[Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide and apathetic reactions to it along with slight mentions of blood. If these things make you uncomfortable, feel free to skip the whole part that begins and ends with this marker: ***]
Tong Qiu went to the station early the next morning. He had thought he’ll be the first to arrive, but hadn’t expected to receive a call from Huo Zhixing the moment he got off the subway.
Huo Zhixing had bought breakfast for the both of them.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” The other asked when Tong Qui arrived. At his affirmation they looked for an empty seat inside the waiting room and sat down. Huo Zhixing handed him a paper bag filled with porridge and sandwiches, saying, “Have some first.”
Tong Qiu didn’t rush to eat after taking the paper bag, and instead turned around to check Huo Zhixing’s face.
This week, although the both of them frequently exchanged phone calls and text messages, they seldom met. The main reason was that Huo Zhixing had been too busy to come and find Tong Qiu, leaving the both of them to look forward to the May holiday like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
“Take your mask off and let me see your face.”
Huo Zhixing had taken to deliberately wearing a mask every time he needed to go out, or else he’d be walking outside with his swollen face and bruised nose for everyone to see. It was too unsightly.
Huo Zhixing took off his mask. “It’s gotten better actually,”
Tong Qiu frowned at what he saw.
“Why is it still like this after a week? Did you take your medicine? Have you visited the hospital again?” Tong Qiu furrowed his brows. It looked like it still hurt.
It was said that misfortune tests the sincerity of friends, and Huo Zhixing knew that when he had been hit, Tong Qiu got scared. However, Tong-laoshi’s concern only comforted Officer Huo’s heart.
However, it was unfortunate his physical injuries couldn’t heal as fast.
A week later, although Huo Zhixing’s face didn’t look as swollen and frightening as before, it was still far from his normal handsome visage. Though he felt sorry, Tong Qui was more concerned that the injuries would leave some lasting sequelae.
“Are your eyes alright?”
“It’s alright. It didn’t hit the inside.”
“Almost the corner of your eye was hit! Any headaches?”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“Let me see your nose.”
Huo Zhixing smiled, “It’s nothing really. Give it another week and everything would be better.”
How could Tong Qiu not worry about it? Whether it looked good or not, if something irreparable happened to the other’s face, what should I do in the future ah?
“Going forward, you should be more careful when you are on duty. Don’t take your body for granted.” The two sat there and chatted with each other. When boarding time came, Tong Qiu had finished eating his breakfast.
Queuing at the ticket station, Tong Qiu gently pressed a pressure point on Huo Zhixing’s right shoulder. “What about here? There’s an old doctor that specializes in traditional Chinese medicine near my grandfather’s house. Why don’t we take advantage of the time we are there to get you a massage?”
The injuries on the shoulders were more serious than the ones on the face.
Originally, Huo Zhixing’s right shoulder had been injured. After getting hit again, this time his right hand would occasionally tremble.
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.
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“By the way,” Huo Zhixing caught up to him, “I haven’t made time to ask recently. The issue with your school, has it been resolved?”
“Well,” Tong Qiu’s still felt haunted when he talked about this, “it escalated into a lawsuit. Xiao Keran’s father sued the school.”
“… In your case, isn’t the school without responsibility?”
“Yes, but he insisted that the school should take full responsibility. Originally, the principal decided to give some compensation, but he refused to receive anything less than five million.”
“Well, he’s using his daughter’s life as a tool to make fortune.” Huo Zhixing sneered, “This is better. If you go through the judicial process, he won’t receive a single penny.”
Tong Qiu still felt particularly uncomfortable when he thought about Xiao Keran. He wanted to know what Xiao Keran would feel if she knew that her father used her life to blackmail the school after her death.
“How about the student that was hospitalized, how are they?”
“They’ve returned to school, but is still seeing a psychologist.” Speaking of this, Tong Qiu doesn’t feel very happy either.
***
He used to take the subway to work when he was still living in his parents’ home. Once during morning rush hour, someone attempted to commit suicide by lying on the rails, causing the subway to be temporarily suspended. At that time, he heard someone complain about being late, saying that suicide was a personal thing, and if he had wanted to die, he should’ve went to a place where he could die quietly, and not bother anyone else.
It sounded really unsympathetic and apathetic, but not entirely unreasonable.
Xiao Keran had been pitiful, and what happened to her had been a pity, but the passing student who she nearly hit was even more innocent. Imagine being almost hit by a person falling from the sky and being drenched all over with blood. It was a real disaster. Tong Qiu thought maybe this whole incident would be a huge shadow that would forever haunt the student.
***
Huo Zhixing saw Tong Qiu frowning in a daze, grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
“All will pass.” Huo Zhixing comforted, “Tong-laoshi should be optimistic.”
Tong Qiu smiled, “Tong-laoshi is very optimistic, and I will travel around the world when the college entrance exams are over.”
“Around the world?”
“Okay, it was a joke.” Tong Qiu backtracked, “Without money it’s not possible but…”
Tong Qiu didn’t finish what he said. The two men found their respective seat numbers and fell asleep after getting comfortable.
More than three hours in on the ride, Tong Qiu slept sweetly leaning on Huo Zhixing. His lips were slightly open and his chest was undulating steadily. Huo Zhixing, who had awoken during the second half of the trip, occasionally looked at him in satisfaction.
They have known each other for nearly two years, and yet this was their first trip together. It strangely felt fresh.
Huo Zhixing remembered the honeymoon he owed the other, and wondered if he had a chance to make up for it.
As the train was nearing the platform, Huo Zhixing woke him up in advance. Tong Qiu, still groggy, grabbed the hand that was patting him and muttered, “Arrived ah?”
“Almost,” Huo Zhixing was happy to let the other pull on his hand, “Have to wait awhile before we can get off.”
It took Tong Qiu half a minute to fully wake up, and he never let go of Huo Zhixing’s hand. However, when he fully awoke, he immediately let go like he had been electrocuted and pretended like nothing had happened, but his ears had turned into a bright shade of red.
Huo Zhixing understood that when Tong Qiu was either half-asleep or half-awake, he acted clingier than when he was drunk.
“This is my first time here.” Huo Zhixing said, “What’s good to eat and fun to do?”
“The delicious food are too spicy; you can’t eat it now.” Tong Qiu leaned on the train window and looked outside. As the train was about to enter the station, they passed by a small amusement park. “This park was built when I was a kid. My primary school was near here and during one children’s day, our school organized a small event where we can play here.”
“Was it fun?” Huo Zhixing recalled back when he was young, he seldom got to visit an amusement park.
“What can be fun in such a small park? But then again, during that time, ghost houses and roller coasters were something new. I don’t know what they look like now.”
“We can go visit if we have nothing to do in these two days.” Huo Zhixing suggested, “The haunted house sounds good.”
Tong Qiu turned around to look at him and smiled, “Do you want to go?”
“Curious.”
“Ok. Tong-laoshi will give you a Children’s day trip in the next few days and let you properly experience everything.”
Huo Zhixing laughed, “Then I thank Tong-laoshi in advance.”
It’s not that he wanted to see the sights, but he thought that the haunted house was a wonderful place to increase intimacy.
However, Officer Huo forgot that although his ex-husband looked like a weak chicken, he was actually a master who was not afraid of ghosts. The last time they watched a horror movie, Tong Qiu fell asleep in a daze. Moreover, he recalled that year when Tong-laoshi first entered the haunted house when he was a child, he had pretended to be “scared too much” to hide the fact he was actually too excited to play with the staff pretending as ghosts. From then on, it was passed on as a funny story by the traumatized staff, and the child surnamed Tong wasn’t allowed to enter again.
Fast forward twenty years later, Tong-laoshi rubbed his hands together in excitement and was looking forward to his visit again.
Grandfather Tong’s hometown was a small city not too far away from the provincial capital. The city is very large but the population was small. Compared to the place where they lived, it was very quiet and cozy.
As soon as they got off the train, Tong Qiu saw his father waiting outside. Because his parents had already retired, his father was able to come early to pick them up, while the whole family was left to wait at home for them busy people.
“Oh,” Father Tong was shocked when he saw Huo Zhixing, “What happened?”
Although Huo Zhixing wore a mask that covered most of his face, the bruises on the corner of his eyes could still be seen.
He turned to Tong Qiu and asked, “Did you two fight?”
Tong Qiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I assaulted a police officer during a fight, where would I get the courage to do so! Besides, do you think I have the necessary skills to be able to beat him up to this point?”
Huo Zhixing was well aware just how terrifying he looked like, and explained in embarrassment: “Dad, I got this from an accident. I got careless during one of our patrols.”
“Oh, what a shame. It really isn’t easy being a policeman.” Father Tong led them to the parking lot. “Your grandfather would feel distressed when we arrive home later.”
Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing followed behind Father Tong, exchanging mischievous glances as they both praised each other’s acting skills.
Inside the car, Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing sat at the back. While Father Tong was driving at the front, the both of them huddled close to each other whispering.
“My role as your husband, didn’t I manage to portray it naturally?” Huo Zhixing’s voice was toned low. Although he was wearing a mask, Tong Qiu still felt his breath fanning his ears, making them feel itchy.
Tong Qiu glanced at him with a smile. “Perfectly.”
Huo Zhixing laughed and whispered again, “I should charge you for my performance.”
“Officer Huo, name a price.”
Huo Zhixing pretended to contemplate. A moment later, he said, “You can make up for it later, we still have a make-up exam to take.”
Tong Qiu remembered the lube and condom he had stashed inside his bag and blushed enough he felt like there was smoke coming out of him. Fortunately, Father Tong decided that was the best time to talk to them, saving him from further embarrassment.
“There are two boxes of fruits in the trunk. I just bought them on my way to fetch you. When we get off later, you two should bring it inside.”
“Okay, but Dad, I thought the old man would be waiting at the door to greet us.” Tong Qiu took out the gifts they prepared out of his bag and handed them to Huo Zhixing before continuing to joke around with his father, “He really doesn’t pay attention to his grandson, makes one angry.”
“You’re angry? Well, you should forget about it. It’s your grandfather instead who got angry earlier. When we arrive, the both of you would have to coax the old man.”
“What’s the matter? Who annoyed our dear celebrant?”
Father Tong glanced at them from the rearview mirror, saying, “This morning, the old man next door showed off his great-grandson, saying something about having four generations in one house. Do you understand?”
I see.
Tong Qiu and Huo Zhixing looked at each other. They were really helpless in this matter. None of them had a womb and wasn’t capable of giving birth.
The author has something to say:
Tong Qiu: After all, this isn’t a giving birth story.
Nell’s Corner:
As always, if you see any kind of mistake please don’t hesitate to inform me. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Thank you for the update! ❤
Muchas gracias por el capitulo
thank you for the chapter 😊
Thanks for the update!!
Thanks for your hard work!
Oh, our dear Tong-laoshi is thinking about their future? Good, very good!!! Mr. Officer please proceed with what and how you are doing it. IT’S WORKING!!! Looking forward to more!!!
Thank you for the update!!! You are spoiling us!
Thanks for the chapter!!
Thanks for the chapter<3
I thought its a complete story.. But no 😭😭.. There is no update..
The fact that I’m reading this now when I’m sick is because I really enjoy it. Thank you for the translation.
Sad that it’s not mpreg, but hey, you guys can always adopt!
That solves the issue of kids…
The fluff is really rotting my teeth but I’m really worried about that Kai goon!
Officer must catch that goon and throw him back to his cell again!
If only it wasn’t really very too late…I would have begged the author to add another tag on the novel 😅😅😅
LOL seriously these old folks, even in real life, grandchildren and great grandchildren are like competitions. 😅
Thank You for the chapter ♡(˃͈ દ ˂͈ ༶ )