Tong Qiu was a decisive person. Soon after he hung up on the phone, he stood at the door of the Sanhu police station carrying medicine and porridge.
Zhao Heyu, who was munching on a steamed bun, shouted: “Shifu! Shimu-ah no, Tong-ge is here!”
Huo Zhixing had been refilling water on his cup when he heard the shout, hand twitching in surprise and almost spilling water all over his pants.
He turned his head to look towards the direction of the station entrance only to see Tong Qiu standing there somewhat sheepishly, getting greeted warmly by any passing colleague of Huo Zhixing.
For a few seconds he admired how adorable his ex-husband looked. It made him want to laugh, but his face was too swollen that even the most miniscule of movements brought pain to him.
It was sad. I couldn’t even laugh at my lovely ex-husband.
He put down the cup and moved to greet the man at the door. “Why not come inside directly?”
When Tong Qiu glanced at Huo Zhixing, the sight of all those bruises and swelling frightened him so much his soul split into three. “How did it get swollen like this?”
As someone who had been married to a police officer, and as a teacher, Tong Qiu had always believed his psychological mindset was Quite tough. Apart from the whole incident with Xiao Keran – as it was a special case – he could always remain calm and rational in the face of a tough situation.
And here he thought he had already gotten used to seeing any kind of bruising. In the past, he seldom saw Huo Zhixing’s scars. Later in the year they were married, Huo Zhixing suffered both serious and minor injuries. Whenever the police officer took off his clothes, each mark and scratch seemed to be telling stories. Others might have Jianweixiaoshi tablets at their homes, but in theirs they had various medicine for bruises and such.
But that said, Huo Zhixing has a handsome face comparable to film actors. Who would dare injure such visage?
It made Tong Qiu angry.
“What the hell?” Tong-laoshi was furious. “Did they have to hit the face?”
Zhao Heyu guffawed next to him, “Shimu, are you worried about Shifu or are you worried about his face?”
Huo Zhixing was also curious to know.
The jest embarrassed Tong Qiu and he hurriedly shut his mouth, but it didn’t stop his face from frowning as he took in the state of Huo Zhixing’s face. He wanted to touch it, to check just how bad it was, but was worried it would hurt – It didn’t help that there were too many people looking at them, making him too shy to show any hint of affection.
“Does it hurt?” Tong Qiu felt distressed.
Huo Zhixing nodded aggrievedly.
“Have you gone to the hospital?”
Huo Zhixing nodded again.
“Does it hurt anywhere else?”
Huo Zhixing acting continued to be online and once again aggrievedly said, “On the shoulders.”
Tong Qiu’s furrowed brows tightened. “Left or right?”
He looked down. Okay, no need to ask. Huo Zhixing’s right hand was obviously still swollen.
“Eat something first,” Tong Qiu sighed, then continued, “I thought you couldn’t eat anything else, so I brought some porridge.”
He turned his head and addressed Zhao Heyu, who was munching on a new steamed bun. “Come join us.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
How could Zhao Heyu dare disturb someone’s love? A tyrant tiger would still be a tyrant tiger even if he’s injured. One shouldn’t think a ferocious tiger had become as tame as a cat just because he looks like Hello Kitty in front of his trainer. Although he really wanted to eat porridge, Zhao Heyu knew there was price to be paid for being a light bulb.
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Zhao Heyu, who thought himself witty and sensible, made his presence scarce and left his shifu and shimu to their own little world.
Kbcu Hle lucbgfv tlw, jcv Leb Itlzlcu kjr fnfc wbgf ecilxfis ab mjgf obg tlw. Dbat bo atfw rja cfza ab atf sbecufg wjc, jr Kbcu Hle rqbxf, “P tjnf ab ub ab rmtbbi ijafg, vbc’a obgufa ab gfjv jcv obiibk atf lcragemalbcr yfobgf sbe ajxf atfrf qliir.”
Huo Zhixing looked over and sure, Tong-laoshi really cared about him, even bringing a huge bag of medicine that at first glance could be mistaken as wholesale.
“Xiao Qiu, I’m sorry.”
“Ah? What are you sorry about?”
Huo Zhixing took the spoon with his left hand and struggled to scoop some porridge, saying: “We’re supposed to visit your grandpa on his birthday this May 1st, but my face looks like this and I’m afraid I’ll only embarrass you.”
“What? Do I seem so inhuman? You’re hurt to that extend, and I’m still thinking about that?” Tong Qiu laughed exasperatingly at him. “If you should feel sorry, feel sorry for me – being this worried about you and all.”
That was really sour, enough for Tong Qiu’s teeth to ache like having been poured acid after saying that.
Although those words were nothing but an embarrassment to Tong Qiu, they had a different effect for Huo Zhixing, feeding his heart with warmth enough that it felt like a huge red rose grew.
“Then I’m sorry,” Huo Zhixing eyes were twinkling in amusement, but his lips wouldn’t dare show it, saying, “I’m sorry to have worried you.”
Tong Qiu glanced at him and pretentiously said, “It’s good that you know. Next time, make sure to pay attention to your safety.”
He sat there and watched Huo Zhixing eat for a while, then having figured the man had eaten enough, glanced at the time: “Okay, I have to go. Don’t forget to take your medicine on time and if you feel sick, go to the hospital quickly.”
Huo Zhixing said he would follow the instructions of his leader.
That pulled a laugh from Tong Qiu, saying, “Who is your leader?”
“You.” “Huo Zhixing stood up and said, “I’ll send you out.”
On their way out, Huo Zhixing suddenly remembered something and told him to wait as he went back to get whatever it was he had forgotten.
Tong Qiu stood there, wondering what Huo Zhixing was going to give him. If it should be some token of love, shouldn’t he give it at a more romantic place? And not here outside the police station?
But nonetheless, Tong Qiu was still looking forward to it.
However, when Huo Zhixing came back carrying a small paper bag in his hands, Tong Qiu looked at it in surprise. “What is this?”
The small paper bag contained all kinds of self-defense and anti-theft things, and even a very cute pink kitten shaped self-defense charm.
“I’ve been busy these days, I almost forgot to tell you something important,” Huo Zhixing said, “It hasn’t been very peaceful recently. You should go home early in the evening, don’t walk along dark alleyways alone, and always keep safe.”
Originally, Tong Qiu just thought the bag of goodies was one of the ways a police officer shows affection, like an occupational hazard. He even thought, as a teacher, shouldn’t he also return the favor and gift Officer Huo a small pointing stick? Then maybe it could turn into a new kind of play. But when he heard Huo Zhixing’s explanation, he immediately noticed something was wrong.
Huo Zhixing was serious, not flirting at all.
“What’s the matter?” Tong Qiu became nervous. “Did something happen?”
“No, it’s just a precaution.”
“Don’t hide it from me,” Tong Qiu said, “If nothing’s wrong, why did you give me this? You never gave me any self-defense equipment for the year that we were married.”
Huo Zhixing wasn’t trying to hide anything, he just thought it would be better for the other to be more aware of his surroundings. If he said anything more, he knew Tong Qiu would just become more worried.
“Zhixing,” Tong Qiu solemnly said, putting aside his usual playful appearance, “Although we are now divorced, I think I still have the right to know more about these kinds of things, don’t you think?”
The more Tong Qiu acted like this, the more uncomfortable Huo Zhixing felt.
It’s true, lawfully they were both divorced, but since they never lost contact and Huo Zhixing never even intended to let Tong Qiu go; with how much time they spent together, sooner or later Tong Qiu would still know about it. He was now paying the price for his stubbornness, but if in the beginning the both of them really did cut off contact, wouldn’t it be even more hard for him to capture Tong Qiu back?
“Three years ago, when I was still working for the criminal police station, I caught a man.” Huo Zhixing confessed obediently. “He hated me immensely and when I arrested him, he vowed to kill me sooner or later.”
Huo Zhixing laughed depreciatingly, the bruises on his face hurting in the process, but Tong Qiu didn’t share his mirth, eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper.
“But recently, I heard he got out under medical parole, so I was a little worried. I’ll be fine, I’ve gone through too much so It’s hard to kill me. It’s you I’m worried about.”
Tong Qiu tilted his head slightly to look at him, “Hey, do you think we are sharing our sufferings?”
Huo Zhixing raised his hand to touch Tong Qiu’s hair. “It’ll be better not to, I hope not.”
“That’ll indeed be for the best. But it’s a shame, this kind of guy seems to have no need to have a face.” Tong Qiu smiled and looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Tong Qiu smiled wider and hooked his finger, compelling the other to get closer to him.
Huo Zhixing leaned over, and Tong Qiu whispered against his ear, “If you were to die, shouldn’t you die on my bed? You still owe me an exam!”
Tong-laoshi was really something. Huo Zhixing can clearly see this time.
He couldn’t help laughing, his face hurting be damned.
“That’s a promise,” Huo Zhixing breathed, “Tong-laoshi should wait and go back to prepare, and when we are both free, we will make up that exam.”
The solemn atmosphere just now finally eased. Looking back at Huo Zhixing’s face, Tong Qiu became distressed and worried once again.
It’s awful, he thinks, but what can he do? We can’t kick people away just because they make us upset ah, really reluctant!
–
Since Huo Zhixing was injured, phone calls had been the norm, with Tong Qiu instead asked about his day from time to time.
Huo Zhixing was the same, while keeping an eye out for Zou Kai’s activities, listened for Tong Qiu’s reports about his daily going-ons.
At one point, during one of their routinely calls, Tong Qiu suddenly laughed and said, “Us going like this, it seems like we’re doing the same thing as an anti-Kong.”
“It’s always better to be cautious,” Huo Zhixing was really being cautious, and ask every morning, “Did you bring the spray with you?”
Tong Qiu had been torn between laughing or crying at the question. “Brought it. Really, it had been so reassuring for a grown man like me to be carrying a girlyanti-wolf spray.”
“It’s better to have it than none.” Huo Zhixing really was afraid of something. Although bringing a pocket knife was the ideal option, ultimately it wasn’t allowed; and even if Tong Qiu did, it’ll be even more dangerous for him if he wasn’t trained to use it. The anti-wolf spray was the best for him.
“By the way, I’ll see you at the train station tomorrow morning?” Tong Qiu wanted to say it’ll be better for them to meet at home this evening and go together at the station tomorrow. They could take advantage of the evening before they leave to hold a wild exam.
Tong-laoshi’s imagination started running wild, and different poses came to mind.
However, Huo Zhixing agreed, “Okay, I’ll work the night shift today and see you at the station tomorrow. You should pack up and take care not to leave anything.”
When Tong-laoshi heard this, he was inevitably disappointed.
“Well,” he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
In a flash, a week had passed. Although the swelling in Huo Zhixing’s face had disappeared, but the injury was still visible. He had no choice but to attend his grandfather-in-law’s birthday party with such a face. It was embarrassing.
When Tong Qiu came home in the evening, he diligently started to pack his luggage. Halfway through, he saw the thongs hanging in the closet.
Since he had an incident in his class half a month ago, and Huo Zhixing had an injury, the promised make up exam hasn’t been fulfilled. But maybe this holiday they can…
Tong Qiu took two and wore one, the second one was stuffed inside his luggage.
This May 1st holiday was just suitable for make-up exams!
–
The author has something to say:
Officer Huo heals his body online.
Nell’s corner:
I don’t have an editor so if you guys see any kind of mistake please don’t hesitate to tell me 🙂
Thanks for the chapter!!
Thanks for picking this up again! You’re doing a great job so far!
Thank you for this chapter! I love this couple
Thank you for picking this up!
Wait.. is the author supportive of the HK police?
That I honestly have no idea about so sorry, I don’t have an answer to that…
thank you so much for the new chapter 😊
thank you also for your hard work.
Gracias por el capitulo lo he estado esperando
LOL make-up exam, hopefully they’ll pull it through. Thank you for the update!!! I missed this couple so much, and then some since there is a bad guy lurking.
Thank you for your hardwork. So far the translation is very clear, a very good job!
Thank you soooo much for the update. I was really looking forward to it. I love this novel.
carrying a girly anti-wolf spray .”
Girlyanti?
Hi! Wonderful job. My only question is how did the serious convo go from talking about someone who wants to kill him to sexy talk? The line about no face (i know it means being shameless) feels really out of context and makes no sense to me. I feel like that’s a example where it’s best to say what they mean, not say what they say.
Wowowow, that malicious co-faculty is triggering, because they do exist. And they’re so poisonous to the department. At least here no one paid him mind, so the poison wouldn’t spread.
Also: finally ML is being honest because that’s what marriage is about, laying down all your cards.
Thank You for the chapter ♡(> ਊ <)♡