The focus of attention was on Lu Hui, and all the gun barrels were pointed at him. Ji Fanyang hid behind a box, dialing the phone number of Xu Changli, the captain of the Fifth Team. Fortunately, amid teasing Lu Hui, he didn’t forget to do his job.
The atmosphere was tense, and Lu Hui’s heart was pounding like a drum. One, because the long-lost smell of gunpowder raised his adrenaline levels, and two, because of the sudden assault by the young man.
“Hey, everyone calm down.” Lu Hui clapped his hands, pretending to be calm and composed. “I guess none of you had breakfast.”
“Who are you?” the man asked.
Liu Wei stared at every move Lu Hui made, like a snake angered in the grass.
“She knows me.” Lu Hui pointed at Liu Wei. “Old acquaintance.”
Ji Fanyang patted Lu Hui’s hand, indicating that Xu Changli wasn’t answering the phone.
Lu Hui understood and smiled at Liu Wei. “The reason you haven’t started shooting at us is probably because Xu Changli is your person.”
“I admire your foolish courage.” Liu Wei said, raising her gun and unlocking the safety. “This time, you really have to say goodbye to the world.”
“Do you have the heart for it?” Lu Hui knocked on the wooden box, catching a glimpse of a tear gas canister thrown in through the first-floor window. He quickly bent down, also covering Ji Fanyang under him.
The tear gas canister went off, followed by three smoke grenades. The entire warehouse was shrouded in swirling mist, the smell piercing.
“Don’t move! Police!” A group of armed police stormed into the warehouse. “Hands up!”
Lu Hui breathed a sigh of relief, wiping away the tears caused by the smoke, sitting up against a box to calm his heartbeat.
“Perfect timing?” Wei Congjia walked upstairs to Lu Hui, pulling him up. “Perfect operation.”
“Approaching perfection, if you let me finish my speech.” Lu Hui nitpicked.
“If I let you be riddled with bullets.” Wei Congjia knew Lu Hui’s mouth was full of nonsense. He changed the subject, “This time, the harvest is huge.”
“Yeah, I found an infiltrator.” Lu Hui said. “Consider it an infiltrator.”
“Alright, go back, take a shower, and we’ll have a psychological consultation in the afternoon. Let’s talk more tomorrow.” Wei Congjia instructed.
“I don’t want a psychological consultation.” Lu Hui resisted.
Wei Congjia pretended not to hear and turned to go downstairs.
Ji Fanyang awkwardly smiled at Lu Hui. “Should we go back?”
“…You go back first.” Lu Hui said, pursing his lips awkwardly. “I’m going to my sister’s place.”
Ji Fanyang’s gaze shifted to the side, responding hesitantly, “Okay.”
Lu Hui never thought that one day, after solving a big case and dismantling a drug trafficking family, he would feel a lack of accomplishment.
He sat at the dining table, frowning, watching Lu An and Wei Congjia busy in the kitchen.
“What’s wrong with Xiaohui today?” Lu An asked Wei Congjia.
“Ah? I don’t know.” Wei Congjia innocently said, “Don’t look at me, I really didn’t provoke him.”
“Did he have a conflict with Xiao Ji?” Lu An asked in a low voice.
“No, they were listening to the wall together this morning.” Wei Congjia said.
“What’s going on then?” Lu An lost patience, washed his hands, walked out of the kitchen, “How was today?”
“Pretty good.” Lu Hui said listlessly, like a lost dog.
“Why is your expression like this?” Lu An pinched Lu Hui’s cheeks, “Your look is annoying.”
“I…” Lu Hui hesitated for a while, feeling nauseated by his own affectation, so he spilled the beans to Lu An, “Ji Fanyang likes me.”
“….???” Lu An was bewildered by the sudden and nonsensical revelation. “And then?”
“I’ve never been in a relationship.” Lu Hui said. He hesitated and, disgusted by his affected manner, simply spilled everything to Lu An. “I think this is a lifetime thing from the beginning.”
“Do you want to spend your life with him?” Lu An asked.
“Yeah.” Lu Hui felt strangely better after letting out the words from his heart. “But I don’t want to change.”
“He likes you for who you are. Why would you want to change?” Lu An teased his silly little brother. “You’re worried that your way of doing things will ruin this relationship, but this relationship hasn’t even started, and you’ve already imagined the end.”
“When I am alone, I can remain forever young, fearless,” Lu Hui said, “I don’t want to bear the emotions and life of another person.”
“You already have,” Lu An held Lu Hui’s hand. “You faked your death for him, and he went into hiding for you. You’ve long carried these burdens. The rest is just self-deception.”
“I don’t want…” Lu Hui hated his cowardly and indecisive appearance, like a caterpillar spinning in place.
“If Ji Fanyang meets a perfect girl, would you be willing to attend his wedding as his best man?” Lu An asked.
“I wouldn’t,” Lu Hui said. He finally tore apart the cobwebs and found the entrance to another world, “I would resign and move to another city.”
“Love is not about changing, Xiaohui,” Lu An ruffled Lu Hui’s hair. “Love is about acceptance, for you and for him.”
Ji Fanyang stood at the door holding the keys, feeling a bit dazed. Opening Lu Hui’s house with the keys Lu Hui gave him, eating Lu Hui’s food, and in the end, scaring Lu Hui away.
Used to Lu Hui’s messy jokes, suddenly walking alone felt a bit empty for Ji Fanyang. For the fourteenth time, he regretted that kiss in the warehouse, which was too unreasonable.
It’s not that he had been plotting against Lu Hui. It was a collision of heavy pressure, confined space, and the chaotic clash of hormones. One day ago, if someone told him, “You kissed Lu Hui,” he would have thought the person was crazy.
The structure of the human brain is worth studying. Ji Fanyang opened the door with the key. His mind was buzzing, like the ruins of a battlefield after two armies clashed.
Ji Fanyang walked into the room, closed the door, put the keys in the red bowl on the shoe rack by the door, and bent down to change his shoes to enter the room. He sat on the sofa in a daze, self-questioning that was driving him close to madness.
Does he like Lu Hui? Yes.
Can he continue to like Lu Hui? This needs a question mark.
The love history of four girlfriends made Ji Fanyang lack confidence in “stable romantic relationships,” as Lu Hui said. He is easy to get bored, as Lu Hui pointed out. He fears passion quickly turning cold, hurting Lu Hui even more. He fears not being firm enough, and he fears Lu Hui not trusting him. He is a timid person, so much so that he even dare not flip through old photos.
Ji Fanyang has seen extinguished candles and out-of-control love, like a plane crash, drawing a beautiful arc across the sky and crashing into the ocean, a violent scene that makes him just want to escape. And Lu Hui, he doesn’t want him to bear all that.
Ji Fanyang stubbornly wants to give Lu Hui the best, the best friendship, the best protection, and even the best experience of love. If it’s not the best, he would rather cut off hope before it begins.
The young man picked up a stack of papers and wrote three words — “Resignation Letter.”
