To say it was an “interrogation” would certainly be inappropriate. After all, the two had known each other for barely a day—less than twenty-four hours in total. Su Xingtong wasn’t about to start a formal interrogation.
Mo Junyi paused upon hearing the remark. He walked to the table, pinched some tea leaves into a cup, poured hot water, and asked, “Why do you say that?”
Su Xingtong sat on the sofa, watching Mo Junyi. He felt that after the man returned home, his aura had undergone a subtle transformation. He answered truthfully, “I just didn’t feel like you were the type of person to have such a zest for domestic life.”
Mo Junyi took a sip of tea, set down the cup, and replied, “Then your intuition was wrong.”
Su Xingtong raised an eyebrow, a flicker of interest appearing on his beautiful face. “Mm… I didn’t expect Uncle Police Officer to have a domestic side.”
Mo Junyi sat on the sofa and picked up the remote. Hearing himself inexplicably referred to as “Uncle,” he glanced at the man. “If you don’t have anything constructive to say, you can choose silence.”
Su Xingtong wasn’t annoyed by the retort. Instead, he leaned back against the sofa. “Captain Mo, regarding the details of that case back then… how much do you still remember?”
As a criminal investigator, memory far exceeding that of an average person is a basic requirement. Mo Junyi not only remembered, but he also recalled many details unknown to outsiders. However, he didn’t want to elaborate.
Holding the remote and flipping through channels, Mo Junyi replied, “I’ve forgotten.”
Su Xingtong clearly didn’t believe him. “A detective’s memory shouldn’t be that poor, should it?”
Seeing his persistence, Mo Junyi stopped at a channel he liked, set down the remote, and looked at him. “What exactly do you want to ask?”
This was a softening of his stance. Su Xingtong’s expression relaxed. He was about to speak when he heard the sound coming from the television. He froze, looked at the TV, and said in disbelief, “You… you actually like watching this?”
On the screen was a rerun of a cross-talk (xiangsheng) performance from an old Lunar New Year Gala. Mo Junyi’s expression remained unchanged, but it was clear he was watching with great focus.
“Is there a problem?” Mo Junyi’s tone was flat, forming a sharp contrast with the boisterous, noisy style of the television program.
Fortunately, Superstar Su was a man of the world. He quickly composed his emotions and continued the previous topic: “I don’t have specific questions right now. But once the script is finalized, there might be small details I can’t quite grasp. I might need to ask for your guidance.”
The word “guidance” coming from Su Xingtong’s mouth was quite a bit of face-giving. Mo Junyi nodded. “Mm.”
Seeing that he wasn’t acting with the same “thousands of miles away” coldness from earlier that day, Su Xingtong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, once he came to his senses, a doubt surfaced in his heart—Is Mo Junyi being a bit too easy to talk to? Why exactly did this man agree to his proposal?
At this thought, Su Xingtong couldn’t help but study the man before him.
In all fairness, Mo Junyi’s face could hold its own even in the entertainment industry. His handsomeness was a completely different type from Su Xingtong’s vivid brilliance. The phrase “sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes” seemed to have been coined just for him. However, compared to Su Xingtong, Mo Junyi possessed the quality currently most lacking in the industry.
Most of the time, the imposing aura accumulated over years as a criminal investigator made it easy for people to overlook Mo Junyi’s physical appearance. Only under this close scrutiny did Su Xingtong realize that Mo Junyi’s looks and his aura didn’t perfectly align.
There was a hint of “wickedness” in his handsomeness. It wasn’t noticeable during work, but once he relaxed, this touch of wickedness became more apparent, making him look even more strikingly handsome.
Why would such a man—someone with a car, a house, and a stable civil service job, who sought neither Su Xingtong’s money nor his fame—agree to this? Could it be…
Whatever he was thinking, Su Xingtong’s gaze underwent a subtle change.
At that moment, the comedian on TV said something that made the audience burst into laughter. The sound abruptly pulled Su Xingtong back to reality. He quickly turned his head and coughed twice, trying to cover up his behavior. In truth, Mo Junyi saw all his little movements, even the inexplicable flush on his face, but he didn’t care to expose him.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became awkward. Su Xingtong sat as if on pins and needles, fiddling with his phone. The laughter from the TV and the silence of reality formed a sharp contrast. On the Hot Search on his phone, his fans were engaged in a fierce battle with others.
It was a “heaven and ice” situation. Su Xingtong endured for a while before he couldn’t take it anymore. “Can I take a shower?”
He spoke as if he truly treated Mo Junyi’s home like a hotel. Mo Junyi, meeting a guest who acted so much like “one of the family” for the first time in his life, glanced at him. Su Xingtong met his gaze openly and innocently, seemingly unaware of any issue with his request.
The first program reached its end. Mo Junyi withdrew his gaze and stood up, walking toward the bedroom. Su Xingtong watched him with confusion until Mo Junyi emerged with a set of pajamas and a pair of underwear.
“Hot water on the left, warm on the right.” Mo Junyi placed the pajamas beside him and pointed toward the bathroom. “The underwear is newly unpacked. The blue towel is for your hair, the white bath towel is for your body. Don’t mix them up.”
Su Xingtong’s brow twitched. Taking the pajamas, he couldn’t help but say, “Officer Mo, do you wake up and fold your blankets into perfect ‘tofu cubes’ in the morning?”
Mo Junyi nodded. “If there’s time.”
Su Xingtong was speechless. He took the pajamas into the bathroom.
Watching Su Xingtong’s back disappear, Mo Junyi sat back down and opened Weibo on his phone. He wasn’t one to browse Weibo—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been ignorant of a star like Su Xingtong—but he understood the basic operations.
He unpracticedly clicked on the Hot Search. The first entry was #Day and Night Soul Chase Double Male Leads#, followed immediately by #Su Xingtong Returns to the Country#.
Mo Junyi clicked into the second one. After browsing for a while, he gained a general understanding of Su Xingtong’s past.
Unlike the image in the novel, the real-world Su Xingtong’s reputation online was far from perfect. His public image was decent, partly due to his extraordinarily cold and beautiful face and partly because his acting skills were genuinely good—a standout in this chaotic era.
However, compared to his image among the public, his reputation within the entertainment industry was poor. After just a few scrolls, Mo Junyi saw no fewer than five posts accusing him of acting like a “big shot.” There was even a long essay detailing his “black points,” reaching over three thousand words, nearly including the fact that Su Xingtong doesn’t eat cilantro.
Mo Junyi scanned through and summarized five “sins” Su Xingtong was criticized for: not interacting with fans on Weibo, not attending any fan meetings, refusing airport pick-ups, acting like a big shot, and having a low education level.
The first three were essentially the same thing, and the “big shot” accusation was a tired trope repeated endlessly. Only the “low education” point seemed perennial. Whatever Su Xingtong himself thought, his fans were extremely blunt and easily provoked on the matter.
That specific Weibo post had a staggering fifty thousand shares. The comments below were a chaotic battlefield. Mo Junyi didn’t have much of an opinion on it; after all, Father Liu had mentioned in the village that Su Xingtong had been a poor student since childhood, so it was normal for him not to have a high degree.
However, a comment from a fan caught Mo Junyi’s eye: “Xingtong started working at seventeen; he was fighting for a living. You ‘highly educated’ people are mocking his education—who’s the one lacking class?!”
Mo Junyi paused, then continued browsing as if nothing happened. The rest of the content was more of the same, and he quickly lost interest.
Su Xingtong took a long time in the shower. Mo Junyi finished browsing Weibo and read a bit more of the novel before he saw him emerge.
Because cameras tend to make people look heavier, many stars are thinner in reality. Now, wearing Mo Junyi’s pajamas, Su Xingtong’s thinness was even more apparent. A drop of water slid from the tip of his hair onto his collarbone, rolling down his translucent white skin and disappearing into the loose collar. The steam had softened the sharp edges of his aura, and paired with the oversized cotton pajamas, he appeared somewhat fragile and soft.
Even without makeup or finery, his brilliance remained. Mo Junyi unobtrusively studied the freshly bathed beauty and took a sip of tea.
Su Xingtong noticed and looked over, his tone playful. “Officer Mo, what are you looking at?”
Mo Junyi withdrew his gaze. “Looking at how thin you are. I’m worried you’ll faint from low blood sugar.”
Su Xingtong, failing to tease him and being countered instead, said helplessly, “Don’t worry, I won’t sue you for it.”
“Better that way.” Mo Junyi set down his cup and returned to the novel. “The guest room is the first door on the right. Please make yourself at home.”
Su Xingtong let out a “hmpf” and went into the guest room.
Before going to sleep, Mo Junyi sent another message to Lu Hengyu: “Asleep?”
Lu Hengyu replied quickly: “Not yet.”
Mo Junyi immediately followed up: “Why didn’t you reply to my message during the day?”
Lu Hengyu gave a guilty excuse: “Didn’t see it, didn’t see it. Sorry.”
Mo Junyi clearly didn’t believe him: “Didn’t see it for a whole day? Tell the truth.”
Seeing he couldn’t hide it, Lu Hengyu went silent for a moment before replying: “Brother, I’ve met the person I love.”
“?” Mo Junyi knew exactly who it was without even thinking. “I think you haven’t woken up yet.”
“Hey, it’s true! And we’ve known each other for a long time. But you left home early, so you probably don’t know him,” Lu Hengyu explained dreamily. “It’s the Young Master of the Li family. He used to play with me when we were kids. You were living with Aunt Mo back then, so you never met him.”
Mo Junyi had no idea Lu Hengyu and Li Jinghan had such a history. His brow twitched. “I don’t want to know who he is. I’m only asking you one thing: are you two in a relationship?”
Lu Hengyu hesitated, only replying after a long silence: “Yes and no…”
An unpleasant suspicion rose in Mo Junyi’s mind. “What does that mean? Be clear.”
Lu Hengyu gritted his teeth and sent a voice message over a minute long. Mo Junyi frowned as he listened, nearly laughing out of anger.
So, the kid’s “yes and no” meant he had “kept” Li Jinghan. The development was exactly as written in the novel. This kid had a secret crush on Li Jinghan since childhood. After running into him at the KTV a few days ago and being provoked by his “fair-weather friends,” he impulsively declared he would keep Li Jinghan. The most absurd part was that Li Jinghan actually agreed.
There was no need to ask why the two had disappeared simultaneously today; it was obvious.
Mo Junyi was utterly speechless. Lu Hengyu, likely afraid of being scolded over the phone, left a message three seconds later: “Jinghan is calling me to sleep. Goodnight, cousin,” and vanished instantly.
Lu Hengyu appeared completely infatuated with the “protagonist shou.” Mo Junyi wanted to scold him awake but lacked the standing to do so. Eventually, he set down his phone and rubbed his brow, contemplating the events of the past few days.