Mo Junyi was met with a wall of warm, humid steam; through the haze, a vague silhouette stood before him. Seeing that Su Xingtong was merely using his pajamas to partially shield his body, Mo Junyi abruptly averted his gaze.
Yet that single glimpse left an indelible impression—white, a lustrous, jade-like porcelain white.
“Can it… still be used?” Su Xingtong’s inquiry pulled Mo Junyi back to reality.
Mo Junyi looked up to inspect the fixture. “It should be fine. Where is the showerhead?”
Su Xingtong turned around to grab the showerhead from a nearby shelf. The bruises on his shoulder only served to emphasize the paleness of his skin. Mo Junyi’s breath hitched; he turned his head slightly to avoid looking at him.
Su Xingtong seemed entirely unaware of the effect he was having as he handed the showerhead to Mo Junyi.
Mo Junyi pointedly avoided looking at him, and as he reached for the device, their fingers inadvertently brushed against one another.
Having just been under the water, Su Xingtong’s fingers were warm and damp—much softer than Mo Junyi’s own.
Feeling the ambiguous touch at his fingertips, Mo Junyi paused for a split second before withdrawing his hand as if nothing had happened. Conversely, Su Xingtong, who hadn’t reacted initially, suddenly pulled his hand back as if he had been struck by an electric current.
Mo Junyi set to work repairing the showerhead in silence. Water drizzled from the fixture with his movements, gradually soaking his upper body.
Su Xingtong stood to the side clutching his pajamas, watching Mo Junyi through the roomful of steam. Within the haze, his eyes slowly widened, and a quiet flush crept onto his cheeks.
Halfway through the repair, Mo Junyi suddenly stopped. Su Xingtong looked over in confusion, only to see Mo Junyi reach out and switch on the bathroom heater.
The sudden burst of light caused Su Xingtong to instinctively squint.
“Careful not to catch a cold,” Mo Junyi explained his actions in a flat tone.
The repair actually took very little time, yet both men in the bathroom felt as if every second was an eternity.
“Fixed,” Mo Junyi said, patting the water off his shoulder. “It’ll do for now. Tomorrow I’ll call a plumber to replace the whole unit.”
Looking at Mo Junyi’s shirt, which had become nearly transparent from the water, Su Xingtong blurted out without thinking: “Why don’t you take a quick rinse?”
The moment the words left his mouth, both men realized the double meaning. Mo Junyi’s eyes darkened as he turned to look at Su Xingtong. Su Xingtong’s already flushed cheeks turned a deeper shade of crimson. “I didn’t mean it like that…”
“I’ll wash later,” Mo Junyi interrupted his explanation. He grabbed a nearby towel and gave his body a cursory wipe. “Don’t mind me.”
With that, Mo Junyi walked out. He appeared perfectly composed, but as for how he actually felt inside—only he truly knew.
Fifteen minutes later, Su Xingtong emerged from the bathroom wearing his pajamas. “…I’m finished.”
Mo Junyi set down the ice water he was drinking and gave a short response. “Mm. How is your shoulder?”
Su Xingtong moved his shoulder slightly, felt it for a moment, and replied, “It doesn’t affect anything. I’m fine.”
That means it still hurts, Mo Junyi thought. He set down his glass, stood up, and walked over to the television stand, pulling a bottle of Safflower Oil from a drawer.
“Take off your clothes,” Mo Junyi said as he walked back to him, his tone brooking no argument.
Su Xingtong knew he had no ulterior motives, yet he still felt a sense of bashfulness. Unable to show it in front of Mo Junyi, he could only bite the bullet and sit on the sofa, pulling his pajama top down past his shoulders.
Mo Junyi’s original intent was for him to take the shirt off entirely; the house was well-heated, so he wouldn’t freeze.
This was supposed to be a purely platonic act, yet the atmosphere had shifted entirely.
Su Xingtong bowed his head slightly, his snow-white neckline as elegant as a swan’s. The faint bruises adorning his shoulder gave him a fragile, delicate beauty.
Mo Junyi looked down, poured some Safflower Oil into his palm, rubbed his hands together to warm the oil, and then pressed his hand against Su Xingtong’s bruise.
“Sss—!” Mo Junyi’s grip was firm; Su Xingtong hissed as the cold air left his lungs.
Mo Junyi spoke up: “Bear with it for a moment.”
Su Xingtong bit his lower lip, squeezing out a reply: “It’s fine, don’t worry about me.”
Mo Junyi continued to massage the area in silence. Su Xingtong gripped his sleeve tightly with his right hand. Aside from the pain, a very different sensation was spreading from his shoulder.
To distract himself, Su Xingtong hesitated for a moment before finally speaking: “About today… thank you.”
Mo Junyi paused for a second before accepting the gratitude. “No need. I might have something to ask of you in a few days.”
Ever since the day they made their agreement, Mo Junyi had been saying he would eventually need Su Xingtong’s help, but he had never specified what it was, remaining quite mysterious.
Su Xingtong was curious, but he simply nodded. “I’ll do whatever you need.”
Mo Junyi looked up at him, but the words on the tip of his tongue remained unsaid.
“Done,” Mo Junyi said, withdrawing his hand. “Be careful when you’re filming.”
Su Xingtong pulled his pajamas back up to cover his shoulder and stood to offer another thanks. “Thank you.”
Mo Junyi returned the Safflower Oil to its place. “It’s late. Get some rest.”
The night was long but not peaceful. At around five in the morning, Mo Junyi’s phone suddenly began to ring.
He frowned and opened his eyes. The caller was his aunt—Lu Hengyu’s mother.
Mo Junyi didn’t have a particularly good impression of her. He frowned, set the phone back down, and let it ring.
After about ten minutes, the ringing finally stopped. Mo Junyi picked it up again to find over a dozen missed calls. His aunt was clearly “agitated.”
Mo Junyi waited for a while but didn’t receive a WeChat message from Lu Hengyu. Suspecting the kid might have been beaten to death by his parents, he waited a bit longer. When nothing came, he set the phone aside and went back to sleep.
At seven o’clock, his biological clock woke him punctually. The first thing he did was check his phone; as expected, Lu Hengyu had sent over a dozen messages, all of them pleas for help.
Mo Junyi got out of bed and took his phone with him to wash up. His vanity and toilet were in separate rooms; he happened to run into Su Xingtong, who was also coming to wash up.
Mo Junyi greeted him as usual: “Good morning.”
Su Xingtong reacted like a startled rabbit, his eyes widening slightly before he finally replied, “Good morning.”
After the greeting, Mo Junyi began washing up while simultaneously asking Lu Hengyu about the situation via text.
Su Xingtong finished and was about to leave when Mo Junyi suddenly had an idea. He feigned casualness and asked, “What is your friend’s name?”
“Eh?” Su Xingtong blinked, confused. “Why the sudden question?”
“It’s nothing. My younger cousin said a… new friend he met seems to know you.” Mo Junyi made up an excuse on the fly.
Su Xingtong was surprised. “Could it be such a coincidence? My friend is named Li Jinghan. Who is your cousin?”
Mo Junyi remained silent for a moment. “My cousin is named Lu Hengyu.”
Su Xingtong’s eyes went wide. “…That really is too much of a coincidence.”
They finished washing up and left the room, Su Xingtong still reeling from the sheer randomness of the connection.
Mo Junyi went into the kitchen and prepared a simple meal. After bringing it to the table, he asked, “Do you know about the situation between the two of them?”
Su Xingtong frowned, seemingly deep in thought. “I know a bit… Following that logic, Jinghan’s boyfriend’s parents are your…”
“Uncle and Aunt,” Mo Junyi finished. “They just called me this morning.”
Su Xingtong frowned. “I didn’t know what was happening back home before I returned. Why does Jinghan always run into these kinds of things… Sigh.”
Mo Junyi feigned casualness. “How so?”
Su Xingtong, completely off-guard, pulled out a chair and sat down. “Jinghan has an ex-boyfriend. They were never on good terms even before I went abroad—fighting every three days, having major blowouts every five. That guy would always use me as an excuse to start something; it was incredibly annoying. I thought he’d finally found someone good this time, but who knew the family would be like this… Ah, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean you.”
Su Xingtong realized halfway through that Lu Hengyu’s family included Mo Junyi and quickly cut himself off. Mo Junyi shook his head. “Aside from Lu Hengyu, the rest of the Lu family really isn’t much to speak of.”
Su Xingtong breathed a sigh of relief, only for Mo Junyi to ask, “Where is that ex-boyfriend now?”
Su Xingtong froze, then suddenly smiled. “Is Captain Mo actually concerned about his brother’s family affairs?”
Mo Junyi realized the man had misinterpreted his intent, but he let it slide, nodding in agreement. “He sent me over a dozen messages this morning.”
Su Xingtong laughed. “For what?”
Mo Junyi picked up a piece of beef. “To ask me for advice on how to get away from his parents.”
Su Xingtong laughed even harder. “In your cousin’s heart, Officer Mo is actually an expert in rebellion? I really couldn’t tell.”
Mo Junyi didn’t respond, which served as a tacit admission. Su Xingtong continued, “I’ve only been back for a few days, so I haven’t heard Jinghan mention his ex. But before I went abroad, I heard he was going to be transferred to the Imperial Capital.”
Mo Junyi didn’t push further. To an outsider, it seemed he was just listening to gossip, but in reality, he was deep in thought.
This “Scumbag Lead” who played a major role in the original novel was none other than the CEO of a certain listed company.
Mo Junyi chatted idly with Su Xingtong while recalling details from the original plot. During the conversation, his expression softened, appearing as if he were truly just discussing his cousin.
As they spoke, Su Xingtong reached for some food, only to realize that this breakfast was the complete opposite of the one Mo Junyi had made previously. The staples were steamed sweet potatoes and boiled corn, accompanied by boiled eggs, milk, a broccoli salad, and braised beef.
Su Xingtong suddenly realized the menu had changed because of his comment yesterday about “controlling his diet.” In all his life, this was the first time someone had taken a casual remark of his to heart.
Seeing him holding his chopsticks in mid-air, motionless, Mo Junyi looked up at him.
Su Xingtong snapped out of it immediately. Fearing he’d be seen through, he shoved a piece of beef into his mouth. After chewing twice, his eyes widened. “This… doesn’t seem like the kind you buy outside.”
Mo Junyi explained, “My uncle braised it himself.”
Su Xingtong had a moment of realization. “Your uncle has great skill. There are quite a few talented people in your police circles.”
Mo Junyi nodded, accepting the praise on his uncle’s behalf. “True. He loves researching these things.”
After finishing breakfast, Su Xingtong changed his shoes to head to the film set. Mo Junyi didn’t mention the hot search he had seen the night before; he simply gave a brief farewell as the man left.
The ambiguity of the previous night seemed to vanish in an instant. However, to neither of their expectations, the two who had just parted in the morning met again that very evening. The reason was simple: a murder had occurred on Su Xingtong’s set.
Liu Minghua was the first to receive the report. She hung up the phone with a stiff expression and turned to Mo Junyi cautiously. “Boss… there was an accident with the wires on Teacher Su’s set. A stunt double fell to his death.”
Mo Junyi, who was replying to Lu Hengyu’s WeChat, immediately frowned and stood up to head out. “Specific time.”
Liu Minghua grabbed her phone and followed. “8:06 PM. According to the caller… the deceased was a double for another actor. According to the original schedule, the person who should have been on the wires at 8:00 was actually Teacher Su, but because of some minor issues, the production temporarily swapped their order.”
Mo Junyi spun around abruptly. Liu Minghua’s expression was exceptionally grim. “Captain Mo, this is very likely a case of attempted murder.”