The two locked eyes for a moment before Su Xingtong abruptly withdrew his gaze. He pulled out his phone and spoke to his assistant: “I happen to have a friend nearby. You find your own place to stay; don’t worry about me.”
The assistant let out an “oh.” Mo Junyi realized that the “friend” Su Xingtong mentioned was most likely Li Jinghan.
A second later, Su Xingtong dialed his friend’s number. On the quiet path of the village-within-a-city, Mo Junyi could clearly hear the phone ring several times before the call ended without being picked up. Su Xingtong frowned and tried a few more times, but the result was the same. His expression darkened as he looked down at his phone in thought.
Mo Junyi saw everything, but unlike Su Xingtong’s confusion, he roughly knew what had happened. According to the original work’s timeline, it should be the third day after Li Jinghan was “humiliated.” It was too much of a coincidence that both men were unreachable; there had to be a reason.
Since Lu Hengyu’s parents hadn’t come looking for him, the kid was at least safe. Mo Junyi considered his options and decided on a “circuitous” approach. He needed to learn more details from Su Xingtong that differed from the original book to determine his next move.
He pulled himself from his thoughts and said to Su Xingtong, “If you can’t reach your friend, you can stay at my place for now.”
Su Xingtong froze. Liu Minghua, however, had an even bigger reaction. She looked at Mo Junyi with sheer disbelief, her mouth agape. “Boss, you… are you possessed?”
Seeing her about to walk straight into a utility pole, Mo Junyi clicked his tongue. “Watch the road.”
Liu Minghua snapped back to reality, rubbed her nose, and swerved around the pole.
The assistant, who was busy looking for a hotel, turned around upon hearing the invitation. He frowned and began, “Thank you for your kindness, but—”
“Since Officer Mo is being so hospitable,” Su Xingtong interrupted, “then I shall accept with gratitude.”
The assistant’s eyes widened as if he were seeing Su Xingtong for the first time. Su Xingtong ignored him, turned off his phone, and asked, “What time is the meeting with Director Wang tomorrow?”
The assistant answered with a shaky voice, clearly still in shock: “Afternoon… 2:30 PM, at the Aloft.”
Su Xingtong nodded. “Understood. Come at 2:00 PM tomorrow… Officer Mo, would it be convenient to disclose your home address?”
Mo Junyi replied, “Add me on WeChat; I’ll send it to you.”
The moment he said it, both men froze. They realized that despite having registered a marriage, they didn’t even have each other’s contact information—an utterly absurd situation.
Su Xingtong pulled out his phone first. “Should I scan you or you scan me?”
“Phone number,” Mo Junyi replied, declining both options.
The assistant looked like he was about to have a stress-induced stomach ache. A celebrity’s private number was something guarded with extreme security; even directors they’d worked with for years might not have it. His fears were justified: after a two-second silence, Su Xingtong rattled off a string of digits. The assistant’s vision went dark—it was Su Xingtong’s personal number used for family, as private as it could possibly be.
Mo Junyi, showing no self-awareness about obtaining a superstar’s private contact, calmly recorded the number and sent his home address. Su Xingtong’s expression turned subtle when he saw the address was in a well-known luxury villa district. Mo Junyi seemed to know what he was thinking without even looking up, but he didn’t explain.
After the assistant got the address, he asked, “Brother Su, what about that matter on the Hot Search today…?”
Mo Junyi saw Su Xingtong’s expression turn dangerous, though his tone remained unchanged: “I know. Leave it for now. Let them keep making a scene; the bigger it gets, the easier it will be to wrap up.”
The assistant nodded cautiously and, seeing no further instructions, turned and left, looking back every three steps.
Liu Minghua quipped, “My dad wasn’t even this reluctant when he married me off.”
Mo Junyi gave her a sideways glance. “Your father was likely too happy for words.”
“Hey!” Liu Minghua protested.
It took Su Xingtong three seconds to realize the policewoman was teasing him. He looked up to retort, but Mo Junyi interrupted: “Get in the car.”
Mo Junyi sat in the driver’s seat, leaving Liu Minghua and Su Xingtong to stare at each other. Liu Minghua tactfully opened the rear door and hopped in, closing it behind her in one fluid motion. Su Xingtong could only walk around the front to the passenger seat.
Mo Junyi drove Liu Minghua back to the bureau first. During the ride, the two in the front didn’t speak. Su Xingtong continued to scroll through his phone; Mo Junyi caught his movement and thought to himself that he wasn’t even afraid of motion sickness.
In the back, Liu Minghua felt the atmosphere was cold rather than romantic, so she pulled out her phone to distract herself. The moment she opened Weibo, a Hot Search was pushed to her: “Day and Night Soul Chase” starts filming tomorrow; Lin Qingfeng reveals script may change to “Double Male Leads.”
“Day and Night Soul Chase? Double male leads?” Liu Minghua muttered, unaware the subject was right in front of her. “What kind of double lead can you play in that, ‘Ghost-Human Love Story’? People will sell their souls for any cheap ca—”
She clicked into the search and stopped mid-word. The reason was simple: the name of the other lead was Su Xingtong.
She swallowed the rest of her sentence and looked up cautiously, meeting Su Xingtong’s playful gaze in the rearview mirror.
“Uh…” Liu Minghua felt incredibly awkward. She coughed and tried to find a topic. “What a coincidence, it’s also a criminal investigation drama… haha…”
“It is a coincidence,” Su Xingtong nodded. He glanced at Mo Junyi. “Speaking of which, Captain Mo should have heard of the case this drama is based on.”
Mo Junyi didn’t respond, only glancing at him in the mirror. Liu Minghua was curious: “Eh? Why?”
Su Xingtong looked back at the traffic light. “This case is adapted from a bizarre cold case from the 90s. It was said to be unresolved until it was finally cracked five years ago.”
Mo Junyi remained unmoved: “With technological development, many cold cases have seen breakthroughs. It’s nothing major.”
“Yes, but this case wasn’t cracked because of technology,” Su Xingtong said meaningfully. “It was because of a person.”
“A person?” Liu Minghua’s interest was piqued. She leaned forward. “Who?”
Su Xingtong didn’t answer, just kept his eyes on Mo Junyi. Liu Minghua wasn’t stupid; she immediately exclaimed in shock, “Our Captain?!”
Su Xingtong crossed his arms and gave an “mm,” adding, “The dismemberment case in the neighboring province five years ago—does Captain Mo remember?”
Mo Junyi knew what he was talking about but didn’t want to engage. He gave a bland “mm.”
As for how Su Xingtong knew this, given he could reach Director Li to act as a matchmaker, this small detail likely wasn’t hard for him to find.
Liu Minghua, seeing them trade riddles, searched for the case details on Weibo. The power of netizens was vast, and she quickly found the gist: twenty years ago, several horrific dismemberment cases occurred in the neighboring province. The victims varied wildly—old, young, male, female—with no commonalities. Detectives back then found no breakthroughs after two years, and the case went cold. Five years ago, a “Reboot” project for cold cases was launched. While the detectives were at their wits’ end after fifteen years, a young officer from the neighboring province contacted the captain of the Major Crimes Unit, explained his theory, and the case was finally solved following that lead.
Liu Minghua was stunned. “Captain, you were that godly five years ago?”
Mo Junyi didn’t answer, his expression as calm as if they were discussing someone else. In fact, he had only found out today that he was the “prototype” for a drama, and he hadn’t even been notified. He was currently calculating whether adapting his story without notice constituted a legal violation.
Suddenly, Liu Minghua cried out, “Holy… double leads? Then the other lead is…!”
Su Xingtong was playing the officer in charge of the “Reboot” project, so the prototype for the “other lead”—the one who played the decisive role—was naturally Mo Junyi.
Su Xingtong gave Mo Junyi a playful look, hoping for a reaction, but Mo Junyi’s “unmoved even if Mount Tai collapses” posture disappointed him. However, this second male lead based on Mo Junyi had been given a massive amount of extra screen time, turning a “guiding” role into a full-blown “consultant” from another province.
Liu Minghua winced. “That’s a lot of extra screen time. Teacher Su, you’re just going to endure this?”
Su Xingtong snorted. “The guy is the director’s ‘significant other.’ What else can I do but endure?”
It was the first time Mo Junyi had heard him speak in such a tone, and he couldn’t help but glance at him. Liu Minghua had just stumbled upon a huge piece of gossip, but before she could ask more, the car reached the police station.
“Get out.” This was likely the most-repeated phrase from Mo Junyi today.
Liu Minghua hesitated, looking from Su Xingtong to her Captain. Finally, she said, “Teacher Su, if our Captain went to act in this with you, the effect would be a hundred times better than the director’s ‘significant other’.”
She scrambled out of the car before Mo Junyi could blow up.
The car became silent. Mo Junyi stepped on the gas with a blank face. Su Xingtong chuckled. “I think she’s right. Why doesn’t Captain Mo consider it?”
Mo Junyi didn’t blink. “Not interested.”
Su Xingtong looked at him and gave a light “hmpf,” deciding not to seek further trouble.
By the time the car stopped at Mo Junyi’s building, the sky was completely dark. Su Xingtong wrapped his coat around himself and followed Mo Junyi inside.
The two had just registered their marriage today; logically, even if it were fake, there should be some sense of novelty. But Mo Junyi acted like he was bringing home a stray cat. After opening the door, he made no extra movements, pulled a pair of slippers from the cabinet for Su Xingtong, and went to his room to change.
Left in the living room, Su Xingtong didn’t feel awkward. Instead, he looked around with a mix of surprise and suspicion.
The villa had two floors. Contrary to Mo Junyi’s outward personality, the home was quite warm. From the coffee machine and bean bag chair to the fish tank, everything a normal home should have was there. Even the decor was in warm tones, orderly yet full of life.
The more Su Xingtong looked, the more suspicious he became. So when Mo Junyi emerged from the bedroom in pajamas, he was met with a complex “interrogation” from Su Xingtong:
“Captain Mo… you wouldn’t happen to not be single, would you?”