to his own place?

Looking at Xu Chengyue's focused expression while reading, he dismissed the thought – Professor Xu was still in a precarious situation.

But right now, he was nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with Xu Chengyue, and this proximity made him extremely nervous, his breathing inexplicably rapid. The window was open, and he ran his fingers through his hair, tousled by the wind, analysing that it must be because he had been kissed by a man that day, making him feel a sense of imbalance as if he had been taken advantage of, coupled with the emotional instability from being single for too long.

In short, being taken advantage of had left him feeling unbalanced.

So, to resolve this unbalanced feeling, he should...

Kiss back?

Gu Yunfeng leaned back on the sofa, seriously considering the question. Kissing back would make him seem extravagant and unstable, but letting the other person take advantage of him made him uncomfortable.

Life was full of difficult choices.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: August 4, 2024 by Angel

Edited: October 12, 2024 by Angel