The team member coming out behind Mo Junyi was still a bit drowsy, but seeing the scene, they jolted wide awake.
Representing the group, Liu Minghua stared wide-eyed at Su Xingtong, then turned her head to look at Mo Junyi. After a long while, she whispered, “…Chief, the Sister-in-law is waiting for you to get off work.”
Mo Junyi withdrew his gaze and gave her a cool, indifferent look. Liu Minghua immediately made a “zip it” gesture and, with great situational awareness, turned to the crowd of onlookers behind her. “Off work, off work! Don’t stand here being third wheels!”
Mo Junyi didn’t care about the commotion behind him as he walked toward Su Xingtong. Hearing the approaching footsteps, Su Xingtong snapped out of his slumber and looked up to see Mo Junyi standing right there.
Su Xingtong’s already large eyes widened further, his amber pupils shimmering under the lights. People who have stayed up until this hour tend to lose some of their daytime restraint, and Su Xingtong’s visual impact was simply too strong.
Observing a beauty under the lamp. Mo Junyi couldn’t help but be momentarily dazzled. The words at the tip of his tongue didn’t come out immediately. A second later, Su Xingtong regained his composure, quickly stood up from the bench, and offered the police jacket back to Mo Junyi.
However, Mo Junyi didn’t reach for it.
The two hit a pause button. In the distance, the criminal investigators preparing to leave kept looking back, wishing their eyes could fly over. Fortunately, Liu Minghua, wanting to give them private space, pushed the group to leave quickly. The meddlesome crowd finally left reluctantly, leaving only Mo Junyi and Su Xingtong in the quiet lobby.
Mo Junyi looked down at the person before him, his gaze appearing somewhat unreadable under the lights. Su Xingtong felt his scalp go numb under the scrutiny and couldn’t help but say, “Team Mo, your clothes.”
Mo Junyi snapped out of it but still didn’t take them. “Keep wearing them for now. Give them to me when we get home.”
Su Xingtong was stunned. He instinctively wanted to ask, I didn’t say I was going home with you, but meeting Mo Junyi’s calm and matter-of-fact gaze, it was as if he were possessed; he didn’t voice any objection.
It wasn’t until he was sitting in Mo Junyi’s car that Su Xingtong barely regained his senses. He couldn’t understand how he had ended up in the car so haphazardly, nor how their clear, contractual relationship had evolved into this.
“Constant cutting only makes it messier,” exactly described their current state. Su Xingtong silently clenched his hands beneath the coat.
At 3:00 AM, the city was dead silent, the streetlights an eerie pale white. Yet Su Xingtong, who should have been distraught, felt no lingering fear from his near-death experience; instead, he was lost in thought over emotional matters.
“Regarding today’s incident,” Mo Junyi suddenly broke the silence, “do you have any thoughts?”
Su Xingtong snapped back to reality and hesitated. “…I don’t remember having a grudge with anyone.”
Mo Junyi replied, “It may not necessarily be someone from your industry.”
“What do you mean?” Su Xingtong asked, somewhat surprised. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his tone might be inappropriate. “I didn’t mean…”
Fortunately, seeing his flustered look, Mo Junyi didn’t blame him but comforted him instead. “It’s fine. We found some details during the investigation that I can’t disclose yet. I can only ask you to think if there’s anyone outside the entertainment circle you don’t get along with.”
Su Xingtong furrowed his brows in thought. “Talking like that… there is one. You should have heard of him.”
“Who?” Mo Junyi asked immediately.
“Qi Ying,” Su Xingtong’s expression turned solemn. “Li Jinghan’s ex-boyfriend. Years ago when I was still in the country, because of my relationship with Jinghan, he always had plenty to say about me… It wasn’t a major thing, but I always felt he was a bit neurotic. It wouldn’t be surprising if he did something like this.”
Mo Junyi’s internal suspicion coincided with Su Xingtong’s words. However, he didn’t ask what kind of person Qi Ying was, but instead asked a question seemingly unrelated to the case: “What is your relationship with Li Jinghan?”
“Huh?” Su Xingtong blinked, momentarily failing to react. “Friends. What else could we be?”
Mo Junyi didn’t answer. Su Xingtong sat in his seat thinking for a moment before realizing what he meant.
“You…” Su Xingtong looked at him in disbelief, for a moment not knowing what to say. Being misunderstood naturally didn’t feel great, but that wasn’t why he was reacting this way. Such words coming from Mo Junyi’s mouth carried a different meaning that Su Xingtong couldn’t ignore even if he wanted to. Finally, he pursed his lips and looked away, the tips of his ears feeling inexplicably hot.
Mo Junyi realized he had misspeed and didn’t speak again for a long while.
The two remained silent all the way to Mo Junyi’s home. The biting wind was blocked outside; the heating in the villa was very effective, giving one the feeling of being “home” the moment they stepped in.
Mo Junyi took the police jacket Su Xingtong handed him and hung it casually on the coat rack by the door. Su Xingtong silently but skillfully changed into slippers. Perhaps the change in environment and temperature caused a delayed sense of fear to surface—if it hadn’t been for the shoulder injury, he might have been the one who fell today.
Death itself might not be much, but after his death, aside from his friend Li Jinghan and the fans behind the screen, there might not be anyone in reality who would be sad for him. That was the most painful thing in life.
When Mo Junyi came out of the bedroom after changing, he saw Su Xingtong sitting dazed on the sofa, clutching a cup of hot water.
His heart stirred, and he walked forward. “It’s late. Why aren’t you resting?”
Su Xingtong snapped out of it and checked the time. Seeing it was almost 3:30 AM, he was embarrassed to say he was afraid, so he made another excuse. “Filming these past few days has given me a bit of insomnia… don’t mind me.”
Mo Junyi didn’t “not mind him” as requested. Instead, he walked over and sat down beside him. Su Xingtong was startled, instinctively turning to look at him, only to hear Mo Junyi speak in a tone that could be described as gentle: “Are you afraid?”
In the deep silence of the night, most people’s hearts are at their most vulnerable.
Su Xingtong was silent for a moment. “…Yes, a little.” He followed with a self-deprecating laugh. “Am I being a coward?”
Mo Junyi didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned back on the sofa and began to speak in a soft, slow voice: “My uncle is a narcotics officer. When I was fifteen, he took two bullets and went into the ICU. He didn’t wake up for a whole week.”
Su Xingtong couldn’t help but widen his eyes. “Your uncle is… a narcotics officer?”
“Mhm,” Mo Junyi nodded and continued. “At the time, my aunt was on a business trip out of town and couldn’t make it back. Only I was at the hospital. During the day, I had to run around paying various fees. At night, I sat in the ICU hallway and cried. I cried for seven straight days until my eyes were swollen. When my uncle woke up, he almost didn’t recognize me.”
It was a minor joke, but Su Xingtong couldn’t laugh. He felt a bitterness in his mouth as he stared unblinkingly at the man before him. “…And then? Your uncle… is he okay?”
“He’s doing great.” Mo Junyi turned to look into his eyes. “Because of that incident, he retired early to the second line. He took a second-class merit and spends his days cooking and walking the dog. He lives more comfortably than those big bosses his age.”
Su Xingtong couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s good then…”
“So, as they say, survival brings future blessings.” Mo Junyi looked at him earnestly. “And it’s only human to feel fear afterward. You’re much stronger than I was back then.”
Only then did Su Xingtong realize this man was soothing him. After a three-second daze, a warm current surged through his heart. It was the first time in his life he had been coaxed like this; for a moment, he felt embarrassed, raising a hand to cover his burning cheeks. “…Thanks to Team Mo for taking the trouble to soothe me. I feel much better.”
“I wasn’t soothing you.” Mo Junyi’s tone was gentle yet serious. “I was just speaking from the heart.”
The more he denied it, the more embarrassed Su Xingtong became. Whether it was the heating in the room or something else, Su Xingtong suddenly felt incredibly hot. He stood up immediately. “It’s late, so I’ll go rest. Team Mo should sleep early too.”
With that, he fled into the guest room, not even taking the cup of hot water with him. Mo Junyi glanced at the water, picked it up, and followed.
Su Xingtong had just entered the room and was about to take off his clothes when he heard a knock. Startled, he quickly grabbed the hem of his sweater. “Please… come in.”
When Mo Junyi entered, this was the scene—Su Xingtong clutching the hem of his knit sweater, standing by the bed with wide eyes as if an uninvited guest had entered. He was clutching it so hard that the neckline was pulled significantly wider, partially revealing his smooth collarbones and fair neck.
Mo Junyi discreetly looked away, walked forward, and placed the water on Su Xingtong’s nightstand. “I’ve called someone to fix the showerhead tomorrow morning. If you’re free, please open the door for him.”
Su Xingtong quickly agreed. After saying his piece, Mo Junyi didn’t stay; he set down the water and left.
Su Xingtong breathed a sigh of relief, yet inexplicably felt a trace of disappointment in his heart.
The case was still unclear. Mo Junyi only slept for four hours before getting up. Before leaving, he placed the prepared breakfast on the dining table and covered it with a large lid.
At 10:00 AM, Su Xingtong had just finished washing up when there was a knock on the villa door. He wiped his face and went to open it. Before he could even see who was there, he heard a young, cheerful voice:
“Hello, Sister-in-law!”