Chapter 28 – Therapy

Not long ago, the two were in the kind of relationship where one tied the other up with a necktie, and one pointed at the other with the tip of an umbrella in the middle of the rain.

For the out-of-control treatment, they could now stand together and talk properly.

Chi Qing wasn’t sure if Xie Lin was asleep before he came; only after he finished speaking did he realize that he came over suddenly. After his mind reading went out of control, his own behavior also became uncontrollable.

”……” Xie Lin gestured for him to come in, “First come in and wait a while, I need to dry my hair.”

Xie Lin had just taken a shower, the ends of his hair still dripping water. The hair that had been parted into two sides was now neatly scattered on his forehead, covering his slightly raised eyes. The drops of water falling from his hair happened to fall on the back of Chi Qing’s hand.

The back of Chi Qing’s hand felt cold; he fought against the insomnia, finally speaking rationally: “We can do this another day if you’re about to sleep.”

Xie Lin squinted his eyes, unable to see things clearly: “I’m not about to sleep, come in.”

Chi Qing found a spot on the sofa for him to sit while waiting.

Xie Lin came out of the bathroom after half drying his hair, his hair smooth even without any styling. He opened the fridge, pouring a glass of cold water: “Did you take medicine yet.”

Chi Qing picked out Xie Lin’s voice from the mess of voices, letting out an “en.” Scared that he would ask more, he added: “Fever’s gone.”

But he didn’t seem very energetic, so the words weren’t very convincing.

Chi Qing couldn’t wait until Xie Lin spoke; he was sleepy and it was noisy. His eyes were half closed as he curled up on the sofa, the hair on his forehead unexpectedly lifted up by a hand: “……”

Xie Lin had, at some unknown point of time, moved to stand in front of him, very close to him, bending over slightly. The smell of shampoo and body wash mixed together drifted over, smelling like some kind of light perfume, with the sweet scent of tobacco.

After lifting the hair on Chi Qing’s forehead, he gently pressed the back of his other hand against his forehead.

”Don’t move,” Xie Lin said, “let me take your temperature.”

Chi Qing didn’t know what there was to take: “I took my temperature before coming over, or is it that you think you’re better than a thermometer?”

Xie Lin: “I’m not better than a thermometer, but I can tell whether or not you’re lying. After all, some people would rather suffer a fever than go to the hospital.”

After Xie Lin finished speaking, he looked at him and said: “……You seem a little stiff.”

”……”

Due to the stiffness, Chi Qing’s entire sitting posture seemed unnatural. Although he didn’t touch Xie Lin’s hand, the same affect happened the moment Xie Lin reached out his hand and touched him. As a result of his body being excessively tense, it suddenly turned quiet, not a single sound could be heard by his ear.

Not resisting and not finding it repulsive did not mean being used to it, especially since he was used to keeping his distance from people all year round.

Xie Lin lifted his hand, confirming that there was no abnormality with his body temperature: “Your complexion looks bad, is it really uncomfortable.”

Chi Qing gradually relaxed his body, the distorted voice making its way back to his ears: “It’s bearable.”

Xie Lin really was not about to sleep. After he sat down on the empty sofa chair closest to Chi Qing, he held his phone in one hand, and gave the other hand to Chi Qing: “Give it a try, let go if it’s uncomfortable.”

Chi Qing’s fingers peeked out from his sleeves, unable to come in contact with much, finally only able to hold one of Xie Lin’s fingers.

There was a light ring mark at the base of that finger.

In an instant, it was as if the sounds were from a magic box that had suddenly been closed, crowded together and drifting by his ear endlessly, and they were stored back in the magic box all at once.

Although Xie Lin usually had very little to do, all of the business matters at home taken care of by a specialized person, he still had to read email reports frequently.

He flipped through a few pages, and Wu Zhi’s messages suddenly appeared in the notification bar.

Wu Zhi: Jianghu emergency.1

Wu Zhi: Just five seconds ago, my true love reappeared.

Wu Zhi was in the bar. All aspects of him were rather good, but he was still hiding in the corner holding his phone like a coward, deciding not to rashly strike up a conversation until Xie Lin replied to his messages.

But the reincarnation of his parents acted uncharacteristically today, only replying with two words.

Xie Lin: Not free.

– ???

– Not free?

– What’re you busy with?

– Busy not being busy.

Xie Lin replied.

Wu Zhi got more confused seeing these four words.

– ?

– Can you talk like a human, then are you busy or are you not busy.

Xie Lin actually couldn’t concentrate on reading emails; his hand was held by someone, making it difficult to concentrate.

He looked down at his hand, seeing the two fingers that were half peeking out of the coat sleeve and lightly resting on his knuckles. The nails were cut cleanly, and the pale and thin fingers rested on his hand with a sharp contrast of skin color.

But the instigator was heartless, because he had already looked for a good place on the sofa and fallen asleep.

Chi Qing’s legs were bent, curled up, with the loose coat draped over his body. His face was half covered by his hair, revealing only his chin, and strangely red lips.

Xie Lin looked away from him, his gaze returning to his phone screen, and sent a message with one hand.

– Today’s not a good time.

– I’ve lent my hand out.

As he held his phone, Wu Zhi wondered if the DJ at the bar tonight was too energetic, making his brain ache and have difficulty functioning, otherwise why couldn’t he understand the words that Xie Lin sent him.

Chi Qing slept for over two hours. When he opened his eyes, he even thought that he had returned to what he was like before he lost control. The effects caused by alcohol seemed like a dream.

He closed his eyes and slowed down, feeling the warm knuckles between his fingers, and gradually regaining consciousness.

”Awake?” Xie Lin had also just finished handling his matters, exiting out of his email.

Chi Qing let go of his hand, finding that there weren’t many people speaking at this point tonight, and almost everyone upstairs and downstairs had already fallen asleep: “Sorry.”

”You could wake me up.”

Xie Lin didn’t mind: “It’s okay, I just finished my work, and don’t intend on sleeping yet.”

Chi Qing recalled that the last time he came to Xie Lin’s house was also late at night.

It had been almost four in the morning, he was still awake.

Chi Qing had been distracted by the noise before, now asking: “You always work at night?”

Under the guise of “helping with therapy,” he chose his words carefully as he spoke, and didn’t just say ‘No wonder you’re so free during the day.’

Xie Lin caught the word “always,” and also recalled the last time Chi Qing knocked on his door.

According to his usual style, he would say some pleasant sounding words to brush over the past, such as “How could I wait for you if I don’t sleep late,” but the words turned around once they reached his mouth: “……No, it’s just that there’s something that I’m not sure if I should or shouldn’t do recently.”

”?”

He didn’t know why he could bring it up to Chi Qing.

”A position in the police station,” Xie Lin said, “consultant.”

An old voice emerged from the depths of his memories.

— “Xie Lin, the final result of your psychological evaluation report is…… high risk.”

— “We want you to leave the team, long-term exposure to these cases may not be beneficial for your mental health.”

……

— “In the past there was Xie Feng, but Xie Feng isn’t here anymore. Who can control him, who is able to control him?!”

Chi Qing didn’t understand: “Why not go?”

Xie Lin raised his eyebrows: “Why do I have to go?”

As it was difficult for Chi Qing to feel sympathy for victims, his view was therefore more rational and objective: “Because you can solve cases.”

Chi Qing habitually retracted his hands, stating the facts: “If no one had found that there was something wrong with those cat corpses before, the baby might not have just been simply cut by the knife in the end.”

Xie Lin was taken back.

Yuan Ju’s voice from ten years ago, and the voices of other criminal policemen slowly faded away.

Only one sentence remained from those memories in the end.

All that remained was that sentence spoken during the explosion— “……You can help a lot of people.”

It was already late, and it was inconvenient for Chi Qing to stay and intrude on him. He placed his hands in his coat pockets, looking very sleepy, and said “thank you” before leaving.

Xie Lin sent him to the door, smiling as he leaned against the door: “I should be thanking you.”

The next day.

In the still busy headquarters, several criminal police came and went in a hurry, some came back with clues, and there were some who immediately led a team to rush out after receiving the news. In the past ten years, there were many new faces in the General Administration.

The two consecutive cases of living alone murders made less and less progress over the days, as the pressure of public opinion increased day by day, with some news even openly pointing to the police handling the case.

The murderer’s methods were overly familiar, making them suspect that this was not the first or second case. After conducting cross-provincial investigations, they actually found several very similar cases. These similar cases all came from the neighboring Xiamen City. The landlord involved said: “I thought she had withdrawn the lease. I told her two months in advance that I would take this house back. I had originally found a buyer, and planned on selling it. My son is getting married next year, so I wanted to add some money to buy another place. Who knew that when I called the cleaning lady to come clean the place, I would find that someone died in my house.”

The General Administration had to sent up an emergency team to participate in the investigation of the living alone cases at first, combining these cases.

In the already busy General Administration, these days can be said to be extremely busy.

So when Wu Zhibin and Yuan Ju’s group of people went to the door to meet someone in person, everyone in the General Administration was very panicked, thinking that because there was no breakthrough in the case for such a long time, some big shot had come.

”Who is it?” Someone asked in a quiet voice.

”Don’t know,” another replied, “such a big fuss.”

Everyone was still busy with the matter at hand, only paying attention to the movement at the door from time to time.

But the person who came was beyond their expectations.

Not long after Wu Zhibin and Yuan Ju arrived at the entrance, a car that looked expensive slowed down, turned and crossed the opposite street, before stopping noticeably at the gates of the General Administration, the windows slowly lowering.

A face that didn’t fit in with the General Administration appeared in the eyes of everyone who wanted to see it but didn’t dare to look at it— the atmosphere of the General Administration is serious and stiff, the uniform looking rigid when worn. But this face very obviously did not match the word “serious,” seeming more like a thrill seeker.

With a hand on the steering wheel, Xie Lin turned his head to look at them from the car window, greeting them with a smile: “Although it’s been a long time since I’ve been here, I still remember how to get to the General Bureau. There’s no need to bring so many people guide me at the door, Yuan Ju.”

The author has something to say:

Unexpectedly, the debt, can never be paid off.

1 Jianghu emergency (江湖救急) — an emergency where you don’t understand something/are in a crisis and need help from someone urgently.